I've Been MIA For A Little While

Well as they say.....Life gets in the way.  I have been pulled in various directions and have not had a chance to sit down and update the blog.  Lots of things going on, but never enough time to sit down and formulate into written words for the blog.  Things are starting to settle down so I should be able to "show off" what I have been doing, new projects/goals in the wings and repair the dying garden for spring (no fall gardening this year) with discussing a few things I learned NOT to do.

I hope everyone is well and your craftiness is keeping you all busy.

I can truly say looking forward to some cooler weather....Texas is just so DANG hot.

Laters.

Summary of 2011 Events and Stuff

I wanted to take a few minutes to recap how my 2011 went (and boy did it go by fast).  I slacked off a few months on updating my blog...to life taking over....you know how that happens.  The memorable events of 2011:

• Knitted my first shawl, completed a full size quilt (including the quilting) for my husband.
• Loaded all of my loose knitting patterns, magazines and books into http://www.raverly.com/.
• Completed my goal (well it started with 25 in May when first started tracking and ended with 100) of reading/listening to 100 books before the end of 2011.  Next year my goal will include half of them being classic books.
• Daughter had all 4 of her wisdom teeth removed.  This was her first introduction to being put under and dealing with stitches and above all not being able to talk like the wants to.  Not sure if the no talking was a bad thing, just kidding.
• Participated in my first "judged quilt challenge" for a charity group.  I made a quilt out of batiks (not a fan of that fabric).  I did not win, but it was truly gratifying to have to come up with a quilt with a specific theme and have it looked at by people.
• My garden was destroyed (except for 1 bed that contained greens, Brussels sprouts and chard) due to a continuous 3 night frost.  I had tons of plants with tomatoes and peppers that were almost done and some just starting to ripen.  I know that I took a chance with a few new plants, but that was way to quick.  Luckily enough a few days prior to this freeze I took off a lot of the peppers that were ready and today I am still using them (I chopped them up and put all in separate zip lock bags).
• Presented and attended my first Quilt University for my local quilt guild.  My booth instructed people on how to choose a pattern.  The Quilt University took a new quilter from the beginning to the end of making a quilt.
• Built floating cold frame/enclosure for my future lettuce/greens that consisted of window screen and stitching together with cotton twine (pictures will soon come).
• At the end of summer we ended up having around 90 days of consecutive 100+ degree temperatures.
• Installed drip irrigation in garden.  It is not the greatest and I still have a few little things to do, but it works.
• Tried growing "personal size" watermelon and they got to be about softball size and then all rotted.  Don't think the location was conducive to them.  Will try again next year.
• Completed building all the vegetable boxes I needed in my garden and layed down about 1-2 inches of mulch on the garden floor bed to cut down on weeds, grass, etc.
• Inventoried all my books and uploaded into http://www.goodreads.com/.  Turns out I own over 700 books.  I had to purchase 2 more bookcases to try and coral them all, that did not work.  I have since decided to give away the books that are no longer needed by me and that I know I won't re-read and that my daughter/husband aren't interested in.  I am trying to get it down to just 1 full bookcase at any given time that looks presentable.
• Inventoried all sewing patterns onto an Excel spreadsheet and uploaded to my phone so that I don't purchase duplicate copies.
• Converted to the IPhone world.  Never thought I would, but I did.
• Inventoried seeds onto an Excel spreadsheet and uploaded to my phone so that I am always in the know of what seeds are needed.
• After returning from New York was sick as a dog (dying dog at that) ended up with the flu for a few days and then into the hospital for a few days with pneumonia.  Oh what joy.
• My daughter and I went on our first airplane ride ever (and even without my husband) and out of state to boot.  My daughter's band was invited to New York to perform and also the band directors included a few days of recreational fun for the students.
• Attended first quilt retreats locally, next will be to go away to a retreat for a few days.
• My daughter got her first "paying" job over the summer.  It was a joy to see her budgeting and spending her own money for a change.
• Discovered audio books and found that I can get through 1 almost every day.
• Had a tooth pulled, although in hindsight I think I should have gotten a second opinion, not to worry will be switching back to my dentist of over 8 years (long story).
• Started back knitting and the obsession begins.
• Decided this was the year to venture out and meet others and join various groups to expand my crafting, charity events, but above all to meet others.

Completed Projects 2011:
[3 x 6] Sampler Quilt Mini Bee-Flickr Group, 1st Qtr 2011 (Beehive 22), signed up 11/20100 (runs 01/2011-03/2011)  Must be mailed by 03/31/11.  Completed 3 of the 6 blocks needed (02/11/11)  Mailed 03/21/11.  

quiltingimaginations-Yahoo Group, Signature Block Swap, signed up 11/2010 (runs 01/15/11-04/30/11)  Mailed 01/27/11.   May do a miniature wall hanging or a mug rug.

scratchingpost-Yahoo Group, 2011 Birthday Club, signed up 11/2010 (runs 01/2011-12/31/2011).  Completed 12/2011


 Must be mailed by 02/21/11.  1 rug, pending completion of binding/label and 2nd rug needs to be quilted/binding/label.  Mailed 02/11/11.

quiltingforall-Yahoo Group, Spring Tulip Table Runner, due by February 28th for voting.  Completed 02/17/11.

Happy Mother's Day

I want to thank my husband and daughter for a great Mother's Day.  My husband brought home Kerby Lane Cafe breakfast (my favorite) which contained

• Gingerbread pancakes
• Scrambled Eggs
• Soy Sausage
• Country style potatoes

My daughter baked a pound cake for me and it was quite good.  My husband and daughter worked together to create a fabulous dinner, which was:

• Spinach Lasagna
• Chicken Marsala (first time it was made and my husband did a tremendous job on it)
• Garlic bread

Also, to my total surprise I received gift cards to Starbucks and Joannes.  Well I must say that my crafting and coffee addiction (recenlty acquired coffee additction, considering I could not stand it a few years ago, same thing happened with Chineese food) will be satisfied (as just on Saturday I broke down and purchased me a gift card to Sarbucks as well, go figure 2 gift cards for COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE), I will be overwhelmed with

• Venti
• Bold
• Carmel
• Little room for cream

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day, I know that I did.

Also, I picked this weekend to inventory and enter all the books that I have in my mini library into an electronic database http://www.goodreads.com/, turns out I have 559 books.  I like this program so far, as I can have it with me at all times so that when I come across a book that I need and it is on sale, I can purchase it without purchasing a duplicate.

Update

Well March turned out to be a crazy month for me:

I was ill from the end of February to the beginning of March.  Went to the doctor as was told that I had a respiratory infection, ear infection, nausea, and a bad headache.  I was on medication for a week or so.  I was wondering if this illness would prevent me from going to New York with my daughter and her band over Spring Break (03/14-18/11).  I got a little better and went on the trip.  I started developing another cough on the trip, thought maybe it was just the exhaustion, airplane ride, still getting over illness, different environment and lack of sleep.  I pushed through the trip and when I got home on Friday my cough was worse.  I went to the doctor on that Monday and was told I had the flu, ear infection, nausea, and a bad headache.  I had been battling a 102 temperature since I had gotten home from NY.  On that Thursday I starting having coughing fits and could not catch my breath, so I went to the doctor again.  She told me to go to the hospital as it may have been pneumonia or a pulmonary embolism.  Got to the emergency room (doctor called ahead so the process was real quick) and in about an hour was confirmed my lungs had pneumonia pretty bad (both lungs).  I was told this is what they call "walking pneumonia" and I may have had it for a few weeks and that is why I was not felling well.  I ended up staying in the hospital for a few days and then another week at home recuperating.

I am still not at my norm.  I get tired easily and my gardening has to be broken up into about an hour or 2 at a time.  So with this being planting season, it may take me a while to get through.  My crafting has also slowed down, I just don't have the energy.  Today I was so tired that I took about a 3-4 hour nap and I am still tired.  Normally I don't try to nap on the weekends so that when I do go to bed I can really sleep.

I have to shake this because this is not me.  I know I have been running on fumes for the last few months with work, the trip, etc., but normally I can snap back.  OH well I guess it is age that is starting to tell me that I have to slow down.  However, I will be telling age to take a back seat, I got things to do.  HA HA.

I will be posting pictures of the NY trip, updates on my gardening and quilting projects that I have been working on.  I also got a chance to read some books that I had on the back burner for a while because I found them on CD and during my hospital stay they kept me company.

Hope everything had a good Spring Break, St. Patrick's Day, April Fools, and are enjoying the changing in the weather.

Free Calendars For 2011

I never know what the date is let alone what day of the week I am on.  So I try to put a new calendar in each room each year (well at least I try).  I came across these and thought I would pass them along to you.  Various cute calendars that you can print and display.

EZ with Creature Comforts used watercolors to make the animals/nature prints in her calendar (she actually painted them).

Shivani with My Owl Barn has made a clickable calendar, which allows you to decide what picture will print for the month you select.  Way cool.  You will not look at owls the same way.

Cameron with Cottage Industrialist created a calendar geared toward vegetables.  This would be so cute in your kitchen.

I am sure there are tons more out there that people have created, so just Google the web and you never know you might just discover a new blog that peaks your interest (that's what happened to me).

Enjoy

Lookie What I Won

I recently participated in a Fruits & Vegetable Challenge at work through our Wellness Council and I won a $50.00 gift card to Whole Foods.  I really like that store, but the food is rather expensive, so this gives me an opportunity to test out a few things, without breaking the budget.  Who knows I may find something that I just have to have always (wink wink).

The goal of the program was:

Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day from November 1st to December 24th.  You were required to keep track of your daily intake of produce and the prizes were:


1) Farm to Work Produce Basket
2) Cookbook: Food to Live By, author: Myra Goodman
3) $50 Gift Card to Whole Foods

The American Cancer Society recommends eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day to help prevent cancer. These foods contain important vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants and are usually low in calories. In general, those with the most color - purple, green, red, yellow, and orange -- have the most nutrients.

Eating at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits each day may not be that hard to do when you look at how small one serving really is:

1/2 cup of fruit
1 medium piece of fruit
1/4 cup of dried fruit
1 cup of leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables

Trying to visualize the serving sizes?
1 medium apple or orange: the size of a tennis ball
1 cup vegetables or fruit: the size of a baseball
1 medium sweet potato: the size of a computer mouse
1 cup of dark green lettuce: 4 large leaves

Tips to fit more fruits and vegetables into your day:
• Try filling half your plate with vegetables or fruit at each meal.
• Explore the produce aisle and choose something new. Variety is the key to a healthy diet.
• Add fruit to your cereal, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes at breakfast.
• Create your own yogurt flavors with plain yogurt and different combinations of fresh fruit.
• Snack on raw vegetables or fruits instead of chips or pretzels.
• Use chunky salsa instead of thick, creamy snack dips.
• Add frozen veggies to any pasta dish.
• Keep fruits and vegetables in line of sight. Grapes, oranges, bananas, and apples make a colorful bowl arrangement on the table
• Dried fruit is just as portable as potato chips -- and less messy.
• When cooking vegetables, make 2-3 times more than you need and immediately store the extra for tomorrow. It will save time later.

Eating the fruits and vegetables was no problem at all as I use certain fruits as my sweet for the day and the vegetables are pretty much served at each dinner meal and sometimes used as a snack.  The problem was the tracking (as eating them was second nature), but I had to stop and track it or I would forget.  On the weekends, I had to send myself a message to remember to log it when I got to work.  I am so glad that I participated in the program and overall I won for something that I do anyway.  Tooooooo cooooool.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!

I hope 2010 was a good year for you, however I hope that 2011 will be even better.  Wishing great health and prosperity to you and your family and friends.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the chilly weather in the late afternoon as Austin received it along with crazy wind.  Mine started off all wrong, but overall it was a good day.

I woke up Thanksgiving morning prepared to enjoy good food and visiting with family and friends.  Around 5:30AM (we are earlier risers everyday) as I was going through my normal routine, my husband came and asked me to help him with something in the kitchen, he needed me to take a look to see if he was seeing something correctly (I immediately thought some SNAKE or RAT had invaded the home, not looking forward to seeing what it was).  As I entered the kitchen, I saw tons of pantry food on the cabinets.  I said WHAT THE (all I could think of was the work that would be involved in taking care of whatever it was that he saw).  He said take a look at this and tell me what you think.  I immediately knew what it was....weevil (WE EVIL).  HOW IN THE .....did they get in my pantry, then you know how in movies where you see flashbacks, I knew exactly how I got them.....

• About 2-3 months ago someone gave me some wheat crackers to try out.  I put them in my pantry when I got home (Friday) then on Sunday I decided to try the crackers with some peanut butter and asked my daughter to make them for me (as she was making a PB&J herself).  She came to me and said mom is this normal and I saw weird casings in the folds of the cracker container and some dead bugs.  I said no sweet heart, put them all in the trash.  I did not think twice about it after that.
• Last month we started seeing bugs flying in the house.  I thought OH NO my plants have gnats again (last time I got gnats, I lost all but 2 of my plants around 10 of them) and I felt so bad because I guess I over watered the plants (did not do the finger test).  So I figured well there goes my last 2 plants.  After looking at the bugs more carefully, they were not gnats, but much bigger and they did not seem to bite when they landed on you (can't say 100%).  We were dealing with these bugs for about a month and it was driving me crazy because I could not figure out where they were coming from and what they were let alone how to get rid of them (never thought about grabbing my camera or a baggie to put them in to investigate later, just wanted to kill them).
• About 5 days prior to Thanksgiving, my husband went to use some Basil and saw a bunch of bugs inside of the container (I started buying my seasonings from the weigh-it section of the grocery store), I could not figure out what they were since they were green (I guess from the basil).  We are supposed to seal all containers tightly before you put them away (mainly to prevent something from going stale), but hey it happens sometimes, so I think that is how they got into the container (unless I did not notice them when I poured the seasoning from the baggie to the seasoning jar).
• About 3 days prior to Thanksgiving, my daughter told us that when she went to get something from the pantry that in the bag where we store the plastic bags from the grocery store to reuse as trash bags, bugs flew out of them.  I figured, maybe a bug got into the pantry and flew out when the door opened.

Well all reality hit on Thanksgiving morning.  Everything and I mean everything was pulled from the pantry and investigated from top to bottom, inside and out and dates were checked.  Everything was opened and poured out to look through, put into separate plastic containers or zip lock bags.  We had an assembly line going (of course my 15 year old did not like being awaken at 7:00AM to help (but do they really)).  My husband pulled the items out and put on the dinning room table, I then went and picked up a group of things, inspected it, wiped it down, etc. and put on 2nd counter for my daughter to dry off and put on the breakfast table (mind you these are all separate rooms, trying to contain the problem).  My husband wiped down the walls and shelves inside the pantry and my daughter wiped down the door inside and out.  The pantry was swepted and mopped and left to air dry while we finished doing the food.  We ended up with a kitchen size trash bag and a black outdoor garbage bag of trash.  Nothing went back in there that was not encased in something plastic.  I figured if they appear at least it will be easy to see where they are coming from and I can discard that product.  I will have to get used to my bread being in the refrigerator (don't like cold bread, but I am sure I will get use to it).  I was so hurt to throw away so much food (a few items were about to expire, but most of it was recent purchases or the expiration date was far off, but it had been invaded).

We had never had this problem before and we have been in this house going on what felt like 100 11 years.  We felt so invaded and just kept wondering what had we been eating before...as my husband always says nothing like a little protein (GROSS).

If the weevils did not come from those crackers then these are the only other ways that I can come up with:

• Food from grocery store had them.
• My vegetables that I bring in from the garden have them.
• Some other product we brought into the house had them.

Have you ever had these before, if so what did you do to get rid of them and what do you do to keep them away?

Thanks to my subscribers

I wanted to let my followers know that I am THANKFUL for you subscribing to my blog to read what I have to say.  It always shocks me to know that someone is interested in my ramblings and bad photo taking.  You are truly appreciated.

I also wanted to say THANK YOU to all those who post comments on my blog posts, the information/comments/suggestions/compliments you share is appreciated by this newbie.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.

Thank you.

big B
Tigozinha
Caroline
Jennifer
Jason
Jackie
Texas Red
sowieso
myamiphil (under your profile, I could not get your blog address to come up)

Chores completed through 11/14/10

Here is a list of chores completed in the garden:

• Watered and feed (with liquid food) all vegetables and plants in the back garden.
• Potted up aloe vera, peace lilly, lemon blam, and sweet potato vine in front garden.
• Expanded flower bed next to faucet in back garden.
• Moved iris from pots to expanded flower bed in back garden
• Also planted Muscari, Daffodil, Papewhite, Black Beaded Iris, and Dutch Iris bulbs to the expanded flower bed in back garden.
• Shortened the hoops on the raised beds, 2 of them as the 3rd one currently has tomato plants that are real tall are are currently tied to those hoops to keep them upright (realized that the hoops were way to high and the row covers that I purchase for winter use is not utilized to its best because of all the air that gets in under the cover).  Be careful, got knocked in the side of the face once the PVC was cut, under pressure.
• Layed mulch on the expanded flower bed and already established flower bed.
• Removed the pepper plants, realized after looking at all the plants that there were only few bell peppers and jalapeno peppers, so was pointless to keep that bed dedicated to plants that was probably about to stop producing.  Amended the soil with more garden soil and added compost/granulated food in preparation for more greenery to be added.
• Removed the eggplants (4).  As I was removing the last 2, I found a couple of small ones.  I had already pulled the plants and figured the fruit would not be able to mature before it gets too cold.  Took a long time for it to produce fruit.  Got LOTS of flowers though.  Next year will plant it in a different location and much earlier.  I found the tag for the eggplants they are Eggplant-Black Beauty, the tag says they have a 80 day maturity time frame, think I pulled them to early.  Now I know.  Here is what others say about this plant.
• Moved one of the society garlic planters to the back porch after I found out that society garlic is good to deter mosquitoes (we will see).

Upcoming chores:

• Weed within the enclosed garden bed.
• Lay more mulch (if not more newspaper then mulch to kill off the grass).
• As soon as frost appears, remove the remaining tomato and pepper plants (should be sometime in late November to December).
• Purchase more winter row covers (at least 5)).
• After tomatoes and peppers are removed, top off beds with compost and work into the soil.
• Remove the Zinnias from front and back garden.
• Move tender floral plants to the shed/garage as soon as frost is about to arrive.
• Research why blueberries failed.
• Update garden plan for Spring 2011 along with list of plants that did well this year to purchase again next year.
• Begin list of plants and when to start from seed for Spring 2011.
• Figure out layout plan for possible irrigation system in vegetable garden.
• Research the building of cold frames, ensure the ones being built are interchangeable with existing raised beds.
• Plant the following seeds (may not get good germination, but experiment, it is only seeds):

1. Early Golden Acre Cabbage (sow September-May)
2. Gala Mache (sow September-February)
3. Micro Greens Spicy Mix (sow spring, summer or fall)
4. Kale Red Winter (sow early spring, late summer or fall)
5. Spinach, Baby's Leaf Hybrid, Harmony Hybrid, and Bloomsdale Long-Standing (sow early spring, late summer, and fall in the South)

To aid in germination, put a plastic top over the area for the seeds and then remove as soon as seedlings emerge.

Great Crafty Storage Ideas

I came across an article that gives various ways to organize and store your craft supplies.  In thinking of what I have in my craft room, I had already incorporated some of these ideas.  When I purchased my "faux" craft storage supplies, I did it because it was cheaper and did the job the same if not better than a name brand item.  What is cool about the items they list is they show you the before with an approximate cost then they show you the after and how they changed the item to fit in great with your craft room.  The items they show can be very expensive if purchased in a craft type store, but the options they give you can usually be found in your local hardware store or big box store in the sections that you would not normally visit for your craft storage.  You never know, there could be a gem waiting to be turned into a crafty storage system.

Quick and clever ideas for organizing craft supplies

Craft storage containers

Space tidy tabletop storage solutions

Some items I have revamp into crafty goodness:



This was from IKEA and it was a rack made for the tops of your pots/pans.  I use it to hold my quilting rulers.  I had to use some left over cardboard to hold some of the odd shaped and smaller rulers.





Got this at Wal-Mart in the automotive section for nuts and bolts, now holds my jewelry making supplies.



These are blocks in separate "Hefty Jumbo Bags" hanging from hangers.  This way I can pull out a bag to add a finished block or when I am done I can pull it out to work on the quilt top.  Keeps things clean and neat.



This is what I made into a ribbon holder.  I took a dowel (cut it in half), rubber bands and 4 curtain rod holders and made them to hold ribbon spools  Eventually I would like to replace the rubber bands with maybe some end caps, but the dowel is real small, so not sure if they have something like that.



This was an elephant that I found at a dollar store and I turned it into a pincushion which holds my needles with left over thread and my pins that have plastic heads (so I know not to use these when ironing).

I acquired this a few years back, it is a plate rack and I have turned it into a thread cone holder.  I will eventually paint it a different color (the gold is not for me) and I may decoupage the plates (they have a Christmas theme on them).



I got this from IKEA, it is used in the kitchen and it hangs from a metal bar (see the hanging mechanism to the the front).  I am  using that bar somewhere else so I used some left over picture hanging clamps and put it on my wall to hold my printer ink.

 

This metal grid is from the system that gives you tons of grids and the little plastic round connectors to make shoe racks, shelving units etc. It always fell apart, so I donated the system to Goodwill, but found this one left over in a closet, now it holds misc. items.  To attach what I need to it, I just use the black clips from office supply store.

 Like I said you can turn things into so many useful items for your craft room.  I am always looking to re-purpose something and not pay a hefty price for an item just because of a name.

I recently acquired this top and this base because I needed a table to support my vintage 66 Singer sewing machine.  The base made the table to low, so I remembered that I still had 2 legs left over from a sewing table that I created with IKEA legs and top (I ended up only needed 2 legs as my original sewing table, fell apart and the drawer unit was still good and that supported the other end of the table).  So I went to IKEA and picked up 2 more legs and which to my luck they were on sale for around $3.00 (originally $5.00) and now I have a VERY sturdy table for my somewhat heavy sewing machine.

Makeup Expiration...Is Your Product Expired?

I came across this article on when makeup should be thrown out the other day and found it to be very interesting.  I have thought about when my makeup may expire, but never really researched it.  I also recall a few years back that Oprah did a show on how to read the coding on labels on your makeup to know when it is due to expire.  However, half the time the labels have rubbed off of my makeup and I can't refer back to this.  Also, I guess this would entail me making some kind of note on the product as to when I purchased it and/or opened it to know when it is time to throw it away.  It is amazing that so many companies push makeup and the cost is outrageous only to have to throw it away when there is a large quantity of it it left   I only  wear makeup about 4 times a week (for work, not on Fridays) and for special occasions on the weekend.  I am more cognizant of the mascara going bad as I had a problem with eye infections last year, so a couple of months after use it goes in the trash.  I am going to try to consider this when using my other makeup, but may not always follow through.  Enjoy.

Very Interesting

In August, my husband and daughter discovered this in our backyard.  I was busy in the enclosed garden and did not see it.  I did a little research and it is a dragonfly.  The color on it is fascinating and it is truly amazing at how transparent the wings are.  God's creatures.  AMAZING.



Shred Day

I am not sure if some of you are like me, but I try to keep up with my shredding, but sometimes it just gets away from me.  When I hear about events like this, I try to take advantage of it (especially if it does not have a stipulation for where you live and having to show proof).  I thought I would share this information with you as well.  The BBB is putting on a shred day this Saturday at a couple of locations.   One of them is close to Austin, check out their link.  For those of you close to the Austin location see the information below:

Austin
October 23, 2010 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Dell's Round Rock Campus
Building #8 at 2401 Greenlawn Blvd. 

The Austin event is also recycling old mobile phones. Each car is welcome to bring up to five boxes of documents to shred.

Hopefully you can take advantage of this event.  Nothing like cleaning house.

Want to know how Lincoln's mother died?

This video explains that and much more about plants.  It is fascinating how a plant be good, but in a twist can be lethal.  You may have some of these plants in your backyard.  Enjoy.

Good Bye Summer, Hello Fall

Today on the calendar indicates it is the "First Day Of Fall".  The temperatures are in the 70's and it is foggy outside.

This is outside my office window.

I am looking forward to Fall.  I cleaned out my shed this week and found a SNAKE that got caught in some bird netting that I took off the blueberry plant a few months back (freaked me out).  I discovered I had more trash in the shed than I did usable items, some of the items I don't plan to use will go up on freecycle.  Next is to clean the area right inside my back door that I store stuff that I need both in the front and back yard as well as the grow rack in the garage for my seedlings.

I am also trying different techniques in the garden this season.  I hope to see if my results will improve some of the problems that I have been having.  I watched a person on Youtube who lives in a much colder climate and they have their winters early and he put row covers over his lettuce, greens, etc. and the plants were thriving (although he did it more so to obtain heat for the plants than to protect from bugs).  I put some of my winter row covers (will purchase a lighter weight fabric for the short time between summer/fall for the next year over my leafy vegetables (as soon as they were planted) to hopefully ward off the cabbage caterpillar and bugs of that nature.  I check on these plants pretty much daily, just to make sure that mold or drying out is not a problem.

My observations:
I saw that ants were taking up residencly in one of the smaller beds that is located at the front of the garden and gets more sunlight, so I put down some organic ant killer.  I also noticed that the plants in this bed were not doing as well, but still alive (I lost a brocoli and califlower plant).  I think it is because this bed gets more sun and with the "winter" row cover it gets too hot.

However, the leafy greens in the big bed at the back of the garden (where the sun sets behind the privacy fence) and it also has the "winter" row cover have grown a lot and I think I will be able to start harvesting some of the greens.

However, I noticed that my spinach is not germinating, will need to research that, I put these seeds down a few weeks ago and only saw a few sprout, which is odd because I sowed quite a bit.

Next time I will plant the leafy vegatbles toward the back of the garden, espeically becasue of the heat going into fall.   If this works, this will be a norm for me for the fall plantings.   I am also trying different vegetables such as chinese cabbage and brussel sprouts.

Well that is all for now, but more updates from the garden to come soon, with more pictures.

Hello All

I can't believe that I have not posted since July.  Time has gone by so fast and I don't know where it went.  I have been doing so much in the garden to prepare for fall and doing some quilting and organizing various areas in my home.  I have a few things that I will be posting real soon.  I hope everyone out there is doing well and that you are gearing up for the first day of Fall next week, Wednesday September 22nd.

Accomplishments For 2009

I found this list where I was tracking my accomplishments and decided why not post it so that I could look back at it and see what I have achieved and how I have progressed.  It is not all inclusive but the bulk of the stuff is there and it is listed in no particular order.

• Began container herb garden with a few pots on my small back patio porch and a few on my outdoor table (now turned into my work bench).  Progressed up to other vegetables in pots, started thinking about building raised beds.
• Built 1st raised bed with husband's help and planted it out with some seeds and pepper plants (pretty good for a first timer).
• Started composting in a trash can, too scared to try the open spaced composting method due to varmints wanting to visit my garden.
• Learned about how butterflies are created in your garden (no dill for me, I guess I set up a host plant without even knowing it).  Also learned about tomato horn worms (not my friend at all).
• Learned that tomatoes (at least for me) are not an easy task.
• Actually cooked with some of the herbs in my garden for the first time.
• Completed 15 community gardening hours.
• Completed 4 charity quilts.
• Completed Citizen Gardeners program.
• Completed cooking class.
• Started a blog (AMAZING).
• Utilized my digital camera more.
• Made a body double from duct tape, very crazy experience.
• Made my first dress, not the best but I would say pretty good for a first attempt.
• Knitted my first sock, was not too bad after all (the gusset was a little hard to remember, but not bad).  I then discovered I must of contracted "Second Sock Syndrome" because I have not made the second sock.  DANG those needles are small.
• Completed piecing my 2008 Fire and Ice Block of the Month, still need to put the quilt together.
• Completed knitting cardigan (first sweater EVER and boy was it a doozy).
• Purged my closet twice, only to add more stuff and did not apply 1 in 1 out rule, hey I am trying.
• Started family cookbook of tried and true recipes (this is truly helpful when you have no clue what to make for dinner).
• Made it through the freshman first semester of high school and marching season with my daughter (very interesting).
• Reorganized my own space/room, (computer, tv, craft, etc.) painted, put up shelves on wall and in closet, installed sewing table and cutting table.
• Became more aware of the flowers and plants that I have in the front of the house.  Started realizing that you can't just plop anything down and expect for it to live.
• Learned what too much and too little water can do your plants and vegetables (dead plants, mildew on leaves, over abundance of mushrooms, etc.).
• Made jelly both hot method and cold method for the first time after attending a canning and preserving class.  Loved it a lot.
• Learned what the heat will do to you and your garden (especially with over 50 days of triple digit temperatures).
• Took first foundation paper piecing class and created several blocks since then.
• Started to learn what cold weather will do your garden (peppers don't like the cold).
• Above all, learned that I can do this, just keep at it and expect failures, but also expect the little joys you get at that seed starting to sprout, the first flower bud on plant that is just about to fruit or that flower bud on a flowering plant...Also at the fact that you did it yourself with your own hands and you will soon get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Chores Completed Today.....

This morning was a very cool and slightly breezing morning.  So I decdied why not get some of your chores done today.  I try to spend a lot of time getting my gardening stuff done on the weekend as I work and I commute to/from work each day so I only get about an hour in the garden during the work day.

I was able to complete:

• Washed a lot of the little pots (with a little dish liquid and bleach), these will be used to transplant some of my seedlings.

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  Potted up the Blue Crop Bluebbery plants (I picked these up at Lowe's Satruday morning and was amazed at how cute the plants were packaged and you got 2 blueberry plants for $5.00 was originally $10.00, but Lowe's had it on sale).

• Poted up my new Plumbago plants.  Pikced up 2 of them also from Lowe's yesterday. I was strolling through the annuals to see if there was anything I could not live without (only went their for potting soil). I thought, let me check to see if they have any Plumbagos, I bet they don't and the next ailse over I heard them calling my name, so frekin excited to be able to replace the one I lost last year.

• Transplanted various types of coleous, 1 rosemary stem (into 2), and 2 spider plant stemps into their own small pot. I received these from a plant propagation class that I went to yesterday at the AgriLife Extension Office of Travis County.  Awesome class, learned a lot in such a short time.

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  Removed a lot of dead leaves throughout the garden.
• Planted 3 more pepper plants in the pepper bed (these plants I raised from seed, unfortunately the plant tags went missing so not sure if it is a bell pepper or a jalapeno, will know for sure in a few weeks when they begin to fruit).
• Removed the radishes from hanging baskets, they did not seem to do so well. I have not had a great time in getting these to grow well. I think I need to start them much earlier in the spring (I’m guessing) so they have a lot more cooler weather to grown in.
• Repotted my plant I got from Home Depot a few months ago, when I took it out of the pot it was growing roots out of the interior pot.  I moved it to this pot and added some rocks as mulchon the top.

Taiwanese Boy Sings Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" LIVE

Wow, when I saw this video, I was not actually looking at it, I had it on as background noise and I truly thought it was Whitney Houston.  Amazaing.  Enjoy.


Taiwanese Boy Lin Yu Chun Sings Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" LIVE