Today I realized that I have a problem…I am a collector of plants. I never realized it until today. I’ve always had a few house plants but never to the extent that I have now.

I counted 24 as I walked through the house snapping photos. I’m kind of in shock now that I’ve actually counted them.

And now that I look to my left here on the deck I see a fern and my rosemary that overwinter indoors as well.

Yep it is a problem…but a lovely one at that.

Marvin is enjoying some supervised outdoor time with me as I blog this evening. Earlier today he was trying his best to catch a grasshopper. No luck.

I haven’t gotten much crafting done. We’ve had a plumbing issue that has interrupted my craft space and I was too lazy to haul my stuff out and craft elsewhere.

Each and every morning I head out to the garden to check on my plants. Gardening brings me so much joy. Going from seed to harvest is a gift.

This season I did not start my own seeds instead I purchased starts through a coworker. I have learned that sometimes you can’t do it all and there is no shame in that.

The beans are finally starting to produce. I’m hoping to harvest enough to can some spicy beans again this year. If not, I still have a stash of jars from last season.

My neighbor once again allowed me to cut her daylilies before the deer had them for a midnight snack. Aren’t they gorgeous?!?

During my time of forced relaxation, I played around with a bag of scraps I purchased quite some time ago from the thrift store. It was a great challenge to pull together cards from a limited palette.

Using only what I had in front of me gave me the opportunity to combine colors and patterns that I typically would not have tried. I simply love the results! This entire pile it ready to go complete with sentiments.

And a whole other giant pile of cards ready for the right words or time.

I’m still working on my journals….really slowly. I’m spending as much time outdoors or with Mini-me, so crafting definitely takes a back seat. Mini-me leaves for college in about a month. It goes so fast.

I did it again. I went nearly a month without posting. Well folks, I’m going to make up for it with a photo heavy post.

Since I’m not sure where to start I’m just going to jump in with some fun fabric projects I’ve been working on.

The first of which are these microwave bowl holders. I love these things! I use mine a couple times a week. I love that I can throw them in the washing machine when they get messy.

While I had the machine out I did more piecing with my scraps.

I also finally got around to making my mixer cover with the fun fabric I bought over the summer. I can’t believe I waited so long! I love the way it looks.

Now shall we talk about the elephant in the room…or perhaps the golden goose in the gym?

Yup…that’s right. I turned 50 at the beginning of the month. There was lots of advertising at school.

And yes there was cake!

This was really cute. One of my students wrote this on the white board. I love that its spelled wrong. :)

That same student wrote me a little note a week or so before hand.

Enough about other peoples children…let me update you on mine.

Before the end of semester, Mini-me had a project for class that was a pop-up art show in the gallery. They were tasked to use washi tape and washi tape only to create a temporary art installation on the gallery wall. Pretty cool huh. She is back home for the summer after enduring a massive storm which knocked out power and cell phone service for the last day of finals. She took her Latin final in the dark.

J graduated from college with his Chemical Engineering degree this month as well. This is a bit of ChemE humor that went over my head but I’m using it for my drink reference anyway. He is back home as well. The house went from quiet to crowded very quickly.

I think this is the only journal I have played in all month. I’ve been doing a bit more organizing however I stalled out until I am done with work…I really want to sort through stuff with Mini-me since she is using more things in her art as well. I don’t want to get rid of something she will end up wanting shortly.

This was earned longer ago than I had thought until I see the date staring me in the face. It still blows my mind though that I’ve walked that much.

Mr. G and I also celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary in April. He still knows how to make me laugh with his shenanigans with his follow-up to my reminder note to run the dishwasher in the morning.

Speaking of laughter…this gave me a good chuckle. So much so that I had to snap a picture of it at our local coffee shop.

Once again a month has passed. Crazy how that happens.

Since my last post I’ve been dealing with some health issues. The most debilitating of which was a case of cellulitis. I had never even heard of it until a couple years ago. Thankfully I did learn about it so I went in and got checked out. Steroids and antibiotics did the trick. Although I learned that I will never take Prednisone again unless it is a life or death situation. Uff Da. That is some wicked stuff.

Now that I am feeling better I have been inspired to create a bit.

I created a selection of journal covers from leftovers in my stash. The inside is a heavyweight poster that I have recycled to act as book board that was then machine stitched to the fabric covers. This creates a nice folio type booklet for a single signature of around 15 pages. Small books such as these make great gratitude journals, everyday thoughts, lists and so on.

Here’s another stack of them in progress. I do get obsessed and can’t stop once I get going.

Another project I tackled a few weeks ago was creating a pattern for a KitchenAid mixer cover. Yes I could have purchased a pattern but I enjoy the creative process and truth be told… like being able to say that I made it, me, completely from my own brain. The above photo is my mock up cover. A co-worker purchased it from me after I made my pattern templet. Now ask me if I have made the one for myself….umm…no. Soon…very soon.

One of the things on my list for my Spring break is to go through and reorganized my supplies. Yesterday I organized this entire drawer of trims while watching Yellowstone. I am not an organized person but this was oddly satisfyingly.

My list of to-dos for Spring break is lengthy but then again, it always is. The weeks leading up to it were kinda crazy.

My BFF sent me this and it was very relatable. :)

Mini-me was home for her Spring break a couple weeks ago. It was great to see her. She sent me this photo the other day that another friend had snapped as they stopped to pet the horses.

Mini-me said that they often stop by the barn to pet the horses. Pretty cool that they are able to do that right on campus.

Kombucha has been my friend since the round of antibiotics. Trying to rebuild that gut flora. I’ve also got a crockpot full of soup bones simmering for bone broth…another good thing for gut health.

Tuesday has me working on my list….phone calls, bills, taxes…such fun stuff.