Mother's Day Gift

A quilted journal cover with cross stitch label for a recipe collection.

In the Garden - From the Garden

Inspiration

I often get inspired by other bloggers. When I saw this on Gumbo Lily's blog, I could not resist and had to try it myself. I made only half the recipe for the lemon curd and baked a lemon coconut cake to go with it. It was delicious.

Mystery Dishcloth Knitalong - Finished

After hurting my hand I could not knit the daily rows for the KAL but I finished it as soon as my hand felt better.

Ouch!

My guardian angel was working overtime yesterday morning. It had rained all night and the path in our front yard is laid out with slate. One of the neighbor's chickens was in the street outside our house and we went out to check if any more had gotten out. All I remember is taking one step forward and the next thing I know I am laying on the ground and my right foot hurts. Luckily that was all that got hurt, my head was just inches away from the front steps and if I had hit them it would have been lights out, scary. My foot is much better today and I also feel a slight discomfort in my left hand I guess I will be ironing instead of knitting today.

In the Garden

Mystery Dishcloth Knitalong - Day 3

Rows 15 -23

Finished!

My "Lacy Prairie Shawl" is finished and it got the Speedy seal of approval. ;)

Mystery Dishcloth Knitalong - Day 2

Rows 8 - 15

Mystery Dishcloth Knitalong - Day 1

I thought this would be fun, if you want to join too, just click the little image above.
Here are my first 7 rows.

First Harvest

Thyme, garlic chives, parsley and some flowers.

And this is what happens when I turn my back. :)

Our Garden 2010

We put in our garden this weekend and this is what we will (hopefully) grow this Summer.

• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes (Roma, Cherry, Roma Grape, Yellow Pear, Lemon Boy, red slicing tomato)
• Peppers (Jalapeno, Mexibell, Sweet Banana, Anaheim)
• Japanese Eggplant
• Carrots (two different varieties)
• Radishes (lots of different varieties)
• Parsnips
• Beans
• Peas
• Lettuce (mixed)
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Parsley (flat leaf and curly)
• Thyme
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Dill
• Basil
• Flowers for the butterflies and hummingbirds (mostly Zinnias and Cosmos)
• Hollyhocks
• Columbines
  

The First Rose

Giveaway Winner

I am sorry it took so long, have been busy.
The winner of my 13000 visitors giveaway is:

Crafty Maine Mom

Please email me with your address and your prize will be on its way.

On the Farm

Hodgin Valley Farm, Pleasant Garden, NC



On the Farm

This and That

Del had his second kidney stone treatment yesterday and it went well. According to the doctor the stone broke up nicely and will now make its way outside (hopefully as easily as the last one did). Del has a bad bruise on his back but otherwise he is fine and has no pain, he will be back to work tomorrow.

The weather has been very much like Summer the past few days. We actually hit 90 yesterday which is a bit early for my taste. Everything is blooming and our car is covered in pollen which also makes our eyes burn and our noses run, allergy season is in full swing. I mowed the big part of the garden for the first time today, most of it is still pretty brown but closer to the house it was thick and green with some kind of very fragrant weed, we also have a lot of clover this year and some dandelions. The garden beds are ready for planting and the strawberry plants are thriving. The raspberries I planted are also starting to grow. The lilac is in full bloom and the azaleas are just beginning to blossom.

I found another cute penguin wash cloth pattern and had to try it.

I also finished the reversible cable scarf that is one half of my mother's birthday gift this year.

These are three of my pieces from the 12 x 12 x 12 challenge, I picked my favorite things as the theme for the project but as with so many other things, life got in the way and so far I have only 5 out of 12 pieces finished. Here are my three most favorite things: Cats, Tea and Sunflowers. The cute mini quilt hanger was a gift from a secret sister some time ago.

With the weather being so nice and warm we now have iced coffee in the afternoon and salads for lunch or dinner, this one is grilled chicken with honey mustard dressing. Yum!

I leave you with a picture of our Easter basket and go back to working on my latest project - I am re-acquainting myself with cross stitch.

Baking

A little baking for Easter. The hot cross buns look a bit rustic but taste very good (recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, 12th edition), the cupcakes are lemon with lemon butter cream frosting.

Around the Garden

A Quick Giveaway

I just noticed that my visitor counter is at 13000. That calls for a giveaway. Leave a comment on this post before the end of next week and I will put your name in a basket for a chance to win something handmade from me.

Happy Easter!

From our house to yours: Have a blessed Easter and hopefully weather as nice as we (finally) have.

Mail Call

I got the most wonderful gift today. A dear friend sent me a big box of goodies to cheer me up and boy, it really worked. :) I got so much energy I am baking and cleaning away.
Here is what she sent me, notice the bag of cat food for my kitties? How sweet is that?

And Miss K. is loving the box it all came in.

Thank you so much, you really made my day, weekend, whole week. Love ya!

Springcleaning - Week 2

The dining room.

Dusted all surfaces plus cookbooks, pictures, etc.
Washed teapots and cups and miniature coffee set.
Wiped down furniture as needed.
Washed woodwork and windows.
Scrubbed and waxed floor, the old fashioned way, on my hands and knees (ouch, I am not as young as I used to be).