Greetings on this lovely Friday. I hope all is well in your part of the world. Unfortunately, I stepped on the scale only to find that indeed – like millions of other humans during this lovely shut down I discovered I’ve gained 12 pounds since March of last year. However, upon further investigation, truth be told, I’m only three pounds over what I was in February of last year – so…technically, I’ve only gained 3 since last February, but apparently have fluctuated 12?! I dip way down in May…then slowly climb back up…..! It’s the lovely seasons, I get out and move a lot more when February hits, but lots of eating lots of homemade baked goodies, sleeping and hibernating when November and December arrive. When I told my daughter she told me to quit being so dramatic….”12 pounds doesn’t make it so your pants don’t fit – it will be fine”. She’s right, it will be fine, it’s not a ton of weight, I will quit being so indulgent and I will get out and move more, it will be fine. I hope if you too are facing any added weight or feelings of less limber or not very motivated – it will be okay! One step at at time, sometimes it can be tricky to get started, but once you do, you realize how good it feels. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when sitting on the couch and not feeling like you are able to get up and move because you hurt or ache, but it’s the sitting that is causing the aching…. once your body gets moving, you remember how good it felt to move and do more of it! Hang in there, brighter days are on the horizon!

I started a floral class at Shaw Academy. I did four lessons of modular one, going over the theory and history of floristry, pests, tools and basic design. I had to pay for the handouts, which you have to pay for books if you were to take it at the college….so that wasn’t horrible. But the bonus materials was not there, and there are holes in their videos and information. It was a free trial…..I looked at the class content, and signed up…not looking at the reviews before I did it. I don’t regret it, but once I was reading the reviews, they are a really dishonest company, so I decided to cancel my class. When I chatted with the man about canceling, he was kind and understanding and assured me that they would not be charging my account; he said they have been having a really rough time with the bad reviews, and are under new management to prevent prior practices. He says that I will have access to the content for another 28 days, we shall see how it goes. Thankfully I used my PayPal account, and disconnected my bank information from it, so even if they try to charge me, they won’t be able to. It’s kind of sad really…but I like learning in person much better, so we shall see what else I can find.

I did call Cheryl, the florist in our little town, the one that also teaches the class at the community college in Bellingham. I’ve mentioned before that she has done lots of work for me in the past and I did take a class of hers at the college last year about this time. I suggested we have a small floral class at her shop – and I invite a few people to make it a bit of fun. Two of the flower farmers I invited can’t go, but my daughter and her sister-in-law are going to attend with me. They are both excited to learn a few things and fill up some vases with pretty flowers! It will be fun, we shall see how it goes for this class, and see what else we can cook up for next time! I have the damn chamber pot that I want to put flowers in, it’s shallow, so I’m not sure how to do what I want with it. I’m sure Cheryl will be able to help with that! I’m hoping to learn how to make some center pieces so I can do a few for the baby shower. I’m even considering making a wrist corsage for my daughter, but we will see how far I can make it before running out of steam!

I’ve been working on the messy craft room – trying to get it ready before the baby shower, it’s been an ordeal, so much to go through after a divorce and merging houses – it can be very emotional. We’ve also been working on the garage, the barn and the milk house. I’d like to have it in some sort of order by the time the baby shower gets here, I don’t want people thinking I am a hoarder….it’s getting closer to being presentable! My daughter was impressed with the progress when she stepped in and announced it was the furthest she had ever been inside the room. I’m contemplating posting a before and after picture, but I am so ashamed of my before….

The milk house is also looking fabulous thanks to hubby moving in some shelves. I’m very excited about getting that more organized also. Getting stuff organized and losing weight were certainly not a New Years Resolution, because I don ‘t do those, but really….when is a good time to renew focus and renew energy towards good things but the turn of the calendar?

I’m sticking to my no planting anything until February, we will drive down to get dirt from Snohomish County next weekend. They have the Sunshine mix that Carol Lee mentioned a while back, I will take her advice and pick some of that up from a garden center called Steubers. They have a big bale of it, instead of me buying bags and bags at the feed store, we thought we would give this a try. Joe and I like to take drives, we are just fine with a one hour drive to see some new things and stop at places along the way! I’m not entirely sure where I’m going to put it when we get it home, it’s 7 cubic feet once it is open….maybe the bags aren’t all that bad of an idea? But the stuff I’ve been getting has larger chunks of bark that I’d like and it gives me slivers….so let’s try something new?

I have a young lady coming over for a wedding consult – she’s a DIY bride, so we are just going over color and how much she will want of each. I also sent a little hello to the other bride just to be sure things were still on, we are getting together at the end of the month to double check her ideas- I’m planning on having it on just one piece of paper this time and have her sign it so I know we are on the same page.

I also ordered the fairy house stuff for the succulent event in April, as well as sent off my prepayment to the wholesaler for the seedlings…it’s getting close to the main event folks….I should probably start selling my sweet pea seeds too!! Busy…busy….busy!!

I best be moving on – until next time my friends – take good care of yourselves and those around you. Hugs to you!