It's Spring Again! (Inside the house anyway...)

My orchids are in full bloom. This one my son in law Ben picked out for me a few years ago for Mother's Day...

and this one my daughter Kate picked out the year before, again for Mother's Day. Thanks kids! They are the gifts that keep on giving!

Oddly, my Christmas cactus are just blooming now. More pictures to follow as i have several colors getting ready to bloom.

more orchid goodness...

and my African Violets are also blooming. These were my Grandmother Mary's favorite houseplants. They were like her children and every windowsill was loaded with them in their little pots. Every time one of mine blooms, it's like a visit from my Gram...

So, even tho Spring is still a month or more away(and i consider the slightest sign of Spring to be the first real day of Spring!) I can dream about it in my little house. Time to make plans for the gardens!

Blooming!

Here are some photos my daughter and i took of the blooms around the house here. The house plants can definitely tell it is coming on Spring! We took these photos with my brand new camera- a Canon Power Shot SX 10 IS... I absolutely LOVE it (so does my daughter). Now i just have to sit down and learn how to USE it! There will be no more blaming the camera for bad photography....oiy...The pressure is on folks!

African Violet up close

Another "Christmas" Cactus

another view...

One of my orchids, a Phalaenopsis in full bloom

What a pleasure it is to share space with these lovely plants!

What's New?

What's new for you on the very last day of 2008? Now that the Holidays are coming to an end (at least for now) i have been able to finish up some projects, and am even noticing some changes taking place around here.... I finally finished that baby sweater. This one is for The Paper Sparrow. So many little baby sweaters were sold as Christmas gifts (including one of mine! WooHoo!) that the racks need to be filled again!

I edged this sweater in a soft grey and embellished it with these little car buttons. What a difference those little buttons make to a plain sweater!

I finished another hat and scarf set for a child too...
And there are more knitted teddies on the way! Two of my bears were sold at the shop and the proceeds will go to the Mother Bear Knitting Project.

In the Change department....

On the home front, the plants are starting to wake up! It seems for them Spring is a - comin'! The orchids are throwing out flower stems, and the cactus are blooming...The violets are perking up and the bonsai are starting to wake up.... But if you look past the plants out the window, you can see we are getting new snow on this last day of 2008. It's cold out there but very pretty....

Still on the warm sill, the cactus are thriving regardless of the weather outside.

This is because they are perched high up on the window sill and Pollyanna the plant eater cannot reach them!

I love these white blooms with the pale pink throats....
As many of you know, my Dad is recovering from heart surgery, and doing very well. Again, i thank each and every one of you who prayed and thought of us during this stressful time. In this process, i've noticed one thing about myself....At the ripe old age of 54, when i get stressed, i buy TOYS! And i don't mean games and electronics, but....

real, honest to goodness toys...Like Natsuko the sock dog, from Stacey at Three Red Trees

And Pinky from Felicia at Fluffy Flowers

And i have new pattern books ordered and a handmade teddy bear coming from Jess's brand new Etsy shop too! Ok, enough chatter...time to get to work on those bears and start getting ready for New Year's Eve! Lola will be spending the night with us for the first time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR Dear Friends!

Beautiful Blooms

My orchids are blooming! Both orchids were given to me as gifts for Mother's Day these last two years. This orchid was given to me by my son in law Ben, and tho it was in rough shape when it came here, a little love and a lot of patience paid off with these beautiful flowers.

This orchid was gifted to my by my daughter Kate, and has given me the pleasure of it's lovely blooms now for the last two years.
And this little flower was given to us by my daughter Carly and her partner Jeremy just seven months ago, and i cannot describe the pleasure she has brought to the family.... I just wanted to share all this beauty with you all this morning...

Happy Spring?

Well, just when things started to look a little green around here, we had another late snow storm! I don't see this as a setback tho. The snow is good for the green things too. And i have a feeling this might be the last time we see the snow cover the ground like this for another year, so i had to go out and admire it, and take a few pictures. Things indoors can tell that Spring is here! The doves are billing and cooing up a storm!



My orchids are blooming. This one was a gift from my son in law last Mother's day and the one my daughter gave me two years ago is also getting ready to bloom again.

My little bonsai trees are having growth spurts too. Spring is here! It's just not that obvious yet!

I just finished a granny square doll blanket, and started making some little cotton baby hats for Kate's store and for local charities. I need to make some matching booties and off they go! My next projects will be jewelry making. Never a dull moment!