A Little Backyard Haven: Finding Joy in Flowers, Wildlife, and Simple Moments There is something peaceful about stepping into your own backyard and realizing that you have created a place where life feels welcome. Our backyard is not a perfectly manicured garden. It is something much more special to me—a little haven filled with flowers, wildlife, quiet moments, and reminders that beauty often comes from the care we give to the things around us. Almost every day, I'm outside watering, pruning, checking on my plants, and yes, even talking to them. Some people may laugh at that, but I believe plants respond to the love and attention we give them. Gardening has become one of the simple pleasures that brings me peace and helps me slow down and appreciate the little things. Recently, I spent some time enjoying the visitors and blooms that have made our backyard such a special place. A Bumble Bee’s Visit to the Pansies One of my favorite recent visitors was a little bumble bee that dec...

I recently posted about using clear glue as faux water. In that post , I mentioned that I thought that some other advice about using a shallow pour, cure, shallow pour, cure, and so on would be the best way to use clear glue as faux water, but it turns out that is wrong as well. Because when I poured the glue on top of the cured glue, it remelted the first pour. So, after waiting for about 2 weeks for the first shallow pour to cure, I had to wait again for the now-deeper pour to cure. In other words, the shallow pour is a bust if you want to gradually go deeper since the lower layer of glue will melt once the upper layer is poured into the vase. Also, the glue shrinks when cured and doesn't appear to look like water after all that careful work and weeks of waiting. I highly encourage you to not use the glue as faux water for your fake flower arrangements. And I hope my experiment helps you make better decisions. My advice: don't always believe what you read or see on the inte...

 Audrey Hepburn said, To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.   image courtesy of Jan Canty via Unsplash The time to sow our seeds is almost upon us. Whether you're a raised bed veggie gardener or container gardener who loves flowers or full-on farmer, welcome to spring ! My rose bushes in the yard already have leaves and are growing new limbs. So, they should be covered in blooms before the end of April. Earlier in the month when we had warm temps, I added some liquid fertilizer to the soil in my empty containers. Before sowing my seeds, I'll mix the soil up a bit to make sure I'm planting in loose soil to allow for root growth, and I'll add more of my Miracle Gro liquid fertilizer when I plant my seeds or repot my flowers. If you've been following me for the past few years, you know I'm a [mostly] container gardener. I tried growing some veggies last year in my containers with little success. This year, I'm going back to all flowers, and I'm look...

I've watched many videos about using clear glue as faux water. Everyone talks about how pretty this is once it dries. They will say, "This doesn't dry right away, so you have plenty of time to rearrange your dried flowers until you're satisfied." BUT no one tells you how long the glue takes to dry. So, I'm here to share an experiment I'm trying, using clear glue as faux water.  First of all, most people use Elmer's clear glue. I used the Dollar Tree Jot 4 oz. clear glue for my experiment. Either way, Google search AI reports that glue, such as Elmer's glue will take longer to dry with a deep pour. Apparently, 4 oz. is a deep pour. Because my first pour, which used the entire 4 oz., isn't showing any signs of drying soon. All other glue brands take just as long and cost much more.  For beter results, Google AI and Reddit forum users recommend a shallow pour. So, pour a shallow layer, allow to dry, add another shallow layer and allow to dry. Con...

Two dreams I had around Easter 2015 started me on a journey to write a very important book that I feel very strongly that God wanted me to write. But before I could start writing it, I had to start studying the Bible more in depth, especially a certain book of the Bible, study about certain people in that book, and I took Bible study courses for about three years, earning multiple certificates from Christian Leaders Institute. Finally, about two years ago, I was able to successfully begin my writing journey. Prior to that, before the self-study, courses, life experiences that definitely (and ironically) go along with this book, and lots of prayer to discover what the message was really supposed to be about, writing was unsuccessful several times. And as all of you understand, life throws occasional, if not frequent, challenges at us. So, the journey was real , for sure. And along the way, I wrote a few free books and recipes for you all as well just so I would have a finished product...

Jitterbug Cell Phone Call to Lively I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned for yourselves. Today, I want to share an experience that may be helpful for you. We recently purchased a Lively Jitterbug Smart 4 cell phone for my parents.  And I think I'll start my review with the phone call I made to Lively to ask a question before purchasing. I can't remember what that question was now. 😄But during that phone conversation, I explained to the representative that my parents are in a nursing home and they had requested to have a phone. And that my husband wants to retire soon, so their phone prices and plans looked more affordable than anyone else's. Plus the Jitterbug has attractive features for much-older seniors. After some back and forth, he convinced me to buy an open box Smart 4 Jitterbug for a much reduced price. We have the option to return the phone for just the cost of a $10 restocking fee if it doesn't work out. So, if you are looking at a phone option fo...

First Sign of Spring It's just past mid-February and a black-capped Carolina chickadee has been visiting our backyard. They have been absent all winter. So, today , I'm excited to announce that spring is around the corner. I haven't seen the groundhogs in the neighbors' yard to ask them, but the chickadee sighting and the fact that it was chasing one of our male cardinals means the mating season (a.k.a spring) is on its way, and the smaller chickadee is trying to clear the backyard for his mate and their spring arrivals. Silly bird. I guess he hasn't heard that we welcome all birds.  image courtesy of  Meagan-Joy Huggard via Unsplash Bird Lovers What about you? Are your spring and summer avian visitors starting to arrive? Is there more chirping in your backyard? If so, go take a peek and see which ones have made an early arrival. Since more cold weather may be around a bit longer, and there may be a lack of food preferences for another month or so, place some fruit...