Garden Decor from MyMothersGarden

I stumbled upon MyMothersGarden on Etsy over a year ago, but it wasn't prudent for me to indulge at the time, what with all the economic insecurity. But I've noticed things are starting to turn around...maybe I'm optimistic, but there you have it.

Anyway, I had been setting some mad money aside and decided to splurge it on garden pottery. I had been keeping an eye on the shop, waiting for the garden goddess face that spoke to me. Wouldn't you know it, but there she was! It was fate!



The garden goddess is actually a pocket planter, with a small planting space behind her face. I've always wanted one of those hanging burro succulents, but to tell you the truth, I don't know that I want to put any dirt in her!

For the shade garden, I chose these glowing blue mushrooms. I recently have had a running conversation on Twitter with artist, @RobinPedrero about Alice in Wonderland. I bought a Drink Me mug from her, so the mushrooms just seemed the next logical step. Because I don't know which is the shrinking side, however, I think I'll refrain from nibbling them!

Finally, since I'm rather fond of frogs (see my logo), I chose this toad house. Now, we don't have any toads here; not even any frogs, but I thought this might look nice in the garden and maybe even work as a sun cover for my drip irrigation controls (plastic+sun is not a good thing). I suspect that, over time, the snails will start to congregrate and I can then use the cover as a snail trap to attract and then dispose. Escargot, anyone?

The Garden Plant Guarantee

I just ran across a receipt from the nursery. The receipt for six items was 10" long, but the separate 'Plant Guarantee & Return Policy' was 7" long!

"Plants 1 gallon or larger are guaranteed for 1 year except for seasonal and frost sensitive plants or plants killed or damaged by acts of Mother Nature."

This leaves a loophole.

You see, I love buying plants. The problem is I have a hard time getting around to planting them. My yard has, in the past, been littered by 1 gallon pots full of dead plants (okay six-packs and 4-inch pots, too).

Oh, I buy them with the best intentions. I would NEVER deliberately kill a plant. But when I get home, it's the height of afternoon and I don't want to fry. Then it starts to cool off, but I have to get dinner started. By the time it's all done, it's either dark, or I'm too pooped to plant. Next morning it's another round of "must do" chores and tasks...and the plant eventually dies.

Which leaves me with my new credo: I will NOT buy a plant for which the HOLE IS NOT ALREADY DUG!

No, I'm not going to take advantage of the nursery return loophole. I have to take responsibility for my own mistakes. I'll compost the dead plants, donate the empty pots to the local community garden, and stick to my promise, even if it means two trips to the nursery.

Oh, like THAT'D kill me! LOL

Four-Eyed Frog Books…My Favorite Bookstore

On the North Coast of California on Highway 1, there is a tiny town called Gualala. It is near to several rural communities known for their vacation rental homes, places to get away to nature, peace, and quiet.

In that town is the greatest little bookstore you could ever hope to find. Four-Eyed Frog Books has provided us with books, puzzles, and games to pass the time on those occasional rainy days. They are always ready with some friendly conversation, too.

To give you an example, we visited Sea Ranch shortly after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out. We asked if they had done anything special for the occasion and Joel, the proprietor, told us that they’d announced a Harry Potter party on the night of the release. They were surprised when kids showed up in PJs and with sleeping bags…they hadn’t considered a sleepover! So what did they do? Some quick thinking, a few parental permission slips, a few chaperones and the result was a Harry Potter party and sleepover the kids would never forget!

Here is my interview with Joel Crockett, proprietor of the Four-Eyed Frog Bookstore:

How did you come up with your logo?

My wife Linda, way back in our courting days, told me a frog joke that became "our joke." We started trading frog gifts...pretty soon everyone was giving us frog stuff, so we finally kept what we liked and sold the rest a our great frog garage sale. When we opened the store, we did some research and found a number of independent bookstores that had critter names (rabbit, turtle, etc.). So the frog came back...and when we realized a frog couldn't read without glasses, he became a Four-Eyed Frog. Then we posted 4 illustrations of frogs on our website. Each week people voted frogs "off the pond". The frog left standing was joined by 3 new illustrations. Ultimately, the frog you see on our stationery was the winner.

Why Gualala?

Gosh...why not? Actually, Linda and I moved to The Sea Ranch in 1999 with the intention of semi-retiring. But I was still doing some consulting work which required travel. A few months later Linda's sister passed away and we adopted her 6-year old son. That, of course, changed things. Ultimately I realized that the family would be better served if I were to curtail the traveling and be home for them. Gualala hadn't had a bookstore in several years; I felt they needed and could support one. Hence, the Frog.

Is there anything organic (ie your t-shirts) or green about your shop (besides the frog :-)

We try to be proactive, but it would be a stretch to call us green. Certainly we recycle...cartons (15 or 20 a week), water bottles, etc., but that's about it.

How did the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release party go?

Awesome. When we realized that places like Amazon and Costco were selling the book well below our cost it was very discouraging. A number of independents decided not to even stock the book. We chose instead to move ahead with our plans and party. We discussed discounting the book, but realized that people were either going to buy the book from us, or not. So we stayed at full price. We ordered 300 copies and sold 287 the night of the party. About 20 kids and a few parents slept over. We fed them breakfast. Everyone had a blast! This is a great community in which to have a bookstore.

I looked over your website
(VERY impressive) and noticed your expanded inventory. With all the rain we're getting, I hope you're doing very well (I know if I were there, I'd be tempted by one of those puzzles.) We haven't been up to Sea Ranch in about two years!

I'm pretty sure I remember you and the family...but you're just gonna have to get 'em here again. Two years makes a lot of difference with kids! As for the website, the products shown represent what we looked like about 18 months ago. Things have changed almost as much as I bet the kids have. We need to do some updating there. But we still have the puzzles, a few more games, many more cards...and a bunch o' books. No apparel, but that'll change as soon as the economy gives us a little nudge.

Do you ship your books and other items? What is the shipping cost (roughly)? In case someone is interested (they may just love those t-shirts), do you ship internationally?

We do ship books and have customers as far away as Florida (plus one in Tokyo, but we ship his to his New York office). We do not charge for shipping in the continental 48 states. We do pass on shipping charges for anything going to other destinations, but only at our cost. Unfortunately we didn't reorder any apparel this year (requires about $5,000 up front and, frankly, we just didn't have it!)

Please visit my favorite bookstore, Four-Eyed Frog Books…either in person or online! It’s a great place either way!

FOUR-EYED FROG BOOKS
Cypress Village
39138 Ocean Drive
P.O. Box 1122
Gualala, CA 95445-1122
707-884-1333
fax: 707-884-1331
www.foureyedfrog.com
gualalafrog@gmail.com
www.foureyedfrog.blogspot.com

Favorite Appliances: The Coffee Machine

You probably know by now that I do not function well without coffee, preferably two cups each morning. Fortunately, while coffee gets mixed reviews regarding health, I choose to believe it is good for me. It wakes me up, I drink it with nonfat milk, and I only have two a day (okay, sometimes an evening decaf).

All things in moderation.

It should not surprise you then that one of my favorite appliances is my DeLonghi Espresso EC155 machine.

Over the last 25+ years, I have had 4 espresso machines. The last three have been DeLonghi. We run them two or three times per day until they die, so that is a pretty good track record! The DeLonghi won my heart with its small footprint. Not many of us have unlimited counter space and since this is used on a daily basis, size does matter (no pun intended).

Were we to buy our coffee at a coffee house, we would probably spend about $10 a day on our three coffees (DH has one). That's about $3,650 per year (excluding the cost of driving a mile to the coffee house, or 1,460 miles/year!).

Now, the DeLonghi cost me about $115 on eBay. If I calculate the cost of the coffee beans (purchased from a locally owned coffee house, so I'm supporting local businesses) and milk, the homemade lattes run about $1.02 each. That's a savings of $1,116.90 per year!

An added plus: I actually like the homemade better than at the coffee house! It's nice not to have to run out to get my coffee in the morning AND I can actually have cup #1 WITH my breakfast.

So what could be better than an appliance that provides convenience, pleasure, and a substantial cost savings?

Interested in learning more about coffee? Check out WholeLatteLove . In addition to a cute name, it has some interesting reviews and articles about coffee! (And, as of this writing, they carry the EC155 for less than I paid for mine on eBay!)