Welcome to my
Perfectly Imperfect Life..........

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Update in Front Gardens

Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time
be sure to pop over and see everyone's gardens


The front garden is comming along nicely.
From ridding the lawn that I mentioned here.
It's 3 years old now.
Thought I'd show before and after pictures.

Lawn...


to no lawn!!!


The Paths go in..




~the first year~

Time to plant...
I put in some perenials and bulbs
with annuals for color
water orb is added (rocks left of photo)



~the second year~

more planting of perenials
added a Pomergranite and Beauty Bush
last years plants are bigger



~this year~

everything is filling in nicely
still adding more plants
Cherry tree was planted


my first ever Foxglove
(not that I haven't tried before)
isn't she gorgeous!


and my first ever Lily of the Valley!
(again, not that I haven't tried!)
I know she is puny,
but I think she's adorable!


a mosaic showing some of the
plants that are blooming in front

Starting clockwise from the left:
Lavender, Tulips, Chives, Cranesbill,
Sweet William,  Lavender
center is a Pelargonium.


I think my neighbors thought I was crazy
when I disposed of the lawn.
I like to think they understand now,
especially since it's filling in.
But...
it will continue to evolve as gardens do.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Trials and Tribluations of Being a Pet Owner


I wanted to mention this to any of you who have pets
as something to watch for.


Yesterday our Siamese mix, Baylee,
had surgery to remove a tumor.
It was on her left shoulder muscle and
was from receiving vaccines over the years.
Vets no longer give vaccines in this area
due to the possiblity of this happening.
And unfortunatly these turn into Sarcoma Tumors.

A large section from two of her shoulders muscles were removed,
along with whatever it is that holds the muscles in place.
Since there is alot of blood flow to muscles,
they will heal quickly and grow.

Her lab work came back to show that she has Hyperthyroidism,
which explains her Pancreatitis, weight loss
and elevated white count.

She also had two broken teeth removed while under.

Needless to say, she was sent home with lots of meds
and instructions.
Meds for the Thyroid, nausea, 2 pain medications,
and antibiotics.
Lactated Ringers was also sent as well as a saline solution.
Her catheter was left in so as to be able to
administer the Ringers followed by the saline twice a day.

She is not a happy camper, to say the least. 
She would leave her stitiches alone so she had to get and E collar.

Her cath comes out on Friday.
I'll find out about her stitches at that time,
along with the results from the tumor...
whether they think they got it all or not.
In a perfect world she would have radiation,
but my world is not perfect.

She is 14 years old so hopefully this won't be an issue
for her remaining years.  



She had a rough night but will improve as time goes on.

Monday, May 3, 2010

California's Largest Yard Sale and more

What a great weekend!
Hope you have a successful Treasure Hunt too!

Please join these ladies wonderful parties!

Linda for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm 
Diane for 2nd Time Around at A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words


Suzanne for Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady

Last Saturday was the annual "California's Largest Yard Sale"
It's put on each year by the local radio staions at Downey High School In Modesto, CA (of American Graffitti fame)

Well over 100 vendors to peruse.
I was really excited becasue even though this is it's 5th year,
it was my first time attending


just about anything you can imagine...


is there.


And yes I found Treasure!!!

Like new cotton rug (background) ($1)
enamelware colander ($1)
vintage Hershey box with vintage puzzle inside (.25)
unknown if the puzzle is complete,
doesn't matter to me..great for altered art
I actually bought it for the box! LOL
2 containers of mini ball ornamnets (.50 ea)
I keep finding these and buying them :p
cheese dome ($2)
vintage bird cage feeder and canle (.25 ea)
and a vintage cast iron ????
OK anyone know what kind fo pan this is??
round cupped sections to cook??
eggs?


3 blue bottles ($1 ea)
to start my bottle tree ☺
small wooden tray (.50)
oval frame (.75)
pink glass creamer ($2)
pink and faux fur pouch/coin purse/clutch (.10)


vintage painted framed cloth ($5)
wall basket (.50)
faux lemons, pears, cherries (.75 all)
2 pins ($1. ea) for my daughter
vintage rhinestone bracelet, no missing stones ($3) 


and the best of all....
a reptile cage!

On the last row I turned just right and
saw a corner of this poking out from under a bunch of stuff. 


Perfect for my daughter's Ball Python.
He has outgrown his current cage.
Wire covered ventilation holes in the back,
attached light with protective cover on the ceiling,
with a nice secure door.
I held my breath as I asked how much it was...
when he said $40.00
I calmly said "I'll take it"
Meanwhile I was jumping up and down inside!
I really expected him to say twice that amount if not more.
Cages like this, even though handmade, bring a pretty penny.

When we got back in town I headed for the Garden Club's yard sale.
It was about noon so thought they would still be going strong.

They were packing up as I parked!
We got out anyway,
they said we could look through the boxes
and everything was half off.
So we did!

Found these 3 decanters ($1.25 ea)
they will head to my eBay store. 


a brown bag full of old patterns (.50) eBay too
a lamp shade (.25)
old jar (.25)
coffee can of silica gel (.25)
7 bunches of millinery flowers (.25 ea) 


and of course a few plants...

a couple of peach Cannas poking up in the brown pot
violets
and some little succulents
(.10 ea)


My oldest son has started a veggie garden so I picked up the only veggies they had left..
a tomato (.50)
and
horseradish (.50)


Wish I could have been in both places at once!

It looked like the Garden Club's sale would have been great too,
maybe next year.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Wine Country

Time once again for Mosaic Monday with Mary over at Little Red House


I had to go to Sonoma for business last week.
I was hoping to get lots of photos of this little quiant town.
But Mother Nature was against me.
Rain, hail and strong winds made the 2 1/2 hour drive
not as enjoyable as I had hoped.

But I was able to have lunch with my youngest and
my sister so it was well worth it.

The down pour stopped long enough
for me to snag a few photos though.

Look at this lovely rose and sweet house.
Picket fence and all ☺


Not sure what these are but
wouldn't they look great in the garden??!!


And, what would Sonoma be without all it's vineyards....
check out the sky...


and yes, just a tad windy....


oops, close the door please!



Not sure why I find these stone walls so intriguing
but whenever I see them I am mesmerised.


Can you imagine making something like this?
The time and patience,
not to mention the hauling.


And to see how they have stood the test of time,
to me, is simply amazing.

And the Winner is.......

First I want to thank all of you for entering!!

I also want you to know we
had a very scientific drawing here.
Yes, very technical ☺

Katie was to choose the winner but she
had such trouble choosing just one...


so Cyndar stepped in.....


and was able to conquer the basket.


After wrestling with her to share the winner's name with me.....


The Winner is Catherine from  Corner of Cat's Mind !!


Congratulations Catherine!!!

Send me you mailing address
so I can get your prize on it's way!!


A big thank you to all the participants!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Happy May Day!


It's May 1st already.
Can you believe how fast his year has flown by?

I want to wish you a Happy May Day!

I always thought dressing up in flowing gowns,
wearing flowers in your hair 
and dancing around a May Pole would be such fun.


Such a Springtime celebration.

When the kids were younger we would gather flowers from our garden,
make some sort of basket,
place the flowers inside the basket 
and sneak to the neighbors' doorsteps.


 The baskets were either hung on the door knob
or left on the porch.


Then sneak away.

I think the sneaking was the most fun for them ☺

I found a great tutorial for a May Day Basket at Skip to My Lou.
She uses on hand recyclable materials.
Easy and soo sweet,
don'tcha think?


Wishing the wonderful month of May
brings you joys beyond compare.
May is a favorite Month for me, 
perhaps because it's my birthday month ☺
or perhaps
because it's also my youngest's birthday month....
did I mention he was born on my birthday?
yep, he was! 

.

.
Blog Widget by LinkWithin