born imaginative.

Thrifted

A vintage Homestead trash can (for Adrian). Five rolls of Laura Ashley wallpaper (for the girls' room someday), four cookie cutters and a 'wedding dress' for Anna-Kate. $8.00

And here's Audra's Wedding dress that she got for a couple of dollars.

These two were on the way to the royal ball.

And here's a pile of thrifted books. Yes, I needed all these. Absolutely.

Literary eats

When there's a recipe in the back of a book, we obviously need to make it. Love my little book lovers.

This week is the very last week of my big kids' Wednesday class in Ogunquit. Anna-Kate and I have been dropping them off and walking on the marginal way every Wednesday for months. So glad I finally brought the camera to capture the dates we've had, just the two of us. So thankful that this is where we live.

Stitching, stitching, stitching AND stitching so more...

Within a week and a half, my kids were invited to four birthday parties. These are kids I know well as I have taught them at homeschool co-op or church. These kids are special to me too! I'd much prefer to stitch some love into a homemade gift for them. So here was my week of homemade stitching gifts.

Audra's stitching

Audra made this cute little dress/shirt for Anna-Kate. All her idea. I just love it. Anna-Kate even yikes it too! That's a win right there.

Garden 2019: Update 1

Garden 2019: Update 1

These pics are from last week. It's amazing how many changes have happened since last week!

So, what I've done this year.

-Moved rhubarb from behind the barn and made a hedge
-Planted 3 more apple trees. Mulched the orchard and still in the process of mulching the blueberries. Added some blackberries.
-Started a strawberry raised bed an asparagus bed (which the cats have been tearing apart the asparagus. Sigh).
-Moved A LOT of manure
-Husband helped me screw together a compost in a new location (thank you).
-Cleaned out our onion and chive raised bed...which I never did last year at all.
-Planted a garden full of everything you can imagine and then some.
-Given away A LOT of plants
-And I've been working on taking away and managing this overgrown mess. Believe me, this is WAY better than it was (but I have hopes of continually improving it.

On my to do list:
-Mulch, mulch, mulch. And water.
-I want to get some wheelbarrows full of pine needles to mulch the blueberries again (They love acidic soil).
-The raspberries are a mess.
-Someday I'd like to move my elderberries.
-I have cherry bushes that I'm nursing inside, hoping to get them strong enough to plant outside.
-Weeding. And mulching. And watering.

Parsnips

Cilantro

Chives

This year I also worked VERY hard on the house. I have always tried to keep up with what the previous owners had planted, but truth to be told, I have no idea what their vision was so it just ends up looking a mess. I gave myself permission to dig up, move, purge and add. I mulched for the first time here. It looks much better!

When we first bought this house, there was a maple tree in the middle of this mess of perennials and weeds. I said "Someday this will be a fun tree to play under" and I threw a ton of cow manure around it. Well, it's a perfect shade tree now! I gave away all the perennials during the perennial swap and mowed the rest. Now there's a play space in the shade.

I dug up HUGE HUGE HUGE barberry bushes. I loathed those things. Each one took an hour. I have more to go, but not this year. I plan to put little gardens like this instead of those junky barberry. These are all plants I brought from our old house and now have divided.