time in the garden...

I guess I could complain like everyone seems to be doing about the heat.  I am definitely not a fan of hot weather. Instead I am choosing to be grateful.  I am thankful for the air conditioning and the fans that keep our house nice and cool.  I am sure that it definitely does help my gratefulness.  If I were hot non-stop, I think I might struggle with gratitude.  

Instead, I can wander out into my treetop garden and celebrate the fact that the heat is creating the need to harvest several times a day. I am able to keep my dehydrator filled and running almost non-stop right now.  The cayenne peppers are bountiful this year and each time I walk outside it seems like more of them are vibrant red.  This is the first year that I have had more than five or six to last throughout the year.

I'm trying out something new with the abundance of cherry tomatoes.  I've sliced them at a quarter inch and sprinkled them with the garlic salt, made from the scapes. They are in the dehydrator now, if all goes well, they will dry and become a slightly chewy chip. Fingers crossed. And if they aren't something we like as a snack, they are definitely something I can toss into various recipes, just like the powder I made from the dehydrated tomato skins. 

I'm did most of my Monday chores yesterday, I have a lot going on this week.  I was given a couple of bags cucumbers and decided to make cinnamon pickles.  Sometimes known as Christmas pickles. I've never tried them, but when you have an entire sink full of slightly larger cucumbers you need to come up with some use for them. 

I didn't realize they took 5 days before coming to an actual canning stage.  Day two was the most labor intensive if you don't count peeling a sink full of cucumbers.  We won't be able to taste them until day 4 at the soonest.  Hopefully, I am not wasting an incredible amount of time and they are as delicious as everyone says they are.  After all, we were pretty darn happy with the pickled brussel sprouts, and they sure didn't sound all that good. 

Waste not, want not.  

when a squirrel does the planting 
they know nothing about spacing...

All of these blistery hot days are definitely paying off.  It looks like one of the squirrels decided to plant a few tomato plants for me.  I'm debating on what I am going to do with the little volunteer plants that have popped up. I definitely don't have enough bed space to let them all grow, although I absolutely despise pulling them and letting them die. I have no idea which ones are growing, although I am pretty sure that we have enough warm weather ahead for at least another harvest before this season ends. Based on where they are located I am guessing either a cherry tomato or a chocolate cherry tomato.  Both have produced wonderfully. 

cherry tomatoes

Hungarian sweet peppers

gypsy peppers

mini peppers

jalapenos... soon to be jelly

Hubs and I spent the late afternoon in the garden.  Cleaning it up, weeding, tying up tomatoes (did I mention that the tomatoes are going crazy this year?) pruning here and there all the little things that help it continue to produce so well.  I think I am going to fertilize today and plant a few more cow peas.  That should wrap it up.  

I have two more bags of potatoes to check on, they might even be ready to harvest.  Then it's time to decide what I am planting for fall in those bags.  Part of me wants more potatoes, but then I start to consider some beets.  I'm also getting ready to plant the fall lettuces again.  As the season starts to change there are more shaded areas where they will grow well.  Maybe some onions?  And I am waiting slightly impatiently to plant my garlic for next spring. 

The garden definitely consumed the greater part of yesterday.  It's all good, if it hadn't that would mean it isn't thriving. 

not sure why Belle thinks she's a fern...
or why she is in the planter...

Thankfully the weather has cooled a bit today, so it will not be so miserable when I head out to mow the grass.  After I finish the morning chores I will head up to the sewing room for a bit.  I didn't get much made this weekend and need to refocus myself. We headed to a few antique shops and found a few more feed sacks and vintage embroidery work.  My goal is to have 20 of the beautiful pin cushions made by Wednesday.  Shouldn't be hard.  Then I am going to mix it up a bit, I want to create thread catchers/pin cushions with them.  

I bought a very plain one at a quilt show not long ago and I am in LOVE.  I take it with me everywhere that I will be crafting.  It has completely changed my frustration level when doing hand work. I will make a small assortment of those before moving on to the next project.  I can't believe we are already moving into August. 

Tomorrow is the eldest daughter's birthday.  Mine will follow a few days later and then my beautiful grand daughter is two days later.   She and I will do something together to celebrate this year.  I am so thankful for that.  She growing up so fast that before long my sweet girl will be off living her own life and that day between birthday celebration will become the stuff memories are made of. 

I haven't forgotten about 2 Timothy 4:3-4, I'm simply still processing it.  It ties in so soundly with the message that pastor shared yesterday on John 9.  So many thoughts are swirling in my head and I need time to process, maybe ask a few questions.  I am finding the more I think I understand, the more I need to question, the more connections and truths I am finding.  Talk about sliding down rabbit holes. 

Well the sun is starting to rise, soon it will be time to take care of outside chores, so I'd better get busy and finish the inside one. Time is wasting... And I don't wish to waste the blessings from the father...

love and prayers... b

more coffee...

I'm trying to force myself into being awake and productive this morning.  So far, we are not off to a great start. I mean, I woke up to a 75 pound puppy standing on my hair trying to wake me up, followed by a blast of icy cold air on my bare feet as I let them out and the realization that Hubs had to leave within 30 minutes of my blurry eyed self wandering downstairs.  Ya'll, it is down right difficult to function, cook breakfast and feed pups all on a sip of coffee within the first 30 minutes of waking up.  

Beau being all handsome

But dang, that extra two hours of sleep was heavenly.  I mean, I guess I could have stayed awake at 3:30 am when I heard Hubs wake up, but frankly, I didn't feel like starting my day in the middle of the night.  So after spending about an hour reading I thankfully fell back asleep.  I mean I am an early riser by nature, but I consider 3:30 am or even 4:30 am to be right in the middle of the night. 

Now he's off to work, pups have been fed and I just poured myself my second cup of coffee (although technically the first - as this one is actually hot as I am drinking it).  They are all doing their thing now, so I can relax for a bit and wake up officially. 

I have a busy day planned, I was a good wife yesterday and completed all of my paperwork chores, heck I even finished our taxes in the month of January.  I don't believe I have ever done that in my life. I just figured it was lingering, I had everything I needed, why not. Gotta say, while I strongly oppose our tax system, I admit that it feels good to have it over and done with this early. Instead of having it linger for months on end like an evil darkness. 

someone broke the dog... he laid like this for
at least 10 minutes... goofy boy

That means today I can focus on the things that involve working with my hands.  And being more active.  I decided that I am going to get some soaps made this week, just not how many and what variety.  Pretty sure that will happen as I start digging in my supply closet, looking at which ones we favor and the ones that I don't have to order anything for.  I am so very weary of waiting for supplies to arrive.  

I live in a fairly large city, you would think I could zip down the street to a local shop for things I use. I mean my hobbies aren't unusual or rare at all.  Sadly, that isn't even possible.  In this large city we do not have a single yarn shop, fabric stores are basically limited to the "big box" stores and a few very small quilt fabric shops. 

Not every sewing project is a quilt.  I made Hubs a robe for Christmas.  He'd picked the fabric, I was concerned with the quality while sewing, but figured it would last for the year at least and then I would make him another one later in the year.  As he walked across the room the other day I noticed that the fabric had started to shred. Seriously?  

Soap making supplies are also fairly limited.  There is a small soap/candle making supply shop in the heart of downtown, but I have been there, purchased from them and used their products.  Sadly, not very good quality. 

I guess it is a fair representation of the lack of folks like me in our area. 

Belle is the queen of cushions
they are for her comfort

It's also time to clean the sewing studio.  I've been dragging my feet.  It's fairly organized still, just a bit chaotic after the Christmas rush.  But I've made the decision to part with some of my fabrics.  Not quilt making ones, but the large collection of kid based ones.  Polar fleeces, some denims, etc.  And it's time to further clean out some of the books.  The truth is I've hauled those around with me for decades, even prior to my move to the mid-west and if I haven't had time to dig into them and make something happen at this point, I will probably not be doing anything with them in the future. It's time to let them go and hopefully someone else can find uses for all of them. 

I want to do it.  I am ready to do it.  But after the basement cleansing, honestly, I am feeling a bit intimidated by the idea. I am positive that just like the basement, I will feel so refreshed and ready to utilize the space once I have cleared out the extras.  

I don't remember the exact verbiage of a quote I saw yesterday, but it addressed how healing it was to get rid of clutter.  I agree 100%, it clears the energy and space all around you.  Some of it you might mourn for a moment, feeling that you should have held on to it for sentimental reasons or... well there are hundreds of "or's".  When the reality is within a day or so, you aren't missing it, you don't even notice it isn't there. I fear that is why so many of us hold on to things when we know we are never going to use them or need them.  The what if's and the sentimentality are overwhelming for a moment. 

I'm wondering, does age make you more or less sentimental?  Personally, I am finding less and less need to hold on to things and more and more of a need to hold on to the memories associated with them. 

Well, my friends... the coffee is cooling and I am ready to tackle the day.  The normal things await and then I can move on to the extraordinary things... Remember to take a moment, send a few prayers to the heavens and have a amazing day... 

love and prayers... 

has time sped up?

Yup, I am well aware that it is January 9th and I am still starting my day basking in the glow of my Christmas tree.  I think it will be coming down today. I don't want to get overly optimistic, as every project I have planned this past week has ended up far major than I planned.  Either that or time is definitely moving faster than we realize. It's like tick, tick, tick... boom it's past bedtime. 

I am wondering if my to do list is too intense or I am getting slow?  We finally got the quilting machine and frame taken down, cleaned, serviced and loaded up for delivery.  It's new owner will have it tonight.  It was definitely bitter sweet.  Especially since my new longarm is at least 3 - 4 weeks away.  Talk about massive disappointment.  But the truth is there are sometimes months that go by without me doing any quilting. I am sure it is just the anticipation. 

I'd forgotten what a beast installing that monster was, and now the room looks so huge with it gone. As I was vacuuming up any of the stray threads that were laying around and cleaning the crafting room, I was stunned by how large it suddenly seemed last night. 

I am going to take advantage of it being gone to finally dig into the Christmas stuff.  I don't want to take anything down until I take it all out, clean it out and organize it.  I have no idea what is in those random boxes at this point.  It seems like every year, as we take it all down and clean up we inevitably find a stack of things that we forgot.  Small, random, missing from their home.  Instead of being responsible and organized, I simply stash them in another bag or box and stick it down there for that moment of sometime later. 

I've discovered that sometime later simply doesn't happen without some incredible effort on one's part.  So today, while I linger on the phone with Cricut, darn heating press is not working, I will pull out boxes, bags and an assortment of other storage items and dig in. Wooo... better make sure I have some serious coffee ready for the effort. 

And of course I had to spend some time this weekend with my littlest grand.  Pedicures, cooking baking and crafting definitely happened.  I figure I might as well start her out on a few hobbies young, and she loves to bake cookies and craft.  

My sweet Hubs is trying to give up nicotine, as someone who never smoked, I don't really understand how difficult it is.  I can tell you as the wife of someone trying to give up nicotine, it is brutal!  The intense internal misery must be off the chain. Because the external signs and actions are unreal.  

We were talking about it yesterday, as I was struggling not to commit bodily harm on my beloved, and he said imagine that you can never create or craft again.  No needles of any kind, no knitting, quilting, crocheting, painting, wood working, any kind what so ever... and you would begin to understand.  I've been processing that since yesterday.  

sublimation... you're up!

not bad for a first try... 

I don't believe I would be a very pleasant person to be around.  I need to create.  I might be very addicted to it, probably similar to how an athletic person is about being active, or a musician is about music... It dawned on me that we all have addictions.  Things that make us feel whole and complete.  Some are probably better for us physically than others, but then again there is not guarantee on that either. Says the woman that has sewn threw her finger, and we won't even talk about the burns, punctures and other mishaps that have occurred. 

I guess I understand.  I know I am trying to be compassionate, I guess I need to try a bit harder. We are all fighting battles that others simply might not see or understand. 

I guess I should be thankful for the delay with my new longarm.  It forces me to have free time to get a few other things done.  It forces me to move those other needles.  At 330 am this morning I was daydreaming about starting another project all together... yeah... I might have an addiction too... geez...

Well, I've lingered, I've stalled, I've chatted and sipped coffee... it's time to dig in... I have planned a lot of activity for today....

love, prayers and peace...

satisfying...

I haven't felt like writing, I have felt like cleaning and organizing.  I know a lot of folks seem to be spring cleaning kind of people.  I am not.  For some reason, I love to clean and organize at the beginning of the year and in September.  I'm truly not sure why, but it is huge for me on a basic level.  The weekend involved completely emptying the kitchen pantry, doing repairs to the shelves, scrubbing everything down and organizing the crap out of it.  I have little boxes and lazy Susan type holders through out.  I got rid of so much stuff!  Things we can't/won't eat now got donated.  Extra appliances got donated to family or thrift stores and if it hasn't been out of the cabinet in a year or more it is gone. The level of clean is absolutely therapeutic!

Yesterday was spent cooking for Hubs work team one last time, at least for the five day stretch.  Realized I will be cooking for them again on Thursday for their monthly lunch and learn (as I semi-encouraged this I am not about to whine).  After that, I decided to finally get the ironing done and more cleaning out of closets and clothing.  It seems like I have been doing that task forever!  But I have to try it all on and then move it on.  It's a bit time consuming.  I am also finding that some of it has emotional attachments so I am slowly working through that.  I hate parting with something I love, even if it is way to big now. Silly, I know, but... it's me. 

It felt amazing to wake up this morning to a clean bedroom, where I could see the sofa, the shoes were all put away and all that was left was to vacuum and change the bed clothes this morning.  

I simply need my space clean. Something about starting the new year with everything fresh and organized makes my spirit feel energized and renewed.  And honestly the more I clear out, the more energized I am feeling.  My daughter looked at the pictures of my pantry and said it had to feel so satisfying.  I loved that phrase, because it completely describes how it feels.  

Satisfying.  I am fairly certain that should be one of my words for 2022.  

It feels so empowering, I don't feel like a victim to my possessions.  I am ready to tackle the next unorganized space.  My soap/candle making closet.  It's all just kind of piled in many locations and I don't exactly know what I have in there.  Each time I try to work on a project I realize I either don't have a key supply or I don't remember what I bought it for.  Before the weekend, that task will be complete.  

This organization thing is powerful. It gives me a feeling of being in control of my life, in control of everything around me in a world that is completely out of control.  I completely understand why my daughter is so uber organized, and if I was envious before now it is downright jealousy that she is so far ahead in this organization game.  

The babies were sleeping, the chaos surrounding them is not something that I am going to be able to skirt around, they aren't even 11 weeks yet.  But their chaos is not bad when the rest of it is in control.  There will still be accidents to clean up, puppy toys to pick up and lots of puppy breaks for loves, but all in all those are the bits and pieces that bring the love and joy. Right now they are zipping around, sitting on my feet bringing their treasure to my lap.  They are definitely bringing me much joy. 

My great nephew called and requested I make him a royal blue and yellow scarf so I want to get that done around puppies and chores today.  My youngest grand daughter has requested some "French Fry Soap" her term for a batch that didn't stay together correctly - as she has finally used all of hers and Hubs let me know he had to reschedule Thursday's lunch and learn, so some of the stuff I was frantic about finishing can be done more leisurely.  I've been practicing stopping and slowing down.  Going to parks and laughing in the midst of the "work", it's made it all so much smoother and easier to navigate. Time to enjoy the little things that make life beautiful!

love and peace...

everyday ordinary things...

The brilliant autumn blue sky is hiding behind a blanket of clouds this morning, rain is on the way.  I still haven't completed my outside chores, but that quilt I have been working on is 90% done! I just need to finish sewing on the binding.  When I looked at the clock last night it was 10:01 when I stopped working on it.  I will wrap it up today.  And hopefully get it delivered by tomorrow.  It's turning out awesome, I don't know why I was so worried about doing it. 

I will be the first to admit that standing for 5 hours at my longarm on the concrete floor yesterday was probably stupid.  My knee and back were pretty ticked off, but nothing a good night of sleep didn't fix. As I move forward with making quilts I feel strongly that I am going to need to get an anti-fatigue mat or seriously plan for no more than a 2 hour stretch at quilting. And as I get totally lost in the creation process, the mat is probably going to be the solution.  I hate to spend more money, but I don't want to lose my joy in the midst of pain. 

Truthfully that is why I stopped sewing last night.  The binding has to be put on by hand - at least for this one - and my poor fingers aren't very calloused right now, so they were hurting pretty badly. Add to that the fact that I sent a nut pick into my left thumb on Monday (the reason no knitting has been happening) and my fingers have not been having the time of their lives. 

As I was finishing up the quilting yesterday, my mind had already moved on to my next couple of projects and prioritizing them.  I am making a memory quilt for a dear friend, but she doesn't need it until Christmas and it will be a fairly quick project as it is only one sided and a twin size at that.  So I think the next project will be my great nephew's quilt as he is due within the next month. That will also be a fairly quick one.  It will take me longer to cut it out and to put it on the longarm than to actually make it.  Probably a days work.  

I've been lost in podcasts while working, nothing wrong with learning at the same time your hands are busy with mindless work.  I'm currently deeply interested in homesteading sites.  I would be lying if I said the out of control inflation wasn't causing me serious concerns.  I am a bit of a planner, not enough of one if you want the truth, I'm still far to reactionary as opposed to being prepared.  But I am working on that. 

I talked a bit about the news from our natural gas provider, that started me feeling a bit on edge and unprepared.  The fact that the shelves at the stores seem to still have huge holes has me a bit more concerned, and the way prices are going up... well... a bit of common sense never hurt anyone. 

In fact that is how I ended up with a small hole in my thumb. We eat a lot of nuts, we cook with them, we munch on them... they are a staple of our diet.  This past weekend at the farmers market we got a great deal on some nuts in the shell still, I spent the afternoon on Monday shelling nuts.  I'm okay with doing a bit of manual labor to save a few dollars and put up some supplies for winter. The hole will heal and if I'm lucky I might even have a small callous to prevent that in the future. 

I don't advocate for hoarding and the like, although if you were to look in my studio you might beg to differ, but I do believe in being prepared.  I grew up on military bases, sometimes you waited a really long time for the supply ships to arrive and when they did, sometimes there was simply not enough stuff for all of the folks that had been waiting.  I think it is one of the reasons I am fairly flexible about a lot of things. 

I've decided that I will be a bit old fashioned.  No surprise there, huh?  I am working on planning out our winter stores.  Making sure that I have enough of things we use, preserving or dehydrating things that will come in handy for us over the winter.  I just feel the need to be prepared. To plan ahead so to speak. I don't know why, but this winter has me concerned.  Maybe it's all the strange happenings.  Maybe it is PTSD from the past 18 months or so.  Maybe it's the way the cost of everything is increasing at a steady rate. And maybe it's all the people that appear to be absolutely blind to what is occurring with these price increases.  

A bit of preparedness that I never need, sure beats the heck out of needing something and not being able to get it.  I firmly believe life is about checks and balances.  

I am also working on planning to teach some of these more basic skills.  Do they even offer home economics in schools anymore?  I am all about people being more self-sufficient. 

Now that I have at least one of the three critical quilts almost done, I can start planning a soaping day.  I haven't bought soap in years, I don't intend to start now.  I will take an inventory of supplies, plan out my recipes and then get myself busy.  It might be a two or three day process to get all of it made, but then it is off of my list. Some of the favorites are simple melt and pour soaps, but they are so wonderful to use.  Others are more labor intensive, of course those ones would be my favorites, so they must happen also.  I will also make some of the hot process soaps that so many of my friends like, my well stocked soap closet must contain Wild Sexy Man soap.  Please don't ask me what the passion is around that one, because I only made it as a joke and it has developed a life of it's own. 

I also have a few other projects that I need to get working on.  I have candles to make, not that I am running low, but because they simply need to happen. I have boxes of supplies sitting around, time to make some magic.  Any that we don't personally need I will sell or give as gifts. 

I have also decided to brush off some of my old scouting skills and makes some fire starters for us.  One can never have too many fire starters when you have a fireplace. And who knows it could be a cold winter for us if these big corporations don't get their business together.

Well, it looks like it's just another day in my wacky world.  I love it.  The only thing I would change would be bringing our family members closer.  I miss my boy and his girl.  I wish my sister in law was closer, same with my mom and sisters.  I wish my dear friends were closer. But each of us has to live our life's journey, and theirs are not in my backyard. 

I would love to have acres and all of us on it. Where we could all work together and support one another.  I wish that I was closer to my sister right now that is trying to make miracles happen.  I would love to be able to work alongside her and create those miracles.  Instead, I watch helplessly from afar and wish.  I simply don't know what else to do, I have tons of skills that would benefit her, I am just too far away to help. 

I'd better get busy.  Want to tidy up and shower before my friend comes over for a day of creating.  I am looking forward to visiting and working side by side.  I have discovered I truly enjoy time with my tribe, it changes up the pace and allows me to "people" on my own terms.  

One of the ladies I am really digging into right now always says "stay busy"... I love that thought! Stay busy creating the life you want and crave on your deepest soul level! 

love and peace my friends...

ps... I am seriously considering no longer sharing my blog on Facebook, so if that is the only way you know if I have posted and reading it is something you enjoy, please consider following it.