Newcastle Living Magazine - August 2022
May 22, 2022 | Day 22: The Color that Caught My Eye!
Today the color that caught my eye was PURPLE! After being out of town for a week, I checked my garden this morning to see if any irises had bloomed while we were away. I was happy to see that a purple iris had bloomed and stood tall in a raised bed next to our... Continue Reading →
May 20, 2022 | Day 20: London’s Fairy Garden
I recently visited my in-laws in Grand Junction, Colorado, and while I was there, I had such fun creating a fairy garden with my niece, London. The weather was hot and sunny, and the grass and flowers were in bloom. We enjoyed walking barefoot in the yard as we set up homes for fairies and... Continue Reading →
May 19, 2022 | Day 19: My Favorite Flower in May
My favorite flower that blooms in May is the bearded iris. It's my favorite flower because it is my mother-in-law's favorite flower, and it was her mother-in-law's favorite flower, too. These flowers are colorful, have a sweet fragrance, and require little care. The soil they grow in is unimportant. They grow in full sun, arid... Continue Reading →
May 11, 2022 | Day 11: Something I Want
What is something I want? That's a tricky question. As far as material things, a couple of things come to mind, such as some outdoor furniture to put by my front door to create a welcoming environment. I want to sit there, drink my coffee, and listen to the birds' songs. I also want to... Continue Reading →
Book Reading at Four Corners Merchants
I read “Hazel’s Magical Gift” from my memoir on Saturday, April 30, and raffled off three of Hazel’s bearded irises.
Save the Date – Saturday, April 30, 12 pm
I will be reading a story from my memoir called, "Hazel's Magical Irises" at Four Corners Merchants in Renton, Washington. It's about a multigenerational gift of irises. Just a Little Something, a company specializing in custom succulent arrangements, will be teaching people how to pot spring plants and succulents. Come join us!
The Wild Kingdom in My Yard
Spring and summer are my absolute favorite seasons at my house. Deciduous trees bud, then bloom and make a canopy for all sorts of birds. Sometimes we hear them before we see them. The Towhee’s song has been described as a one-second song that sounds like “drink-your-tea.” I often listen to them scritch-scratching under my... Continue Reading →
My Secret Garden
If you’ve known me for even a little while, you know that I love to garden. And while my friends get excited about their bumper crops of tomatoes, I get jazzed about flowers. Adjacent to my house in the back, I have a hillside garden that includes calendula, honeysuckle, and Grandma Hazel’s irises from Nebraska.... Continue Reading →
My Frugal Mindset: Looking Beyond What’s Here and Now
I come from a long line of frugal-minded individuals. As a kid I watched my mom clip coupons and shop only during sales. I saw my dad act as the “electricity police” for our family and flick the lights off the second anyone left a room. And now that I’m an adult, that frugality gene shows itself... Continue Reading →