I'm Back in the Saddle Again

I had thought my canning days were over a few years ago. Looks like I'm back at it. Put up a few jars of dilly beans today.



Here's an updated picture of my herb garden. That huge plant on the left is cilantro. I didn't realize it would get so big. The herbs, starting from the cilantro and going clockwise: cilantro, rosemary (hard to see behind the sundial), basil, chives, thyme, oregano, parsley, and sage. In pots on the patio are two mints and one tarragon. I have dill and fennel in the big garden and lavender in the flower garden.


With all these herbs, I'm trying to find new ways to use them. Tonight I tried a recipe for Sage Biscuits. Quite good.


Here's our garden:








I always feel a little bad when people talk about how huge their tomato plants are; mine are kinda scrawny little things. But hey, look how they bear!






The sunflowers are getting big.


Here you see the flower garden in the foreground and the big garden in the background, taken from the backdoor steps of the church. Just a couple more spots to clean out of the flower bed, then I hope to get some more mulch.

Catching Up

There was a beautiful sunrise the other morning. Wish I could have gotten a picture of just the sky. It was so pretty.



I read a tip about taking a picture of flowers from lower, looking toward the sky. Hmmm...


Zebadiah says, " I love those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.." She's so little that she fits right in the window sill.

For Amber Waves of Grain...

Okay, so they're not amber and they're not grain. I still think they are beautiful.

This garden definitely needs some other colors blooming at this time. Seems we are in the yellow stage.

You might be able to see the lavender toward the back in this shot.

Another herb garden picture. I ask myself, "Why???"

Nice Visit

My dad and mom came up today and brought my Aunt Bettie--Brownie, too, of course! It was real nice seeing them all.

Christmas in July

Well, no, it isn't really snow--but we did have quarter-size hail this evening. What a storm!

It Pays to Get Old

This picture shows a couple of my birthday presents--solar lights and mulch. I'm thrilled to have these; one of my goals for this summer is to get this big weed bed in some semblence of order and make it pretty again. With these gifts, it's well on its way! (You should have heard the snorting when I told one of my kids that I wanted mulch for my birthday.)

I still have a lot of work to do in this flower bed, but it is greatly improved. I also received a new phone that has a place to connect earphone/mic so I can talk while working!

A Little Household Updating

I finally took some time to wallpaper the two upstairs bedrooms in one of my dollhouses. This is the little girl's room:

And here's the little boy's room:

Garden Update

Herb Garden and Zebadiah:

Snow Peas, which are over my head:

Other stuff:

Horseradish:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I had a great birthday/holiday weekend. Betsy's family came up and we all met for the parade, then a fantabulous cookout dinner (should have taken a picture of the beautiful spread!) at Kate and Josh's, followed by spending some time at kids' activities at the park, and ending with a beautiful fireworks display.

Saturday, most of us went to Hartwick Pines for the afternoon. That is always such a relaxing place to visit. There were lots of photos taken, but I didn't have my camera with me. The kids were so cute.

After church on Sunday, we all got together for dinner here before going our separate ways.

Proudly It Waves, Old Glory!

Here's the flag we had flown over the nation's capital for my dad, majestically gracing his new flagpole.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Tip for Inexperienced Gardeners

This is how to tell the difference between a weed and a good plant:

1. Pull up plant and throw it on the ground between the rows.

2. Leave in the hot sun.

3. If plant dies, you know it was a good one. If plant immediately puts down roots and thrives, you know it's a weed.

Sweet Surprises!

Recently an online mini friend put out a request for some outdoor wallpaper. The only kind I had was some border that had outhouses, but I sent her a piece anyway--which she did use and made a very cute project. Here's what she sent me in return:

She actually knitted and crocheted these herself. Such tiny, perfectly even stitches. I am just thrilled to have these for my dollhouses, and I'm sure my little people will be especially appreciative. I definitely got the best out of this deal. I wish I had better photography skills so you could see the beautiful handwork. Aren't they cute?

Peas

As you can see, the peas are really going to town. They are almost as tall as I am. Unfortunately, the fence isn't.

I picked some for supper tonight. Lots more out there that will be picked tomorrow. We just love snow peas!

Outdoors

First, a few shots of our garden, taken last week. Things have progressed some since then, although it's been wet and chilly.

Here's my new herb garden. The basil and oregano aren't growing very quickly; may have to buy plants.

These poppies are the prettiest color--kind of a salmon with black inside.

The Sweet Williams are starting to flower.

These following pictures were taken very early one morning last week. There was just something about that morning--the birdsongs, the peacefulness, the mist. Rare. Enchanting. I want to be there again.

Catching Up

Rachel's kids called. They had been looking at my dollhouse photos in photobucket and they were really troubled that the Tenneyson does not have a bathroom. I tried to explain about the old time wash stands, complete with pitcher, bowl and thunder mug, but they didn't understand. So I took some pictures of it so they could see. Got to thinking about how old my dollhouse pictures were, and realized it was time to update. Fixed the lighting in one of them and took a bunch of new pictures. Took a long time, but finally have the photobucket updated. Now if you're brave enough to look, there are more dollhouse pictures than you'd ever want to see. LOL


Good thing the snake has moved on, or he might decide to have this little cutie for lunch. Can you see him in the dirt?


It's been warm and very humid here. The garden is really popping! I picked a bunch of rhubarb yesterday and made three batches of freezer jam. Yummy! Had enough rhubarb to make more, but ran out of sugar.

Oh, no! He got away...