Springtime in my kitchen

Several of my orchids are deciding to bloom at once. My kitchen window ledge is full of springtime!!







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Random streams of consciousness.......

I keep thinking I should post something, but nothing "major" or "interesting" seems to be happening right now...... just so much "life stuff"....... So, here are random thoughts........

Wedding planning....... blah...... how is that girls who are so excited to be bridesmaids can't find the time to get their measurements to me to order dresses?  Yikes....... time marches on and I KNOW alterations will be needed, but I can't seem to be able to light a fire under these gals and get them moving......

However, I really am enjoying the time spent with Morgan on planning the wedding, and we've had fun going shopping and working on-line, putting together wedding registries.  It's fun to watch the joy she has in planning her own home -- brings back fond memories of that time in my life, so many years ago.....

My nephew Russell is getting married in October to a gal in Honduras.  I found out that it will cost less than $400 to get there -- I wonder if I'll have any money left over after Morgan's wedding to be able to go to that one??  And if I go, I could make their wedding cake too....... Of course, that idea had me thinking about things I might have to bring along -- cake pans, icing decorating tools, cake mixes..... hmmmmmm...... if I brought along two pound bags of powdered sugar, I wonder if TSA folks would suspect me of smuggling cocaine INTO Honduras and check all my luggage??  (that thought definitely got me giggling!!)

I got a box of flowers last week from a client who had her baby last year.  It was her baby's first birthday and she sent me the most beautiful note along with the flowers; it read: "Pam, a year ago, you helped bring our baby Jack safely into this world. Thank you so much for your unflagging spirit that night. Every day, Jack is an amazing gift! Best regards, CS & HS"  Wow....... it's moments like that that help me remember why I do this job; most of my clients are amazing, wonderful people, and every time I see a baby born, I'm witnessing a miracle -- there's just no other way to describe it.

Nelson's talking about finally installing the wood flooring in the upstairs of the house.  We bought it last year; it's been sitting in the garage, waiting for the time and $$$ to install it, but now with the wedding coming up and potentially hoardes of people to come through our house in the next few months, he's decided it might be time to step things up a bit.  YAY!!!  I hope this finally happens......

Nelson went to the hardware store last night; I don't even know what he went to get, but he came home with a beautiful new orchid plant for me!  It's got fairly small flowers that are a very deep purple color, and the flowers have a long throat on them.  I'll have to take some pictures and post them.

Our choir from the homeschool group had their year-end performance last Thursday, and as usual, pulled it all together at the last minute!!  They did a great job!  I love playing the piano for these kids -- they're just so much fun to work with.  Now the band/orchestra concert comes up in two more weeks -- I need to keep Mackenzie busy practicing that violin!!  And she's been sick for the last few days, but no time to let up on practicing now, with the concert coming up -- I'm such a MEAN mom!!

Taxes -- now there's another random thought......  I just can NOT seem to get myself motivated to work on these this year and now Tax Day looms.  Guess I'm filing an extension of time for now!!  It's sure not going to get done in the next two days!!

It's also getting close to the end of the school year, which is prime time for selling old homeschooling materials.  I have SO MUCH stuff to get rid of -- and I'd love to make some money off of them -- but organizing it all is just one more thing in my ever-growing list of things that need to be done.  So much stuff, so little time.....   I need to clone myself three or four times in order to catch up......  It's like that T-shirt I saw:  "God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things -- and right now, I'm so far behind, I'll NEVER die!!"  That's me.....

At least my paperwork for the homeschooling program is up-to-date....... One thing's done, anyway!!  Now if I could just find the surface on my desk..... such a mess....... maybe that ought to be today's project......

I suppose I've now frittered away enough time on the computer, rambling on and on....... Back to real life!!  Mackenzie's Pioneer Girls group is going bowling this afternoon, and we've got a LOT to get finished before we leave.  'Bye for now.......

It's ALWAYS spring in my kitchen!

My sister's mention on her blog of finding wild orchids on their property in Honduras gave me the thought that it was time to share (read "BRAG!!!") about the orchids I grow in my kitchen. The original pair of orchids were not mine -- for some reason, my husband wanted to try his hand at growing them, and so we bought two for him. Unfortunately, he lost interest rather quickly, and somehow I decided I needed to save these poor plants from an untimely demise....... and then family and friends decided I MUST be really interested in this...... and started buying orchids for ME...... and thus began my orchid collection and education. My friends think I have a green thumb or a passion for orchids; I really don't have either. I've just done a bit of reading, a LOT of talking with people that grow orchids, and learned just enough tricks to make the poor things stay alive!

A little knowledge is probably a dangerous thing in this case, because I think I might be over-fertilizing them; as a result, I get blossoms that last for MONTHS on end and plants that keep reproducing and overgrowing their pots. One of my plants is BADLY in need of being divided -- but I have no clue how to do this! I guess it's time for me to go find one of my orchid experts again to help me.

And without further ado, here are pictures and comments about my kitchen greenery -- enjoy this extra bit of springtime!!

PLANT #1 -- just beginning to bloom in January



Plant #1 (again) -- check out all the buds on those stems -- it was GORGEOUS by February!! (and just lost the last of its blooms three days ago -- wow!!)



Plant #2 -- blooming in January



And now blooming AGAIN in June:





Plant #3 -- piles of flowers blooming in January --



And STILL blooming in June --



Sadly, plants #4 and #5 have had "issues" this year and decided not to bloom! Their "neighbors", however, certainly made up for that laziness!!

And here's the view of the kitchen window yesterday --