. . . a garden to grow children . . .

Musings -

- I love beautiful gardens but I don't love gardening. I'm into 'lush' and 'full-to-overflowing', but no maintenance. There are so many other things I prefer to do with summer. Oh, I like things neat and tidy so I can get into pulling the weeds, cleaning the planting beds and sweeping the walks first thing after the weather warms and snows melt-but just once. I don't mind planting the annuals the week after Mother's Day (or maybe 'two weeks after' this year)-but just once. That's about it. I'd love dearly for a garden fairy to wave her wand and do all the rest a garden and yard require. (Sigh . . .)

- I love cooking with fresh herbs but our vegetable garden is about 60 feet from the house at the top of our sloping backyard, too far and out of sight to remember to check. The best spot in our yard for an herb garden (plenty of warming sun, close to our backdoor, in view of the kitchen window)is, for all the same reasons, the place we chose to build our grandchildren's Cottage. (Shucks . . .)

- Melynn planned her wedding reception for our backyard. The old sandbox next to the Cottage needed to be spruced up. I was ready to be done with sand from children's pant cuffs and pockets. It was the perfect spot for a darling cottage herb garden, so why not? Because it's right where our grandchildren play. (Hmmm . . .)

- What meaningful traditions can Eric and I share with our grandchildren, traditions that will strengthen our bonds through learning and sharing family values? (Let's see . . .)

What to do? I love it when disparate musings meld into the perfect idea! And that's just what happened.

The perfect idea - Design a Children's Garden to grow grandchildren as well as herbs. So we built, in place of the sandbox, a small cottage garden complete with framed planting beds, brick paths and window boxes . . .

We planned for space to dig and plant . . .

. . . freedom to play and discover . . .

. . . joy through harvesting the fruits of their labor . . .

. . . independence in learning new skills . . .

. . . satisfaction in sharing their bounty . . .

The wonderful results -

• No edging, just neat and tidy-check.


• No sand in the house-check.


• Perennials fill lush beds-check.


• The essential handful of annual herbs can be planted in about 15 minutes-check.


• Brightly painted flowers give instant color and whimsy without watering-check.


• Melynn and Tanner were motivated to build the boxes and brick path in time for the wedding (garden fairies)-check.


• The herbs and grandchildren are close for the gathering and easy to keep track of from our kitchen window-check, check.


• Children and garden provide hours of delightful viewing-check.


• The Children's Garden has become an extension of the 'make-believe' play in the Cottage-check.


• A wonderful family tradition has been born-check. It starts the week after Mother's Day and lasts until the first frost. We share with the Grandchildren the delights of planting and watching seeds grow, the sounds of humming birds feeding and blue jays bathing, the feel of snails and cool moist earth, the smells of orange blossoms and lavender, the tastes of honey suckle nectar and grapes picked fresh from the vine-and more.

• We're learning to patiently wait for the fruits of our labors.


• We're sharing the joys of a job well done.


• We're learning to try new things. This year we'll make hollyhock dolls and I'll tell them the story about their Great Great Great Grandma Carrie Roberts Passey who made my first hollyhock doll 47 years ago. We'll grow tiny yellow pear tomatoes and learn when they're just ripe for popping into your mouth, like my Grandpa Passey taught me.


• We're strengthening our family by working, playing, learning and serving together.

Yep, a garden to grow children is the perfect idea.

. . . so many ways to use doilies that . . .

I love doilies and don't they make a fun and useful gift. There are so many ways to use doilies that I keep a supply of different shapes, sizes and colors on hand for those last minute inspirations.

Rectangular doilies added a 'sugar and cream' flavor to Cort and Shannon's garden wedding luncheon table.

The potpourri favors on the plates were made of flowers from Carrie, Bryn and Jenni's weddings (her Sisters-in-Law) . . .

. . . a personal touch Shannon loved.

Aimee's Spring

I have an amazingly creative homemaker friend, Aimee Ferre, whose blog is private. When I whined that you all will miss her darling creations she said, "Use any picture any time." So I want to share some of Aimee's Spring.

I just wanted to share with you some spring in a pot. I nested real
eggs in the leaves of these little purple pansies. The pink scalloped tag
mounted on a pussy willow post was enscripted with a quote from Kahlil Gibran,
"Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of seasons."

For the third year in a row birds have feathered a nest Aimee has nestled in a decorative cone hanging on her front door. This week they layed these four darling eggs. What a wonderful spring treat. Can you imagine the delight of her three young daughters?

I hope your spring holds home delights as well.

"Do you cook breakfast?"

"Do you cook breakfast?" ----"Yes."

"Do you cook every meal?" ----"Yes."

Eric and I were guests for Sunday dinner at the home of a young couple. Carmen had made a wonderful Peruvian chicken curry over rice and potatoes that reminded me at once of the East Indian chicken curry Viji had taught me to make in Jordan. Both are dishes girls learn to make in the family kitchen helping mom get the evening meal on. I assumed, judging from the scrumptious dish we were finishing up and because she came from a culture of scratch cooking, that Carmen was a regular in the kitchen.

"I don't cook. Maybe only one or two nights a week." Her husband Alex sadly nodded in agreement. "How do you cook every day?"

The answer was simply, "Simply."

I believe in preparing and eating meals together as a family, at least breakfast and dinner.

(My kids and friends eating lunch)

Shirley R. Klein, associate professor in the College of Family Life at BYU said, "While modern conveniences have delivered us from some of the work of caring for a home, they have led to a decline in home life. We are tempted to disregard the value of everyday home activities like having family meals, and in the process we lose important opportunities for individual and family growth. . . Today, many find it easier to graze individually in their kitchens, dine from their cars, or go to the nearest restaurant for a quick meal rather than prepare a meal and sit down together as a family. . .What are we losing? Family meals have numerous beneficial effects. Evidence suggests that family meals help children have better nutrition, fewer psychological problems, and less risky or self-destructive behaviors. Family meals in a positive environment also play an important role in preventing unhealthy weight-control practices . . . The simple acts of creating a meal and enjoying it together help family members stay connected. The meal doesn’t have to be elaborate to create a time to connect and get a feeling for each person’s day. Outside distractions can be managed so that the emphasis is on passing food, talking, and interacting. Children learn to share family food instead of asking for individualized orders as they do in a restaurant. The regular family mealtime gives children a sense of security because they know what to expect . . . It is also a time to express gratitude to God in prayer for the meal and other blessings."

The meal doesn't have to be elaborate.

My favorite breakfast growing up was Cream of Wheat with milk and sugar (these days I use french vanilla coffee creamer), buttered toast and apricot nectar. I always needed two pieces of toast because Cream of Wheat is best eaten by using your toast as a spoon, dipping it in to get the butter flavor with every bite. (Don't you agree?)

The rest of Momma's breakfast repertoire was milk and toast with either oatmeal or scrambled eggs or pancakes or bottled fruit. Simple, nutritious and ready in about 5 minutes. When I got married I added a few items to Momma's basic breakfast menu, doctored some of the recipes up (ya know-added raisins and brown sugar to the oatmeal), but basically stayed with what I'd learned from her. That menu got me started and my mom's great example saw me through thirty one years of three meals a day, lovin' it.

Thanks, Momma, for teaching me how to stick with it.

p.s. The secret to easy, smooth Cream of Wheat is to use a wire whip to stir it continually (about a minute) as it thickens. Works every time.

Homemade Birthdays -They're Great!

My girls really know how to give great 'home' birthday parties. Bryn just gave a darling 'bug' birthday party for 4-yr-old Cambry and used the 'Family Fun' website as a springboard for her ideas. So clever.

I read an interesting newspaper article recently about a group of Minnesota moms who are concerned about over-the-top birthday parties - skyrocketing costs, increasing expectations for lots of expensive presents, peer pressure (from moms and kids) to outdo the last party. These concerned moms have banded together and formed a website of ideas and support for more meaningful birthday celebrations. "Simpler" seems to be the key. And if you've had your own bad birthday party experience and need to vent, they've got a comment section just for you :). It was nice after reading some of those comments to see Cambry get so tickled over a simple bottle of bubble bath.

When I was little, our neighborhood birthday parties were all at home. We played 'pin the tail on the donkey', 'drop the clothespin in the bottle', duck-duck-goose and a variety of relay races (ya know, with balloons, spoons, crackers . . .). No one tried to come up with much new - we loved the favorites. Children haven't changed -

Our only party treats were birthday cake and ice cream, maybe we'd get a balloon. Though simple, birthday parties were much anticipated. We looked forward to celebrating in the same traditional ways over and over - kids are like that at heart.

Well, there are many ways to celebrate a birthday. However we choose to celebrate, I think the mark of success is that the birthday person is the focus and feels loved and special. And Bryn you certainly accomplished that - Cambry felt like the cutest 'bug' at the party.