Harvesting the Bounty

Well it's that time of year - time to harvest the bounty from the garden. A bumper crop of cucumbers and peppers calls for attention! Pickles, pickled jalapenos and banana peppers are on the menu. I plan to make tomato sauce using zuchinni, onions, tomatos and peppers from the garden. The beets have been harvested and pickled as well.

I found a recipe to make sun dried tomatoes and will try this recipe with my tumbler and juliet tomatoes. I have basil drying in the oven now using the method I used last year.

Unfortunately the beans and peas were decimated by the rabbits this year. Only little stumps left. The carrots have been chewed down and I don't have much hope for them either. Probably enough to make some carrots and dip!

What plans do you have with your garden produce this year?

Value Village Deals

I've stopped in at Value Village for some shopping over the past few days. The prices weren't super great but I did find some cool items. One of the items that I didn't purchase and regretted not doing so was a Fisher Price Castle toy from my youth! I went back the next day and it was gone. I am kicking myself for not picking it up. Oh well. Maybe next time.

The fabric and sheets are for a quilting project that my mom and I have planned for the fall. We will be making quilts for Lutheran World Relief an organization that supplies materials and resources to people in need. The quilts are used for shelter and warmth so the biggest criteria is warmth and comfort versus fancy fabric and fancy piecing. They are going to be simple squares pieced into tops with blankets for stuffing and sheets for backing. These will be tied and a binding sewn along the edges. We hope to make at least 10. Maybe a few more if we can get some helpers! Hint hint! If anyone who reads my blog has any fabric, old sheets, or old blankets to donate as filler they would be gladly accepted.

Shirt in Action

Here is an action shot of the Team Ultimate Westie shirt! Not actually taken during the walk but at a birthday party later in the day. It turned out great!

Team Ultimate Westie!

Tomorrow my hubby, Little E, myself, my sister, mom and Wilkie (the Ultimate Westie) are walking in the Winnipeg Humane Society Paws In Motion fundraiser. We walked it last year while I was pregnant and this year I am so excited that Little E is able to come along.

I had been dying to try freezer paper stenciling on a t-shirt and this was the perfect occasion for it. Hence the very first Team Ultimate Westie shirt for Little E. After several attempts at tracing a stencil (and having my husband remark they looked like cats), I referred to the book "Good Boy Fergus" for inspiration and found my muse. I even got Wilkie's bitey parts onto the stencil!

The shirt is drying now. I couldn't wait to see if it turned out and took the stencil off while wet (I would advise not to do this!). Here are some pics!

Adventures in Gardening

These dianthus are from last year. I left them in the ground and they grew again this year. They already have flowers too!


Geraniums in hanging baskets!

Rhubarb is growing!

Today little E and I went outside to do some gardening. I had him all set up in his stroller with toys and a good view and managed to weed half of one garden bed before he started fussing. I also ordered 3 yards of dirt for the flower pots and my new garden bed. My dad is going to be building this for me and I'm excited to get planting.

My mom came over to babysit for me today and as soon as I went outside it began to rain! Then after it stopped raining I attempted to take a load of dirt to the backyard in the wheel barrow and discovered that the wheel is flat. Grr. It rained off and on about 3 times. I was slightly ticked as I finally had a babysitter to watch Evan and give me some un-interrupted time in the garden and it kept raining.

Oh well. I managed to spray some roundup, weed both garden beds, hang my shepherd's hooks and hanging baskets and plant a few planters. I also discovered little rabbit "chew chew" had munched on a few of my plants that were sitting on the deck waiting to be planted. One was chewed down to a nub! I know know that plant needs to go in a hanging basket!

I have hubby assigned to fix the wheelbarrow wheel and hope to get some more work done this weekend. Hopefully my baby sitter will return! We are feeding Nana some Chinese food tonight to keep her coming back!

I planted about 50 tulips, daffodils, crocus etc last fall. At last count there are 6 purple tulips that bloomed in the front yard and about 5 red tulips in the back yard. Also some muscari that amazingly grew! The bunny has been chewing on the tulips as well!

Rhubarb Crisp

Made some rhubarb crisp with rhubarb from my mom's house. My dad brought over a chunk of rhubarb and planted some in my garden but it isn't quite big enough to pick yet. It was tasty and delicious! I mixed a little sugar, cinnamon and some tapioca in with the rhubarb and it tasted just right! Served it up with some vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Next project - maybe

Well I had been saving some old t-shirts that are worn out/stained for my next project - making t-shirt yarn! However I read this post for directions on how to make t-shirt yarn and discovered that the t-shirts I had planned to use are not suitable as they have side seams. Now I need to be on the lookout for some old t-shirts in groovy colors. Value Village has 50% off day on Monday so maybe I will pick up some shirts there.

I found another potential project that I could use my old t-shirts for. I have been reading the blog Helping Little Hands and this blogger uses old t-shirts to create appliques for children's clothing. She uses t-shirt material as it doesn't fray and is easy to applique with. I have visions of cute clothes for Little E. He definitely needs a shirt with a tractor on it for his visit to Papa's house as he will likely be going for his first tractor ride.

I also want to try freezer paper stencilling as well. Just have to find some freezer paper - which has proven surprisingly hard to find.