The peas are blooming!

Okay, I'm not trying to rub it in but my little snap peas started to bloom today!

I'm just so excited!!! I can't help it!

I've spent 58 winters in Minnesota and I'm enjoying the daylights out of being able to grow a winter garden in a warm climate for the first time.

I planted transplants from the nursery and also seeds so that I can find out which works best. 

You can see the seeds have germinated too (down at the bottom of the picture).

The lettuce and spinach is growing and I could probably pick enough for a small salad but I'll wait another week or so.

And I can't help but add a picture of the lavender lantana that is taking over, it's hard to photograph because the sun is so intense here and these just don't seem to come out well but you get the idea. There are mounds of them!

I quit gardening in Minnesota several years ago because we live in a dense oak woods and I've had my fill of picking off deer ticks, wood ticks and fighting mosquitoes and gnats and I'm not too crazy about coating myself with chemicals to keep the annoying things away. We never had deer ticks when I started my garden 26 years ago and I've been treated for Lyme's 3 times, luckily caught almost immediately. I have friends who have been hospitalized because of Lyme's. We've found many dead birds due to West Nile and are on the DNR's list to treat our little swampy ponds.

So I quit! I only put plants in pots now and I stay away from the poor pathetic weed infested perennial garden that I used to enjoy so much.

At least in the desert whatever creeps, crawls or slithers is not looking for me and my blood!

The neighbors here tell me "we have mosquitoes" Ya...right, they've never been to Minnesota!!! 

I have never seen one here yet!

It has been so much fun to dig in the dirt again and watch things grow, I've had more fun with this small little garden and I'm learning about gardening in the desert. I know we'll be adding more raised beds as time goes on.

I planted a tree this morning! It's called  Desert Sweet Acacia. In spring they are covered with small yellow ball shaped flowers and smell wonderful. Only I didn't know they come with inch long thorns but I got it in the ground without getting stuck!

I found a picture of the flowers...

I'm seriously thinking of trying an orange tree...I can't even imagine walking out and picking an orange for breakfast!

The forecast is for rain this weekend and Arizona is in a drought along with southern California. They need it badly so we'll see if it really rains or it ends up just a sprinkle like it normally does.

(It will be below zero in Minnesota for the next 5 nights, it could possibly end up the coldest winter on record. I'm so thankful I'm here)

Thanks for stopping by!

Butterflies, flowers and good ol' junk

Beware, lots of pictures!

I'll try to keep my rambling brief!

Flea market is coming up and I haven't shown the treasures I found from the January and February flea market.

But first, we have the most beautiful lavender flowers blooming and I'm not sure what the plant is called (Lantana, I just visited a nursery Wednesday and found out for sure). Last year they were pathetic because the previous owners didn't water anything plus it was cold here in Arizona and they froze. I put in a new watering system last spring so they were watered all summer. We came back to the most beautiful creeping plants covered in flowers. I'd like have them on both sides of the driveway.

I don't know the names of the butterflies but the black ones are here every day all day long and they never stand still so it's hard to catch one still to get a good photo, they are constantly flapping their wings!

And for my junking finds...

I rarely pass up crochet...

This lampshade was one of my super good deals, it's a 1920's ribbon work shade that normally go for a small fortune, the woman was asking 8 dollars!

I just happened to bring along a pretty glass based lamp this will fit on but just haven't had the time to do it yet.

I remember I had a rabbit fur muff when I was little, I believe this one is Ermine

along with a pretty lace tablecloth.

I couldn't walk by this pillow top and it looks like it was never used, just a little rumpled from storage.

Then there was the valentines box I scored on for $5

One of my other super deals. I have wanted a cast iron urn for so long but they cost so much plus if you buy a vintage one online it's a fortune to ship it.

This guy was asking $25 and I got it for $20!

I love it!

A rusty crusty table that will look great in the living room as soon as I decided if it should have a glass or wood top.

Inexpensive plant stand from a vanity chair.

Another thing I've been patiently waiting to find is a chippy white trellis and I got it for 10 bucks! It's already hanging on my bedroom wall just waiting for some decorating.

(It's really not crooked on the wall)

And this piece of wrought iron fence, I'll find a place for it...

And a few flowers...

A Jasmine plant I picked up at the nursery that needs to be planted and the fragrance is heavenly.

Yellow brittlebrush that are almost in full bloom all over the desert.

I can't wait for the next flea market. There is a 20% chance of rain that day but we'll take it. The total amount of precipitation so far this year has been .001 and way below average.

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I'm linking to;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Common ground for Be Inspired

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

This is me!

I just ran across this on Pinterest...

fits me to a T!

Describes exactly how I feel lately with this house.

I did take pictures the other day of the flowers blooming and the pretty butterflies all over them but I have no energy left to get them out of the camera to show you.

I have the kitchen, master bedroom, living room, dining room and office area and I'm trying to redo them all at the same time, me...by myself...no help from anyone and the cat just sits and watches me work...darn cat, why doesn't she learn to pick up a paint brush and get to work!!!

All she does is beg for treats and to go outside!

(Next winter will be the 2 bathrooms and 2 extra bedrooms but I'm always thinking and planning what I'll do with them)

Then there is the front porch, the back porch and the house needs paint, the yard needs to be weeded, bushes need to be trimmed.

I do a little in one room then I move to another room, then back to the first room, pretty soon I forget what I'm doing and where!

BUT!!! I am so happy, I finally ripped out the last of the ugly green carpet yesterday. (It's still in the 2 extra bedrooms though, that will be next winters project)

I pulled staples and carpet tacks until I'm ready to scream! Then I painted the ugly particle board floors with light cream house paint so that they can be swept and look halfway acceptable. I put down some braided rugs and also bought some ultra cheap carpet and cut it up so that I have an 8' x 8' piece under the dining room table and made runners out of the rest.

That will have to do until we can find time to put down the plywood plank flooring.

It makes such a difference to get the colors that are comfortable to me, it may not be finished but it's so much more warm and cozy feeling.

I also redid the dining room table a few days ago, painted it off white and did a shabby finish on it. It went from a table I hated to a table I love! Soon I'll recover the chairs with canvas. I'll post pictures when it's finished.

It will be fun to go back to this post in a couple of years and read what I was doing and when!

Thanks for listening...I needed to let it out because some days I feel like my head is about to explode!

Hope your weekend was relaxing and that you did something fun! Now I'm going to make myself a cup of something warm, plop down in a comfy chair and do NOTHING!!!

Happy Valentine's Day 1959!

Happy valentine's day from 1959!

I found this pretty heart shaped candy box at the flea market a couple of weeks ago.

Can you believe I had it in my hand and then set it back down!!!

I expected it would be costly and it has a faint stain in the upper right corner.

I walked away!

I walked past the booth again, still there, back again a third time (about 3 hours later) to tell the woman I would be driving in soon to pick up my other 2 items, I walked over to the heart and finally asked the price.

5 bucks!!!!

What ever was I thinking! I handed her a 5 dollar bill immediately.

She had a few more but this was the oldest and the prettiest.

I especially like that the original recipient wrote the date that she received it on the back, makes it even more special.

And now I don't even notice the faint stain!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Linking to;

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday

Common Ground for Be Inspired

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday

Planting a winter veggie garden!!!

Planting in February...what???

Seeing as I have lived all my life in Minnesota where you can't plant until late May I just had to give this a try (here in Arizona). We started small for now and will see how it goes.

Mr. Wild put together a box for me out of scrap lumber that came with the house.

Sunday morning I hauled buckets of local dirt and then I mixed in 5 bags of black topsoil.

This morning I got out the miter saw and cut and screwed together a frame so that I can cover and shade the plants if need be...seeing as they are talking about a good chance of hitting 90 this Saturday (that's 54 days earlier than normal).

Or on the other hand, in case it turns cold like last winter when we had 4 to 5 inches of snow right about now.

Yesterday afternoon I planted the little seedlings. 

I planned to start everything from seed but then I realized I should have started them indoors in early January. Since the nurseries are getting in the little plants now I figured why not go for it plus I should have planted this about a week ago.

I put a cherry tomato in a pot so that I can haul it back to Minnesota with me.

I have lettuce and spinach and the single plant closet is cilantro.

Then here are the snap pea transplants and right in front of them I planted sweet pea seeds, on the other side of them is a row of snap pea seeds, then a row of carrot seeds and a short row of catnip seeds for the cat. I wanted to try some seeds too and see how that works out.

It's crowded but I expect to be picking lettuce and spinach faster than it can keep up...we'll see how it goes.

Thank goodness there is a nice fenced in area that came with the house. It's also critter and snake proof...well, almost snake proof, one got in last year but it was a good snake, not a rattler.

I couldn't resist a Parry Penstemon plant, they are Arizona wildflowers and are one of my favorites.

I've always had a garden on some sort, ever since I can remember I've been planting things. I worked in a nursery for 10 years but I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever be planting a garden in February!

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to;

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday