Keeping Sane on a Snowy Saturday!

Good Morning all… another day of snow..I hear thru the grapevine we have gotten a total of 17 feet this winter.  Right now we have a good 5 feet on the ground and it is coming down fast and furious.  That’s okay, I have indoor activities planned.  I have my own little spring going in the spare room upstairs. I have been starting more seeds.  You may have read my Delphiniums pre-germination post.  Click on the photo to go there…

Dowdeswells of New Zealand, where I buy my English Delphinium seeds, somehow spotted it and asked to link to it.  I was surprised and flattered.  Of course I gave my okay.  They do sell spectacular seeds as some I started were a good 4 years old, kept in my fridge but still a good portion sprouted.  I bought fresh seeds this year as I do love the English Delphs in my garden and I want more colors. Delphiniums are not the only thing I have sprouting on my fancy dancy garden rack…

I intend to put another light on the third shelf, I have more starts than space under the lighted shelves now.  The seeds have been popping up in droves.  This year I found seeds of flowers I cannot get in garden centers or nurseries, most of them anyways.  I wanted to attract beneficial insects as well so I focused on the plants that draw them in. Like Catchfly
My seedlings.
And also I searched for flower seeds for their scent…Heliotrope is a sweet old fashioned charmer..I hear it smells reminiscent of vanilla.  I have a batch of these started too. 

I have my High Scent sweet peas, there is no other that can perfume a room with just one vine.  They are a soft white with lavender edging, I plant them along the front porch rail and they are glorious to just walk past.  I wish I could find my photo of them…I will keep looking.
Other seeds I have going are Butterfly Weed, Virginia Stock (another heavily scented one), Blue Pimpernel, Zulu Prince Daisy, Pow Wow Echinacea, Butterfly Delphiniums (another fabulous blue), and some Russell Lupines.  All of these are easy to start and tough as nails once they are established. 
I did not forget the heirloom veggies..I got carried away and have 30 Brandywine tomato starts..

I set up a fan to gently blow on the seedlings, this helps them to grow sturdier, the movement helps them secrete an enzyme that makes them tougher, more stocky instead of leggy.

The other veggie plants I have started are basil, baby broccoli, Camp Joy cherry tomato, and some jalapeno peppers.  I am waiting for my Zavory Habanero seeds, they are not hot, but you have all the Habanero flavor, which I love! 
So now you have the low down on my indoor Spring time.  I will pot up more seeds today and get them going on the heat mats.  Add another grow light to my rack and organize it a bit better.  Bring in my seaweed spray and give all the seedlings a spritz and move on to my other project which includes this…
And these…

That is for my next post…happy snowy Saturday!  Enjoy!

Tunneling to the Chicken house

Good day everyone!  Another wild snowy couple of days.  This will end and we will see sun!  I thought I would take you on my morning walk to the chicken pen for the morning feeding. We have gotten 5 to 6 feet in the past week so things are getting buried.  This is my walkway to the street.
To get to the chicken pen we need to get down my front steps. 
Then turn left to walk beside the garage.
It gets a bit tight here but I have lost weight so I can fit.  Past the woodshed..
You can see the back side of my greenhouse from here…but then it nearly disappears..

Hmmm, I have to get in to the greenhouse to get the chicken feed…dare I stomp thru this…oops, I tried but sank to my thighs.  Forget it, I will get strong backed hubby to shovel it. 

The path to the hen house is more like a tunnel than a path. The sides of snow are higher than my head.

If you look real close you can see the hens anxiously awaiting by the pen door for the treats I toss them but they will have to wait a bit more until some shoveling gets done.

And getting to my studio is impossible, waist deep snow there.
Next week we are to get sun and temps near or above 60!  What a treat that will be. 
Tomorrow I shall post what has kept me sane during this endless snow storm we have endured!
I hope you enjoyed my morning walk. 


check out these cute Chicken Houses

Snow and cupcakes!

Good Wednesday evening!  Just a quick note tonight. More and more snow coming down but I hear next week we shall see spring again!  I have kept busy with indoor chores, getting ready for tax time, spring cleaning and painting of signs.  I finished this custom sign…

I enjoyed using the pastel colors.  While I was at it I decided I wanted to try a couple cupcake signs…this first one just does not do anything for me, I don’t know if it is too busy or what, I just can't pin down what I don’t like.

But this one I really like…

Maybe because it is not as busy.  I have also been working on some Open/Closed signs as I have been getting many requests on my website for them.   
I hope everyone everywhere else is having warm Spring days!  I know I shall soon but until then I will keep at the indoor chores. 
Ta ta…

Transforming Cabinet Doors

Good morning all…yes, it is still snowing but we won’t go there today.  I had to move all my seedlings and some plants from the greenhouse into the house.  With the electricity being so iffy I did not want all my work to freeze.  Plus with the greenhouse now buried in snow it is dark and gloomy inside it. The grow lights would be sufficient for some of the plants but not warm enough with no sunshine to heat things up. We are supposed to get more storms this week so I gave up on starting seeds out there. Now the seed trays are tucked warmly up on racks in the spare bedroom with grow lights to give them the sunlight they crave.
Today I am going to share some cabinet doors I transformed.  We have a friend who is a cabinet builder and when he has a faux pas with a door then it gets passed on to me instead of going to the dump.  I transform the trash to a treasure…

I have done a couple Rose Cottage signs with the doors, they seem a popular item..

Also  a couple custom orders..


Some I left off any wording and just painted roses..

Finally, one without a blue background..
And last but not least..

The last one is still available, just click on the sign photo or my website button for more information about it.


Enjoy your day…as you can see they have NOT hauled me off to the Funny Farm yet.  I shall keep myself occupied painting signs today, I will put on a movie, set in a tropical area, as I paint and ignore the weather.