Succulent in a Teacup

The lonely saucer-less teacups I found while "thrifting" now have a renewed purpose to their dainty life. No longer do they house highbrow tea, but rich soil full of earthy goodness.

Thanks to the Internet and its endless resource of ideas I feel so much more creative than I actually am.

My mother and mother-in-law each chose a teacup as part of their Mother's Day Gift on Sunday. Kellie wants one for her apartment and Abby has laid claim to one for her room as well.

They are very easy to make. I first broke Styrofoam packing peanuts into small pieces and layered them in the bottom of each teacup for drainage. After the succulent was planted, I topped the soil with moss, although, I like the look of plain soil too. Tiny rocks will also work to cover the dirt if a more arid look is wanted.

I'm pretty pleased.


   

Dear Rachel (#9)

Hi Rachel,
The other day your sister was preparing an omelet for her dinner. This wasn't just a plain old egg omelet, but one with red peppers, onions, and bacon. Of course, after a few chops, the onion began stinging her eyes. Quickly she disappeared into the garage and rounded up the swim goggles. Problem solved.

******************

Last week Travis had state solo/ensemble competitions at Lone Peak High School. Guess who we saw on the band room bulletin board?  . . . YOU!!!

Yep, your momma loves that poster.

******************

I changed up the mantel again. What do you think?

It evolved into a monochromatic nod to family history. I'm not sure why. Perhaps, it is because Kellie has started indexing the 1940 Census. Did she tell you? She actually really likes doing it, and I don't mind being called to her computer on occasion to help decipher names.

Now, back to the mantel. Do you remember the silver teapot and sugar bowl that belonged to Grandma's "Granny"? Those books are from the late 1940s and you've seen the picture of my dad playing the piano when he was a teenager. The silver bowl on the right has been hiding in the cupboard for years. It is engraved with my name and "Outstanding Business Student" 1981-82 (my senior year of high school.) By the way, does it really look like that wreath is held up by duct tape? Both your dad and Kellie asked on two separate occasions! Duct tape? Really? It's silver ribbon for heaven's sake!

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We all miss you and David a ton. Tell him good luck on his qualifying exams. Love you!

Mom

A Hot Pink Cast

Kellie currently sports a lovely hot pink cast. That is the only way the doctor could trust her to let her foot heal. Of course, it doesn't keep her down. The day after surgery she was so sick of lying around on the sofa that she sat herself at the piano and began to play. She only lasted through two songs in this position, but she tried.

What is it that produced such a colorful appendage? Way back in February she basically overtrained for a marathon and broke a small part off the bottom of one her metatarsals and didn't know it. She did know that she was in pain and couldn't walk. Evidently, the tiny bone healed incorrectly and was stabbing other ligaments/tendons. She also sustained a crack in her plantar plate and part of that was where it shouldn't have been either. All this was discovered during surgery. Needless to say, her foot definitely showed all the signs of an impact injury--too much too soon.

Yesterday she got the OK to put weight on her foot so she's taken advantage of being vertical again. Last night she mostly stood as she coached the soccer game, and today she is feeling the effects of that decision.

Kellie loves coaching soccer. She has been an assistant coach for Celtic Storm's U13 Premier team since she transferred from the U of U to BYU last year. In my "unbiased" opinion, she is a great coach and works so well with the girls. She is patient, kind, and encouraging, yet tough, smart, and appropriately demanding. She "gets" soccer and understands the mentality of a young player.

May will be a month of healing for Kellie. But, oh, to be so restricted! She insists that a marathon will be run, and despite her mother's frets, I am sure it will.

This is why I blog.

This is why I blog. It is my history. My family's history. It is my photo-journal. My life.

I was SO EXCITED to open a package from blurb recently with a book I created of the first year of my blog. I have always been a keeper of memories and I've tried to capture them in photos for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I wish I had the mental capacity to replay life's events with picture-perfect clarity, detail, and color just by willing it so--a flashback sequence of the best moments whenever I want to reminisce.

For now this book will have to do.

Latest Diversion

This project is my new favorite down time/waiting time activity. I like it because I can completely crochet around a baby burp cloth in about an hour. It is quick, easy, and almost mindless--no counting stitches involved.

The beauty lies in the chenille yarn. It simply involves single crocheting once around the previously hemstitched edge. One row is all it takes! It's a fun modern look.

When my grandma first taught me how to crochet around receiving blankets, I had to poke my hole through the flannel with each stitch. Now, I simply purchase the previously hemstitched burp cloths (or bibs or blankets) at a local fabric store and I am good to go.

Periodically, I feel like using traditional embroidery thread and crocheting a more involved edge.

(the rick rack stitch)

(the basic shell)

However, this new method fulfills my need for instant (crafting) gratification.

I like having a stash of homemade gifts on hand for my friends and family who recently have had babies. It also makes me feel productive while waiting for the kids' games and events to start. Happy crocheting!

Easter Weekend

Good Friday began with a lovely spring snow storm that dropped a good 4 inches at our house.

Saturday was a day full of fun surprises. This week I discovered that I won a box of Sweet Tooth Fairy cakebites from a giveaway on the Provo Mayor's blog. I expected a tiny sample box, but was pleasantly surprised to receive a box of 24--coconut, double fudge, and red velvet!

Today, Sunday, we will head to church, enjoy a ham dinner with the grandmas (and an aunt and uncle), have a little egg hunt in the backyard, and munch on Reese's peanut butter eggs.

But most importantly, today, we will remember our Savior, Jesus Christ. How grateful I am for him and his eternal sacrifice for me. THIS is the true meaning of Easter Sunday.

Nature's Voice

Whenever I walk out my front door, these gorgeous trees greet me with their pop of pink. It's as if they are overjoyed at the prospect of spring and are just bursting to let the world know.

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12)

Dear Rachel (#8)

Dear Rachel,

Lots of changes are taking place on BYU campus these days. This is the view from the south end of campus (or Cardiac Hill as we called it in my day.)

Do you recognize the route you used to walk?

The house your dad lived in when we were dating (Oz) was on this hillside. Of course in more recent years it was a parking lot, and soon it will be the home of the new Life Sciences Building.

Look! I just found an old picture of Oz (no idea how the house got that name.) Do you see your dad's baby blue VW Rabbit in the carport?

Oz, circa 1984

Several of the old Heritage Hall buildings were torn down this winter as well (those closest to The Creamery on Ninth) to make way for new and improved dorms. Maybe I will post pictures of that construction in my next letter.

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Your brother finally got his driver's license. Basketball season delayed that process a bit, but now he is official. I don't think you ever saw the new-to-him car he gets to drive. Of course, it is a Honda CRX. Would your dad get anything else?

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And, finally, we are trying to talk your dad into putting a garden in this year. All we ask is that he be the principal muscle behind the digging up of the yard, hauling of dirt, etc. We will do the rest. During church Abby sketched a picture of our "happy gardening family". I wonder if it will do the trick. 

Enjoy Atlanta's real spring weather for me this week. (I'm a bit jealous.)

Love you and David lots!

Mom

Tete-a-Tete

These miniature daffodils are called Tete-a-Tete. They are the second flower of spring to bloom in my yard. (Purple crocus are the first.)

Whenever they poke their yellow heads through the soil I have a little tete-a-tete with my dad. It is all in my memory, of course, since he has been gone for over five years.

He was an avid gardener and enjoyed the beauty of a well-manicured yard. He gave me some bulbs (soon after he discovered the variety) and encouraged me to plant them. I did. I had the perfect place--the earthy square beneath my mailbox. They bloomed the next spring and made me happy.

For several springs I saw them bloom, and then we moved. . . only two streets away. But, it was winter. I could no longer claim those tiny springtime blossoms as my own.

I drove by our old house today and saw that they had grown into thick sunshiny clumps. Still welcoming spring with their petite faces.

A couple years ago my mom decided it was time to do some dividing, and I was the welcome recipient of a new crop of these miniature daffodils for my current home. They are offspring of the original bulbs my father bought. I love them. They make me happy.

Funny how a simple thing can stir my remembrance, reflect my mind heavenward, and still make me smile.

Happy Spring!

 

Melted Bead Fun

My kids have been creating with Perler beads for years. How fun to find a new use for them via Pinterest--a melted bead bowl. (The original link is here and here along with a fun how-to video.)

Of course, when I showed Abby my pin on Pinterest she jumped at the chance to make one herself. She didn't stop at just one bowl, but made a smaller version as well.

Then, she made a plate.

Her creativity really kicked in at that point, and she cleverly came up with a way to make a cup.

We now have an entire place setting (minus the utensils, which Abby desperately tried to figure out how to do.)

We inadvertently used two different types of beads and they each melted a bit differently. One type was the original Perler beads and the other was from Ikea. (I can't remember which was which.)

Abby's first attempt at the cup was unsuccessful.

For her second attempt, we put the glass inside a mug with more vertical sides and we baked it in the oven for twice as long. Success!

This was a really fun kid-friendly craft which we never would have come up with on our own. Thanks Pinterest!