Ok...I don't have pics because of various reasons....the main one being that our computer is bogged down and I can't download any at the moment. Argh.

Anyway, I'm tickled because I was able to adapt a pair of shorts from Salvation Army to fit my expanding preggo-belly! I can't stand anything on my tummy right now, as "small" as I am. So underbelly has been my fit of choice lately. And these shorts were just perfect, with enough stretch to fasten after adjusting.

I started by ripping them almost to the sideseams and then trying them on, pinning the waistband where I wanted it to fit. I just trimmed away the extra fabric, and sewed the waistband back on...made easier with my upholstery sewing machine. I think I could've used my normal machine, but I wanted stronger thread.

Anyway, it didn't take too long and now I have a pair of shorts that fit...for $1.19! After browsing the web and looking at the cost of maternity clothes, that has left me searching for alternatives.

I'll try to take pics to post later...I have another pair I'm going to alter the same way in a different wash, and a pair of pants too. The latter will have to have a hook closure or something to give me a bit more room...heh. So far so good though! I am just tickled pink...lol.

That's the word that comes to mind these days. Winter wasn't as dreary and grey as last year, but that doesn't diminish the glory of spring...the daffodils are up and smiling, the pear trees and pink magnolias are showing color, everything is fresh and greening up. Woot! And there's nothing like the smell of hyacinth....yum.

My dh came home a couple of weeks ago and wanted to till the garden. Normally that takes some thought and preparation on my part, but I grudgingly agreed. I shouldn't have. While I was trying to dig up some canna lily tubers that showed up last year, my dh plowed across the front of the garden instead of going the other way. So it ended up with me bawling my eyes out, pawing in the dirt to see if there were any peony tubers left, a fresh burst of tears with each broken pink bud that showed up. I had such a hard time with them last year...not knowing what they were and almost killing them, pinching the flower buds off to help them get established. *sigh* Some things were not meant to be. There were probably 15-20 tubers across the front fence, and I just had it pitcured in my mind with those beautiful blossoms nodding over the fence. Boo-hoo. I'm still trying to get over it.

Fortunately there are others scattered around the yard for me to look forward to. The buds have popped up and some leaves are starting to uncurl. It's all so exciting!

I even noticed some tulip buds starting to pop out...won't be long now. I need to remember to take a picture of the front of the house while it's all pretty. There are lots of daffodils to brighten things up. I'm hoping to get some popsicle sticks to label where the bulbs are and what kind, so I can split some of them up for next year. A lot of them are in tight clusters and need a bit of room, I think. Plus, I always think about landscaping ideas around this time of year, on days when winter tightens it's grip and I'd rather be indoors.

I think I have solidified my idea of the color scheme to shoot for, so now can begin compiling lists of plants to find and start marking which ones to relocate in the yard. I need to give some iris attention...it's at the back of a deep bed and needs a place where it can be seen. All that I have are yellow, but the neighbor shared some periwinkle blue with me that will look really nice mixed in.

This house is so perfect for me (us). Light green with peachy-orange under the eaves. So anyway, my idea is to do yellows and oranges, with purples/blue for contrast with maybe a bit of red thrown in for some kick. There are already some things here with those colors, lilies in particular, so that gives me a head start. Especially since we don't have money to devote to landscaping this year. Hopefully I can find a few dollars here and there to buy a few perennials. I was so hoping to get the yard in shape before baby arrives. So I only have a few months to work on it before the garden demands more attention and I'm so fat that moving becomes difficult! I was joking the other day that I'll have to make the garden rows twice as wide this year, just so I can move around!

My dh said the buds on our snow goose cherry are getting bigger...I expect blooms in a few more weeks. Middle of April or so? I can't wait...I hope the neighbors or whoever sees it will enjoy and like the choice we made for our "replacement" tree.

I need to check the Farmer's Almanac for good planting days this week. I managed to get some sugar snaps in the ground, but have so much more I'd love to plant! Kale, spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, collards, beets, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. The last three I bought starts for...we'll see how they do. The cabbage did alright last year, but I need to be on top of things and dust with diatomaceous earth (DE) to try to keep the worms away. Hopefully starting them early will make them happier and avoid some heat.

So anyway, those are my ramblings this morning. The sun is out and I need to work on an upholstery project I've been stalling on. I moved everything to the "sun porch" where it's warm and bright, so no excuses for me today. *grin*

Oh...brief update on my pregnancy...I'm at sixteen and a half weeks and feeling great. The midwife came and checked everything last week, and we got to record the heartbeat. So amazing. My iron is a little low, so I'm working on that...pulling out the cast iron pan to season and trying to eat blackstrap molasses. The most fun things is I think I'm starting to feel the baby. Just the last day or so I have started to feel little thumps or almost twitches. I'm not positive yet, but it's exciting anyway. Hopefully it's not just in my head because I want it so bad! *lol*

Well, toodles...

The house project we've been working on all summer is the sun porch. You ever have those projects that seem easy, but require much more time, energy and money than you ever thought possible? This has been one of those...heh.

We took out the old carpet only to discover the board underneath was rotten and smelled like cat pee. So we ripped it out, to uncover the porch boards underneath.

Meanwhile the carpet is sitting in the hall the whole time...grrr.

So we finally got it cleaned out...

...cut the new board and nailed it in...

...and got the new carpet roughly cut to size.

I think we worked on it every night last week! Today I'm going to set the nails in the baseboard, caulk the holes and cracks, and maybe get the touch-up painting finished. Whew. I'm so ready for this to be done! There are huge boston ferns in the entryway and living room, waiting to be hung in their new home. I couldn't stand to see them killed by the frost, when there's room available.

So when it gets all done and the plants moved back in, I'll post some more pics to show it off!

Well, last Saturday dH decided to take the tree down. One of the few we need to remove this fall. Only this one was the biggest, in front of the house close to the street. A giant diseased maple whose time had come, with its dropped bark and bare limbs over half the tree. What a sad thing to undertake.

So we got up and started in about 9:30, before traffic got too bad. It was a little scary at first, with me trying to be strong enough to pull a branch out of the way with rope so it didn't bust the gutters or break a window.

Thank goodness we are lucky enough to have the best neighbors possible. Who has neighbors that show up and start helping, taking time out of their Saturday? Without them, we would have been in a mess! For one, our ladder was way too short to complete the job. And it would have taken forever for just the two of us.

So they helped until noon, when we got it down to the trunk part.

Then we had some friends from work show up with their wives and kids and chainsaws, and they went to town on the huge parts.

Meantime, the kids played in the back with the dogs and chickens.

And by dark, all that was left was a foot high stump. Whew. And lots of raking and stacking and such. But the majority....done. Amazing.

And I'm so glad to have everything getting back to normal now, even though I feel like my house is naked and I can't hide anything now. Time to work on the front beds, especially now that the hostas will be in full sun and the ferns.

Oh...and I'm assuaging my grief with thoughts of our new tree, coming shortly. It will be a 10ft. Snow Goose Cherry, growing to about 30' x 30'. We saw one at the UT Botanical Gardens this past spring, and it was georgeous!! So we're excited about that. Hopefully we can find a place to dig a hole big enough...I want it close to the where the maple was. And it will be fun to have something that's not so common. Here's a pic through the trees.

So that's that. Now we just have to take out the black walnut, (in the power lines and messy) and this other smaller tree that's dying and blocking my garden light anyway. And trim back the maple in the back yard that's hanging over the house.

And weed all the beds to prepare for pansies and such...and rake leaves to add to the compost...and till the garden to prepare for the launch of lasagna gardening....and I better get started or this will never get done!!

Here are a few pics that I've taken recently. Can you tell I'm lovin' the orange?

Here's a cool lily that's blooming in the garden.

When you let dusty miller go to bloom, it puts up cheery clusters of little yellow flowers that the insects love.

Here's some thyme and mint that are blooming out front. (I know...I know. I'm starting to pull the mint out. It's trying to take over. I need to find a pot where it can be happy all by itself.)

The sedum is starting to bloom too.

A storm came through and knocked a bunch of glads over, with the result that I get to enjoy a whole passle of them! I'm stingy with my flowers...heh. I don't know why, but I just never would have thought to pick this many to bring indoors.

Echinacea with wierd looking fly.

Single petaled poppy above, and cleome below. They say the latter spreads like crazy. I guess I'll find out soon, as I'm just enjoying it right now!

The purple cabbage didn't seem to get cabbage worms as bad...but then, it's taking longer to head up than the others.

My brussel sprouts are starting to form little sprouts at the base of the leaves! I'm so excited...this is one of dh's favorite veggies.

And looky looky...my first okra bloom. I planted marigolds in between some of them, and those seem stunted. I'm wondering if they just don't like each other, or it's just a competition for nutrients?

I bought 2 heirloom varieties of toms. The beefsteak, below, has had a major problem with splitting. I think it's better now that I'm making sure they get water more regularly.

The romas are loaded...

I think these are Brandywine...

Didn't expect the squash to make it...they got a late start. Glad I was wrong.