Category : Outdoors

117 posts

T Tuesday: seed starting edition

Good Morning! Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday.  T stands for Tuesday_200

Lets keep our fingers crossed that my back stays in good shape now! Geesh that was a long haul. I apologize for not stopping by many, if any, blogs for the past week.

Every year I start my seeds the week of St. Patrick’s Day.seed starting By the time we can safely plant outdoors, I’ll have nice size plants to set into the garden…or gardens as the case may be. My in-laws are graciously letting me plant in their garden again this year in addition to my two small garden plots.

So what’s in those cups?

  • 3 variety of tomatoes
  • 2 variety of peppers
  • cucumbers
  • spaghetti squash

I will also be starting some herbs in pots and sowing seeds directly into the gardens when the time comes. We love having fresh herbs and veggies with our meals…especially when they are straight from the garden!plant vigil

Miss Gracie is keeping vigil over the seeds while watching the critters romp.

gracie sittin n lookin

I’m off to run a few errands, stop to see my knitting group then make a ton of phone calls to get our ducks in a row for Little J’s upcoming knee surgery. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

What are you doing today?

 

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T Tuesday: harvest edition

Hello, hello!  I finally made it for T stands for Tuesday! I’ve been MIA here in blogland lately but hopefully things are settling down and I can get back into my routine.        Create–>photo—>blog. 20140909_6923

I found this mug at a garage sale last week. There were actually two but I only took the one. Why the significance? We got married in the Canterbury Wedding Chapel inside the Excalibur Hotel a little over 20 yrs ago. We also attended the Fantasy Faire show while there. I just couldn’t pass up the mug.

On to the harvest….20140909_6921

Most of the tomatoes came from the plants I have in the ground at my in-laws house. My garden is really poor this year. Between the deer eating the tops off my beans and the squirrels snacking on the tomatoes…it’s been a little disheartening.20140909_6922I’m planning to make a spicy jam with these little babies.  We’ll see how that turns out.

Otherwise…I have been crafting some. Listing cards in my etsy store, getting an inventory built for the craft season and finding more ways to upcycle.  I’ve found that my back bothers me when I sit at my computer so I’ve been trying to stay away from it…besides I get more accomplished when not lost in cyberspace. :)

I’ve got some shopping and outside chores on my list today. The weather is supposed to turn colder tomorrow so I better get it it!!

What are you doing today?

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13 Comments

T Tuesday: garden update edition

T stands for Tuesday_200This edition of T stands for Tuesday is all about my garden….my edible garden that is.20140701_5614First we have the obligatory beverage. In my case, this morning, it’s still coffee resting along the deck rail. I have three boxes of herbs here and two really sad looking pots behind me in the photo. They are so scraggly and pathetic that I am ready to throw them out. 20140701_5621My raised bed is doing really well this year. I think having some tree limbs above it trimmed has really helps get the needed sunshine.20140701_5618Some of my lettuce is ready for a sandwich or salad. I’m thinking I need to boil some eggs for an egg salad sandwich…oh yum. 20140701_5619This year I decided to plant more than one cucumber plant since in previous years I’ve had such poor production. I also changed the location. They seem to be loving it here. Hopefully I’ll be seeing lots of little cukes from all those blossoms real soon.20140701_5622My “big garden” has tons of green bean plants that are covered in blossoms and lots of tiny beans beginning to form.20140701_5626The tomato plants in this garden aren’t looking so great. These are my large red variety vs the small yellow pear shaped ones in the raised bed. Hopefully they will produce some tomatoes.

In addition, I have 4 plants at my in-laws house…2 of each variety.  Big J is mowing their lawn this summer so I took them up on the offer of using some of their garden space.

Our CSA farm share has been pretty meager so far. The weather here in MN has been less than ideal. So many fields are under water. What we’ve gotten from the farm share has been good quality…just not much in the quantity.

Another busy Tuesday for me…I’ll be around to visit as soon as I can…

What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: cursed journal edition

Hello, hello! I’m feel a little thrown off this morning from the Memorial Day holiday yesterday. Today seems like Monday. Waking up late didn’t help matters any.

But today is Tuesday… so that means it’s time to join Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T stands for Tuesday.deck box gardenI brought my coffee outside with me to check on the gardens. I won’t bore you with a bunch of pictures of mostly dirt. I have 10 tomatoes planted…4 yellow pear plants and 6 Thessaloniki(Greek heirloom)plants. My beans are sprouting. The cucumbers are planted. Hopefully the leaf lettuce seeds I planted will sprout soon form the galvanized bucket in the deck box garden.

It’s misty raining so I’d like to show you my before and after on my cursed journal. After completing the journal I assumed I would leave the outside unadorned. The cover graphics and color was what made me choose this book in the first place. cursed journal beforeBut the spine left something to be desired. It kept bugging me as it sat on the bookshelf. Since my art space is currently out of commission…there wasn’t a whole lot I could do. Then my tea dyed curtain scrap came to mind. I could have the best of both worlds…pretty graphics and the ugly spine covered.cursed journal afterI decided to add the little bits of chain and charms at the last minute. charmedThey add a little movement and bling.  Now I’m very happy with the journal that caused me so much grief in the beginning.

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T Tuesday: gardening edition

Hello…I’m back for T stands for Tuesday. Did you miss me?20140519_4885I took last week off to attend Little J’s all-district track meet. She did awesome! First place in her school for girls 100m run and her relay team finished a good 3 seconds before anyone else in their heat. She was the anchor, so this photo appears that she is running unopposed. What a great way to finish off her elementary school years! The meet brings together all 7 elementary schools in the district at one of the high schools…too bad it wasn’t the one she’ll be attending since that would be cool at that age. 20140513_4812If you look at the way the adults at the finish line are dressed, you’ll get an idea of the temperature that day. Real feel of 39°F.

Anyway…I named this post gardening edition…so where the heck is the gardening?!?20140520_4894Here we have my tiny seedlings waiting to be strong enough to live outside. Notice the plastic barrier I had to erect around them…I’m sure you can guess who that is for.

Mr. G and I worked outside most of Sunday prepping the garden.20140518_4858He built a gate for me this year so I no longer have to climb over the fencing. 20140518_4859The beans are planted…tomato cages are ready and the flags are blowing in the breeze both for decoration and deer deterrent. 20140518_4857My deck box garden is also ready for planting…my cherry tomato plants and cucumbers will live here.

And where was Miss Gracie…20140518_4877Running from door to door begging to come out. Nope. Not going to happen. Not since she chased that squirrel up a tree. Too strong of hunting instincts for that one.

Lots of things on the list today ending with an evening choir concert, so I better get at it!

What are you doing today?

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14 Comments

T stands for Tomatoes!

Today's harvestThanks for joining me today for T stands for Tuesday…or in this case…TOMATOES!

As much as I hate the heat and humidity that always seems to come with the end of August, I love the tomatoes that my garden is producing. I’m also still getting a good handful of green beans each day. The cucumbers have yellow pear tomatoesbeen a bit of a disappointment but at least they did something.

And just look at all these yellow pear tomatoes!! They are so sweet and yummy. They sit like candy on the counter waiting to be nibbled in this lovely basket that I won from a fellow blogger a couple years back.

garden toamotesThe garden is starting to look a bit haggard but just look at those lovelies on the vine!

I’m watering them from our rain barrels twice a day in this heat. I’m afraid I’m going to reach the proverbial “bottom of the barrel” very soon if we don’t get any rain.

Our family is planning to brave the heat one of the days this week for a visit to the state fair. We may melt in the heat.  Hopefully I’ll get some fun pictures to share of “The Great Minnesota Get-Together”

What are you doing today?

 

 

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T Tuesday: a week in review

T TuesdayHere it is Tuesday again and I’m linking up with my friend Elizabeth for T stands for Tuesday. I’m pretty sure time is speeding up as we approach Labor Day and the start of school.

Little J and I made use of the time that her big brother was at camp last week. Being a teenage boy, he hates shopping. I’m not so fond of it myself but my girl…she can shop!! We went to Kohl’s 3 days last week. Yikes! The third was unscheduled…we stopped by my mom’s and she wanted to get something to wear for an upcoming wedding.

thank you cardLittle J and I also went to Goodwill twice, Costco, the Mall (not MOA), ACE hardware, Target and of course, the grocery store.  Geesh. We didn’t buy a lot but all those add up to a lot of time and moola. But now with the exception of shoes for the boy…I am DONE!! No more shopping for school.

We had a quiet weekend with a neighborhood bonfire Saturday. Late Sunday evening was a bit more exciting. We were watching a movie when the power went out. Everyone seemed to come out from their homes to see if the world swimwas ending or if it was just them without electricity.  Power was out for a huge area even though it was a gorgeous night without a cloud in the sky. We have yet to find out why.

In addition, we’ve been still Cuttlebug crazy. I’m going to get it all packed up and give it back this week. I want my family room back!!

Since the hot humid weather has finally found its way back to MN…we went for a dip in a friends pool. Ah, refreshing.

Today we have another busy Tuesday on tap. It’s going to be a scorcher too! Yuck.

What are you doing today?

Maybe you should stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s for a spell.

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