Chore Time……

    My foot is finally starting to feel better just in time to get that over due garden taken care of. It’s been calling to me every day but I just couldn’t get there. This last weekend I spent some time out there weeding!! I prayed first. I asked God to help me get through it. I asked for three things. 1. Please no bugs dive bombing me…I hate bugs! 2. It was a fairly cool, cloudy day, and I asked if it could stay that way for a while. 3. Please keep the pain at bay until I am done. What happened, was nothing short of a miracle…… I have tons of these yellowish gold beetles that love to land on me, constantly, when I am outside. They are really dumb bugs too. They fly right into your hair or eyes or mouth if you let them! Although they flew all around me, only two landed on me. I am telling you….that’s a miracle. My foot did not hurt once and I had been in pain every day up until then. I did ice it the night before. The sun stayed behind the clouds until I picked the last weed!!!!! When I said in my head, “I am done,” I felt the sun on my back!! Wow….thank you God.

Here are some after photos….

 

Tomatoes…..

Gourds coming along……

He spins with the wind and keeps birds on their toes.

Beets need more weeding and thinning….

Rainbow carrots…..the same….

Obie decided to see what was in the bushes. Can you see him in there?

I smell something!!

What was that???

Awe…..it’s gone….that darned chipmunk!!

I did manage to get to a few yard sales for the first time this summer last weekend. I came home with some nice treasures. Two lovely photo frames @ 50 cents each…..

The pine cone one is by a mid west artist.

And I just loved the look of the other silver one.

I also found an old box of playing cards for 10 cents!! They are called Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards and they are so neat!

 

I guess they have been making these since the early 1900’s. Very interesting. Sometime this summer I am going to have a giveaway and these will be part of it, unless my friend Joyce at Octoberfarm would like them?? Do you have a set of these Joyce? Let me know! I also came across these two bowls made by Nantucket. I just loved the color of them….and the price too! It was a dollar for the two of them! How could I resist?

 

 

Aren’t they pretty? I love that shade of faded blue. I have another project I have been working on for someone.  It will spoil the surprise if I show you now. After the 4th I will post about it. It’s been fun to make. What have you all been up to?

Oh I found my bug this morning. The one that is eating my geranium leaves and my alyssum plants and the one that likes to land in your hair and eyes! Here’s a photo….

They are called Rose Chafers. Here’s a link with more info about them.  Rose Chafer Bugs   They are such pests!! I collected these awful bugs in cups of soapy water, probably 50 to 100 at a time, almost daily. I destroyed probably 3 to 5 hundred of them this way. I also tried white vinegar and water in a cup. That was much quicker. I simply knocked them off the plants and into the cup. Here are some more images…..

                        Rose Chafer Images

   I hope they are gone for the summer. They like sandy soil and I have plenty of that! They also like strawberries and the farmers on my road grow acres and acres of them. Maybe that is why they came here to begin with? I wonder what’s next!

 

Are you having any bug problems???

Oh The Pain….

   It’s been really hard to do much of anything lately because of my plantar fasciitis. It is terribly painful. I saw an orthotic guy recently and he is making me a pair of orthotics. They took molds of my feet. They called this morning with the bill…..350.00! Ouch! Boy….nothing is cheap these days! Insurance does not cover these. They will be ready soon and I am in hopes that it will start to alleviate my foot pain and I my life will be back to normal. Meanwhile, standing, sitting, lying down are all painful. I do have an almost pain free day here and there and I cherish them! Yesterday and today are not one of those days. So….I am neglecting many things….

1. Weeding my garden

2. Housework

3. Painting some patio furniture

4. Taking a daily walk for my heart

5. Going to yard sales

6. Redoing my blog

7. Visiting a lot of you

    I sit here at the computer as long as I can. My foot is killing me right now so it is time to go. Be back when I am feeling better, but in the meanwhile, I do enjoy coming by your blog for a peek or to linger for a while and enjoy what you have written! It cheers me up so thanks!!

 

See you soon….

Happy Fathers Day….

 

To all of the wonderful fathers out there…this is your day. A fathers day poem….'

 

What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,
He called it ... Dad

Enjoy your day dad!!!!

Calendar Girls….

 

No…not that type of calendar girl! The movie that was named Calendar Girls. Have you ever seen it? I just got done watching it and i loved it!…just loved it!!

It took me 7 years to find it!!  If you haven’t seen it you must! Go on out and rent it or order it up from Netflix….it’s hilarious, inspiring, thought provoking and just plain fun. It’s also a true story. A brief bio…..

Calendar Girls Biography

Chris and Annie are the best of friends – very different, but very close. Living in a small village in the Yorkshire Dales, their peaceful lives are shattered when Annie's husband dies of leukaemia. An active member of the local Women's Institute, Chris enlists the support of her fellow members in a fund-raising initiative for the local hospital. Her seemingly traditional idea is to produce a calendar, with a different woman photographed for each month. Each one will be engaged in a classic WI task, such as jam making, flower pressing and knitting. Sounds traditional enough, but her idea has a radical twist - the women will be in the nude. Before they know it, the women are hitting the headlines at home and abroad. Whisked whirlwind publicity tour, they take their turn on the talk shows and in magazine photo-shoots. Amidst the hype and glamour, the friendship between Chris and Annie is put to the test.

Here’s a trailer from the movie…..

I found this page with some of the original photos of them….really brave of them all….

                               Calendar girls reunite

       What a bunch of cool gals huh?

                  Sorry….I couldn’t resist! :)

Happy Birthday Carissa Dee…..

 

   There she is at Christmas time a few years ago teasing her brother and wearing most of the bows that came off her presents. From the time she was little, she ripped stickers off things and saved them or wore them. Chiquita banana stickers were her favorite, and she usually would stick them on her face. My little girl is 28 years old today and she is away doing what she loves…camping! Every year for the past several years it has been a trip to Bar Harbor but this year she went to Crocker Pond Campground in Bethel, Me. She loves to hike, fish, swim, canoe, sit around a fire and eat marshmallows, play guitar, drink beer and raise heck. She is there with her close friends both male and female. I talked with her this morning and she was napping in her tent after having breakfast cooked on the fire…scrambled eggs with cheese, and banana and strawberries. The weather is kind of crappy but they will make due. She’s always been a little hippie. These 2 photos above are from a big music festival my family and I put on in memory of my folks a few years ago.

She loves her brother. She’s even patient at times with her mother when she wants to be! The one above was taken several years ago. I was singing a song with her. She loves her uncles… ….and she loves to play a little on the wild side…………..

 

  but the absolute LOVE of her life, without a shadow of doubt is PIPER…her beloved dog!!

 

   That’s probably the only grand child I will ever get and if that’s the case…that’s alright. Piper gets away with everything! So….to my crazy, lovable, artistic, beautiful, amazing daughter……HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY….hope you have many, many, more…..

              Love you…. Your mother.

Busy Plains People….

 Despite having been diagnosed with the painful Plantar Fasciitis recently, I had a pretty good foot day today. Hubby has been walking three times a week and increased just recently from 1 mile to 1 1/2 miles. It’s really bothered my that I couldn’t go walking with him. Today I had a good day and went. I let him go ahead of me and I took my time. The wildflowers along the way were so pretty that I picked a bouquet! I picked some buttercups and daisies and Joe Pye Weed and Wild Flax and ferns of all types and more flowers I could not identify. I cheated and grabbed the above picture from Google, but take away the sunflowers and my bouquet is not far off! It really brightened my dining room! I am sore but it was worth it.

   My garden is coming along well. Not much to look at right now so I will hold off on the pictures until there is something significant to see. Hmmmm….am I getting picture taking lazy or what? Oh well. Speaking of gardens, one of the bloggers I stumbled upon recently has the coolest and I mean COOLEST scarecrow I have ever seen! Check it out at her blog….Penny's Art Room Blog …..don’t forget to check out the butterfly one before that! Awesome!

   Now wasn’t that cool? Don’t ya want to make one!?? I know!

   I smell roast chicken and rice pilaf coming from the other room…..and I am really hungry. Hubby is outside mowing the back 40 and it is just about dinner time. Obie is having a good week! He came out to my garden with me today and helped weed. Russell’s love to weed! I just say “Ok Obie dig…dig…dig a dig dig and he does. It’s their nature. They love to burrow in the ground and stick their noses right in there and get all dirty. Well here….I found one on the internet and this is what he does!…..

Yup…..that’s it….it’s really fun to watch as long as you don’t mind what he’s digging.

   Roast chicken is calling….be back soon with some pictures I hope!

Garden Delight Mode……

   I finally got around to planting my garden! Above is a photo of last years garden…one of my favorite veggies to grow………pickling cukes. No pictures of my garden yet you say? You would be correct! The batteries are always dead in the camera when I want to use it………every darn time. Most of my seeds came from Pine Tree Garden Seeds in New Gloucester, Maine………probably only 5 miles or so from my home, a modest seed company, set back away from the road and looking more like an old New England farm. With the exception of probably 30 cars in the driveway, you’d never know it was a place of business. Almost all women work there.Pine Tree Garden Seeds usually has just about anything you are looking for in gardening.

I have planted all of the above from last years harvest once again. The baby pumpkin, butternut squash, and gourd assortment. I am also excited to once again plant my favorite new veggie….Rainbow Carrots!! If you haven’t tried them yet, you just have to!! They are wonderful to look at and so, so, sweet! They are so popular that Pine Tree was out so I had to go in search of them elsewhere. I found them at a local nursery. They are becoming quite popular. Along with the rainbow carrots, I am adding the Atomic Red Carrot….can’t wait to see those. Another new one to me this year is the Sweet Dumpling Squash.

Here is a photo above of this squash. It is used for fall decoration and it is also supposed to be a great squash to cook too.

I am planting two butternuts….an Early and a Watham. I planted Snow peas by the name of Carouby de Maussane once again. I grew them a couple of years ago. Not only are they plentiful, they are also extremely sweet. I love them and when we get Chinese, we ask for extra snow peas, onion, and garlic EVERY TIME! They know us very well now by our special order!

Along with the baby small sugar pumpkin, I am growing a larger variety called Connecticut Field Pumpkins. They grow up to 15 pounds. A recommended Incredible Yellow corn is in the garden this year but I was intrigued by a Mini Colored Popcorn that Pine Tree offered.

    The seeds look just like the photo above. They are of all different colors….very cool. You can dry the ears and actually pop them, or use it for ornamental decorating in the fall. Many of the reds and burgundies have colored husks as well. The stalks are six feet tall and they bear 5 to 8, five inch ears, 3/4 of an inch in diameter. They pop slightly smaller kernels of popcorn. I have a space master cucumber, that grows on a 3 foot vine, and a smaller pickle type, of course. Detroit Beets, a lovely Sunflower mix, Marconi Red and Sweet Banana Peppers, Roma tomatoes ~~~~~~ six of them, and I think that’s it! I can’t wait to watch everything grow!!!!!!!!! I just love watching the garden and can’t wait to see photos of what you are trying this year? Will check back in soon.

This is from a couple of years ago. Some of the cucumbers had the funniest shapes. The carrots were actually x-rated!