Spring Has Arrived At Lena's House

The long, hard winter we've had here in Amish Country has had a impact on my spring fever.

I have probably searched 10 stores or greenhouses for dormant tulip bulbs, and today I hit the jackpot. They had them at our local Wal-Mart out on their patio for a fabulous clearance price of two dollars a bag, and they were perfect since they were already sprouting and just begging for some TLC.

So I went out to our GARDEN SHED and found this sweet galvanized container, perfect to give these bulbs a place to belong. I put styrofoam in the bottom to help with the weight and the amount of soil needed.

I put a mix of tulips, daffodils and latifolium bulbs then watered them down and spread moss around the bulbs before watering it back down. Now, we water and wait for the blooms.

I started these grass seedlings six days ago, and it's just about time for their first haircut. I just used whatever grass seeds I had--not sure what kind.

Here, my basil is coming up strong, too. I cover them with plastic wrap until  they start pushing up on it. I wrote on clothespins with colored pencils to mark the seedlings.

I started more herbs today. My plan is to transplant them into my old washtubs. When weather permits, we will move them onto the back porch.

I'm really blessed with a big front window that's toward the southwest and gets lots of sunshine.

In the above picture, I'm soaking wheatgrass seeds to sprout. I also have Easter lily bulbs in water and stones in hopes they will sprout and bloom.

Here are some wheatgrass seedlings I started 2 days ago. I'm so excited they are already sprouting. I've been reading up on the benefits of wheat grass and can't wait to use it in smoothies.

Who doesn't like green in their house this time of year? The kids are enjoying watching the roots in this clear bowl.

The kids think it's funny(not sure that's the right word--maybe more like "loony") how Mom has her little greenhouse in our living room. I think they think it's a little grandma'ish. I've had these avocado seeds in water for probably 6 weeks, and I'm hoping any day I will receive my first sprout. I'll give it another month before I'll throw them out into the dirt and hope for a miracle. Yes, I know I live in Ohio, and I will probably never grow the actual ones, but the plant will make a good conversation piece.

Here is another experiment. I took terrarium plants starts from friends, put root-booster on the stems, and stuck them in moist soil. I'm also attempting to start my own succulents. I got the directions off of Pinterest.

Baby's Breath and some tulip bulbs freshen up this CABINET.

Here is the coffee table with some candles and another refreshing arrangement. You're probably thinking, "That's way too much work for me," but it really is worth it. It has lightened up my winter spirits. All I do is take a gallon jug of water every day, walk around the room, and love on them, and they smile back at me. Okay, so that did sound a little kooky;)

Made this greens arrangements for the front entrance.

We gave the entrance a little facelift. replacing the flooring with leftover flooring from the REMODEL. I painted the door a fresh, new teal and replaced the ugly fan with this beautiful chandelier I snagged from Habitat Restore to which I added some crystals.

Lo and behold, we finally painted the ugly paneling white. I have fussed about this ugly paneling since we moved in.

I was so thankful for Allen's help, because it was hard to reach. So one night, I just brought out the paint and sort of declared that I can't take the ugly paneling one more day. YEAH! We finally "got 'er done!"

So here is how I painted my front door for five bucks.



 You know how you can get those paint samples at Lowe's for $2.39? I got the white, then they mixed the color I wanted for free. I got 2 containers and it was exactly enough for 2 coats which was perfect.

It freshened up the green door, and if I get sick of the color, I can change it again for only five dollars!

All these things made the groundhog peep out of his hole. Hoping it inspired you to try new things, or to get your fingers in the dirt despite the white snow we see outside.

Talking about trying new things. Today, I started my first batch of Kombucha.

My daughter got me started on it when she returned from her mission trip, so I did some research and decided I'm going to attempt to make it.

This is all new to me, but I decided if I can do canning and make homemade wine, why couldn't I make this concoction? So I got a start and a mother scoby from a friend. Once I have the recipe down pat, I'll post a blog on it.

Happy Spring!!! It's almost here:)