Military Romance Author
by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
My heart breaks for the families of the fallen, their fellow police officers, responding medical staff and the people of Dallas, Texas. Know that all of us in the USA are Texans today. I send my condolences, hugs, prayers and support.
We must honor all the fallen, support the families, pursue justice, grieve and remember them. Then we must come together as a nation and fix the violence. Our national soul depends on it.
by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
I am! It decided last Fall while looking at the tired corner of my backyard that’s overgrown with raspberries who refuse to grow in pots. Plus other cast off pots with blackberries. And the dumping area I use for my old potting soil; aka my backyard fence corner.
I’m getting lazy and want more time to enjoy the patio and potted flowers instead of weeding all the time. On our trip to the Richardson Rock Ranch last Fall I even brought back a good selection of Rose Quartz for the Fairy Rock Garden. But it appears you actually have to take action to make this kind of thing happen.
So on Saturday of the long weekend it was time to charge the backyard mess and go for it. The ugly before picture a case in point above. I moved aside all the pots which will be downsized and then replanted The Fairy rose from a small pot to a bigger pot then moved/dragged it to a better position. The rose had a dirt and root clump the size of Nebraska. That was an interesting exercise in gymnastics, let me tell you.
Next up was weeding and considering the lay of the land. My hairdresser and I discussed using a raised bed on Friday for the garden. Figured I would need to level out the ground, which sounded like work. Went online for some ideas Friday night and got distracted on Pinterest. Found out there is quite the Fairy Garden underground, which was good for ideas.
While putting down the landscape fabric on Saturday afternoon, it dawned on me I could use some of the ideas from Pinterest and keep the lump of potting soil. Yeah! It would be the hill of my Fair Rock Garden with a Fairy home on it plus no digging dirt. Brilliant.
My goal is to use stuff/things I have and repurpose them. The stump in the middle of the Fairy Rock Garden will get a roof from my former cedar fence boards. I might even put roof shakes on from the pine comes left from the holiday wreaths.
Then I remembered my neighbor had given me a bunch of clay pots and those would make perfect Fairy Houses. (See Pinterest for rock, glue and Fairy house door construction on clay pots) Another old garden pot is the perfect shape of a large bee hive and I can spray paint it yellow. It appears I’ve become a Fairy Rock Garden real estate developer. Perhaps I do need another vacation, but I’m having fun!
I’ve made good progress but ran into trouble since I decided to go with white rock instead of river rock. Doing the rock math I need about a half yard. It comes in 50 pound bags at Home Depot. Good gravy, I have enough trouble hefting the 30 pound kitty litter bags. I need about thirteen bags! Nobody’s gym workout is that good. Must see about delivery……
Stay tuned for updates. Guaranteed this project will take years. Have you built a Fairy Garden?
by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
It’s our nation’s birthday on Monday and I’ve got a lot to be thankful for these days. The simple things in life are the biggies for me right now. Since my military days I love indoor plumbing, electricity, baggage with wheels, automatic transmissions, not walking post guard at 4 a.m. at Fort Carson, Colorado and a queen size bed to name a few luxuries.
A big shout out to all the military, law enforcement and medical personnel working this long weekend at home and around the world to keep us safe. I salute you all. Thank you.
Sometimes it’s not easy being citizens of the United States of America, but it’s never boring. We may be a very large dysfunctional family at times, be we are family. Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July.
Happy Quirky Friday!
by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
Last weekend we had fabulous sunny weather and I knew the petunias, impatiens and basil had to be planted before they crawled into the house and mugged me. In high hopes once again, I’d bought more plants than I planned. They sat for three weeks due to nutty weather.
It’s always fun to dig in the dirt, whether hunting for rocks or planting posies. Normally all the plants are in by mid-May, but obviously I’m disorganized this year. The tomatos got planted on time, but they don’t look too happy about it. Hot temperatures, cold weathers, rain and hail make for unhappy plants.
The roses just about put up the white flag too but they keep blooming, hardy little souls. Once again I am attempting to make fuchsia starts grow from the plant at my Mom’s house. Transplanted from the huge natural fuchsia at our former beach cabin on the coast, one of these years I am going to make them grow.
Mom put the starts in water and brought them to me. I carefully transplanted them into the tall shot glasses which look like test tubes and left them in the Southern window for a couple weeks, adding water. Bought special potting soil for them and Saturday was their big day to be transplanted.
Found matching pink plastic starter pots in the garage, because I am sure that helps them take root. Rocks, potting soil, starts planted, then water and back in the house. Stuck them in used cat food cans for coasters to hold the water. Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe this year the magic works.
I love the smell of potting soil in the morning! Got plant starts?
by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
It’s been another wacky week in the world. Seems the United Kingdom is divorcing Europe, but Scotland doesn’t want to go along. The ultimate family feud is brewing. The markets are upset, politicians are clueless, so what do the rest of us do?
When the going gets tough, the tough go to the movies! Especially if they’re animated. So let’s catch up on what Dory is up to, let’s enjoy “Finding Dory!” There are three trailers in one in this video.
Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!
https://youtu.be/6k69UcUB68Q
by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
With the long weekend fast approaching, I love to plan projects I am going to get done with all that available time. What this means is I create a list of things to do I couldn’t complete in a month of time off, then with unrealistic high hopes if I manage to get one accomplished it’s a celebration. We all know life, laziness and must-see movies happen.
So one project I will fess up to do next month is to actually get creative with at least one piece of bark I’ve collected. On the May trip to Suttle Lake for bark gathering the official orange bark bucket got filled to the brim.
So then I had to dry the pieces out and buy a bigger glass container to store the bark, and before I am overrun, make something.
In addition, I need to plant the fuchsia starts my Mom gave me since they now have roots. Bought special potting soil, have baby pots to plant them in, but need to actually put them in the dirt. So the project list grows.
But for now I wanted to share some of the latest official bark gathering photos so you can think about your coming projects for the Fourth of July. Got a holiday to do list?
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