I'm sitting here with a bowl of chocolate ice cream after a nice, cooling shower.
I have been transplanting hostas today. Some are new varieties I've purchased from a fellow in Minnesota. It was an ebay auction. I was so thrilled when I opened the box to find such beautifully packaged and healthy plants. He took great care packing them too. Each plant was washed, the roots wrapped several times in wet paper towels, the name labeled on a plastic stick and all bagged in paper bags with rubber bands. I've dealt with well known nurseries and never have I had such a fantastic product and such a great price.
I bought three different types. They are Honeybells, Giant Blue and Francee White Edged. The Honeybells and Giant Blues can grow 4'-5' wide and around 30" tall. It's going to take a few years before they reach their potential, but what a sight they will be. They're all snug in their new beds now and I'm about ready for mine. lol
I'm not sure what it is about me, but I'm the person all mother cats come to once their kittens are about to be weaned. It doesn't matter who they belong to, they come to me for food, love and assistance. None of the neighbors will claim ownership of any mother cat and it's a stronger "no" when kittens are involved. I've found homes for three litters of kittens over the past two years, for mother cats who have since been adopted by us.
Yesterday, another mother shows up with her four kittens in tow. Now I do know the mother was being fed by the next door neighbor, but last year he lamented feeding her so I can only assume he's stopped since she's been stealing from my cats bowls for the past year.
When Ray got home and heard the news, all he could do was laugh. He said he'd been expecting "Penny" to bring her kittens to me as he could tell she was breast feeding. I named her "Penny" because like a bad one, she just kept showing up.
The kittens are cute but scared to death of people for some reason. I can only hope they calm down soon. They've decided to use my lettuce planter for a litter box. The lettuce was just ready to be harvested too. It's all gone now though. (sigh)
I found an old litter box from the other litters that is now on the deck for their pleasure.
I did call our vet and he's going to put a notice up in his office that I have free kittens to give away. I like Dr. Gibson and his staff are really nice. Hopefully, we'll find a good home for the kittens and for "Penny".
I only wanted one cat, but life never quite goes according to plan now does it.
Thank God for the Serenity Prayer.
(You may click on the image for a larger, readable version.)Here's "Penny" with two of her babies.
The first day of summer is winding down now. The thermometer on the covered deck read 90 degrees around noon. I was splitting and transplanting some hostas but had to quit. The heat was getting unbearable. Then around 3:00pm, the clouds gathered and a nice shower cooled the air down to 80 degrees within 30 minutes. It stayed cloudy and rained off and on until 6:00pm. We got a few flashes of sunshine before dusk set in.
I'm listening to one of my favorite musicians, Natasha Miren, right now. The song is called "Northern Lights". You can find it and download it here if you'd like to listen. Natasha is so talented and beautiful too.
Yes, it has been a busy week around here.
Ray was off most of the week under the weather. He went to the doctor, got some meds and is now on the mend.
The lawn was in dire need of mowing after almost two weeks of growth and rain, so it was my destiny to attack it. Now, if you haven't seen our lawn, imagine an acre of several hills with a few rather steep inclines. Yes, it's quite a workout! I was in alot of pain after two days of mowing with a push mower. I made the mistake of mowing over a hill of red ants that weren't there last year. One scurried up my shoe and took a nice bite out of my ankle before dying from a quick slap. I hope it enjoyed that last meal. (sigh)
After the mowing was finished, the clippings were everywhere. It looked like a hayfield. I raked most it up, placed newspapers around the corn, added some fertilizer and mulched with the grass clippings. I also added some grass clippings around the strawberry plants too. It looks alot better now.
The tomatoes are growing nicely after adding more fertilizer and some powdered lime to sweeten the soil.
"Pappaw" always said that lime will make the tomatoes less acidic. He was right too.
The zuchinni has gotten huge this year!
I've had to pull off four zuchinni because they didn't get enough calcium on the initial growth. They turned yellow on the end and began to rot. The plants always grow out of it though and the rest is looking really nice. I'm still going to add some bone meal around the plants.
Thursday I harvested some lavender.
I crushed the leaves, stalks and blooms, and poured some olive oil over all of it. It's now in a sealed plastic container on the sink where it will be shaken daily for a month, strained and bottled. I'll then have my own lavender oil.
I also gathered some lavender blooms and have them drying for sachets that I plan to make pretty soon. I'm going to sew some small muslin bags, embroider lavender blossoms on them and add the word lavender. I'll post pics of those when they're finished too.
Today was a nice day for harvesting some peppermint leaves. It's best to harvest those on a sunny day right before it starts to bloom.
I've stripped them from the stalks, washed and dried them and have filled a Mason jar with them. I wrapped a few leaves up in a "tea bag" I'd fashioned from a coffee filter. I stapled a teaspoon of them inside it and steeped them in very hot water for about five minutes. I added two teaspoons of sugar to each cup and enjoyed a fantastic cup of peppermint tea.
You can have up to 2 cups of peppermint tea a day for around 8 days straight if you like it, but after that, don't drink it for a week. Too much of a good thing is never a good idea. I read heart problems can result if you drink too much of it without the week wait.
Emma, over at Mad Chickens and Ducks , shared some interesting things about herself using a set list of questions. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to answer those same questions too. We can also learn more about ourselves this way, so here goes...
The thing I'd like to change about myself is...the desire to change anything at all.
The thing I like about myself is...that I can enjoy my own company.
My ideal meal would be...shrimp dipped in butter, corn on the cob and sugar coated strawberries for dessert.
I hate the taste of... anchovies. I found some on a pizza by mistake. It was a horrible experience!
My ideal day would be... one with a lot of sun and cool temperatures.
I like to listen to... new age, ambient music from artists like Vangelis and Enya.
I hate listening to...the thundering beat of rap in passing cars. It should be against the law! It’s an assault on the senses.
I like watching... waterfalls, animals in their natural habitat, and plants growing.
I loathe watching... reality television shows.
I get worried about... power hungry people.
I couldn't care less about...the lives of most movie stars. They need privacy too.
I like people who are...genuine, those who feel comfortable in their own skin.
I don't like people who are... loud, rude and hateful.
If I were an animal I'd be...a lioness. Who messes with those? lol
I am patient with...plants.
My favorite luxury is... chocolate.
My favorite perfume is... lilac.
My clothes are designed by... poor Chinese women. Thank you for helping me to afford them. I pray you’re paid well enough for them.
My hair is done by... myself.
My nightmare would be... anything to do with spiders.
My dream would be...to have enough money that I didn’t have to worry about it.
I would wish for... eternal peace on earth.
Every day should be filled with...needs met, joy of life and thankfulness for love.
More showers and thunderstorms have come to Hitchins this morning. I can hear the thunder rolling overhead as the wind and rain begins to increase. We need this though. Yesterday the heat was sweltering, registering 90F in the shade. The cats were all listless and could do little else but nap.
I pulled a few weeds from around the corn and fertilized the tomatoes. I jumped in the shower quickly once I got back inside. It wasn't a day for yard work, that's for sure.
I've been busy these past few days working in some embroidery on some blocks for a quilt I'm designing. This one is going to be a rag quilt but with a star theme. I've made my own star appliques to go on it too. I'll take pics of it when it's finished. It won't take too long, I hope.
I promised Ray some bbq pork ribs for dinner tonight so I best be getting those in the crock pot.
After spending a rainy day yesterday making this little prim pillow for the sofa,
a mate pillow for this one has been designed and is waiting for my attention.
The sunny day today is quite inviting though, so I may take a day to relax before starting the next one.
One of my favorite blogs is called "Mennonite Girls Can Cook".
I found Judy's posted recipe for BBQ'd Beef-on-a-Bun .
I made it for our dinner last night and must say it's the easiest and best beef bbq we've ever tasted! Thanks Judy!
Wow! Time sure flies when you're keeping busy.
Spent alot of time today looking for craft ideas online. There sure are alot of talent ladies with loads of things to sell on their blogs. I may post some things for sale later on. We'll see.
I made one of Ray's favorite dishes last night. It's meatloaf with a sweet tomato sauce.
Here's the recipe if you'd like to try our version.
Meatloaf Recipe
1 ½ lb. of ground round
1 c. dry bread crumbs
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 15oz can tomato sauce
¼ c. chopped onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ c. white sugar
Combine ground round, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, eggs, onion and ½ can of tomato sauce. Shape into a loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. (I bake it covered for 30 minutes and bake it uncovered for another 30 minutes.)
While the meatloaf is baking, in a saucepan, combine the other half of the tomato sauce with the brown and white sugars. Heat the sauce until it boils. Pour it over the meatloaf after it’s baked for 60 minutes. Return the meatloaf to the oven and bake it uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
If you like a sweet sauce on your meatloaf, you’re going love this recipe.
Not sure how it happened, but a half bottle of shampoo had been knocked off the bathtub and had leaked all along the floor next to the bathtub. I have a feeling I do know who the culprit was though. Bella and Sarah get into their games of tag and when they do, you best get out of the way because these little gals can fly across a room! I do know Bella heads for the bathroom and jumps into the tub to hide from her mama alot.
Anyway, while I was cleaning up that mess, Bella discovered bubbles. lol
It's been a quiet week here in Hitchins. The weather has been super nice too. Summer is now officially underway with it's warm sunny days.
The cats are all napping in the shade while I slip ice cubes in their water bowls and a couple in my glass of tea.
The morning was spent washing down the front porch and the deck. It looks so much better without all the dust.
I took a few pics around the house and thought I'd share.
Here's a favorite flea market find that hangs in the kitchen.
This is a prim door greeter I created from muslin. It's been painted antiqued and sealed. It hangs on the mirror in the upstairs guest room.
All of these dolls are my creations as well. They line the bed in the guest room upstairs.
My collection of Pooh characters also line a shelf in the guest room.
This prim gathering is found in the livingroom.
And this little sheep themed shelf sits above it.
Ray's dad's birthday is tomorrow, so we'll go over for a visit.
I promised my mother-in-law I'd bring her some lavender. It's just now beginning to bloom. Definately going to make some sachets and lavender oil too.
Here's a recipe for homemade lavender oil.
• Fill a jar with lavender stems with leaves and flowers that have been lightly crushed.
• High quality almond or olive oil should be poured on top thereafter and this mixture should be allowed to steep for about a month.
• The jar should be gently shaken daily to ensure that the lavender and oil mix well.
• After the month is over, the mixture needs to be strained through a strainer and the oil needs to be transferred to a clean covered jar.* Lavender fragrance is used as a soothing stress reliever, and also helps cases of insomnia or other sleep disorders.
*Five drops of lavender oil used in bath water before sleep helps soothe nerves and relieve insomnia and stress.
*Lavender oil topically applied on the temples helps cure headaches, migraine etc, as the oil is absorbed by the skin and the constituents of the oil calm the nerves, relieving pain and excitability.
*The lavender herb is a time-tested analgesic and has been used since ancient times for bug bites, burns, skin disorders, to relieve itching, rashes, and reduce swelling.
