Spring gardening.

I had a dream the other night where it was 3 days before Christmas, ack! I was saying how the year just flew by and would soon be over.

Thankfully, it is only April, almost May.

Yet it does seems to be going by pretty fast.

At first it was too cold in the unheated greenhouse for starting seeds but before I knew it I needed to get those seeds planted.

And now I need to get the seedlings hardened off and into the garden.

Many little seedlings are growing in the greenhouse.

Poppies, morning glory, larkspur, more sweet peas.

Some of the sweet peas are now in the ground.

And a very late start on a radishes and lettuce.

Dahlias are getting a head start in the greenhouse and some new varieties are on their way.

A very busy time of year but I absolutely love it!

It's supposed to be unseasonably warm this week, yay!!

Hope you are enjoying Spring at your home!

I'm making headway with the fenced garden.

The corner beds for the sweet peas are filled.

I dug out all the weeds and grass from the larger rectangular bed.

And then I turned over the heavy, clay-ey, rocky soil.

 Less you think I'm being too picky about the emu soil, here is proof of the roots that have grown in the soil

I've been sifting the soil after trying to dig out the roots by hand.

 Hardware cloth works well.

Roots have grown within the soil.

 Beautiful, sifted soil for the new raised beds.

Almost finished with more soil to use as a mulch in the gardens.

I will be soon planting seeds, dahlias and seedlings.

I fell asleep on in the sunshine today, laying on the pile of emu topsoil.

It was heavenly!

It'll take more than a day. . .

After my long bout with infected eyes I managed to come down with the flu so it seems I was ill the whole month of March.  

But now it's April and Spring is bursting forth!!  

I've been busily planting seeds in the greenhouse because. . .

. . . hubby has built me new raised beds in the fenced garden!! 

The wood was prepared with a preservative,

measurements taken and the building got underway.

He can build anything. 

These narrow corner beds are going to be for sweet peas.

The other bed will hold dahlias.

 So now I am happily wheeling dirt to the new beds from my saved pile of emu topsoil. 

I've learned something, however, about keeping a pile of dirt that close to the forrest. There are roots everywhere within that soft rich soil. I am pulling out as many as I find in order to avoid perennial weeds or brambles from getting a foothold. The plants in those beds will have a cushy life compared to the woodland with plenty of fertilizer and water. No squatters allowed!

It takes many trips back and forth. Worked all afternoon but didn't quite get one of the beds filled. 

But then, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Neither were Popeye's muscles. 

I wonder. . .

I've been home for a good 10 days with an eye infection, rather painful and very contagious. Hopefully I am on the mend!

I'd been happily working in the early Spring garden, too, anticipating this:

And this:

Oh, and this:

Conclusion: I would rather lose my hearing than my sight, that's for sure!

What I've discovered is how quickly I got into a good ole' funk.

Feeling like I'd never get well (big baby, here). Self-care flying right out the window (hair? diet? exercise? nyet).

Some depression, past mistakes coming back to poke at me.

This was within one week!!

That got me wondering anew about those who have serious illness, for weeks, months, years. What can we do to help them "keep up their spirits"?

I usually think in terms of physical tasks like meals (despite my failure as a cook, heh) or shopping but what about things for the mind and spirit?

Technology certainly is a huge blessing for keeping connected: Facebook, blogs, texting. All germ free!

In the worst of it, I snuggled in on the couch listening to my playlist. Technology again.

So, I am wondering what would be great kindness to those with illness, for their inner being, for their spirit?

What is something I could do?

Pondering. . . 

a quilt story

Way back in the 1980's I was inspired by this quilt.

The pattern is "Flywheel".
My friend had it hanging way up on a wall in her entry.

It was made during the Depression era for my friend's mother as a wedding gift.

I was fascinated by the soft yellow background, rather unusual.

So I decided to make a copy. It was hard to find any yellow fabric at the time nor could I find an accurate pattern. This was before the internet or the use of all the tools we now have for quilt making.

Using a similar pattern I made this.

It is a much softer yellow than in the photos.

I am thinking I hand cut out all those pieces while watching some games, not the Olympics, but another international competition, maybe the Goodwill Games in 1986.

I was in a small quilt group at the time where we helped hand-piece blocks for each other. 

And Geez Louise, I've been hand-quilting it from time to time ever since!

So the first night of the Winter Olympic Games, I pulled it out once again so I could quilt while watching the competitions.

Making headway with the goal of finally finishing this very 80's quilt THIS year.

I may break down and machine quilt the boarders. 

I think our quilting foremothers would be just fine with that.

A bit of progress

Well, last year at this time I enthusiastically began this blog with high hopes it would help spur me on to finishing the master bedroom. 

Nope.

But other things were completed and it was a grand year anyway!

Here is the master bedroom now.

I purchased new pillow shams that I've had my eye on for a long while. (Pick Stitch, Pottery Barn).

I think they go well with the quilt on the bed. The quilt made completely by hand: hand pieced, hand quilted. It is just the right weight for sleeping.

I asked a favorite blogger, Melissa at The Inspired Room, about the use of mirrors in a room. We hung a full length mirror up before the wedding, especially for the bride!

I wondered if a mirror above the bed or above the dresser would be too much in the room.

She thought not, especially if the mirror is round. So I am on the hunt! 

And I am still looking for affordable lamps. 

Picky, I guess, heheh.