A Tale of Two Springs!

SIX more inches of snow and a record low temp this morning!
Seriously?!

I tried to ignore the weather on Thursday.....wore white jeans and cute canvas wedges....

Ended up scraping snow off the car, wearing those shoes....making it feel like I was walking through the snow in almost bare feet!

Oh welll

At least the deck planters are happily basking in the greenhouse at Holaseks!

Makes me wonder about GLOBAL WARMING!!!

Since there doesn't seem to be much chance that we will see the green grass this April....

I decided to take a quick trip down memory lane and dream about what I was doing in the garden LAST year!!

This is a recap of a post I did on APRIL 10th last year!!!
It includes a thrifty trick I came up with for filling my pots before the annuals are on sale!

LAST YEAR:
We had record warm weather  in March....all the perennials in the garden started to come up and there is a lot of green in the garden.

THIS YEAR:  Only the hardiest of the pachysandra is even hinting at green

LAST YEAR:

I didn't need to even buy pansies for the front entry because when we got back from Mexico on the first of April....the tulips and daffodils were in bloom and the gardens were full of green.

It just didn't feel like I needed to buy anything...

and yet the planters were certainly looking "naked"....








THIS YEAR:
The planters are not "NAKED" they are still FILLED WITH SNOW!
and since even pansies wouldn't survive the cold.....Mr. S has had to keep Sweetwater filled with flowers from the grocery store!

 LAST YEAR:
In April '12 ....there were little volunteer perennial plants everywhere that needed relocating.

Those perennials are frost hardy....so I decided to use them in the planters.

I wandered around the yard and dug up some of those little volunteers....and just plopped them in the planters!

Lady's Mantle

Centurian
(I think that is the name)


Sedum

A Fern

More Sedum

A Stella Lily

 Ornamental Onion

Creeping Thyme

Sedum

Lady's Mantle

 Two kinds of sedum

More ornamental onion

Lady's Mantle

 

 Day Lily

Lamium

More sedum

A little mum plant

Onions and Chives added to the pot that the lettuce seeds are planted in.

A nice crop of wheat grass growing on the deck.

This didn't cost me a dime!

and

I'm just thinking that this is truly 

"Sweetwater Style"!

THIS YEAR!!!
Well.....I don't really want to talk about it!!!
So instead of....

I am off for some retail therapy with the Sweetwater Daughter!!!

Here's hoping you are smart enough NOT to live in the frozen tundra that is Minnesota and you can get out in your yard for some gardening therapy!

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Serenity Saturday   
A Vision to Remember Gingerbread Blog 

WIndow Boxes-A Head Start for the Growing Season!

It hardly seems possible that the planters on the deck will ever look like this!

Especially since there is still a couple of inches of snow on them now!






I have posted about this before.....but truly....this trick for getting a head start on the growing season is worth talking about again....and again....and again!Here is a link to a past post about  giving my planters a head start!

Thursday we had a pretty big Spring SNOWSTORM....
That meant lousy driving conditions....and I had a dentist appointment before school!
It stayed crummy all day and it was still snowing on the drive home....YUCK!

HOWEVER....the evening ended a lousy day on a high note!





The Sweetwater Daughter and I were not as crazy as these folks who headed out to Target Field to watch baseball in the snow!

NO....we are MUCH smarter than that!








 Instead....we headed to  The Holasek Greenhouses  with our pots and planters in tow to get a little gardening therapy at the annual Ladies Night !!!

Walking in from the gray, cold, sloppy snow....

Our mood was instantly 100% improved!



 Here is how it works!

You take your planters to the greenhouse....(I had to buy some new inserts for the planters because the old ones were still frozen solid!!!)

• You wander around and pick out the plants you like....buy them....
• Go over to big tables filled with great big piles of potting soil
• You plant everything the way you want-leaving all the mess THERE!
• Someone from the Greenhouse wheels your pots to the back of the greenhouse!
• Then they KEEP them for you until MAY when you can put them out doors!

And ALL you pay for are the plants!!!! 

 Brilliant!

We didn't know that Ladies Night was such a big deal....

We didn't know that some people bring boxes of wine to drink while they plant...

We didn't know that there would even be an ELVIS Impersonator serenading us....

  So now......

My planters are basking in the warmth of the greenhouse....

GROWING....until May!

In the meantime....

Sending you warm thoughts!!!

Have a great day!

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Sunny Simple Life  

   

The Primose Path

http://www.mags-nificent.com/MSW/MagF/Mag/primroses3.jpg

Primrose Path

The primrose path refers to someone living a life of ease and pleasure. Not to be confused with "led up the 'garden path'", which is an idiom suggesting that one is being deceived or led astray.




It would be nice to think that at Sweetwater we live that life of ease....and frolic down the Primrose Path.....

But it seems that with the weather forecast for 10 inches of snow on April 11th.....we are actually being deceived into thinking Spring will ever come!

I took a quick trip to Home Depot this weekend to find me some little bits of Spring for indoors!!!!

There are obviously NO little bits of Spring outdoors around here!

I bought 3 little yellow Primrose plants....$2.97 each...

Put them in the copper pot from Goodwill that I found for $7...

Stuffed some raffia around the edges to hide the pots....

(Marvin is soooo happy to have something new to play with on the counter!)

And there is a little bit of sunshine on the island!

Here is a little trick to keeping these cheery plants looking good and lasting until they can be planted outdoors!

It is all about "dead heading".....and with primroses you need to be super diligent about this!

Every single flower that is wrinkling up needs to be plucked off......every day!

This lets the new buds keep blooming.....

This goes for the leaves as well!

Doesn't that look better?!

If you stay with this....and water them well.....you can keep them healthy and add them to your perennial border.

The Sweetwater garden has many years worth of Primroses that bloom all spring!

Too funny.....I think this awful weather is actually affecting Mr. S. too!
He arrived home from a trip to the grocery store last night....
AND.....
Brought these little Gerbera Daisies for little old me!!!!

They look so cheerful you can ALMOST ignore all the snow in the background!

Have A Nice Day!
And....I hope YOUR weather is better than OUR weather!!!

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Katherines Corner    

Will "Real" Spring Ever Come!

This was the view before me just a week ago as I sat on the deck drinking my coffee.....


Ahhh.....Manzanillo!

If I was silly enough to go out on the deck to drink coffee THIS morning....


This would be the vista before me....!

Yup....that is snow on April 7th!
UGHHH......Minnesota!

This Spring seems to be one that will never actually arrive!







Oh well....at least I have my vacation tan!
But....if the sun never starts shining in Minnesota...that tan will soon disappear!

The sun in Mexico is so intense....I use SPF70 the whole time we are there and still sometimes get a little burned!

Because I want to blend in and not look like the pasty skinned tourist that I am in reality....
I rely on a self-tanner....

Yeah, I know....yuck.....orange, smelly and messy! 

But I found the absolute best self tanner I have ever used!

 This stuff is amazing....it has olive undertones as opposed to the usual orange....and that really makes it look more natural!

Here is the link at Amazon: 

Then I use this cool applicator mitt.....it is lined with plastic so your hands don't get all messy and the spongy side smooths out the lotion and keeps you from missing spots!

 Here is that link on Amazon:






So....even if Spring never arrives in Minnesota.....I can still look like I just got back from a vacation in Mexico....

Oh....wait....I DID just get back from a vacation in Mexico!

Wanna see the pics?

Have A Great Day!!!

A Milestone Birthday for my Mom!

This photo is of the Sweetwater Mom when she was just a baby!

We are so happy to be able to 

wish her a Happy 85th Birthday!

Because she spends the winter in Florida and is wise enough to delay her return to Minnesota until it is REALLY Spring, we are not able to be with her to celebrate!!!

I guess this blog shout out will have to do!

I know that it is traditional for the Birthday girl to GET the gifts.....

But this year it was MOM who gave all of us a truly memorable gift....

This is the cover of the wonderful memoir my mom put together to share her memories with us!

For years she had been writing little essays of the things she remembered from her girlhood.  She wanted to do something with them that would be permanent....and being the book lover that she is....she published this to share with us!  

Now there are little snippets of life on the farm.....from wash day to party line telephone "etiquette" to memories of the depression.....all in one place!

I had fun reading this snippet about that April Fool's day 85 years ago....it is amazing how different things are now!

"I was born at Grandma Emma Thacher's house in Harmony, Minnesota.  Emma was a busy midwife, who had just returned from assisting the Elton family after the birth of baby Colleen.  My mother, Gladys, had decided to stay in Harmony where Dr. Anderson, the family physician lived.  Good planning, as I was born in a snow storm on Easter Sunday and my father Clayton, wasn't able to travel the 20 miles from the farm for a week."

 What made this project a reality finding someone who could be the "editor"...and was not a family member!  The Sweetwater Daughter found a woman who does this as a business! That is what turned her dream to reality....and created a lasting treasure for us.  The business is theMessenger and the website is www.1stFishDesigns.com.   

Here is what mom wrote for Melissa's website after the project was done!

“Working with Mallissa at 1st Fish Designs in publishing my Memoir was truly a rewarding experience! She took my scattered journal entries, some photos, and essays and helped me put it all together in a beautiful little book that tells the story of my first 3o years.
Mallissa was very intuitive in her editing, using words that made sense of it all. Her suggestions brought the book alive. I could not be happier with the finished results! Thanks, Mallissa!
Now I need to get to work on a sequel!”

Hey Mom....we hope you do a sequel too!!!!


Capturing the essence of history through the eyes of people who were there is a true gift!
Thanks Mom!!!

 Oh....and Happy Birthday too!

  Have a Great Day! 

Green Garden Jealousy!

Last summer we purchased a share in a CSA

(Community Supported Agriculture).

It was great having fresh vegetables arrive every week.

We tried some new things and overall enjoyed the experience.

It was a bit of a hassle making sure we had someone to pick up the delivery....

And since we split it up 4 ways....sometimes it felt like it was hard to give everyone their FAIR share!

We are gonna try something new this year....

Since someone in the family goes to the Minneapolis Farmer's Markety every week....

We are going to take turns buying veggies to share....

that way we can choose the stuff that we like....and buy enough to share equally!

This will still support the local growers....

AND....

 I will get ample opportunity to buy a few flowers too!

Speaking of food grown locally....and the reason the title of this post is Green Garden Jealousy...

Let me tell you a little about one of the Sweetwater Brothers....he is a serious Permaculturist
I can't begin to understand all of the nuances of permaculture or sustainable urban horticulture....
All I know is that he grows the most amazing food with no pesticides and very little irrigation.

Check out this clip of him harvesting in my mom's front yard in Florida!  She has the prettiest, no mow yard in town!  Ahh....but then she does have a full time gardener!!!

Pretty amazing huh?!  I think it is pretty funny that the Co-op Market he takes his crops to each week is "The Sweetwater Co-op"....small coincidental world!

Well, now you know why I have Green Garden Jealousy....I will plant my little raised bed planters on the deck with some greens and herbs and be satisfied with trips to the Farmer's Market!

At least I won't be providing healthy snacks for the rabbits and deer!



Have a great day!

Perfectly Simple Panoramic Photos

There is something intriguing about panoramic photos.
I did my research and found some fabulous examples of panoramic photos from the turn of the 20th century!  And I found out how these old photos were created.....ahhh the patience that must have taken!

You can spend hours browsing old photos at the Library of Congress American Memory Collection!Don't blame me if you get hooked....and don't do anything else for the rest of the day!

This photo shows my favorite city view of Minneapolis in 1912. The Stone Arch Bridge and the River are fun to see.

Here is a panoramic view of the San Francisco fire in 1906.  Amazing!

No.....this isn't a history lesson....it is a techy lesson!


360 Panorama

By Occipital

I just discovered this fabulous new APP for my iPad.....and it only cost .99 cents!

available for iPad, iPhone and now Android....!


What fun to be able to create panoramic photos by just standing in one place and turning slowly....the APP fills in the photo until you have a complete 360 view.

This is one of the first photos I tried.....in this flat version of the photo you get a great idea of the "my work home".....and why I am tired at the end of the day!  Keeping this place organized is sometimes a daunting task!
On the iPad, the photo is interactive.....and this can be uploaded to the Occipital Site.

Once the photo is uploaded, you can share the interactive view by link or embedding it....
Here is the LINK

Here is the photo embedded!




I am going to keep practicing...hmmmmm....this APP seems to have some real possibilities for showing different projects.....I will keep you posted....
In the meantime...I am off to take some more 360 photos of "STUFF".

Have a great day!







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Blackberry Vine   Coastal Charm 

A Little Bit Of Bragging!

 We are getting ready to head to Mexico!

With all the cold and snow here it is a dream to think of warm sun, relaxing surf etc. etc.!

I can't wait to practice using my "limited" Spanish in true immersion style!



Maybe you remember that I am the Library Media Specialist in a Spanish Immersion School.

One of the hard parts of my job is finding good interactive immersion activities that are fun and educational.

Since the resources are limited......we decided to create some ourselves!

I thought you might enjoy a peek at a super fun project that my friend Kim and I have been working on for the last few months.  We got a grant to build an interactive website for Kindergarten kids.....

Maybe you will be able to use this with a young person you know who wants to learn Spanish!

http://psistudentresources.weebly.com/kinder.html

Here is the link KINDER RESOURCES

Each of the photos takes you to a page with lots and lots and lots of fun activities.

The kids spend hours hanging out here,becoming better Spanish Speakers while "playing" on the site!

There are songs, stories and vocabulary activities galore!

Along the way....Kim and I have had a blast creating this resource!

One of the unexpected and truly positive outcomes of the project is how blogging has become a part of the process!

Kim now uses a blog format for her weekly newsletter.....the parents love it!  She posts photos and news as well as links to Immersion information.

I have started using a blog to communicate with my students.....It is almost like speaking with them...they love it and are able to connect to the links I make from home!

Tonight we are off to present our project to the School Board and the Foundation.....it will be fun to show it off....

I was so excited to learn that my little Grand Niece will be starting Kindergarten in a Spanish Immersion Program this Fall.....I bet you can guess that I will be sharing the website with her so she will be "the smartest" one in HER class!!

Have a Great Day!
 

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Clever Chicks  Pinch of Joy 

When is Expensive Thrifty?

You know that Sweetwater Style is all about being thrifty!

So....the question I am pondering is....

When are EXPENSIVE things actually thrifty!

Case in point....

Since Spring is almost here, it was time to put away the Winter Coats and trade them for the Spring Coats....one of which is my Burberrys Trenchcoat!

This lovely was a gift from Mr. S over 25 years ago!

When he gave it to me....I shuddered at the thought of what it cost....we think it was probably $400 or so....YIKES!!!  WHAT was he thinking? 

 

Maybe because I knew how much it cost...I took better care of it that one from Target!

It is a classic.....and it is great quality.....and it still looks great after years and years and years of wear!   

Seriously...if I do the math the $400 works out to be $16 a year for a pretty stylish coat! 

Just for a hoot....I went on the Burberrys Website to see what this coat costs today!!!!

Now Mr. S. really looks smart.....$2295 for an almost identical coat!!!!

That $400 was a pretty good investment!

My thrifty nature will keep me shopping for quality clothes at Goodwill and Consignment stores.  In fact it is probably the fact that I DO shop at GW and Consignment stores that makes it possible to splurge once in a while.

The moral of the story/post......Expensive can be thrifty!

What do YOU think?

Have A Great Day!

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Sew Many Ways   Sunny Simple Life   I Heart Naptime   Nifty Thrifty Things