Spring Surprise!

This has been a pretty rough winter on this side of the equator. Even as I write this, there is still snow falling in the northern part of the US and tornado warnings in some of the middle states. Here though we went abruptly from very cool temps to using the A/C. I understand the temperatures will modify some during this next week, so perhaps we can keep the windows open a bit more.

This morning I went to check the bluebird nest box and found 4 eggs. On the front porch on the nesting ledge, there are 5 eggs in that nest. Anyway, as I was returning from the box, I noticed spiky purple blooms in the front yard. I knew that the wild violets were blooming but these looked very different. I checked them out, and the are grape hyacinths!

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It was just a small bunch, so my husband was able to move them in one shovel full to the bed by the back walk. Hyacinths grow from bulbs, so I have NO idea how they got into the front yard. But this fall, we will separate the bulbs and replant them. What a nice spring surprise!

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We have several varieties of hosta by the back porch and they are pushing through now too.

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The thrift is blooming, along with the violets. Violets are an invasive plant and so they will eventually get dug up, but not to fear, when you think you have them all, some still show up next year!

Tag Tuesday - Think Spring! And a story: A QUESTIONABLE ROOMMATE; And a surprise!

Okay, surprise first - Louise at Kard Krazy is no longer doing Tag Tuesday! Waah! But wait! I AM! I decided that since so many of us enjoy doing the weekly tags, I would try hosting it. The address for the new blog is here! SO, I will be posting my tag on both blogs, because I know there are some who read this blog who don't participate and would still like to see it. The challenge today was to Think Spring!

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If you want information about how I did it, you can click on the link above.

A Questionable Roommate

13th in the Tuesday Stories Series

When I was still single, I was living on Folly Beach, outside of Charleston SC. I became friends with a couple of other women at my church and they had just moved to the Isle of Palms, another island on the other side of the Charleston peninsula and asked me to share the house with them. It seemed like a wonderful idea, so I took them up on their offer. As usual, there was a honeymoon period while we became better acquainted with each other. One day, we sat down to divide up chores and reality sort of snuck up behind us and gave us a little smack. 

Janie, Glenda and I (and yes, I have changed names here!) were discussing what needed to be done on a regular basis; well, actually Janie and I were discussing it, Glenda was strangely silent. Occasionally she would nod, or murmur something but she didn't contribute much to the overall conversation. After we had listed the housekeeping chores and set up a rotating calendar, we posted the list on the refrigerator. Things seemed to go along pretty well, but we began to notice that when it was Glenda's turn to sweep and vacuum the floors, or dust, or defrost the freezer (yes, it was an old fridge), it was hardly being done. We finally had a talk with her and she looked at us and said "I don't know how to sweep." 

Surprised, we said "Well, we can show you."

"Umm, I don't know how to dust, either."

More than surprised now, we just stared at her. Finally I said "I don't understand - didn't you have chores to do when you were growing up?"

"No. My mother had maids, and I wasn't allowed to do any housework."

I'm afraid we both just stared at her as we tried to take all that in. Suddenly her very messy room, with clothes everywhere, started to make sense, and the unwashed dishes after she had eaten, and the litter box........

Ah yes, the litter box! Glenda had a very neurotic Siamese cat which mewed all day, and especially when she was at work. The litter box seemed to hardly ever be changed and as it grew worse and worse, Janie and I would bug her about it, but usually we ended up cleaning it so we could have guests without being embarrassed.

After the chores discussion, we set about trying to teach her the basics of keeping a house clean. She sort of half heartedly tried, but the truth was she really didn't WANT to learn and always had an excuse for pushing whatever chore she had onto us. The last straw was that litter box. It simply stunk.

Finally one day I told Janie that we needed to put our foot down because I was tired of being taken advantage of. We penned the cat and the litter box up in Glenda's room, made sure the windows were shut, and waited. When she came home from work, she opened the door to her room and we heard a loud "GAAAAHHHH!!!" She swept out of her room demanding to know why we played such a joke on her, and I told it was no joke, we were tired of doing her work for her and of the house smelling like a public toilet. She was not happy, but we were.

Eventually (pretty soon after that actually) she moved out. She was engaged and wanted to move into the apartment they would be sharing after the marriage. We knew that the future groom had no idea she didn't do housework and felt sorry for the guy. The rent may have been higher after she left, but it sure was a more pleasant place to live!

Tag Tuesday - Surprise, sort of, and a Story: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Well, the "surprise" is that there is no Tag Tuesday challenge today, but if you read my post last Tuesday, you aren't really surprised at all! The art I do have for you today is pretty simple.

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This was done a week ago for something my daughter is doing. Back in January we were both struggling with facing the long cold days till the first day of Spring and she came up with the idea of posting a count down photo on her Facebook account. Each day would be a different picture with the number of days left till that day came. She started with 68 and has been faithful to have something unique each day. She is a very talented artist and the pictures have been very creative. There have been a few "guest" artists and I was one of them. Obviously I did the artwork for 13 days left till Spring. 

I did this on a 4 x 4, using alcohol ink and a blending tool. Then I rubber stamped the Rook card on it and attached some fabric leaves and crepe flowers. Pretty simple, but colorful. (You may have noticed that the same Rook card showed up in last week's tag - it was a cast off piece which worked well!)

Today's story is actually from a post I did last June. I've had a few not so great days and some "brain fog" so it was hard to think clearly. Hope you enjoy it again!

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

12th in the Tuesday Story Series

Living in the country as we do now, we catch a whiff of skunk odor every now and then when we are driving on the roads. It reminds me of an experience we had several years ago and since we now live close to the State Park where this happened, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again when we go camping there.


We were still living in Charleston and had taken the camper to Table Rock State Park in the mountains. After settling in and enjoying the park that first day, the children had gone to sleep and John and I stretched out on full length folding chairs to talk and rest. After it had gotten quite dark, we noticed several animals moving about in the shadows cast by the yellow outdoors light from the camper. Suddenly they came right toward us, sniffing the ground and looking for any bits of food. There were at least 8 skunks, black and white, blond and black, black, white and blond. 


They acted as if we weren't there and we just froze. Several went right underneath our legs on the chair, bumping against us with their backs. All I could think of was how horrible it would smell if all of those skunks were upset at once! We sat still and did whisper to each other once or twice, and they just ignored us, continuing their search for any crumbs of food in the campsite. Eventually, they left as nonchalantly as they had entered, and we were able to take a deep breath! I'm still amazed at the variety of colors and patterns I saw. I wish I had had my camera, but then again, that might have been the one thing they would not have liked!


Early last year, we found a dead skunk in the road in front of our house and the dogs were all excited and wanted to use it as a toy. Visions of having to purchase a case of tomato juice to bathe two dogs outside in icy weather quickly convinced us that the only thing to do was to bury it as soon as possible. We dug a hole by the side of the road and deposited the skunk. A few months later, I noticed that the skunk, or what was then left of it, had been dug up and taken off somewhere by some animal. The odor still hung in the air around the empty hole in the ground. I'm sure glad it was not on the dogs fur!


If you are interested, click to see the variety of skunk colors! In South Carolina we have spotted and striped skunk, and I think we saw both that night.