I'm a Survivor

Spring has finally sprung here in Louisville and part of me really wishes that it would hurry up and get over with. I forget how bad the pollen is while all of these beautiful trees are budding and blooming. My poor car is covered in yellow dust at the moment. Good thing Alan refilled my windshield wiper fluid last weekend. Really, I don't mean to complain. I love the warmer weather.  I just hate all of the sneezing and itchy eyes that go along with it. Before everything stated to POP last weekend I took a few pictures of some of my plants that managed to survive the winter. I don't know how they do it. A week ago everything just looked dead, and then the magic happens.

Two pretty Pansy blossoms

Rosemary

Mint

Curly Parsley

Flat Leaf Parsley

Thyme

 Hopefully spring is doing it's thing where you live too. With the Kentucky Derby just a little over two weeks away Louisville is getting it's self ready.
Sally

Project Update

Here's what's just completed, just begun and brand new.

Remember the socks I was knitting two at a time? I think I started them in February and they are finally finished. The big problem is that they don't really fit me very well. I made the top leg too short and the after thought heel thing just isn't working for me. Grace likes them, so I guess I'll pass them on to here.

 I'm going back to my regular old way of knitting socks. I like my bamboo double pointed needles and don't you think this yarn is just perfect for spring? That was me being a bit facetious It's a little on the bright side, but it's what I had in my stash and since I'm on a yarn diet of sorts I thought I should use it up.

 I also started working on this new shawl/scarf with yarn that I got about a year ago when I was in the Socks that Rock yarn club. The pattern is called Breaking Waves and it's a bit challenging for me. I have to keep the pattern close so I'd say it requires the majority of my attention. Not TV knitting.

 So I mentioned the yarn diet that I put myself on back in January. The goal was to use up most of my stash including fiber and yarn that I have spun. I've been doing a great job. I have not purchased any new yarn or fiber until last week. I just couldn't help myself. I saw these sweet little kits mentioned on the Knitting Den podcast and was lucky enough to snag one. The kit came with the gnome project bag, a lavender sachet, stitch markers and beautiful yarn from Never Enough Thyme.

Now, these colors are what I call springy. I just couldn't resist. I don't know what I'm going to knit out of it just yet, but once I figure that out I will probably start on it right away.
Hope you have a little spring in your life too.
Sally

Pinterest Finds

I know I've talked at length several times before about my new found love for Pinterest, but you are just going to have to bare with me while I do it again. I just think it is the most clever way ever to organize just about anything that needs organizing. A few weekends ago I devoted several hours to reorganizing some of my boards. What I found was that a few of my categories were just too broad and it was taking me too long to search for things. A good example was my board called "What's Cooking?". It included every single recipe that I had ever pinned. I went in and made new boards for Breakfast ideas, Desserts, Breads, Salads, Cookies and Bars, Starters and Snacks. I then resorted so everything makes more sense. At least it makes more sense to me. What I noticed while doing this bit of spring cleaning was that there were several recipes that I had pinned multiple times. I decided it was time to give those a try. I've already shared the Nutella Banana Bread recipe under "I Love the Taste of..." Here are a few more that we enjoyed and I would highly recommend.

Roasted Chicken with Green Beans and Potatoes.
I used breasts with the bone in and skin on because they were on sale at Kroger. I really think cooking this dish that way kept the chicken extra tender and juicy.

Spinach and Mushroom Egg Cups
I used my jumbo muffin tin and only made 6 large cups. I used cupcake liners and after they cooled I packaged each one in a Ziploc bag and stuck them in the freezer. All I do in the morning is pull one out and stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes. 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Alan and I had this cake for Easter. I obviously used my bunt pan which I think make it extra special.
That's probably enough for now. If you want to check out my Pinterest boards just click on the link on the right side top of the blog.
Sally

Very Early Signs of Spring

Another crazy week has passed and I have neglected to let you all know what's been going on around here. To be perfectly honest not a whole lot. I do have lots of pictures of regular everyday life, finished projects, new recipes to try and a little home improvement thanks to my Dad, so hopefully I'll have some time this weekend to get them all onto the blog. We did have some very mild "hot" weather this past week. 2 days in the 80's. 86 degrees to be exact. The heat combined with the rain we also got really helped to get spring going. Our grass is green and in need of a haircut. Flowers are popping up everywhere and as you can see from the picture above our giant hole from last weeks sewer problem is now filled, planted with new grass seed and covered with straw. Things cooled off a little last night, but Sunday is supposed to be 72 degrees and sunny. That is perfect weather if you ask me. Before I forget, last year I picked up 2 giant red geraniums from Costco for $19.00 each. They lasted all summer and were perfect for our deck. This past Tuesday I called Costco and found out that they had just unloaded a truck load of plants. My Dad and I rushed over there and actually bought 4 giant red geraniums. I decided to put 2 on the front porch this year. The cost has gone up a tad $19.49, but I have not been able to find any this size or this healthy any place else. If you are a fan of red geraniums, head on over to your local Costco and check them out.
Have a great day!
Sally

A Stinky Situation

Last week the unthinkable happened.

 Our sewer backed up. So, so gross. My Dad had just arrived for a visit and thankfully he and Alan discovered the problem before it got way too out of hand. We called the Metropolitan Sewer Department first thing Thursday morning. They came and inspected by running a hose with a camera attached to the end up into our sewer pipe. Sure enough, we had a clog. They marked the spot and then as nicely as they could informed us that they didn't know when the diggers would be able to get to our house. Maybe Thursday afternoon, but most likely not until Friday morning. In the mean time we could not use ANY water. No flushing and they kept telling me not to use the washing machine. As if I was feeling the need to do laundry at that point. It was a bit stressful watching them dig up the front yard Friday morning, and even more stressful when it appeared that the problem was going to be harder than thought to locate. Finally, about 2:00 Friday afternoon the clog was cleared. I honestly felt like hugging those guys and I might have if they didn't have their "sewer cleaning jumpsuits on". We still have the giant hole in the yard. Hopefully they will come back today to fill it. In a month or two we might have forgotten the whole thing ever happened...
Hope you had a lovely sweet smelling weekend.
Sally

Bye Bye Green Stuff

My Dad is coming for a visit later this week. He says it's to "visit", but I'm guessing the real reason is so that he can pick up his power washer that he "forgot" back in the fall. It's spring and the brick pathways at his church are probably in need of a good cleaning. Thankfully we experienced a fairly warm day last Saturday. Warm enough to drag out the washer and clean the ugly green mildewy stuff off of our back fence.

 Alan did most of the work. I did get to do one of the fence sections when he had to leave to get more gas.

I wish you could see the difference in person. The fence looks brand new. Power spraying is really a lot of fun. After the fence was finished I tried to find other things to clean. I thought maybe the garbage cans, but Alan gave me the look. We did the deck last fall and it still looks great. I suppose we will just have to say we are done and let my Dad have is machine back. Thanks for sharing Dad!

Sally

The Sun Came Out

It was short lived, but the sun finally decided to shine on Louisville. It was a lovely sight to see and feel. 

It's amazing how such a simple thing can "brighten" your whole day.

The Easter Bunny even found his way to our house.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebration. Now it's really spring, right?

Sally