Category : Outdoors

117 posts

T Tuesday: updates on this and that edition

Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday.  Since it has been two weeks since my last T Tuesday post, I thought I’d give a few updates on what I’ve been up to.

Let’s dive right in…

I figured I’d start with a garden update since this photo was just so pretty. Whoever thought a potato plant would be pretty. The galvanized planter holds nasturtiums and a volunteer of some sort.

Everything is growing…looking good. It is starting to make me nervous. Every time I have a beautiful garden, some sort of damage happens in the blink of an eye. Hail and pesky deer are the most likely cluprits.

At least this garden should be safe from the deer.

With the addition of the full height gate.

I can’t get over how big the tomatoes have gotten. They all have blossomed with the promise of fruit.

I got outside to water early since the heat and humidity are sky-high for today and tomorrow.

I made a bamboo trellis with little a bunting for each of the large flower pots out front. I decided to plant morning glories and cardinal climbers in the pots this year for something different. I like the height it gives the pots.

I am finally done with school. Distance learning is not fun for anyone…  Since the decision to move to distance learning was made unexpectedly over a weekend, lockers were left untouched. A group of us, over two days, emptied 1600 lockers.

It was a big task but it was awesome to be back in the building. With familiar faces. Talking to people in person.

This locker was empty save the stacks of unused condiment cups. Middle schoolers are weird.

Back at home, I decided to try my hand at pickling eggs. I’m not even sure we’ll like them but time will tell. They need to sit for at 2-4 weeks in the fridge to absorb the flavors.

On Friday, Mini-me had her wisdom teeth removed. She was supposed to get them out 2.5 months ago but…COVID-19 happened, lockdown happened…

She was having a hard time on Saturday so I picked up this beautiful bouquet at the local farmers market to brighten her day. It brightened her spirits but didn’t lessen the swelling. Poor baby…her face was a square. It is still fairly swollen but the pain is lessening.

I’ve been working on some more art journal pages for Art Journal Journey. Did you know I am guest hosting this month? The theme I have chosen is A Stitch in Time.

I’m going to be spending as much time as possible indoors over the next 48 hrs to avoid the heat and humidity. There certainly is plenty to keep me busy.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| | | | | |

, , , ,

18 Comments

T Tuesday: Memorial weekend edition

A long holiday weekend always seems to involve a lot of food. This was no exception. But first lets work up an appetite with a few projects around the house….technically outside the house.

I finally got all my containers potted and this group is looking good.  I decided to set the pots on ceramic tiles since we had them laying around. This should help keep them from rotting the wood of the deck.

Next I took some seed coasters my neighbor had given me a few years ago. She thought I’d likely craft with them. Since I was lacking on these type of seeds I decided to try to grow them instead.

We have basil, chives parley and thyme. I planted them in alphabetical order so I could remember what was what. :)

There is just all kinds of wrong with this photo. The socks with the sandals. The billion green ash seeds in the rock landscaping. And the pathetic condition of the rock in the first place.  Oh well…it is what it is this year. We plan to get this front section of the house re-landscaped and new steps poured but with the craziness in the world right now, we have decided to wait. That being said I’m putting forth zero effort to make these rocks look nice. I didn’t include a photo of the coasters covered with dirt because…why? it’s just dirt.

On to the food…lets do dessert first…since it was served up on Friday evening anyway. It’s a Fireball whiskey cake.

We brought it over to the neighbors for a little social distance bonfire in the driveway.

Saturday morning I got up early to get these ribs in the crockpot. It was supposed to rain much of the day so grilling was out of the question.

Don’t they look good? I also made coleslaw and twice baked potatoes from scratch. Just call me Halle Homemaker.

I’ve made a ton of cards over the past week. You can see some of them in my previous post. I have yet to photograph the batch I made today. Or the postcards either. I need to get to it since I have work tomorrow. I’m actually going to the building to help clean out lockers. Considering there are over 900 students at my school its going to take a while to bag and tag everything.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| | |

, , ,

18 Comments

T Tuesday: 2020 garden edition

Hello! I totally missed last Tuesday. I had intentions of posting but alas, it never happened. Unfortunately, that has happened more often than I’d like to admit. Instead of dwelling on failures… let us move on to something more celebratory.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the lot of you for all the birthday wishes. It amazes me how much a tiny gesture, a word from a friend, Facebook friend, or even a casual acquaintance can put a smile on my face on my birthday…especially during this crazy time. So, thank you!

I received a text from a friend and former coworker the morning of my birthday telling me she may or may not have left something on my steps out front.

Clearly she did…a fun little basket of goodies for me.

Now fast forward to Friday of last week… Mr. G came home a bit early and tilled the garden for me. The forecast said a rainy weekend ahead so we were in a time crunch. While he tilled, I mowed the lawn…except for the patch of creeping charlie…ugh…allergies stink.

The shed garden or big garden is fully planted.

Like the new top on the gate that Mr. G installed last weekend? Much better than the crummy one I bashed together last year after a deer jumped the short gate.  The crabapple trees were stunning this year.

So much so that I had to use the smaller one as a backdrop to my trio of containers on the deck.

I’m so excited that everything seems to be sprouting.

It was a super busy day. I had taken a walk before I started work for the day too since all the sitting I do isn’t doing my body any good.

Check this out!! Almost 20,000 steps in one day! That is just crazy to me. Remarkably I was hardly sore at all on Saturday morning. I even got up at 6am and went for a walk to loosen up…which I think really helped too. Now if only I could do that every day!!

I can’t remember if I had mentioned this in a previous post but this year I am taking a cue from my MIL who always had lovely, prolific gardens. Both veggie and flower.  I am keeping a record of what and when I planted, harvest dates, etc.

I’ve added the potential first harvest dates to my calendar so I’m aware of those as they come. I am hopeful this will help me in the long run. I plan to note what did and didn’t work. Throw out any old seeds that didn’t germinate or that we didn’t like the product. Every stinking year I forget the kind of green beans that we like vs don’t like. I hate the green beans that are “fuzzy”..ick. It’s a texture thing. I feel as if they get stuck in my throat. Gross.

After all the seeds have sprouted I’ll share another overview of the garden. Right now it’s a little boring if I’m honest. I still have a few containers I want to plant but I simply ran out of time and energy. And then the rain came…we got over 5inches. Not sure how much more than 5 because that’s all our rain gauge holds.

Just a little bit of coffee before starting the day…13 days left of distance learning for the school year.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| |

, , ,

16 Comments

T Tuesday: outdoor weekend edition

This past weekend was beautiful for weather. Just perfect temperature, no humidity and no bugs! Amazing!!! I spent a good share of time outside getting my hands in the dirt. Still not the full garden but more containers and prep for the in ground planting.

I transplanted my tomatoes into larger pots to further develop a strong root system before planting in the ground. I’ve been setting the tomatoes along with the pepper and cucumber plants outside in the shade each day to acclimate them to the wind and fluctuating temperatures. Fingers crossed that they do well. 

I have my ever watchful supervisor while I’m outside. 

I planted a few containers as well plus the bare root rhubarb plants that came in the mail. It says that it takes two year before you can harvest anything. Bummer…I was really looking forward to some rhubarb goodies. (the bottle greenhouses will be serving as my drink reference this week)

What do you think of my bamboo trellis? I was just planning on a standard tepee like structure but then I got the idea to plant some radishes in the pot as well as snow peas. I came up with  this design so the climbers should stay in the center and the radishes can be on the outside edges…in theory at least. I wanted to plant snow peas but then realized I didn’t have any…they are still in transit so I went with pole beans. The next morning I found the stupid snow pea seeds. So I planted a couple of those as well. I figure I’ll keep whatever flourishes the most.

You know how I’m always repurposing things, saving stuff forever, trying to live a greener life. Well Mr G gave me a challenge. He wanted his “garage shoes” repaired since the back seam had completely come part. Other than that, they are still decent especially for outside working shoes.

Look at me….I’m a cobbler. The repair turned out WAY BETTER than I had ever hoped.

This year I decided to buy myself a little something for my birthday. Have been wanting a dot grid notebook for a while. I love making daily lists and wanted a little something prettier than the kids leftover spiral notebooks. Plus this is about half the size.

I started using it right away. I will likely make it a bit of a hybrid notebook/journal. Such as the page with the cupcake. I cut it from the birthday card my in-laws sent me. I wanted to remember the card but didn’t need the entire thing…plus my to-do list will be pretty short that day. Something needs to take up that space. ;)

I also ordered these washi stickers just because they were so cute. I’m sure they will make their way into my journal, cards and art.

We are getting takeout for my birthday. I do have to work (from home) and wash a load of clothes but other than that…I’m calling in lazy.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| |

, , , , , , ,

18 Comments

T Tuesday: left the house edition

Welcome to this weeks edition of T stands for Tuesday…the one where I left the house.

After weeks of working from home and only venturing out to do a quick curbside pick up of groceries or take out, I was pulled from my normal distance learning position to support our districts frontline workers childcare. We had been told when this all started that we may end up in the rotation but had been spared until now. Most of the workers who generally fill the childcare positions have been furloughed. That leaves us to pick up the slack.

Murphy was definitely having fun with me today… check it out.

I did not sleep very well at all because I was worried I wouldn’t wake for my alarm…like that has ever happened. I got up at 5 am had a bit of coffee, gathered my things and headed out to the door. Turned the key in my van…click, click, click. Dead battery. Great. It hadn’t been driven in weeks so I guess its not a huge surprise.

I head back inside to regroup and figure out what I’m going to take to work only the handle doesn’t turn. I’m locked out. Swell. I found the right key on my ring…wasn’t even sure I had one for that door… and got back in.

Mr G told me to take his car since his trunk was empty and I was planning to go to Home Depot BEFORE starting childcare at 6:45am. Ok…all is good there. As I pull into the Home Depot lot at just after 6 am…the sky opened up and a deluge of rain came down. Since my plan was to get mulch, compost and potting soil…from the outdoor garden center…that was a big no thanks.

Since I now had some time to kill and I realized I never ate breakfast I drove to Starbucks. As I’m waiting in the drive thru for the drink and muffin I realize my phone is at home…on the arm of the couch. UGH. I quickly drove home, grabbed the phone and made it back to the childcare site by 6:40am.

And now I get to start mt actual day of work….

I wore one of my homemade masks during my time. I had 10 littles in my charge….kindergarten and 1st graders. Herding cats is all I can say. I am exhausted. I definitely know that I do not want to work in elementary school again. Middle school is great!!!

Gosh, I’m even more tired reliving that…LOL

On Saturday I moved our compost bin to a location that makes more sense. It’s old location down by the neighbors chain link fence just wasn’t working for me. It was often half under water and I had to walk through a patch of creepy charlie to get down there. Did I mention I’m allergic to creeping charlie? And I often…most of the time…am barefoot.

So here it is….relocated and edged with flagstone veneer from a fireplace. I traded a friend for it several years ago thinking I’d be using it to ring a firepit. That never happened but this as an equally good use of some of the stone. I trenched the pieces about 2 inches down. 

Not bad for a mornings work.

Mini-me is all set to go do some target practice. We discovered the back seats of the Jeep folded down super easy so now she can transport it herself.

Lastly I leave you with a bit of humor I saved that made me laugh this past week.

 

Tuesday finds me back at distance learning from my livingroom. I’m not complaining one little bit. Our governor has extended distance learning for the entire state for the remainder of the school year. I know its the right call and am thankful he did this. But I’m not going to lie…I felt like crying when he said the words. So many emotions.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| |

, , ,

17 Comments

T Tuesday: I ♥ plants edition

Hello and welcome once again to T stands for Tuesday. This week I’m taking a break from sharing my #junkjournaljuly updates to share the wealth of plants around me.

The abundance of rain has yielded huge plants! This morning I picked these beauties.

Fresh produce from the garden is the best. Especially since we aren’t getting a CSA box this year.

As I was trimming the flowers off my herbs, I realized that they are quite pretty and could be used as a base in a bouquet. I wandered around the yard and came up with a sweet little jar of flowers to brighten my kitchen.

When my neighbor saw me picking flowers she offered up her daylilies. 

They are lovely on my table. Thank you, neighbor!

My tea even had some plants in it. A little sprig of mint in my Darjeeling tea.

This one takes the cake though…I happened to notice my compost bin had some tall things in it. Since I knew I hadn’t thrown anything in there lately myself I walked down to investigate.

I have 2 tomato plants and 3 zucchini or ?? volunteers in the compost pile. I guess the organic soil is doing pretty well.  This is a better place for this sign. Time will tell as to what I’m growing.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| | |

,

12 Comments

T Tuesday: #junkjournaljuly edition

Hello again! Welcome back to T stands for Tuesday!

Last week was a busy one with the Independence Day Holiday. Lots of activities including a parade, cookout, fireworks but not many photos to document them.

I thought it would be fun to share my #junkjournaljuly challenge pages here as well as Instagram. Here I can get a little more in-depth and frankly it’s easier for me to edit and organize.

Day1: Introductions

  I decided to introduce the journal and project…not myself.

I am using this journal in order even though I’ll have to add a couple of pages before the end.

I have most pages documented before as well as after but I know I did miss at least one set such as this next set…

Day 2: create a collage

This page I almost completely changed for the original.

Day 3: Use a tag

It was kismet that this page already had a tag on it. I added the sunflower paper and lace to fit with my vision. A package of old rub-ons came in handy as well.  I thought this page was the perfect place to document this old, well-loved photo.

Day 4: very vintage

This page is basically completely covered with pieces of a 1968 map of Hawaii.

I honestly loved the original page spread…but it wasn’t going to work.

Day 5: favorite color

You know it had to be pink! With a splash of orange…I do love orange too!

The only little bits of the original page showing through is the math text and the stems of the flowers. I don’t love those tissue flowers but they worked to cover the yellow without once again completely covering the page.

I’ll be posting more sets of these pages as I go along…not sure of the schedule but likely not waiting until T Tuesday either.

I do have to tell you about my garden pests once again…you won’t even believe it!!!! You may remember last week my garden was looking lovely…my green beans were lush and full of leaves…

Not so much any more. UGH!!! I found full grown deer tracks in the garden. Keep in mind this garden is maybe 5′ x 8′ and has a fence almost 6′ high around all but a 2′ wide gap where the gate is.

Well not anymore…it’s not pretty but it is functional. I’m hoping Mr. G will build me a proper full height gate before next growing season but for now, this will have to do.

Today has household chores in store…super exciting I know.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

| | | |

, , , ,

11 Comments

PAGE TOP

© 2007-2024 Halle's Hobbies All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright