Egan's Backyard Retreat

My new friend Egan was kind enough to let me crash her yard with my camera. She has maximized the space in her little suburban back yard to make it not only a restful retreat but also a great producer of vegetables, herbs and flowers. In a space of about 20 x 20 feet she has managed to fit in several meandering paths, huge barrel planters for vegetables and flowers, a little herb garden, hanging plants and beautiful decor touches.

Even Clyde, her beautiful rescue cat wants to enjoy Egan's garden retreat! I love how she hides her trash can and compost bin with this trio of planters overflowing with foliage and flowers.

Egan graciously let me take this photo of her for you all even though she doesn't think she's photogenic (this is my hint for you all to comment and tell her how gorgeous she is! even without makeup and with her beautiful hair pulled back!).

This is the outside entrance to Egan's garden retreat. I love  how you're greeted with a little path and her mix of different foliage plants lining the path.

These peppers were growing in the barrel on the far left of the first picture (above). Egan's not only kind and beautiful - she's also genius gardener. Thank you Egan, for your friendship and for letting me share your beautiful back yard garden with the world!

May God bless Egan and may He bless you too!

Red Cardinal Feeds Baby (Movie Clip & Short Poem)

This morning my cat and I enjoyed watching a beautiful red cardinal feed its baby. The baby looks big but still opens its mouth for feeding like a tiny baby bird. The orange flowers you can see through the window our are tithonia (which I used to think were orange zinnias) I grew from seeds harvested from last year's plants. Isn't God's creation amazing!

Hope you enjoy this precious sight! I need to get a new camera as I've learned it's not possible to fix the spots on the sensor of this one but until I do, please excuse the spots.

Hungry Baby Cardinal Haiku Poem

Feed me! Feed me please!

Baby bird opens beak wide,

eats and begs for more. 

May God bless you!

Related posts:
Cute green bird: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/cute-green-bird-video-drives-my-cats.html
Cute cheetah cubs: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/cute-cheetah-cubs-and-wild-wednesdays.html
Osprey photos and haiku poem: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/07/osprey-photos-and-haiku-poem.html

Easy Closets: Affordable Storage Solutions for Everyone - Book Review

I borrowed Creative Homeowner's Easy Closets: Affordable Storage Solutions for Everyone from my local library. I loved the excellent photos and step by step instructions, practical tips and attention to safety for the DIY projects. They show their DIY projects in such a way that they seem doable. There are are even a few DIY projects (like the pullout shelves pictured below) that I, a non-handy person, might be willing to tackle on my own. While "everyone" may not be able to afford their solutions I do think that most Americans would find something in this book that could help them better use their space.

These pullout shelves would be especially useful in my kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities but I might start with a tiny closet upstairs. The pullouts would make this previously useless corner closet a valuable storage area.

The photos in the book are nicer than my photos of them convey. The book is due back to the library today so I can't wait for better lighting but I think you can see enough to judge whether the book will interest you as much as it did me. As most professional organizers will tell you, however, it's better to get rid of your clutter before you organize. So, I'll likely check this book out again once I'm happy with my decluttering efforts and then put some of its ideas into action. I hope you enjoyed this book review and wish you every success!

May God bless you!

Related Posts:
Decluttering vision: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-home-vision-new-series-on.html
8 minute organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html
10 minute organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/10-minute-office-supply-cube.html

Disclaimer: This post is my opinion only and I wasn't paid or asked to write it.

Cat Enjoys My First Dinner Plate Dahlia

This is my very first "dinner plate dahlia." It's not the full 10" wide that it was advertised to grow but it's about 8" wide and that beats any other dahlia I've grown by a long shot. Given that it spent most of April-August in a pot (although it didn't bloom until actually in the ground) I'm especially happy with the results.

My feral born cat, Baby, even took a minute to enjoy the giant flower. Notice how she stretched her neck to smell the giant dahlia bloom and kept the bulk of her weight away from it (for a quick getaway, if needed, I presume). Moose, our older cat, slept through the whole photo session.

I was so excited to see this first dinner plate dahlia flower I wrote a little haiku about it, although eight inches didn't work syllable wise so I used seven instead.

Haiku Poem

Seven inches wide

magenta and pink petals

dinner plate dahlia

 

Have you grown giant dahlias? If you have any tips about what works well or didn't work at all I'd love to hear them! This will be the first winter we dig our tubers up so any tips about that would be appreciated too. Otherwise I'll be following the Philadelphia Dahlia Society's instructions (they're north of us but that's where we bought the tubers from this spring).

May God bless you and those you love!

Related posts:
Bright blooming flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/06/bright-blooming-flowers-and-tiny.html
Flowers from our garden: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/flowers-from-our-garden-floral-friday.html
Echinacea, Marigolds, Dahlias & More: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/echinacea-marigolds-dahlias-and-ghost.html

DIY Sleepy Time Tea Recipe

Image by Krosseel

Insomnia and other sleep issues affect a lot of people. However, I was surprised to learn that almost half of America has trouble sleeping. 30-50% of the population struggles with insomnia, according to Get Better ZZZS. In the article by nourishedkitchen.com they recommend this DIY sleepy-time tea to enjoy before bed to "help you unwind and bring on the zzz's.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dried lemon balm
• 2 teaspoons dried peppermint
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried rose petals
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• 2 slices dried licorice root

Directions
Ground the ingredients in a mortar and pestle, then combine with boiling water in a teapot. Strain and enjoy!"

I enjoy a cup of tea as part of my nighttime winding down routine so I thought I'd give my own version of this tea a try. I don't happen to have all of the ingredients listed above on hand but I do plan to dry some of the lemon balm, peppermint, rose petals and lavender flowers from my garden and give that combination a try. If you have digestive woes though, the fennel and licorice would probably be especially beneficial.

On nights when I have trouble sleeping, I still use this hypnosis program. But most of the time my routine helps me wind down and sleep soundly. 

What works for you for good sleep? I hope you have deep, restful sleep tonight! May God bless and keep you and give you deep, restorative sleep!

Source: 
Get Better ZZZS article on page 76 of the Fall 2013 issue of ZLife Magazine (for Zumba Instructors who are ZIN members)

Related articles:
Natural sleep aid: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/11/pill-free-natural-sleep-aid.html
Tips for better sleep: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/07/4-simple-tips-for-better-sleep-and.html
Happiness tips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/75-ways-to-feel-happier.html 

Disclaimer: This post is my opinion only and I wasn't paid or asked to write it. My only connection to anyone or thing mentioned is as a certified Zumba instructor.

My Top 4 Tips For Limiting Internet "Wasted" Time

Image by DHester

Some people use programs that lock them out of the internet during certain hours or that log all of their online time but my favorite tips (that I use myself) are low tech. These tips are little habits that lead into one another and, together, when I use them, help keep my internet time down to less than half of where I started.

1. A Paper Log: Jotting down the start/end time of my computer sessions helps keep them shorter and I'm mindful the total time spent. When I use this method I tend to use a piece of scrap paper or a post it note for the day and I'll tally my total non-work related internet time. When I first started doing this I was astonished at how much time I spent online. Awareness is a great first step to change.
2. Timer: I find that setting a timer for whatever amount of time I've decided is acceptable (say 15 minutes) for the session will help me keep to that time. This is especially useful for minimizing my morning Facebook time. I cut that time in half by using a timer (and the log helped me see how long I'd been spending to begin with). Speaking of which, I need to go back to using a timer because since I stopped my time increased. The timer really makes a difference for me.
3. Avoidance: Seriously. Try not going online for every little thing. I track a lot of things and I used to go online to input the data throughout the day. To reduce computer time I don't just pop on here and there (because that 1 minute to log something in can easily turn into an hour chatting with friends, writing emails etc.). 
4. Batching: Now I keep a notebook by the computer and write down the tracking numbers I want to input and do it all at once in a session towards the end of the day. By grouping my online tasks I manage my time better. For example, when I first started using Lift I would log on after each habit was done to check it off. It's far more time efficient to wait until my late afternoon session (when hopefully I've finished all my Lift habits for the day and can check them all off at once) than to log on every hour to check them off one or two at a time. 

I hope you find these tips help you reduce your internet time and wish you increased productivity and all of God's best blessings!

Animal Photos From the Montgomery County Fair

This week my husband and I enjoyed a trip to the Montgomery County Fair. This giant Brahman cow was reputed to be super friendly and she's much huger than she looks in the picture (over 1,000 pounds!). She's chewing on some of the straw but I like to think she was smiling at us.

This little baby miniature horse was adorable! But he'd apparently had too much flash already because he closed his eyes at the sound of my camera turning on. His mama was napping nearby.

This giant bull alternated between seeming to enjoy his bath and hating it but his cowboy took it all in stride.

Not sure if this is a baby llama, alpaca or something else but it was really cute!

If you follow my blog you know I love cats, but I didn't see any live cats at the fair so here's a blue-ribbon winning beautiful painting of two cats snuggling.

Have you ever entered in your county's fair? I'd love to hear about it! This year I might not be as active as last year but I am hoping to enter some flowers, herbs, handicrafts and photos. May God bless you and those you love!

Related posts:
Fair flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
Fair mixed photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/floral-fair-photos-art-and-arrangements.html
Toilet decorating contest: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/toilet-decorating-contest-photos-wild.html