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    T Tuesday: updates on this and that edition

    June 8, 2020 - By 

    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?
  • Around home - Blog - Kitchen - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: Memorial weekend edition

    May 25, 2020 - By 

    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?
  • Around home - Blog - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: 2020 garden edition

    May 18, 2020 - By 

    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?