Out Of Room

I can tell gardening has become a hobby because there is always one fun thing for me to buy or make. :o) The boys and I took another trip to Farmer's Market and met Susie and JD there, too. While there were fewer vendors and shoppers there today, I still found a few more little things to fill in the last of the empty spaces. Onions, some gorgeous lettuce, acorn squash and some snow peas for Chris.

Now that it's all in and God's given it a nice watering, I think it's finally done. I just added some signs for a finishing touch (and so I don't forget what everything is).

Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone. Zechariah 10:1

Planting Seeds

We had to take advantage of the last sunny day to plant seeds in our garden so God could water them tomorrow. Andy, Will and I worked hard and got in the sweet corn, peas, pole beans, carrots, zuchinni, summer squash, cucumbers and prepped the row for green onions.

planting corn

planting peas

We also built little teepees for out pole beans and a trellis for our peas. Andy cut stakes from the junk pile to mark our rows of veggies on the mitre saw, too. As an added wildlife deterrent, we posted Zack's roadrunner from Dangerous Class for Boys. It didn't seem like a "dangerous" project at the time, but it is if you're trying to steal from our garden.

I love our little trellises

Flagstone, also from our junk pile, finally found a use. Now we have a lovely, although slightly uneven, path through our garden. Falynne said she liked our "decorations", too! (she was talking about all our scary pest deterrents)

This afternoon Megan came back with a couple more additions to my kitchen herb garden. I now have cilantro, chives, mint and orange mint right outside my laundry room door. Soon we will also have parsley and basil. The back patio now has a fresh minty smell that I love, but supposedly deer don't. Yay! I guess it's that whole clean smell thing that they don't like.

I can't wait until the whole garden is full of green!!!

Our Garden- Day 1 & 2

The big dead spot where the pool once stood is now our new garden. After two days of hard work, and the Karlowsky's behemoth rototiller, we have a beautiful little garden.

this little guy (the tiller not the cute guy pushin' it)

wasn't quite up to the job

so we had to bring in the "big guns"

Megan came and met Will and I at the Farmer's Market and we bought some starts and other treats (like homemade goat cheese, fresh rhubarb and the traditional honey sticks). I had no idea whether I wanted Whoppers, or Sungolds, or Siberians, or Beefsteak tomatoes or that I needed to plant Hubbard squash in a mound. Thankfully Megan was there to bestowed some gardening wisdom on me! But I still have so much to learn and so many questions... I am so glad she is coming again on Tuesday! I'm a pretty slow learner. :o)

first Megan showed Will and I how to make seed tape

then we prepped the soil for the tiller

Megan christened our garden by planting our first tomato plant

The boys and I worked hard to get in all of our starts so they could have a cool night's sleep before their big first sunny day in the ground. Chris put up the "fence" while we played in the dirt. Zack and Andy were a great help and got pretty good at "potholing" and mixing the right combo of peat and poop. We're hoping to get the seeds in on Monday.






The biggest concern is keeping out all the undesireables out of our lovely vegetable patch. Bambi, Dr. Slime and now MOLES are public enemy #1 around here. Corry's Slug and Snail Death should take care of any slugs that want to slime my little fledgling plants. The hope is that all our shiny and incredibly boring back-up cds and last year's shiny Christmas ribbon will scare off any deer wanting to up their daily allowance of fresh veggies. But the moles are back and the only thing I hope they get is a shiny spike right through 'em from our non-PETA approved mole traps.

our garden from a slug's point of view

don't even think about it!

shiny things are scary, right?

I feel like quite the backyard farmer now and I have the tan and the blisters to prove it.We still have a bit of planting and prettying up to do, but it's looking rather nice and our mouths are already watering at the thought of all the fresh veggies we will be enjoying. I wonder if we'll need a bigger freezer?

*For more details on Megan's great gardening tips check out our Good Green Livin' blog.

Hangin' With Ian

The boys had another re-shoot for the movie today and tomorrow so Donna came and picked them up and delivered them to Nooner's field for the battle scenes. Afterwards she and Inara came over for coffee and chatting. It was so nice to get to visit with Donna and watch Inara play with our "kitchen" stuff on the floor.

After the shoot I picked up the boys and brought Ian home as well. It's so much easier when there is another shoot in the morning if Ian doesn't have to go all the way back home. Anyway the boys have WAY more fun if he stays over. And so do Chris and I. It's fun having friends over!

The boys decided they were "broiling hot" after all that battling and needed to go swimming as soon as they got back. Needless to say that this early in the season, the water is pretty brisk in the pool. There was quite a bit of squealing until they got "used to it", which is actually code for completely numb.

apparently making whirlpools helps you stay warm

so do campfires

For supper the boys built a roaring fire and we roasted hot dogs and had s'mores for dessert. Sitting on the deck after supper and enjoying the quiet (the boys had all gone in to play Wii), I remembered that we are so blessed by our house. We love living here...

Now the house is quiet again since the boys decided again to brave the spring coolness and (no, not go swimming again. It's 9:30 at night.) sleep in the treehouse. We're leaving the laundry room door open. I wonder if we'll wake up to boys all tucked away in their beds?

*At 3:30 this morning we woke up to the sound of doors and 4 young men coming in to get a good night's sleep. :o)

Presents!

I got so many wonderful presents this year for my birthday that I decided to devote an entire post to highlight each one.

This one I got from Frank, Amy and Ada. Amy wrapped it in this very cute and vintage looking fabric that she had used to make a skirt. I think I am going to use it to make an apron. Now I'll just have to find a pattern I like.

It looked so fluffy and fun! Little did I know that what was inside was even fluffier!

I just wish you could all feel how soft this yarn actually is! I think that if clouds were spun into yarn, it would feel like this. Who would have known that a Peruvian pack animal would be so snuggly! Now I just have to think of what I want Amy or Theresa to make for me with it. Yes, I do knit and crochet. But I do not possess the skills worthy of this yarn.

This gift was like 2 gifts in one! Thanks Frank, Amy and Ada!

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Who would have known that a birthday present could make even a "to do" list more enjoyable? But the gift from the Dorrs actually did! These cheery little chickens remind me of my Grandma's kitchen for some reason. The bright green color and perky hens make me look forward to putting a big line through my completed tasks even more than usual! To top it off, it looks perfect in my kitchen! And I got other cute accessories to go with it: magnets, coupon organizer (which I am going to use to either organize my small scrapbooking stickers or some of my recipe cards) and notecards. While I love the notepad, I think the coupon organizer the best!

Thank you Greg, Amy, Maggie, Charlie and Stella! I will think of you even more often now. :o)

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I knew what I was getting from Dad and Mom. She called me from the fabric store and I sort of shopped by proxy over the phone. But I was still excited! Maybe it was just the anticipation.

The first part of the gift was a set of German Madeira rayon threads in a potpourri of rich, vibrant colors! I am already matching them to fabrics in my stash! Charlie helped me look at each one and said he liked them all except for the red one and the chocolate brown one, but I like them all!

The second part is a Moda layer cake (40- 10"x10" squares) of the Snippets line of fabrics. Like all Moda fabrics, this one is so vintage and absolutley adorable! If you want to see what they all look like check out this link to the Fat Quarter Shop http://www.fatquartershop.com/store/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=7870513218557870&Store_id=499&page_id=23&Item_ID=26111&Parent_Ids=

I spent a whole hour when we got home Sunday night just pouring over my quilting books and magazines looking for just the right vintage scrappy quilt pattern to use. I am getting closer...

Thanks Mom and Dad, I love them! Now I just need to start sewing!

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When I saw the present from Theresa, my first question was, "Is my present more of this wrapping paper?" The answer was no, but I saved what I got and have it draped across a chair in the craft/school room just to inspire me. Owls are all the rage right now and I really love them! I am going to attempt to make an applique pattern from the owls on the paper.

While the paper was practically present enough, there was even more treasures inside...

The Can O Mat yellow can opener... (which looks great with the rest of my retro kitchen collection)

A box of Aplets and Cotlets... (don't expect to get any of these babies. They are my favorites! And according to the boys, I wouldn't even share them with Jesus if He came over.)

And two original artwork embroidered kitchen towels... (not only did she draw the cute little guys herself, she did all the embroidery and made the towels to boot!)

Don't they look just sweet in my kitchen?

Thanks Theresa! My kitchen is even cuter than before, but not as cute as yours...

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Not only did Kate and Chad join us for my last minute German food birthday dinner, but she brought me a gift as well. Some really cool fabrics and a beaded bookmark. Now I don't have to use a napkin to mark my place in a book. The boys think I should use the fabric to make something for the living room. If only there was enough to cover the couches... LOL

Thanks Chad and Kate for your friendship and the fabric!

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Last but not least, my piano. It remains to be seen what the fate of my beloved piano will be... But I am thankful that Chris and the boys are willing to see what happens.

Thanks guys! You make not only my birthday a special day, but every day as well! I love you!

Thank you to everyone for making my birthday this year so special!