Food and the Garden

In our new house we have a patch of sun in our backyard that we decided would be a good spot for a vegetable garden. I have never gardened before and this first crop was full of joyful surprises. What a treat it was to have fresh FREE herbs all summer and tomatoes, green beans, funny cucumbers, lettuce, and what are those?! Gooseberries!?

Our best crop was our green beans. They were the gift that kept on giving. Or "geen beans" as Desmond called them. So sweet to watch your little person picking food from the earth and eating it.

Then there was a crop of funny cucumbers, some beans and berries that I had to google because I had no idea what they were. They grew where I planted peppers and I kept waiting for the little lantern like pods to turn into peppers or fall away to reveal a small pepper that would grow big and green. But the pods fell to the ground and then became transparent. Inside the pods were yellow berries. I ate one. It was good. I did not die. I brought them inside and looked them up. Turns out they are Gooseberries. Or they could be Tomatillos. Either way, they are yummy and strange. I felt like I made a new friend. Still have no idea where they came from. But they can come again any time.

This fall after an early snow, we pulled our carrots out of the ground. I planted them in a heap and the sprouts were too delicate to move so I just left them. I did not have high hopes for them at all. When I planted the seeds in the spring I didn't think things would actually grow. So I planted ALL the seeds, thinking maybe a few would take. But they all grew! Next spring, I will spread out the seeds as suggested on the package.

When we pulled our carrots out of the ground, they were cute enough to eat. So we did.

I just wanna pinch their orange cheeks.

Halloween

Desmond's first obsession with a particular TV character is from one episode of the Backyardigans with a giant robot and super heroes. One super hero is called Captain Bubble and he uses bubbles to save the day. This was our guy.

I hope I can make him a costume every year. I hope that he wants one home made. 

Red fleece from Campmor.

Rock on Captain Bubble.

Trick-or-treating with Daddy. Happy Halloween!

Birthday Bygones

Desmond's birthday was a blast. I made Martha Stewart inspired favors and a few Martha Stewart desserts. The cookies and cream cake was like a heart attack on a plate, but in the very best way. The other things I baked were sort of flops but that's okay, I can cross those of the list of things to try. I think I sort of overdid it. It happens. I got a little excited.

His funky bike make over went very well. Took an old double seater bike a neighbor was throwing away and gave it a fresh coat of paint and sewed some covers for it's seats. All it needs now is an umbrella.

The big 2!

My little fella is turning two in about a week. He is in love with bikes. I must hear the word bike and the word bicycle 50 times a day. Motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, mopeds, all qualify for him as bikes.

A while back a neighbor was throwing stuff from their garage into a truck to take to the dump. Among other things, there was an adorable two seater tricycle. A bit rusty with a ripped seat and a busted front wheel. There was no way I could let it go to the dump so I took it home and put it in my shed. 

I decided for his birthday I am going to fix it up. I have already painted all the silver parts with Rustoleum silver paint so the rust is gone. I have sewn a cover for the back seat and have a cover all pinned for the drivers seat, ready to be sewn. I wish I could construct some sort of awning for it. That would take the cake. We have a friend who says he can weld the wheel for us to make it rideable. 

First attempt.

I pulled down my attic stairs a few nights ago and popped my head up there and heard some rustling so I climbed back down the stairs and shut the door.

The next morning, I popped my head back in and all was quiet so I grabbed a small stack of my mother's old childhood books so I could try my hand at folding.

I took a few pictures of the first attempt. I learned a few things. First off, it is not easy to keep your folds the same on each page. And second, you should fold from the back of the book to the front so you can lean on a flat surface to fold and then turn the page to the right, folding again on the left. Also, I am not so sure how it is supposed to stay opened as the first one I did sort of sways back and forth between the front and back book cover....

My verdict is, this a very enjoyable and satisfying craft. I think you could really get into being precise and come up with plenty of patterns. I also think this falls into the "What to do with paper nostalgia that you don't want to throw away" category.
 http://www.grand-illusions.com/articles/folded_page_art/   - Here is a link to a video I found with instructions.

Crocheted Baskets

My new obsession. Crocheting baskets. I'll tell you why. You can take a big ol' crochet hook and a bunch of cheap old yarn you have no use for and in a couple of hours, whip up a gorgeous, useful something. I used six strands of sport weight yarn in varying colors, a few that actually changed color as I went. This kept my heart and my eyes happy. The big white plastic crochet hook I used doesn't have a size marking on it. I believe it was the biggest hook I could find in Michael's or Joann's craft store.

The first basket I made was to put my son's ball collection in. The second was for a friend who just had a baby. The third is to keep diapers in in my son's room by his changing pad. These can be washed, stomped on, worn on your head, climbed in and flattened and they still pop back up into baskets. You can make them any size too. I am thinking of making one in wool and felting it in a hot water cycle in the washer.

St. Patrick's Day

Now that I have a little one, I am even more in love with Holiday traditions and searching for new ways to make them special. My neighbor, who is a mom in love with Holidays as well, had a beautiful paper garland she made last year up in her dining room that I fell in love with. She had taped paper to her dining room table and as her husband put it she "made us draw on it." Then she cut all the paper into clovers and strung them into a clover garland. I wanted to take it home, so I had to make one too.

I went through my paper collection, pulling out all the greens and golds I could find. My little one is only 20 months old so I would put a piece of paper on his highchair tray and hand him one marker or crayon at a time and let him scribble. I drew a bit too. Of course I invited the hubby to draw to but he passed. When I felt like we had enough drawing done, I started to cut. I cut 4 leaf clovers and a few 3 leaf clovers, all sizes. I also cut gold coins and a few silver. And for extra luck, I threw in some horse-shoes! Then strung them on a pieces of yarn and hung them in my dining room doorway. And although the holiday has come and gone. I suddenly feel the luck of the Irish has blessed my home.... I may keep it up until Easter.