When I was walking through the vendor booths last month at the Chicago Garden Show, something a bit . . . unusual. . . caught my eye.
Water Marbles. $4 a package. I decided to try one.
You add some of the tiny marbles to a vase
filled with distilled water
and then you wait.
Over the course of a day, those little marbles absorb every drop of the water in the vase
and you end up with a vase full of water marbles!
Supposedly, you can place cut flowers or a bamboo plant in the vase filled with water marbles . . . and never have to water it. The water from the marbles is apparently enough to keep the the flowers or plants adequately hydrated. Evenutally, the water desorbs (it's a real term; I checked with the resident chemist) and the marbles return to their original tiny size.
And you can use them again and again.
Haven't actually tried putting flowers in the marbles yet, but I will.
For now, I just think they're kind of fun. They look pretty, just sitting there in the vase. And they're really fun to hold -- surprisinly hydrated and slightly slimy in a Ooooooo-Coooooool! kind of way.
You can order some for yourself . . .at this really cheesy website. (This is the company that was selling them at the Chicago Garden Show; I found the website in the instruction materials packed with my Water Marbles.) They are also available in larger quantities (with a more scientific explanation of what happens) here.
Okay . . . still catching up from last month, here. But I really do want to show you a couple more things from the Chicago Flower Show.
This year, there was a cake decorating contest as part of the show. (Perhaps this is always the case, but this is the first year I've paid attention to it.)
I've never been much of a cake decorator. (Ahem. Understatement. Refer to this for proof.) But I can certainly appreciate the ART of cake decorating.
Like . . . check this one out:
Yeah. That's a cake! (Click to embiggen.)
Sandie really liked this one:
And this one was very sweet:
I didn't even realize this was a cake:
(But it was!)
Here's my favorite:
After the Flower Show, I Googled to find out which cake was the ultimate winner. The winning cake was shaped/decorated just like a Tiffany lamp. Sadly, I have no photo. (Probably because I saw it and thought it WAS a Tiffany lamp.)
How about you? Are you a cake decorator? Which one do YOU like best? (And. . . do you think you can have your cake AND eat it, too?)
So after a tough month, weather-wise (snow in March is never welcome, y'know?), it appears that March is . . . going out like a lamb! Fine by me!
Here's what's happening in my life . . . RIGHT NOW.
Watching . . . I'm re-watching Season 5 of Mad Men on Netflix right now in preparation for Season 6 (which begins on April 7). I love to watch little Sally Draper . . . who is roughly the same age in the show as I was in real-time. I'm always telling Tom . . . "I had those exact sheets!" "I had those very shoes!" "I had a locket just like that." (He humors me.) (And, of course. There is Don.) I'm also planning to check out Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece Theater this Sunday night.
Reading . . . There are so many excellent books out there! My to-read list is growing ever longer, and I lament my lack of reading time. Right now, I'm enjoying Frances and Bernard immensely (this is an epistolary novel - letters - based on the correspondence of real-life authors Flannery O'Connell and Robert Lowell), and I'm also reading David Copperfield, my favorite Dickens of all time. (Frances and Bernard is very short, and should be a quick read. I, however, am savoring it slowly. The writing is such a delight!)
Knitting . . . I'm doing an informal "knit-a-long" with some of my Kalamazoo knitting pals. We're each making ChicKnit's Elisbeth cardigan (short sleeve version). I'm actually a couple more repeats into the knit than the photo (above) shows. It's a bit of a slog, I'll admit. But I'm having fun with the cables. I'm also knitting a spring-color version of this shawl. And trying not to get too carried away with not-wool inspiration from this or this.
Listening to . . . Buena Vista Social Club. They just make it feel like the sun is shining . . .and you're enjoying a gin and tonic . . . on the patio.
Thinking about . . . Priorities. Setting them. Having them. Living them. Life is full of options.
Dreading . . . Some dental work toward the end of April. Ugh. But not really much else right now. (I'm in a good place this spring.)
Humming . . . Songs about sunshine. Good Day Sunshine. You are the Sunshine of My Life. Walking in Sunshine. But this is the one that is stuck in my head (enjoy it old school and original). . .
Planning . . . Gardens! I have Big Ideas right now. Some of them have been in-the-making for a couple of years. This year . . . It Is Time. (Get your diggin' shoes on, Tom!)
Celebrating . . . So very many things. My birthday is tomorrow. Jenny's leash restriction is over. I'll be picking up my Mac later today. Sunshine and mid-50s in the forecast. (I'm ignoring the snow that is also in the forecast.)
Drinking . . . Oberon. (The Bell's Oberon release date is always like a birthday present to me!)
Itching to . . . Dig. Not wear a coat. Get a pedicure. Wear my flip-flops. Sit outside in the sunshine.
Needing to . . . Finish my taxes. I have started. And, like they say. . . Once begun, half done. So I must be at least half done by now!
Organizing . . . The prime organization task on my to-do list is one I actually look forward to: Switching out my winter clothes for my lighter spring and summer fare. Can't wait! (And check out the little notepads I found at Target for my written organizational tasks. Love them!)
Inspired by . . . Surprises that are cropping up in my life. Just little things. . . that really ARE surprising, when you stop and think about it.
Delighted by. . . Sort of wish I hadn't found these. Because. . . YUM!
How about YOU? What's going on for YOU . . . right now?
The other day, I got this little publication in my mailbox.
It's a very high-quality, catalogue-style travel brochure from National Geographic.
Now, I'm not in the market for an expedition-style vacation. But. Travel! Pretty pictures! I peeked inside.
There are LOTS of fabulous National Geographic trips to choose from. There are cruises, adventures, safaris, photography "camps," family excursions. You can take some sort of National Geographic vacation to ANY corner of the world. Cuba. Myanmar. Alaska. Galapagos. Scandinavia. The Holy Land. Panama. ANYwhere.
You can even take THIS trip. . .
Yes. You can travel AROUND THE WORLD with National Geographic.
An "extraordinary journey" . . . by PRIVATE JET!
I had to look . . .
Yes. That's $74,950! (Per person. Double occupancy. It's ANOTHER $8,650 for a single room. In case you were wondering.) And this does NOT include airfare to/from London (where the tour starts/ends).
I don't know about you, but that is just . . . mind-boggling to me.
. . . because sometimes it's just a good idea to Come Clean. . .
I love jewelry. I have a giant, standing jewelry case in my room.
And because I am Alway in a Hurry, and because I am Always Looking for the Right Earring, my jewelry case tends to be . . .
a bit of a mess.
Let's rephrase that.
A JUMBLED mess!
(And, as you might notice, it's really the TOP and most-accessible section that is the Real Problem here. I tend to ignore the drawers, and pile everything in the top section when I am Always in a Hurry.)
Last weekend, things had reached a frustrating, Critical Point in the jewelry selection department. I decided to Do Something About It.
I cleaned house.
I sorted. I thinned out. I organized.
So. Much. Better.
I found things I hadn't even remembered I had! I found loose buttons. I found a missing, beloved earring. I found my high school class ring. And my Tri-Delt pin. Amazing things.
Erin gave me these socks in our Family Stocking Exchange this Christmas. She purchased them for well under $5 at Rite-Aid. If you look at the tag, you can see that these socks are "The Coziest Socks in the Universe." (That's right! The Universe.) Who knew?
Thing 2: Why I Was Late To Work on Tuesday
That's right. Turkey Crossing Ahead. This poor-quality phone photo only shows the last two (well, you can actually see four if you look carefully) of a string of six turkeys crossing the road. S-l-o-w-l-y. By the time I got my camera out and pointed at the turkeys, I almost missed 'em.
Thing 3: Best Chocolate-Covered Almonds EVER
Tom brought home some YUM from Switzerland last week. Oh. My.
It's germ-y out there right now. Everywhere I go, people are coughing and hacking and sniffling. (Of course, right now I'm a contributor. Unfortunately.) It's flu season alright.
Best be prepared.
Keep some hand sanitizer with you at all times.
Use it frequently.
And be ready to hear the person looking over your shoulder GASP when you pull THIS one out of your handbag. . .
Yep, thanks to Tom (and his Christmas shopping spree on this website), I can now fight germs AND shock those around me.
It's a busy time of year. End-of-year work stuff. Christmas holiday prep stuff. Social stuff. It's all good . . . but it's all busy. (I haven't even knit in nearly a week . . . that's saying something!)
At this time of year, it's important to employ Santa's Helper . . .
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