Sweet Carrot Salad

1 pound carrots, grated

1 cup crushed pineapple

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons mayonnaise, or to taste

In a large bowl, mix together the carrots, pineapple and raisins. Stir in the honey, mayonnaise and lemon juice until evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld.

Alternative sauce- 4oz. vanilla yogurt instead of honey/mayonnaise

Waldorf Salad

 

3 apples, cored and diced 

1 stalk celery, diced

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup raisins

1 cup seedless green grapes, halved

1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries

1 1/4 cups vanilla yogurt

In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, almonds, raisins, grapes and dried cranberries. Pour the yogurt over the fruit mixture and stir gently until evenly coated.

Our Finished Outdoor Overhaul

My husband and I finished our Outdoor Overhaul last night. I worked quite a few hours multiple days while he was at work. In the evening and on weekends we worked together. It was a lot of work but we're glad it'd done. I have a few things I'd still like to do but we can enjoy our Summer in our outdoor spaces. Our home renovation projects in the living room and family room didn't get the full attention on most day while doing the Outdoor challenge. We'll get back to that and try to finish it up by Memorial day weekend. We're excited for camping season to have getaways in our camper that we bought and renovated last Summer for our 25th Anniversary.

Our list of things we did:

 • Edged the sidewalks.
• Level the ground were the ground hog dug tunnels.
• Fill the holes with dirt near the road.
• Swept the sidewalks and side porch.
• Remove dry grass build up around foundation.
• trim blackberry bush and tie up.
• Picked up trash in the yard.
• Picked up sticks in the yard.
• Burn sticks in firepit.
• Reset the decorative bricks around the flower beds.
• Clean out both window wells for the basement.
• Weeded the flower gardens.
• Mow the grass.
• Swept the sidewalks.
• Tilled the vegetable garden to prepare to plant Mother's day.
• Weeded around the boarder of the vegetable garden
• Put a bag of wildflowers seeds in the backyard rock bordered area near vegetable garden.
• Set backyard lawn furniture out.
• Washed the backyard lawn cushions.
• Set out the flower pots.
• Set up the tiki torches.
• Dig up mini trees that sprouted in front garden.
• Clean bird feeder and fill with seed.
• Wash bird bath and fill with water .
• Clean and fill squirrel feeder.
• Created a Fairy Garden.
• Make garden stones.
• Sweep front porch
• Sprayed down the front porch and decor.
• Washed the front porch lawn cushions.
• Sprayed the lower left side of the house down and scrubbed off mold with a brush.
• Weed behind barn.
• wash out the outdoor trash cans.
• Wash the cars and truck.
• Organize and purged in the shed and barn.
• Swept the barn of leaves and debris.
• Clean the outdoor toys for our grand-kids.
• Put training wheels on the bikes for our grand-kids.
• Pumped up our bike tires.
• Hung the hanging baskets on the front porch.
• Planted flowers in pots around the yard.
• Plant vegetable plants in the vegetable garden.
• Set out tomato cages for tomatoes.

My Welcome Sign

I created a Welcome sign for my front yard. I used paint and stencils that I'd had for years. I used scrap paneling for the sign and trim for the stakes from our camper restoration last year. I set a red vintage milk jug that my daughter Nastasja gave me in the garden near our porch along with my newly made sign.


The paneling, paint, and stencils that I used. I didn't end up using the green stencil paint, it was dried up. I used a green craft paint instead. 

I had painted the paneling white and painted the roses. I brushed on the white and then wiped it off with a rag to give it a white washed look so you could see the wood slightly under the paint.

  
My newly made Welcome sign before my husband added the stakes. I did mess up on the first attempt and the Welcome was too off center. I turned the wood over and redid the other side. Once it was dry I painted the messed up side black.

The red vintage milk jug that my daughter gave me in the garden near our porch along with Welcome sign. I think they looks great together. It’s especially powerful with the red milk jug drawing out the red colors in the Welcome sign.

My Fairy Garden

I made my first purchase for my yard for the season on Tuesday at the Thrift, $12 spent. I got yard decor and stuff to create a Fairy garden. I set everything up for the Fairy garden near my shed along with a few other things that I had. I like the fact that all the houses open. I'm trying to find a few things for each house to put inside, that my grandkids can take out to play with. I have a 6 little figurines inside the Apple house and nothing in the other two yet. I'd like a couple bigger figurines to set near the houses but I'll have to keep looking for now. I made a garden stone to add to yesterday, and I made a second today. I'd been collecting stuff at the Thrift for a year to be able to do the garden stones.

My Tuesday haul at the Thrift for $12

My Fairy Garden so far.

The things that I added to the Fairy garden that I already had.

My supplies set up in the barn.

My first garden stone made.

 















 My garden stones that I made for the Fairy garden. They hadn't dried yet, but first one looks good.

Clutter Busting Challenge April 2018

I'm purging 14 items this month.


My Purge Pile:

April 2018 Reading List

The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection
Requilted with Love by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Seven Medals and a Bride by Angela Breidenbach
A Taste of Honey by Darlene Franklin
Altered Hearts by Gina Welborn
Better with Butter by Jennifer AILee
Driven to Distraction by Becca Whitham
First Comes Pie by Niki Turner
Front Paige Love by Amber Stockton
Competing Hearts by Cynthia Hickey