My tulips are blooming

It is just the right moment in the Spring for my tulips.  I love it. . . and I love that you can cut tulips in the morning, put them in a container and they stay looking good for a few days inside.  I plan to do this - this morning...so I have been looking for a container.

Containers for flowers can be almost anything that holds water! I have some great regular glass vases but want something a little bit different. So I am on the look out.

I have found -

mason jars with ribbon,  baskets with vases in them, a bunny head thing left over from Easter,  a great looking tea kettle, old pots, an old thermos, tea cups of different colors, a cookie jar shaped like a beehive,  a galvanized bucket from my grandpa's garage, a watering can and an old wire egg holder.  What do you have?

Now all I have to do is decide!!

Hope you are having a wonderful Spring and that it is raining on your garden.

Alyson

It's time-

Spring is here. The warmer weather is bringing on the "dirt" bug.  Does anyone eles like getting out in the garden at the brink of the season?

It is the perfect time for planting peas, lettuce, and spinach!.  You can plant these seeds and the tricky spring snow can come again and only make the seeds happier! How delightful is that!

Things I do to get ready for Spring vegetable planting:

*Buy seeds- (Rite Aid has seed packets for 25c ea.) Bargain!

*Decide where to plant.  

It is a good idea to plant your lettuce, spinach etc. in a new place every year.  I think George Washington came up with this idea and you know- he was a fabulous farmer besides being the 1st President of the United States.

*Wait until the soil is dry enough to dig.  Right now in my backyard- the dirt is perfect! Not wet or clumpy.  It should be fine and loose. (Is clumpy a word?) Wherever you have decided to plant- dig it up alittle, mulch in last Falls good stuff and enjoy the dirt.

* I usually plant 3 rows of each- lettuce and spinach.  I just dig the trowel in a straight line in my designated space, about a half inch deep and then go back and sprinkle in the seeds along the trowel path (they are small like salt from a salt shaker.) Gently go back and barely cover with dirt. 

*Last year I planted a few more rows 10 days later to space the harvest out a little. It worked!

*The seeds need plenty of moisture- so rain, wet snow and then the Spring sunshine are "aperfectmundo" for these seeds. 

It's that simple. 

And then in about 45-55 days you are having lettuce and spinach salads like crazy!

Try it.  Fresh lettuce and spinach are the BOMB.

Alyson

Here are a few picture book ideas

These are a few of my favorites, although not in any particular order- some are new and some have been around a while.

***I have included a link at the bottom of the page for these books. You can see the author and pictures etc. ***

Tops and Bottoms- great for 4-7 years old. Fabulous illustrations and a great message about working. Children love it. Perfect gift idea for a child. My kids loved it.

Falling for Rapunzel- great for young children 4-8 - especially if they have heard the story of Rapunzel before. Not a lot of words - rhyming and silly. They will want to read it over and over. Good for both girls and boys.

A Frog Thing- Again- simple words but with a fabulous message of "Go for your dreams" "don't let others discourage you from doing what you dream you can do". It is fun, inspiring and good for all ages.

Boys Are Best- Okay- Spence laughs right out loud every time he reads this book. funky pictures of 2 boys making fun of silly girls but in the end...who is laughing! I saw this book given to a new mother at a baby shower who just had a boy!

Nothing to Do- A story about a boy...with nothing to do.. no school, no soccer practice, no homework...and how some people might worry about that! A good read for busy families- a reminder that its okay every once in while to sit and do nothing. 6- 10 years old

Nonsense- A reminder to us all--that "only you can decide who you are" and not listen to people around you that may not think you can. Great for young children...or graduates.

The Read Aloud Book- has some great ideas and descriptions of books. I loved this reference book when my children were young and we were traveling we would get a book or a book on tape and listen to them on the way to and from the cabin.

Wishes For You is a must have for every new baby or every child for that matter. I give this as shower gifts. It is such a fabulous welcome to a new little one and their parents. "I hope you will never forget how to be silly." "I hope you and I will have adventures together-" "I hope you will have the strength and spirit to deal with sad things when they come your way." Really- check this one out. It is a must have.

Read me a story

 Read to me riddles and read to me rhymes, read to me stories of magical times.

Read to me tales about castles and kings,

Read to me stories of fabulous things.

Read to me pirates, and read to me knights, read to me dragons and dragon back flights.

Read to me spaceships and cowboys and then when you are finished...

please read t hem again.

-Jane Yolen

I have been reminiscing about my book store. I spent 10 years reading, reviewing, packing and unpacking for book fairs and collecting children's books...I loved every minute of it. I certainly have my favorite picture books (a whole blog in itself) and I enjoyed reading juvenille novels so I could suggest reading material for the 7-14 year olds. . . but my favorite part of the "hobby" was- reading to my children.  I have the gamet of readers in my family tree- the absolutely can't get enough, flashlight under the covers reader, and the child that was "forced" into it.  But never once in those 10 years did I regret the time and space in the attic that I put into books. 

A good book not only entertains children but also expands their world. - anon.

Here are a few ways to encourage your children to build good reading habits:

*Read aloud regularly- Bedtime is the most popular time, but breakfast time is just as good. Don't stop reading aloud when children can read for themselves. Even teens enjoy hearing a story read aloud once in a while.

*Get your child his own library card and take them to the library regularly.

*Encourage your children to read to you. Comic strips, weather forecasts or recipes...they will love it. Scan the newspaper for stories that might interest your child. 

*Get a subscription in your child's name to a magazine specifically written for children.

*Model reading. When parents are seen reading for information and enjoyment, children are more likely to enjoy reading as well.

I will post a list of ideas for magazines for children and a book list of great Spring favorites in my next edition of Alyson's Attic.   Until then-- what are your favorite picture books, novels and memories of reading?  Let me know.

Alyson