Old Light Bulbs Become Christmas Decorations

I'd accumulated some old light bulbs that I didn't want to put in the trash and hadn't found my way over to the recycling center, so I decided to turn them into Christmas ornaments. A quick couple of sprays with the silver spray paint and then I glued on some ribbon as a way to hang them and eh voila, nine light bulbs have a new use. Now I didn't finish them before Christmas so they didn't make it to our Christmas tree this year, but I'll be storing them away for next year with the other glass baubles and will hang them then.  Over the year I may think about adding other decorative elements to these, such as gluing on some shapes in bright colors or putting red or green strips of ribbon on them or some white snowflakey things...... well I've got 11 months to think about this.  Just glad to explore re-use of used light bulbs!

Ever Changing Wreath on Front Door

I'm really into re-use, reduce and recycle so for my front door wreath I used an old twisted twig wreath form that I got years ago in a Michaels Arts and Crafts store and that I update seasonally.  This summer I used red and yellow fake flowers that I found thrown out in someone's trash in the alley (thank you very much!). First I cleaned them up a bit, cut off the extra plastic twiggy bits and then stuck them into the wreath.  The plaid green and blue ribbon I also found in the trash, someone had tossed the unfinished roll out, and you can be sure I spied it and commandeered it for re-use. The ivy leafy vine wrapped around the wreath I got years ago also, probably at The Dollar Store,  great source of cheap arty crafty bits and bobs. I'm quite glad how this colorful wreath brightens up my front door for these late summer days.  Soon, of course, I'll be changing out the flowers for the autumn, that is, once I gather some orangey yellow bits and pieces together.....

Flowers in the Winter; It's all about Watering

Somehow we've got loads of flowers in the house during this cold winter snap in February.  Some lovely orchids are opening up.  I'll be sure not to overwater them as I killed an orchid plant before with too much! Apparently one or two ice cubes a week is all it needs. Then we have some lovely pink tulips that are bulbs sitting on a ledge in a tall vase and as long as you keep the water level up to the ledge, the tulips bloom.  We have four huge pink tulips flowering now!  Then, though they are not really flowers, I have three lovely red poinsettas. These were rescued from the church display in January. They were almost dead from lack of water but they've now resurrected, sitting on sunny window ledges and each drinking a cup of water each week! Then, there's that lovely bunch of a dozen red roses I got for Valentine's Day.  As long as I keep the stems trimmed and the water fresh, they will last a while, I'm sure  It's so wonderful to have flowers in wintertime! 

Striped Amaryllis Just in Time for Christmas

Each year while doing some Christmas shopping in November, I usually pick up an amaryllis bulb and plant it in the kitchen hoping, God willing, it will bloom in time. Well, I planted this one and forgot it was called a Candy Stripe and so was very pleasantly surprised when this started blooming with four lovely heads in bright red with white stripes.  Candy stripes! Christ stripes! I think this is why I like this type of bulb so much.  Of course I've put in some hyacinth and tulip bulbs for next spring, but it's these stunning giant bulbs that come out at Christmas time that I just marvel at every year. This year it stands almost two feet tall and the four flowers each are as big as saucers This one's been blazing away for almost a week now and it's such a delight to have on the kitchen table sharing breakfasts and suppers with us!

Wonder Bread is Morphing

Just like no one really is supposed to eat that lovely puffy perfect-for-french toast white Wonder bread anymore as our collective taste in bread is moving to whole wheat "healthy" loaves, the building where they used to make it is changing right before our eyes. When I first moved into our neighborhood, you could smell the bread baking from several blocks away.  A delicious sweet aroma that always made me think of buttered toast with jam or some other sandwich deliciousness.  And, I'm not sure if it was every day, but they would give away the 'stale' bread and rolls periodically and you might see a line of people queuing up for these. The building has stood empty for years but now it's being gutted and transformed into something else. I  haven't taken the time to see what the development board nearby says but I'm speculating it will be condos or fancy offices or something. I'm glad they are keeping the brickwork and framework and I'm really wondering ( ha ha, did you get that?) what they will do with the red and blue lettering left behind.

Perfectly Cracked Steps and Tilting Brick

There's just something about this very imperfect front yard with its tilting brick column, mismatched wood fence, cracked concrete steps, and useless leaning wrought iron gate that appeals to me. I even like the uneven mortaring of  the bricks and the slightly off-center cap on the brick column.  This "mess" is located on First Street NW and whenever I pass by I find myself enjoying this not-so-neat juxtaposition of materials.  While it's probably a hazard for pedestrians to enter this house yard as the steps are so damaged, you  have to admit there is evidence here of someone trying to make their front yard look better than just dirt and concrete.  But it looks like snow and ice and rain have done their inevitable work and heaved everything out of line. Other front yard entrances on First Street are very neat and tidy, even architectural, and that's what everyone likes and presumably wants.  However, this home-made attempt surely tells us that weather and water are more powerful than our sometimes good intentions. And, wouldn't  you agree, the palette of colors here -- reds, beige, grey, greens, white, black --  is enjoyable just on that basis alone?

Amazing Amaryllis Flowers Again in BloomingdaleDC House!

Amaryllis blooms again, maybe slightly smaller

I was stunned to see yet another flower stem starting from my $9.99 Walmart amaryllis bulb after it had previously flowered. We'd enjoyed a blaze of color during Advent and once the flowers died I cut all the stalks down. But Lo and Behold, this giant bulb shot out another stalk and this week, the first week of January 2012, I am enjoying yet another lovely blazing red blooming of amaryllis. I did not know these bulbs could generate two heads of flowers in one season. All I'm giving it is water and a lot of light and it's giving us glory. Hmm.... Wonderful! Amazing! Lovely!

Summer Garden with Flowers

Nasturtiums

Yucca

 I really do like to have something flowering all the time in both the front and back gardens and this June I've had bright orange and yellow nasturiums for the first time, the big white bells of the Yucca cactus, some glorious orange and some red tiger lilies and a lot of pale yellow to orange day lilies. I like all my flowers and each year the yards are slightly different as it seems the sun and how much I water them really affects whether I will have a lot of blooms. Also, I use some plant food and some kitchen things to feed them. But right now, there's lots of flowers and I'm very happy. My neighbor thinks I'm an expert gardener; I'm not. I actually quite lazy and only grow what grows easily. I just can't be bothered to fuss too much, after all weeding is backbreaking and I only want to be doing it once a month.  And I only get around to cutting the grass once a month too.

Golden Asiatic lilies

June back garden with day lilies

No Bobbies in DC

You might see some double decker red buses whizzing around filled with tourists in DC but you are not going to see a couple of London policemen with their anti-cosh round helmets standing on the corner calling in on their wireless devices. These two were near Trafalgar Square when I was there recently and they were busy reporting in to HQ using their wireless devices. They wore very serious expressions and were heavily armed, including wearing bulletproof vests. In fact, due to the elevated emergency alert, I saw a lot of security in London. When we got off the plane two army soldiers guarded the shopping mall at Heathrow Airport, once we'd made it through Passport Control.  They were carrying machine guns and had bands of bullets slung around their shoulders.  They did not make eye contact with anyone and gave the impression, by their stance and set of the jaw, that they would shoot anyone who was determined upon terrorist activity.. At the train stations, we also saw more security guards and policemen than we usually do. They were very good at monitoring the crowds managing to never catch your eye but very alert and watchful every time a train pulled in or out. The crowds were dense, so I imagine their job was quite difficult.

Love them Summer Roses!

While my front yard does go out of control in the rambling columbine vine department, and there are a number of other mysterious things growing there that I swear I never planted, the pot with the bright pink red roses hasn't failed once this summer. From the day I planted this rose bush two months ago to now in the sticky mid-August heat, this little bush just keeps on budding and flowering and blessing me and every passerby with its small and lovely flowers.  I forget the name of the rose plant but if they have them on sale at Home Depot or Lowe's later this month, and if they are in white or yellow, I think I'll go get a couple more. This is the kind of gardening I like! Just plant 'em and water 'em when I remember, shake a little plant food occasionally, and off they grow, sharing their little flower faces with us! What joy!

Home Grown Tomatoes Are the Best

This evening I cut open one of the tomatoes grown in the back yard and that I'd picked recently. This one smelled amazingly like a tomato should, a little sharp and sweet and like the garden somehow. It was filled with very bright red fruit and almost no seeds and was totally delicious with fontina cheese and avocado. So far, I've grown about two dozen tomatoes and pick them when they are orange red off the vine and then sit them in the sunny window to finish the ripening process. I put them all in a bowl and we eat them like any fruit, with whatever else it is that we are eating.Miraculous!

Watching the Gardening Flower

On Sunday mornings I usually have an hour or so to relax since we usually go to Church at 5 p.m. and this morning was no different. I sipped my coffee and watched my garden grow from the front porch and it was just a delight. The new rose bush has the brightest crimson flowers, the pink crepe myrtle is about to peak with its frothy fronds, the roses of Sharon are blazing away, the little red gold marigolds are starting up and even a few day lilies are still hanging about. An interesting smoky dark blue bird, slightly larger than a sparrow, hopped along the neighbor's fence with something wriggly in his beak, catching my eye due to his (her?) lovely color. There was an amazing breeze that swept into the tree across the street making the leaves rustle and rattle and making me think of rivers and trees. Feeling energized, I watered every plant that called out to me, "Me thirsty!" and then transplanted a few seedlings into bigger spaces so they could grow better, taking care to make sure I didn't rip my back out again. But it was glorious and sunny and stayed that way all day even when I went inside and cooked Sunday dinner.