Cafe'...Art

Summertime. Summertime...oooh oooh yi yoooo...

Thought I better catch up a bit. I have been busy of sorts..Knitting as fast and as much as I can.... Working on the sleeves of the cabled sweater for granddaughter.  Started the Indigo Ripples Skirt,.that was like everywhere in blog land!  And it does look good on everybody!  Also doing alot of spinning on spinning wheel. Trying to do some reading, I tend to read things that are informational and you can (hopefully) learn a thing or two!  And tending to the gardens, both flower and vegetable.  They are all doing well now, we have had some rain finally. Otherwise I had started the ritual of nightly watering.  The pond is doing well, 7 fish are doing there job of keeping most of the algae down!  We have had our share of cookouts, and gatherings with the kids. So summer is in full swing!  I have also been doing more "eating fresh" and researching RAW eating and cooking. It does look a little involved, but the recipes look sooo tasty and of course fresh!!! Found some recipes on line and some blogs that I will be reading over. My juicing is in full swing and have been incorporating that into my daily thing that you do!! You do feel sooo much better that is for sure! So I am thinking that in this...more is better!! Also my garden is just the thing right now to aide me in this new life endeavor! Tomorrow will be making a trip to Barnes & Nobles to get a book or two on the subject as well.  A group is forming on this RAW adventure, so I think that as more things are tried, we will have to do a get together for an evening thing!! It always helps to have a support group of some kind!!

Here is a current picture of my garden, things are really getting big! The tomatoes have buds on them and some have small tomatoes starting! A garden to me is always a wondrous, joyous thing. So is alot of mulch to keep those weeds down!!!

It's not a very big space, but it works where it can. I have wheat grass growing in the middle, and I pretty much have to cut it everyday and there is even some for sharing! I also cut the beet tops for salads and juicing along with the wheat grass, carrots, celery, spinach, and some parsley. That is my cocktail of choice!

There is only enough room to get a  foot in between the rows, hey I wasn't wasting any space.

The tomatoes are along the back, there are more along the side of garage too.  Lots of green peppers, and purple, yellow, and green string beans.  I have had a few already! Lots more coming in!My herbs are kind of all over my other garden areas accept for a large pot by the back door that I pick fresh from!

Here is my first broccoli ever planted, looks like they are coming in!

This is Humphrey Bogart, he is almost 3 years old. He likes to watch mama garden! And KNIT! He use to get a hold of my yarn and pull it around, I think he thought he was a cat for awhile!!

Aah Yes The Knitting...

Yes I have been knitting, and spinning, and knitting, did I say that I've been knitting!!! Every chance I get, till my back and shoulders, scream.... But I love it , it is an addiction, ask any knitter, it's the fiber, the colors, the textures, how the stitches feel as you knit them into form.  And you're watching them grow and become the "lovely" that you have and are envisioning even as you are knitting.....of course you are picturing the person in that which you are creating, and thinking happy thoughts. Then you realize your not focusing, as you rip out a row or two. The is some merino/silk fiber I just got, I was so excited about doing colors, but this was just too beautiful on its own.  While I was spinning, it came to me, there was a lacy sweater, done in a mohair/wool blend in a book that I found at Half Price Books. Love the pattern. Sooo. I decided to spin it up, and dye it randomly with my other favorite thing...coffee!

So there you have it. I have been busy. There is a swatch of the knitted lace. I just love how it worked up even though it is not as fine as they had shown, I will just have to make adjustments in the needle size. And I have alot of spinning and dying to get enough for this project. Part of the fun!

The other en'route project is the cabled sweater for Carlee, probably her birthday, since it's cotton. Calm by Rowan, and it is sooo soft. Just love it for all the cables and textures! The back is done and I have started the front, and hope to finish that today...tall order since it is 3 ish already! But one must have goals and lists, at least it helps me to stay on track and keep focused, not too mention it's fun to cross off the done items as you go thru the day. I find though that I'm adding too the already longish list as I go!

Fresh from the garden....

YEA! finally some fresh produce from the garden.  Just picked lettuces, which include spinach, arugula, baby swiss chard, and leaf lettuce, and beet top greens. Also was able to snip some fresh basil. You know that was tasting good!

Don't ya just love all the green!

I love to layer, when making a salad, I start with the lettuce mix, then just add what you have that would go well in a salad, which is most anything. Today I have added some sweet onion, fresh cherries, I usually use dried cherries, which are GREAT! Some walnuts, a good cheese, I like goat cheese,  full flavored cheeses, whatever strikes your fancy. Some cracked pepper, olive oil and either lemon juice squeezed over, or red wine balsamic vinegar, which I used today. YUM,

ENJOY!!

I have made this adding grilled chicken, even cooked pasta, with tomatoes, and green beans, that have been blanched  etc, it's endless!

Happy Gardening Everyone!

Miss Carlee, have to get her in here!! She is a cu-tie, and who I am knitting for right now, well for her birthday, which is in November, and for Christmas too.

What a smiley girl!

Grandma loves you..and all her grandchildren, and I've got ALOT of knitting to do, let me tell you!

I feel like I have some catching up to do. When we were up to my girls for Memorial day weekend, we had a nice cookout at Ruths  and her families home. She had over my other daughter, Angie, and her family. We had a fun time, and the kids were all hams. Here is a picture, one, only before Carson, Angies, started to not like this anymore! The only one missing is Carlee, cause she is 6 months and she would of gotten squished!

Another group shot...giggles, and giggles!

Some More Gardens

My friend Julie has beautiful garden vignettes. Here is the view as you walk up her path.

Everything is out and blooming!  I just love the color, those miniature carnations are so pretty!

The Salvia is out, love the purple!

Julie is such a sweetheart, she is a piano teacher, a wonderful pianist! And a very good friend. She loves to knit as do I. We do well shopping together, and of course, sharing!  HI JULIE!!

The path leads to her herb garden that is surrounded by a circle brick design.

She also plants lettuces to enjoy, and fills lots of pots for by the door, welcome....eye candy!

House and Gardens

I did say I was out of town, visiting a friend while her husband was gone on a fishing trip with her daughter Anna.   She is the garden inspiration "queen".   What was that old saying, making a silk purse out of a sows ear...who ever came up with that!  But she does!  Her place just plain inspires!

They have done tons of work inside and out! And the results...lets just say B & B

She put in the arbors and fence, the front porch was tore of and redone as it was in the original as was her side porch. She enlisted much help at intervals! Her children, friends and of course, hubby!

This is her!  Helene.

Ssh, she would not like it if she were in a picture...tee he he !

Here is the some of the back, and ...another arbor!

The woodland garden, at the back of her place.

It is very peaceful  sitting in this area.  The autumn brings sitting around a fire, with wine and a roasted marshmallow or 2!

A lovely shot of her trailing roses! They are beautiful!

Love the pond that they put in! A very tranquil place by the patio, where she entertains a ton!

Goldfish, they always gather and push out of the water at you, they think it's feeding time.

Scarlet Dropmore Honeysuckle Vine and Garden

My vine on the west side or front of my house, is doing awesome this year. It WAS good last year, but it just seems to be "all a bloom"!  And the smell is wonderful.  What is nice is it will bloom all summer and into the fall!

Everything is filling out nicely with all the warm weather we have been having. I have had to water some since we have had no rain, till Friday evening that is!  A nice rain with some storms, I was out of town though, and we had some storms as well and nice rain pulling thru!  Saturday everything looks so refreshed from it's "drink". Hopefully we will get still more!

My salvia is blooming, just love the color!

My northside is growing well too, just love seeing all the changes a garden goes thru as warm weather wanders in and then decides to stay! Then the hot weather starts which I'm not too fond of, except for the garden thing, I wouldn't fare well at all.  I am a fall and spring person.  And we won't get started on that, one, my friend will "hurt" me..HA! two, I am bound and determined to find enjoyment in each season that is given us!  To "stop and smell the flowers" or vegetable, since I love doing that also.

Speaking of which, here is my garden, the weeds, of course, decided hey lets grow quick! So you have to "carefully" pick out their unwantedness from your lovely sprouting, lettuces and beets, ugh! But it is part of it, just like life, the good and the bad seem to entwine together. aah, what can one do but thru prayer, weed out the hard, the frustrating, the stuff that you just don't know what to do with, or make any sense of. I cast it, or pluck it out of my thinking, onto Him, or it will just swirl around causing nothing but grief. And taking any and all joy from you.

The tomato plants are just growing gangbusters. Don't ya just love that first fresh tomato, I know it will be awhile fore I have those.

Again, enjoying the process of everything having it's own time and season.