FrazzledApril's Blog

I think about my Dad a lot -- but Memorial Day is very meaningful to me.  I've always been extremely patriotic... and I have a great deal of respect for ALL Veterans.  My father is a vet, just as his dad was and his dad before him... 

In fact, we've got too many veterans inside of our family to count.  My Grandmother got me involved in genealogy when I was very young and I have always enjoyed it.  Much of my family (on both sides) goes back to the late 1700's in the US.  So, there were Revolutionary Soildiers, Civil War Soldiers... and on up.

Well, I finally installed iTunes back on my computer and it was shuffling through the songs and "I Loved Her First" came on.  It was the song that my dad picked out for us to dance to at my wedding.

Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful women with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first

There is a picture of us during that dance, in my profile... if you'd like to see.

So many of my friends have lost their parents... their fathers... I'm so, so deeply blessed that that day has not come for me and I look forward to many more years with my dad.

Well -- it is a BEAUTIFUL day!!  I'm about to go "outside to play"  :)  But first, I wanted to share my weekly Notes from the Universe :)

~~~~~

10,000 "I love you's" each morning.
10,000 "I miss you's" at noon.
10,000 "You rock's" every evening. And...
10,000 "Sweet dreams, see you soon."
Just a smattering, April, of what we see hitting your "inbox" here on any given day.
Can you feel 'em?
    The Universe

~~~~~

You know that dreamy look of deep, soulful love you've sometimes seen in the eyes of another as they gazed into your own, April?
Expect a lot more of it.
Whoooooooohoooooooooooooooo!!
    The Universe

~~~~~

To clarify, April, the primary roles of LOVE are not to heal, fix, or mend. Not to soothe, cure, or ease. Not even to refresh, rejuvenate, or restore. Hardly.
The primary roles of LOVE, April, are to "Yahoo!" "Yeehaa!" and "Whoohooo!"
Get your love on,
    The Universe

~~~~~

Maybe it's just me, April, but I kind of thought that to be alive in a world where every single moment of every single day birds fly, dolphins twirl, flowers bloom, snow falls, waves wave, rainbows rise, and antelopes... do whatever antelopes do, would forever silence doubters, inspire dreamers, and fill one's soul with absolute rapture.
Or am I being "punked"?
    The Universe

~~~~~

Don't you just love, April, how rich folks usually view themselves as the cause of their financial experience?
Delightfully refreshing.
Unh-hun,
    The Universe

More "Notes From the Universe" ~ April

Just a little "FYI," "Heads Up," and "Check this out, Homey!"...
It's no one's responsibility to tell you what your "issues" are, April, and, contrary to popular thinking, most will not.
Which pretty much means there's only one person you can trust in such matters, and it ain't me.
Walk like an Egyptian,
    The Universe

There's at least one in every crowd, April...
Someone who's there, first and foremost, to love you.
Besides me,
    The Universe

Adventurers All Points Bulletin (APB)
Today is a one-time deal, April.
Cowabunga,
    The Universe

No one really cares about your "stuff," April, if you don't care about your "stuff."
They're far more interested in their own "stuff."
Tallyho,
    The Universe

Indeed, anything is possible. Anything and everything, April! Yet it takes wisdom to understand that the potential for all things happening is not equally distributed.
Life has a rhythm; there's already momentum. The world has needs and expectations as do you, creating some likelihoods that are vastly more predictable and smaller in number (though still infinite) than others. And for those who see this and work within these "likelihoods," dancing to their own beat within life's greater rhythm, heaven shall appear at their feet and abundance shall come as easily as breathing.
Alakazam,
    The Universe

So... there I was -- thinking it was another ordinary Wednesday.  My house isn't NEAR as tidy as it could be -- but we never have company and we've been so busy in the yard... so, I'm putting my compost activator into the pile and the Terminix guy shows up.

Says he has been trying to get in touch with us and that we're really HARD to get in touch with... well, truth to the matter is we pulled the plug on our home phone 6 months ago, but have yet to turn the service off.  My cell phone had apparently died also... but I didn't even notice.

Well... he starts spraying and I head inside and start doing some dishes -- dirty yard jeans, sweatshirt, ponytail, really dumpy looking... lol -- and my husband walks in, "Honey -- you have a visitor!"

I'm wondering if he doesn't know that I already saw the Terminix guy -- and so I turn around -- and in my livingroom is MY DAD!!!

He lives 11 hours away -- and it is early afternoon and with no warning -- there is my DAD!!  I had to do a double take!  He hasn't even been up here since we moved in last year -- usually we go down to Florida to see everyone.

Well... he also has apparently been trying to call for the last couple of days.  He recently transfered to a new job and has a client in Boone, NC -- of all places -- its such a small town and we're about 20 miles away.

So -- here he was!!!  I was pretty embarrassed to be caught by surprise -- with the house messy and being pretty grimey from yardwork myself -- but I suppose he didn't care.  :)

So I showed him all around the house and showed him all the work we've done and then we sat on the patio and talked for a long while and then went to dinner.  Now he's upstairs sleeping and he's got to go to Charlotte tomorrow and then back home to Orlando.  But WOW!!!  What a wonderful surprise!!!

We're going to FL in early June and I didn't think I'd see him until then -- I'm really excited about this surprise visitor -- and I guess I better start keeping my phone charged.  :)

This is me & dad -- I was 2.

Here we are at my first college graduation...

Christmas... Dad & his 3 girls

Second college graduation:

Last year -- when we went skiing...

Today was gorgeous!!  We've had some bad weather over the last few days with high winds -- and so I spent a few hours cleaning up the yard of all the leaves and twings (and branches)  that had fallen and I clipped out some of the dead branches that were still left on the pine trees.

My husband made me this wheelbarrow:

Obviously -- he still needs to put the wheel on -- but I'm really impressed because this is the firstthing he has ever, ever made.  I'm really happy with it!

I stained it blue -- but we both decided we liked it better with one coat as opposed to how it looks with 2 -- it's just TOO blue now -- but I think once we get the plants inside of it, it will be less distracting :)

My Fucshia is blooming away:

We planted this lily last week -- and it is ahead of the game -- but soon, the rest of the lilies in this bed should catch up :)

The tomatoes, hosta, and brussels are doing very well ~

Our yard is looking more and more inviting all of the time...

I didn't want to get too close -- this is a chipmunk enjoying one of my snack stations:

AND -- my garden books came in -- so, before the sun goes down, I am on my way to grab those books and a glass of wine and I'm crawling right up into the hammock :)

I hope you all had a wonderful day!!!

Well, I finished up my toadstools rock last night and I'm pretty happy -- I think it turned out really cute :)

I have one last one to paint, but today is far too nice a day to stay inside, so as soon as I'm done with my coffee I'm headed out to play in the yard!!

I've got to spray on the sealer on both of these rocks and sand down the wheelbarrow planted my husband made for me.  I also bought some pale blue wood stain/protection for it and I'm excited to get that put on too.

Here they are:

And -- our name stone for the front:

Or.... "Dude, I got a Dell"

We've had some NASTY winds up here in the mountains... it's the residual mess from the storms that have been tearing through Oklahoma, Georgia, etc... Our winds here are 35-40 MPH with 55 MPH gusts.  Pretty nasty -- and enough to keep me inside!

I have an EBay business -- so having a good computer is important -- but for me, so is getting/staying out of debt.  I was really hesitant to drop more money onto a card, but my business is doing well and this computer is pretty old and unreliable.

Sooo... I'm really excited.  It should be delivered in 7-10 day (they have to put it together first).  This new one will have much, much more memory than mine has and a far faster and superior processor.  Some nice speakers and flat panel 22" monitor... I'm sure I'm going to love it!!

What I'll do is overwrite and reinstall the OS on this one and leave it here in this house when we're renting it so that people have email and internet access still.  It's plenty good for that -- just not good for all the photo editing I do, music I listen to, etc.

Besides -- what else was I going to do?  I was trapped inside the house for 2 days :)

I have never painted anything aside from a wall -- so, let's just get that little fact out of the way up front, lol

A few weeks ago, I re-set a stone barrier we have along the driveway and I ended up with a few extra rocks.  I decided I'd try out some "rock art".  Most everyone in my neighborhood has a sign of some kind with their name, but we don't.  So, that was the first thing I decided to do... pretty basic, right?  It went well enough and I'm happy with it :)

Here are the three rocks I picked out to use.  The one I put our name on is pretty big... more than a foot across and pretty heavy!  I painted all of them a basic off-white color as a background and I'll work from there.

Here they are "before"

This is the large one to the left... almost finished.  The sparkle glue on the hearts is not dry yet, but when it is it won't be so milky/gloppy... and I've got a clear coat for it so it can be safe outside:

The large, egg-shaped one looked just right for a patch of toadstools... so, I first drew them on with a pencil and then painted a quick outline in light gray.  Once I paint it, you won't see the gray outline at all... but I couldn't see the pencil marks very well, so I needed an outline.  It's a little lighter than in the picture:

I'm undecided as to whether I'll use pastel colors or bold colors... but I have tonight to sleep on it :)

The last rock... I'm going to make a colorful, abstract (ie, tacky) background and put one simple word on it:  Patience

That's what I believe I need the most of in the garden, lol

Once they are finished I'll post the final pictures :)

CarolynCat353 noted on my last blog (about notes from the Universe) that I should post these regularly :)  And so, I am.  These were my messages for this last week.  Enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~

There are no accidents, April.
If it's appeared on your life radar, this is why: to teach you that dreams come true; to reveal that you have the power to fix what's broken and heal what hurts; to catapult you beyond seeing with just your physical senses; and to lift the veils that have kept you from seeing that you're already the person you dreamed you'd become.
And believe me, that was one heck of a dream.

Tallyho,

The Universe

~~~~~~~~

When you realize that by changing your perspective, big things can be seen as little things, April, it becomes much harder to worry about anything.

Funky cold medina,
   

The Universe

~~~~~~~~

Do you have any idea how many princesses have gone unrecognized by their prince, because of logic? Or, how many princes have gone unrecognized by their princess, because of pride?
How many dreams were dashed when the handmaiden answered the door? Or when the gatehouse was mistaken for the mansion? Or when the calm before the storm of abundance and good fortune was viewed as a sign to retreat?
Happily, April, we've got forever and ever. And fortunately, it's never too late to see what one's missed, remain focused on the dream instead of the "hows," and move with unwavering faith.

Yeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaa!!
   

The Universe

~~~~~~~~

Life's magic is a lot like a swift flowing river, April. No matter how long you've overlooked it or unwittingly swam against it, the instant you stop struggling you're back in the flow, hat down low, coolest cat on the block.
In other words, April, your so-called "baggage," ain't no thang.

Coolio-
   

The Universe

So, I was doing a bit of research and apparently, people who actually KNOW what they are doing as far as tumbling rocks, try to keep rocks of the same hardness together.  Me?  I was just tumbling what I had :)

So -- I opened my drums 12 hours early and I have cleaned them off.  They really did reduce in size!!  I've got the drums soaking and I'm going to hold back the rocks that have pits, flaws, and scratches still -- and they can go in for another cycle of the coarse grinding with the next set.  The ones I think are the most smoothed out will be put into the fine grind cycle tonight for a week.

I'm probably going to have to order some rough stones online, because I only had enough to do just this one set and I'd like to do more.

Here they are after the first cycle.  They still need to go through fine grinding, pre-polishing, and polishing:

If you can't beat 'em... distract 'em!!

Every night the squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks are feasting in my yard.  I've got a lysterine/murphy's oil soap/powdered pepper mix ready to use if this doesn't start to work.  Perhaps with the new "snack stations" I made they'll have enough to keep them happy without using the repellant -- but if not, I'll try using both.

At any rate -- I wondered what I should use and I asked my husband if he thought he could make something -- he said he could but suggested using the water/drain trays from some pots first.  I thought that was a great idea, so I picked 2 of them up today and set them just off the ground with some of the extra rocks I had.

I filled them with some sunflower seeds, corn kernals, and peanuts.  I might consider adding a few other items to the mix if they start to use their new buffets.  Here they are:

GardenBug ~ I saw that Mitch did some work on your clematis picture and I thought I would play around also :)  I hope that you like these:

Everything is growing and sprouting and turning more and more green everyday!!  Fortunately we have had several wonderful days of sunshine, but rain is expected again by Thursday.

Most of the leaves are out of the yard now, we probably have 2-3 more big bags and that will be that (until September, anyway).

My tomato plants are getting bigger and the brussel sprouts are getting a LOT bigger -- I think we're going to have to buy new larger pots for them sometime soon and move them over.  I had no idea those things became almost like small trees!!

Some of the tulips I planted are starting to poke their heads out and I'm so glad -- I knew it was too late and that by planting them in the spring, they would not bloom -- but I was hoping that they would grow and that the leaves would collect enough energy before this fall so that they would die back and bloom next spring -- and I think that's what's happening :)

3 of 12 gladiolus broke soil yesterday :)  No sign of the stargazer lilies yet (but... ok, ok, I did just plant them 4-5 days ago, lol)  The asian lilies came back with a vigor and look much larger (or spread out?) than they were last year when I planted them -- no lilies yet, that comes leater, but the plants look wonderful and happy and healthy.

The azaleas I moved last week have a ton of new growth... they seem to be much happier in the shade.  I also planted 2 more near them today -- we got them on sale 2/$5

The foxglove are blooming away -- and so is the red valerian, but still no sign of my hibiscus.  I really hope it comes back.

I did, however, try my hand again at growing from seed.  I planted several types of hardy hibiscus, fushia and lilac butterfly bushes, and mollypop vines... I hope they germinate and grow :)  I have never gotten past the seedling stage.

Compost is coming right along and I have started cleaning the leaves from the neighbors yard too... my books are not here yet, but should be by next week... and by then, the vast majority of "work" in the yard will be finished so I can relax, watch everything grow, lay back on the hammock and enjoy them :)

No, I have not lost my mind :)

Everyday I get a positive affirmation sent to me via email from "The Universe"

It's a nice way to start my day and I thought I'd share a couple of my latest emails with you guys -- enjoy :)

~~~~~

Doesn't it happen like that, April? I mean, isn't your entire life proof? One day you're scrimping, the next you're in the money.

One day you're lonely, the next you have friends.

Lost, then found. Ill, then well. Low, then high.

Yet with hindsight, it becomes ever so clear that the only thing that ever really changed was your thinking. Even though you were free to think as you pleased the whole time.

History need not repeat itself -
    The Universe

Of course, anger can always be justified, April.

But then, so can forgiveness.

Just depends on how much more you want from the adventure.
    The Universe

Keep doing new stuff.

Keep doing new stuff, April.

Keep doing new stuff.

The Universe

If everyone wanted the same thing, April, if everyone wanted whatever was super trendy and wildly popular, or even if everyone wanted a Home, it wouldn't change the fact that you could still have yours, pronto.
There is enough for everyone.
And you do know the "right people."

     Unlimited,
    The Universe

Lots of people wonder...
Fewer take the time to really think...
But I'll be darned, April; sometimes I think I could count on the fingers of my hand how many actually visualize the life of their dreams, as if their dreams had already come true, every single day, for just 5 or so minutes.

Do it 'till you're satisfied,

The Universe

I posted a thread on the forums about this, but no one replied.  Maybe everyone already has enough books about gardening -- but not me!! :)

These are a few books I just ordered yesterday from BookCloseouts ~

I also bought The Self-Taught Gardener By Sydney Eddison and Gardening Season by Season

The total for these books was only $36 and that includes the shipping!!  Of course, I'll be waiting with baited breath by the mailbox everyday until they get here :)  In the meantime I'm going to be working on getting the yardwork finished and helping the neighbors next door with their leaves as well.  By the time my books get here -- I'll have a pitcher of Lemonade ready and a place on the hammock just waiting for me.  I can't wait!

Now -- I have also ordered 4 sets of seeds and I'm hoping it isn't too late in the season to plant them, but I guess we'll find out.  I've got 2 varieties of Butterfly Bush seeds and 2 varieties of Hardy Hibiscus seeds.  I'm really hoping that they germinate and grow large enough to make it over this next winter for a nice show next spring/summer.  Assuming they will work out well (and they will, positive thinking, ya know!!) I intend to share some with my neighbors.

I saved the small seedling palets that came with the annuals I purchased and I intend to use them for starting the seeds.  I'll probably go ahead and keep them inside until they germinate because I think that putting them on top of the dryer will be an excellent place because it is right under a hanging flourescent light and it's plenty warm in the laundry room.  By the time they are ready to get acclimated to the great outdoors, we should have plenty of warm weather.  So -- wish me luck :)

That's right!  I bought a rock tumbler!!  What the heck does this have to do with gardening?  Nothing, really -- except for the fact that the rocks I'm tumbling have all been found in my yard :)

Let me say this -- rock tumbling is a very foolish hobby for the impatient type.  I wanna see them NOW!!!!  However... it takes a month for them to be completely finished, hahahha

Today I set it all up.  I had my rocks all cleaned up and ready to go and had my grit waiting -- so today when my tumbler came via FedEx -- I was ready!  I put the larger and harder stones in one barrel and the smaller and softer stones in the other.  I added my water, my grit, made sure the drums were sealed tight -- and away it went!

Now... I just have to wait an entire week before they start the next step... the "fine grit" (this week it is the "coarse grit").  After that -- they do a week of pre-polish and then another week of final polish.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!!

And so -- here they are:

I decided to make myself a little helpful gardening tips "book" about my yard.  I have quite a few plants growing now that I have never grown before and they all require much different treatment and care than the plants I used to grow in Florida did.

Imagine -- sometimes you have to cut perennials back to the ground in autumn!  hahah :)  That's not something I ever had to do before!! 

Some plants are best suited to sun, some to shade... some like being pruned in the spring, some in the fall.  Some will propogate best from seed, some I can propogate with clippings.  Some will need heavy pruning, some very light... there are some that need to be fertilized at different times of the year than others.

My yard will thrive (because I said so, hahah!)

So... I'm going to make myself a little fact sheet for each plant that I have and print it out and put it in a binder for myself... this way, I can keep track of what is what and what the best way to treat each one is.

Does anyone else do this?  Do you have any organization methods that work better for you than others?

Do you photograph your plants to keep in each section or leave little spaces for you to make notes by hand?

What information do you keep about plants?  Have you grown so familiar with your own yard/plants that you can remember it all just in your head?

I don't think so.

I live in a retirement community, but I'm only 32 years old.  This was my grandparents cabin (their summer home) and my husband and I purchased it from my dad after he inherited it and considered selling it since he was unable to make the 12 hour drive near often enough to maintain the place.

Why is it... that so often it takes "age" to determine what equates to happiness?

Many of my peers are wrapped up in what they do not have, their struggles, the way it will "be one day" and the things they need before they can truly be happy.  Perhaps I don't know as well as they do, as I don't yet have children of my own.  I wish that there was some articulate way that I could express to them, that happiness is available here and now.  I wish I could express to them without sounding pretentious or somehow self-righteous... that happiness is a choice -- no matter what you may or may not have.  I wish that so many of my peers were not "waiting" to be happy.

I wonder how many of  my retired neighbors felt that happiness had to wait when they were in their 30s... their 40s... their 50s... and beyond.  Seems to me that these retired folks know happiness.  My own father... who will be 60 this year -- seems only now to be finding it himself.  He says things to me that break my heart -- though not intentionally.  He told me the other day, "I don't even pray for the weekends anymore, dear, because they come too fast already... I used to look so forward to the weekends, but now I just enjoy all of my days."

I hate that my father is exploring his mortality... I'd like to think I'll never lose him, ever.

I wonder how many of my neighbors look back and feel as though they wish that they'd have better enjoyed the days of their lives when they were younger... so many of them around here seem to be living it up now -- and that really brings me joy :)

I'm living it up now too.  We don't "have" much, my husband and I... but I don't think it gets any better than this, I really don't.  We have a beautiful home... small, but beautiful.  Thankfully we have very good health.  We have plenty of food, we have 3 cats and a dog and a bird and we've got friends and family and wine and cheese and sunsets and windchimes and a comfortable bed.  We have an overwhelming sense of gratitude on a daily basis for all of the blessings inside of our lives.

Don't get me wrong -- we have things to deal with too... we have struggled a little financially -- I mean, there are not many employment opportunities in a town with a population less than 1000, hahaha... but we're creative, we're educated, we're capable.  But we're not going to wait to be happy. 

I just don't think life gets better than this... I really don't.  Maybe one day we'll "have more" -- but in the meantime, what we have in this moment is priceless.

What are you grateful for today?

I have rodents!!  We have the most adorable little chipmunks... and squirrels and rabbits.  Adorable, I tell ya.  Not so adorable is them getting to the roots of my plants, bulbs, etc...

So, today hubby and I are taking a trip to the grocery store and the pet supply store for some goodies for them.  Hopefully this effort to provide them with a readily available buffet will help keep them from my garden.  I'm also making my lysterine/soap mixture that will also (hopefully) serve as a means to make my garden less appealing to them.

I certainly don't want to hurt the little guys -- and they sure are cute to watch -- but please guys, stay away from my plants.

On another note... I transplanted 2 azaleas yesterday -- they were getting too much sun and although they did not die, they simply were not growing nor were they flowering.  I hope they'll enjoy their new spot a little better.

I replaced the veggies and flowers that died a few days ago in the freeze and all seems well at the moment.  We also got a 64 gallon yard can with wheels for my compost project.  My husband drilled a bunch of holes in it for me and I already have it about 1/4 full with some leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, and vegetable waste.  I think I need some bloodmeal also.