salad anyone?

i was inspired by the recent southern living magazine to plant some lettuces, so when i was trying to figure out what i wanted to do in the front bed outside the dining room window, i added them to my list of plants to get from pikes.  my gardening mojo left me last fall, and i have avoided this patch for a while.  weekend plans included pulling weeds and triming back bushes to get it fall ready.  it turned out to be a very quick and easy task, so i set off to get my plants saturday afternoon, and spent sunday putting everything into the ground.  here are the romaine plants, and the sage-y green plants are brussels sprouts (i do love them so), so hopefully we'll have some lovely lettuce and sprouts this fall. 

also i planted some herbs for vinegarettes and cooking-added english thyme, oregano, parsley, and a new batch of rosemary.  i do love fresh herbs, and hope to include a tarragon once i find one.

other plantings included iris and hyacinth bulbs, and a flat of pansies near the drive way.  2 rose bushes and new plants in the urn (also located in this same patch). next on my list is to figure out an adequate watering set-up so i don't have to stand outside with the waterhose keeping things hydrated, and add some pinestraw.

that's cool . .

this week included some random bits of coolness, and it has nothing to do with the weather! first off, my weekend begins today at noon, yea looooong weekend, always cool--

next, i was making cards, and pulled out some ribbon i had bought on clearance a couple months ago, and when i unwound the ribbon- ta da-it's self-adhesive- leave it to martha stewart to come up with something cool and efficient---no glue dots, or other bits to hold the ribbon onto the paper. i was so capitvated by the coolness of this product, i bought some deocrative tape featuring the same adhesive! thanks martha (you old jail bird, you)-honestly you gotta love it--

then- upping the cool'o'meter- wound the loose nut for this weekend's cast-on- i'm getting better at this whole at home-yarn-winding business! brunch and knitting- yea you know cool--



my blooming dipladenia-aka: mandevilla (who knew) isn't it gorgeous- very similar to the bougainvillea--oooooo tropical coolness
new hand railings very cool-to compliment the new steps, the same steps that should have been done right the first time- oh well, live and learn- right? second photo is a view from the porch of my garden spot- i've added a few more bits since this photo was taken-will be an unending wip for awhile- want to add more color for spring and summer.

a snap from the dining room window- have added a sunflower looking thingy to the urn-with the heat this is definately not a cool spot to be, but it is pretty n'est pas?

and finally, the ultimate in coolness this week--

i was doing up the shoulder seams of the moss sweater when my oldest proclaimed- "hey that's really cool how you did that- wow, how long did it take you to make it"- oh my- enough to bring tears to your eyes- pure joy-of course, he turned down my offer to teach him how to knit-maybe i'll have daugters-in-law . . . .

what do you get when you add . . .

rhubarb, strawberries, a handful of brown sugar, a few shakes of cinnamon, a splash of oj, some thawed out scones leftover from a birthday party, this was the KEY ingredient, melted butter, and some HEATH toffee bits . . .











well one yummy dessert- rhubarb and strawberry surprise!

other weekend stuff:

the boys and i got the pinestraw done in just a couple hours- here are a few shots of what 50 bales looks like, the boys will get a bonus with their bi-weekly allowance, and they got to eat lunch at Moes, i know- cringe, but they enjoyed it so it's all good! the front and back definitely look better with the pinestraw.

marked several summer projects as "done"-yea!

did some serious grilling- 3 meals on this baby- and the steak fajitas with the vidalias-mmmmm




Here's a glimpse at the hydrangeas- yes, i have more than one bloom this time-

on the front porch i went with a container of mixed sun loving plants near the steps, and at the door two pots with caladiums and ferns- we'll see how these do-should be getting our porch and step railings soon.



the weekend was jammed packed, but i did manage to get to the pool for a couple hours on sunday, gave me a chance to do some magazine reading. is it just me or was bon apetit a bit skimpy this month?

diggin' the weekend

saturday started out with some homemade blueberry muffins- yum, i added some cinnamon and vanilla- just to see what would happen.











finally getting to some much needed landscaping. this entrance way has needed some work, i put a ton of different stuff here, annuals, perinneials, herbs, tomatoes, a couple rose bushes. plan to include some bulbs for spring and summer blooming. added mushroom compost, top soil, and other soil enchancers, so hopefully this will pay off in the long run.
before









after









this took about 6 hours which included buying the plants and getting everything in and cleaned up, mom and i enjoyed a light dinner of veggie omlets and salad-then we watched The Queen which i got for mother's day, helen merrin goes a wonderful queen elizabeth.

post compost and top soil hands, really go them dirty, but make the perfect excuse for a manicure next week!










on friday i went to why knot knit-they are closing- and pick up this and this, and lace circular needles- can't beat 30% off, will go back in a couple weeks to see what they have at 50- got my eye on a couple things!

will have updates on the containers, just a bit more, and then I can mark 2 things off my list-

COTC News

Tons of stuff I wanted to get done this weekend, and I think I did nearly everything based on this list
This tree needed to come down, and once we began looking at it we realized that 2 large limbs of the cherry tree also needed to be cut as it was reaching all the way into Mark and Jennifer's yard. Didn't get photos of this, but according to Mark, the squirrels were using the branches as a "freeway"! Hated to lose the privacy, but want to make the most of the cherry tree's new growth-









the after photo, maybe Mark can get into this side gate! Thinking of putting a Japanese maple here, I love how they look in the fall.

Next up, we I mean Steve, I just carried almost all of the limbs from the tree cutting to the back yarn, so need a photo of that- goes to show that regular exercise is good for you- carried some seriously big limbs back there all by my little old self!!!!

used the chain saw to cut down the holly bushes, felt a twinge of uncertainty on this one-think I'd like something taller considering the space, just wasn't feeling the love for the holly shrubs- plan to put tons of flowers here, and something in the container on or before Thanksgiving!!! Steve looks at this as bare, I look at it as a blank canvas-

Next up, we needed a place to put the lawn mover and gas cans as it tends to stink up the basement after PJ cuts the grass. We also want to use the area across from my craft area as a "hang out" area, so we got this at Home Depot, and PJ and Steve set to work putting it together. It's perfect for the area, and for what we wanted it for- I love Rubbermaid! It's so neat and tidy

I got to spend Labor Day enjoying the day off, spent several hours on the deck, having coffee, knitting, and watching the sun rise. I didn't get to knit myself silly, but I managed to sort through some patterns, and pull out some ideas for using up my stash. The boys actually agreed to let me knit them something- so they are getting one of these- PJ wants black with a gray band, and Andrew wants black with a gold band. I've already whined to Mary about trying to get the Tangerine Twist finished. I'm putting it aside to try to get my head around what I keep doing wrong. Following what Mary has told me I'm on the right page- it's just not getting to the needles. I did the gauge, and began working on the Moss from Jo Sharp Book #1 in natural.

Spent some time at the pool, and did some reading. The pool guy told us the pool may remain open til October 1st! Whoo hoo- some more time to enjoy the water. Finished Birds of a Feather, loved it!

Got caught up on making cards for the week, a few birthday, a sympathy, and a get well. All in all I feel like a got the most out of my weekend.

I got a surprise this afternoon when Steve attempted to clean the grill he found some corroded parts, so now we have a new grill--

I'm the official grill queen at our house- loving this new toy! 3 racks of ribs (cut in half) and 8 turkey sausages- yea baby!

Looking forward to 5 days in October with the Columbus Day, so hopefully I'll have some projects under my belt. Lots of stuff planned, and it looks like a soccer game will happen this weekend. Found the current Gourmet in a stack of mail, so I think I'll have a look-

TTFN

T'was the Labor Day Weekend

T'was the Labor Day Weekend (6:15 am), and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring- except me I'm always the first up- but I'm quiet as a mouse
Hoping no one will know where I'm at!
My Andrew is snug on the couch in the family room, TV is on-what's up with that?he looks cute anyway!
Did my 6 miles yesterday, so yea- I'm set
Coffee cup in hand- Cafe Verona, if you please
Sorting through the bits on my desk, and getting caught up on paperwork-
thinking of the weekend ahead-

okay the Night Before Christmas rhythm isn't working, let's just continue--

Weekend plans

-cutting down a tree :- ( sad I know, but want to allow the cherry tree to flourish
-digging up two shrubs, so I can begin constructing my cottage garden in the front
-no "real" cooking until Monday- promised ribs on the grill- for la familia
-pool time, catch those last few rays of summer sunshine!
-finish the Friday Night Knitting Club- it's over due already, but a great book
-scrapbooking
-card making- September birthdays- design Christmas card (I hope)
-organizing- get stuff ready for our neighborhood yard sale
-more knitting, please, please, so much yarn, and almost nothing in the works! found tons of patterns on knitty.com-they are worthy of a post later this weekend

-some "tidying up" yard work to get things ready for fall- weeding, pull up stuff that is turning brown, etc. what I call easy yard work, but not anything I really enjoy, just needs to be done.

-providing dinner for the youth on Sunday evening-deli style sandwiches, chips, drinks, cookies-piece of cake!

-walking on Sunday and Monday-then back to normal exercise regime-I do miss Gilad from Fit TV, but I have him preserved on my DVDs!

-pick up the Alero again from the mechanic-thought we had this taken care of?
-waiting to get my information on the mystery stole-

I think that's plenty-

Now I think I'll go on the deck and have a bowl of cereal now, and watch the sun finish rising!

TTFN