I forgot to mention that I love gardening too!

We built a 20x20 deck on the front of our house in 2005 and the last time I was able to really spend time decorating it with plants was in May 2007.  Motorcycle Man had bought me approximately a pickup truck bed full of plants - annuals and lots of perennials.  Plus I had about 50 solo cups with
seedlings of Moon Vines and all other kinds of wonderful climbers.  All of these beautiful plants were lined all over the deck floor and the tables just waiting for me to grab a shovel and get out in the yard looking for just the right spot for each one.  

But.....that was when I got "the call" from my doctor telling me that the MRI did indeed find what was wrong with my legs and feet - it was an egg size tumor in the spinal cord.  I had been going to doctors for over six months trying to find out what was wrong with me.  Either I was in such intense pain I was barely functional or my legs and feet and abdomen would start burning - I would describe it as going to McDonald's and standing in oil in the deep fryer. 

Off I was to surgery the very next morning, leaving all my beautiful plants and seedlings at home alone.  I stayed in ICU for over a week and then in a step down room for another week.  When I came home all I saw was my sad plants on the deck - drying for a drink of water, looking out over the deck rail just wanting to jump into the ground and find their home.  I could only feel sympathy for them as i was ushered quickly into the house.  No, Mama would not be able to help them in their time of need - she was not able to walk at all and was bedridden for months - many, many long months.  As she still had two more emergency spine surgeries and another month in the hospital plus staff infection and a tear in the spinal column causing spinal fluid to want to get out.  My poor little plants were on their own and all Mama could do was watch them from her post at the window and pray for them.

Now about this time, Motorcycle Man took pity on the poor pitiful plants and opened the blinds in the bedroom so I could watch as he loving planted each and every one.  Picking the dead leaves off and brushing the dust off of them and them stood there with that lovely watering hose and gave them a huge gulp of much needed, much wanted, life giving water.  He was their Hero and mine too.  My plans ws to have planted them scattered all over the yard - front and back - but he in his knowledge of where I would spend the rest of the next several seasons planted each and every one where I could view them from my bed or the front deck as I was able to be moved out there.  He gave me a sanctuary.

Ok, now long story short.  Here are before and after pics taken of this deck that has not had that much thought and love in 3 years.  And once again guess who was at my side helping me trying to get slowly back in the swing of my love for gardening?  You guessed it - Motorcycle Man.  My Hero still.

Before

After

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After

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After

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Before

After

This is in the shade so I am calling it a day LOL.

What did I get myself in to? But...there is a silver lining - precious video found!

I bought a MacBook Pro.  I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.  I sent off for Adobe PSE8 - Classroom in a Book.  I am being a good student and learning this very comprehensive program.  Most of my photos (or so I thought) were already loaded into iPhoto on the Mac.  Then I remembered that I had alot backed up on 2 external hard drives as well as some on a desk top in my studio and of course

that old laptop tucked away in my bill desk.  And maybe a few on Motorcycle Man's computer that he had taken and downloaded there.  Long story short, I stayed up till after 2:30 this morning downloading all these pics on the Mac so that I could organize them.  And then noticed that I had to start double checking and deleting the duplicates.

Got up early this morning and rode with Motorcycle Man across town for him to do some work and took the laptop with me - spent over 5 hours (until the battery went dead on Mac) continuing the delete the duplicates and naming the pics, grouping them, sorting by child and their families, the trips and the date.  This is a full-time job!  No really, this IS a full-time job - one that might take me weeks.  But in the end I will be able to open the pics in Adobe Bridge CS4 and edit them all different kinds of ways.  I already tried it on a few and let's just say it blew me away!  

I love the added bonus of seeing memories that had been placed away and all of a sudden there it was in front of me.  Our children very young, our children grown and with their children, the trips we have taken alone, with family or friends.  The wildlife that travels through my yard and I caught pics of.  Just a flood of memories.

By far one of the best part was finding the short videos I took of Our Angel that I have been searching for that his mother has never seen or heard.  He lived just 6 1/2 short months and all of it in hospitals but he was a fighter!  He taught me SO much in his short life that I will carry with me to my grave.  Seeing his pictures since he passed away has been a blessing but hearing him for the first time in two years was the most touching thing all of this venture has brought me.  I can not wait to burn all his pics and the videos to a CD and take them to Mother Goose and let her have a blessing through this too.

An hour after he was born 2 months early

3 months later with his Mom

2 months later at 5 months with me singing to him

ok girl - you are turning this into a food blog...NOT!

ok - I am having to stop myself - I am doing it all over again.  I had another blog for about 3 years that was supposed to be about all of my loves.  Basically what this blog is going to be.  The other one turned into more of a just quilting and knitting blog and all my other passions kinda got lost in the mix. 
However, after reading my last post tonight I see that it is turning into a food blog.  Soooooo here goes - here so some of the things I love to do.

I love to quilt

and quilt

and quilt

I am learning how to make cards

I loved this one

with a tree and presents

before all the finishing touches with ink edging

need to still add presents or more to the tree

one for a grandchild

still wondering what else it needs

grow plants of any kind...

Christmas cactus

Houseplants

build and paint birdhouses

of all colors...

and styles

paint ceramics

scrapbook

which requires tools

and tools

and paper plus I made the totes and purses on the door too

study and use all types of softwares

dabble in photography of all the birds that come to visit

the feeders at the window of my studio

some even in flight

some just sitting and resting

some in the tree waiting their turn

while these are having seconds.