Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday Bits

Happy Friday friends, hope you all had a good week. Mine was busy with many different little things, you know, the ones that make you wonder what you have actually done. So, I will share a few little bits and send you on your way to the weekend.

First, I want to thank all of you for your comments on the "Is This Elderberry" post.  Alison came up with the answer, like many of you said, "no", it isn't Elderberry.  She did however, have the exact name, and sure enough, it is - Ocean spray/Holodiscus discolor.  I will leave it at that.  Thank you Alison, you can visit her over at her lovely blog, Bonnie Lassie.




The greens in the garden are doing fabulous and we even had some Bok Choy and it was delicious.  I might add, it grows very fast.

Another fast grower, is this Savoy Cabbage....Somehow it doesn't look like it is Savoy yet, but that is what the tag said on the little pony pack.



Now, here is the painful truth...the 'Wild' greens grow really well too, as a matter of fact, I have had a difficult time keeping up with it.  I am sharing this messy garden photo just to show how bad it can be.  I go out with Jack the dog everyday and pull the greens for the waiting beaks.....



The chickens are crazy for the wild turnips or mustard or whatever it is.  So I pull and throw over the netting and they start scratching and pecking.  The chickens tell me that if I would just let them in the garden they would be happy to 'weed' for me. Ha!



Here is a new type of bird feeder that holds the black oil sunflower seeds.  That is metal mesh and they have to really work a bit to get it out and a lot less gets wasted on the ground.




A nice surprise for Miss E., her daughter is visiting from Canada and when she comes out to get her morning newspaper, she will find breakfast too.

I hope you all have a weekend full of nice surprises.  See you on Monday when I will be telling you about another goodie that I will be trying for the first time...Hopefully the results will be better than the famous macaron flop.   xo

Monday, June 25, 2012

Elderberry??

Hope everyone had a restful weekend. Ours was quick, hubs only had Sunday off, so it was full of must do's. This is a very quick post so I'll get right to it. Can anyone tell me if this is Elderberry.



If it is Elderberry then where are the berries?



I have always been so envious of those bloggers that talk about the things they do with their Elderberries.




Thanks in advance for any info that you can provide...They do look like they are at the end of the blossom.

Have a very nice Monday...what is left of it!    xo

Friday, June 22, 2012

Happy Birthday Honey

Today is my sweeties birthday, Happy Birthday 'honey'. A bit of a double meaning here as he got an early B.day surprise Tuesday evening.

While I was getting ready to prepare dinner, a knock came at the door. It was a neighbor on the other side of the property next to the Little House, what we call Charlies place (but now Pat's place, a story for another time). He came to tell that there was a large swarm of bee's next to our other garden. Yikes...the Mr. was on his way home from work and perhaps 45 min. away. That meant that I had to get a hive over there and be a brave girl..OOOhh Nooo!

I swallowed hard, laced up my boots, put rubber bands around my pant lets, grabbed my bee hat thing (technical term) and special gloves.  Emptied the wheelbarrow, loaded the spare hive and wheeled it over and loaded it in the rig.

Off I went, not knowing what to expect or how to even take care of it when I got there.  



Oh boy, as you can see, the swarm was huge.  That is a branch on a walnut tree and it was pulled down by the weight of the swarm..just inches from the ground.  No room for me to put it under them so, with the help of neighbor Jerry, I placed it as close as I could and hurried back to a safe distance.   Those are pollen patties on the top, if you were wondering.



When the Mr. got there, he had some more pieces to add to the hive and went to work switching things around.  I am always happy to see him when he comes home but for some reason I was a lot happier that day!!



Here he is, with no protection on, giving 'the girls' a bit of a nudge to their new home.  You can imagine me biting my nails on the sidelines.

You would have been very proud of me in the end...I took loppers and cut that limb while he held it.  After that,  the limb was free to be placed right on the hive and in they all went.

Tonight or tomorrow night, we will be moving the entire hive over to our place, in the field right behind the house.  I will take some pics and share next week.




The window boxes are starting to fill in nicely and will be so pretty when all of the flowers start spilling over the sides.

You can see the little shed/shop in the bottom photo, I will be starting that project on Monday..can't wait to share progress with you all.

Wishing you all a joy filled weekend.  xo

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Back To Work

Hello my friends, I hope you all had a pleasant Father's Day weekend. We had a very nice time with the family and it was especially good for 'Grandpa' who got to see all of the small ones.

 It was back to work for hubby today and for me, a hefty "To Do" list is awaiting. First things first and that is to say that I have missed you all. I got a chance to visit some of your blogs in between activities but not all...I can hardly wait to get all caught up.




I can't believe that I forgot and left my camera at the City House...ugh!  I won't be going back for 3 weeks so that leaves me with only my phone and my sweeties camera.



This one, where we walk the dogs, is from my phone using Instagram  which is fine for now but I will have to get to know his Canon Rebel.  I feel kind of naked without my own camera..weird huh?



Don't laugh at this one...On the way down, the traffic stopped briefly on I-5 in Seattle and I wanted to get a shot of the Space Needle for you.  Well, the traffic started moving quickly and I had to abort the mission, I thought that I missed the shot completely.  Look very carefully to the top right and if you squint you can see it.

Don't say I have never done anything for you...hahaha!

The dogs are staring at me, wondering why they haven't had their breakfast yet and I thought I heard mutterings of a mutiny......off I go then.

Have a good one.  xo

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Quick Bits

Hello my friends. Sometimes I have so many subjects that I want to post about that I can't even choose, so, that's when we have 'little bits' of things. Let's get right to it, shall we?

Yesterday the postman brought me a little package from Studio Waterstone, a new snuggie of sorts for my smart phone....'she' just had to have it to go with her bling cover...for those chilly summer evenings..Ha! 

Lori, the artist that created this, has a brilliant line of handbags and accessories that I have been drooling over for quite some time now.  When I saw this I knew the phone 'needed' to have it.




I encourage you to check out what Lori is up to over at Studio Waterstone here.




For anyone who is fond of Mid Century Modern syle, you will love this magazine.  It is put out quarterly and I look forward to every issue.  It is published in my home town of Portland, Oregon.





I remember visiting friends houses as a little girl and many had kitchens much like this one, we even had coffee pot just like the one in the photo above.




Look at that perfect fridge...how fun!




Look at the way the window opens....not quite sure how a screen would work there.


This has to be my very favorite part of this kitchen...The lady of the house must have been the envy of the entire neighborhood and bridge club of course!





On to  a problem I am having and wonder if any of you have the same.

I follow a lot of people and at times when I go to follow a new one I get a message that I am following my allotted 300 and I need to unfollow someone and to go to 'Manage' to do that. I have done that many times in the past by going to the same place as you see above.  Now, when I click on 'Settings' it takes me to a sign in place and I go sign in with my Google, as it brings me right back to this page and around we go again.

I have gone to Blogger help and gone to Bing.com etc....with no answer.  Does anyone know for sure how to unfollow?


Well, I'm sorry to show, that this is as far as I have gotten with my new project.  I have spent most of my time out of doors while the sun shines.  No fear though, as rain will eventually be coming and that will take care of that.

Tomorrow is a travel day for me and then the Mister will be coming down to the City House on Friday to have a nice weekend with the kids and grands.  I will be checking in with you but will probably not be posting until Monday.

Have a good week and Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!   xo

Friday, June 8, 2012

With Needles Poised

It has finally happened. I have caught the bug... it was inevitable and there was no sense

fighting it anymore.  Too many of you, my lovely knitting friends, kept tempting me with your

posts about your latest projects and I found myself yearning for the comfort of that soft yarn

and the clicking of the needles, I can feel the calmness coming over me just thinking about it.




Off to town I went and this is what I chose to use for my first project. It will probably be a

dishcloth, hopefully it looks like one when I'm done. Can't wait to get started, perhaps on

Monday I will have something to show you.

Have a happy weekend (I have been mistakenly typing WEEDend...wonder what's on my mind?)! xo

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Up The Hill

Hello friends! It is a beautiful day after many grey ones so I thought you may like to take a quick walk up the hill to the shed. Let's see if the dogs want to go.




"Jack, do you want to go for a walk with mom?"



"Do you want to go too, Maggie?"



Some of you may remember that the shed was to have been my shop.  Well that had to be put on hold when Kami became ill.  So now, I am pleased to say, that plan is back on the front burner.



 
Well now, there is one of the resident eagles...undoubtedly hunting for it's babies breakfast.  Thankfully my chickens are in the run and will not be served up.




Look at how high all the grass in the fields are getting.  The landowners will not be able to mow for sometime, it is all too wet...so much runoff from the hillside.




There she is, patiently waiting to be all spruced up.  Pretty curtains, maybe a window box or two.  Fresh coat of white paint inside, there is no electricity in the shed so that will help brighten it up. 

The Mister will be attacking the high grass with the Weed-eater as soon as possible.

It will be exciting to see how pretty she will be, I think maybe, a gem on the side of the hill.

You will all be invited to come along and help out with your usual good advice.

Off we go back down the hill, we must go to town, the chickens are complaining that they are out of Black oiled seed...heaven forbid.

Have a lovely day my friends.   xo   

Monday, June 4, 2012

Chutney Report

Another Monday, the weeks seem to fly by and at times I feel I have nothing to show for all of those days. Well, thanks to you, my bloggy friends, I have some chutney on my pantry shelves. You see, I have found that if I tell you that I'm going to do something, then it pushes me to 'actually' do it.



Here is a little jar all done up and sitting on the two books that helped with the project. It started with Linsay's post, sharing a chutney recipe that originated from The New York Times Heritage Cook Book and after checking my bookshelves found that it actually lived at my house (Is it bad that I have so many cookbooks that I forget what I have?).

 I am pleased to report, the chutney turned out well, I even had it on my toast for breakfast yesterday, with a little bacon on it too, I might add. Of course, I had to test it on a Rye Crisp with a slice of Havarti cheese before I put it in the jars....just to make sure it was edible , ha!

 I did put it up in the 'old' way.. the way they still do it in many places out side of the U.S., by that I mean, you do not put it in a hot water bath after. Everything is very hot, the product is hot and the jars are sterile and hot and you fill the jars all of the way up.

 Some of you have raised eyebrows right now as I did the first time I read this on a British blog...The Quince Tree, and I left a questioning comment and in the end had a recommendation for The River Cottage Preserves Handbook. An interesting side note..When I looked the recipe up in my New York Times Heritage book..it also left out the hot water bath method, the book was published in 1972 and my book was printed in 1980, which makes me wonder when the U.S. decided to put a halt to that.

 In the end I can report that I will make this again, with a few minor changes. I would like a bit more texture so will add more raisins and cook up more rhubarb on the side with spices and sugar and cook until just done then add it at the end.




Aren't these flowers beautiful? They are the blossoms on my sage plant that comes back year after year, no matter how bad the winter is.




I was in hopes that I would beat the rain and get out to mow the backyard right after I posted this....As you can see, it will be indoor projects today. Not to fear, I don't have to look far from where I am seated to find something to do!

Have a happy Monday. xo

Friday, June 1, 2012

Happy Bits

Happy Friday all! I thought I had better do some quick 'happy bits' after yesterdays long Rant. I have calmed down and decided to take action instead of just fuming about it, more on that at a later date.


 
Just looking a salt water taffy makes me happy...does anything say sun and beach better than this?



I'm happy about this right now. As soon as I post this, I will be starting today's project of making the Rhubarb Chutney that Lindsay posted about last week. I will be using the UK method for putting up jams and chutneys, it is different from the way we do it in the US, more on that later too.




   





Finally, it will be nice to take some afternoon tea with this happy companion and think about the good things to come this weekend.




Wishing you all a weekend full of happy bits.   xo