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Saturday, April 6, 2013

I Love April and April Loves Me!


Welcome to my new address!



I decided to move to Blogger. I have a lot to learn. I do not know how to center the picture in the header. Also, I tried other pictures and they were just too large for the area. And, my old header is just too small. Oh, the learning curve!  

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I Love April!


Yes, I Love April. 

It's my birthday month, so of course April is a fun month for me.



My grandmother shared an April birthday with me, and of course, sometimes Easter is in April. And, now that I am over 50, I celebrate the entire month! I think I have earned the right to celebrate!

You all probably know that the birthstone for April is the Diamond!
I like diamonds, but I don't long for them. I have a sweet diamond in my wedding ring, but that is all. While my dear sister drips with diamonds, I think all my diamond money has been spent on vintage treasures, dishes, fabric and craft supplies!

I love April because here in California, Spring is alive and well in April!
And, it makes me happy to know that the flower for April is the Sweet Pea.


According to Renee's Garden website, it is too late to plant sweet peas, but I am going to try anyway. 

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We had been married about 3 years when we moved to an apartment in my parent's town so that they could be close to their granddaughter. Lynea was just a baby, maybe a year old. We had left a rental that had a nice yard to live in this apartment that had a very tiny back yard - well, it wasn't a back yard actually - it was a patio with a wooden fence. It had about a foot of dirt between the fence and the concrete patio. There was not room enough for a patio set, but I had a small play area for our little one.


My grandmother loved flowers. She wasn't really a gardener, but each summer she would have a patch of enormous and very colorful zinnias in the front yard. She also planted sweet peas. One year, she gave me a little amber pill bottle filled with sweet pea seeds. I took the little bottle to our apartment home and planted the seeds in that tiny patch of earth.


I hammered tiny nails into the top and bottom railings of the fence and laced string up and down to make a trellis for the vines to grow up on. I didn't really think the plants would do well there, as there really was not much sunlight at all on this patio. But, those vines did grow - and the entire fence was covered with colorful sweet peas. In fact - they climbed right over the top of the fence and my neighbors enjoyed cutting the blooms when I wasn't looking! LOL! 


My grandmother died a few years later. I kept everything that reminded me of her. I still have that little pill bottle - and there are still a few seeds inside. This year, I will plant sweet peas in memory of Wava Mae - and perhaps, I will name my garden for her. She would like that.

2 comments:

  1. What a sweet story and a wonderful tribute to your grandmother...Good luck with planting the last of the seeds! And good luck on getting your blog the way you want it!

    Carol

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  2. Hello Patti! What a lovely story about your grandma...I wonder if sweet peas grow in Florida? I've switched over & am following on Blogger...in no time I'm sure you will have the pictures mastered...have a lovely weekend...hugs Patti M :)

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Hugs, Patti