Barn Hop #47

This week has been awesome weather wise. I thought it was supposed to be a cold and rainy this winter in Florida, but I guess not. At least I hope not. I know it can still sneak in there but I bought some plants anyway.

I worked on getting my beds ready to plant this weekend. We had 74 degree weather today and the sun was bright. I had a surprise (or four) in my square garden bed too. Four little strawberry plants that survived the hot summer months & multiplied! I had them in a pot, but it got knocked over and I thought they were goners but they just rooted themselves and continued to do well. I actually bought another one today (there were two in the pot) and planted those right along with the others. So now I have six total. I am not sure how much they will produce, but they sure are pretty!

I also bought two tomato plants (Romas), a basil and a thyme plant. My oregano had taken over the area so I cut it back and will dry those leaves. I also had a nice little surprise in that my chives have also survived. My rosemary is looking kind of 'stick' like, anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Should I just cut it back? At least it will fill out more, hopefully. :)

It was supposed to get down to 46 tonight so I brought the tomatoes and herbs back in the house, but they got some sunshine today. I don't think it will get that cold, but that is what they are calling for.

I am not going crazy this year on gardening. I tried to do too much last spring and nothing worked out well, so I got discouraged early and didn't do any fall gardening. But I am getting back on the horse and trying again. Small this time around. I am going to grow some pole beans this time around as apposed to the bush beans. The bush beans did ok, but I am hoping for better luck with the pole beans. I found a latticed piece of board that I will use for a trellis. Yay, free is good.

Speaking of beans, a friend of mine told me about a good recipe for them. Here is the recipe for "french fried green beans". I haven't tried them yet, but my friend swears they taste like french fries.

green beans
olive oil
salt & pepper

Lightly 'oil' the green beans as evenly as you can but don't saturate them (like other roasted veggies). Salt & pepper them and then roast in 350 until crisp. She said it took about 30 minutes. That is it!

I will definitely be trying them this week. :)

You can join up with the Barn Hop here. Enjoy your week!

things

This past week our house has been a wreck...and still is, lol. We are having our bathroom redone. Not for of aesthetic reasons, but out of necessity. (I didn’t take any before pictures, but will take after) This house is 55 years old and it was time. When my dad built this house he did it right and used great materials, but nothing lasts forever and it was past time. The bathroom is in the center of the house, therefore has no ventilation. I don't think anyone really put in a vent back then. Anyway, we are putting in a vent so the moisture can get out! Replacing the walls (mildew), toilet, and bathtub. We have a little wall in there also that had to move to accommodate the new shower too. Everything is going real well. :) We are pretty happy...except for the mess.

It is fine though because while they are in the bathroom working, we can go through the millions of bathroom items that need to be gone through and reorganized before it goes back in the new room! I love organizing and throwing things out. Needless things anyway. We would pass on anything usable but not by us before throwing it out of course.

I also organized all my fabrics, notions and scraps yesterday! Man do I have some scraps! Any suggestions? I finished a baby quilt this week also and I even machine quilted it myself. Only straight lines, but I did it! I just have to bind it and then call the lady to come and pick it up! Yay!

Today I may take a run to Sam’s, go to my sisters to help her with a quilt and then come back and work outside. It is so pretty these days and will be about 74. Perfect! I need to weed some beds and get some veggies going. Clean out the Oregano (need some?) and replant Lavender and Rosemary. I need the vitamin D also. :) It really has been so pretty; I have to get out of the house!

Have a great day!!!

Getting back to normal...

...whatever that is.

This past week has been a whirlwind, starting with last Friday night. My niece Claire and her husband came in from NC to see the baby. Saturday we played around with the kids and tried to get my daughter to go into labor, but no go. Sunday, her sister and her husband came in from Atlanta also. The 'couple' camped in the backyard between the house and the lake and they really enjoyed doing that. They listened to the owls hoot all night long, but it wasn't disturbing to them.

Claire & husband had to go home on Tuesday so we sent them off still waiting for a baby. Tuesday, mom & I took Erin & hubz to a little town nearby called Tarpon Springs. It is a Greek community on the water and we like to take visitors there when they are in town. It is sort of like a tradition. There is a little shopping district there with lots of good Greek lunch places to have eats. The big draw is the seafood and sponge docks. The sleepy community also has a big Epiphany celebration every year and most of the local boys dive for the cross. You can read about this year’s unusual celebration here. The boys who win have an extra special blessing for the whole year.

Tarpon Springs is situated on a bayou but you can drive out to a small jetty where they have built a nice little manmade beach.  There are bathrooms and showers there, but not much else, except the beautiful sand and surf.

Erin & Hubz had to pack up and leave Wednesday and we had to send them off without a baby. We had already found out that they would induce on Thursday though so at least we knew he was coming and coming soon. J

He came Thursday at 12:13! Labor was fast and short and mommy and baby are doing wonderful. He is adorable and I am thrilled!

This weekend I am working on a quilt, catching up from company, laundry and I am finally going to clean up the gardening areas and get some things planted!  I want to do tomatoes and herbs. My oregano made it through from last year and is growing strong too. My strawberry made it too and I have little off shoots! I was really surprised about that one. Of course, I will go see my little baby grandson at some point too. Can’t keep me away!

Have a great week!

My kitty update

I have some very sad news about mama kitty. She passed yesterday about 12:15 pm and she was comfortable in my arms. She was such a sweet kitty and she knew that I could handle this as long as she waited for  little Kai to get here so he could help console me. I would like to hope a little tiny part of her soul passed into him when she passed, but I have no way of knowing. God works in mysterious ways though and I know I will see her again.

Although I am very sad, I am glad she has gone on to live in heaven with those in our family that have passed before. God has a special place for animals too, I believe, but she will be sorely missed here on earth. She was a great companion and loving kitty and to be blessed to have her for 20 human years is astonishing.

Thanks for letting me share.