Today is not an Ordinary Day!

Happy Eighteenth Anniversary!!

On January 9, 1996 my guy and I snuck off and got married!! I woke up that morning knowing I was eloping with my honey. The only people who knew how momentous the day was were our witnesses, and us. I was studying Landscape Architecture at the time and had an important design project to complete, so I had to go to school. All through lectures and design studios, the only thing I could think of was that I was getting married! There was a very surreal quality to the day.

If I say so myself, we have a great story of how we came to be a couple. I have shared it on my blog, Woman Reinvents Self... this link will take you to there. It really is a great story... read it!! :-)

Paul and I, July 2012 (Photo Courtesy of Christian Larson)

I was reading an article in the paper a few days ago about George and Barbara Bush! They celebrated their 69th Anniversary recently. They had been married for 51 years when MacGyver and I married. That is extraordinary. I woke up this morning, and after announcing George and Barbara's accomplishment, my husband reminded me that we were unlikely to make that happen, since I was 30 and he was 33 when we married!

 

Important things that have happened on January 9th...

1. We have renewed our vows twice.
2. 1776 Thomas Paine published Common Sense
3. 1778 Connecticut ratified the US Constitution
4. 1884 Wendy's first "Where's The Beef?" commercial aired.
5. 2007 Apple unveiled the iPhone

 

Observances for today include:

1. National Apricot Day
2. National Clean Off Your Desk Day
3. Balloon Ascension Day
4. National Static Electricity Day

 

As for Other Things on My Mind Today...




Technology!! Blft! I love what I know how to do and the ease my life has as a result. For the stuff I cannot figure out... the stuff I spend countless hours on, well, it just plain old fashioned irritates me. So, I am thinking of hiring my children to be my IT experts. They can do more stuff with their thumbs than I can do with both hands, my brain, and a whole lot of "help" searches.

Cats! I know, you are thinking, "OMG! She's a crazy cat lady!!" But you're wrong. What I am thinking is that my cat probably knows more about IT than I do. How sad is that? I bought him a toy to play with last night. You press a button and this gizmo that looks like a fuchsia mouse with tail feathers spins around in circles. I pressed the button, and Milo took off for the other end of the house. So I turned it off, and then left it where it was so that he could sniff it out and get used to it. Then I came upstairs to write. About five minutes ago the toy started spinning. I went and peeked. The cat looked up at me with complete satisfaction.

This rant is a result of wanting to do more on this blog, but not being able to quickly figure out how. So, expect progress!!

Well, there is plenty more on my mind, but it's all going on hold, so I can go celebrate with my guy!

Flittering through my mind Today!

Let Me Introduce My Family!!

(Since they flutter and flitter through my mind all day long!)

 

 

 

Little Mac is sandwiched in between MacGyver (the tall guy on the left) and My Fluff Ball!
This photo was taken on a ferry, chugging it's way to Vancouver Island, BC, July 2012

 

Gardening!!

In Winter think about Spring!



Semiahmoo Library, White Rock, BC

 

In the Spring of 2012 my family and I took a vacation to Vancouver BC. Our love of Tim Horton donuts drove us to take a last foray off the freeway, before crossing the Canadian/US Border. We happened upon Tim Bits and Canadian Maple goodness just across the street from this library! As a Landscape Architect and fan of gardening I was enchanted.

 

Basically I got close enough that I might have appeared as a silhouette. I wanted to figure out how to do this. I think I have the basics...

 

1. Cover the surface of the building with a water barrier material.
2. Then cover that layer with a heavy felted material. It needs to be organic so that it absorbs water and plants can grab onto it.
3. Create staggering pockets, in a diamond format, using this same felted material.
4. Fill the pockets with soil.
5. Plant the pockets with plants.
6. If desired, install a drip irrigation system.

 

As you can see from the photos, someone carefully planned the layout of the plants to create a textural and colorful mural.

 

 

Sedums planted on pockets of soil. The green background is a moss that has been planted to fill in the spaces between plants. 

From left to right: Golden Euonymous, Heather, rooted evergreen branches (looked like Cedar), Cotton Lavendar, and various sedums.

 

Need to prune a fruit tree, climbing rose, or rhododendron, just click on the link!

 

Now On to other Matters!!

Crotcheting!! Or as I like to refer to it... Crotch-eting! Because the process often makes me crotchety!!

 

 

This past weekend I became obsesses with The Catherine Wheel. I searched for written instructions, which was somewhat like being in search of the Holy Grail. So, after many watchings of YouTube videos, rifling through Ravelry.com, I think I have figured it out.

 

I am using this pattern as the collar for a sweater I am making myself. If you are interested in the directions for the Catherine Wheel, let me know. 

My latest Favorite Book

I schedule reading time everyday! It is food for my soul. Last summer (2013) I read "Everything was Goodbye" by Gurjinder Basran! Her first novel. Truly brilliant writing, deeply moving. You can find me on Goodreads and check out the review I wrote for this book.

 

This year my goal is to read 75 books. Last year my goal was to read 125... unfortunately unrealistic!
 

 

What I do when I am not typing what is flittering through my mind!

I write books! I love all things designed, so I will never give up Landscape Design, textiles, gardening, and whatever else my mind wanders to (I have a stack of blank canvases ready to have paint splatter upon them)! You can check out my author page by clicking right here.