Summer break is finally here!!

It’s the time I take to recharge and actually take some time to do the things I want to do while still handling the must do. As usual, I wrote a summer projects and goals list in my everyday list journal. I know I won’t get everything checked off the list but I also don’t want to forget about things that I might want to tackle.

Gardening

Last time I posted I had just started seeds in the house…most of them germinated and survived the transition to outdoor living.

Excuse the weeds. Its been so rainy here that the garden is too wet to use the hoe. In this garden aka shed garden I have 9 tomatoes, cucumbers, green and wax beans, peppers, potatoes, carrots and a few snap peas.

Here in my deck box garden I had herbs, radishes, carrots and beets all growing…but then I had the opportunity to get the deck professionally refinished. I covered the herbs with pots to protect them but the rest was wiped out.  I decided to plant some flower seeds for this year but I’m not holding my breath. The squirrels are digging like crazy and the deck guy is coming back to do some touch-up. If it gets wrecked again I’m just going to dig out the dirt and replace it with fresh. It could probably stand a refresh anyway.

Speaking of the herbs. I was able to transplant them into this giant terracotta pot. They seem to be doing fine. Behind them I have two pots of Scarlett runner beans. I’ve never grown them before but decided to give it a whirl.

I removed the bench that has sat in front of the house since we moved in. I plan to take up the landscape rock in between the house and sidewalk, regrade it with dirt then put down landscape cloth and mulch. I want this to be more of a gardening, green space than rock.

This is another new addition to my garden…I’m going for greens and herbs in here. I like that its moveable so if the heat gets too much for it in the front of the house I can easily move it around back where its more shady.

I built these two trellises yesterday for the pots. I finally got some of my favorite vining flower to start from seed and needed a place for it to climb.

I picked up a couple of hanging baskets at Costco for some instant color but also have been planting flower seeds like crazy such as in this smaller tiered planter.

Wildlife

The yard has been teaming with wildlife this summer. I was upstairs sewing and caught this out of the corner of my eye just strolling through without a care in the world.

Mr. Frog scared me when I went to turn on the hose.

And the birds! I have seen more birds this summer in my yard than any other. This is an Eastern Bluebird. I had never seen one before. Evidently there has been a Bluebird Recovery program here in MN for 40 some years. They actually dropped the recovery part from the organization name since the program has been so successful.

And this cute Goldfinch couple snacking from the hanging baskets. I also put up two hummingbird feeders in the backyard. They are getting lots of visits but I haven’t gotten a picture yet.

There are baby bunnies living under the shed which is adorable but very destructive when they start eating my plants. The squirrels are simply annoying…digging in all the pots…creating chaos where ever they go.

Crafting

As I mentioned earlier I’ve been sewing…nothing new there. It’s my go to creative activity lately. These are just some scrappy blocks in process.

These little embellishments came from a sewing table clean-up. I love using little bits that might otherwise end up in the trash.

I couldn’t leave you without a picture of Marvin. One of his latest hobbies is to watch me get ready for the day. Evidently I need to be supervised so I don’t forget anything. What a goofball!

This morning had me pulling weeds from the cracks in the driveway. Next I’ll be working on pricing items for the neighbors garage sale. I’ll miss the first day as we’ll be helping Mini-me move into her new apartment. She found one better suited to her needs and closer to campus. No need to drive even on the coldest of days.

I’m taking a bit of time to share a look back at the things I’ve been up to over the last couple months so grab a cup and stay a while.

As per usual with me I get a little caught up in one type of craft until the next thing strikes.

Playing with fabric and paper is always a go-to activity for me. Making mini collages or “clusters”, as the junk journal community calls them, tends to get my creativity going. Matching up little bits of this and that is a fun challenge.

I use these either on greeting cards or as journal embellishments. Either way it’s nice to have a stash of them on hand.

One weekend, after finding a fun set of fat quarters, I sat down and made the whole lot into journal covers. Did I mention that I get a little caught up? I’m still considering opening a new etsy storefront so some of these might go in there. Otherwise I have a nice stash of gifts for the future.

While sorting through the file cabinet that holds my paper stash, I found piano sheet music that had seen better days. I removed the cover and sewed it together to form that outside of a journal. Since it was Rhapsody in Blue I decided I’d created a blue themed journal.

I’m continuing to work at going through my stash of supplies by either purging items I’ll never use, creating items that are “ready to use” such as these ruffles and just plain organizing so I know what I actually have. I have a feeling this will be a never ending battle.

Speaking of stashes… Here is a stack of 37 quilt blocks with no end in sight. I have so many scrappy bits and friends keep gifting me with more. Someday I’ll have to sit down and sew a quilt top or two.

While I had sorting through some of those scraps, I found some fun ones and was inspired to make a patchwork cover for another journal. I happened to have a stamped leather piece that Mini-me and I made a decade ago at mother daughter camp. It was the perfect addition to the journal.

I got my seeds started about 2 weeks later than I typically do. The weather kept tricking me into thinking that spring was never coming. Hopefully they will be strong enough when I’m ready to set them outside.

Last week was Spring break for my school. The days filled quicker than I would have liked as well a some crazy snow mid week. I did spend some time crafting and sewing which definitely made me happy. When we returned to school yesterday I heard that we only have 40 days left. That’s totally doable even with all of the state testing that’s in front of us.

My Mini-me is quite literally a poster child. I had to share this fun tidbit since it’s published all over the university site. 🙂

And we can’t forget Marvin…he is becoming a very needy only child.

Thanks for catching up with me for T Stands for Tuesday!

Happy 2025! Yes, I know I’m late but that’s kind of how I roll lately.

I’m starting to write this before work, bright and early Monday morning in hopes that it will get published in a reasonable amount of time.

I’ve been working a bit in my sewing room, organizing and crafting.

It seems as if I’ve been doing more collecting of supplies than using them lately. I want/need to remedy that.

I’ve been playing mostly with fabric but not always in a traditional sense. Fabric journal covers have been one of my recent endeavors.

I’ve been having fun using my stash and creating “sets” if you will. Everything coordinates.

I’m undecided if I’m going to open a new Etsy shop or not. There is a big, frustrating issue on the back end of things and I am no longer able to accept payments since my online bank I used was purchased. Etsy is not being very helpful or accommodating. In the meantime I keep creating without an end goal in mind. Honestly it’s really nice doing things that way.

Since I was sorting through fabric I decided to pull out my Christmas fabrics and make some Scandinavian star ornaments.

Several years ago I made a handful of them but had to look up the tutorial again to refresh my memory. I’ll share the completed ones at a later date.

I’ve been writing lists of crafty things I want to try…so many ideas, so little time.

One of my co-workers brought back these beautiful treats from her trip to India to share with our team.

They are Kaju sweets made with cashews, sugar, ghee and cardamom. The two I tried tasted as good as they looked.

I’m still unsettled on my WOTY for 2025. I loved brave so much, I hesitate to move on. I have a short list of words I may go with or I might just hang onto brave for another year. I don’t think there is any hard fast rule…and if there were I’d likely not follow it. 🙂

I have put together a full journal that I’m having fun making pockets, tags and other ephemera to include in and on the pages. It really is a lot of fun!

I can’t leave you today without an image of my best buddy Marvin.

Here he was watching an episode of Yellowstone with me. What I goofy cat!!!

I have a before school committee meeting Tuesday morning. No walk for me.

What are you doing today?