Marypause50 ~10 years later still a blog about gardens, simplicity, friendships, gratitude, health,

Rest & Relaxation

    So after returning from vacation, I realized that rest & relaxation seems to be an anomaly only for those on vacation. What happens the first day you return? Poof! All the crazy busy & stress are waiting for you at your doorstep. It only takes a few hours to undo all the good that was done while you were away. Face it, we are the sandwich generation, sandwiched between our aging parents’ needs and our kids. This is just the way it rolls but there are things you can do to keep yourself in vacation mode at any point in your day or week. Read on…
   The first rest & relaxtion tip is easy but not so easy. Just say ‘NO’ once in awhile. We do not need to volunteer for everything that is asked of us. We are allowed to say no & allow ourselves extra time to fit in the types of activities we do on vacation or should do on a stay-cation like…
1) yoga or exercise or a walk (will reduce stress, see yoga posture below) 2) a nap – yes we are entitled & it has wonderful health benefits! 3)  read a book or magazine 4) enjoy local sites or unique shops  5) sit outside & enjoy that cup of tea or coffee in the morning 6) go to a movie or rent a movie
    Also, what we don’t do is just as important – stay unplugged or less plugged in. We use our computers, phones, etc. much less while on vacation. (unless you are a teenager!) Even if you block out an hour or two a day for this it will be beneficial!
     As for yoga, if you need just one relaxing posture it should be Legs-up-a wall pose. From a previous blog here are the instruction below & photo to the left. It is the most beneficial pose for reducing stress!
 The pose I want to hail today can be called the legs-up-a-wall pose. Face it, ladies, gravity is taking its toll & any little bit that we can do to help is a plus. All you need is a wall or tall piece of furniture. Lay on your back & scootch your butt as close to the wall as possible with the legs stretching upward. Point & flex those feet. The hard part now begins: you need to relax & breath for 5 to 10 minutes! We are all busy, and taking the time to deeply breath for 5 minutes a day is shown to have tremendous health benefits. (Reducing stress needs to be a priority!) So, close your eyes & place your hands on your belly. Breath in and out through your nose. Feel your belly inflate & exhale pushing all the stale air out of your lungs. Find a nice rythym & relax! Your legs will thank you! Our circulation away from the heart isn’t what it used to be & we need to find ways to help the heart, mind & soul! This is easy, but not so easy to keep life at bay for a few minutes a day! Enjoy!

The Vacation, Holiday, Staycation

   The vacation, holiday, staycation… All bring a smile to the face. Face it, we need to recharge our batteries on a regular basis. Typically, the way to do that best is a weeklong vacation. If you are travelling abroad, you are going on holiday. If you are staying stateside, it’s a vacation. And now, the staycation is growing in popularity to offset some cost. Regardless of your plans, the vacation is a must to preserve sanity among the masses!
    Below is a link to a wonderful packing checklist that you can print. It covers just about everything you may need. Barnes & Noble also carries a pad of checklists for the frequent traveler. Just remember, if you forget something, don’t panic. In most cases you can find anything you forgot at your destination.
   So now that the packing panic is averted, you can focus on a little bit of research about your destination. Ask around for starters. This is tried & true great advice and very handy for places like Disney, Europe, etc. Check a AAA travel site for your destination. They offer all kinds of info. When travelling in the US, every state as you enter from major highways has a welcome vacation bureau that’s filled with brochures and helpful people. Here on the EC (East Coast) beaches, sometimes all you need is a towel, chair & a great book!
     The staycation is the vacation you take but stay at home. In order for this NOT to turn into a work around the house for seven days type of vacation, here’s some advice. At least for a few days, come into your home as if it were a vacation destination. Admire the furnishings & outdoor space. This is a Simple Abundance  way to view your living space. If you don’t like what you see, take a day to declutter first. Look at your local town or closest city with new eyes. Do something close by that you’ve been meaning to check out & haven’t had the time. Visit a new restaurant that you’ve been meaning to try. Pack the fridge with some wonderful breakfast items. Just put the blinders on so you don’t work your week away!
    Whatever you choose to do this year, just find time to relax and enjoy some quiet time even if it is in your own backyard!

July & August Gardening Tips!

   So we are halfway through July & the majority of the US is in a drought situation. I know I am one more heat wave away from a water restrictive policy. So as not to panic, you are generally allowed to hand water new plantings when this occurs. Check with you local townships. Here are some suggestions to get you through these last hot months.
~ Wait until September before planting any new trees, shrubs or perennials if you can. This is not the year to take a chance. Most plants are guaranteed a year, however, it still breaks the heart when plants don’t survive. Always save your receipts! Keep them taped in a pretty gardening journal.
~ Time to fertilize for the rest of the season. Add more slow release like Osmocote to your container plants & use your bloom boost type fertilizer every couple of weeks for you flowering plants. You can use both together.
~ Time to give those leggy annuals like petunias & calibrachoa a haircut. Cut back half to two-thirds of you plants if you like. This really will revitalize them. If you do this before you go on a vacation for instance, it will be flowers as usual when you return.
~ Keep deadheading your flowers & you will be rewarded with continual blooms. This includes continually pinching those zinnias. (These are this year’s to the left – they started as a single stem leggy plant from a six pack!) Deadheading the spent flowers of butterfly bush, black-eyed susan, daisy, coneflowers & phlox will prolong bloom time. (Leaving some flower heads on the coneflowers if you only have a plant or two will feed the goldfinches as soon as they go to seed!)
~ Cut back your perennial salvias & yarrows severely and you will have blooms well into the fall! Deadhead those bee balm plants & cut away some wilted leaves too. You will have new leaves & flowers in no time.
~ Water, water, water. Gray water counts, so put buckets in your shower. Bathtub water, rain water (hah!), dehumidifier water, etc. all will work!
~ Keep your camera ready! I will share some amazing photos I just took in the past week. (Glad I took my own advice & wasn’t too busy.)
~ Enjoy! (Frozen blender drinks help!!)

The 'Bucket List'

    The Bucket List… The title, by definition, lends itself to an ominous list of things to do before you die (soon). Well, I’m here to say that this ominous, depressing spin should be not be the case. Let me continue…
    I’m thinking that it really is a list of fun things you really have been meaning to do or hobbies you’ve wanted to explore. Take this past weekend for instance, girl’s weekend away with kids. We all, however, did a bucket list item of mine – zip lining. It was so much fun and everyone young & old had a blast. So, my friends are being dragged into a list of things & I hope to be included in theirs. There is no time like the present to have a little ‘extra type’ of fun. (I think they are quite happy I have no interest in sky diving or bungee jumping & visa versa!) This ‘list’, not formally written down, but has being growing in the back of my head for some time. It’s time to carpe diem the heck out of life while we’re young. As my very wise friend last night said, she wants to see things (travel & such – up close) and not from a tour bus window. So start now!
   So the moral is why wait on the “BL”. Put a few things together with optimism in mind not morbidity. Start small & have a blast doing it. Facing fears is what keeps you young. Trying new things keeps you young in mind & spirit. There is no time like the present to have a fear busting fest & have some fun with it. (Yes, we were a little scared at first at the top of the very high mountain for the zip line!) Some things on your list will be a solo effort and some will include others. Whatever you choose to do, just get yourself going & take it from there. Have fun with your choices. (My next fear buster item is a roller coaster I have been avoiding for the last three summers. I actually can’t wait!)

Get Your Cameras Ready!

    Get your cameras ready! The reason I bring this up now is because I got very lucky a couple of weeks ago taking the photos to the left. Let me continue…
    I was out and about in the garden. I did NOT have the camera with me. It’s so easy just to have it there on the table. I mean the butterflies are busy now. The birds are always busy. You just never know what will fly (or hop or meander) your way. But I get busy out there and always seem to forget something so simple. So, yes, I saw this beautiful female ruby-throated hummingbird hitting on bee balm in my cottage garden. I ran into the house, located the camera (it WAS charged, luckily) & ran back out. She miraculously was still there & I snuck up, took three pictures & prayed they weren’t all a blur. Only one was & off she went! I feel very fortunate. It did teach me a lesson, however. We may not be experienced photographers, but we all have a camera. And you just never know… These photos will be with me a lifetime & the winter will be here before I know it. I will REALLY appreciate them when there are inches of snow on the ground. Remember to ‘document’ all you’ve planted, the good & the bad, so you have a record for next year. It’s time to carpe diem the heck out of your outdoor summer garden opportunities with those cameras!

Girls Weekend Away (GWA) With Kids

    I have blogged previously on the time-honored tradition of the Girls Weekend Away (GWA). Now I post on the other now tradition of GWA with Kids. I know what you’re thinking… not as much fun or relaxing by a long stretch. Agreed, much less drinking (setting a good example) goes on. We still have very large quantities of food that we bring & add in a very large van (affectionately known as the loser-cruiser) but let me continue…
    My friends & I are so fortunate to still spend time at my (now) girlfriend’s cabin in the woods that was our weekend getaway when we were our children’s age. We are now active participants in a myriad of ‘camp activities’ as adults. We five sleep in the cabin while the kids enjoy sleeping in tents. In this our fourth year, we have been lucky with weather so far. (Only one rainy night that has lead to many funny stories in one very crowed cabin.) Yes, there is only one bathroom for fifteen of us this weekend, but a lot of time would be wasted on grooming! We keep busy…
    There are different activities year after year. They have included horseback riding & a wonderful pay as you ride amusement park called Knoebels. (Pickle-on-a-Stick for a dollar. Gotta love it!) We hike, swim, have archery setup & canoe. This year a zip-line is involved. I know it sounds busy, but the kids are older & we all look out for each other. The kids will have 5 moms this weekend & we all have 10 kids & it’s a blast! Tonight is campfire sing-a-long & talent night. (Yikes!) More hilarious memories will be made I’m certain. Expanding everyone’s love of the outdoors is a goal. A simple nighttime walk around the lake telling spooky stories is probably the simplest activity of our weekends, but the most fun. Just pulling all of us away from TV, phones, ipods, etc. is satisfaction squared for me.
   So to sum up our GWA w/ Kids – adventure squared for all of us!

Butterfly Gardening

   Nothing gives a gardener more satisfaction than seeing wildlife enjoying the effort, the ‘fruits’ (or nectar) of their labor. Groundhogs, rabbits & deer aside, I’m really speaking of birds & in this blog the butterflies. Below is an awesome link on all you need to know about nectar plant for adults, host plants for caterpillars, butterflies that can be found in your area, etc. This link is very well done & wonderful for kids too.
    There are many ways to get a butterfly experience. When my daughter was in her butterfly catching phase, we would house them in the fridge for a short time, (thus disabling their ability to fly for a bit) then we carefully placed a couple tiger swallowtails on her head & hand for a treasured photo opportunity. Keep in mind that it needs to be warm in order for butterflies to fly their best (between 75-90 degrees F). (Soooo this does not harm them; just don’t forget about them! Place them back in the sun to warm their wings) Also, my daughter many years ago also created a butterfly environment indoors that was very successful. You can order your caterpillars in the mail! She saw all the stages up close & released six painted lady butterflies!
    In this blog I also want to share my experience specifically on nectar plants for adults so you can attract these beauties to your yard. I have had the most success with a variety of plants: shrub, perennials & annuals. The most successful shrub is of course the butterfly bush, buddleia. It really is a magnet for those nectar loving ‘flying flowers’. I have read that the lighter colors of blooms attract more butterflies. I have the lighter purple color & the tiger & black swallowtails love it! Just remember to keep deadheading so you continually get the nectar loaded blooms through September! The best perennial to plant has to be the purple coneflower. Every variety of butterfly will bee-line right to these plants. With the staggered bloom time there’s plenty of nectar for the entire summer. Black-eyed susan is also wonderful choice. I also have luck with phlox, loosestrife & sedum. The top annual that is easy to grow (see past blog), colorful & a great choice is the zinnia. This is the number one plant in my garden for attracting monarchs. Sweet smelling heliotrope is also a fragrant choice & easy to grow. Lantana & calibrachoa are also beautiful, easy to grow magnet. All the above mentioned are great choices for attracting all pollinators. Especially important if you have a vegetable garden!
    Lastly, if you can collect shallow puddles of water in some rock formations, this will give your butterflies an area for a much needed drink of water. Check out this link & enjoy these flying flowers & have a wonderful Fourth of July!

http://www.thebutterflysite.com/gardening.shtml