realtalknic

What a difference a day makes. New arbor and new outlook. 1st, I disconnected from technology for a few hours. This is very rare for me. And much needed. Then I got busy where I left off.......... What I learned......do the things you love to do for the sake of doing them....not the outcome. The outcome isn't guaranteed but there is joy in the process. (and a little pain...if we're talkin bout roses.) Joy, and pain....like sunshine...and rain! Sorry, had to break into a lil old school Rob Base....... Ok, where was I? .....the process. OK. Set the new arbor in and dumped the quick cement. Easy, breezy, cover girl! love that stuff. It was a little wide but my brick path is already there so it is what it is! (oh yeah......those bricks were free too! Almost caused a divorce but......heeheee.....they are mine now!) Then onto moving the rose canes back up an over......omg! Seemed a lot easier than it was but I couldn't just leave my poor babies out there so......... ...

Let me just say...........I love my roses. Like, I am madly in love with them. At last count I have 26 total and the truth is.....I have not paid for any of them. That's right....not one. One was a gift from my sister and another a housewarming gift......the rest were from Craigslist. I cannot make this up. And, truth be told.....this makes me love them even more! Seven years ago when I started my secret garden I had dozens of magazines and even more ideas and a very limited budget. (ummm.....limited meaning non existent!!) Now, the front of my house is very manicured. It looks like a responsible person lives here. Heehee! It is neat, and trim, and the grass has stopped folks driving by to say.....how did you get that grass so green!? But.....it's not FUN! Nope.........no fun. And a girl needs fun, mystery, color............and if you have a ton of space to fill....you need $$$$$! Ha! Enter Craigslist. The ad said Free Roses. And well, if it's free....it's for m...

Fly on over.....I'll leave the light on for ya! My obsession with the backyard bird house, feeder, watching continues! I have converted the FlyThru to the Best "Nest"ern! That's right. I have a full on birdfeeder next to this tree so my feathered friends can still do a "FlyThru" ........more like a "Dive-in" really, but....you get it. They are not hungry. But...what about nest supplies? Where do you go if you are a suburban bird trying to find affordable housing? My soffits are NOT available. So.........enter some ribbon and string and yarn! Woopwoop! The Best NEST-ern and the elusive RedHeaded woodpecker doing a check in.  Why do I delight in this lil hobby? Well...Because is captures all the things I love in the small square of my windowpane! It's free!! Pretty much. I buy a huge bag of food every 2 months or so.......but it's usually on sale and never more than $11 bucks! For hours of entertainment? Yepper! It's bea...

These two.......where to start? Well if you follow along you know that in one month we will be celebrating the completion of my daughter's schooling and her going off 10 hours away from me to do surgery. (still trying to digest the 10 hour thing) And it fills me up with pride and it's hard to talk of anything else but the energy that makes me want to explode from joy is little to do with her being a doctor and everything to do with where it all started. Here they are..........8 and 5. Just looking at this picture causes my eyes to overflow. It is like rubbing a scar.....a reminder of pain and hurt but a talisman that you survived and are still here! At the time of this photo we had been staying at the National Institute of Heath in Bethesda Maryland for 2 weeks. We had just spent 4 months at the Children's hospital of Philadelphia and would not come home for 2 more months. Yep.....you did the math right....6 months hospitalized. Not one day home for my sweet boy. For ...

I am a cheerful person. I have been described as unrealistically cheerful. I don't do sadness. I mean......I grieve, I get angry, but I don't have dark periods or embrace grey skies. I am a cheerful person. Here comes the but........but....the last few days have been tough. I feel that I have suffered a personal failure even though I know I gave my all. Knowing that my cheerfulness has actually motivated someone to hurt me, well.........it made me sad. And the more I think about it.......the sadder I became. So, I needed a remedy. How can I shake it............ I need a quick pick me up! The remedy of sadness is joy. So.......I decided to spread a lil of it!! I call it " a note from Nic" Nothing fancy. Just a quick note. Embellished envelope. A small surprise inside. And a quick walk to my mailbox to pop it in! Done! Let me tell you what happened.........just thinking about who to send the note to made me smile. Addressing the envelope with a swirl and a differ...

Well well well.....it's that time again...the sun is out and the snow has faded and the soil is calling my name! In years past it has called on me to plant flowers, shrubs, grasses and my favorite.....roses! But the idea of growing my own food has been a bit intimidating. Now is the time!   I dabbled a bit.... This is a pic of my raised veggie bed and .....gasp.....carrots from last year I just realized were there. Soooo....here is what happened: I was all gung ho to start a veggie bed last year. Set it up and laid some seed and even saw a few sprouts come up. Woop woop! Then......a work trip to China....yep, China, came and off I went. Upon my return there were weeds and work and beetles and well......I let it go. Total fail! I wasn't really sure of what I was doing and I just kinda...left it alone. But it wasn't out of my mind...... Around the 1st of the year when everyone goes on the diet kick and craze folks started with juicing.....uh hmmmm.......juicing. ...