S P R I N G

Garden Spring cleaning yield? Carrots that accidentally over-Wintered, and some parsnips. They were fresh, sweet and crunchy.


The three plum trees in the yard take turns blooming. Honey bees emerge and fill the tree with busy humming. Winter was slow to release her grip this year.

Kitchen before and after. I get overwhelmed by a full house Spring clean, but DO like doing one area at a time. What hot spots need the most attention? Below is a photo of my coffee/tea counter......Before
As you can see, it's packed with yummy tea and coffee makings, but I can't easily get to anything, I've lost much of the useful counter space, and it looks messy. I was making do with a shelf that was too deep for the space.

Replace it with some cute shelves, carefully chosen from IKEA........


After: narrow metal shelves from IKEA that look 1940's. Cute, and totally appropriate for the space. I can see/reach/find everything. Snacks on top for the kids (nuts, rasins for a quick nibble). Most used teas on the next shelf. Heavy items below. Tea and herbs not used "every day" (as the rule goes) were organized below on a spinner shelf.

I really appreciate the counter space again. Our baking supplies are below, and we can easily mix right here, rather than drag everything across the kitchen to a larger counter. Makes sense.

Now what to do with my mug collection???


Front yard, shade garden bed, Bleeding Hearts.