Words of Wisdom Wednesday

This pretty much "nails it!" I'm happy to have grown up in a large family!

Monday Mystery

We've had this plant for a very long time. I have never liked it. It had about 3 or 4 of the tall leaves for years. I've really always hated it. I thought Butch liked it since he brings it in every year. Neither of us have any idea where it came from. I always thought he must have bought it because to me, it's a "guys" kind of thing. Definitely not my vibe. But he says he didn't buy it. So there's that mystery--where the heck did it come from? And then, the next mystery. What the heck is it??

So last year, I decided to figure out what it is. Using my plant identification app, I

found that it was a bird of paradise. This year, I decided to fertilize it. Suddenly, it's going gang busters. Butch thought it was something other than a bird of paradise. I tried my identifier app again. This time, it says it's a banana plant. That makes more sense to Butch. I don't know why. 

Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens and then decide. Here's a bird of paradise picture from the web:

And here is the banana plant:

I guess the only way we'll know for sure is if it every produces a bloom or bananas!

It's a mystery for sure! I'm still leaning towards bird of paradise. We'll see. 

I'll keep you posted!

A Little Something for Sunday!

Well, it's about that time to share a few garden pics. 

This is a month ago when we got everything planted:

And just 5 weeks later:

Last year was the first year that we decided to go with all of the same color flowers.

I had half a thought that each year, we would pick a different color. But, we loved the RED so much that we decided to stick with it. It's so bright and cheery and shows up so well. We just love it. We sit outside every afternoon with a cocktail--or not--and just admire everything. We are diligent about watering, dead-heading, and removing dead leaves. It's a lot--especially the watering--every day. The pruning aspect only takes about a half hour/forty five minutes twice a week. I actually really like dong it. It's my favorite part of gardening. I pretty much hate the hauling,  the planting and the ferilizing. But the fertilizing is crucial! As you can see, everything is about twice the original size. 

It's red. And we're loving it. 

Scrapbook Saturday

Yesterday, I spent the 4th of July sorting through my two 12x12 storage boxes full of travel scrapbook supplies. I used one box for road trips, hiking, Disney, beach and anything else regarding travel in the U.S. The second box contains all general travel supplies as well as internationally themed things and travel stamps. It took me 3 hours!! I have a lot of stuff. 

When we went to England at the end of April, I knew that I would be making two layouts for that trip. One would be for the first part of the trip with Janet and the last part of the trip with Butch.

I made the cute luggage tag on the Cricut. 

The flag on the left with a picture of Big Ben is actually from a bag that came with something I bought. I made a pocket to hold Butch's 20+ page journal. He's started to add photos to it. I told him that officially he is now a "scrapbooker!"

I cut the crown on the Cricut too and used another bag as part of the title for my page with Janet.

The ribbon across the bottom was something that was tied around some towels I bought. That what I call a "two-fer!" The towels and then a bonus for my scrapbook. 

The title block opens to reveal another picture.

I used an insert to hold more pictures. also, I use a library pocket to hold the itinerary and journaling. 

I'm so happy I got all of my travel supplies sorted. Now I can plan for my Paris layout(s). I'm planning on doing 3. "Paris", "Disneyland (Paris)" and "Food, Flowers and Tea." I've already planned the titles on the Cricut--I just have to cut them. Plus, I pulled out all the supplies I have for Paris. I'll put papers and several things together to make kits. It's always easier to start with a kit! A little pre-planning goes a long way. It's much more fun to sit down to create when everything is together. 

Friday Funnies

Ten Things Thursday

How about some beautiful things in nature?

I have no idea what these are from. I suppose they are seeds, but they sure a cute.

This doesn't seem like it could be real. That many cardinals lined up so perfectly---come on. It must be a painting.

This is an unusual flower/plant.

I have a feeling I might actually have seen some of these, but didn't realize it was an insect. Maybe it's not real either.

Which came first?

I'm not sure I ever realized that the beaks on cardinals were red. But I guess the picture above proves it.

 I don't know about this. It looks like it just might be food dressed up to look like flowers.

I definitely didn't know this. All I've got to say is that's a lot of "picking" to get a jar of cashews. It must take a whole tree for one jar. Maybe they grow on bushes.

Art in nature.

Did you know that Bradford pear trees are so invasive that some places offer a bounty on them. I don't know where that is, but it seems to me, you can just wait them out. They are not long living trees--only about 15 years. And, they are weak trees to boot. They suffer storm damage easily. The flowers are sure pretty.

Words of Wisdom!