Sustainable Me - Space for Creativity and Backyard Bunnies

I left my heart in Scotland - and I cannot wait to return again.  I have made two life changing trips to Scotland in the past five years.  One in July 2013, and one this past Christmas break of 2017 and into the New Year of 2018.  I have been fully certified as a teacher by the General Teaching Council of Scotland, and my certificate qualifies me to teach Secondary Art and Design.  Attaining this certificate was a two year process - and I was more than thrilled when I received my certificate this past November of 2017.  I also received a provisional certificate for teaching Primary - all subjects - if I wish to pursue that.  It has been uppermost in my mind - when do I try to go to Scotland?  When is the best time?  I will be taking two members of my family with me - so it is a decision that affects all of us.   I really didn't know if I wanted to pursue this project of an art studio and garden in light of leaving it in the somewhat...

 So.  Maybe I should have purchased that ton bag of pea gravel!  I do like the River Rock, but it is going to take at least 10 more bags to finish out this area for the firepit.   I brought home all of the cardboard from Sandy's house last Tuesday, so with what I have saved and what she gave me left over from the flooring for her house, I will have more that enough to put over the insulation in the art studio.   Since I already have the canvas for the walls of the studio, the only other supplies that I will need is perhaps some more potting soil, top soil, and  shopping for what plants that I want in the garden.  I think I have everything else needed. I even have the concrete and mold to make the stepping stones.  I am using a cake pan that I bought at Aldi's for the stepping stone mold.   Now I just need some time to get these things accomplished in the garden and the studio.    Waco is supposed to ha...

This weekend was truly beautiful spring weather. And I spent it mostly outside working on the back yard part of my vision for the outside of my  creative space.  I wanted to take advantage of the perfect weather and the  Lawn and Garden things out at Aldi's.  If you snooze you lose!  They have great quality items for very reasonable prices, and I wanted to take advantage of what they had before it was gone.  So on Friday evening while my kids were swimming at the Y, I made several trips to Aldi's, and one to Lowe's.  My car is a small Toyota Hatchback - so I did have to make a few more trips on Saturday. I also tried the Lowe's online pick up feature for the first time, and that worked pretty well, until I realized that I had ordered a 1000 pound bag of pea gravel.  That was not going to fit into my hatchback!  So, I cancelled that part of the order and convinced my friend Missy to let me use her truck and switched over to bags of River Rock...

Looks like I'm not the only one who feels like Waco and surrounding areas are booming.  This was an article in today's Waco Tribune Herald.  On the second photo showing the second part of the article, it shows a picture of a housing development on Ritchie Road.  My son and I used to live in Polo Park, which is a neighborhood across Ritchie Road from this one.  Just a few years ago, I would road bike on this road from my Polo Park neighborhood, and this side of the road was nothing but pasture and countryside.  I am in daily amazement at how fast our area is becoming  more and more congested and populated. I can drive from this area of Ritchie Road to our duplex neighborhood, and it is almost all housing developments now where it used to just be fields of green.   I grew up in this area, so I do have a long term point of reference.  The best part, I think of all of this has been the revitalization of the downtown area, and more of a cultural a...

I walked out into the backyard last night to check on the Mission Fig Tree, and was super excited to see this growth!  It might be a couple of years before we have figs again - but this little tree is going to make it - even after being transplanted!  It seems happy in its new spot and I can't wait to see how tall it is at the end of the growing season.  I'm so glad I brought it with me, even though it was pretty risky.  The tree has gone through a lot of change with the transplant, but is looking hardy and healthy.  

Making my own Stepping Stones I found this link to making my own stepping stones or pavers.  My plan, when I have more time after school is out, is to try making my own at home.  I have some broken glass that I have saved, and some stones, and shells that I can use in the pavers.  I want to make a large circle with these homemade pavers, fill it with gravel, and set the fire pit in the middle of the space - along with a couple of adirondack chairs. I realized when I fired up the fire pit for the first time - that I would need to place it on pavers or on gravel in order to be safe and have the fire away from any grass.  I won't be able to work on this project until school is out - but I am happy to find a solution that is inexpensive and using some things that I already have.   I can also use this same idea to make a garden path from the patio to the studio - which would be really helpful in messy weather.  I like the idea of personalizing t...

 I found these two rocking chairs while shopping at Aldi's.  Only $25 each.  After looking around and online - I thought this was a great price for porch rocking and relaxing.    I also found a terrific deal on Amazon for a $65 Fire pit.  Assembly was required - but it wasn't too bad, and thankfully everything was included that was needed for the assembly.  This fire pit came with some great accessories - even a plastic cover for bad weather.   A fire on a crisp Spring night with a crisp apple cider in hand.  Enjoying this from my new rocking chair.  I did realize though that, I will have to put down some kind of stone circle of pavers or a gravel pit somewhere for the fire pit, for safety concerns.  That still needs to be done.   We are going to have a lot of fun with this - roasted marshmallows, smores. and hot dogs coming up!