Earth Day

While Charles and I still have a way to go in my quest to live greener, we have kept many of our green resolutions. We take totes to the grocery store with us each week so there is no paper or plastic (other than the meat's bag) coming home with us. I recently bought a new tote to add to our collection...

I think it is just too cute!! I hope to remember to take my totes with me on my other shopping trips too so that I can cut out the department store plastic bags making their way into our home.

Of course, we have been composting for a while. We actually have compost and worms in our old compost bin and not just "greens" and "browns!" I was really excited when I saw the transformation and think that we will do even better with our composting this year since we have our new composter up and running.

The compost is just what we needed because we have planted new trees and bushes in our yard and plan to plant even more this fall.

Even Toula got into the green spirit by reusing the composter box as a new playhouse. She had to check it out first...but after checking it out from all angles...

is having a good time with it.

Hope you are all having a great Earth Day and finding ways to live green!

We Got the Blues...

Saturday, Charles and I headed to Clarksdale, Mississippi, for the Juke Joint Festival. We had the best time!

We heard lots of great music! Musicians were set up all throughout the festival grounds...
This little kid was really feeling the music, and these bluesmen had a good time encouraging him to dance more...

I enjoyed taking a little time out of this performance to take a look in Miss Dee's...

There were lots of cute things in the store and in many of the other downtown stores. I haven't been shopping in Clarksdale since Mama and Daddy used to take me to the Gingerbread House to shop for clothes when I was little; I think we may need to make a shopping trip back to Clarksdale!

It was really good to see the young blues musicians performing. Charles and I had just seen a show or segment on television which highlighted the after school program which teaches the blues and how to play musical instruments to the kids in Clarksdale, and we actually saw them perform at the festival...

They did a great job!!

We saw lots of other interesting and fun things too.

I enjoyed the pig races. This is the same group which always came to the Mid-South Fair and have their pigs race for Oreos! There were five races to watch.

Some with big pigs...

Some with cute little black pigs...

Then both sets raced with hurdles...
That was really cute and funny to watch!

Then for the last race, the little pigs took a swim!

There were also dog riding monkeys which I just had to see!

Little monkeys are so cute, and these were all dressed up like cowboys riding their dog horses to herd goats. They actually let us in the corral, so I was up close to all the action!

It was too fun to watch!

We also were able to meet all kinds of other animals from Happy Time Farms. We were able to feed goats (which tickled as they ate the food out of your hand)...
and pet them too...

We saw Dolly the pot bellied pig... She squealed so loud when they put the dress on her. I'm surprised she couldn't be heard throughout the state!

We saw lots of little ducks...and a cute swimming goose...
She was actually really soft!

Best of all there were the cutest little bunnies!!Toula definitely needs a little friend!

In addition to the great music and fun, we also enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Dutch Oven, complete with chess pie, which was almost as good as Ma's!
There were even Segway rides at the festival...
It was fun but definitely felt weird! It took me quite a while to get used to the Segway!!

We had a great time at the Juke Joint Festival!

When we got home, my composter had been delivered; I was very excited! Sunday, we pulled all the parts out of the box...

In between the heavy downpours and claps of loud, close thunder, and by working through bouts of frustration, we managed to assemble the composter!
I was then able to add our first items to the new composter...

It's actually pretty fun to tumble the compost. You're supposed to turn the drum four to five times a couple of times a week by putting your hands in the deep in the groves and spinning it. I told Charles I feel like I am on The Price is Right spinning the big wheel!!

I'm glad our compost tumbler came in and will already be in use for Earth Day.

Easter Weekend

Charles and I enjoyed planting our ivy so much that we got an early Easter present. We went to our local nursery and purchased a dogwood. They were sold out of the dogwoods that are blooming so pretty right now, but they did have a Kosa Dogwood which is supposed to bloom late Spring to early summer. It took us a while to dig the hole for it - our soil is clay and so rocky, but after a little digging and a few scoops of good gardening soil it was planted in its new home...

We also purchased a Spirea. We had a little easier time planting it because we didn't have to deal with as many rocks in its spot...

The Spirea we found was filled with blooms and so pretty...
We are slowly (but hopefully surely) becoming gardeners...

This morning I awoke to a sweet card from Charles and one from Toula, and the Easter Bunny left a little basket filled with Charles's favorite candies and gum and tickets to an Iowa Cubs/Memphis Redbird game...
The Easter Bunny also left a little something for our favorite bunny...

Toula hopped right up to her basket and went right for the treats inside... After enjoying a few pieces of the dried fruit and rose hips mix, she investigated her basket a little...
Later in the morning, I added a little Easter to our guest bathroom, and we finished getting everything ready for lunch...We usually go to Mama and Jerry's for Easter lunch, but this year, I decided to cook for them. I found these cute Easter eggs at The Square Cupboard, so I used them for the table's centerpiece...Since the Easter Bunny always leaves baskets for Charles and me when we go to Mama's, I made a little Easter basket for Mama and Jerry and used them as the place cards at the table...
I cooked a baked ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, pink salad...

rolls and sweet tea...
and for dessert, a butter cake with chocolate icing. I was so excited that I got to use my Arthur Court pieces!

Charles did a great job of carving the ham...
Everyone said that they enjoyed lunch. We were so glad that Mama and Jerry came for Easter!

Thanks Mama and Jerry for our Easter money and for the money for our composter. I was so excited when I opened that egg that I ordered the composter immediately after they left!!

It started raining early to mid afternoon and has rained pretty much all day, but it has been the perfect type of rain for our newly planted ivy, dogwood and spirea. During a break in the rain, we went outside to check on things. We have noticed a little bird making a nest in our pink birdhouse, and today, we heard the baby birds chirping...

I was so excited! I told Charles that we had Easter birds!! It will be fun to watch them grow and fly out of their house.

We hope everyone had as good of an Easter as we did!

Happy Easter!

Happy Good Friday

Charles and I had a very good Good Friday.
We took Toula outside to enjoy the beautiful (but very windy) weather. She had a great time!!
We put her down in the grass, but at first she just had to hop to the patio to make sure she was safe. Well it didn't take long for her to venture back into the grass - although she made sure to stay right next to the house and fence...
She perked her ears up to enjoy the wind...
and then our sweet Toula had to clean her face...
It didn't take her too long to decide to explore the Easter basket filled with eggs...

It was so funny, she decided it was in her way, so she tugged on it, boxed it, and then just rammed into it, knocking an egg on her head...

After the egg fell on the ground, she didn't stop to explore it, she just hopped right around that Easter basket!
She then just ran...
and ran...
and got tuckered out and flopped down...
In between her excursions into the yard, she would come back to the patio and sit under her stool. After working out so much this afternoon, she just had to clean her face again...
She is so cute and sweet looking when she cleans her face - I just love it!
After Toula enjoyed her time outside, we took her back into her home, and finally planted our ivy...

We can't wait to watch it grow!

Hope you all had a wonderful Good Friday too!