Author Archive
Cats belong in the house and in the garden
Posted by: | Comments
Meet Weasley my 1/2 Orange Tabby 1/2 Siamese cat. We adopted he and his brother Potter one year ago from a rescue society called Every Creature Counts. They have been a joy to our home ever since. On the other side of that fence are two dogs barking their brains out but my guy just looks at him like “why pray tell are you making all that racket?” I live in an area very close to open space so I never let my cats out unescorted and miraculously they actually have never even tried to jump the fence.
Sitting out in the garden watching my kitty boys banter around in the garden, batting bugs, hopping on stalks of grass waving in the warm summer breeze is such a delight, it’s hard to come inside and get to work each day. They get up each morning with with one thing on their mind… how long it will take them to “TALK” me into letting them go outside to play.
Meet Mr. Harry Potter (Weasley’s sidekick of course, or is it the other way around?) He obviously took after his father while his brother took after his tabby cat mother. Potter is the softest cat you’ve ever had the pleasure to have on your lap. He’s all cuddles, purrs and soft paws keeping your hands close by to keep you petting him.
If you have cat pictures to share, I’d love to see my readers faithful friends too. 
They are so funny in this video, you can see how excited they are just to sniff the smells of nature and watch the bugs and cotton fluffs fly by.
Humility – What’s your definition?
Posted by: | Comments
I heard this quote once and it’s stuck with me… Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself… It’s thinking OF yourself LESS! (unknown)
It’s deep so say it to yourself a couple of times!
This just struck me as so true. Humbleness and humility is spoken of often in the bible but I think its one of those misinterpreted words. We all speak of Jesus as humble but He knew He was the son of God so it wasn’t that he thought less of Himself, he just thought of others first, what he could do for others, how he could help others, how he could change the lives of others. Being humble is a sign of strength not weakness and comes from a place of knowledge not ignorance.
There is also another similar quote and goes something like ” you’d worry less about what other’s think of you if you knew how little they think about you”. Most people in our society are much more obsessed with themselves and really don’t spend as much time analyzing us as we might think they do. We sometimes beat ourselves up about something we’ve done, something we’ve said and we let that story teller in our heads go on and on about it until we are afraid to show our face at work the next day when in reality no one else has been thinking about it at all.
What’s your favorite quote today? Why does it speak to you?
photo credit: André Banyai
Thyme the Herb in your Garden
Posted by: | Comments
Thyme Plant in a Pot
Thyme is one of the easiest herb to grow and the hardest one to get ride of once you get it started!
It is related to the mint family which is why it is so hardy. Some varieties of thyme that are in my garden last all winter long, other’s get kind of crunchy so I just trim them all the way back to where you see the healthy flexible stalks.
It thrives in a hot sunny location and doesn’t require much water once it’s established. The low growing varieties are great if you place them between flagstones for a walkway… it will squeeze out the weeds and discourages ants…. I assume they don’t like the smell. The creeping types really added great character to my new rather bland garden walls. (I’ll post my before and after photo’s once the snow clears)
I love to use it fresh in a variety of dishes and it’s one of the herbs that keeps it’s flavor even after it dries. See some of my favorite recipes at my cooking site Chrissy Cooks!
There are many varieties and each has a fabulous flavor, color and different growing habits. The more you cut it back, the bushier and healthier it gets so trim it up regularly for cooking. I love the scent of fresh herbs in my kitchen so I’ll gather them up as I’m cutting flowers to bring indoors for my bouquets.
There are a bunch of different type of thyme including:
- English thyme — the most common
- Lemon thyme — smells of lemons
- Variegated lemon thyme — with bi-colour leaves
- Orange thyme — an unusually low-growing, ground cover thyme that smells like orange
- Creeping thyme — the lowest-growing of the widely used thymes, good for walkways
- Silver thyme — white/cream variegate
- Summer thyme — unusually strong flavor
- Purple thyme — This is the variety I have grown and creeping down my garden bricks
I love to plant thyme along pathways where you bump against it as you wander by which releases the fresh scents. I also found interesting history and medicinal uses for Thyme at Wikipedia
Fireproof Your Marriage
Posted by: | Comments
And They Lived Happily Ever After
The 2nd Time around!
And They Lived Happily Ever After
Like at least half of you out there I have been divorced and now praise God, very happily married again. Being married for me a second time is a force that is greater that I can really explain. I never expected to find a soul mate in my 40′s, but I did. We are extremely happy and that doesn’t just happen by accident. The wisdom that both of us gained from going through a failed first marriage is working overtime to make sure THIS marriage does indeed last until Death Do Us Part.
Are we kidding ourselves? I don’t think so…. the 2nd time around you are much better prepared. You know how hard it is to make a marriage work and before you enter into wedding bliss you make sure of a number of things first!
- Kids… do you want them or not? (we did NOT want anymore!)
- Finances... are you frugal or a credit card deamon? What is their credit score? This is important if you are planning on buying a new home together…
- The In-Laws... Do you get along? Are they going to be meddlesome?
- Holidays… where do you spend them?
- Housework… who does what? why?
- Income… whose in charge of the $$$$$?
- Vacations… alone, together, his kids, her kids, all kids…
- Disappointments come when your expectations are different, so discussing EVERYTHING before you get married is a must!
Ok, so then what… you are committed to one another, your families don’t suck too much, his kids haven’t put out “OFFICIAL” contracts on your life… so how are you going to keep the romance alive for the next 30+ years.
My commitment to myself at the beginning of this new marriage was to be a GREAT WIFE! I can only control what I do… and like in the movie and books about “Fireproof” (I have a link provided) You can make your relationship better first! If it’s not what you want it to be.. go first! what’s there to loose? and there is so much to gain.
Here are some of the things we do… OFTEN
- SEX.. yes… I said it! Lots of sex, fun sex, crazy sex, quiet sex, on vacation, at home, in secluded spots…. without a great sexual connection, you become roommates, brother and sister and your eyes and hormones make you less blind to the world around you. Show me a man who has great sex with his wife and I’ll show you a man that has no reason to fool around.
- TALK! We talk about everything and anything. My husband is great at knowing when I have something on my mind and I’m keeping it to myself. He will bug me until I spit it out… and after that… it’s not a big deal. Most things that my slightly whacked out Menopausal brain is telling me are misunderstandings or misinterpretations of what’s true. DON’T let things get out of control… Fix them NOW!
- SILLY STUFF We did lot’s of silly little things for each other when we were dating, and we continue to do silly stuff now. You know the things… leaving little notes hidden, a piece of something silky in his coat pocket, having the stage set when he comes home from work… For Valentines day I always line the path with hearts and red and pink things, he acts like it embarrasses him, but I know he’d be disappointed if I stopped making a fuss.
- CHEER him on! It may not be YOUR favorite thing, fishing, football, weight lifting, playing softball.. but you can be his cheerleader! Make him feel like he is YOUR hero! His boss his customers, his co-workers are there everyday to beat him down… my job as a great wife is to repair that damage.
- ROMANCE It comes easy for me… I’m a big sap and even my girlfriends and daughters ask me for “to do’s” that are romantic. Men have been told they aren’t romantic because they don’t act like the men in a romance novel act…. TRUE they don’t.. but we don’t really act like those women either… so lets cut them some slack. Romance can be things as simple as remembering what your favorite ice cream is, taking the time to wrap YOUR presents under the tree even though it looks a little like the box has been drop kicked a few times… Look for when they try to be romantic and then PRAISE them for it.. You’ll be surprised at how much more he’ll try when you notice.
- RECREATE together! A favorite book of mine “His Needs Her Needs… affair proofing your marriage” says that one of men’s top needs is to have a wife that will be a companion to him in the marriage. If you watched the Bronco’s with him when you dated…hopefully you didn’t pretend to be a football fan just to make him like you… I happen to be as big of a fan as Jim is so we make it an event! I have special Bronco Dip, Bronco Burgers, Orange Crush Daquari’s.
- TIME We enjoy doing the simple things together too, grocery shop, do errands, yard work, decorating the house for the holidays… would it be more efficient to split up those things and do them separately? yes… but it can be a lot more fun if you do it together.
- AFFECTION Men like it just as much as women do… especially if they have that #1 need taken care of “sex”. You’d be surprised at how much more affectionate guys are. Snuggle on the couch, always hold hands, kiss for at least 30 seconds every day.. no pecking! We have a sign next to our bed that says “Always Kiss Me Goodnight” and we always do!
I know that lots of you ladies out there are married to guys that won’t respond to the things I’ve talked about… But many of you have just stopped trying or are waiting for him to Go First! Watch that movie Fireproof, and give it a try.. You might be surprised.
I’d love to know your views on marraige or 2nd marriages or if anyone has seen the movie and used those techniques? Just click on the comments and lets chat.
Spring Gardening Tips
Posted by: | Comments
Spring is my absolute favorite time of year.
This winter has been very mild in Colorado, but in years past when snow has covered the garden for winter, that first splash of color from your crocus bulbs you lovingly planted last fall just warms your heart. I’m anxious to get out there and get my hands dirty and luckily there is plenty to do in your garden in March.
MARCH
In the Garden
- Plant your Pansies
- Prune your Junipers
- Plant container and balled or burlapped trees and shrubs late in March.
Spring Lawns
- Get your lawn mower ready and if there were any issues when you winterized your sprinkler system, head to your favorite Home Depot / Lowes to get your supplies.
- This winter has been very dry, so I’m hand watering my lawn until we get our sprinkler system going.
Kitchen Garden
- You can sow seeds of peas, onion, carrots, lettuce,spinach, beets, swis hard & radishes outdoors
- Plant seedlings of broccoli< cabbage< kale< brussel sprouts and cauliflower now
- Plant Potatoes late March.
- Plant bare root asparagus & rhubarb, bare root raspberries, grapes, strawberries and fruit tree’s.
- This is of course if your garden area isn’t still frozen! I know parts of mine still are.
Indoor Plants
- Fertilize pots of annuals that you kept inside for the winter.
- Re-pot root bound houseplants.
The columbines aren’t out yet, but that’s such a pretty picture from last year I wanted to share it. I find that Colorado’s state flower is happiest in some shade and beneath your Aspens since it most closely mimics their wild cousins that grow in the Rocky Mountains.
Do you have any tips to share? Favorite spring flowers? Talk to me below.
