Out the backdoor

Is it hot out there or what? My thermometer says 105 degrees in the shade. Thank goodness the wind is blowing 20 mph or we'd roast.

Mr. Fuzz has a new friend. She's pretty skittish, but never fails to show up for a meal. I've touched her twice and been hissed at for my trouble. Please ignore the sad looking mulch job and the bare rose canes. I'm ripping this bed apart come Fall. About the only thing doing well in this heat is the watermelon in the rose bed.The squash is blooming, finally. I don't have high hopes that I'll get much of a crop.This grape cracks me up. It's suddenly decided it likes where it's planted and it's growing like a weed. This is the one that the dog chewed off at the ground and it's been moved twice. Here's a picture of it almost a year ago.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday.

I have big onions

Did I get your attention? LOL. I have some onions given to us by a friend that weigh nearly 2 pounds each. That weight is in ounces.

The onion on the left is gigantic compared to the one on the right. I fixed one the other day with potatoes and it was so sweet. Yum!

Speaking of yum, I made my first peach jam of the year last Saturday. The tall jars in the back hold 12 ounces and the ones in the front are regular jelly jars. I haven't eaten any yet, but have heard it's pretty good.

I'm still hanging stuff on the walls. I have a collection of old hankies and rather than leave them in a drawer I wanted to display them. This brilliant idea came from Addicted 2 Decorating. I chose to display the blue hankies and have the others folded in the little area below. Now I need a bigger spoon holder.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Wednesday.

Happiness is...

Digging in the dirt. I'm happy to report I finally got my squash in the ground. This year I employed the "get the crap planted and hope for the best" method of gardening.

When we lived on the farm I used the "honey can you disk this little spot up for me" method which always resulted in a garden bigger than one woman could care for and stay sane.

The first year I gardened in Oklahoma I used the square foot garden method and loved it. Some really sick part of me likes the nice orderly squares. The sandbox frame does a great job of keeping birds and cats out of the bed. Please note the difference in this picture and the one up top. It's sad.

This year gardening has been the last thing on my mind. Instead of starting with seeds and ending up with plants, I dreamed up 99 ways to tear up the house and irritate my husband.

So this year I'm planting my leggy little store-bought squash and hoping for the best. If I get one I'll be happy and any more will send me over the moon.

All I can do is try harder next year and hopefully get my act together a whole lot quicker.

How is your garden growing?

Out my front door

A storm in the distance.Holly Hocks blooming by the dining room windows.

Away from the dust, dirt, and debris

DH came in and asked me if I knew the bush was blooming. Which bush? It's not like we only have one. So, I had to get out of here for a little bit today and see what was going on outside. He was talking about the magnolia. It has one lone bloom on it right now.The lilac bushes are blooming too and the snowball bush is beginning to put out leaves. I have paperwhites by the front door and they're beginning to bloom. This is the first time I've tried those and I love them.

How about some flower pictures? Red tulips in the front bed.Orange tulips in the same bed.The Redbud tree is just about to pop.Housewise, here's where we're at. This is the dining room window. The lathe is gone. Well, for the most part. If I can talk Mom into pulling nails tomorrow while I take down the rest of the living room lathe maybe we can go get insulation on Tuesday and get it put up on Wednesday. This has been the fast part of the process. It's a whole lot easier to tear stuff up than it is to put it back together.

Veggies and thrifty shopping

I got up this morning a bit bleary eyed after yesterday's black-eyed pea canning session (20 pints). I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and forged on.

My first stop was the farmer's market. All I bought was tomatoes and a couple of cantaloupe.
Mom called and met me at the house and after a quick breakfast we went thrifting.

I found this mop bucket for $1. Please ignore my dirty kitchen floor. Obviously this was a much needed purchase.
This little bird cage was a steal at $5, according to the antique shops in town.
88 balls of crochet/tatting thread for $5 plus a pattern for a bedspread and two crochet hooks.
21 fat quarters for $3.
A salad spinner from France for $1.
I also bought DH some t-shirts, myself a house dress and pair of overalls all for $1.30 and six cups for mis-matched snack sets for 30 cents. I'm sure there are other things, but I can't remember them now.

We made a full day of it and I'm pooped, but I sure did have fun.

I hope you had a wonderful day.

Out and about in the yard

I decided to walk off my beans and cornbread by visiting the yard.

The miniature crepe myrtle is blooming. It looks like I need to do some grass removal.
This tree is growing around the Bristol hook that holds one of the bird feeders. Considering the hook has only been there a couple of years, that tree is growing pretty fast.
In the garden I have purple bell peppers. Aren't they pretty?
My oldest grape vines have black spot. I haven't been able to find the fungicide around here that is supposed to take care of it.
One end of an old metal baby bed. The other end is behind my yellow climbing rose.
This is the orphan grape. The dog chewed it and I neglected it. Finally, I planted the poor thing and it's doing well. I put a baby bed side behind it for climbing.
Future home of a greenhouse. I hope. I have another place to put the swing.
I wonder how many 2 x 4's are up there? I should check on that.

Early this morning

I gave myself a stern talking to last night and got out my package of bean seeds. According to my calendar it's still June and I can still plant beans.

So I was up early this morning, barefoot, in my nightgown, and armed with a hoe, ready to plant beans. (Don't let that mental picture scar your brain.) I leveled out the gourd hill and planted between 20 and 30 soaked Kentucky Wonder beans in two rows. I erected a red-neck fence of cedar poles and granite slabs and told the dog, "No digging.". Yeah right. He might not dig back there though because it's the only place he hasn't dug for oil already. We'll see.

With any luck at all, I'll have beans at the end of August. I may not have many, but I can hope for a few.

Now, a few pictures I thought I'd share. Mr. & Mrs. Mockingbird are building a nest in the grape arbor.
A crook-neck squash baby.
A teeny tiny pickle, uh, cucumber.
Tomatoes almost ready to be picked.
Little bitty banana peppers
A straight-neck squash baby.

My head exploded

Okay, not really, but it feels like it could. I have a headache.

I've been making flash cards so Mom can help me study. I think I'm going in circles right now so I put it up.

In other news, I wish I'd planted more garden. I want a couple of bushels of green beans, black-eyed peas, etc. If I hurry I might be able to get some beans in, but not nearly enough to can since I didn't plan early and get the ground worked.

Mom and I went to the Farmer's Market tonight and I was tempted by some pretty little potatoes. I ended up with $3.50 worth. I forgot about the guy down on Main Street with veggies. I'll try to remember to go on Friday.

After dinner I diced up a bunch of onions, flash froze, and vacuumed them into bags for the freezer. Perfect for soups and such.

In my little garden the squash are doing well. I noticed about a dozen little 1-1/2 to 2 inch squash babies. My five cucumber plants have tons of little 1 inch or less cukes. More peppers are on the way. I may freeze some of those as well.

The radishes were a bust this year. Some of them did okay, but others didn't make before going to seed. We got so little return that I'm not planting them next year.

I need to go dig out the dehydrator so I can dry some onions too. Onions are plentiful right now.

I hope everyone had a great Tuesday even if you're cutting wheat and got rained out. ;)

Enjoying my time off

This morning the boy and I finished up his math for the year and then spent the rest of the morning outside. We filled bird feeders, talked, and admired flowers.

The daylilys are starting to bloom. Those two white buckets contain baby trees started from seed. One is an Oak of some sort and the other is a Black Walnut genetically modified to grow fast at some college up North. My memory is bad today and I couldn't tell you which college if my life depended on it.

I have onions, squash, cucumbers, peppers, and radishes up from seed. My little tomato plant has tons of grape tomatoes on it right now.

After lunch we went down and did a few honey-do's for my mom and then ran around for a bit.

Right now I'm listening to DH work on the boat. It appears to involve a bunch of hammering, stapling, and swearing. I don't think I'm going to see what's up. I'll just stay right here.

Enjoy the day. It's been a beauty.

It's only Monday

The house cleaning saga continues. At a quarter to 10, I'm finally done in the living room. I told you it was going to be a floor to ceiling affair. I'm tired. I'm about to head downstairs and give the living room down there a quick once over.

In other news, the Baltimore Orioles are becoming less shy and visiting more frequently. I still haven't seen a single hummingbird.
Oh yeah, I finally got my little garden in too. Two kinds of onions, two kinds of squash, two kinds of peppers, radishes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I can't wait.

Sleep well for tomorrow we tackle the dining room from H-E-double hockey sticks.

Pansies for Sunday

Yes, I know it's not Sunday. I should have started this on Sunday and didn't. I found another set to share and want to get all of this one up. So, since I'm missing Wednesday, you get Sunday instead.

Well, that was fun. I spent an hour in chemistry this morning with no lights and Dr. T. never stuttered. He kept right on writing on the chalkboard, in the dark, like nothing happened. Holy Smokes! I wonder how much of it I got written down correctly? Just a wild guess, but I don't think they have the chemistry building on a generator.

In other news, it's raining and cold. Brrr! Mr. Fuzz went out this morning and just came in. He's one wet kitty.

I had intended to get my crepe myrtles and rose planted today, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen now. At least they're getting a nice drink. DH mowed the yard last night and it looks so pretty right now. Something about the light just makes it look nice.

I hope everyone is have a safe and happy day. Don't forget that tomorrow is Thankful Thursday.

Morning Glory for Tuesday

The Tuesday towel from Granny's set.

We got up early and went to the plant sale at the college. I bought a fern and another little hanging plant. Mom ended up with two ferns and two hanging plants.

We drove out to the fishing hole and then to the flooded field where I saw my first ever White-faced Ibis. I'm still excited.

We had a chance for severe weather last night and it was so nice to be able to pull my car into the garage and be able to get out of the car without mushing and crushing all of my female body parts.

Nothing terribly exciting is happening around here. DH locked one of the cats downstairs last night and I didn't realize it until this morning. There's no telling what I'll find when I go down. I'm sure there's a little present somewhere. I just have to find it.

What a week!

Boy, this week has been busy. I finally changed my header. I need to try again I think. LOL.

DH started his new job and loves it. I was so glad to see him excited Monday morning instead of grumping around about going to work. We're on day five and he still loves it. He went from working in a 34 degree room to being outside, working with his hands, and using his brain. It was big change and so worth the cut in pay to do it.

I found a new place to play and make friends. Go check it out. I haven't had a chance to do much over there yet, but hope to soon.

My new glasses came. When I picked out these frames I didn't realize that the hump from a broken nose a hundred years ago made the frames sit crooked. If I put them on and balance them just right they're straight. Oh well. Nobody ever sees me in my glasses anyway.

There hasn't been any time to craft lately. I started going through my scrap bag last night, sorting and decided to make up a few yo-yo's.

I've been to the post office and Danetta should be getting her box-o-junk soon.

A swing by the thrift store netted me another old apron and two McCoy planters.

I have been out bonding with my dirt and I'm still amazed at how digging in dirt lifts my spirits and can banish a bad mood.

Mom took me anniversary shopping this afternoon and I came home with three crepe myrtle (pink, red, and white), two regular and a dwarf.

I also came home with this beauty.

Every year, Mom buys me a rose for either our anniversary or my birthday. Every year she thinks she's getting a yellow rose and it ends up being something else. This year by golly, she knows it's yellow. It's a climing rose and I have the perfect place for it.

In other garden news, the grape vines are putting out leaves, the lilac is beginning to bloom, tulips are blooming, and the red bud is in full bloom.

I sometimes wonder what I've done since we bought this house. All I really have to do is walk around the yard and my question in answered. Part of the appeal of this house was the yard, but it didn't have any flowers, ornamental trees, or charm. I'm slowly getting there.

I'm wishing a happy, safe, and blessed weekend to each and every one of my dear readers.

Enjoying my morning

Today is a glorious day! It smells so good outside. I took a quick trip around the yard to see what's happening.

The Bradford pear is now in full bloom compared to just the other day.

The rest of the daffodils are blooming and the hyacinth are beginning to open.

The forsythia has also filled out compared to the other day. Poor thing looks so scraggly. Considering he was just a little twig when I first planted him, he's doing well. We're up to three twigs now. LOL.

It's a great day to be alive.

Around the house

This is what's happening at my house. Blossoms and blooms!

This is the pear tree that we planted last year on our anniversary. Any day now it's going to open up and just be covered in these pretty little blossoms.

My forsythia is blooming too. I was so afraid it died last summer. After months and months of rain, we hit a dry spell and my poor bushes didn't adapt well at all. I need to cut part of it out, but those pretty yellow flowers give me hope that it going to live.

Of course there's always a little bad to go with the good.

This is the roof covering my front porch. See that peeling paint? It's got to be scraped and repainted this summer. In fact, all of the trim has to be painted and I have a really tall house. DH is too afraid of heights so I guess it's up to me. Anybody have a 40 foot ladder they can loan me?

I'm not certain it's 40 feet to the very top peak, but our 20 foot only goes about half way, give or take. I just know it's a really long way up there. Which also means it's a really long way down. I guess I could climb up on the garage, tie myself to the chimney, and scootch along the eves and paint. Hmmm.