Random-ness ~ Garden

I've noticed, that now that we are down to just 4 people living here, my costs have reduced greatly.  I have reduced my purchases of organic milk, sugar, peanut butter, coffee, and more.  I'll admit, even toilet paper costs reduced.  Our electric bill should be much lower now too.  

Handmade thank you notes went out to a few people.  Hubby said if I thanked everyone at my party, it was not necessary to send another thank you out.  Anyway, I made these by adhering scrap fabric to cardstock, then used a marker to make dashes around it, and on the back I have a stamp that says " Inspired by Life, Created by Hand, One-of-a-kind art created by......."  It's a circle stamp and I sign it.

I'm having trouble with my lavender seedlings.  They came up, but are dying off.  I have tried different amounts of rain water, and put them in a sunny window.  Even so, they drooped over and only few remain.  So delicate to work with.  Not sure I want to order more organic seeds yet.  I want the real plant, but sheesh.

Carpenter Bee Traps

As promised, here is a photo of the carpenter bee traps I use.  They work if your mount them in a place where they do not move (swing in the wind on a hook etc).  It's the only thing I can come up with to cut the bee infestation down.  They 

There is a hole on 3 sides of the wooden box, and the clear container on the side screws to the 4th side.  The bees go into the holes, crawl through tunnels, and then end up into the container.  They can't get out once they get in.  No chemicals involved.