You've Got Mail Monday

Oh my gosh, it's been busy around here. I've been finishing off registration for WriteAngles, a local writers conference I attend each fall. The mail carrier delivered the remaining plants for the backyard, which got added to the new flower bed yesterday. I've been taking in the rest of the herbs and freezing them or making herb butter so I have them for the winter. And of course, there is still soccer and cheerleading.

When fall arrives, it's kind of sad to watch as the plants die off, the patio furniture is put into storage, and all the leaves fall down. But it's nice to see the yard looking so clean after we rake up and blow the fallen leaves away and clean up the flower beds and vegetable garden. I'm also making plans for spring, so I have that to look forward to.

Like I said, the mail carrier brought in those remaining plants I was waiting for. The Lil' Diva helped me get these beauties into the ground yesterday. I can't wait to see what this looks like next year. This area is mostly shade, so I stuck with hostas, a brandywine bush, some lilac astilbes, neat-looking black mondo grass, and an ostrich fern.

Through Crowdtap, I received samples of Cottonelle's® flushable wipes, along with two small sample packs to share with neighbors. I'm reviewing these on their site. I have another sample package for Truvia® Natural Sweetener coming soon. I have to say that Crowdtap has been the most successful in the terms of winning prizes and being accepted to try free samples.

My Land's End Kids catalog and the Oriental Trading catalog arrived last week. I usually find value priced Christmas ornaments for my many trees in the OT catalog. Another great book arrived last week, too: Amanda Weds Her Man by Naomi King. I've been following the Cedar Creek series for a while and I'm always thrilled to see a new book release. I'll be reviewing this book at The Book Connection.

That's it for this week. Hope you have a great one.

You've Got Mail Monday

It's been a busy and sad week around the homestead. We lost a member of our extended family to cancer, my mother-in-law's only and older sister. Her sickness crept up and took her quickly, so there is a blessing in that, but it also reminds me how so many people I love have gone home to their Creator and I won't see them again on this Earth.

The Lil' Princess played soccer in the pouring rain on Sunday. The girls lost, but they still had a fun time. It was great to get back home and wrap up on a rainy day in front of the fireplace and read.

Our mail carrier brought some wonderful stuff this week. Some of the plants I ordered arrived. I want to put these in before the first frost. The Carmine Jewel Dwarf Cherry Tree and Younique Lilac Astilbe arrived from Spring Hill Nurseries, but I haven't been able to plant them yet because we are on our third straight day of rain. It looks like tomorrow will be a total washout too. Hopefully by Tuesday I can get them in the ground. The Ostrich Fern I ordered through Amazon arrived earlier in the week. The astible and fern will go in that shady area between the cellar door and the air conditioning unit that was mulched this year. The ride-on mower can't get in there, so mulching seemed like the thing to do.

I've been browsing my latest L.L Bean catalog. I've been eyeing their Fleece-Lined Flannel Shirt. I would love something for working around the yard that's warm, but not too bulky. I'm trying to decide if I want to spend $59 for something that is probably going to get dirty and torn. My mother-in-law asked me to order their Cowl-Neck Tunic in Orange Spice Heather. That color should look great on her.

For books last week, An Amish Country Christmas by Charlotte Hubbard and Naomi King arrived. I'm reviewing this book over at The Book Connection later in the month. This is How I Find Her by Sara Polsky is a book I won from another blog. I've stopped entering a lot of these giveaways because I have so many books here, but when I find one that looks too interesting to pass up, I can't help but enter.

That's it for this week's You've Got Mail Monday. Hope you have a great week.