Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Winter's on the Scene

Snow has finally arrived up here, taking longer than many locations farther south. First it was just a dusting about a week ago...
....looking rather decorative on my bamboo....
...then we got the first "named" snowstorm. (Our local forecasters like to name snowstorms like hurricanes. I think it's dorky, but to each his own :)
Sure thing, during the day and afternoon we got more....


...making the night noisy with crunching snow, yet quiet and peaceful too.

All my stuff looks cool covered in snow, IMO...
...as well as less "cluttered and junky" as my mom would say. (However I like it all, and since I'm the boss around here then mine is the last word on the subject!)
The snow brought my third cardinal sighting in all these years too...he's the red blur on the fence there. (I took this through the window and didn't get a second shot.) I just don't understand why I don't see more of these birds in my yard, but I have plenty of other kinds hanging around so whatever.
Bentley has his favorite winter spot mapped out! Seems his fur coat doesn't help as much as I'd expect it to.I decided to try and make my own wreath this year, since I have so many of the materials at hand right outside my door. I started with a wire frame from a purchased wreath I'd bought a few years ago, add some greenery...

....I used an assortment of conifer cuttings...
...then bent the wire thingys to hold it all down.
Add some red twigs from local willows...

....add some more coniferous greenery to hide the wire thingys, and some artemesia sprays...

...then some high bush cranberry branches (with berries, of course). Not too bad! Let's hang it on the door...
....looks pretty, but there's a thin spot on the right side...

...add more greenery...there! It could probably use a couple pinecones too, but I don't mind it without them, either. What do you think?
In houseplant news, my dicentra scandens 'Athens Yellow' looked very lush when I brought it in this fall. I was hoping it might not die back as usual, and just keep on blooming...
...however this was not the case.

But like clockwork, it sprang back to life after a dormancy of about a month. Now if I can get the cats to leave it alone, it should be well on its way for next summer camp on the porch.

I discovered a new "design element" for my home, courtesy of my feline room mates. See, I wanted a blanket rack for my throw blankets to keep them from becoming "cat hair blankets". But when I looked online and in catalogs, the cheapest I could find was $50, which I'm just not willing to pay. Then I noticed this ladder in the garage...I had cut it in half to keep my mom from continuing to use it, cuz' it's super old and dangerous. (She's still mad at me about it, too.) Well I think it works just fine for a blanket rack...
.....and after Bentley checks it out... ...it gets his approval for a chin rest!
The waterways still have open places, so it's too early for ice fishing...
....but never too early to peruse garden catalogs. I got three more the other day!

But my biggest winter news to date? I'm going to see Metallica!!! My friend won tickets from a radio contest to see them in January in Milwaukee, and I get to go too! YAY!!

So bring on the snow I say! Yay winter! Woot, woot! *~<];-)

19 comments:

Rurality said...

Love the wreath, and the blanket rack too! Metallica, huh? :)

lisa said...

Thank you! Oh yea, all you need to warm up in the winter is some head-bangin' music like Metallica! ;-)

Unknown said...

That wreath is great! Bows are also great to fill in thin spots. They name your storms there? I've never heard of naming a snow storm. What did they name it?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by- I'm jealous of all your snow! And the picture of your cat with the chinrest is funny. Neat wreath too- we have native cedar around, but but not many other conifers in our area.

lisa said...

Cinj-They start at the beginning of the alphabet, this one was "Andrew".

Beau-Heh, I'll send you some snow! :) Thanks for the kudos...I'm surprised you don't have many other conifers. Wonder why.

troutbirder said...

I really like the wreath idea. Yours is beautiful. Don't know why I never thought of this before as I have lots of the "ingredients" as well.

Anonymous said...

Your wreath is awesome.

The blanket ladder is a really cool idea. Reminds me of seeing them in the SW portion of the country.

lisa said...

Troutbirder-Thank you! I had the wire frame lying around from having "camp-fired" an old wreath, and felt guilty for not getting around to it last year. I found myself kind of spazzing about it, printing instructions off the net. It was really very easy, and I will do it every year from now on!

Mr.BrownThumb-Thank you! I'd seen a ladder used this way in a home decorating magazine years ago, and I really like old, weathered wood. It fits with my general theme around here, and will moreso when I get my wet bar made from barn wood. (With cast iron tractor seat bar stools, of course! :)

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Love the ladder successfully repurposed as a quilt rack and chin rest. I also love snow and think it transforms everyday objects. I also really love the pot for your dicentra. If it's ever missing, I don't know anything about it! ;-)
~ Monica

lisa said...

Thank you Monica! I bought that pot at a big hardware store chain...sometimes they have nice stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lisa, you are so funny. I love the snow on your stuff, if you didn't have all that stuff for it to decorate, how boring! Right? The blanket ladder is perfect and chin rest, HA. You do have the funniest cats ever. I think your wreath looks great as is, good job with that metal frame. And Metallica, rock on! :-)
Frances

Wendy said...

Wow, I love that wreath. How cool. I have never been brave enough to try to make my own!

lisa said...

Frances-Heh, I like your logic! Yes, snow without all those bumps would be MUCH less interesting! :) Thank you for wreath kudos...I was so intimidated to make one, but it was really fun! Metallica is going to be awesome!!

Wendy-I was a real spaz about making a wreath, but the instructions were easy.

chuck b. said...

That splash of gray realy makes that wreath.

Sooo funny how cats adapt the human furniture to meet their own needs. But who knew they wanted a chin rest once in awhile? Now I guess if I'm a good cat owner I should see what I can offer my cats in the way of a chin rest.

Considering the cold temps you mentioned in the other post, Metallica should be just the thing in January.

lisa said...

Thank you! I was pleased with myself for spotting the artemesia and thinking to use it, kinda nice to have a different look. My cats are total opportunists when it comes to "chillaxing" on the furniture. I do try to provide kitty-specific spots which they enjoy, and when I did a search for "cat furniture" , I found ALL kinds of stuff here, here, here, and even a place selling "cat trees" that LOOK like trees! Many ways to indulge and pamper your feline friends. As for Metallica, they're just the thing ANY time of year, IMO! :)

Anonymous said...

Look at you being all Martha Stewart!

Fantastic wreath!!

I just wanted to say, you have always supported my blog with such nice comments & I'm glad that we became friends.

I wish you all the best for a wonderful holiday & a bright New Year :)

xoxox

Joey

Kiss the Kittys!!

lisa said...

Thank you Joey! I enjoy your blog immensely, you have such great ideas...I'm glad we're friends too! Have a Great Holiday yourself! xoxo!! :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I can't wait for the garden catalogs to actually be usable!

lisa said...

RIGHT?! I wish I could fire up my Aerogarden, but my home is old and my wires make me nervous in winter (I heat with space heaters temporarily.) I've already made out orders and edited them to a more reasonable size...more than once!