Pick Up Sticks

Busy...Busy...Busy

I miss the days when my kids were little and summers meant long lazy days exploring the creek, making tents in the backyard, cathcing fireflies and lots of popsicles...when school was out and there were no alarm clocks to worry about.

Now my boys are grown up and I am no longer a stay at home mom...but getting up for work everyday and working long days with little satisfaction.  I keep trying to talk my hubby into letting me be a stay at home mom again but he keeps reminding me that we no longer have kids at home.  But what about Dallas...our little pound puppy?  Doesn't he need me home with him during the day?

Sigh...I could easily enjoy being a housewife...just think how clean my house would be, and laundry would be done and I would have time to exercise....

But I know I need to work...it's put 2 kids through college without loans...and additional money into retirement so we won't have to work forever.

But work has been very stressful this past year. I work for a small non-profit that supports a network of larger non-profits.  My immediate boss and our executive director have never been on good terms...long story.  There are confidence issues which have lead up to two people in our department...of a small department of three...losing their jobs...leaving only me as of 7/31/10.  It is awkward and stressful at the moment.  They are replacing the position above me but not the bookkeepers position...should be interesting.

But in the mean time I am back to my days of not sleeping...I let things worry me too much.  I think it is because I care too much about work to be able to let problems at the office.  I need to find a better balance of work and personal life.

My goal this summer is to get to work early and leave by 4:30.  I have been getting up early and walking for 30 minutes each morning and that is helping with the stress.  I love to see the sun come up and enjoy looking at the gardens of my neighborhood - some are beautiful - some not so much.  There is plenty of wildlife - birds and bunnies.  And while it has been unseasonably hot and humid I am enjoying the peacefullness of the early morning.  This has been a good start to my day.  I finish my walk and come home to a big glass of fresh ice tea and peruse my gardens a little - pulling weeds and watering when needed.  Then I sit on the back steps and read the morning paper...then off to get ready for work.  It is a great way to start my day.

  

Signs of Spring!

Last night I came home from work and decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and longer daylight.  After taking the dog for a walk I went in search of signs of Spring.

Flowering Plum Buds

Hyacinth

Hydrangea Bud

Chives   

A Volunteer

I have a huge old crock that I drag out - ok my husband drags out - each spring and fill with plants.  This year I picked plants in shades of orange and chartreuse green.  I used an orange zinnia, a greeny-yellow coleus, an orangey-yellow million bells and a variegated leaf geranium.  Love the color combination. 

This year out of the plants rose a new plant...something I did not plant...a volunteer.  Can you see it?  Growing taller and taller.....

 

I almost pulled it out...thinking it was a weed.  Then it developed a flower bud.  I think it is a sunflower...we'll see......

Yearning

While I normally love winter, this winter has been a bust.  I know that lots of our country has had terrible winter weather but our winter has been very strange.  We've had days reaching a temp of mid 70's - breaking records from the 1890's, lots of dreary rainy days, and now we finally have some colder weather.  I like a good brisk winter day.  Today was one of the nicest this year.  It was clear and sunny with temp in the 30's.  Days like this invigorate me.

But while I love winter I am yearning for Spring right now.  I can't wait to get out into my garden and plant and dig.  I love to plant new gardens and have great plans for this year.  But since it's too early to plant I have spent lots of time planning, reading catalogs, looking at gardening magazines and reading blogs about gardening.  I have found 2 blogs that have occupied lots of my time - drooling over the pictures. One of my favorites is from a wonderfully sweet lady in VA who's blog is a joy to read and her pictures have inspired some new ideas for my garden.  Her blog is Tumbleweeds and Thyme.  Last week or so I emailed her how much I enjoyed her blog and have received such a lovely responses from her.

The other blog I am enjoying is called Empress of Dirt.  She has a part of her blog called Shed Hall of Fame that has pictures of wonderful garden sheds.  I loved browsing this site last Sunday afternoon.  Since I have the ugliest garage and shed ever I found some great ideas for sprucing mine up.

With all this inspiration I have made a list of things I would like to do, which is prioritized and includes a budget for each  project - can you tell I am an accountant!

Until Spring rolls around I have immersed myself with houseplants.  Tonight I ran to the grocery store to buy cough drops for my sick 17 year old and came home with a miniature rose bush and two pots of forced bulbs - one a miniature iris and the other crocus.  Neither is blooming yet but just the thought of seeing blooms makes me giddy!  I also like that I will be able to put these in my garden this Spring and think of the cold winter day when they brightened my day.