Funny Magic

This is How my Garden Grows

A bit of garden on the boulevard:

Nasturtium, Lady's Mantle, Hosta, Lilies, Sedum, Russian Sage.

This year I planted Nasturtium from seed for the first time, and I'm so happy I did; I totally dig their leaves.

I also love Lilies for their bright colors, and they're so prolific! Plant one and before you know it you'll have a whole gaggle of 'em:

Here's a flower bed near the front of the house: (You can just go ahead and ignore the weeds in the sidewalk cracks, ahem.)

More Nasturtium, a creeping ground cover, a mess of other stuff that hasn't bloomed yet, and some hostas that I transplanted.

But oh, those Nasturtiums!

And tomato plants!

(Note to self: Stake them up some more tomorrow - they've fallen and they can't get up!)

Also loving these little yellow daisy-like things that I've forgotten the name of:

My flower gardens have been a continual work-in-progress since we first moved into our house over 10 years ago, but I love it; while I've watched stuff wither away and/or refuse to come back the following year, I've also learned what works for me (novice gardener that I am) and my soil. I'm the sort who thinks getting out there and pulling weeds and watering is good entertainment, but who can blame me? We spend half the year indoors fighting off cabin fever and insanity, after all! 

(Another note to self: get out there and weed that sucka' pronto! Like, yesterday!)

How's your garden, however big or small, growing?

Go Local :: Week Six

On Saturday we went to the farm for a 4th of July lunch with family.

It was so fun to visit with everyone, and just as much fun to spend some time in here:

We came home with a couple bags of fresh-picked beets, peas, and onions. Yum!

Okay, gotta run - Juliet's begging to go to the park, and if I don't get my rear in gear she's gonna freak. "Mom, can we go now? Please?! I've been waiting to long!"

(Signing off now with a photo of some flowers: "Still Life with Sweet William and Ants.")

Have a good day! More Go Local here!

In the Evening...

 

Charlie had a friend over for an overnight, and while they and Juliet played happily in the backyard I sat on the deck and sipped away on a Ruby June (seriously yummy, people!) and knit on a half-finished pair of armwarmers that once upon a time were gonna be socks but then I changed my mind. Or rather, I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like doing the whole heel-turning-thang, so I waved my magic wand and the socks became armwarmers. Yeah, like that.

Fast forward to twenty minutes later, still sitting (!), still sipping, kids playing happily...

...and I've moved on to a little February Lady action. I've been knittin' on her, but slowly - I keep getting distracted by socks and armwarmers and the million other UFO's lingering about my house. Ah, well.

Today Juliet said to me, "Mom? I wanna have our whole backyard filled with flowers! Can't we plant some more flowers? Please?" We are kindred spirits for sure, because all day today I was dreaming about what I'd love to have my backyard look like and all the things I'd build and plant if I had unlimited time (and money!). Dare to dream, I say. 

So until we get around to building a treehouse just like this one, we'll make do with homemade forts under the table:

Anyone out there have any good treehouse stories or tidbits to share? We've got this book and hubby and Charlie are mapping out some plans for a very basic treehouse, hopefully to be finished for the kids to goof around in by the end of summer. I never had a treehouse as a kid, but dang if I didn't want one. (Commence sad violin music now, please. sniff.)

Hey, it's 4th of July this weekend!

Happy holiday weekend to you!

Good Times

We're back from our getaway this past weekend, and I'm happy to report that it was a blast.

The drive up north was great: blue skies, warm weather, and excellent scenery:

On Friday evening we encountered a mud turtle,

and went out for an evening pontoon ride on Lake Mille Lacs.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I wasn't in the mood to be distracted by the camera, but there were campfires and roasted marshmallows, wine and cocktails (the Ruby Junes were a huge hit!), swimming and a bit of thriftstore shopping, lots of chit-chat and plenty of laughter. (Not much fishing, though, as the weather was on the inclimate side - high winds make for rough waters on lake Mille Lacs, waters too wild for fishing.) The weekend went by way too fast, as always, and good times were had by all of us. I hope your weekend was a good one, too.

Summertime Stuff

Ahhh, summertime, and the living is easy. (?) I don't know about any of y'all, but we've been busy here at the ranch. Between various kids' activities, familial and homestead responsibilities, and doing my best to keep the house from become a total wasteland of chaos and dirt, er, what's my point? Let's see, oh yes. We're going out of town tomorrow to spend the weekend up north on a lake with friends, and today is packing/organizing day, which always brings me to the edge of sanity. Or insanity, whichever way you wanna look at it. But not to worry, as soon as we're on the road tomorrow a.m. it'll all be good.

How's about some finished embroidery, then?

This was for the Bunny Stitch-a-Long on Flickr. I love doing little embroidery projects.

Last night, in preparation for our weekend, I made some rhubarb (again with the rhubarb?!) syrup:

 

We'll be having ourselves some Ruby June cocktails this weekend - I'm betting they'll taste great after a day of fishing on Lake Mille Lacs, and swimming, playing, cooking and gabbing. (Recipe for Rhubarb Soda here.)  'Course I'll bring some knitting along for the drive:

Socks - never mind that I have yet to complete this pair - one down, one to go, though! Just haven't taken a good pic yet...I just couldn't help myself from casting on with this jewel-colored yarn. I've really been digging the deep purples and reds and blues lately.

Alright, gotta go and get moving with this (very busy) day. I'll be back next week with pictures of fish, water, and general silliness. I may even have a Muskellunge to show ya...click here if you dare! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Go Local Monday

At long last I'm happy to report that I (and Juliet)  finally made it to one of our local Farmer's Markets last week:

The pickins' were pretty slim as it's still a bit early in the growing season here in the northland, but we came away with some lettuce, broccoli, strawberries, and a bundle of little red onions. I'm looking forward to going back each week and watching the whole market fill up with more summertime eats; in the meantime I'm quite content to nosh away on my salads and berries for now.

After our visit to the Farmer's Market, we met up with some friends for a couple of rides on one of the classic streetcars run by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum:

I've taken many a ride on the historic Como-Harriet Streetcar, but when you go with the little ones, what's old seems new again.

After our ride(s) we indulged in delicious, yummy, and very sloppy ice-cream cones by the lake:

...I'm so glad summer's here...   (Go Local food-happenings here.)

Summer Blouse, v. 2

Quite happy with how this one turned out. Here's how I modified:

1. 3/4 length sleeves instead of full-length.

2. Cut the placket in half lengthwise, therefore no need to zigzag or handsew the opening closed at the bottom. I also didn't use a contrasting fabric for the placket.

3. Took in the sides a bit.

4. No loop and button closure.

Next time (and there will be a next time because I'm loving this top) I will cut the front neckline down a bit as well, because it's entirely too high. 

My sewing space has been seeing lotsa action lately...must be the season, warm and rainy, that makes me wanna sew my brains out. Today I made new clothes for Juliet's doll:

Annalise was in desperate need of some new outfits, so I whipped up a skirt, sundress, and nightgown this afternoon. Yes, in one afternoon! I think I'm addicted to sewing doll clothes now - I used fabrics from my bin of scraps, and just winged-it on the patterns, which was so liberating and just plain fun! (And Juliet was more than pleased, which makes me happy.) Here she is getting-in on the sewing action:

...and I'm more than happy to have her company.

Rummaging.

Just popping in to share some pics of my church rummage sale finds from last week. Thrifting and sailing make me feel just giddy...

Guess how much these 6 vintage Japanese coffee mugs with orange tree cost? Three dollars. $3.00! Outside I was cool, calm, collected. Inside I was entirely otherwise. Wanna see some more cool Japanese mugs? Go here.

After my score of mugs, I picked up this little jewelry box for a dollar:

 

A trio of pillows for a few more bills:

And a vintage pink chenille coverlet:

It has a few stains and a couple rips just along the outer edges, but other than that it's in great shape. I'm kinda' dreaming about picking up a pattern for a bathrobe and making a pink chenille robe for myself. Would that be cool or what??!

Also picked up a few fabrics - the blue checked feels like a wool blend, so I'm thinking winter skirt for that stuff.

 

In my neighborhood this past weekend there were about 100 garage sales, and I got to spend Saturday morning shopping and sailing all by myself. In all honesty, I didn't find a lot of stuff...a dress for Juliet, a fabric doorframe puppet theatre (pretty cool, actually, for only a two dollars)...

In other news, it's Go Local Monday and I have nothing to show for it this week, so I'm gonna read all about other people's happenings over at Heather's place and vow to get my arse to the Farmer's Market this week or else!

Have a good day!

Today...

 

Vanilla yogurt with, you guessed it, rhubarb-raspberry sauce and a bit of ground flaxseed.

 

Polka Dot Bunny is hosting an embroidery stitch'along on Flickr. Cool. I'm in.

 

...a bowl of flowers from Juliet....

Here's a few other fun things I've come across lately:

Vintage Sheet Fat Quarter Swap - I believe you can still sign up.

Summer Knitty is up!

Yummy yarn giveaway here. Leave a comment - quick!

Happy Thursday!

Go Local Week Two - From the Homefront

For the second year, my friend Heather is once again organizing Go Local, a deliciously inspirational challenge to eat one meal per week consisting of locally (within 250 miles from where you are) produced ingredients. The purpose, in her words, is "To inspire and be inspired to eat healthy, local foods. It's good for you. It's good for the environment. It's good for the economy." I couldn't agree more!  Myself, I'm looking forward to making my first trip of the season to my local farmer's market this coming Saturday morning; in the meantime, here's what's been happening around my place:

The rhubarb has been nearly picked clean and devoured this year: breads, compotes, and tomorrow... rhubarb crumble.

One of two tomato plants are coming along nicely.

And I'm loving my first experience with growing fresh herbs: sage, oregano, and thyme. Not pictured: rosemary and lavender, too.

Oh, and let's not forget this:

Catching and frying our own fresh fish, straight from the lake on my dad's property up north. When Charlie and hubby and my dad were up there a few weeks ago, they caught some nice sunfish...not enough to keep for a fish fry, so it was more of a catch-and-release type of weekend (lucky fish!).

Anyhoo, I'm looking forward to my weekly dose of Go Local this year - the recipes and inspiration to be shared is such a good thing.

Time to go and check out this week's edition! Ta-ta for now...