Gardening...

Is a lot of physical work... I hurt everywhere!  I'm so glad I had a helper for part of the heavy work...

We filled the grow-boxes early this week with 4 yards of a soil-less mix of sand, sawdust, and peat moss.  Lets just say I'm very happy that the sand portion was only 25% of the total... because after a rain... sand is HEAVY!

I hauled out my tiller - oh how I love that little guy!  We had a little misunderstanding in the beginning about starting up - but we agreed that I would turn the ON-OFF switch to ON and he would start in the first couple of pulls (in my defense I hadn't used it in many years - so I forgot that silly switch thing).  I never would have been able to mix all those layers by hand with a hoe or shovel...

As of this afternoon - everything is planted... strawberries, lettuce, herbs, corn, yellow squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, pumpkin, beets, onions, and tomatoes.  I still need to put the string up for the tomatoes, etc. 

I planted the coleus up around the house and still have some flowers and vines to put in now that we've got the mulch spread around. 

 

 

 

Out back the cherries are starting to show color on one of the trees and the apple tree has little tiny apples bobbing around in the wind.

 

 

If I can get the fish to quit digging out the water plants we split up I'll be happy... I'm guessing they miss nibbling on the roots.  I'm getting tired of the mess they are making... but when I fuss at them they just make silly little fish faces at me...

Planting Boxes

The Engineer and I built and installed four planting boxes out back this weekend.

My original plan was to make them 4 feet x 8 feet - 12" tall.  But then decided I wanted them narrower and longer - so these are 2 ft. x 16 ft. with 3 ft. paths between and around the outside - still 12" tall.  I figured it would be easier to maintain without having to reach to the middle of a 4 foot bed to weed or pick the vegetables - I ain't getting any younger.  Next year we will build 4 more and that should be more than enough space for the two of us to grow what we want and maybe some cutting flowers too - I'd love to have a cutting garden.

Sure wish I could count the landscape fabric yardage for my Stash Busting report for Judy L - we bought 2 of the 4 ft. x 100 ft. rolls of commercial grade spun fiber stuff and pert near used them both up.  We decided this job would get done a lot faster if we didn't till up the grass underneath - we just covered it up.  I'm all about easy these days.

This week I've got to fill them up... so it's going to be a busy week!

This 'splains a lot...

I wouldn't have intentionally purchased 1/2 Caff Coffee... I've been using this since I returned from Texas and only just noticed the label when I opened the cabinet for something else last night. 

Maybe this is why My Wagon Was Dragging... and I just thought it was because I was really busy.

Stash Report #20 & Shop Hop Report

I had the opportunity this week to visit with a quilty friend Bon who was on the east coast visiting a friend of hers.  They came out for a day... a glorious sunny day of Shop Hopping... as that is what quilters do best isn't it?

But - what do you do if the quilters friend isn't a quilter?  She is a sewer but not a quilter and we wouldn't want her to be totally bored.

You add Antique Shops in as you go through the day!

We all found great little useful things at all the places we stopped... and 7 yards of fabric followed me home...  OK yes - I did in fact pay for it to follow me home.

2 yards of black on white polk-a-dot.  I love Dots!  One of these days I want to just use dot fabrics to make a quilt... Big Dots, Little Dots, Colorful Dots... there's lots of dots to use. 

 

The other 5 yards ($2.29 a yard) is an ocean fish print for the back of my grandsons quilt... who is waiting patiently for his Granny to finish his quilt.  Look he's practicing sitting up. 

Isn't he a cutie!!

 

I think that without this Stashbusting report every week I'd have a lot more fabric following me home... stuff I just wanted because - well you know... just because!  I don't get all those 'just because' fabrics - I do still buy things that will go with a collection I already have started, western prints, florals, and B&W's... and I'm more conservative than I use to be with those.

So Thanks Judy L  for helping us keep an eye on the fabric bottom line...

Why I don't get stuff done...

Do you ever start out to do one thing and end up going around in a big circle and not getting anything completely done?

Here's my circle tonight...

I took my dishes to put in the kitchen sink and decided to go ahead and un-stack the dishwasher tonight... as I sat my glass of water down I remembered I wanted to take a vitamin... but needed my eye glasses to re-read the new package... I found my glasses in the living room but headed upstairs to the 'little girls room' before going back to the kitchen to un-stack... as I headed back down the stairs I smelled smoke so headed out the front door just to be sure it was someone's fireplace and not my house... after checking out front I decided to close the windows upstairs since it was very cool out... while closing the window in our bedroom I remembered that I needed to make up the bed with the clean sheets that I'd dropped up there earlier in the day... but I also wanted to vacuum so I grabbed that and ran it around the room... while putting the vacuum up I saw the laundry basket and remembered I wanted to wash my jeans... so I took the basket down to the laundry room and sorted and started a load of laundry... since I was there I changed over the dogs bedding and put new rugs down in the laundry room... went to wash my hands at the kitchen sink and remembered I was going to un-stack the dishwasher... saw my glass of water still sitting on the counter and remembered I wanted to take that vitamin and now that I had my glasses and could read the package I took the vitamin and then I un-stacked the dishwasher...  LOL

The kitchen is clean, I've washed and dried 2 loads of  laundry.  I will take them up and put them away... and then I'm going to make my bed so I can go to sleep...

My Mother's Day Weekend...

I had a fun weekend... well outside of the whole digging up the electric wire thing... LOL

The weather was wonderful - especially Sunday - beautiful blue skies and a crisp wind - not to be confused with a gentle breeze... I had to take down one of my hanging plants on the porch - it was being abused by the wind.  I do love to throw open windows on days like this and change out the air in the house.  Fresh Air? I got it!

Did you know that I live in an area that boasts to be the Antiques Capital of the USA?  There are a couple dozen antique markets/shops/malls/co-ops and outside venues hosting more than 3,000 vendors... all within a few miles of me.

I'm not much into fancy stuff... and I'm not interested in accumulating stuff I don't really need.  But I enjoy poking around and seeing what I can come up with.

Here are my treasures from today...

Clockwise from the bottom left... a vintage Cherry Stoner, an enamel pail with a small pour spout, a hammered aluminum covered dish with a 1.5 qt. oven dish, a pickle dish with a hammered aluminum cover, and a pretty little bowl with a scalloped edge.  I spent a total of 40 dollars... and had lots of fun checking out Pine Hill Antique Mall - a place I hadn't been to before.

And I got stuff I'll enjoy using...

I haven't seen an enamel piece like this before and it's in great shape so it will get regular use in my kitchen.

 

My sister in law recently introduced me to vintage hammered aluminum ware.

I thought this pickle dish was sweet!  I want some gherkins!

 

Nice little casserole dish - check out the flower bud for a knob on the lid... how cute is that?

 

 

 

This is a 'Sandwich pattern scalloped edge bowl'... I don't know what all that is suppose to mean.  I just liked it and will enjoy using it.

 

 

I'll be interested to see how well it works... I've got 3 cherry trees that should be ripe late June and early July.

 

Oh and these little doll beds - I saw them on Saturday over at Shupps Grove. 

Wouldn't they be cute with little quilts on them?  I didn't bring them home... but I could go back... maybe next weekend.

It would be easy to make a little mattress stuffed with leftover batting... LOL like I need something else to do.

But they would be cute... don't ya think?

Stashbusting: Wk 19 - Something Cool and a ?

Eight yards followed me home from the quilt shop - I hope that doesn't happen every week... This part time employment at the shop is for about 2 months so the owner can catch up with her quilting end of the business and then will be as she needs me in the future - but geesh... If I'm heading home with 8 yards every week I'm going to be in trouble!  LOL

But it was eight yards of pretty hydrangea fabric... it was on sale and it's not all for me.  I'll use what I need for the backing of this... BQ2 by Maple Island Quilts.

  And my SIL has some hydrangea FQ's we picked out several years ago... so we will use some for that project too.

I still haven't updated my spreadsheet... hopefully Judy L won't notice!  LOL

 

 

 

Something Cool:  Have you seen this?  I found it in a magazine and the shop owner ordered some for the quilt shop.  It's a very nifty item.  You can practice free motion quilting designs without wasting paper... comes in different sizes - 8.5" x 11" is the largest and that's what I got... use the little magnetic pen - doodle and then smooth it back out with your hand and doodle again.  Very clever!

The Miracle Doodler is from the Miracle Chalk people...

And the ?:  I know someplace in the wonderful Virtual Quilting Blog0sphere I've seen a post about layering/pinning a quilt using 2 long boards and rolling the quilt and backing up on them... but I didn't bookmark it and I want to refresh my memory so I can try it out... Anyone?  Anyone know what I'm referring to?  Thanks in advance for your help on this!

Hope Y'all all have a Wonderful Mothers Day!

Working and Making Work...

Did I tell y'all I've been buying plants?

I've had a wonderful time checking out the local farm stands and greenhouses.

But before I can plant these.... I have to clear out weeds...

This is the driveway side of the house.

I have lots of weeds!

 

 

Lots and lots of weeds...

 

 

 

And a few small stumps too...

 

This digging stuff is hard work!

I had to work real hard to get this loose...

 

 

 

It had one root that really gave me a hard time...

 

Yes... I found out that that's not really a root.

 

 

 

 

I figured it out when I lifted it up with the shovel and it pulled up over to the electrical box... ooops! 

Bad news is that I did nick through to the copper wire - Good News is that the Arc Fault Circuit Breaker tripped and cut off the power... .

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a temporary repair so that I can put the power back on... this outlet powers the pond.   The Engineer will fix this next weekend... and hopefully make it so that I can't dig it up again.

Getting to Know the Neighbors...

This is our first spring here in the Stone House.

We have some new neighbors moving in.  I took a peek in to see how the decorating was going...

She's very frugal and doesn't seem to mind using cast offs from others.  I'm a little concerned that she's using my side porch roll up shade... which means I won't be able too.  But our big bird house/garden shed is being repaired - so I'll let her stay until I can evict her with a clear conscious.  

 

This little fella was hanging out in my way back yard the other day when I was checking the fruit trees.  I've seen him a few times in passing - or was it one of his cousins?  I think he's waiting to see if I'm going to be planting anything yummy out there this year... 

 

I do have some 'fishy' looking neighbors...

But at least they are quiet... although rather hungry now that they have returned from their winter hiatus in the bottom of the pond.  Candle - large grey on the left... Light - orange flame color in the middle... and Hoover - dark grey catfish on the right.  My granddaughter named Candle & Light...

I named Hoover after watching him eat...

He is certainly what we use to call a "keeper" when I was a kid and we went fishing!  LOL  He is a beauty!

I was only able to get these pictures because I've removed the reed and lily plants to have them repotted... Hoover doesn't have any place to hide right now... he does look a little upset about that don't ya think?

Hoover and Candle are easily 12 inches long... I'd like to figure out a way to measure them.  Maybe I can put a ruler in the bottom of the pond or along the ledge where they swim... hmmmm?

You'd think I'd learn...

But no...

I walk into the grocery store... right past the carts and pick up the carry basket.  I only need to get 3 creamers and 4 TP... a carry basket will do.

Or not.

Not if you pick up some canned pears (I've had a hankering for pears and cottage cheese recently)... a loaf of bread... a carton of soy milk... 2 boxes of cereal... a bag of Tostitos... and some salsa... along with those creamers and TP.

And if you have to carry the Tostitos in your free hand because they don't fit in the basket... and you are using the self check out isle... you are quite likely to leave those Tostitos sitting on top of the candy display where you put them so that you could use both hands to heft the carry basket up onto the platform.

I don't know why I pass by those stupid carts and don't get one...

And that noise would be...

my heating system... that I had to turn back on to fend off the cold and damp from all this rain.

I'm tired of drying off the dogs... and cleaning up the floor...

I wanted to run a bunch of errands today... but not in the rain... not in the cold.

I want to work on making a garden... I want to haul mulch around... I want to kill weeds... I want to plant flowers... so that I can go back to the farm stands and local farmers greenhouses and buy annuals, perennials, and vegetables...

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

And the Winner is...

Everybody who commented about Taking the Paper Out of Paper Towels!

I appreciate that y'all took the time to comment and tell me what you are doing to be a bit easier on our dear little planet.

I had gone up and counted up what I have cut and washed and I have enough to send out 4 sets of Faux Paper Towels.

So Kim, Sheila, Gizmo and Bon... please email me your address and I'll get these in the mail to you!

Congratulations and Thanks Again!

Stash Report Week 18 - Just a Little...

I can't really count all the fabric I paid for this past week (15 yards total)... because I didn't buy most of it for me... and it would seem kinda silly to report it (since I paid for it) and then mark it off as used (since my TX Sister took it home for a 4 Patch Stacked Posie project).  I'll have to tell you about her project later - it's going to be pretty!

What I did buy for me was 2 yards of a pretty Black & White Daisy print with just a touch of yellow - it was on sale.  That is my Stash Report confession to Judy L this week... 2 yards in - nothing out!

My plan this week is to update my spreadsheet... something I've ignored with all my travels the past couple months.

But I'm home and I plan to stay put for awhile - a very long while. 

I've started teaching at Piece by Piece Quilt Shop and I will actually start working there part time this week... I was suppose to start last week - but couldn't seem to stay home long enough to actually show up!  LOL - Good thing my new boss is a lovely lady and very understanding!  I'll be working 3 half days a week and I am soooo looking forward to it.

We've a busy afternoon planned here but I will be back later tonight to post the winners of the Faux Paper Towels...

My Wagon is Draggin...

...and it's gonna spend a good bit of time parked on the couch this weekend!

I feel like I've been running at 70 MPH for days and days and... oh wait... I have been!

At the end of Feb:

• I traveled to Dallas, TX - 2,800 miles RT (round trip)
• While in TX I averaged 2 trips a week from Dallas to FW or Weatherford (approx. 120 miles round trip x 12 trips) - 1,400 miles total

After returning from TX in early April:

• I took my Niece to NJ to finish her quilt - 158 miles RT
• Met my SIL in Baltimore to return my Niece (we met half way for both of us) 200 miles RT
• To Philly to pick up my youngest daughter at the Train Station - side trip to NJ to visit my NJ sister and then back to Philly to pick up The Engineer at the Airport  - 172 miles RT
• Another trip to the Airport - 138 miles RT
• And again to the Train Station - 122 miles RT
• Trip to VA for a family event - 400 miles RT
• Another trip to VA - 400 miles RT
• yet another trip to the Philly Airport - 138 miles RT

...and of course there are all the little side trips to antique shops with my SIL and quilt shops with my sister, and classes I've taught at the quilt shop... farmers market and errands.

One trip I do need to make is to get my oil changed - again... I had it done before I left for TX... and then before I headed back to PA... and now it's due again!

I'll be back later this weekend to announce the winner of the 'Faux Paper Towels'...