the face of everyday life is always changing

Truly, it is. Just when you think that everything will stay the same for about 6 months, Wham! Something happens and it all changes. Don't worry, nobody died or anything like that. On the contrary, this is a good thing. My sister and her husband got jobs today! They'll both be working at the same place, Kelli (sister) will be the baker/server and her husband (Jamie) will be their I.T. guy and a server on the side. What does this have to do with me? Daycare. I would be possibly watching them from 7am til 10am or early afternoon. (they don't know details). This could be quite the challenge for a perpetual nightowl! I was planning on homeschooling the oldest niece (Isabelle, age 3) but I don't think I could or would want to if I had to watch Morgan (age 2) at the same time. So, I'm not opposed to having an Auntie's Daycare for the summer, but come fall.... Ah, well. Cross that bridge when we come to it. But I would make a bit of money for the summer! :-) Always handy.

Mom and I took my dog, Poppy, to the vet today to have her nails trimmed. (Poppy is a Sheltie/Border Collie mix and has a lot of energy, so we both get a walk everyday.) This was a successful trip as she didn't vomit on the way back! Thank goodness cause I really don't like cleaning it out of a car. The trimming cost $6.70 which is quite reasonable. She has her dew claws and they are a royal pain to trim.

My tulips are up! I have to cover them soon cause we have some very hungry deer in our neck of the woods. Seriously, the deer are everywhere. Of course, it's amusing to locals to see people from the cities dash out of their car trying to get a picture. Spring has sprung!

We can now say "the F word" in our house!

Yes, you read that right. This nice girl is going to start saying the F word with enthusiasm. F stands for Fence. (probably not what you were thinking, right?) We've wanted one for about 10 years now and we finally will be getting one. :-) It will be about 6 feet tall and encompass the entire back yard. My uncles and grandpa will be building it, and we know they'll be doing a good job since their motto is "perfect is good enough". It's going to be madness this spring since living up north we have to dig far-ish into the ground and pour concrete in with the fence post because of the frost. Plus, I also have a larger raised bed that's going to have to be moved since it's sitting on the property line. As are my rosebushes and peonys. The roses aren't going to be that bad to move since they're rugosas and can't be killed. It'll be a pain to deal with one of them though since it's about 7 feet tall. Mom's also thinking of having our monster of a deck taken off and having a little one instead. If this should happen, I get to re-do all of my flower beds since the plants were placed assuming the deck would stay put. Oh, well. In the end it's all going to look great.

Just the goings-on...

Hello out there. The picture above is one I took of the lake earlier on today. We were supposed to have a blizzard (yes, a blizzard at the end of march...) but instead we got less than an inch of snow and a ton of wind. This makes for some pretty incredible waves. I can't wait until Spring so I can be in my garden.

I had my nieces over for a short a couple days ago, it was beautiful out. The oldest played with the neighbor boy who is the same age and then we all came in. We then had a snack: those marshmallow eggs my mom had made. Here is a picture of the youngest niece licking her lips.

My Mother's Eggs-Capade

My Mother and Martha Stewart now have at least 1 thing in common: they have both made marshmallows. With the Easter season coming up and having been reading blogs to become inspired, she decided to try making marshmallow eggs. They are very sticky. The picture above is her putting the extra goo into a different container. After setting up for a little bit they are about the consistency of silly putty. In a while she's going to coat them in chocolate. Let's hope they turn out cause we have a lot!

Pretty in Pink

This is a double poppy I grew in my garden last summer...

Rosemary and Violets

I thought it would be befitting to have my first post be my favorite quote. This is also was Tasha Tudor's favorite:

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take Heaven.
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant. Take peace.
The Gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach is joy. Take joy!