Empty Nest Gardens and Quilts

Tiger Cubs at OKC Zoo

2012-01-13T17:58:00.000-06:00

The Oklahoma City Zoo has 4 new tiger cubs. They were born July 9th, 2011, 3 females and 1 male.

This is Momma, her name is Suriya. She is watching over her cubs.

The cubs were behind a fence so it is in most of the pictures. They look large but they are about the size of a German Shepherd dog. For a tiger that is still pretty small.

The male was named Leonidus. The 3 females were named Leeloo, Lucy and Lola.

It is rare for a tiger to have four cubs; most have two or three. And it is very rare for all four cubs to survive.

There are only 250 left in the wild. 66 live in accredited zoos. Now there are 71 in living in a zoo!!

They started getting soooo tired.

All tuckered out.

Until next time,

Snow Oh My Goodness

2012-01-11T21:51:00.000-06:00

We had a light snow tonight, our first this winter. Totally caught me by surprise. I wore a T-shirt, shorts and flipflops all day so I wasn't dressed for snow. Good thing I stayed home all day.

Crazy weather, warm one minute, snowing the next.

I should have a blog post in the next few days showing our new tiger cubs at the OKC zoo. They are soooooo cute.

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T11:26:00.001-06:00

I am more than happy to say goodbye to 2011. For me it has not been a good year. Wow, what a downer way to start a blog post.

On a good note, I just finished my 5th chemo treatment and I am feeling pretty good. One more treatment to go and I will be finished with chemo, woohoo, celebration!! 2012 is already looking better.

My only New Year's resolution is to get healthy in 2012 and put cancer behind me. In 2012 I have one more chemo treatment, 6 weeks of radiation and another surgery in August. By this time next year I can say "bye bye" to cancer.

So I leave 2011 showing you the blooms in my greenhouse. It is so much fun to go to the greenhouse on a cold winter day and have blooming plants greet me.

Bird of Paradise

Ti plant, No blooms but lots of color

Angel Wing Begonia

Cyclamen

I think this is Josephs Coat

Bird of Paradise again....because I love them so much!

Kalanchoe and Poinsettia

I hope you have a very Happy New Year!!

Until next time,

Christmas Lights at Chesapeake

2011-12-11T18:47:00.000-06:00

These are the Christmas lights at the Chesapeake Energy business complex in Oklahoma City.

My daughter and I had attended the Christmas program at her church. Mother had told me I needed to go see these lights so after the program we drove to Chesapeake. Mom was right. This light display is spectacular.

We took turns taking pictures of each other.

There is Christmas music playing and the lights on the trees change color with the music.

If you live in the Oklahoma City area and haven't seen these lights I highly recommend that you drive by the complex.

Since then I have had my fourth chemo treatment. My side effects have not been near as bad this time. Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Until next time,

My 6 Trees for Christmas

2011-12-07T08:00:00.002-06:00

I have 6 decorated Christmas trees in my house. Sounds impressive, BUT 4 of them stay decorated all year long. I can pick them up and store them in a closet. The 2 large trees are a little work.

This little 9 inch tree is in my bathroom

This tree is about 12 inches tall and sits in the kitchen

A little larger, this tree sits in our sun room

Our Charlie Brown tree in the living room

This is my tree. It is completely decorated with Wizard of Oz ornaments. It is 4 foot tall and sits in the dining room.

Picture taken with a flash

And here is the big one, 7 foot tall, sitting in the living room. It has hundreds of ornaments on it and took me, my daughter and 2 granddaughters 3 hours to decorate. It is our memory tree. Each ornament was purchased on a trip or is a special gift from someone.

Picture taken without a flash, I kind of like this version

My daughter was very happy to be finished decorating.

I will be shopping the after Christmas sales. I NEED another 4-5 foot tree....right!!

Happy Holidays.

Until next time,

I'm Back

2011-12-05T21:19:00.000-06:00

Oh my, it has been a long time since I did a blog post. My last chemo treatment was a little harder to recover from than the first 2. I was in bed 4 days, then another 4 days of feeling lousy. By then it was the day before Thanksgiving. I was serving Thanksgiving dinner to 15 at my house so I called in my Mom and kids to help me prepare the food. I could not have done it without them.

I felt good Thanksgiving day. We had a great day. I also celebrated my birthday. I truly cherish my birthdays now. Cancer can make you look at life differently. Instead of dreading the fact that I am getting older, I celebrate the fact that I was given another year of life.

Since then I have been running around frantically trying to get my house decorated for Christmas and get all of my Christmas shopping finished.

You see.....in 3 days I have my 4th chemo treatment and if it is anything like the last one I will be down for over a week. Yikes, I have Christmas parties to attend, gifts to wrap, christmas caroles to sing.

Enough with the blah blah blah, it will all work itself out.

One thing I love about this time of year....I get to use my Christmas dishes!! The pattern is called Winter's Greetings. I start using it Thanksgiving Day and use it throughout December.

My kids bought me the first 4 place settings and I keep adding to it. I now have service for 20.

I hope you are enjoying your holiday season. Tomorrow I will be doing a post about our Christmas Trees.

Me and Hubby (see I still have my hair!!)

Until next time,

What's blooming in my garden

2011-11-16T21:20:00.000-06:00

Today I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of the blooms in the garden before it freezes.

Welcome!! Come on in and have a look around.

Pineapple Sage

Spoon Mums

More Mums

The last of the Knockout Roses

Summer Phlox....Still blooming. Old Man Winter is blowing into Oklahoma.

Tomorrow I have another chemotherapy treatment. Here I am 3 weeks ago getting chemo treatment #2. I always get cold during a treatment so I am glad I have this prayer quilt to keep me warm. Thank you again Karring Quilters of Emmaus Baptist Church for this quilt. I use it all of the time.

I will be "down" for about 3 days. I plan to stay in bed, watch movies and read until I feel better. Next week is Thanksgiving and we always celebrate at my house. This year my Mom, daughers and granddaughters are coming the day before to help me cook and clean. I have such a great family. I couldn't do it without them this year.

Until next time,

Houston International Quilt Festival Part 2

2011-11-13T22:07:00.000-06:00

These are a few more of my favorite quilts from the Houston IQF 2011. Enjoy.

A Little Help from my Friends by Martha A. Turner

Unfinished Quilt by Renelda Peldunas-Harter

I Love Cats - Sumire and Ten Cats
By Masanobu Miyama, Japan

Friends of Baltimore by Susan Garman and friends

O Happy Day by Timna Tarr

Detail of O Happy Day

Gone to Texas by Ardie Skjod Quilted by Debbie Blair

Detail of Gone to Texas

Until next time,

Color in the Yard

2011-11-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

2011 will go down in Oklahoma history as the year of weather extremes. We have set record snowfall, had the coldest temperature every recorded in the state, the hottest summer ever on record, the highest wind speed ever recorded, severe drought and tornadoes. On top of that many wildfires during those windy days and now earthquakes. All I can say is "oh my goodness, what is next?".

With that said, I think the fall color in my yard is the most beautiful ever.

This is an old native black jack oak tree and look at that color. Crazy.

Our state is not generally known for it's fall color.

I took this picture 2 days ago. I think this may be the last Monarch butterfly left in city. You can tell the mums are almost over the hill.

Next time more from the Houston International Quilt Festival.

Until next time,

Earthquake and Houston International Quilt Festival Part 1

2011-11-07T08:52:00.000-06:00

Hello friends,

I am feeling great. Last week I was in Houston for my annual trip to the Houston International Quilt Festival. If you are a quilter or if you enjoy looking at the work of the world's best textile artists then the Houston IQF is the place to be. It is always held around the first week in November.

For the next few posts I will be showing some of my favorite quilts from the show. I hope you enjoy them.

Weeds Are Flowers Too by Terry Grant of Portland Oregon

I LOVE bees so this little quilt was a favorite. It is 12 inches x 12 inches. It is one of the quilts from the Twelve by Twelve project: The International Art Quilt Challenge. There were 12 quilters involved in this project. They have published a book about the challenge. You can read more about it here if you are interested. All of the quilts from the challenge were on display at the show.

Rare Birds by Rachel Wetzler from St. Charles Illinois

Close up of Rare Birds

Isn't this just the cutest whimsical quilt you have ever seen? It won 3rd place in the Art Whimsical category.

Gossip Garden by Debra Martinez of Hobart Indiana

You can click on this picture to see more of the detail. What a clever woman to dream this quilt up and then be able to execute it so beautifully.

My husband drove me down to Houston. We didn't know if I would be able to do that much walking or if I would lose my hair while I was there BUT I felt great and again, I still have hair. This not knowing how I will feel from day to day is driving me crazy.

We got home Saturday afternoon. That evening, around 10:50pm, we had one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma. It was a 5.6. We were both sound asleep when it hit. It was scary, scary, scary. No damage because we don't live that close to the epicenter. The quake was felt all over the state. Friends were posting to Facebook like crazy.

Today we are having a light rain with a little thunder. My husband heard the thunder and said "is that another tremor"? We are getting a little jumpy around here. Thunder used to be a normal occurrence, now we are listening for earthquakes!!

Until next time,

Mums and Me

2011-10-30T19:17:00.000-05:00

I will start this blog post off with Me. I had a chemo treatment last Wednesday and it was a little rougher than the last one. I felt pretty bad Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The chemo causes me to have a headache and acid reflux and the "day-after-chemo" shot (that helps build up my white blood count) causes me to have flu-like symptoms.

The next treatment I plan to simply sleep for 3 days. Just stay in bed, watch some good movies and sleep. Sounds like a good plan to me!! (oh, I still have all my hair)

My husband always gives me roses after a chemo treatment. He is so sweet to me.

Now to talk about my mums. The mums are in full bloom at the Empty Nest Gardens.

The pictures above and below are the same mum, the photos were taken at different times during the day. This is my favorite of all my mums.

These are also a favorite. Spoon Mums.

Thanks for visiting.

Until next time,

Greenhouse Remodel

2011-10-25T19:24:00.000-05:00

Last year my greenhouse was absolutely full of plants that I was over-wintering. It was so full that I could barely squeeze inside to water and there definitely was no room for starting seeds.

This fall my wonderful husband doubled the size of the greenhouse. He had built the original lean-to type greenhouse on the south side of our house so he was familiar with how it was constructed.

The foundation is built from cinder blocks. I have no knowledge of construction so I will not attempt to describe the building process.

Here you can see the original greenhouse. In the summer it serves as our pool house, holding all the floaties, etc for the swimming pool.

Here is the "almost" finished addition. He will lay the concrete pavers along the foundation to help with soil erosion during rain storms. It also needs to be painted but for now it is sealed and the plants are happy campers inside. It is heated with a natural gas furnace.

This is a view inside the original half. There is plenty of space for my plants and me!!

The view from inside the original greenhouse into the new. The water spicket is in the center. He took out the original windows and moved them to the outer wall. He left the original outer walls to support what is now the center of the greenhouse. So I simply step through the opening to get to the other side.

The floor is gravel with black weed barrier underneath. This is my potting bench.

Opposite the potting bench are my cactus and succulents and the shelving with the yellow water can is for growing flats of seedlings.

A view back into the original half. In the corner I have lighted shelves where I start my seedlings from seed.

Thank you for taking a tour of my greenhouse.

Tomorrow I have another chemotherapy treatment. I still have all of my hair but I may lose it during this treatment....although I have been saying that....so maybe I will be lucky and never lose it.

Just in case, I got another wig from the American Cancer Society yesterday. Now I have 2 wigs, 3 ball caps, 1 straw hat and 7 chemo hats. I'm ready to be bald if it happens. When the time comes I will model a few of them for you.

Until next time,

Komen Race for the Cure

2011-10-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Oklahoma City. This 1 mile walk/5K walk/run raises money to find a cure for breast cancer.

The race started and ended at the Bricktown Ballpark. Opening and closing ceremonys were held inside the park.

My friend walked with me. I was having back spasms during the week so we walked the 1 mile fun walk. We walked it in 18 minutes. Not too bad for a girl taking chemo. Next year I hope to walk/jog the 5K.

Crossing the finish line before the thousands behind us. My Mom and oldest daughter were there to cheer for us and my daughter was doing the photography.

Survivors were given roses at the finish line.

We finished about 5 minutes before the mass of 5K walker/runners finished. There were over 18,000 participants.

After the race they had participants that were breast cancer survivors come onto the ball field. Here I am receiving my 2011 medal. I will hang it on my christmas tree this year.

I was so excited to be on the ball field. I had to step on every base. I love baseball. Oh, and did you hear that MY Texas Rangers are in the World Series AGAIN this year? Ok, Ok, I digress

The race raised over $1 million and most of that money will stay right here in Oklahoma.

As you can tell I am feeling pretty good right now and I still have all my hair!! My next chemo treatment is next week, October 26.

Until next time,

Blogger's Block of the Month #1

2011-10-10T17:08:00.000-05:00

Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works has recruited several talented bloggers to design blocks and tutorials for a free Bloggers block of the month quilt. You do not have to have a blog to join in on the fun.

Today I finished my quilt block for the first month.

I am using Kaffe Fassett and Phillip Jacobs fabrics from my stash. Finally my Kaffe stash is being put to use.

If you are interested in joining the group click here to get started.

Until next time,

Hair Cut and Blooms

2011-10-07T16:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got my hair cut and my wig styled. I will show the wig later when I need to wear it but for now this is my new do.

Self portrait of the front. I will have to use the flat iron on my bangs.

My husband took this picture. My hair is very curly so I will let the back do it's own thing. This hair do will be fine for the next 3 weeks.

First day after chemo was a little rough. Woke up at 4am with a headache and nauseated. But I took my meds and felt good by 10am. I had to go back to the hospital for a shot that would help build up my blood count. They said it might cause flu like symptoms and told me to take Benedryl. I did and so far so good, no symptoms.

Day 2 after chemo has been great. I have felt fine today.

I have felt good enough to trim shrubs and snap a few pictures of the blooms in my yard.

I love this color combination of the yellow melampodium and purple gomphrena.

Black and Blue Salvia

Petunias peaking through the gate.

Periwinkles draping over the side of a container

That's all for now. I hope you have a wonderful blessed weekend.

Until next time,

Chemo went great and Pleasant Home

2011-10-05T16:43:00.000-05:00

Today I had chemotherapy and it went great this time. No problems at all. For anyone that may be reading this and are taking chemo this is my chemo cocktail: Methotrexate, 5-FU, Cytoxan. I am feeling fine right now.

Tomorrow I have a hair appointment to get my hair cut short. It will fall out in 14-21 days. The stylist is going to style my wig also. I will post pictures of the transition.

Now for the exciting news. I follow a blog called Pleasant Home Jodi was having a giveaway and I won!!

She was giving away scrap fabric that she had collected. When I got home from chemo I had a big package in the mail box. How fun is that! There was a lot of fabric in this package as you can see. I am working on a cathedral window quilt and I will use some of it for that project. I also want to make a hexagon quilt...but that is a project that is on my bucket list for now.

Thank you Jodi for the fabric. And if you are interested in reading a fabulous blog click here and check out Pleasant Home.

Until next time,

POPS and More Chemo

2011-10-04T05:07:00.000-05:00

Last week my husband was out of town on business so my friend, who lives in Indiana, came to stay with me. We thought I might be sick from the last chemo treatment and she would take care of me while he was gone. But since the chemo didn't work out I was feeling great so her and I had a wonderful week together.

The first day my Mother came to the house and we all drove to Tulsa and met my sister at the Tulsa Zoo.

My sister, my best friend and me

Oklahoma City has a new outlet mall and of course we had to do some shopping. I will be spending a lot of time at that mall in the future. I loved it!!

We visited a resturant called POPS in Arcadia, Oklahoma. They have over 500 different soda pops available. My Mom and her friend Chuck met us there. Chuck, Thanks for buying us dinner.

Me standing by POP's bottle

Here is my friend drinking a soda I picked for her called Bug Barf...hahaha. It think it was a Kiwi and Pineapple mix. She liked it.

We got to spend some relaxing time outside. The temperature was in the 90's but the mornings and evenings were perfect for sitting outside for a little girl talk.

Now I am preparing to try another round of chemotherapy. It is scheduled for 10am on Wednesday, Oct 5. I will be given 3 different chemo drugs this time. If all goes well I will be cutting my hair short on Thursday or Friday....that is if I feel well enough.

Here I am contemplating what the future holds. I am ready to get chemo started and over with. I am so tired of thinking about it and wondering how bad it will be.

Check back when I hope to talk about post chemo.

Until next time,

When Chemotherapy Goes Bad

2011-09-21T20:00:00.001-05:00

Today I had my first chemotherapy treatment. It almost killed me. But before I tell you about that I will start with yesterday when I had a port surgically placed in my chest.

The day started with chemo class where I learned about the side effects of chemo. This information may have saved my life today.

Before surgery my family said I looked like a Blue Bonnet or a Blue Sunflower.

After surgery I had a allergic reaction to the something they had put on my neck. The nurse put this heated blanket around my head. When they rolled me into my room my husband thought I looked so funny that he just had to snap this picture.

In this picture you can see the port in my chest and you can also see the red rash on my neck, itchy itchy.

They started my chemo session around 12 noon.

For the first 45 minutes they gave me nausea medication, benedryl, and Xantax.

A friend had given me this Holding Cross. It was very comforting to hold the cross.

I also wore my BFF braclet so my "Best Friend Forever" would be there with me.

My husband, my mother and her friend were all there supporting me.

The first chemo chemical that they gave me was Taxotere. Once it was started I sent my husband to get a prescription filled for nausea medicine. My mother was in the waiting room. About 5 minutes after the chemo started dripping I couldn't breath and my heart started beating out of my chest. I knew from what I had learned in class that I needed a nurse immediately. There was no family there to get a nurse. Thankfully a nurse walked by and I yelled at her.

At this point my face flushed bright red. It felt like it was on fire. Then my back started hurting, a little at first then I had very severe back pain. The nurse stopped the chemo drip and gave me an injection of steroids. My blood pressure was very low then it went extremely high.

I actually thought I was going to die.

I was back to normal in about 20 minutes.

Prayer works.

My oncologist checked on me several times during this episode. She said I had a severe reaction to the Taxotere which is very unusual. We are going to try again the first week in October with some other combination of chemicals.

They let me go home once my blood pressure was stabilized.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Until next time,

The Great State Fair of.....OKLAHOMA

2011-09-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to the State Fair. I love the fair even though it is about the same every year. Attending the fair is one of our family traditions that was started when I was a young child.

There were only 3 of us yesterday. My oldest daughter is on the left, her partner is in the center and I am on the right. Thank you Cox Communication for providing this picture.

I hope to take my grandkids to the fair next weekend but I will have to see how chemotherapy goes.

We get to the fair as soon as it opens and we ALWAYS start with a huge cinnamon roll with buttercreme icing. I did share this one with my kids.

The Native Americans are a big part of Oklahoma and we celebrate their heritage.

These were new at the fair this year. They are Garden Sloggers and oh my goodness, they are so comfortable. They say a lot of nurses wear these since they are waterproof. I will be using them to stomp around in the garden. They are made in Canton Texas so "Made in America" woohoo!! They cost $35 so if you are interested in a pair here is their website. They have 5 color choices.

Health Update: I found out Friday that I will have surgery on Tuesday to put the port in my chest. I had no idea it was a surgery. I thought it was like an IV and they just poked it into your chest and you went on your merry way. I am learning so much right now.

On Friday I colored my hair for the last time until it grows back in. Yes, I color my hair. I always have. I think my hair is a mousy dishwater blonde but who would know...not me! You better believe that if it comes back in gray it will not be that way for long...lol.

Until next time,

Chemotherapy Begins...YUCKY

2011-09-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

First off, totally unrelated to my topic, the Oklahoma State Fair starts today. I love the fair, my family loves the fair. And just as predicted the high today will be 62 degrees and rainy. This is truly great fair weather. The next 2 Saturdays I will be at the fair with my family. I can't wait.

Now for the YUCKY part. Yesterday I received a call from my oncologist asking me to come into her office to meet with her. That is usually not a good sign. If it was good news she would have told me over the phone.

My Absynnian Banana is about 6 foot tall. It likes the shade. I must throw in a few pictures to keep this blog beautiful..lol

My Oncotype DX test results were in. Oncotype DX is a diagnostic breast cancer test that looks at the activity in 21 different genes in my breast tumor tissue. The test measures the chances of my breast cancer returning and the likelihood of my benefiting from chemotherapy.

I scored a 23 on the test. The scale runs from 1 to 100 with 50 and above being the worst case. I thought a 23 was very good but it is considered marginal. My doctor recommended that I take chemotherapy but the decision was left up to me. She said there are no guarantees with any of these treatments. The cancer may return even if I take chemotherapy and radiation. Also the cancer may never return even if I don't take chemotherapy. It's a roll of the dice.

I planted my miniature banana in the ground this year (verses leaving it in a pot). It loves being out of that pot! It has produced bananas in the past that I could eat.

I talked to my husband. I made the decision to take chemotherapy. If the cancer were to return at least we both would have a peace of mind that we did everything possible to prevent it. So again I am thinking about losing my hair and all the other horrible side effects that come with this treatment.

The chemo cocktail that I will be taking is a combination of Cytoxan and Taxotere. I will take 6 treatments, one every 3 weeks ending sometime in January. Then I will start 6 weeks of radiation.

This cocktail causes 5% of the patients to develop leukemia. Hopefully I will be part of the 95% that it doesn't effect.

In the next week I will have a port inserted into my chest. This should help save the veins in my left arm. Since I had lymph nodes removed in my right underarm I can never have blood drawn or blood pressure taken in that arm again.

I have chemo class next Tuesday then chemotherapy starts on Wednesday September 21.

Please remember that I am putting all of this information into my blog for my own reference and for anyone else that might be interested in my journey or is going through the same treatments.

I am not usually a "Debbie Downer" but I plan on documenting this whole process on my blog. Never ever feel obligated to leave a comment. I promise this will NOT become a depressing blog.

The saying in our family is "It's All Good".

Thanks everyone for caring.
Until next time,

100 Degrees Again?

2011-09-13T20:13:00.000-05:00

What is up with this weather?

I took this picture of our local weather man on September 1. At that time I thought we were at the end of the hottest summer ever.....BUT Noooooooo.....today it was 104 degrees at my house.

BUT the State Fair of Oklahoma starts on Thursday which means rain and cooler weather is coming. The weathermen are forecasting rain for Thursday. It is so funny that it rains every year during the fair.

It has been a while since I posted any pictures of my cats. Today Nosey will be my model.

Behind Nosey (where the blue garden hose is) used to be nice green grass.

It has all burned up in the heat.

Guess I didn't use that blue garden hose enough.

And you can tell Nosey is sitting in a dry birdbath. No birds for her today!!

She is sitting on top of the grandkids playground set, about 8 foot high. She has a very good view of the garden from here.

That's all for now. Until next time,

Monarchs Are Here

2011-09-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

Today I was working in the garden and Oh My Goodness, there were Monarch butterflies everywhere.

I plan to get back to my normal blogging theme with health updates thrown in here and there.

Right now I am in a holding pattern like this Monarch. The doctors haven't decided where I should land.

Last week I was tattooed for radiation. Radiation was to start this week.

Then I found out I must take chemo before radiation if in fact I need chemo.

We are waiting for a test result that was ordered 3 weeks ago. It looks like insurance slowed down the authorization process for the test but it has been approved. This test will tell us if I need to take chemotherapy.

I hope to land on that beautiful flower soon and I sure hope that flower is called radiation. If it turns out to be chemo then I will have landed on a ugly weed....lol

Until next time,

Get Well Cards and Garden

2011-08-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

Today I am a little sad. I found out Wednesday that I will have to take radiation. It will be starting in the next 2 weeks.

The bone scan is next Monday and it along with another test will determine if I need chemotherapy.
Todays headline in our local newspaper, The Oklahoman, says "Chemo drug shortage stirs fears for cancer patients". Let's hope I don't need the chemo since it sounds like the drug is in short supply.

Look at all of the get well cards I have received. Simply looking at these cards lifts my spirits and snaps me out of my pity party. Thank you everyone for the cards and well wishes.

Today I was feeling well enough to walk out on my back yard deck and take a few pictures of the garden. Woohoo!! It feels good to do something that is part of my "normal" life.

I took these pictures at mid-afternoon, temperature was 102 degrees, bright and sun shiny. The picture quality is rather poor but you can tell that my automatic drip irrigation system is doing it's job. My plants are surviving just fine without my assistance.

The potato vine LOVES the heat and is taking over the yard!!

The castor beans are a beautiful color and they too love the heat. This one is a little droopy during the heat of the day but it will look much better during the evening hours.

That's all for now. Until next time,

Flowers and Plants I Have Received

2011-08-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,

These are the flowers and plants that I received while I have been convalescing. At the end of the calendar year I always print a book of my blog so I am posting pictures primarily for myself so I can look back and remember.

In the hospital my sister-in-law and brother-in-law brought me the get well candy bouquet. I am still munching on the sprees. They also gave me a gigantic box of assorted chocolates.

Friends of my husband in Tulsa sent the center bouquet, the hospital volunteers gave me the single Gerbera daisy.

My friends, Kellie and Joe sent me the lower right bouquet while I was in the hospital.

My BFF Jamie sent the center bouquet to me while I was in the hospital. They delivered this bouquet just as I got into my room from recovery. I was on so much Morphine that I didn't even realize I had received it until later.

The plant on the left is a schefflera and it came from the ladies I bowl with on Thursday mornings. My bowling days are over for now. I hope to be able to bowl again in 2012.

The peace lily on the right is from my other sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

My friend Freda sent me this candy bouquet. We attend Sit-n-Sew every Wednesday at our local quilt shop. The bouquet is covered with delicious chocolates and chewy taffy. I am still munching on this one also.

Needless to say I do think I have gained a few pounds since surgery.

Wednesday I will find out if I have to take radiation. I will post again Thursday with the results.

Until next time.

Thank you for the Shawl and Quilts

2011-08-21T21:58:00.000-05:00

This week I am feeling soooooo much better. I wanted to send out a few posts thanking people for their prayers and their kindness. It is overwhelming how many people have offered to do anything for me that needed to be done....cook, clean, drive me to appointments, pray and simply be there as a shoulder to cry on if needed.

First my husband has been by my side doing everything, cooking, cleaning, doctoring my wounds, driving me to doctor appointments, and wiping my tears while he tries to work his full time job. I love you so much hubby.

My Mom and my daughters have also cooked dinners, drove me to doctor appointments, cleaned my house and been there to cheer me up. No pity parties here. I love you all so much.

So far I have not been to a single doctor appointment by myself. I am truly blessed with a loving supportive family.

I also have friends and strangers that have been very generous with their time and their talents.

Look at this beautiful shawl my friend Elisabeth knitted for me. Elisabeth lives in Sweden. She had posted a blog entry about this shawl (click here to see it) and I thought it was absolutely gorgeous. The tears were flowing when I received a package in the mail and it was that shawl.

Thank you Elisabeth for the shawl, and the chocolates and the card from Ake.

This week I was surprised to receive this quilt from the Karring Quilters of Emmaus Baptist Church. People that I have never met made this quilt just for me.... talk about tears flowing again.

It is a prayer quilt. It is beautiful. A life long friend of my Mom's attends this church. She had told the prayer quilt ministry about my cancer. They read my blog and knew I was a gardener and a quilter. They chose the perfect fabrics, very colorful and cheery. For some reason I have been cold since I have been home from the hospital and this quilt is already getting a lot of use.

What makes this quilt so special are the ribbons with the knots. A complete stranger said a prayer for ME and then tied a knot in the ribbon. There are 53 knots. Praise God for "Karring" people that will take time out of their busy days to lift me up to our Lord and Savior for healing.

And look at this....they made one for my Mother also. Hers has appliqued and embroidered flowers on it. Just beautiful. I didn't count her prayer knots but isn't that nice that they would also pray for my mom.

I love the Karring Quilters statement "It's not about the quilt....it's about the prayers".

Thank you to whomever made these quilts and lifted prayers up for us. I hope to meet some of you in the near future.

For now I will end this post. In the next few days I will be showing plants I received and Get Well cards.

Until next time,

I am Recovering

2011-08-08T17:54:00.000-05:00

It has been a few days since I had surgery so I thought I should send out a health update.

Surgery was last Wednesday. It lasted between 5 and 6 hours. I spent one night in the hospital and was released at noon on Thursday. At first I was on morphine and now I am taking a milder pain killer so my mind is a little fuzzy. For now I opt for fuzzy mind over the pain.

On Friday we got the pathology report. It was good news. Stage 2 cancer but no cancer was found in any of the lymph nodes. Tomorrow I met with the doctors. I will find out if chemo is still needed.

Thank you for all your prayers. Prayer and God's grace got me through this.

That's all for now.
Until next time,

It's All Good

2011-07-27T19:14:00.001-05:00

First I want to say HI to all my new readers. Hello ladies from my Mom's Sunday school class and others that I have heard from recently. Hello Elizabeth and Kelly and Sherri.

My Mom, youngest Daughter, Granddaughters and me, taken Saturday in Fort Worth TX

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers. And I feel like prayers have been answered already. Today I had a CT Scan that shows I do not have cancer anywhere except in my breast...praise the Lord. I was also cleared by the cardiologist so I have a GOOD heart....but then we all knew that right? LOL

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday August 3 at 8:30am. I will have a double mastectomy with reconstruction. The surgery will last 4-6 hours. It will be a long wait for the family, a blink of an eye for me.

I took the opportunity to snap this picture of our local weather man on the TV. July 2011 will go down in my book as the worst month ever, both health wise and weather wise. But I plan on being "HOT HOT HOT" soon (with the help from a plastic surgeon!!)

Please continue to pray for me and my family. Next week will be the first step in a long process of recovery. I will keep you updated.
Until next time,

And My Life Changes

2011-07-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

Hello Blogging Friends

I wanted to update you about what is happening in my life. I have found out I have breast cancer. It's weird because I feel great.

I still feel as beautiful and as energetic as this butterfly. But things are getting ready to change.

First let me tell you about this cancer. It is called Invasive Lobular Carcinoma and it is not detectable on a mammogram. I have been faithful to get a mammogram every year since 1998. I found this through self breast exam, a huge lump. I should have noticed it sooner but I kept telling myself "you had a clear mammogram"....whatever!!

Please women, keep getting mammograms because it catches most cancer BUT you must do self breast exams. Sometimes we are our own best doctor.

Because my "lump" is so large I will be having a modified radical mastectomy next week. Later I will have chemotherapy and I will lose all of my hair (all over my body, as in everywhere). I am really going to miss my eyelashes!!

In several months I will have breast reconstruction.

There I said it, I have told my story.

Now, please keep me in your prayers. If I don't comment on your blog for a while you will know why. I am still here just silent. And actually I may be blogging more than ever because it may be the only thing I can do from a recliner!!

In about a year I should be as bright and beautiful as this daylily.

Until next time,

Pictures of the garden

2011-07-09T22:19:00.001-05:00

Until next time

Angels all around

2011-07-07T22:09:00.001-05:00

This cloud formation looked like an angel to me. Does it look like anything to you?

I Heart Froggys....NOT

2011-07-05T22:03:00.001-05:00

I like taking photos of frogs but I don't "heart" them.

Until next time,

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-04T14:27:00.001-05:00

A few pictures I took last night at the fireworks display in Yukon, Oklahoma. I took these with my IPhone so the quality isn't the best but it's the spirit that counts....right?

This one is for you Mom...xoxo.

This one is for Janell. We had many discussions about what this looked like.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th.

Until next time,

What's blooming in my garden

2011-07-03T21:48:00.002-05:00

Sunflowers

Summer Phlox

Zinnias

Yellow Straightneck Squash blossoms

Periwinkles

Melampodium

Until next time,

Quilt Helpers

2011-07-02T21:35:00.001-05:00

This is Beau and Brutus. If I am quilting one of them is helping me. This day they both decided to help. They like to sit on my ironing board which means they get cat fur all over my ironing board. As you can see I layed a piece of Chicago Cub fleece over the board and now they like to sleep here. At least it keeps them away from the sewing machine needle.

Until next time,

Quilty Goodness

2011-07-01T21:28:00.000-05:00

We are in the middle of a dry, heat wave with daily temperatures in the 100's F. When it is this hot I work in the yard early in the morning then try to get a little quilting done during the extreme heat of the day.

A few weeks ago I took a paper piecing class at my local quilt shop. I just loved this christmas tree wall hanging and couldn't wait to take the class. This is a Alex Anderson pattern. The pattern has an appliqued border. I am thinking about using a pieced border. I have to think about this.

I am machine quilting this quilt that I made using a jelly roll. The fabric is Neptune by Tula Pink. This is half of the quilt. I machine quilt in sections since the harp of my sewing machine is so small.

I hope to share a few more of the quilt projects that I am working on soon.
Until next time,

What's blooming in my garden

2011-06-18T08:13:00.001-05:00

Purple Coneflowers

Coreopsis

Tovara, it isn't blooming but the foliage is just gorgeous.

Alpine Lamb's Ear - Stachys 'Hummelo'

I harvested my first tomatoes this past week. I am also harvesting onions and zucchini.

Daylilies

Until next time,

Frogs and Flowers

2011-06-16T07:39:00.005-05:00

It has been frog world around this garden. The frogs crock us to sleep each night.

This little guy looks like he is jumping through the air when really he is on the sliding glass door peaking in at me.

This one was inside the swimming pool fitting that connects to the pump. It is a good thing my husband looked inside before making the connection. This froggy would have been a goner.

Knock out roses are blooming again.

This lavender is planted near the front door and greets visitors with it's wonderful fragrance.

Until next time,

Daylily Collages

2011-06-14T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hello blog reading friends. Today I had several pictures of daylilies that are blooming in the garden. Instead of making this post extremely picture heavy I decided to create a few collages using Picasa.

Can you tell that daylilies are my favorite perennial flower? They are almost carefree and reward you with these large beautiful flowers.

This is a little grouping of daylilies and blue speedwell veronica that I have planted beside the garden shed. The orange ball is my Dad's old bowling ball. My dad passed away 3 1/2 years ago. I think about him everytime I work in this bed. I sure do miss him.

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

Until next time,

Rotary Cutting Table

2011-06-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

This week my husband and I built a rotary cutting table for my quilt studio....woohoo!! I was using the kitchen bar to cut fabric since it was the correct height and didn't cause my back to hurt from bending over. The only problem with this was.....I had to put everything away when it was time to cook.

I went to a local building supply and purchased a pre-built unfinished wooden kitchen cabinet.

He added castors that lock, cut plywood for the top, nailed it on and sanded it. Then he added rounded trim to soften the edges that I would be leaning againest while cutting. Next I painted it, we added the hardware to the doors and drawers and last we placed peg boards on each side to hang my rulers.

The table is the perfect height 37 inches. We cut the top to fit the size of my cutting mat 24"x 36".

I am using it to store my batting stash.

Having the rulers hanging on the sides is very handy.

Rotary cutters and scissors in the drawers.

This was a great addition to my quilt studio. Thanks Hubby.

Until next time,

Bronze-leaved Crinum

2011-05-31T10:19:00.001-05:00

Here at the Empty Nest Gardens my Bronze-leaved Crinum 'Splendens' has started blooming.

This is a tropical plant that I have to take into the greenhouse during the winter months.

The plant is around 3 foot tall and is 3 years old.

Absolutely a beautiful bloom.

Until next time,

New Blooms in the Garden

2011-05-28T21:49:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone. These are the plants that have started blooming in the Empty Nest Gardens this week. This is an antique shrub rose called Seven Sisters

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Native Yucca

The second daylily to bloom - Stella De Oro

The third daylily to bloom is Stella Supreme

And this daylily will be a surprise to even me when it blooms. I moved it from the backyard to the front yard. Once it opens I will be able to identify it.

Until next time,

Malee - OKC Zoo's Baby Elephant

2011-05-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

On April 15 at the Oklahoma City Zoo & Botanical garden Asha our 16-year-old Asian elephant gave birth to a little girl weighing in at 304 pounds!! This was the first elephant birth in the zoo's history. Sneezy who is her daddy lives at the Tulsa zoo and is 39 years old.

Our little baby girl has been named Malee. I think there are many of us that feel like she is "our" elephant.

Isn't she cute?

Here she is peaking out from under Momma.

Until next time,

The First Daylilies are Blooming

2011-05-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

The first daylily to bloom at my house each year is the old time orange pass-along variety. A girl I worked with in the 80's gave me these. They are very hardy, you can't hardly kill them. I like them even if they are very common.

Many more daylilies have bloomed since I snapped this photo.

Until next time,

Columbines

2011-05-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

Columbines are one of my favorite flowers. I started this dark purple beauty from seed several years ago and I cannot remember the variety.

This light pink beauty of McKanas Giant. I also started it from seed about 8 years ago and it continues to come back every year.

These are the flower buds just before they open.

I love the long spurs that grow back behind the flower.

Until next time,

Shower Finished

2011-05-13T17:18:00.000-05:00

For the last 2 months my husband has been working on the shower in our master bedroom. He removed all of the existing tile down to the studs, replaced some of the plumbing, replaced some of the studs and then hung new sheet rock.

This is the only picture I had of our old shower. The shower is in the center of the house and we use it as our tornado shelter. I took this picture during a tornado warning. Each cat is snuggled in their crate.

We hired a professional to do the tile work and I am so glad we did. He told me where to go to buy the tile (he gets a really good discount).

So I went and picked out the tile. These are the 13"x13" tiles we used on the walls.

I picked out pebbles for the floor and to create a decorative stripe around the shower.

The shower looks much better in person. These pictures don't do it justice.

And "ta-da" our new shower. There is no door, I hate cleaning a shower door. The door knob you see is the door going into the bathroom. He put in 4 shelves for all our soaps and shampoos.

We have a new shower head and 2 more shelves for whatever.

I had to use the flash to get this picture so the color is a little different. This is a larger, lower shelf that he added just for me. I place my foot on this shelf when I am shaving my legs.

Another project done. Now I will start painting the bathroom walls, painting the cabinets and adding new hardware and ...... it never ends.

Until next time,

Garage Sale Treasures

2011-05-11T16:59:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Last Saturday I went to a garage sale at a storage unit in south Oklahoma City. Now this is the way to garage sale. There must have been 40 units that were selling old treasures. The one thing I learned is to bring a piece of rolling luggage next time to store all the treasures I buy. Wow, they get heavy. Here are the items I bought.

The floral tea cup is from Germany and the white tea cup is from England. 2 for $1

I just loved this terra cotta pot. It actually has a hole in the bottom so I can use it outside as a flower pot. It was $1.

This is what I call a covered cheese plate. $1

I found 3 quilt books.

These books are brand new. $1 each...can't beat that.

2 Mikasa crystal candle vases $2

This is a 2 piece flower vase. Each vile holds a single flower stem, 35 stems total. $3

This is a beautiful silver tray. It has a few spots on it but looks great with a doily in the center. And guess what? This tray was only $1

So I spent $12 for all of this at the storage unit sale.

Next my little community was having a city-wide garage sale. By this time is was around 2pm, a little late in the day for a garage sale. But there were more treasures to be found.

My daughter LOVES Hello Kitty. I found this Christmas ornament for her for 75 cents. Love it!!

6 skeins of yarn $3

4 containers that I will use for quilt projects. They are big enough to hold the quilt books I bought or the skeins of yarn or several yards of fabric. $2 for all 4

What a great day.

Until next time,

Kaleidoscope Blooms

2011-05-04T13:14:00.001-05:00

I love creating kaleidoscopes. Here are a few I created using photographs of the flowers in my yard.

Columbines

Daffodils

Rose Buds

Roses

Shasta Daisys with Gazing Ball

Spirea

I think the Shasta Daisys with gazing ball is my favorite. It looks like something from a science fiction movie. Which one do you like?

Until next time,

Mosaic Blooms

2011-05-03T13:00:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone. Today I am sharing a few mosaics I created using pictures I took this week in the yard.

Shasta Daisys, Bridal Wreath, Clematis and Weigela

Knockout roses and Miniature roses

Peonies, Columbines and Iris

Until next time,

Rainy Day Garden

2011-05-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

Hello from rainy Oklahoma. We are getting a wonderful slow rain today. It is a good day to snap a few pictures of the yard while the sun is behind the clouds. I didn't stage any of these pictures so you will see cushion less yard chairs and hoses and a few weeds. What can I say....it's raining!

The Front Yard

The Back Yard and Patio Area

This is where I grow my herbs, basil, dill and thyme. We hope to open the pool around May 15th.

The trailer is loaded with compost/top soil, ready to be spread when the rain stops.

The pond is still covered. I try to keep as many leaves out as possible. You can see how they stack up around it and I have raked them out once...ugh.

The Potager

I have my vegetables and roses planted in the raised beds. Flowers area planted in the border around the fence. It's about time for me to trim the boxwood hedges.

I took this picture last week. It is a view through the raised beds of the newly planted tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. The black tubing is the drip irrigation system that I have weaving all through the beds. It will be covered with mulch as soon as the rains stop.

Thanks for visiting. Until next time,

French Fries and Katydid

2011-04-11T16:08:00.001-05:00

About a week ago my blogging friend Katydid over at Katydids Kountry Life wrote a post called "I've Been Framed". She showed a creative way of using a wooden frame. I thought I would show what I did using an old dresser mirror frame.

I bought the frame and mirror at an estate sale for $7. I removed the mirror and hung the frame in my entry way. In the middle I hung my favorite saying...

You can see Katydids post by clicking here.

Every spring my daughter will come to the house and say "Mom, you have french fries growing on your house"!!

The french fries are actually seed pods from our maple tree. They fall this time of year and get caught in the screen on the guttering. Now I need to get out the ladder and pull all those french fries out.

The bridal wreath spirea has started blooming this week.

And the fronds from my Cinnamon Fern are starting to open. This plant will be 3 foot tall and 3 foot wide by the end of the summer.

This is the first little frog I have seen this year. He decided to rest on the rim of a pot of hostas.

Until next time,

New Elephant Exhibit at the OKC Zoo

2011-04-09T22:56:00.000-05:00

Around mid-March the Oklahoma City Zoo opened a new exhibit that houses their elephants. Because of the crowds my mother and I visited the exhibit after it had been opened a few weeks. Here are a few of the pictures I took using my IPhone.

When you first walk into the pavilion there is a covered seating area and stage where the elephants "perform" once a day. I snapped my Mothers picture standing at the top of the stadium area.

This is a huge complex. There is an area where the elephants can be kept inside including a large indoor play area for them. One of the elephants is pregnant and the baby will be born soon. It appears they have all the medical equipment needed for the birth. Everything is accessible by ramps.

The elephants have a big pond to cool off in during the heat of our summers.

There is a tall water fall that flows down into the pond. You can see the elephants in the background. They have a lot of room to roam.

I took this picture in the Oklahoma Trails exhibit. There is simply a piece of glass between me and the cougar. It looks like he is walking right through the glass but he is actually turning a corner.

I am partial but the OKC zoo is a great zoo. There are so many areas where you are literally standing next to a wild animal. How often can you get this close to a bear and still be safe?

This is my attempt at a self portrait of me and mother. We are a little wind blown as it has been terribly windy lately. So from windy Oklahoma we say "so long for now".

Until next time,

It is already getting hot!!

2011-04-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

April 3rd and it is already 90 degrees. This is not a good sign of what's to come this summer. Spring is in bloom or starting to bloom. Here are a few pictures I took in the garden this week.

It is extremely dry here, oh my we need some rain. I have start running the drip irrigation in the potager. The peonies are in bud, soon to be in full bloom.

The bleeding heart is blooming. I just love this flower.

For the last 2-3 weeks the red bud trees have been blooming.

The chives are starting to bloom.

This is a Oak leaf Hydrangea that is just starting to leaf out.

Ajuga is a very low growing perennial ground cover that blooms each spring.

The Japanese Maple leaves are crimson red (Go Sooners) and yes that is frost on the leaves.

It is amazing a plant can survive when the weather increases or decreases by 40 degrees in 1 day!

Until next time,

Blooms and Cats

2011-03-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

Look what I found in my garden this week.

Hellebores are blooming. They have been blooming for 3 weeks now.

The last 2 daffodils.

My 3 Cats

Nosey

Brutus

Beau

And hiding inside my garden shed is my lawn mower. It will get to come out this week. The lawn is ready for it's first mowing.

Until next time,

A dozen red roses for me?

2011-03-22T15:38:00.000-05:00

Look what my husband brought me today.

37 years ago God sent me my soul mate, my best friend. We were seniors in high school. We dated 4 months and were married on spring break. See, young love does survive.

I love you hubby. Happy Anniversary.

Super Moon

2011-03-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

THE MOON came closer to the Earth last night than it has been in almost 20 years, appearing 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter.

I took the camera outside around 10pm and it was very cloudy. I was able to get these shots.

I think the filter that I had on the camera was causing the "blue dot" to appear in the picture.

My husband woke up around 5am this morning and the moon was so bright that he had to go outside and snap these photos. Again we think the filter was causing the duplicate image.

Thought I had better blog about this since it won't happen again for 28 years and I will be OLD then....lol.

Until next time,

Texas Rangers Spring Training Photos

2011-03-19T17:46:00.002-05:00

This post is for any Texas Ranger fans that might happen upon my blog. I wanted to share a few photos I took on my recent trip to Phoenix.

We went to 2 Rangers games and we sat on the second row behind the Rangers dugout. Great seats!! I cannot afford to sit this close at a regular major league game but it is very affordable during spring training.

Elvis Andrus

Michael Young

Ian Kinsler

Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz after both scored a run.

Derek Holland

Neftali Feliz

Kinsler sliding into third base.

Michael Young

Josh Hamilton

Can you tell that I LOVE baseball? I can't wait until Opening Day of baseball which is April 1 for the Rangers.

Until next time,

No Service Required

2011-03-15T15:23:00.000-05:00

Last week I was in Phoenix, Arizona at baseball spring training watching my Texas Rangers play ball.

Several weeks ago I was summoned to serve on the Federal Grand Jury for the U.S. District court for a period of 5 weeks starting yesterday, Monday March 14. So we scheduled our trip to be home on Monday so I could start my service......but no.....they didn't need me....false alarm. I am very thankful that I didn't have to serve since I came home from Phoenix with a cough and a sore throat. The court would probably have sent me home anyway.

We met my best friend (who lives in Indiana) in Phoenix. She is a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs. Her husband is a huge fan of the Cincinnati Reds. Of course me and my husband are huge fans of the Texas Rangers.

This is my best friend and her husband. I took this picture while we were visiting the Phoenix Zoo.

This is me and my husband at the Rangers spring training ballpark in Surprise, Arizona. My husband is wearing shorts since the temperature was 88 degrees F.

Today as I was sitting in my sun room, catching up on my blog reading and replying to emails I hear something going on outside my window. I look out and this is what I see.

That is a raccoon on the side of my house!! Looks like they have come out of hibernation. When I first saw him he was hanging from our guttering, then he hooked him claws into the stone on the house. He couldn't figure out how to get down and I was not going to help him....scary. After about an hour he finally hopped down and was gone. Ugh, I really detest raccoons.

And I end this post with one last picture of my mini daffodils.

Until next time,

Birds, Birthday and Blogging Break

2011-03-07T14:51:00.000-06:00

Today I looked out our bay window and what did I see?

This beautiful hawk. I think it is a Red-Shouldered Hawk but I may be wrong.

What a gorgeous bird. It is about 12 inches tall.

Yesterday we celebrated my granddaughters 11th birthday here at our house. "Peace" was the theme of her party. She wanted a peace sign cupcake birthday cake. My daughter bought her this cake at Walmart. We like their fluffy icing.

Several posts back I talked about our generator and how we had an electrician wire it into the house so if we ever lost electricity we could simply start it up and "poof" we would have power. So you know where I am going with this....yes...yesterday just as the party was getting started we lost electricity. 18 people were at my house, a dark house, with no water which means no bathrooms. So my husband went outside, uncovered the generator, pulled the cord and indeed "poof" we had power.

Someone somewhere was using a back hoe and they cut an electrical line that connected 5 sub stations. 40,000 homes were without power for about 3 hours. Everyone was leaving our party, walking out the door when the power came back on. We got a laugh out of that. It was a good test for the generator, better than during an ice storm.

I will be taking a short blogging break but I hope to be back soon. I have to go "serve" my country, in a way that a 50 year old can serve. More on that later.

Until next time,

And the Gardening Year Begins

2011-03-02T04:57:00.001-06:00

Here at Empty Nest Gardens Spring is in the Air. With temperatures in the 70's it was a good day to plant onions.

My planting area is 8 foot by 3.5 foot. I started by added 2 bags (3 cubic feet total) of Miracle Gro Garden Soil. I turned it into the soil using a garden fork then using a garden rack I smoothed out the surface.

I bought 4 bunches of Texas Supersweet onion plants ($1 per bunch). These are my favorite, they are so sweet and mild. This is the only type of onion I plant.

Just using my finger I poke a hole in the soil and insert one onion plant. I do this over and over and over until they are all planted. I water them in well and insert my onion label that a friend gave me years ago. I should be eating green onions in about 4-6 weeks...yum yum.

In the garden a sure sign of spring are the blooming daffodils. Aren't these just gorgeous?

I need to go pick a few daffys for my daughter.

Until next time,

Windows and Books

2011-02-26T23:41:00.000-06:00

Well let me start off by saying "I'm sorry this post is soooo boring" but I wanted to have a record for myself of a few things that have happened lately.

First we had new windows installed in our house...WOOHOO!!

BEFORE - we built our house in 1979 so these windows were 32 years old, yikes!! This was the window in my sewing studio. The locks had broken years ago so we used a board to keep out burglars :-(

AFTER - Much better, double pane windows. This is the new window in our kitchen.

This weekend is the Friends of the Library booksale at the State Fairgrounds. I volunteered last Monday during the setup phase of the sale. Boxes of books were delivered to the fairgrounds on Sunday. On Monday 50 or so volunteers unloaded boxes, placing thousands of books on tables so they could be easily viewed by buyers. Volunteers were still working Tuesday and Wednesday to get the building ready for the public.

Of course I was one of those buyers. I bought 34 books, 4 magazines, 1 DVD movie and 1 VHS tape movie all for $31.00 Paperbacks were 50 cents, magazines 50 cents, dvd and vhs were $1. The newer hardback books were $1.50 - $2. Most of the hardbacks I bought were $1. This is the list of the authors I purchased.

Janet Evanovich (6 books)
Sherryl Woods (4 books)
Lavyrle Spencer (6 books)
James Patterson (6 books)
Laura Childs (2 books)
Jennifer Chiaverini (1 book)
Louise Erdrich (1 book)
JoAnne Fluke (5 books)
Jan Karon (1 book)
French study guide
Novel written in French (I can't read this book yet so I have no idea what it is about)
Magazines Victoria, English Garden, English Home, The Quilt Life
DVD and VHS were for my Mom

In the past I have always bought books on gardening and quilting. This year I focused on novels, both mysterys and romance (not those throbbing loin type romance!!)

Needless to say I have enough reading material to last me a few years. The lower 3 shelves are just some of the books that I want to read some day.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Until next time,
Kclily

The Forgotten Garden

2011-02-13T17:48:00.000-06:00

Today I finished reading this book, The Forgotten Garden a novel by Kate Morton. It is a great book.

It takes place in Australia and England and has 552 pages. I read this book in 2 weeks!! I don't think I have ever read a book with that many pages that fast. Being snowed in helped, plus the book was due back at the library and there are 4 people waiting to check it out....See I told you it is a good book.

As for my garden I found these blooming in the greenhouse this week.

The Bird of Paradise is blooming again. It enjoys the warmth and humidity in the greenhouse.

Behind the birds is a new antique mirror that I purchased last month. It has carved Scottish Thistles all around the edges and there are doors in the center that open to the mirror.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
Until next time,

And the Snow is Gone

2011-02-11T21:31:00.000-06:00

The final snow total for our area of Oklahoma was 5.5 inches and our lowest temperature was -5 degrees. The area where my sister lives, Tulsa/Broken Arrow, was hit a lot harder than we were. The schools there have been closed for the last 9 days. To make up these days, there is talk that spring break will be cancelled or they may lengthen the school day.

But it looks like the bad weather is over. Today our temperature was in the mid 50's. By Monday we should see some 70's. Isn't that crazy....to go from -5 to 70 in the span of a few days?

So hopefully for one last time this winter I wanted to post a few pictures I snapped during my confinement in the house.

I hope you enjoy your weekend whether you are in rain or snow, cold or hot. I will be enjoying our 70ish degree weather while it lasts.

Until next time,

It's Melting, Melting

2011-02-05T09:37:00.000-06:00

Good morning. How is everyone today? Here the sun is out and we are hoping the snow will melt a little. Tomorrow we are going to receive another 1-2 inches of snow. I have not left the house since February 1. I could get out but I don't have to, it is a good time to just hibernate, sit by the fire, read, sew, and play with the cats.

Melting, Melting

This is a quilt top I finished several months ago but never shared a picture. The pattern is called Jelly Beans and In Betweens. It is made with 1 jelly roll and 1 charm pack. The fabric is "Happy Campers" by Moda, part of the American Jane series. This will be a picnic quilt, something me and the grandkids can throw on the grass outside and have a picnic.

Until next time,

Stars over Sweden

2011-02-03T16:29:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday Oklahoma received 12 inches of snow. For us, who rarely receive snow, this is a big deal. So guess what? I had an excuse to stay in and finish my Star Crazy Quilt...woohoo!!

During 2010 I was part of an on-line quilt group with ladies from all over the globe. We were each making this quilt. During the year I formed a friendship with Elisabeth who lives in Sweden. In honor of my new found friend I am calling this quilt "Stars over Sweden". It is the first quilt I have made that I have named.

Here it is laying on the queen size bed in our guest room. I am going to hire someone to machine quilt it. The quilt will end up on this bed. I will be redecorating the room, painting the walls, new curtains, new bed skirt, etc using this quilt as my design inspiration.

Until next time,

It is a Hum-Dinger of a Winter Storm

2011-02-01T12:28:00.000-06:00

One of the weathermen called the storm a Hum-Dinger. They are also calling it "Snowmageddon" like Armageddon with Snow on top, that is just so funny.

I would agree with both of these terms. On Monday, while the temperature was still 37 degrees and the ground was dry as a bone they started closing state offices and schools for Tuesday. That has never happened before that I can remember. By 7pm I believe every school district in the state had closed and it was still only cold and dry.

All week the weathermen were telling us the rain would start at 10pm. Just as forecast the rain/sleet started at 9:30pm. It is amazing to me that they can predict the weather that many days in advance.

It is now noon on Tuesday and we have received around 9 inches and it is still snowing. We are having blizzard winds, 50-60 mph.

Me, Hubby, Brutus, Nosey and Beau are all snuggled up inside, keeping warm by the fire. So far we still have electricity so the generator will have to come out and play another day.

I am working on my Star Crazy Quilt. I hope to have the top finished by tomorrow if all goes well. I will be posting pictures of the quilt when I get it finished.
Until next time,

Winter Storm for the Record Books?

2011-01-30T22:58:00.000-06:00

That is what is being reported about the ice and snow that will hit Oklahoma on Monday evening. This snow storm will spread North East through the US. The weathermen are predicting that central Oklahoma will receive 12 inches of snow. Sounds like a repeat of last winter.

This doesn't look like much but it is our generator. It is wired into our home and if we lose power this little piece of machinery will be our best friend. It will give us enough power to run our water well, refrigerator, lights in our living room and bedroom. We have gas heat so that isn't a problem. I bought groceries today along with what seemed like a thousand other people. I am ready to be stuck inside for a month if needed (this is so funny because it will probably only last 2 days).

I will post again on Tuesday and let you know what is happening in my little corner of the world.
Until next time,

Garden Update and Roses from Hubby

2011-01-28T14:35:00.000-06:00

As I am writing this post it is 75 degrees F outside, a bright sunny day with a hint of wind. It is warm, time for a T-shirt and shorts. That is until next week when we are again supposed to have frigid temperatures. We have such extreme high and low temperatures here in Oklahoma.

I took advantage of this wonderful day to spray a little glyphosate (herbicide) on the weeds that are coming up in the pathways. Hopefully I can stop them now before they get out of control.

Upon examining the border in the potager I found these coming up.

The daffodils are about 2 inches tall already.

Now for the surprise from hubby.

Last Saturday we were celebrating my daughters 34th birthday. Before the party started my husband gave me a dozen yellow roses. Perhaps he gave them to me for giving birth to his children or perhaps he gave them to me just because.... but whatever the reason wasn't that sweet?

Below are a few more pictures I took in the back yard today.

Until next time,

The War againest English Ivy

2011-01-25T23:35:00.000-06:00

Today was a beautiful day, the temperature was 55 degrees F and there was no wind!! Yes, that's right, here in Oklahoma, "where the winds come sweeping down the plains" there was no wind. The past several days I have been piecing my Star Crazy Quilt until I am almost crazy so I took advantage of the nice weather to get outside and work in my Empty Nest Gardens.

This is English Ivy. My grandparents had this growing in a large garden bed in their front yard. I always thought it was beautiful, a lush, thick ground cover. So I bought 3 small 2 inch pots and planted them 15 years ago.

Now it is attempting to take over my acreage and if it had it's way it would take over the neighborhood.

This is our swimming pool. It would love to grow in, over and around the pool. BUT NO I SAY, THIS IS WAR, me verses the ivy. I have tried spraying it with herbicides and nothing kills this pesky plant. I always have to resort to cutting and pulling it. It does help to use the weed eater to remove the leaves and then I can see the stems to pull and cut them out. I use regular household scissors, they work great.

Brutus is always right in the middle of things. He loves to get in my leaf bag when it is full of clippings.

This is the same picture an hour later. You would have never known there were stairs under all that ivy. I have to do this clipping every year. This year I am going to work hard to contain the ivy to a smaller area.

It has been so dry outside that I took advantage of the nice weather to turn on the drip irrigation and give the garden beds a good soaking. This is a miniature Nandina shrub. It is such a beautiful burgundy color.
Until next time,

David Taylor Machine Quilt Class

2011-01-15T13:18:00.000-06:00

The Oklahoma City Winter Quilt show is this weekend. It is always held in January at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. David Taylor is one of their featured instructors this year. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be able to take his machine quilting class with my friend Freda.

David Taylor has won many awards for his pictorial quilts. They are gorgeous, take a look.

I took this picture at the 2008 Houston International Quilt Festival.

This was also the 2008 Houston IQF. Notice he won a blue ribbon for this quilt.

He was a grand prize winner at the 2006 Houston IQF.

The class he taught was called "Free Motion Quilting - Yes, You Can Stipple!". This is one of the quilt sandwiches he gave us to practice our stippling. He has us quilt randomly around the little designs, practicing how to meander. The class lasted from 9am - 4pm and it flew by. He is a very good instructor and very entertaining. I am so glad I took his class. If you are interested in learning to machine quilt on a domestic sewing machine and you have the opportunity to take one of his classes I would recommend it.

Until next time,

Touch of Snow

2011-01-12T20:30:00.000-06:00

Monday of this week we got a dusting of snow. For those of us in Oklahoma that like snow this is a big deal. This winter we have not received enough snow to even cover the ground. I was so excited to see a little snow that I had to go outside and snap a few pictures of the little bit that had landed on a few of my plants.

Colorado Blue Spruce

Lemon Balm Seed Pods

Nandina

Until next time,

Bathroom Remodel

2011-01-09T12:36:00.000-06:00

Last October I remodeled my bathroom. I am just now getting around to blogging about it. Here are a few before and after pictures and an explanation of the process.

Before my bathroom was Victorian Country.

This is my new bathroom. I tried to give it a modern look with a french flair. The venetian mirror is what inspired me to do the remodel. I had seen a similar mirror on HGTV. I went to their website and found out where they bought it. I ordered it online and the remodeling started.

I love the classic black and white tile.

The new water conserving tolliett from Lowes

I love bees and I found these accessories at Marshalls and they were on sale!! I bought this piece that is a trash can but I use it to hold reading materials. I also bought a kleenex holder, soap dish, hand lotion dispenser and flower vase in the same pattern.

I love the prisms that the sconce globes cast on the wall.

We bought most of our supplies from Lowes. We really like shopping there.

I did about 70% of the work and my husband did the hard stuff.

These were the steps:

Decide what I wanted and what the finished bathroom should look like.
Strip the wallpaper off the walls
Sand the walls
Primer the walls
Texture the walls
Order the faux marble counter top
Primer and paint the cabinets black
Buy and install new cabinet hardware
Rip up the old tile (husband did this!!)
Rip up the old carpet and pad
Lay a new tile floor (yes, I did this but husband cut the tiles when needed)
Paint the walls
Install new tolliett (husband did this)
Paint and install new baseboards (husband cut these)
Paint remaining wood trim white
Install faux marble countertop (professionals did this)
Install new faucets (husband)
Install new wall sconce lighting (husband)
Install new shower rod (husband) and shower curtain
Hang new bathroom hardware (towel racks, tolliett paper holder) (husband)
Hang mirror (both of us)
Purchase new accessories.

We did not replace the bathtub nor the tile that surrounds it. That was a little beyond our skill level.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at my bathroom remodel.
Until next time,

Chicken Breast Recipe

2011-01-07T17:44:00.000-06:00

I have been reading my cookbooks, looking for a recipe(s) that sounds delicious and doesn't use too many strange ingredients. I made a few things that were not all that special. I have donated 10 cook books to the library booksale. Maybe something in them will appeal to someone else.

This is a very tasty recipe that I made for dinner one evening this week.

Chicken Breasts with Toasted Mustard Seed Sauce

6 skinless chicken breasts, boned

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp ground black pepper, divided

1 1/2 tbsp mustard seeds

2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (I used finely chopped white onion)

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Place chicken breasts on a lightly greased rack in a broiler pan. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes; turn oven to broil, and broil chicken 6 inches from heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer chicken to a large serving platter. Set aside and keep warm.

Place mustard seeds in a small skillet; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until mustard seeds begin to pop and are lightly browned. Removed skillet from heat. Let mustard cool completely in skillet.

Place whipping cream in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally.

Stir in reserved mustard seeds, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, remaining 1/2 tsp pepper, onions, Dijon mustard and lemon juice; cook until mixture is thoroughly heated. Pour sauce over reserved chicken. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

I served this over rice, with brocolli. Since there are only 2 of us I halved the recipe and it came out great.

Now I must post a few pictures of the cats and of the evening sky.

Nosey sitting in the bay window. She is soooo sweet.

Our new cat Beau, very content to be 6 foot up on top of the cat condo.

Our beautiful reddish pink evening sky.

Until next time,

Goodbye 2010 Hello 2011

2010-12-31T12:53:00.000-06:00

As we end this year I want to share a few photos of my current quilting project, the Empty Nest Gardens and a possible goal for 2011.

Today I am trying to finish my December stars for the Star Crazy block of the month quilt. I will be piecing the quilt top together in January, just a month late which is pretty good for me.

Nandina berries are providing a little color in the garden.

I love the green moss that grows in the garden path.

The grasses are providing a little visual interest. This is the view from my office.

I love this grass. It is a native grass that I did not plant. It has looked good all year. I love the snow flake look of what I think may be the seed pods.

This is my lawyers bookcase that I have in my kitchen. It is full of cookbooks.

This 18 inch tall basket is full of recipes I have printed from the internet or cut out of magazines.

This is my folder for my extra special recipes that I really want to cook...ha ha. And I have at least 100 recipes on my computer stored digitally.

So as you can see I need to quit being a recipe hoarder and start cooking or tossing. My goal in 2011 is to start working through these cookbooks and recipes. I have a feeling Goodwill and the trash can will see a lot of these. If I run into anything good I will be sharing those recipes on my blog.

As I leave 2010 I want to leave you with an inspirational quote. I don't know the author.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world!"

To all my blog friends everywhere

Happy New Year.

The Christmas Story

2010-12-24T17:25:00.000-06:00

Today we had our annual Christmas Eve celebration at my house. Before any gifts are opened we read aloud the story that follows. My husband put these Bible verses together to make what we call

The Christmas Story

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2)

And in the sixth month the angel, Gabriel, was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou who art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered in her mind what manner of greeting this should be. And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be since I am a virgin? And the angel answered, and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee; Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin, Elisabeth, hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When, as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they had lived together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son. and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, but had no relations with her till she had brought forth her first-born son; and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:18-25)

And it came to pass, in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this was the first taxing and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria and all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same county shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were very much afraid. And the angel said unto them; Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (Luke 2:1-16)

Now when JESUS was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod, the King, had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people, Israel. Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they heard the King, they departed, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-l1)

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17) Amen.

Let us remember the reason for the season, the birth of Christ.

Merry Christmas everyone.
Until next time,

Meet our cat, Beau

2010-12-21T22:59:00.001-06:00

Everyone, say Hi to our new cat. I named him Beau. I am studying french and Beau means "handsome" in french. He is a very handsome and loving cat.

He is a stray. My daughter lives in a rural area of town and Beau showed up at her front door 2 nights ago. The sad part is he apparently belonged to someone. He had on a flea collar and I can tell he has been a house cat. He is rather skinny so we think he left home a few weeks ago or the former owner got tired of him and dropped him off in the country. I have an ad on Craigs List lost and found hoping someone will claim him but if they don't I will give him a very good home.

For now I am calling him Beau. We have 2 other cats and they are not very excited about another feline joining our family. We will take it slow. I hope within 2 weeks the 3 cats will start getting along.

This will probably be my last post before Christmas so for now MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Until next time,

Winter Onions

2010-12-10T22:33:00.000-06:00

It has been very dry here so this week I was watering the garden. I noticed my winter onions were getting large enough to harvest.

These are Texas Super Sweet onions that were planted last spring. When I harvested the larger onions during the summer these were either too small to pull or over looked. Every year I harvest 30-40 green onions in November or December. It is so nice to have something fresh from the garden this time of the year.

This is a native vine that has decided to grow on my fence and give me a little winter color. How nice of it!
I hope you are enjoying the holiday season.
Until next time,