Happy Thursday

T.G.I.T.
Thank Goodness it's Thursday.

I confess. I got nothing. At least nothing new.

My challenges are getting to be more of a ...challenge.   They are time specific or place specific. And I'm not in the right time or place! 

But.
I do have a garden update.

It's starting to bloom!

Daffodils near the drive.  Sorry- didn't realize this pic was a bit blurred.

 Goodness. I thought I looked at these when I took them. Must not have had my glasses on.

Anyway, more daffs in the zoo/garden.

 Johnny Jump Ups!! Particularly exciting because there are a bunch of them and we didn't plant them.

Left over from the previous owner and they must have appreciated the fertilizer that was sprinkled about last fall.

 Even the Allium is trying to get in on the action.

Tulips and Grape Hyacinths.

The Grape Hyacinths are also volunteers. 

I wish I had seen these beds when the original owners were here.

I bet they were lovely.

However, those pesky vegetable seeds I planted aren't doing much. That would be No. 39: Grow a Vegetable.  Apparently I planted the most under achieving seeds ever. Especially those tomatoes. The green peppers are at least making an effort...

And outside the sugar snap peas have sprouted and totally surpassed the inside sprouts.

The slacker tomatoes. 

Honestly. They are no larger than they were a month ago.

The green peppers at least look more robust.

Still. Not much of a showing.

Another thing that I have been working on is No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance. I have always had a thing for gardenias. Ask anyone who knew me in Mexico- there was a gardenia lotion available only there that I lived in.  And while since then I have never considered myself a "floral"scent person, guess what I realize I've been attracted to? Yep. Florals. 

This morning I read two different blogs that were espousing grown up versions of gardenia perfumes. Off to "The Perfumed Court" website and decants are on their way to me. Yay! It's an early Mother's Day present to myself. Maybe one of these will be "the one". Or at least "the one for right now".

(What did I order? Arquiste Boutonniere and Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion. I'll let you know…)

And Thursday is the last day to get in on the double give-away for a blanket from my new venture, Cherry Creek Co.  That's No. 10: Start a business.    Click here to enter. Or go here if you just want to see the lovelies and buy one flat out.  That's okay with me, too.

Have  a great weekend.  After this week, I need a break! 

Tuesday Meanderings

Tuesday Meanderings….
a.k.a. No projects this week, just some odds and ends.


No real post today because…
Lots of reasons.


Belle was sick last week.
She hasn't been to a doctor here in Colorado so last minute efforts to get her in to see a doctor locally were futile. I was directed to the ER or Urgent Care.
I knew she had a bad infection and didn't want to wait, so I checked for the closest Urgent Care office with my insurance company. Turns out that would be TWO HOURS away in the Springs. Good thing we weren't feeling that urgent.
The ER seemed like over-kill, and Belle is always up for a trip to the Springs for Chick-Fil-A, so off we went. Left the house at 11:30am and were back home with meds by 6:00pm.

The next evening was one of those that starts with a phone call and ends with a nice police officer and   the exchange of insurance information. Bunny learned that throwing water balloons at people with short tempers does not end well. Even if it was an accident. (The water balloon was meant for another car.) She was followed and then hit. A new bumper for her car is in order. Thankfully no one was hurt and she was not at fault.

Pobre coche.

There was prom for  Belle which required another trip to the Springs for hair and make-up. And more Chick-Fil-A.   I spent an inordinate amount of time sewing in underpinnings, adjusting hooks and eyes and re-attaching beads and sequins to her dress before she could get out the door.
I think everyone would agree that the results were worth the effort.

Belle-Senior Prom 2014

Then today, the sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, the deer were leaping about ….
and then it started to snow.  Really???
It snowed off and on but never really stuck.
Still.
It's almost May.

And…I got in my car this afternoon and the tire pressure light was glowing red.   Closer inspection revealed a very large nail in my back tire.
Can't I please just have all cars working at once with NO problems?? Please?
(Click here, here, and here to read about some of my other car problems. It will make you feel better about your life, I promise.)

So in the morning I will be bonding again with AAA.  O joy.

And since this really isn't a post-more like a list of my catastrophe of a life- I will leave you with this.
Carlos.
Watching a video of puppies.
Can we say ADORABLE????

                              

As always, if you can't see the video, click here.

Isn't he cute???


O! And a reminder that if you want to enter to win a blanket
from my new venture- Cherry Creek Co.-
click here.

A Tuesday afternoon update. 

In the midst of waiting almost 4 hours for AAA to show up, I get a call from Belle. She pulled into the school parking lot and the Hummer died. In the middle of the parking lot. Not in a space. Probably blocking other people. She sounded almost in tears although I give her credit for hitting that OnStar button even before she called me. Boys from her class came out and pushed the car into a space and out of the way. OnStar sent a tow truck. We are waiting for a diagnosis. 

And this is what came out of my tire:

The staple, not the dime, was pulled out of my tire. 

I'm thinking of moving to Mackinac Island. No cars allowed there. 

Follow Up Friday

Follow Up Friday:  A Couple of Things


First, yesterday was the launch of No.10: Start a Business.  Yay!

Every blanket gets this little card attached.

To celebrate the launch of the new blanket and quilt business, Cherry Creek Co., there will be not one but TWO give-aways. Two  of my nieces (they're twins!) are each having give-aways on their blogs starting today.

Go visit Amanda at Meet The Joiners  and Allison at The Blogivers  for a chance to win your choice of blanket.

And to get a look at the blankets, visit the Etsy store:

www.Etsy.com/shop/CherryCreekCo

A selection of blankets blowing in the breeze.

And second, a garden update.  Things are blooming! 

Just barely, but I thought I would share.

First up are the daffodils. I took this Thursday morning and by Thursday night

there were three daffs open. I love their little faces. 

 There are some volunteer grape hyacinths.

This is the first of the tulips to open. 

But there are LOTS more to come.

And I'm not sure what this little flower is. Is it part of that vine? 

I wasn't aware that vine would bloom.

But I also have never been at the cabin in April or May, so who knows!?

 These are three little Sugar Pea plants.  

I got the feeling that my indoor seeds (No. 39:Grow a vegetable) just weren't going 

to do much. In fact, they look exactly like they did last month…

So I hedged my bets and planted some peas outside.

So far so good. At least they have sprouted.

 And this has me scratching my head. It's a hole, slightly caved in.

I have a feeling it connects to...

 ...this hole. Entrance? Exit? 

I'm just not familiar with things that dig holes in gardens.

We have had some beautiful 60º weather with lots of sunshine. Could Spring be here for real?

Crossing my fingers.

Happy weekend!

No. 10: Start a Business That Makes Money

No.10: Start a Business... and Here It Is!

Voilá!

A business.

My friend Cherrilla and I have been plotting this for a bit.

She makes gorgeous contemporary crazy quilts that are for forever.
I make fun little baby/toddler blankets that are just perfect for everyday use.

Together we have started  Cherry Creek Co.

Everyday Blankets

We are starting slow and small but the basics are in place.
World domination is our end goal.

There is a website:  www.CherryCreekCompany.com
Please be impressed with the fact that I built this website all by myself.  The hardest part was coming up with a domain name and therefore coming up with a company name.  While we are doing our sales from Etsy to start out with, we felt it was important to have a website ready. You know, for when we take over the world.

Have you ever tried to get a domain name?   It seems every name is taken. I'm still not sure how we managed to get the one we did.  
And how did we come up with this name? Well, I'm sure you have heard "Necessity is the mother of invention".
Desperation must be the father.
Endless emails, phone calls, thesaurus consultations, dictionary consultations, map consultations, more emails, more phone calls and EVERY name we came up with already had the domain name taken.
And then we turned on Cherry Creek Drive.


There is even a Facebook page. Go "like" us and make my day.

Right now there are only the Everyday Blankets available.

The Contemporary Crazy Quilts will be online soon. They are worth the wait.

And to make the launch even more fab, my wonderful nieces are having blanket give-aways on their blogs on Friday.

Want to win a blanket?

Visit these two blogs on this Friday:
Meet the Joiners
The Blogivers
Then follow their instructions.

If you just want to be bold and buy a blanket for your favorite little one, go to our Etsy site.

www.Etsy.com/shop/CherryCreekCo

More blankets will be online by the end of the weekend and we do take requests. 

No. 10: Begun.

No. 10: Start a Business that Makes Money

No. 10: Start a Business that Makes Money…Hopefully


OK. A few of my challenges do involve events that are out of my control.
I must not have been thinking clearly when I was coming up with the list.

So "Start a Business" can be done.   "Make Money" remains to be seen.

In my dreams!

But let me tell you, this has been too much fun and so educational.

And again, this was one of those things that "other people" do that always intimidated me.

I have many friends that have made and sold stuff and had businesses big and small.  Just the thought of it all over whelmed me.  But you know, it's not all that hard. And I'm not in jail yet.

The hardest part was coming up with a name that wasn't already taken.  Those domain names are a challenge.

Thanks to computer classes being required in high school these days, I have had in-house tech help.  Bunny wins the Patience Award for answering all my questions. The website should be live in a couple of days.

There is an Etsy account set up with products online.

The new business has an Instagram account. A logo of sorts. And a Facebook page.

I have a sales tax license.

And I'm working on a DBA. Well, sweet brother is looking into it for me.  I read those instructions online about a million times and still had no clue what to do.   The sales tax people were much more informative.

There will be a big introduction on Thursday.

I'm still tweaking.

Stay tuned.

(If you want a hint at what the business is, click here.  Everything will be live for Thursday's post.
Cross your fingers.  I'm crossing mine!)