Garden 1.0
The garden is changing everyday, growing and being added to by me. I am enjoying it, but it is a lot of work! Of course I learn new things everyday too…like that I should fertilize my plants if I want them to get bigger…should have already known that.
Anyway, here is what it looked like on June 10th: (I even labeled it – click for larger)
In that big open space that says, “nothing grew here” I have now replanted some corn that will hopefully come in later and some pumpkin seeds in a row. I know they’re supposed to be in a hill, but I’m experimenting and since it’s my garden I can do that! The carrots and second zinnia planting were the other newest things and they’re labeled, but so far no carrots and only 4 small zinnia plants. Each time I go out I feel so excited to see all my plants, but then am discouraged by the things that aren’t growing. I need to be happier about the things that are growing. :)
Here are some close up shots of my plants.
Our kale is ready to eat, unfortunately I don’t think I really like it and I know I won’t cook greens, so not sure what to do with that. It is beautiful though! I’m not sure the cucumbers are going to make it. Yesterday when I went out they were lying down on the ground looking sad. Maybe that’s what they’re supposed to do though? We have lots of little tomatoes and I’m so happy about that. I have big plans to can lots and make spaghetti sauce and of course eat them everyday this summer! If you know anything about me it should be that I love tomatoes and could live off them. The peppers have small blooms on them now, so it looks like we will have a few peppers at least. In my second and third garden plots I have green beans, sunflowers, tomatoes and strawberries. The strawberry plants are growing, but we won’t get strawberries until next year. All the tomatoes in these areas are small and not ready yet, but the beans are taking off and looking great. I’m so excited for those as well. Yesterday there were even beans on the 4 plants in the big garden and they look ready to me, so maybe I will pick them today. Our blackberries are also coming along nicely and will be ready soon, I think. No blueberries this year though.
Saturday and yesterday I worked around the little sitting area we are making. Last April we tore down the smallest shed that was in our back yard and there was a concrete floor under it. We didn’t want to break it up and there was nothing much we could do with it since it’s not that big (12′ x 9′), so we’re turning it in to a sitting area. Earlier this spring we lined it and filled it with pea gravel. And now I am surrounding it with flowers so it looks nicer. I put roses, that I got for $3 at Lowe’s, along the back side and I’m really hoping that they live! The two long sides will match, although I only have finished one side right now. I have a rudbeckia in the middle and then bush that I can’t remember the name of (fire-something?), and then the dark red and yellow day lillies on the ends. My yellow butterfly bush is now next to the stepping stone going into the sitting area and I will either put daylillies or spiderwart (that my inlaws have offered me) next to it along the front. Hopefully I will get back to Lowe’s tonight for some of this and some mulch so that I can make it look like a real little flower garden. This is the first year that I’ve really done much with plants and I’m surprising myself with how much I enjoy it and how much fun it is to choose things. I hope that I can someday make our yard as beautiful as my in-laws!
Plants I still need to get: flowers for the last side of the sitting area; a hosta to put in the flower bed around the deck where I removed the butterfly bush; some kind of small, pretty, flowering tree for the front of the house next to the porch to make it less plain; 2 more blueberry bushes and 2 more blackberry bushes; a cherry tree, possibly.
Items I still need outside: bench/chairs for sitting area; weed control fabric; mulch; fertilizer; my own tiller – someday!
Filed under News | Comment (0)This moment
Today has been a day of ups and downs, thankfully mostly ups. I was able to spend the morning in town by myself shopping for our weekly groceries and some plants. Since payday was yesterday it was the big grocery week and this is always nice to do alone. I found some $3 roses at Lowe’s and this was my most exciting purchase. I also went to a local grower and was able to talk to her about choosing some plants to put around our sitting area. I like what she helped me choose and now I’ll have to go back so I can do the opposite side to match. I think I’ve pretty much decided how I’m going to finish it now, so that makes me happy and content even though it isn’t finished right now. It really makes me happy to have a plan. I don’t like wondering what is going to happen or winging it. I’ve learned this in more ways than one this weekend and even though I already knew it I think I’m finally “getting it”. I planted all of those plants and worked in the garden some cleaning it up and planting some more corn that will hopefully give us a second round of it late in the summer. I will try to do a garden update in a day or two. I have the pictures taken, I just need the time to sit down and sort through them and upload. Maybe I can take some of the flowers I did today too. I haven’t taken any pictures today and there were plenty of opportunities. We were all outside enjoying the sun and the water (even though it is so hot!) I have found this summer that I have more days like this than I used to. Days without pictures. Days that I am too busy enjoying the moment and being involved in the moment. I want to remember these moments, but part of what makes me want to remember them is my activity in them. I can’t spend every moment capturing things with photographs. Sometimes I just need to do and keep it in my head. Right now we are getting ready to eat. Kody grilled all the things I prepared. We haven’t grilled enough this summer. Time to get back on track.
I hope you are having a wonderful summer day! Sorry about my modge-podge post. It was just what I needed though. :)
Filed under News | Comment (0)Blessed June
So far, this month has been full of blessings, even little ones and I want to take a minute to jot them down for later. Many of you know that we had a difficult few weeks in May with Kameron being “sick” and even in the hospital for 4 of the days. He never acted sick and I’m still convinced he was not, but we’ll probably never know what was wrong. Anyway, we’re past those problems and he’s better. I also had some funny pain going on and had a few tests run, that were all normal. Then we were anticipating another test that didn’t sound fun at all and before I was able to schedule it, because of Kameron’s issues, my pain went away. So 2-3 weeks of terrible pain and then mysteriously it was gone. Praise God we are all better!
So, it isn’t hard to beat all that! Starting with Memorial Day weekend we’ve just been blessed with so much that I want to share. Since I like lists, a list it will be!
Saturday, May 29: A keyboard from my dad arrived for Kristopher (and the rest of the family) to use for his recently started piano lessons. It is a beautiful, huge, like a piano, kind of keyboard and is way more than we could have afforded. It will be perfect for learning piano and has proven fun for the whole family so far! Saturday evening we were able to see my sister, Erica, for 4 hours. She lives in Pennsylvania and we haven’t seen her for a year. I’m glad that we got to see each other for a little while, at least. We had fun shopping for maternity clothes and looking at baby things. I can’t wait to start making some things for her little baby once we know if it is a boy or girl.
Monday, May 31: Memorial Day was lots of fun. My in-laws came over and we grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. Before that though, Kody’s dad helped me with the garden (everyone else hid in the house from the mosquitos!) He tilled between the rows while I raked dirt behind him. I staked the tomatoes since they are finally getting tall and trying to flop over. We planted some strawberry plants that he ordered for us. It was a lot of fun working in the garden with someone who has so much knowledge about it. I really enjoyed that and hope for more days of the same – there’s plenty more I don’t know! After we finished outside he and Kody worked on a little drywall before dinner. The kids all enjoyed having Gram & Grandaddy here. We are blessed with such good grandparents and parents!
Wednesday, June 2: Kristopher had a piano lesson on this morning and then we had errands we needed to run later, so I didn’t want to go home, but everyone was hungry. We decided that we needed lunch. Kristopher was set on pizza. Then I realized that the Free Summer Feeding Program (at our parks during the summer) had started Tuesday. So I told them that we would do that, to save money. Kristopher was very dissapointed and really wanted pizza (he always does)…anyway, we got to the park and walked up to the pavillion and guess what they were serving for lunch? Domino’s Pizza! With an apple and milk of course! God really is into the little things too. :) After lunch we were able to pass a few of our old children’s clothes on to someone who will love and use them and hopefully be blessed by them. Then we went to Kroger where Kameron learned about carts with cars. He “drove” with Taylor and laughed the whole way through the store. So sweet. At home I got some much needed sewing time:)
Thursday, June 3: I got some time to myself! I went to dinner with a big group of women at Shogun, our Japanese restaurant in town. Out of 12, I only knew 3, but I had lots of fun. I felt very blessed to be able to go out for a few hours and not worry about how the rest of my family was doing at home. I felt very blessed to have friends to go out with as well. Then I got to go to the grocery store, to finish up shopping from the day before, all by myself. If you have children you know how awesome this is once in awhile!
Friday, June 4: I was frantically cleaning my house because of a Pampered Chef party and got a call from a friend from church. The feeding program mentioned above is done one day a week in the outlying areas of the county and Friday was the day for our area. She didn’t have many kids there and so we went down to eat and play games. I was feeling a little stressed about not getting stuff done and being there instead, but it was such a blessing to spend time with the ladies who were in charge of lunch that time and with my sweet friend, G. The kids had fun and got to eat and play outside which is more than they probably would have gotten at home with me cleaning! When we got home I still had plenty of time to prepare the food and finish cleaning my house before my guests arrived. In fact, just the right amount of time! Then I spent a really fun evening with friends in my home. If you know me, you know that I love having people over and cooking for people. That’s what I do, if I love you, I cook for you. I also love free stuff and so hosting parties to get stuff is one thing I love to do. I’m just so glad that I have great friends who I can share things with.
Sunday, June 6: We have a caterer who goes to church with us and her brother and his wife are good friends of ours. She had catered a wedding on Saturday and there was tons of leftover food that the people didn’t want to keep, so they said take it back and give it away! So our friends told us to go by and get some. The food was amazing and free. We are in the last week before payday and, while this time we are okay, usually we are really struggling. Anyway, this food is helping us to stretch our food just a little farther. Free food is always a blessing, just ask those who have struggled with buying it. This is a small one, but I sat at the desk this evening at church and during that time I was able to plan out a rough outline for my class at our VBS. It has been hard to get started on this at home with so much going on around me and I was glad to get an outline done. Things get easier from there and I was able to get the extra things I needed from the church before I came home to finish up my craft list. Now I am ready to plan exactly what goes where and figure out my decorations and lesson plan!
I said on Facebook that my birthday month is starting out great and it truly is. What better way to celebrate than by remembering how blessed I am in my life. God works in amazing ways everyday and in the little things everyday. Each one of the days listed above wasn’t pefect in any way. I had stress each one and whiny children at times and things went wrong, but what I’ll remember are the good things. Choose to see the good and the blessings in your life as well. No matter what is going on, if you follow Jesus and obey, you will be blessed.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. ~Psalm 1:1 (NIV)
Filed under News | Comment (0)Doodling
Alright…I can’t be the only one who still enjoys a good doodle in their notebook. I know we’re not kids anymore, but come on doodling is fun! Okay…maybe I am the only one, but whatever, it is fun and relaxing.
So, while I was doodling last week I made a little list of things I enjoy and thought I’d share that list here. (for lack of something better to blog) It will help me to remember things I liked right now when I look back, because as I was telling someone yesterday this blog is really a record “book” for me. Do I have any readers? Anyone?!
Things I Enjoy Right Now
the sun
trees
fruit
birds
owls
woodland animals
flowers
gardens
vegetables
groovy furniture
fun fabric
books!
recipes
cooking
bread
color
light
squooshy yarn
new pens, markers, crayons
art supplies in general
jesus
friends
relationships
good movies
decorating
creating
“internetting”
cozy fires
bed with blankets
painted toenails
mentors
sunday school
laughing
happy sounds
new babies
clean floors
empty sinks
yummy smells
chapstick
taking pictures
my children
does anyone know how to photoshop clothes onto them? I think this is the best picture I’ve taken of the three of them and they are in jammies and stained clothes…oh well!
Soakin’ up the Sun
I have wanted to have a garden for several years now, but it wasn’t possible for various reasons. When we moved into this house almost 2 years ago (can you believe it?!) I thought I would finally get one, but the land wasn’t cleared enough and there was other, more important, work that had to be done outside. We also didn’t have any equipment to make ourselves a garden (like a tractor, disc-thingy, or tiller). We still don’t have any of our own large equipment, but we do have wonderful neighbors and family members with those! I bought a garden rake and garden hoe last weekend and had lots of fun purchasing them. Funny how that can be exciting!
The spring started off great. I thought about a garden again and expressed that I would love to have a spot for one to anyone who would listen. Then my secret pal from WOM gave me such a cute little basket of goodies mostly related to gardening. Just look at the cute notebook, too. This was a perfect gift for me (so I know my secret pal knows me pretty well!)
Then, last week our neighbor Mr. P came over and broke up the ground for us. Here is our beautiful spot of dirt. Of course I took pictures – this will be our first garden!
After that was done, I sat down and said what next? I had no clue where to start. So my husband called his dad, the master gardener, and he came over Sunday afternoon. He told me how to plant so that plants wouldn’t shade others and what to do to get straight rows and told me how to plant the seeds and what I shouldn’t put close together. He showed me how to use the tiller and how to make a hill…and he and my husband did a lot of the work, but I did help… See:
I learned so much and I hope that all my plants grow and are fruitful. Here is the first row – tomatoes.
We planted tomatoes, corn, green beans, green and banana peppers, cucumbers, decorative gourds, cantaloupe, kale, broccoli, zinnias & wildflowers and made a seperate garlic bed. I recorded all of it in my new, pretty notebook:) There are many other things I’d eventually like to plant, but I think if this stuff grows I will be having enough fun. I can’t wait to make pickles and can tomatoes out of my own garden!
As it grows I’m sure I’ll show more pictures. If you haven’t tried gardening, you should. Just find someone who knows what they’re doing and learn everything you can from them. If I hadn’t had that my plants would have just been thrown all willy-nilly and who knows if I would have gotten anything! (I guess in gardening there is always a chance you won’t get anything – so I still might not – but here’s hoping!)
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