First Roadtrip for the Season

We didn't really know where we were going yesterday, we got in the car and Dave says..."what direction?" and I said east. That's the way most of our day trips begin. I wanted to go to Black Diamond just because I hadn't been there and it is quite close. Didn't get any pictures there, don't know why. Being only about 5 miles from busy Auburn it was a delight to drive through and see the farms and stop for brunch. Then it was again which way? And I said east again. It was kind of agreed upon that we wouldn't go to Yakima this time, we didn't find much to look at last time.

We got a picture of Mt. Rainer from this same stop last year but it looked completely different this time with the cloud formations.

Just beyond Chinook Pass the snow got quite deep, but it didn't last for too long.

We intended (if anything is actually intended on this type of trip) to turn off at this point and head in another direction, but couldn't find the road, so we ended up going through Yakima anyway.

It was about 60 degrees near Chinook Pass, and 84 in Yakima.  We drove on through Yakima into Ellensburg.

Then through Leavenworth and on home down Highway 2. What I love about Washington is that you can go from snowy mountains to treeless hills and back in to farmland again, just ine one day.  We got home about 10:30 last night after 395 miles.  Next week the plan is to go to the ocean. 

Garden update

I am so pleased with the growth on this lupine.  It was quite small last year.  Just don't look at the big weed beside it. 

Look at my Plumeria! It actually looks like real leaves now and not an obscene gesture. I thought that I had posted this earlier but couldn't find it, so the second picture  was taken about a month and a half ago.  It just seemed to really shoot up in the last week.  It will be interesting to see if it actually blooms this year.

Last weekend was the Relay for Life, and I sold 60 cards and met my fundraising goal.  Now I will be working on some card kits to be put together for Operation Write Home.  They will be assembled by other crafters this month and then shipped off to the troops for sending home to their loved ones.  Then I will start in earnest on my Christmas cards.  I've done a few already. 

What I've been up to lately

We all know that I haven't been stamping lately, so what have I been up to?  Well, lots of stuff, but the most fun has been in the garden.  This is some of my late blooming tulips.  The rest of the tulips have come and gone weeks ago, but these guys continue to brighten my garden.

This is my little fledgling vegetable garden.  I did trim the grass around it after I took the picture.  I planted two different kind of peas, beets, lettuce, carrots, spinach and two kinds of squash.  The onions are from last year.  They froze and were quite soft, but then started to grow again so I transplanted them so they weren't willy nilly in my garden.  Not sure how well they will do.  They are actually going to seed and I'm considering leaving them go for the seeds just in case they don't produce good onions.  I have to have my marigolds at the end since that is the end that faces the road.

We had the roads paved in the community last week and had to get some topsoil to fill in a ditch and just happened to get several yards more than what was needed, so I completed this flower bed on the side of the house that I've been working on for two years.  It started on the far end around the rock, then last year I dug up the sod and brought in topsoil and now it is all the way and I am so happy with it.  It will look much better when my little annuals bloom and I get a few perenials in there too.

I scavenged the driftwood from a lot that was vacated, and the strawberry pots with sedum's I started last year and are doing nicely.I didn't start the fuschia plant by myself, I bought it and another one last week.  I do have several other baskets that I started but they are still babies.  I will photograph them when they get larger and prettier.  Today I bought some pretty double pink ivy geranium and can't wait to get them planted.  All my annuals are planted at the entrance and I'm having a time keeping them watered, as I haven't set up anything yet, so I have to haul water by the two gallon watering can, and that is a pain!

May 5th

It almost feels like spring has come and gone already since the spring bulbs bloomed so early this year.  I got the last of the annuals in the ground this week and planted a couple hanging pots for my deck.  I still have tulips in bloom in my yard, but they were planted very late and they are so delightful to watch.  Deep purple, lavender, pink, yellow and red.  I even have some narcissus that are just coming out.  I'm doing my best to exend the season a little while longer.  The paving project has begun and I'm out there watching to make sure they don't run over any of my flowers with their machinery.  The same residents that have been complaining about the condition of the roads are the first ones to complain about the inconvenience.  That's life I guess.

And life has gone on in my stamp room, slowly but surely.  Here is another card I put together.

I gave this to a lady yesterday that has been in chemo therapy for a few months and is really starting to wear on her.  The butterfly is cut with my cuddlebug and is two layers.  The vellum top layer is also embossed with CB.  Looks much prettier IRL with the butterfly being attached at the body and the wings free floating.

So, what did I say about projects?

Not like we haven't been standing on our heads busy lately, but the wind had to whip in last night and take out these two trees onto the road.

And in the process:

That tree embarked on a new endeavor, branched out and decided to Un-linked the chained fence! Wind....it can be dis-Gusting!  This will be the third repair on the piece of fence in the last year.  The first was just wear and tear over the years,.  Had it repaired and a few months later one of our lovely residents had a few too many, and took the corner at about 60 mph, so had it repaired once again.... at his expense that time.  Now this. 

Spring

So, I am sitting here with 10 cards in front of me that I have created over the last couple months, but not photographed or scanned.  I have a nice scanner/printer sitting beside me to do the task.  So now, just so that this post doesn't look totally naked I will stop and scan one.

The pattern paper is a small pack I bought on sale at Impress Stamps.  The check is the back side of the floral.  Stamp is Studio G from Michaels, flowers were also on sale at Impress.  I like the sringy'ness of it.  Design inspired by May/June Paper Crafts Magazine.   

Life has just been crazy around here.  With spring and all the landscape projects with multiple flats of annuals and cutting away the old spent tulips and daffs, with the purchase and moving and setting in of a new home for the community,  other legal actions within, the every day management "stuff" I hardly have time to sit down and stamp.  Then with Dave being sick all last week that threw an extra wrinkle in the plans.  So, I will post my cards when I can and really appreciate those of you that keep coming back and checking my blog, to find the same old page still sitting here.  So I will try and heat it up a little bit here now.

Now, Card a Day for 2010 has turned in to a Card when I Can in 2010, but I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth yet.

I'm Baaaaack.... Stamping again

Don 't know how often I'll be able to post, it seems it's only weekends now, because the weeks have been incredibly busy.  I have given up on the card a day.  I made it 87 days, so that's not too bad.  So, if I were counting it would be 83,84 and 85.

The inspiration for these next two cards came from thsi Month's Paper Crafts magazine, my favorite mag of all times!  Though it's quite a bit different from the original (page 41), it's the general concept of stamping on pattern paper instead of cardstock. 

Same thing here, except I used a few different stamps to get the desired results.  I had further inspiration for the sentiment from today's sermon on Joy, the Fruit of the Spirit.  This stamp is from a Christmas set (Inkadinkado) but the card is not for Christmas.  It is the Joy that comes only from Jesus Christ.

I did this one yesterday.  I got the stamp set last week.  I've been wanting to get it for some time.  It's Tim Holtz.