A Simple Elegant Mantle

Post No. 2 of my Simply Elegant Ideas:

The Mantle:

One strand of lighted garland (this garland will not give up, I've been using it for 8 years)

5 garden orbs borrowed from around the house

2 candle sticks from Tuesday Morning with almost white candles out of my closet

The focal point of my living room, already decorated! Besides fast and cheap... simply elegant.
Look for more Simply Elegant ideas for Christmas during the month of December, on A Cat in My Lap.

If you have simple and beautiful ideas of your own to share, please feel free to link them in my comments! You may also share this post with the easy buttons at the bottom of the page if you are moved to do so!

This post is linked to the Mantel Party, hosted by Layla Palmer at The Lettered Cottage. 

Thank you Layla for hosting this event! Click the link to find many beautiful mantles!

Stay warm!

Love, Dana and Daisy

A Simply Elegant Idea No.1

A simply elegant table...

One crisp tablecloth

One store-bought wreath

One glass hurricane

One white candle

This has been the year of simplifying for me, and I'm carrying that theme throughout my holiday decor. Come back and see more simply elegant decorating ideas throughout the month of December!

If you have simply elegant ideas to share, please feel free to leave a link in my comments, or share this post by email, facebook or twitter.

Happy first day of Advent!
Dana and Daisy

Secret Family Recipe Giveaway!

Grandma Kinnamon's Pumpkin Bread

Sift together:

1-2/3 cup of flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp soda, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg

In separate bowl, cream together:

1/2 cup of shortening, 1-1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla,

Add one at a time and beat in 2 eggs

Add 1 cup of cooked pumpkin

Fold in dry ingredients and add 1/2 cup of warm water 

Stir just until smooth. Add 1 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts

Fill loaf pans 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake in greased loaf pans at 375 till done, check at 40 minutes. (You don't want it to be dry, but not doughy or wet in the middle, check with a toothpick)

Makes 2 loaf pans or 3 mini loafs.

My Grandma!

Never too late for Thankfulness!

Last Friday, there was a blog party called Giving Thanks, hosted by one of my dearest blog friends, Lynn, at the Vintage Nest. Well, in classic "Dana and Daisy style" I left town and forgot to write my Giving Thanks Post.

But since today is actually Thanksgiving, I figured, I'm right on time...

The first thing that comes to mind that I am thankful for is filling my house... with the aroma of good food. Needs met. This is such an overlooked thing for which we sometimes forget to be deeply thankful in our hearts, until we sit down to the turkey dinner. But truly, I thank God every day for the sustenance he has provided my family. We truly have every need met, so, the rest is icing on the cake.

I'm also thankful for my heritage. Like some of you, I have a dysfunctional family, as has been pointed out in past postings. But this does not take the joy away from me that comes by knowing where I came from, who was before me and what kind of person this should shape me to be. I'm celebrating part of that heritage today by enjoying recipes that my grandmothers used on Thanksgiving for years before me. But heritage is more than a family recipe. Knowing the trials that my ancestors faced in life has given me pride in the kind of "stock" I come from. It gives me the courage to face my own trials in life with more confidence.

And also, not to be forgotten, I am grateful that I have a God of mercy and love. I don't talk about my faith very often, but I am a person of faith. And while I used to question things more when I was young, I have settled into a peaceful understanding that there are mysteries in this world that we cannot understand as humans. And I'm okay with that. I rest in the knowledge that God is in charge.

And I am deeply thankful for my loving and supportive spouse. Oh sure, we have had our disagreements and we have had to call a cease fire about some things. But my heart still quickens its pace when he walks into the room. I love him with all my heart. And I am thankful that he pledges the same to me. Just yesterday we were discussing our vows of eight years, I know, newlyweds practically! And I recalled, we promised we would love each other. That's not a feeling that just happens. Some days it actually takes determination and will. I hope if you are feeling your love fading, you might think about that and determine in your own will to love your spouse.

You know, I could go on and on, there's the cat, and all that, ha ha! But I have a beeper going off in my oven... and it is Thanksgiving Day afterall! I hope you give thanks today for the blessings God has bestowed upon you!

Much Love:
Dana and Daisy

Our Little Cabin in the Woods

Four years ago, on my birthday, Steve took me to Eureka Springs and we stayed in a cabin out by Beaver Lake. We drove around town and onto some less traveled roads and we found this beautiful sight, right in the middle of town. Although it said private road, private property, no trespassing, we couldn't resist the little gravel road you see here. Yep, we trespassed. One year later, we bought the little cabin we spied on that road. And now we get to travel that road as often as our schedules allow. Which recently has picked up and we've enjoyed our little cabin in the woods during fall. And we love it! Here are a few pics from above that gravel road...

Our deck looks out over the tiny lake, locals call it Little Lake Eureka. They say it was a swimming hole at one point. But I would not like to swim in it. In fact just last weekend I saw a very irritated water moccassin scrambling down the road, apparently I had nearly run over him... better luck next time!

I had to show you this pic, above. When the trees were full, you could not see that this large oak had fallen behind our cabin, but now that the leaves are falling... YIKES! When a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound... I can only imagine it!

 As you can see, there is never a shortage of firewood here. We never cut living trees, but just keeping fallen trees cut up keeps lumberjack Steve busy. It's been incredibly dry here this fall, so we have not been able to enjoy our little fire ring that I made... maybe one winter day we will!

I hope you enjoyed seeing our fall scenery at the cabin! I bet the next time we go, it will be grey and wintery! I love all the seasons there, so much beauty in each one!

Make mine Maple! Or Evergreen!

There's just nothing as breathtaking as Maples in the Fall. In the photo above is one of my two October Glory Maples (right) and an Amur Maple (left). If you don't have room for a full grown Maple tree in your landscape, try growing an Amur Maple. They are not as finicky as a Japanese Maple and still give good fall color, but are considered a shrub or ornamental size.

Some day these two maples will make a showy presence on our side street! I can't believe how much they've grown. At mature size a Maple tree will be 30-40 feet in diameter. So remember that when you plant them!

The color on the october Glory is RED! Some, Sugar Maple for example, are more orange. Some do not provide much color at all, such as Silver Maple. So, do your homework if you want good fall color before planting!

This color just takes my breath away!

It's always a good idea to have more than one variety of tree in your yard. In case there is a disease that affects one, it won't affect all your trees at once.

I chose a Chinese Pistache to replace our Birch Tree. A tree this size should be professionally planted. Trees are an investment in your property, and a professional installer should guarantee your new tree for one year after planting. No questions asked.... if it dies, they replace it.

If you don't have a budget to plant a tree this size, don't put off planting trees. I've seen smaller versions of this tree for as little as $15 at the home stores. Give it a couple of years and it'll catch up to this one! 

  

We felt as if we've waited 4 years already for a tree in this spot, so we splurged on the bigger one. Chinese Pistache grow very easily in my zone which is zone 7. They grow so carefree that the highway department even plants them along roadsides in Oklahoma. Still, this tree will need water every week if it does not rain, for at least 6 months. Just 15 minutes with the hose once a week. Many people forget to water new trees. Trees are most vulnerable to damage from lack of water in their first year of planting. Likewise they can be overwatered. A tree that has too much water will respond similarly to a tree with too little water, the leaves will dry up and begin to fall. A lot of people plant their tree and forget it, but a tree needs proper care to thrive.

Don't prune your new trees until their third year. This allows the tree to absorb as many nutrients as possible from it's leaves, and establishes the root system well so it will not be shocked by pruning.

To keep a healthy and desirable shape to most trees, cut off a smaller branch if it rubs against a stronger one. Also cut limbs up from the bottom, gradually each year, to create the height of the canopy you wish. Keep a strong center branch by cutting off any smaller branches that try to fork the center of the tree. And to make a full tree, you can trim the tips of the smallest branches as they grow outward. This forces the tree to split into two or more directions and create more full growth on the interior of the tree. Again, wait to prune a newly planted tree until it is well established!

And don't forget evergreen's. Evergreens add color to your yard year round. A popular evergreen in our area the last few years has been the Blue Atlas Cedar. You can find them in almost any nursery center in all sizes. Some people call them a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree because in adolescent stages, they have a very twiggy and random growth. However, when these trees reach maturity, they can be 20-25 feet in diameter and very full, with branches that hang down, heavily laden with needles.

Don't plant them too close to your house. In 15 years they will be oversized and you'll find yourself removing them... at a high cost, I might add. We planted this one about 12 feet from the corner of our house. Some day it will crowd out the plantings under it. But that will be a while. And we will eventually prune the canopy of this tree up from the bottom, so that it will clear the fence. It's hard to believe such a scrawny tree now will ever be that big, but fingers crossed and good care, and it will!

So, things are shaping up in the garden as you can see. I've been working hard on it for the last month or so with some help. I've hired my lawn service to come once a week to do the heavy lifting work. They seem to be happy for the extra work since mowing season has slowed to a halt. Making it beautiful again, one step at a time...

Setting an Easy Fall Table for Guests

Start with an interesting place setting. Interesting does not have to equal expensive. I bought these plates and bowls at Tuesday Morning for just a few dollars per piece.

Think of ways to compliment the place setting. The iron handled flatware is a natural with the design on the dishes. I happened to have the flatware already.

Add a touch of color. The tablecloth, layered with placemats and even the dishes were mostly neutral. I played off the small red edge on the plates by using the pop of color in my napkins. It does not bother me one bit to mix and match my table linens!

Choose an interesting glassware. I love these bubble goblets. Although an amber colored glassware could have been equally stunning.

Create an easy (inexpensive) centerpiece. The produce department is brimming with ideas. These pumpkins will become pies in another week. But today they look great layered with a basket and coupled with more iron... candlesticks that were tucked away in a closet... having fallen out of popularity (I've had them for about 13 years).

Here's a better view of the overall centerpiece.

Creating a fall table doesn't have to be complicated, or even expensive. Look for things you already have that you might not be using. Borrow from other rooms if you must. A few items can make dramatic statement.

And enjoy the company of your guests.

You might serve my Fall Pork Chops for dinner.

Four, thin, bone-in pork chops salted and peppered and dredged in flour.

Place in glass baking dish that has been oiled to prevent sticking.

Peel and thickly slice a yellow onion and place a slice over each chop.

Peel and halve four garlic cloves and place over chops.

Peel, core and slice one tart apple, like a rome or granny smith and layer on top.

Cover with foil, bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking about 15-20 minutes. Add a bit of water to bottom of pan if juices evaporate before done.

Serve with stuffing and mixed steamed veggies! Yummers!

Today's post is part of Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan At Between Naps on the Porch. For more table and hosting ideas, please visit the link and be sure and leave comments.

Thank you for visiting, today. We appreciate any comments you may leave!

Dana and Daisy

Caution: Learn from my experience...

This post is about the tragic results of trusting "professionals" to know what they are doing.

The company's name has not been offered in this post, because they say they did nothing wrong. They refuse to take any responsibility for what happened here.

But I think the pictures speak for themselves.

On June 3rd, "the company" provided a routine service call to my house where they were under contract to perform garden maintenance, including spraying of pesticides as needed. On that date, they sprayed chemicals in my yard. I do not know what chemicals they used. This is part of the learned experience I will speak about later. In the following 24 hours, plants began to wilt, shrivel, curl and change color. Within just a few weeks, many plants died, including trees, shrubs and perennials. Those that did not die, did not perform to normal expectations this past year, ie: did not bloom, or otherwise perform as healthy plants would.

We are now in the process of replacing many of the affected plants. It has been a sad and worrisome year. Not only have we invested literally thousands of dollars in our landscape over the years, we have also invested our own time and energy to nurture and grow these plants. It takes years to establish a garden. Ours was just coming into it's fourth growing season when this terrible tragedy happened.

Honestly it has affected me so much that I could not blog about it until now. The company refuses to make any offer of settlement to amend the problem, even though their contract includes a replacement guarantee... another item I will speak about at the bottom of this post.

And now for the photos.

Within 24 hours, my coral bells drooped, I eventually lost all 5 of them completely.
The daisies never did bloom, although they have fall growth on them that appears normal, we might be able to save them.

This was a nicely developed ground cover that I planted three years ago, it is completely gone now.
I had just planted 12 of these english daisy's, not one survived.
My cone flowers aborted their blooms and slowly declined. By fall, they were mere skeletons of plants, however we are seeing new growth at the roots, so there is hope for next year.

Cuttings of this and other soft stem flowering plants showed a blistering wound where the plant was attempting to heal itself of the damage. This purple monarda did not bloom, although the red did, but was stunted in it's growth. It is a toss up if it will recover next year.
This Deodora Cedar turned from a vivacious and healthy new growth in spring to complete death and brown scorch within just a few weeks.
This is a hardy hibiscus. It did eventually sprout new growth and bloomed. However, a nursery man who came to assess my damages said that all these plants may experience a shortened life span and/or unusual growth patterns due to the chemical damage.

You can actually see the chemical drip where it burned the leaves on these Nandina bushes.
More twisted wilted stems. These flowers have in the past been blooming all season, they aborted blooming within 2 days of the spray.
More coneflower, drooped and declining. I did not get one more bloom all season from them.
This is a perennial phlox I had just planted, the jury is still out if this will survive next year.
This is actually a hydrangea, it is dead now.
My canna's completely split in the stalk and fell to the ground within 2 days. However, they did have late summer growth and even bloomed in late August, although the blooms were few and smaller than last year.


Okay, I had 4 different opinions from professional nurserymen, landscapers, 2 who are certified arborists and they all said the same thing... you cannot hardly kill nandina... but look at the distorted growth on this.
traces of chemicals still on the leaves.
This WAS my peony, it completely died, and it's buds were aborted. Some day I will really have a peony that blooms, some day... just not this one.
The poppies just became ghosts almost overnight.
This is a leaf from a Yaupon holly with chemical trace still on it. This was a brand new shrub "the company" had just planted for us. It lost about 75% of it's leaves within the next two months. The plant is technically still alive, but we doubt it will ever have the fullness that it had when we bought it.
This was an exotic perenNial that I had bought two years ago from a grower in Eureka Springs. I had three of them, They all three died. My local nursery was not even sure what the plant is called. I don't know if I will be able to replace them or not.
And this... this was our white spire birch tree. This poor tree had suffered a lot of problems ever since "the company" recommended it to us. Within the first year it had a fungus that killed two of the three trunks. Me... being the kind of person who hates to discard a living thing if it is showing signs of recovery, had nurtured it back to a seemingly healthy plant, In fact I blogged a photo of this tree just two weeks before the spraying took place and was marveling at how much it had grown and how green it's leaves were.
It completely defloliated, save about ten leaves at the tips of 5 branches. We have since removed it from our yard.
And my spirea, which you know, I was never too fond of anyway, well, it is even a worse landscape item when it does not bloom all year. Although the bushes themselves appeared to have new heathy growth in the months after this incident, it never did bloom this year either. I will give it a severe cut back in the spring and hope it recovers next year.
and honestly, I almost laugh at this. This is a ground cover "the company" had just sprigged for me two weeks earlier, claiming it was so fool proof that it would certainly grow in this area where nothing else seems to. Well, it is not so fool proof that you can't kill it with chemicals, even if you don't mean to.
deformed and stunted growth on my hydrangeas...
another perennial phlox...


And my early spring phlox. First it turned this strange crunchy color and had a weird smell to it, then, it eventually just died, save a sprig here or there. I imagine I will be replanting it next spring.
This is a rose bush I had just planted earlier that week. It did actually recover and bloom.
I think this was bluebells, it has just finished blooming. uh, it is dead.
And my japanese maple defoliated a few weeks after this, save but a few leaves. I let my lawn guy take it home and see if his sister could get it to grow.
And more spirea...
There were other plants that suffered and died too. I just tried to limit my photos, I think you get the point.

Anyway, what I learned from all this and hopefully you can learn from my experience also..

1. Always trust your own instincts when hiring "professionals" and do not simply submit to their knowledge as "the experts".

2. Always demand proper licensing from any professional who is spraying any kind of chemicals in or near your home. They must be licensed with the Department of Agriculture. It turns out that the company I had hired had been spraying my yard for two years without a proper license and I did not know that.

3. Do not enter into a contract agreement when the guarantor of services who has built in loopholes to protect them from paying out a guarantee, even if it seems like a reasonable agreement. This should be a sign to you that you will have a hard time collecting any guarantee if a problem arises.

4. When hiring a service such as landscaping, check their references with the better business bureau. Although "the company" was not a member and therefore no history was available on them. I should have been cautious to hire them, as I could not avail myself to the BBB to mediate a problem for me. Also, upon talking to the other landscapers and nurserymen about my dilemma, I learned that "the owner of the company" is known among his peers as disagreeable and arrogant, which I came to understand during my own interactions with him.

5. Anytime a professional sprays chemicals in or around your home, you are entitled to and should expect a list of chemicals used and proper care and cautions that should be taken. If a professional will not tell you what they are using, you should tell them to take a hike. There is no such thing as "proprietary information" when it comes to the health and safety of your home. As it turns out, the company later admitted to me that they had sprayed all my edible herbs with toxic systemic chemicals, and I was not aware of it. Luckily for me(and them), I had not ingested any of them.

There probably is more I could say I learned from all this. But I think that is enough for right now. We had to wait for fall to remediate the gardens. We are beginning the replanting process. I do have hope for a better spring and summer in 2011. "The company" will not be a part of that better day.