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    How to Paint Your World Yellow

    How to Paint Your World Yellow Plan, Plant, Play! Plan: Picture a garden. Let the flow of colors move with the seasons! Continue Reading for Gardening Tips Spring seems to inspire the love of yellow… stronger and longer sunshine. New leaf green definitely has the yellow tone. Hallelujah for the emergence of tulip and daffodil bulbs and then forsythia. Plant: Place daffodil bulbs in clumps, not spread out individually. They grow and love the friendship of kissing cousin bulbs… They will pop though your garden turf and each year bring on new family members. Trim bushes after flowers have faded. The goal is to get the bush compact and not…

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    Oh My! The Numbers Are Dropping

    That Downward Slope Good morning winter! I see you have arrived in splendor and beauty.The air is so cold outside that the snow shimmers.  Each individual crystal is just resting in layers, ready to fly again should any breeze catch a facet. Oh yes, it is January. Cannot complain about the temperatures… I just marvel!In Michigan we know seasons. It is time to be upclose (indoors with a quilt) and personal (lips locked on a large mug of something hot to drink) with this Winter Wonderland World! And the temperature just continues to drop!  And what goes down… must come up. Right? Join Us    byDeborahonTuesday, January 22, 2013Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary…

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    Seed Packets Promise a Garden of Beauty

    We live in zone 5b. I did not realize this. I was a zip code and area code type person. Now, I can add planting zone: frost free date zone to my list of where to pinpoint my “home is where the heart is” on the map. Knowing your frost free zone is of premier importance for gardeners. It is the point where you little debutantes can come out and meet the world outside of the green house. I nurtured some impatiens and alyssum last year and saw their frozen little bodies worthless in a garden last year. Impatient can be imprinted on my garden gloves…. need to wait… need…

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    Seasonal Light Disorder

    “Seasonal Light Disorder”. Winter is tough. Winter in northeast Ohio is dark, dreary, cloudy. My mood can plumit into depths of darkness in an instant. Today at the grocery store I picked up a fresh basil plant. I came home, washed my kitchen window, put my new little ray of sunshine on a little plate. I BREATHED in the fresh spring air, the aroma of fresh gardens, sunshine and so much more all in a tiny little pot. What do you do to help with the dark dreary winter days? When we were stationed in Iceland we put lights on timers to help keep our ‘clocks’ on cycle. As those…

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    August First

    It is August today. The first of the month!We are smack dab in the middle of summer. The heat attests to this, the air conditioner’s hum certainly reminds us of this fact. I am still harvesting lettuce, fragile herbs and broccoli. Plants that popped up early in spring. Can someone explain how this wafted down in front of me as I walked to the garden this morning?Beautiful shades… but I am not ready for this season! I think my favorite season is the one in which I am thoroughly immersed. I’m going for another swim. Leaves… cool it! Your colorful time will be here soon enough!byDeborahonSunday, August 01, 2010Email ThisBlogThis!Share…

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    A Peaceful Setting Soothes

    A peaceful setting soothes the heart. So simple and true. And when it is at your fingertips how sweet is that!A garden provides so many advantages: outdoor activity, blooms that bring color and fragrance indoors. There is a tracking of the seasons with flowers, bushes and shrubs. Winter was officially over when our irises pushed their way out of the ground and stuck purple and blue lipstick tubes up in the air. At their feet popped the Johnnie jump-ups, bachelor buttons and delphinium. Then came peonies, lilies and pansies springing to life. Now it all out there: sprays of colors, smells and beauty! So, what should you do? BRING IT…

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    Christmas in May …

    My boys, *C* and *E*, got a ‘Butterfly Feeder’ for Christmas from my brother and sister-in-law. Kind of one of those presents the boys opened up and thought, well this is nice but it is not plastic, bulky and breakable with lots of small pieces… ok maybe not their exact thought … but is the general thoughts of me as they open gifts upon gifts at that time of year. I put the feeder away with my ‘Spring home-decor’ in the basement and last month pulled it out and put it in on a shelf to wait for a warmer day. We set it out today.  Now the boys are…

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    Summer Time!

    According to the calendar it may not technically be Summer yet. But according to the laughter, the running, the smiles we are just beginning one of my favorite seasons! So get outside. Bring the camera. Capture the moments & be sure to share them with friends and families in far-away places! Take in the season, set-up a pool (even 30-something-year-olds can enjoy an inflatable pool!), take a bike ride, have a bbq with neighbors, attend a parade, play with sidewalk chalk, go to a baseball game, pour yourself a tall glass of iced-tea. This is the season of smiles. – Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.com byLeanneonThursday, May 28, 2009Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare…

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    Apples Oats and Autumn: MMM Muffins

    Weeks ago we went apple picking… we picked more apples than can fit in our refrigerators. I have canned them, baked them, cooked them and savored every bite. Folks walk into the house olfactory nerves a twitching! The aromas from apples are unbeatable.Here is another sure fire winner for a juicy, solid apple. It only takes one apple to make this confection. Apple Muffins 1 egg1 cup milk1/4 cup oil1 3/4 cups all purpose flour1/4 c rolled oats1/4 cup Splenda or regular sugar3 teaspoons baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt1 apple peeled, core removed1 /2 teaspoon cinnamon Nut topping1/3 cup chopped nuts3 Tablespoons Splenda brown sugar or 1/3 cup regular brown sugar1…

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    Crisp Air… Apple Crisp

    The apple orchards call. They do. Apples to be picked, the long rows of Jonathons, honey crisps, Ida reds and so on just needed to be revisited… and we trooped home with a different variety in the newest bushel: ‘Spies for Pies’. Crisp and juicy, these apples are terrific for snacking and for baking. I love using them in the recipe that represents fall baking: Apple Crisp. The aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg do a frontal attack on the senses followed by the visual of hot bubbling brown sugar and apple juices. Yes, this is just one reason to celebrate the seasons!I love to have an equal amount of crisp…