PLANTS IN TEACUPS

THE CREATIVE GREENTHUMB

The number of indoor plants found in the Place Under The Pine has always been pitifully low. From the years 2009 to 2017 there was only one solitary christmas cactus (a gift from the minister who performed Jen and Matt's wedding ceremony). Recently, that number has increased to almost double digits.

Why?

One citizen has taken an interest in plants. Cactus, spider plants, aloe vera...the classic indoor house plants are beginning to take root in Olivia's room. They are taking root in unconventional ways; teapots, teacups, and jars are replacing traditional flowerpots. But, what would one expect from such a creative mind?

Teacup spider plant

Flower pot spider plant

cup and pot planters

CACTUS THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR OUR 12 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER

CACTUS IS THE HOT TREND WITH TWEENS

Our oldest turned 12 (already!) and requested a cactus themed birthday party. Jen came up with some great ideas, found some awesome cactus decor, and hand made a few items.

Cactus hugs leave a mark

Apparently, cactus and holographic go together like peas and carrots. Therefore, cactus shaped holographic cupcake toppers are a go:

Holographic paper in cactus shapes - a hit!

And old pot, some pebbles, and a sink-scrubbing-sponge cut into the shape of a cactus make an ideal centrepiece for the party's table.

Cactus - scrubbing sponge style

Michael's is on trend with cactus shaped cups. Fill with 'catus juice' (aka lemonade) and thrill the tastebuds of your party goers.

Cactus shaped cups

If you have some skills in the baking department then sugar cookies - cactus shaped of course - are the way to go. Green icing and some spikes to top them off. Watch your tongue!

Cactus cookies with spikes!

Loot bags are easy with this theme, and can potentially last a lifetime. Real cacti are inexpensive and they really wow guests. It's like giving a pet - a totally unexpected surprise!

Give plants. The gift that keeps growing.

The party took place at the darkly named Boiler Room. No, there was no boiling going on, but, there was some hardcore rock climbing.

THE GARDEN HAS COME ALIVE AGAIN

THE GARDEN IS STARTING TO GROW

Last weekend was the first really warm and sunny weekend of the spring. We were drawn outside by the weather (at least on the Sunday...Saturday we were in an arena watching Elli play hockey). We did our traditional cleaning up of the yard and the garden. It is amazing how much garbage and random bits & bobs get buried in the snow over the winter!
The exciting part of all this clean up was the green. Yes, the green! Green leaves shooting from the ground, from the raspberry canes, from the trees...

Here come the raspberry leaves again!

The parsnips we left in the ground over the winter are still alive and growing!

This day had me thinking about last year's garden. I had a few pictures uploaded onto the blog, but, never really got around to posting them. Last year we tried a few new plants, had success with some old favourites, and completely forgot about digging up the parsnips!

The maple tree - transplanted from garden two years ago

FIRST CHERRY EVER!

First time we did corn, and it grew taller than Elliott!

Can never get enough raspberries around here

A few zucchini grew

The corn was fun to watch grow

Peas, the plant that never made it into the house - eaten by roving children

Too many cherry tomatoes!

A new member of the garden community - the Blueberry bush

Raspberries with a side of green bean

NEW ROAD HOCKEY BLOCKER AND TRAPPER

UPGRADED GOALIE BLOCKER AND TRAPPER - VAUGHN DELUXE!

Elliott has spent hours (probably days at this point) playing mini sticks, knee hockey, or road hockey clad in his old street goalie equipment. A set that had taken millions of hits with balls, pucks, pinecones, and countless other random things found on the ground that are just the right size to hit with a hockey stick. The old set had done a great job, but, it was starting to fall apart. An upgrade was needed.

Elliott had been saving his money for awhile, planning and debating what to spend it on. His list was pretty short; goalie equipment, rollerblades, lacrosse stick. After mutiple trips to Sports stores, Canadian Tire, Toys R Us (the comparing between stores seemed endless...but, he did a thorough job really narrowing down the best deal and best product he could buy), he finally decided on a new goalie blocker and trapper.
He went with the Vaughn DELUXE Blocker and Trapper. It was big enough, quality built, and on sale 50% off (good shopper bonus!)...and fabric was pretty cool too!

But, how did the new equipment perform?

Great!

Elliott got on the new blockie and trappie and I took a few shots on him. Here is a quick product review video we made.