I've never had much luck with asters...but this plant seems to be doing great. Even though I love the black mulch...I have to water the plants every day it doesn't rain.

Here's my lilac bush at the back corner of our tiny property. I trimmed it during a warm spell in February or March and it's just beautiful...loaded with blooms! No need for candles in my house for a month!

This is an allium starting to bloom...my neighbor gave three of these to me right before she moved. This one is almost 2 feet tall. I will post more photos as the bloom opens.

These tulips are just so eye-catching...they seem to call out to be photographed! They were here when we moved in, but I plan to add more colors this fall .

This is Brendan....he's playing with two sticks of spaghetti. He's very inventive with most things he plays with. He and Cara held them on top of their heads and pretended they were ants...it was so cute. Then he made a flag using one as the pole. It did break soon after....so I suggested he use a straw instead. ;)

Every time I look at Brendan I am amazed at how much he looks like his daddy.

Here are my latest little side project...beaded stitch markers. I made them out of necessity....while working on the KAL shawl, I realized I only had 6 markers and that wouldn't take me very far into the pattern! So that called for a quick trip to A.C. Moore's!! :) The large beads just called my name...they are so pretty! The wire I chose is way too thin though...have to go back and find something thicker...anyone out there know what gauge wire would be best? I don't want it to be too pliable.

These are my three children, actually sitting together. I took many photos to get this one...Caitlin was tired and just wanted to crawl all over her siblings. Cara is the oldest...she's 7. Caitlin is in the middle, she's almost 16 months. And Brendan is 5.

This is the fiber I've been working on the past couple of days. The dark batt is from "Bonnie", a Corriedale/Rambouillet X...very soft and crimpy! And the lighter batt is, I think, from a sheep named "Emmylou", a Corriedale/ Shetland/ Border Leicester X. Not quite as soft as Bonnie's, but still very nice. I haven't decided how to spin this wool yet. Maybe a sport weight....hmmmm....