Spring Is Here!

Well, I guess I am a once a week blog poster these days.  I intended to be back sooner, but life if just crazy busy right now. 
Spring is busting out all over where I live.  The big Sycamore trees in the front yard are leafing out.

Soon they will be providing us with their huge canopy of shade ,which we need desperately in the summer months. 
My front porch is looking rather like Spring too.  I haven't been to the nursery to purchase any flowers to plant yet, but it is still pretty.

My red front doors have been dressed for Spring with baskets and pretty flowers.

Miss Dolly Mouse is holding her basket of eggs, and wearing her bunny ears.  I do need to pick up a new pair of ears, as these are getting old.





















I am hoping to get some gardening in this weekend.  I have collected a lot of my seeds, and we will put in some that have been started already.  Mainly tomatoes. 

I have spent some time sprucing up the patios and getting them ready for the Spring.  We spend a lot of time out here on the patio.  Actually, both the front porch, and the back patio.  I hosed, swept, dusted off furniture, fluffed pillows and cleaned chair pads. 

I need to replace the rug that sits underneath this wicker set.  And get some potted flowers for plant stands. 

That chaise that I have covered was in Erika's room, but she got all new furniture and it no longer fits.  I want to keep it, so I will have to keep it out here until someone moves out and frees up a bedroom.  The patio is completely covered, so that shouldn't be too big a problem.  We love to have our coffee and read the paper out here on weekend mornings.  And we eat outside a lot this time of year too.  Greg put misters on the this patio and it sure helps in the heat of the summer! 
I wish you could see through this sun screen to see the orange trees all in bloom.  It is beautiful and smells heavenly too!

I see two dogs through that screen though.  Can you find them?
I have some Spring and Easter things in the house now.  Such an early Easter this year.  I love this little two tiered plate holder for making seasonal displays.  This is in the family room at our table.

I had two celadon green candles for those silver bunny candle stick holders, but couldn't find them.  I need to buy some more.

This quilted carrot is in the sitting room off of the kitchen.  I made this several years ago, and love it every time I pull it out, come Spring!

On a shelf in my kitchen.

In a Longaberger basket, I have set some Easter and Spring cookie cutters on a bed of grass, just because.

On the other side of the counter, I put a two tiered Easter egg plate out to hold the fresh eggs.

I put my Vintage Farm Girl, Barn & Silo table runner on the coffee table in the family room.

This tray sits atop my Pottery Barn basket shelves in the family room.  It holds  cherished photo of Nana, taken several summers back at Bass Lake.  She loved the ducks and in this photo, she is calling them.  Also, a photo of our three kids, taken about 8 years ago. 

This little chest sits in the entry way of my house.  It is what you see when walking down the hallway to the rest of the house as well.  I like to change it up for the seasons.

In left of photo are two Vintage Easter postcards with beautiful Roosters on them. I am displaying them on an antique flower frog.  These were a gift from my friend Thea.  There is a teeny tiny hummingbird nest that I clipped from a tree after the babies had fledged.  The eggs inside it now are not real.  Another chocolate bunny pushing a cart of eggs, and a special family photo that we had done a few years ago.  The photographer was on the pier, and we were assembled below, next to a large heart in the sand, and my Dad's name.  We were all blowing a kiss heavenward. 
Let's go back into the kitchen again to see what Noah and I are up to.  You may have noticed that large white box in the photos of the table earlier.  Well, we decided to try our luck at incubating, and hatching our own chicks.  The Rooster seems to be doing what roosters do, and I thought it would be fun to see if we could get any of our own fertilized eggs to hatch. 

I bought this incubator at Tractor Supply and it seems to be a fairly simple design to start off with.  I watched some youtube videos on how to set it up, and how to go about the incubation process.  So I set I it up for the required 8 hour trial run, without any eggs in it, and then this morning, Noah and I filled it with a dozen eggs.  After reading all instructions carefully, we marked the eggs on one side with an X and an O on the other.  Placing them gently atop the plastic grid that separates the eggs from the water channels for humidity

Then we placed the lid on top, and waited the 3 hours or so for the temperature to come back up to where it is supposed to be. 
There are two clear plastic viewing windows on the top of the unit to see the contents. 

There is a digital temperature control, and humidity read out display to the left.  In three to four days, we will candle the eggs to check for fertility. 
Here is the incubator we got.  It was 44.00, but was on sale for 39.  There are several optional parts you can purchase to assist in making your experience a better, and/or easier one.  I opted not to buy them, and will first see how our trial run hatch goes.  Perhaps an egg turner will be in our future, but for this time, we have to turn them manually at least three times a day.  Which is why there is an X on one side, and an O on the other.

Oops, didn't get the laundry basket put back into laundry room before snapping this photo.
So, in 21 days, we are hoping to have at least a few hatching chicks!  Noah washed his hands, and then carefully turned each of the eggs to the other side today after school.  Look at that concentration, tongue out and all!

I have told him that if he helps with the incubation process, he can sell the chicks and keep all of the money.  His business will be called, "Noah's Chicks"
If we have some success, we should have Easter Chickies!
I have been busy in the sewing room lately with my quilting projects, as well as this bag I made last week.  If you quilt, you are probably aware of who Man Sewing is.  His name is Rob Appell, and he has a great blog, and does a new tutorial every Monday.  I made this bag from his tutorial.
It is made with two rolls of vinyl mesh.  Pick two that coordinate well.  I chose Boise State colors.  My son in law is a huge fan, and got Greg to be as well.  This one will be our boat tote.

As you can see, it will fit a bunch of goodies inside.  I have a large beach towel, snorkel and fins, sand shovel, Frisbee, three magazines, suntan lotion, sand toys, and a book.  It is doubled on the bottom, and is quite strong. 
The strap is sewn down several inches on both sides, with a gap that will nicely hold a carabiner for keys.  I have a shower curtain key ring clipped on mine.

There is a very clever closure made for the top of the bag, using two pieces of the webbing.

I hope you check out the tutorial.  He is a fun, and energetic guy, with loads of great ideas!  I will certainly be making more of these bags for my family and friends!
I recently found out that Lynnette Jensen, one of my all time favorite quilt and fabric designers, is doing a free Block of the Month with Craftsy.  I was so thrilled to go check it out, and even though the classes for the quilt are free, I took one look at her gorgeous fabric she designed and made her quilt with, that I had to have it.  So I ordered the kit, and it came the other day.  I am behind, so I better get going on this right away!

Are you ready........

Swoon!!!

I cannot wait to dig into this gorgeous fabric!!!!!
I will pick up the quilt I made last week for the quilt shop, as it will be done with the machine quilting on it.  I will bind it, and then bring it back to the shop.  I will show it to you before I do!!!!
I am addicted to a 3:00 cup of coffee every afternoon.  Todays was especially good, as I have come down with yet another head cold!!!!

I am using my Williams Sonoma egg holder that my sister in love, Glenda got me a few years ago for my birthday, to hold the K cups.  I think it looks so cute on the coffee bar, and holds the K Cups perfectly too!

That's all from me today.  I need to go lay heady down.  We are watching the OJ Simpson series about his trial, and enjoying it very much.  I may not make it through the whole thing tonight!
Goodnight all. I will get around to say hi tomorrow. 
XO  Kris