Kaseys Korner

new obsession

Welcome to my latest fixation!  lol  (maybe I am just generally transfixed by anything glass, remember my post on glass jars?!!!) I have fallen completely and hopelessly in love with these glass cloches and/or bell jars??  Not sure what the correct name is - I hear them called both??  There is a fantastic ad (by Dove of all things) featuring some on page 30 of the special Gardening Issue of Martha Stewart Living .  I don't know what my mania is all about??  Maybe because they are functional as well as being pretty??  I think they make a gorgeous decorating accessory like above in my bunny assemblage.  For my papercrafting pals, the maribou inside the cloche I pulled from my stash.  It's from Heidi Grace Designs.

Cloches can also be used to help a struggling seedling or plant get back on its feet as hopefully will be the case with my poor languishing streptocarpus (see I don't always have a green thumb).  I believe they originated in France as a way to protect delicate garden plants from frost.  Doncha just love a multi-purpose item??!!!  Both of mine are new (I found them at my local garden center) but I would love to have an old one....  If you are interested, I found a site online that sells many different styles for reasonable prices.  Look here.  Happy Friday!!!!

sweet indulgence

Aaahhhh, this is how I treated myself last night and I have to say a big thank you again to my friend Dana for the fab hand spa.  It truly is a wonderful luxury and feels especially soothing when someone, not sayin who, (ahem) forgets to wear their gloves while cutting down grasses in their flower beds.  My hands are almost rejuvenated this morning.  Almost.  It's all the little paper-like cuts that are holding them back but dang they are soft!   and the vanilla bean parrafin smells delicious.  Here's the project that brought out the spa:   

The grasses before their haircut.  and below sporting their new spring trim!!!

It always looks so bare and "ugh" when this little task is done.  but now the greening/growing season can begin and it won't be long before it's completely transformed again.  a job well done and a lesson learned....

am keeping those gloves handy from now on!

things we do for love

What's this??????  No, it's nothing to do with gardening.  Well, sorta, kinda, maybe, because it involves soil, pots & seeds but really it's all about him:

These are fresh grass shoots from the latest planting of cat grass.  Not for my yard but for guess who.  How spoiled is that??!!  I seriously grow it for me because if I didn't, all my houseplants would be chewed to the roots.  He's a green freak.  but a really pretty one so it's all good. 

bunnies & peeps

Check out these adorable Easter ornaments that somehow found their way home with me yesterday!!  I'm not a big Easter decorator, so no plans for them yet, I just knew I "needed" them.  ha  They look "vintagey" to me and I love that look.  You'll never believe where I found them??  Ready?!!  The Cracker Barrel!!  My secret is out!  I had never been in a Cracker Barrel restaurant/store until my neighbors took me there last summer on my birthday.  Now I can't seem to stay away.  I go for the atmosphere as I've only actually eaten there twice.  Stepping inside the store zips me straight back to childhood.  My granddad would drive me down the one lane road he lived on to the teeny country store/gas station at the end and buy me a moon pie and a yoohoo.  Talk about making a kids day!  (thrills were SO much cheaper back then)  and does that tell you what part of the country I grew up in or what?!!!  They sell boxes of moon pies at the Cracker Barrel and it makes me feel warm & mushy inside just looking at them.  I never buy them, haven't had one since adolescence.  Too scared to mess up that memory.  I just like knowing they are there.  And having that one little piece of my childhood preserved on their shelves!   Crazy, huh?!!

Enough reminiscing and back to the upcoming Easter holiday with another of my published projects.  I bought the vintage postcard at a flea market.  It (or any other postcard) fits the top of a rectangular paper mache box perfectly making a quick & easy packaging idea.  Here's to fond childhood memories....

rainy days & mondays

make me want to stay snuggled under the covers, blanketed against the cold and laze the day away.  I seriously doubt I could stay in bed all day but I definitely had a hard time getting up this AM!  I think Butter completely agrees.  He wasn't exactly thrilled about seeing the camera but I'm thinking that's because he hadn't brushed his hair or teeth yet??!  Hope your week gets off to a good start.

what's up

How exciting is this??  Well, maybe not so very if you're not a gardener!  For me, finding the first signs of life in spring ranks at the top of my list of thrills.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I found the first tulips poking up yesterday afternoon.  I thought it had been much too cold for anything to appear before March.  I guess you could say that was an "afternoon delight" of another sort...

I know we're in the home stretch of winter now and that is just the kind of encouragement I've been needing!  Pretty soon, we'll transition from that to this.  woo hoo. 

I gave myself a little retail therapy yesterday and one of the items that came home with me was this book.  The author is another one of our regional gardening experts.  I had the good fortunate to see one of his fabulous gardens on an area garden tour in the early 90's and it was incredibly inspiring.  It appears he's moved and now has yet another amazing garden featured in the pages of this book.  I would never have thought he was gardening on a shoestring???  I'm mighty interested in reading about that!  In my experience, gardening and shoestring are not two words that pair together!!!  Looking forward to having a quiet moment to dive into the book. 

good boy

    Since the early 90's I've had a "thing" for glass containers.  Big ones, small ones, I'm not very particular.  To say I was thrilled when the apothecary jars that are so popular right now came back in style is an understatement.  Now I can collect/display them to my hearts content!  Yesterday I decided the pasta in this one had worn out its welcome and converted it to a doggie treat jar instead.  It was very quick & easy to do, I just used leftover rub on's to put my dogs name on the outside then emptied all those little bags of "goodies" into the jar.  It killed two birds with one stone so to speak, decluttering my pantry & bringing new purpose to the container.   Life is good.  Sit boy!

springtime salad

Today is our dear neighbors birthday.  Since she is going out tonight, we decided to make dinner for her last night.  The menu was chicken fajitas, this springtime salad and 7 layer bars.  The springtime salad is one of our favorites.  It has lettuce leaves, broccoli, strawberries, pineapple, oranges & sunflower seeds accompanied by a homemade dressing.  So delicious.  Definitely best eaten right away which we never have any problem doing!  The recipe came from a cookbook I purchased years ago called, "Best of Friends, etc." by Darlene Glantz Skees.   I had to laugh at myself (a common occurence around here) when I was making the dessert.  I pulled out my old hand mixer (once again) instead of using my beautiful new kitchen aid.  The kitchen aid was my Christmas present this past holiday.  I pulled it out of the box immediately and set it in a prominent position on my countertop but that's pretty much the end of story.  Although I admire it daily, I have yet to operate it?  go figure.  I wanted it desperately.  Maybe just for kitchen eye candy?  or to make me feel more like a "real" cook??  either way, I need to overcome this hang up darn it.  I need to know that it even functions properly for one thing.  So as I lovingly put my hand mixer away, I vowed it would stay on "vacation" and that "red beauty" would now become my "go to" appliance.  Would someone please hold me accountable to that vow?!!  lol 

simplifying

Last night, as I was idly channel surfing, I was also mentally revisiting the subject (for the upteenth time) of how to simplify my life.  Thinking of all the daily tasks I do, some necessary, some self created and which, if any, are disposable.  Ideally, I'd love to cut the mundane repetitive household chores but I prefer to live in a clean environment so I won't go there.  think, ponder, change channels, think some more...  Hmmmm, what about feeding the birds?  Could that be a possibility?  I definitely brought that on myself and it's most certainly become a daily job but wait, I take pleasure in that one so let me think it thru.  Every morning rain, snow or sleet (just like the US mail service, lol) I bundle up and trek out into my back 40 (well, that's a stretch but it sounds good) to fill up the bird feeder, refresh the water in the birdbath (because I got even more obsessive last fall and decided to heat the darn thing thru the winter) and check the suet.  That's all WAY more than I ever intended but my garage can testify to my dedication since I have a whole corner devoted to bird supplies.  hmmmm, think, change channels again, bingo!  Make a decision.  Fast forward to the next task.  Discarding the idea of quitting this little job.   We get too much out of it.  Like wonderful photographic opportunities and entertainment while dining. plus there is hardly a happier sight than watching a little bird (or a bigger one for that matter) splish splash in the birdbath.  That sight could put cheer into the coldest persons heart, or it would seem so to me.  and just a teeny observation, birds can bath when it's frigidly cold outside.  I have been astonished watching them some mornings.  I wonder why no one ever thought of a bird feather coat (instead of fur), not that I would ever wear one, I'm just sayin' they seem to have built in protection against inclement weather.  Unfortunately, not against the neighbors cats, but that's a whole 'nuther story...

cat nap

What always amazes me about cats is their ability to completely relax.  Seriously, what other animal can practically go boneless??  My dad used to call this position pure decadence (belly up, feet in the air), I just say it's enviable.  Like they've no cares in the world and the highest priority in life is getting completely comfortable & settling in for a fantastic nap.  Where's the problem in that philosophy?  and how come the old adage "you snooze, you lose" doesn't seem to apply to them??  hmmmm.  This is another very old card (I should be embarrassed to post it but I love the photo so much I'm going to overlook my own poor design).  It stars my gorgeous silver tabby Persian Sophie Jewell.  Sophie passed away several years back but she was always a willing participant in a photo shoot.  This might have been her "give me sexy" look??  Not sure....  Hoping you'll forgive the lackluster style, I truly am capable of better, but after waking up tired, my primary focus is how I can incorporate this trait in my own life!

Oh, a little footnote about my amaryllis post yesterday.  Last night I visited the garden archives on Martha's Blog, and Martha (of course) has a very informative post on amaryllis.  Anything, everything, and more that you never knew you needed to know about these bulbs, including origin, reblooming, etc.  Thought I'd pass that little tidbit along in case anyone was interested.