Spring Things

Last weekend we were really busy. Because the weather is finally more springy we've been getting a bit of gardening done. Weekend before last we put in some perennials along the side of the house

There is a path at the front of our house which my hubby says he will extend to wrap around the side, linking the paths that are now at the front and the back of the house, and give a frame to our planted areas...but that won't happen until next year, so it'll look a little messy in the meantime. Our plants are doing so well that we decided to add color with some annuals we found on sale

The bright red flowers are New Zealand impatiens. I'm going to try to bring them into the house during the winter, as well as the geraniums and the begonias in these next planters:

I got these little starter plants at a really good price. By the time I got to the garden store the nicest plants had already found other homes. There wasn't much left to choose from, so I got an assortment of odds and ends of what was left. They were a bit beat up, and only one or two six-paks of each kind to choose from, so I have a bit of a hodge-podge. This is how it looks from the street:

We just did it this way for a quick temporary fix

Next year the planter boxes will be at the bottom of the picket fence, and it will be a more sturdy construction

We also got some plants that weren't on sale:

These cost a bit more but the effect was worth it (I think)...I wasn't so sure about the black petunias, but when we put it all together it worked out very well. Hubby said "I told you so" :)

The bright red flowers at the front and rear of the bicycle are the same type as in the previous picture of the front of the house; New Zealand impatiens. I had a couple left over so I put them in with our perennials. I also had a few of our bargain flowers left over, so I put them here:

Aren't the hastas beautiful!!??!!!

That's where our sidewalk ends for now, but it will wrap around the side...hopefully next year.

Now that I've gotten so much spring gardening and cleaning accomplished, maybe I'll be able to spend a little more time blogging.

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Another Confession

I love books; I always have. When I was a little girl I had a girlfriend whom I adored because she had lots of wonderful books. One day she lost her skate key, so I let her borrow mine... and then she lost mine as well. Then the ugly truth about my shallow friendship came out. I struggled with my anger with her because I knew that if I told her the truth, I would lose her as a friend, and would lose my relationship with her books. Yeah, pretty selfish, there it is, the real me in the flesh. I'm not giving up anything pretty by surrendering such gross selfishness to Jesus, let me tell you.

Anyways, fast forward several years to where the Lord has me today...

My darling husband recently made renovations to our lovely (and very old) house. One of the things he did was make a library/sitting room in a front room just off the main livingroom and diningroom area.

He (and my brother-in-law) did a beautiful job. It is so nice to sit here, the light of a beautiful bay window lending gentle light into the room. I often sit here with my laptop and get inspired by all these wonderful thinkers surrounding me. :)

However....my landing and moving to Canada also involved the transporting of boxes and boxes of books that still remained (and some still do) in the U.S.... sigh.

 

A few of my books made it onto the shelves, and the rest....well, not sure what to do with them just yet...and there are more of them than just these few little piles... three more boxes in the basement, and about ten more boxes (!!!) of books in storage in the states! Yikes! I hope my husband's ingenuity (truly a blessing of the Lord which I do not yet possess) will get me out of this predicament! 

Spring!

My car thermometer said it was 72 degrees on my way to work!  No more snow (I think!) until at least November...

Spring cleaning! I've already cleaned and vacuumed the car. I need to take some stuff from the extra (junky) room, to storage...and some stuff from storage to either the Salvation Army store, or to the trash...and I need to reorganize my kitchen cupboards....and I need to clean my windows and balcony!

There's also the spiritual spring cleaning. That is through the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:10 the Psalmist says: "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit in me!"

AMEN!