Craft Afternoon

After a morning of cooking, cleaning and other chores, I cleared my afternoon for crafting. It was gorgeous outside, so I began by stripping and cutting some bamboo trimmings my friends Kathy and Kenan gave me from their amazing nursery, The Artistic Gardener. Before I had delved too deeply into creating a tomato cage, my wonderfully crafty friend, Kitty, arrived. I set aside the bamboo, made us a pot of tea, and we settled under the umbrella on the deck to craft. While she made a lovely summer necklace, I set out to turn glass jars and inexpensive glass beads into hanging tea light lanterns for the garden.

I used 24 gauge green crafting wire, threaded and wire-wrapped beads into hangers, filled them with river sand and set them onto the garden hooks. Many of the larger handmade beads were gifted to me by Aimee of NewroticGirl. They, also, are recycled in that they were unclaimed projects at the glass school she attends. I think they look smashing in the sunlight.

As the sun set behind the weeping willow in the next yard, I hung my little lanterns on their hooks in one of my flowerbeds and lit the candles. I sat sipping tea and watching the flames dance among the darkening foliage under the waxing crescent moon. I do so love my little slice of Paradise.



Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Simple Joys: A Walk in my Garden

Above and beyond the seasons, there are two times of year for me. There is the time of growth and change and the time of hibernation. There are those 3-4 months where everything seems asleep and changes are barely perceptible to the eye. Then there is the rest of the year, the time of change. Every day, every hour, there is something new to see. Now that we’re well into Spring, I have renewed my habit of walking my yard. It’s an incredibly comfortable pattern that I’ve peacefully fallen into over the years.

Mornings are my time. All of Avalonne is still asleep and the house is mine. It’s quiet and peaceful within. The Garden is another thing entirely. Outside, it’s teeming with life and energy and change. I usually do the dishes and make a pot of tea then leave the quiet peace of the house to a very different kind of quiet and peace. I walk around the yard and look at everything. I want to notice all the changes that have happened since I last looked. How many new leaves does that columbine have? Are any of the seeds sprouting? The pink tulips have opened on the northern side of the yard. Is the transplanted yarrow thriving?

It’s probably my favorite time of the day.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Mini Greenhouses

Our verdant valley is experiencing some rather vacillating weather patterns. The temperature is in flux, the sun is coy, the rain is flirtatious and the hail is, well, the hail is a great exfoliant -- in other words, all is normal and well. Regardless of atmospheric convention, the trouble with an outdoor exfoliant is that young plants and sprouts are too tender to withstand rigorous scouring. A mere 20 minutes after I had planted my little veggie patch, the clouds rolled in and hail began bouncing ‘round the yard. I dashed off to the deck to retrieve my mini greenhouses and nestled them protectively over the little plantlets.

What are mini greenhouses? I’m glad you asked!

I know the weather is fickle and, allowing for Murphy’s Law, I figured that I’d have no sooner planted my garden than we’d have snow. I was close. No snow, yet there was hail that afternoon and frost the next morning. Ahh, Murphy. I both respect and despise you.

I digress.

I had asked my Mom to save her clear plastic water jugs for me. I cut the bottoms off and snugged them around the base of the new plants to create little individual greenhouses. This seems to be working pretty well. It’s both inexpensive and, so far, effective.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

The Garden is In!

Today, assisted by my sweet angel, Kitte, I was able to fetch my yard of organic gardening soil. They even gave me 6 little spinach starts with my purchase! Yay! We transported it home, G and I moved it from the truck to the garden bed, then I began the process of planting – a process which I finished just in time. I sowed, labeled, watered and had just stood back to admire my work when it began to hail. *laughs* Fret not. My Mom had given me her plastic gallon water jugs a few weeks ago, so I quickly cut the bottoms off and placed them over the little spinach starts to protect them from the ice. It’s all beautiful.



I must say, there is nothing quite like the thrill of working in soil. After a while, I abandoned my shovel and just shifted the earth using my hands. It’s amazingly satisfying. I am entranced by the smell and texture of it, and I am in love with how enriching it will be for my veggies.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

All Hail Spring's First Day!

Sunday, I had one of those moments where circumstance wakes me from my bliss with a solid slap to the face.

Mom was here and we were sitting at the dining room table sipping tea and talking. I heard the comforting sound of rain so I spun around in my chair to watch. What I saw were streaks of white hail. Since I was safely inside (and not riding my bike at 12 miles per hour, thus experiencing a very painful exfoliation process), I sat back enjoying the beauty of the moment. Pretty white hail falling from the sky, bouncing on the deck, the lawn, my little seedlings… MY LITTLE SEEDLINGS! It was there that the Universe made bold to remind me that hail on little baby plants is bad. Very bad. I found myself dashing between the deck and the kitchen floor bringing the poor babies to safety. I did this just in time, for next it began to sleet.

My poor seedlings aren’t looking so well, now. I may decide to start anew with fresh seeds, just in case these babies don’t make it.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Gardening: Hardening my sprouts

I bought the last two bricks needed to build my raised veggie bed last night. Now, I merely need the soil. Meanwhile, the days have warmed enough for me to begin hardening my little veggie sprouts on the deck. While they were prolific when I first planted the seeds, they have been flagging, of late. I feel they really want to be out in the yard. The nights, though, are unpredictable, so I’ll just keep taking them in and out.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!