Reflection

 

This week has been an extremely sad week for Americans.

As we are all glued to the TV watching the horror unfold,

I have been reflecting on the events of April 19th, 1995.

 

In February when we went to San Antonio ,

and on the recommendation of a friend ,

we stopped in Oklahoma to visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.

 

 

 

Sis and I had lived in Oklahoma for a few years when we were kids ,

and have always felt a kinship with the state .

 

It was a very moving experience to say the least .

 

 

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck with explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and at 9:02am, a massive explosion occurred which sheared the entire north side of the building, killing 168 people.

 ( copied from the Memorial website )

 

 

This section of the Memorial represents the 168 people that were killed .

Each row represents the floor of the building they were on .

And each chair represents a victim.

 

The first row / floor has the most chairs,

that is where the daycare was located .

 

This was the hardest for me to fathom ...

innocent children.

 

What makes a person so consumed with hatred that they have no regard for the innocent ?

 

I can't and won't understand it .

 

The events of this week and the tragedy in Boston , have brought it to the surface again.

 

However, when you go to the memorial  ,

you have a sense of peace ,

of a city and nation that came together to create a beautiful and lasting tribute to those lost .

 

 

The Survivor Tree.

 

Just a common AMERICAN elm .

It withstood the blast and stands proud still .

 

 

Engraved on the wall surrounding the Survivor Tree,

 is this quote,

" The Spirit of this City and this Country will not be defeated ; our deeply rooted faith sustains us . "

 

That is my hope and my prayer for the city of Boston ,

all the victims and the loved ones of victims ,

and really , all of the citizens of

OUR great country .

 

Peace to you all ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Fat Squirrel comes to the Hood

Ya'all know I live in the back of beyond ,

or as I loving refer to it ,

The Trailerhood .
( actually , my friend's sons named it that and it just stuck , but it fits )

 

I love the wild life we see here.

There is a herd of deer that come into the field across from us every afternoon.

There are hawks and bald eagles and coyotes ,

OK , I don't really like any of those ,

I am not a fan of predatory animals.

But it's the circle of life right ?

*sigh*

 

But... 

I feed a plethora of birds year round .

A variety of Finches , Woodpeckers, nuthatches,

 chickadees, a pair of cardinals and morning doves .

For a short time I can see Baltimore Orioles and in the summer ,

we have Hummingbirds.

 

I have two feeding stations and I go through a LOT of seed !

 

The one animal I have always been surprised we don't have is squirrels.

You would think they would be everywhere.

I mean they live in town ,

why wouldn't they be here ?

 

Then a few weeks ago ,

Fat Squirrel showed up .

This was one of those times I really wish I could take good pictures.

I made Hubs come to the window and watch him with me .

He was literally hanging upside down on my tree

with his front feet on the bird feeder ,

eating !

 

Then he climbed into the tray feeder .

 

 

I am AMAZED at how entertained I am by this squirrel !

I've named him Fat Squirrel cause he is just so puffy !

And I LOVE him !

 

I immediately told Hubs he MUST build me one of those squirrel chairs.

You know , the ones where there is a seat

 and  a screw or nail to put an ear of corn on .

He said he would ,

but believe it or not he kept putting it off.

I really think he was thinking

"here we go again "

first crazy with the birds , now a squirrel .

But bless his heart ,

he never said it .

 

Anyway...

I took matters into my own hands .

 

I found this little chair at the thrift store !

YAH !

He had no choice then .

 

 

Not too pretty ,

but it works .

 

Then I became one of those people I used to make fun of.

The ones that actually go to the farm store

 and buy cobs of corn in a bag !

YIKES !

 

 

 

 

It took me FOR*EV*ER to get a picture of Fat Squirrel in his chair.

 

and not even a good one ...

 

Cause here's the thing .

He doesn't really like the corn .

Funny , huh ?

He would rather eat the sunflower seeds from the bird feeders.

Go figure ....

 

 

He works hard at it too .

 

One day he was eating sunflower seeds off the ground

and Addie said ,

" look Grandma , a chipmunk ! "

Love that !

 

So ,

while most sane people are buying special feeders to keep the squirrels out ,

I'm just buying extra sunflower seeds ...

 

 

 

 

I'm just the crazy bird / squirrel lady of the Trailerhood  :)

 

 

 

 



Making a Fairy Garden

I am sure I have mentioned this before ,

but winter  is sticking around the Trailerhood

WAY * TOO * LONG .

 

Since I can only dream about getting in my OUTDOOR garden,

I decided to make an INDOOR garden.

More specifically a Fairy Garden.

 

I was inspired by a trip to a local greenhouse.

I LOVE this greenhouse .

They have the SWEETEST lady working there .

Her name is Jean and she also has a KILLER hosta garden .

( which I am really hoping to share with you this summer )

 

We go there quite often on Wednesdays.

Friend Kathy loves the showroom and home décor

( her tastes aren't on the junky side like mine )

but Addie and I love to hang out in the greenhouse !

 

They have an extensive variety of plants specifically for Fairy Gardens.

 

 

 

and accessories,

 

 

Addie especially loved the Pixie Dust .

Imagine that.

I have sparkles everywhere !

Although she's not quite sure why everything doesn't fly when she sprinkles it.

Maybe someone from Disney could explain that to her ,

cause this Grandma DID NOT have that answer .

 

Jean has such a talent for making Fairy Gardens .

She even gives classes.

 

 

 

 

I loved they way she had the little vine growing around the gazebo.

 

 

I was so inspired that Addie and I picked out three plants

and went home to make one.

I already had some accessories I wanted to use .

 

 

How cute are these ?

Even the plant tags are named for fairies .

 

 

First ,

since the container I wanted to use didn't have drainage,

I filled the bottom with SMALL pebbles .

 

 

then a light potting mix

and my little fairy plants.

I choose and Irish Moss ( one of my favs ),

a Persian Chocolate Plant ,

and a Blue Star Creeper.

 

 

Next I added the "extras".

Really, this is what makes the garden special.

I found my little " Buddha Fairy " at a store called Seed

in Des Moines.

If you like plants , garden , whimsy ,

you MUST visit Seed !

From the minute I walked in , I felt the magic of the place .

It was all the girls could do to get me out of there !

 

The crystal rock came from our trip to Arkansas a little while back.

We drove through a section of Arkansas that was famous for crystal mining .

 

 

I love it !

The great thing is this little garden can transition to the outdoors,

when it ever gets warm enough !

 

To see the post on the Mini/ Fairy Garden I made last summer ,

go HERE and Here .

 

Here's hoping Spring arrives SOON !

I SO need to dig in the dirt !

Hubby has some great poop-dirt at the farm to add to the raised beds.

They are going to be AWE*SOME this year !

 

 

Making Home's New Home



Last week was a very busy week .

Not only did I get a brand new grand daughter ,

which meant Addie spent a couple nights with us,

but we also moved our booth at the Brass Armadillo.

 

I loved , loved, loved our other booths ,

but there was a roof problem...

they have tried and tried to fix it ,

but it just keeps leaking ,

ON* MY* BOOTH !

 

What a mess .

A new one became available just across the aisle

( where there is NOT a leak )

Sooo...

We moved.

 

If you are a visitor of Making Home's booth or have not visited and want to ,

( really , what are you waiting for ??? )

We are SO easy to fine.

When you walk in the front door ,

just keep walking .

STRAIGHT AHEAD .

We are the next to last booth on the right hand side .

You can still see our colorful booth from the front door :)

 

 

Still full of color .

I discovered when we were moving ,

I have been doing a lot of aqua pieces lately .

and I have a LOT of pink ...

and yellow ....

 

 

 

Hubs had to do a little construction

( see the upper shelf with the chairs ?  Yep , he built that )

He's pretty amazing .

Really .

I also had to paint ...

Oh well , it's what I do,  right  ?

 

You can also find more pictures of the new booth and inventory on our

Facebook Page .

Pictures there are courtesy of my bestie Rhonda.

We seriously wouldn't have gotten it all together without her .

( at least not without doing bodily harm to each other )

 

And by the way ,

when you visit our FB page,

feel free to "like" it , share it , tell me you were there .

I appreciate it !

VERY

VERY

MUCH !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Baby Alaina



Wednesday was the first day of spring.

I'm sure you were all aware of that .

I was too .

However ,

 I think Mother Nature forgot.

Here in the frozen tundra of the boonies,

winter doesn't want to give up.

We had a snow storm last Monday and

we are scheduled to get hit with another 1-2 inches tomorrow.

GRRRR....

 

We had a drought last summer ,

so I really shouldn't complain about the moisture.

And not to sound picky or anything,

But I would rather a 70 degree rain

than freezing rain and snow .

Fussy , I know.

Just can't help it.

 

But ,

the first day of spring did bring new life to my family.

On March 20 at 7:37 am ,

 my second grand daughter was born .

Weighing in at 8 pounds 3 oz !

 

Isn't she just A*DOR*A*BLE !

 

Addie has been so excited for her new baby sissy .

We have been playing with her baby dolls and changing diapers for WEEKS !

 

She is such a good little Mommy !

 

 

And she is going to be a GREAT Big Sister !

 

 

Things have changed SO much since I had my babies,

they have such cool gadgets now.

 I think one of the best is the Boppy Pillow!

Addie can safely hold baby sissy .

( although there is always an adult close by , duh )

 

I just wanted you all to meet my precious new grand daughter.

 

Alaina Jean

 

with Proud Auntie Emily Jean .