Walking Into Town

I giant hailstorm passed over our wee valley this week. Thunder, lighting , black clouds, intense sun... all in a matter of minutes. Strangest part, while we got a light dusting of frozen pellets, a mere mile down the road it's a winter wonderland. Icy roads, frozen parking lots and white roofs. We even saw a snowman!
I'm a chicken driver in the snow/ice so yesterday we bundled up and walked the two miles into town for lunch and a few groceries.  A totally lovely reward after way too many hours trapped in my office filling out seed, plant and bulb orders for the upcoming season.

Today I'm hustling to get more paperwork out of the way so we can get back outside to enjoy a sunny break in the weather and still have time to work on New Years intentions/goal board collages.

Wishing you a  lovely day filled with big dreams,giant wishes and bold declarations for the New Year!!

See you on the other side!

A Flowery Suprise

Since I have a walk in cooler, my designer friends usually have their wholesale orders shipped here.
I often end up unpacking the orders (I can't handle flowers being out of water, it's like seeing a baby without socks in the winter!) and get to drool over every beautiful bloom.
Today unexpectedly our UPS guy showed up with a huge box from Peter Kort Roses (my favorite rose grower!). Evidently there had been a mix up on their end and a friends order was shipped out 2 weeks early. Oops!
Ever generous, they gifted her the all of the flowers. And since her house is tiny and she is awesome... I get to keep half!  Woohoo, way to make a girls day!

An exotic Cattleya Orchid.



Roses : Cool Water, Avalanche, Ocean Song, Moon Struck and the super fragrant garden variety  Helga Piaget

Roses Cool Water, Avalanche and Ocean Song

My favorite cream spray Rose Moonstruck

Roses Cool Water and Ocean Song

White Asiatic Lilies

A large bag of Rose petals

Another stunning purple Cattleya Orchid

Chickens In The House

Unexpected house guests

A little scratch to supplement their feed

I scored the awesome watermelon box from a grocery stores  recycling bin this summer. It makes the perfect chick brooder!

Tina the hen with her new babies in October.

. Chris needs to reweld the top support bars and replace a blown tire but a all in all it is in great condition!

I love how bright and airy the inside is

A view from the back, doors to both the chicken area and the sweet little duck house below.

It even has a drop door that can be closed at night and a hinged ramp for easy transport.

A few nights ago while laying down with Jasper for a bedtime story he quietly asked " Mom, what is that noise ?" After pausing for a moment to see if I could pinpoint the sound, through the floorboards came the awkward crow of a teenage rooster. Ha,ha! It's true, I have chickens in my house.
Not tiny cute fluff balls but big, half grown chickens camping in our basement storage room. Back before Thanksgiving we got slammed with some super cold weather and in a panic I brought the birds indoors to keep warm. I guess I kind of blocked out the strangeness of the situation until the young roo's started to crow. Yikes!This weekends plan now includes moving them into a new coop!
Over the years we have had dozens of poultry adventures. My first home business idea being to sell "farm fresh" eggs. Chris (my very patient partner) hand built a fleet of sturdy green chicken tractors to house the flock. At max capacity we had over 100 hens in our yard! Our once golf course like lawn was turned into a pastured poultry enterprise.My plan didn't work out as well as I had intended (many during those first years didn't). New to "farming" I hadn't realized how time consuming or gross caring for that many birds in rainy Washington would be. Wet chicken crap filled much of my days!
After a full scale raccoon attack that resulted in 30 dead birds (they tore the doors right off the pens!) 2 weasel episodes ( these cute darlings love to decapitate birds and drink their blood,who knew) and a lawn full of manure I finally gave away the pens and significantly downsized the flock.
In subsequent years we have had tiny flocks, a purely Bantam flock (my favorite) and recently no flock at all. But this fall when our two remaining wild Banty hens (they sleep in the trees) went broody and each hatched a clutch of eggs I fell head over heels in chicken love again.
As luck would have it a few days after these darlings arrived a friend of ours moved,  leaving behind her awesome chicken tractor. Complete with an attached run, separate doors for egg collection and cleaning and an additional duck house below we joyously celebrated our good fortune !The best part, it was FREE!Only problem though, how to get it the 3 miles back home? Chris and a friend concocted a crazy, spur of the moment plan and chained the monster to a tractor bucket and slowly,carefully, pulled it home BACKWARDS! We must have been quite a sight!
Early in the adventure, when the coop popped one of its tires and began fishtailing , the sheriff drove by. The guys stopped, thinking they were in for it but miraculously, the cop just shrugged in disbelief and drove on. There definitely are benefits to living in a small town!
Today I dug out a couple of hatchery catalogs and my favorite new poultry book Keeping Chickens by Ashley English for some inspiration.
This time around, I'm really going to try and keep things a little more "adventure" free!

First Signs Of Life

The first Ranunculus have pushed through the soil with Anemones closely behind!
Yipee !!!! Spring is just around the corner.

A Visit To My Favorite Nursery

Hundreds of tiny antique pots shipped in from England...swoon

This antique greenhouse came from a high school in Seattle. I believe it's nearly 100 years old and was carefully restored and rebuilt by Carl Jaegel.

With just a touch of heat the greenhouses were filled with an amazing selection of winter plants including oranges and lemons!

What craftsmanship!

An outside view of the antique glasshouse.

The door handle to the gift shop

Eleagnus 'Gilt Edge'

Bulk greens for wreath making

Jasper just couldn't resist messing with the scale.

Even the plant flats are beautiful!

These Doves filled the air with beautiful music while we strolled through the glasshouse

In high school I held a variety of jobs (housekeeper,nanny,busboy, produce sales person, hostess,burger flipper, photographers assistant, bookkeeper,painter and stable cleaner) often combining two or more at a time while attending school. Occasionally I would get a few too many things going and my Mom would step in force me to streamline. I've always stacked my plate pretty full!
It was during that time that I first gardened for money. A family that I nannied for was having out of town company and their yard was a mess. I spent a long, hot weekend pulling weeds, dividing perennials and mowing the grass. While exhausted I was in heaven!
Over the next few years I often supplemented my meager income with gardening projects. Being a hard worker, reasonably priced and enthusiastic I never had to advertise.
When Jasper was 3 months old I enrolled in the Master Gardeners training program here in the valley. The youngest attendee by 40 years! I devoured every speck of information presented. To be surrounded by so many  plant obsessed people (mainly ladies over 65)  I finally felt at home.
Upon graduating I immediately stumbled into the first of many amazing garden related opportunities. One of my Mom's clients was hosting  her daughters wedding in their garden just five short months away. The problem was the client had no garden to speak of! Having just moved into their giant spec house mansion, the yard consisted of freshly laid sod and huge clay filled flower beds covered in 18" of  beauty bark. It was my job to turn the enormous (sterile, soggy, topsoiless, alkaline, waterlogged) space into an English flower garden by summers end.
Inexperience can often be a gift! If I'd have know how hard the process would be I never would have taken it on. But luckily I was drunk with optimism!
 Working alone with a single wheelbarrow, borrowed tools and half the library's garden section I somehow managed to transform  their suburban lot into a beautiful  flower filled garden in time for the wedding.
During the design process I spent a considerable amount of time combing local nurseries. Notebook in hand I explored every corner  and every plant ,reading tags, pestering employees and snapping pictures.Looking back I'm surprised I didn't get kicked out!
I owe a huge amount of that initial success to Christiansons' Nursery. With one of the most extensive Rose offerings (800+ varieties) in the state, incredibly knowledgeable employees and a generous sharing of information I doubt I would have had such a good outcome without them.
On top of  having  great plants and great people the owners John and Tony  Christianson have created an absolutely magical world . Everywhere you turn there is beauty!
Last week the kids and I dashed over for a little Christmas shopping and inspiration. I never tire of that place!

Best Christmas Ever !

The most fantastic apron ever! I may just have to wear it around town :) .A gift from my lovely mother.

Gluten free chocolate cookies (recipe below). They are amazing!!!

In Grandma's lap is the only place to be when you feel a little under the weather. She has magical powers you know!

Christmas jammies from Grandma with a matching set for the American Girl doll.

Japanese printed flannel complete with a symbolic I-Ching coin.

Jasper 's cozy Dino Jammie's.

We found this guy and a half dozen friends at the local thrift shop a few weeks back. Story goes that an elderly man decided to donate his collection of Nutcrackers to this tiny Humane Society Thrift Shop. With hundreds to chose from the kids and I carefully selected a favorite for each family member. 

She brought all of her stuffed animals up to watch the gift exchange.

Stocking stuffers

PJ's, a fire, happy kiddos and hot coffee. A great morning.

Christmas isn't complete without loaded stockings for the cats.

An Elora and Jasper ornament made by Elora many years ago. treasure.

Jasper serving up a delicious breakfast of turkey bacon and eggs.This boy is a natural in the kitchen.

Christmases of the past were always a stressful time for me. With divorced parents it was a heartbreaking and nerve wracking experience to chose who to spend the holiday with. I inevitably felt torn no matter where we went.
As I grew older the burden of presents and gift giving was added into the mix. I remember fretting and saving to buy gifts that were so far out of my price range, thinking that if I could only give something special or expensive then the recipient would know that I loved them. Of course this distorted approach never worked but year after year I threw myself into the process with more determination.
My sister was the first to shun Christmas. I remember being so angry that she left me to be the "good daughter"and ditched the entire family and fled to a cabin on the coast with her boyfriend. Secretly I was envious of her courage and freedom.
 It wasn't until my little ones grew old enough to show the telltale signs of holiday greed that I began the process of unraveling everything Christmas had always been about.
Over the past five years we have experimented with many approaches to creating a holiday that actually feels good. To my delight this year I think we finally figured it out . In the words of the kids "it was the best Christmas ever".
No big family gathering,  battery powered toys, unlimited sugary treats, large amounts of alcohol or drama. Instead we successfully stuck to our tiny present budget, opted for handmade or meaningful gifts and just enjoyed each others company. My amazing Mother came up for the day with food, the sweetest gifts and tons and tons love.
I'm so happy we finally got it right!

+The  cookies above can be found here at my new favorite food blog!. Couldn't even tell they were gluten free. Thank you Gluten Free Girl for converting the original recipe into one I can eat!