In Memoriam

I finally did it,

 and it only took me 49 years!

I got my first tattoo.

Bobbie Jo DeGree

I have always loved tattoos but I never got one growing up because I was raised in a very conservative household.  I never got one in early adulthood because my husband frowned upon them.

Now I am on the cusp of turning 50,

and I think it's about dang time that I decide what I want!

I have talked about getting the signatures 

of my deceased parents on my arm for years.

The day of our 25th wedding anniversary, 

Doug surprised me with a road trip.

It was full of naughty things that a 50 year old conservative Catholic mother of five definitely SHOULD NOT do!  

Our first stop was the tattoo parlor.

I got the signature of my late mother on my forearm.

Underneath is a stem of four pale pink roses.

One rose for each of the babies I've lost.

I pray every day for her and them.

And I beg God to let her be their caretaker 

until I can hold them again.

25 Years Later...

Me and this guy,

we've been married for 25 years.

Two houses

Five children born on this earth

Four children born into Heaven

Three dogs

9,125 Days

And just so you'd know,

I'd do it all again.

The Fall #CreamerGarden

Fall, it truly is the best time of the year!

October is when I clean out the summer garden beds 

and begin new seedlings suited for colder weather. 

THIS is what I got when I "cleaned out" the beds:

Considering that most of our days in October have temps in the 90's, I'm not really surprised the peppers and eggplants have held on this long!

And what the remnant plants haven't taken over, 

the weeds have!

Above is an overgrowth of blue hyssop.

I planted it last year and it has beautifully self seeded into TWO of my beds.  I'll let it hang around a little while longer because the bees love it, and it makes a wonderful tea from the dried leaves that help with chest and cold congestion.

The asparagus bed looks "weedy" as well, but it's actually left that way on purpose and allowed to grow until it naturally dies back in the winter.  Those fern-like shoots are feeding the roots.  We still have another year and a half before we'll be able to harvest them.  To the left of the asparagus is turmeric.  It will get harvested this winter and be used in our cold/flu "FIRE CIDER."

And the last ones to hang on are the luffa.

They just keep growing and putting out more fruits!  I keep letting them grow for more luffa to put into homemade soaps and gifts this Christmas.  Plus they have the most beautiful yellow flowers!

The rest of the garden boxes look like this.

Small green plants peeking out from under leaf mulch.

Above is a mustard green plant, and scattered in nearby boxes are:

Bok Choi

Kale

Spinach

Salad Mix

I'm waiting for it to get a little cooler to plant broccoli, brussell sprouts, and cauliflower.

Otherwise, they just go to bolt in this warmer weather.

So please, hurry up Fall!

This girl is ready for leggings, boots,

and pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!

Dollar Tree Decor

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you'll know I'm all about the CHEAP AND EASY!

And for inexpensive household items, 

you can't do better than the Dollar Tree.

I LOVE FALL!

And even though it's still 90 degrees most days here in September and October, I can't help but want to drink all the pumpkin spice things and decorate.  So here is my favorite decorating on the cheap idea,

CHALK PAINTED PUMPKINS.

The Dollar Tree carries these day-glow orange styrofoam pumpkins.  They're totally cute as is, but they really clash with the "farm house" style of our house.

So, pumpkins, meet chalk paint.

Rust-oleum makes a wonderful line of spray chalk paints.  I've used them to paint everything from furniture to candlesticks to Mason jars.  The great thing about chalk paint is that it will stick to any surface without having to prime first!

Just poke a stick or skewer through the bottom of your pumpkin and spray away!  It takes about two to three coats to get rid of that bright orange color (let pumpkins dry 20 minutes in between coats).

Definitely buy more pumpkins than you need,

painting them is a little addicting!

And you're left with pretty little pumpkins to display all around your home.

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!