CATCHING UP, A BIT OF RANDOMNESS AND A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Oh my! I had no intention of going a whole week without posting. But, as is usually the case, everything and nothing kept me from posting. I say "everything and nothing" because it was just that - being very busy and being very lazy.

Last week started out pretty busy with work, weeding and what-not. I also spent a good deal of time last week getting the house ready for Son No. 1's return home from college. I have to admit I can't imagine a 20 year old guy really cares how clean the house is when he comes home from school. And, if he really doesn't notice, at least the house is clean, right!?

Son No. 3's baseball schedule is taking up at least half the weeknights these days. And combining all that with stepping up my workouts

(getting in 5 days last week with a couple marathon

workouts eating up 2 hours each!)

. . . the days just flew by.

Also, I have to acknowledge my youngest little man's birthday today.

What a bad, bad mother!

This photo is the most recent of Owen. I almost couldn't believe it when I was searching for a pic of him for this post. Think I better get the camera out tonight!

Can't believe my baby is in the last of his tween years, turning 12 today. How did that happen? He celebrated Saturday night with a sleep over. If I could have just bottled the energy of eight, 12 year old boys running around outside until 10:00 p.m., I could live to be 150!

Tonight we'll have a quick (because there's baseball tonight) family dinner with his requested chicken parm and cupcakes for desert.

My Peonies are starting to bloom.

I've looked forward to their arrival all spring. They are my absolute favorite flower. I wish they bloomed longer. They have the most fantastic fragrance, and their soft petals feel like the most smooth silk ever. I love to literally bury my face in their blooms. I cut the first few blooms and brought them in. I wish you could smell them!

I have a trio of blooms in inexpensive Ikea vases right above the kitchen sink where I can enjoy their beauty and take in that fantastic fragrance while washing dishes.

Another multi-votive holder caddy thingy groups more individual blooms on the kitchen table.

A little project I finished up this week was these cute herb plant markers.

I purchased super-inexpensive wood shims from Lowes. Give them a quick, thin coat of spray paint.

Printed out the names of the herbs I have potted in a font I liked.

By rubbing pencil on the back of the paper, I can transfer the letters onto the shims.

Using a detail brush, paint the letters. Some of the shims have really rough surface, so that along with my lack of artistic ability and equally lacking penmanship, the results are a very primitive-looking marker.

Just what I want!

Give them a good spray of acrylic sealer, and they should be good to last the season.

I've been wanting to share these two books with you all. I've had these books for quite some time, and still love to grab them off the shelf for gardening inspiration from time-to-time.

WINDOWBOXES

SEASON'S AT SEVEN GATES FARM

The authors, James Cramer and Dean Johnson, were once contributing editors at Country Living magazine. After some Google research, I couldn't find any results on what they're up to these days, but their style stays timeless for me.

I've always preferred a casual, whimsical gardening style, and they have captured that feel in these two books. I went a little overboard with the photos of pages out of the books, but these books are fabulous. I don't think you'd be a bit disappointed if you were to purchase either or both!

The following group of pics is from

WINDOWBOXES

This next group of photos is from

SEASONS AT SEVEN GATES FARM

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