Ever feel this way?

(yes, this darling little guy will soon be added to
my fun collections of vintage items)

Ever feel like you are constantly being pulled in quite a few directions? Yeah..life gets busy sometimes... and sometimes all's we can do is play catch up for a little bit.
 I've been busy adjusting to a new town. Trying to find a house to buy. Meeting new friends, and..today I learned how to crochet! Yesterday I planted 10 new iris varieties I had received into a large galvanized tub, can't wait to see them all bloom next year.(hopefully in a new yard and not still sitting in a galvanized tub)
 I wound up burning my arm pretty badly this evening on the stove while taking dinner out of the oven..ouch! I have a big 3-4 inch burn that is about 2 inches wide on my arm now. I laid my arm right on the oven door while taking some mozarella sticks out of the oven..needless to say when I jumped back from the pain the pan went tipping over and I lost half of the mozarella sticks down the oven door and on to the floor...but..at least I didn't burn myself any worse than I did and I hope it doesn't leave any kind of scar. Thank goodness for aloe vera gel.
I've been slowly adding new seed varieties to my etsy seed shop too. I also joined a plant and seed swap group online and have managed to swap a few times with some nice folks for some pretty neat flower seeds for my personal private stash and for gardens at a new home.
I've also been keeping busy home schooling 2 young children.
Also keeping busy with the Small Town Living website and at last count I have 11 books to get reviewed... and soon! yikes.
 So..yeah..I feel kind of like the above picture..but in a good way. I like being busy. I like meeting new folks, and I absolutely am so thrilled with myself that I have learned a new skill.
 If anything I'll now be able to create my own crocheted dishcloths. You can't beat a crocheted cotton dishcloth for durability. I have several of them in my kitchen that other folks have made for me and I'll always choose those over a plain wash cloth to wash dishes with any day.
Oh..and another thing...I've started collecting orchid plants..ever so slowly adding to a collection of them but I now have 6 orchids in my collection. Woohoo! I keep them on a sunny windowsill and they take very little care. Right now I have a lady slipper orchid in bloom. I'll slowly start adding to them as I can.
 oh..and one of the plant swaps that I'm expecting next week is for cuttings of a plant called adenium. (Desert Rose)
 The lady that is sending those had like 15 different types that she had taken cuttings from. I can't wait to grow them and then eventually see the blooms.
Well I think that about sums up some of what I've been up to lately.
 Thanks so much for stopping by.
  ~The Garden Goose!~

Fun Finds and Pretty Flowers

Treated myself to a couple of early birthday presents a couple of days ago. (shhh..my birthday isn't for another 16 days though, but a gal just has to do what a gal has to do when she finds some awesome items at a great deal that will look gorgeous in a new home..that is once she gets the new home...smiles)
  So, I snagged these beautiful items at a local consignment shop that has become my new haunt.
Now living in what is deemed as a retirement type area...there are always "new" items coming through the doors of this consignment shop that I like to frequent. Items that are from estate sales or from homes being redecorated, etc.  making it easy to find high end, quality items and antiques for a song.
 Yay! I love a bargain don't you?

 So without further ado meet my new finds. This is an antique pine tea cart painted in a creamy butter yellow color. After I cleaned it with Dawn dish detergent to remove the layer of nicotine and grime it had on it it looked even more lovely than these photos show.

Then I found this beautiful large lady lamp. This lamp and matching table with cherubs on it stands taller than my ten year old son. It is rather large, but an elegant piece that will be placed in the master bedroom of a new home in which I intend to have William Bougeureau type art work in for a nice romantic look.

And then last but not least, I spotted this lovely lady Slipper Orchid plant at a local hardware store's nursery and my sweet husband went back and bought it for me last night. (love that man!) The flower on this orchid is absolutely stunning. I love it. Another orchid for my fast growing collection! Yay!

Also..this Surprise Lily popped up in a pot that I had over at my mom in laws "holding garden" a place where I have some of my plants awaiting a new home. The surprise lily bulbs were given to me several years ago from a gal in Indiana. They had never bloomed until this year. This is the first flower to show itself.Gorgeous! 

 I cannot wait until I have my own yard again and home to grow lovely items like this and to find a permanent place to put my fun finds like the lamp and tea cart in.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

 ~The Garden Goose~