BUSY BUSY BUSY

Ms. Jane has come and sadly gone. We had a wonderful, very productive visit. As you can see, Bruno adores his Nana! Boy did she spoil him! And boy did he let her! Jane and I spent a day out shopping over in Boise and Nampa, looking for envelopes for the wedding invites and a dress for the glamorous Miss. Maria, my junior maid of honor and assorted wedding stuff.



I was a little nervous that Ms Jane would be one of those shoppers I hate, you know the ones...oooh look at this....oh look at that...oh let's go look at that. Nope she's like me. Go in scan the store, go to what you want, grab the right size, pay for it and get out! I was so relieved! 



Nick's sun flowers have grown about a foot since this photo was taken! We think Ms. Jane brought some of that magic Tennessee pixie dust fertilizer with her. Everything has really gone a little nuts since she's been here.My rose bush must have 300 buds on it right now! I can't wait to see what they look like!



The week Ms. Jane was here was sort of like a long slumber party, I don't think we went to bed before 2 am. So we slept in a little, here's Ms. Jane with Bru. He really enjoyed having her here and sharing the bed with just one person instead of two.

When she left, he spent the whole day waiting by the front door for her to come back. We all had such a great time and we all miss her.

Time for dinner! Oh, Nick's job at the theater...going o.k. He's working a lot of long days but not alot of days, which is sort of nice since there is so much to get done around here for the weeding. We'll now it really is time for dinner!

Have a wonderful evening!
xo

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING

My surprise garden is going nuts with tulips and grape hyacinth! I didn't know you could put sooooo many bulbs in one small bed. I get excited to go out there every morning to see what else might come up, so far just tons of red tulips.



I can't wait to see what this little white one looks like! All this is sort of a bonus to buying our perfect little dream house.

The front of the house looks very naked with out that big, ugly, dead locust tree, but it's so nice not getting scratched up by the thing. Nick's "lawn" is starting to thicken up, I think it's about 60/40 this morning-60% grass that is.

I really hope we can get the inside of the fence painted before the wedding, speaking of the wedding...I'm done stressing! Things are coming along quite nicely, I'm organized, cool, calm, collected and busier than I want to be. I don't think Nick really understands everything that needs to happen in such a short time but...oh well.

Now if I can just figure out how to make this 46 year old face of mine look 26 again! Shoot I'll take 42! Anyway, that doesn't really matter so much as, Nick loves my 46 year old face, and I'm very fond of his! I think I'm most looking forward to seeing all of my family and friends and being able to spend some time relaxing and enjoying them all.

Nick has planted watermelons in one of the raised beds he built, we're hoping that by July we can walk out there and pick a couple for the reception. I can't wait to see the sticky mess my grand baby Cayden will make with one!!! Speaking of Mr. Cayden, he's crawling! He should be into everything when they're here. Yia Yia better get busy Cade proofing everything!  

Farmer Nick is working hard on our empty lot, he doesn't like to let on but I know he can't wait to show it off to the dads and his mom. I'm really proud of all he has done too. Hard to believe we've only been in the house for two months yesterday!

It's a beautiful day and I'm going to go enjoy it!
xo

OH HAPPY DAY

Today is a very good day indeed. The "damned locust" tree is coming down as we speak! I couldn't be happier! Bruno is a little upset by the noise, poor guy, yesterday the new vet told him he's still too fat and now all this noise!



Fat and can't get a nap.The vet wants him to lose 10 more pounds, she should have seen him 32 pounds ago! Now if I could just lose 32 pounds!

I've spent a very good two days with the boyz, working on wedding stuff and getting things accomplished. Baby steps! Research! Action! Now there's a plan. We have finalized our guest list and put together an information letter, I even got them all printed and addressed! As soon as the tree guys are done we can head to the post office. Two big items off my plate.

I even found the perfect diy invitations online last night and the perfect wording! People say that knowing exactly what you want makes everything easier, I disagree. When you know exactly what you want, that's it. I don't want to be a Bridezilla but I know what I want...I just don't know where to get it! I'm figuring it out though and things are looking brighter.

I have to admit that I am the one getting in my way. I love blogging, I hate cruising the web. Searching endless web sites looking for things is torture! I'm also not really good about asking for help, again I know what I want, I just can't put it in words sometimes. So...this is really hard for me...does anyone know of a good online resource for quality paper and envelopes? Phew, I did it!

And the tree is down! It's only 101 days until the wedding now, two days ago that would have sent me over the edge, not today. Today I can take it.

I hope happy things are happening in your world today!
xo

AN EASTER WINNER AND SPRING PLANTING

I tried to load these pics of my new planter boxes to load the other day, the computer had other ideas, guess it thinks I brag too much on Nick. It's probably right, It is a computer after all!



Not bad for pallet wood! I can't wait to get them planted. We have had three nights below freezing here so I've forced myself to hold off, but it's supposed to be really warm the next week so I might just have to get it done. I'm thinking about chamomile and maybe some lobelia to trail over the sides. I don't know, having all this property is a bit overwhelming.



I told you I would announce the winner of my first giveaway today and here it is...NATASHA! Her blog,Rickrack and Ribbons, is full of beautiful quilts, inspiration and the second cutest dog face in the world (sorry, Bruno is looking over my shoulder) You should head over there and check it out! Natasha is also one of the sweetest gals out there. I only know her from her blog and her comments but she seems very genuine.

Well, I promised the boyz fresh cinnamon rolls for Easter breakfast, so I better get to mixin'! I hope you have a wonderful Easter!! Me? I'll be here at Two Willows Farm, maybe we'll go see the fireworks at 6:00a.m.! Or not!

xo

WHAT EVERY GIRL WANTS

I am a very lucky girl indeed. My Nick, my knight in tarnished armour, treats me like a queen. He does little things for me that I would never expect, like the berry plants. Hopefully they will be loaded with berries for the wedding!





I mentioned to him the other day that some planter boxes would be nice on the front porch, what did he do? He went to the garage and made me planter boxes for the front porch! He just does things like that for me. I think I'm going to plant some chamomile in them.




 That brings me to my point, every girl wants to marry a prince. I get to. I don't want to trivialize what we have by calling him my "best friend" he is so much more. He really is my life partner, I spent most of the last two days working on wedding plans, and Nick was right there with me, giving me ideas, and telling me to relax, everything is going to be wonderful.

I was stressing out, to say the least. My biggest stress? Who would preform our wedding. I didn't want some judge or justice of the peace who would just read words off of a page. Nick and I are quirky, and we need a little pluck in our ceremony. I was about to melt down when I checked my email. My Auntie Lis, is ordained! We have our officiant! Someone that I know has personality, who I know will understand if we want a reading from Calvin and Hobbs or Winnie the Pooh. Thank you Aunt Lis! Now I'm a little less stressed about the whole wedding thing.

Every little girl wants to have her wedding be the perfect day. Mine thanks to my Aunt and my Nick is well on it's way to being awesome!!!

Now I have to go to work and make the money to pay for the whole thing!

Have a fantastic day-
xo

MY HOW TIME FLIES

It's hard to believe that we left Portland two months ago, one day short of two months. So much has happened, it feels more like six!

In two months, we've sorted and packed all of our belongings, driven completely across the state, bought a truck, bought a house, I've gone back to work...WOW...



Both Nick and I have remembered lessons learned as children, lessons from parents and grandparents. We have truly been able to slow down a bit, relax a little, and enjoy time together.

We've seen snow that doesn't cripple a city, sunshine, and yes even rain. We've looked to the sky and seen more stars than I've seen since I was a kid on the beach.

We've seen snow covered mountains...

and majestic buttes...

it hasn't been easy...we've had our bumps...but through it all we have all been able to keep in sight what really matters most...we are together, and we are in love. We might not be rich, but who cares!

Well, it's off to work with me.
I hope your day is filled with love, wonder and beauty.

xo

HAPPY DAYS!

Happy Saturday! Wow, Saturday's are different here, busy, but at a slower pace. Like everything here, people are just not in as big a hurry. It's sort of hard to adjust to but it's nice. People take time for family and friends on the weekends. Of course I work weekends, have forever, wouldn't know what to do if I didn't, but part of the beauty of moving here is that, I have more time to spend with Nick and Bruno!



This is the first really warm weekend we've had, and Nick has the gardening bug bad, yes you can't get a shovel out of his hands for long. Brunotopia is a real mud pit when it's wet and a dust bowl when it's dry. We want to get some grass seed down before Ms. Jane gets here so that she and Bruno can sit on a nice cool lawn, but, it's still getting cold at night. I don't know.

Maybe soon. Nick has struck an uneasy truce with the neighborhood hooligans by promising them pumpkins at Halloween and he's started them. Wow, our friend Anton, aka, punkin head won't need to worry about pumpkins for a while!

He's even gotten quite creative when it comes to containers to start his seeds in, his basil for instance is in P.B.R. cans! Bet your not surprised Johnny V! That's my Nicky!!

I think Ga'mom and Ga'pop would be proud of his resourcefulness!

Well, Happy Saturday! Hope your all well and happy and check here on Monday afternoon for a big announcement. No, Ms. Jane I will not let you in on it before I announce it here Monday! Sorry!

Have a great weekend!
xoxo

WHAT A LIFE

Yum! Fresh strawberries! There's something about strawberries that says summer to me...here it is...mid March and the strawberries in the local Red Apple store are sweet and ripe...and large!

This was just an average sized berry! When I saw these at the market I knew that God loves me!!! Everybody sing...Jesus loves me this I know...look at how the berries glow.

I'm still walking to and from work, it's only 25 minutes, a lot better than the 50 minute bus ride in Portland, and I'm loosing some weight too.

This was the view going to work at 7:30 am yesterday. How beautiful is that? It's been cool and wet and overcast for the last 5 or 6 days here but it's still not as bad as Portland. At least the sun comes out for a little while every day. Coming home I got to see this...

Can you make out the snow capped mountains in the distance? Ontario is really surrounded by a ton of beauty, you just have to look out, not just straight ahead. On clear days this view is truly spectacular.

Nick built me this cabinet the other day, out of scraps of this and that. I love it! It gives me an extra 17 inches of counter space which I desperately need! The other counter is only 3 feet long! I think we will paint it to match the drawer pulls and really funk it up. I like that it looks really weathered.

Poor Nick, yes I had to say it again, the truck project has turned typically Nick and is not going well at all. In fact courtesy of the JERK at NAPA AUTO PARTS it could have killed us. The shocks went in in a wind storm, luckily no one named Dorothy landed a house on him, but it could have happened! Then he found a missing lug bolt...you have to disassemble the brake to fix that...and once that was done and the bolt was in, brakes bled etc. we went to run some errands. The brake fell apart!!! Why? because a guy at Napa told Nick he didn't need a spring (one that was on the brake when he took it apart) and Nick took him at his word. Lesson learned...not everyone here is a decent person! One of these days these older guys out here are going to figure out that people do look at reviews on line, and a bad review can in fact hurt your business.



Well, we've been in the house for one month, yesterday, and we still love it! Plumbing and all. We've made progress turning it from a rental house into a real home, and there are lots more changes coming. An old house is truly a labor of love. Speaking of love I just found out Ms. Jane will be here May 10th! I can't wait! Buno is beside himself! She doesn't know it yet but I just might have a project for her, one that will be a big part of our new home! TEE HEE!

Hope all is beautiful where you are-
xoxo

IT'S A PRETTY GOOD LIFE...

My life is pretty alright right now. I have my little house, my big dog and my wonderful guy. All in all, it's good. I sat down yesterday to tell you all about how great it was to see some rain when my phone rang...yep...it was work...could I come in...so I changed gears and got dressed and walked to work. It's such a nice walk.



I was just getting my two loaves of bread ready for the oven when my phone went off too. Well, I was able to get my bread done and out of the oven before I left.

Man...this bread is great! Nick was the one who suggested we start taking one of my days off and bake bread so we don't have to spend $4.98 a loaf. Translation...you should take one of your days off and bake bread. It's o.k. though, I love to bake, and handmade bread is sooooo good!



When I got home from work last night there was another box of goodies from Ms. Jane. Loads of fabrics and table cloths and even a sewing machine cover! I can't wait for my next day off so I can get at it all. Start creating again. The problem with a new job is that, it's sort of like being the guest of honor at a party where no one knows you, you have to be ON, the whole time. It's stressful and exhausting!



We keep finding weird heart garbage in the yard...a good omen? Well, I'm supposed to have today off, I need to give Nick a haircut so he can look good for job hunting, color my hair, put the goodies from the Mother in Love away and generally get caught up. It's nice that it's overcast I don't feel like I have to be working outside today.

Have a  beautiful day-

xo