• Around home - Blog - Kitchen - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: outdoor goodness edition

    The summer is flying by. I’m so thankful to be enjoying some of it outdoors. My garden is thriving with the abundant rain, heat and humidity.

    This is the first year I’ve had any luck with cucumbers…they are nearly taking over the garden!!  So far I’ve picked only two. I’m hoping there will be many more for all the space the vines are taking up. My green beans are producing like crazy. Unfortunately I bought the wrong seeds. These are the ones with a bit of a texture on the bean..sort of like a peach. Blech….we like to eat our green beans raw from the garden. The texture just doesn’t work for me. I’ll be making these into canned spicy beans.

    My yellow pear tomatoes are big but not producing much. Makes me kind of sad. Hopefully they are just a little slow this year.

    We have been getting our weekly CSA box in addition to our garden. We are really enjoying this again this year. So many fresh veggies. I’ve even done a bit of juicing. Trying to use the veggies in a different way. 

    This was beet, carrot, apple and ginger. It was SO GOOD!!!!!!

    And pretty too! Speaking of pretty…did you spy my freshly stained deck rails? They were so bad…basically down to raw wood. It was a couple labor intensive mornings. I’d have to stop each day when the temp climbed over 90°F.

    The great outdoors has so much to offer us. I’ve heard it said and couldn’t agree more that Minnesotans are all about spending as much time outside as possible. We endure extremes in temperature and several different kinds of weather in one day isn’t uncommon. 

    As you can see by my crazy tan lines…I spend a bit of time walking in my sandals. LOL  Marvin even gets to occasionally visits to the great outdoors under close supervision. And yes, he really is that big…no trick of the lens. FYI—I wear a size US 9 (40 EU).

    Tuesday holds a visit to my friend in her “new” house. I’m super excited to see it and her!!

    What are you doing today?

     

  • Around home - Blog - Crafts - Creativity - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: half of December edition

    I admit it…I’ve been neglecting my blog again. I haven’t had anything artsy or craftsy to share so I figured I wouldn’t bore you to tears with nothingness. As I began to pull photos together for this post I realized that I have a multitude of things to share, with many different facets.

    Last week I skipped T Tuesday entirely both posting and visiting….in fact, I hardly touched my computer all week. I realized how truly close to Christmas we were getting. With something on the calendar every night after work, I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around blogging too. Gosh I miss it though. Sitting at the keyboard typing away is so soothing…it’s like therapy without paying someone to listen to you bare your soul. No, there will be no soul baring today.

    Where should I start since I can’t remember what order things came in anymore. Ok…first of all…I’ve abandoned my December photo challenge. As I got further into my list I was just not loving it or getting inspired for that matter. It’s supposed to be fun…not work. I’m sure I’ll do another at a later date but for right now…I’m good with my occasional random Instagram posts.

    Speaking of Instagram…I posted this the other day…after getting it from Fitbit.

    I thought that was pretty cool! I can’t wait to see what my next badge will be.

    We had some beautiful weather so I decided one of our favorite summertime meals was in store.

    Crab boil or Low Country boil complete with a Corona beer. See how I snuck that beverage in there. 🙂

    We attended the kids Holiday choir concert.

    And got to hear the boy sing up close and personal.

     

    The weekend was spent in the kitchen….

    J and I made Krumkake…his favorite. My old vintage Nordic Ware iron is well seasoned….it may not look pretty anymore but it makes the best krumkake. Way better than the electric one my mom had given me a couple years ago.

    Mini-me and I tackled lefse making. Neither of us have perfected rolling them out round but they taste the same no matter the shape.

    After we got the majority of the flour swept up…(trust me…its everywhere…ugh.) I was recruited to help out with a mouse trap car. Thankfully Mr. G was available to lend a hand as well. That wire is tough!!

    It’s not the prettiest thing but it definitely moves!

    I have made some progress on the hat I am knitting but I set that aside after work today to make this little hat for a very special early delivery.

    It’s hard to believe that will actually fit on a little ones head. Hopefully not for long!!

    I’d also like to take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

    What are you doing today??
  • Around home - Art - Blog - Creativity - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: cha cha changes edition

    So many things happening around here. So many that I’ve been completely neglecting my blog and my art lately. Neither of which makes me happy…the neglect that is.

    Let me give you a brief and incomplete list… Kids going back to school one week from today, Mini-me starting high school, packed sports schedule, college applications, jury duty and a few other items I’m not at liberty to discuss right now.  Don’t get me wrong, this list is exciting for sure but a definite shift in gears for us.

    That being said…I did clean off my desk and start playing around with a mixed piece.

    I also did a bit more canning…

    4 pints of diced tomatoes and 7 pints of spicy beans.

    Oh yeah and painted the front door…that turned out kind of crummy though so I’ll need to sand and touch it up. Basic white…fairly boring.

    That’s it for today…other than my obligatory beverage photo.

    What are you doing today?