compassion

It's been an underlying theme this week. I keep hearing the words "we are connected to everything on the planet and everything we do, good or bad, radiates outward and affects many others". I wonder what God and the Universe are trying to tell me. Or maybe it's just something that I need to ponder. Or just act upon.

hmmmmm

I tried to send a picture and an update but so far it hasn't posted. We'll see if this one posts

My Yard

My yard is a mess. I won't even sugar coat it. Won't even take a picture of it. It's an embarrassing, over grown, brush pile strewn mess. *sigh* I guess I shouldn't make a plan to put in more flower and veg beds if I can't even keep it nice now. My main issue is the mowing. And the weeding. And the edging. You see, my DH, who is really a Knight in Shining Armour, Works. And when I say that, I don't mean the M-F 9-5. I mean Monday through Sunday, 2 jobs, 19 hour days, 80+ hour weeks. He rarely has days where he has the time to mow, much less the energy. We have a very temperamental mower and besides all of that, I just can't start it. I've tried. I tried yesterday and the day before. I can't really afford to hire someone to do the yard work, and the young man I have hired to help me with the heavier yard chores (pruning, firewood, etc) could do it, but I don't want to waste that time and money on something that I could theoretically do myself. So, I've decided that I will acquire a reel push mower. You know, the kind without any power source other than the person walking behind it. It makes a really nice sound when you mow, sort of a whirring. I can handle that. And, once the lawn is mowed, I'll be able to do the edging, and then the weeding. I guess I just don't see much sense in sitting in an overgrown lawn weeding a flower bed. Hence, my yard is a mess.

d

Today, I'm learning how to blog from my phone. Perhaps I'll be able to update more often this way. Never near the computer when i feel like sharing something

Quilts in the Sidebar

I just took a moment and looked at all the quilts I have listed in the sidebar that I need to finish. I think those were posted months ago. Ask me if I've finished any of them. Go Ahead! ASK! The answer will be a resounding "NO". How embarrassing. I guess I should maybe focus on getting some of them done. Maybe one a month or something easy like that. Once C moves down to Galveston, I'll have plenty of time to be productive. Y'all are supposed to keep me accountable!

I harvested the onions. Not as many or as big as I had hoped for, but a whole veg drawer in the fridge full. I think they got shaded out by the sunflowers that were also in the bed and just didn't get enough of what they needed to get big. Lesson learned. Every year I learn something valuable from my "mistakes". I don't really consider them to be failures since I learn from them. The okra is just now kicking in. I got some potatoes, but again, not as many/big as I had hoped, but more than last year, so progress was made. I've got some tomato plants that survived and 2 pepper plants. I put all the melons/cucs/etc in the front this year hopefully to confuse the squash bugs and sneak them by. I also put 2 more tomatoes in the front. A friend's hubby is a landscape architect and he's going to draw me up a plan for an edible cottage garden. I'll have to work it in stages, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to do so this fall.

That's about it, folks. DH is working a 19 hour shift today so I thought I'd work at home in solidarity. I'll be basting a quilt and getting ready to quilt it. Might even get started. I guess I should go do my grocery shopping as well.

Happy Independence to everyone. Be safe.

d

What happened to January-May?

Holy cow, time is rushing past! Quilt a palooza was quite a success and now it's time to push forward to the college issues. C and I are leaving in the morning for Galveston for her New Student Registration Conference. We'll be there for 3 days and home Thursday night. Then, I quilt 4 quilts in quick succession to get caught up and get them mailed out to their rightful owners.

I finally got a new phone and will be investigating how to update my blog via cell phone and also sending pictures. I always think about it when I'm nowhere near a computer, so if I can send stuff in when time arises, perhaps my blog will have more entries.

Gotta go finish packing.

Peace,

Deb

doin's on the homestead

We reconfigured the chicken pen to give the girls some fresh grass and weeds and especially some shade now that the Texas summer seems to have arrived. I'm letting them play in the asparagus bed now that the ferns are all real tall and they can't do any damage. They can keep the weeds down and fertilize though, and that's pretty important stuff for the asparagus.

I finished my last 2 shop samples for Quilt-a-palooza and have been cooking stock all day. I'll let it go overnight and then pressure can it in the morning. I also have 2 chickens in the fridge that I need to cut up and cook in the morning to make chicken salad and also to have the meat for a couple of dishes for the next 2 weeks (chicken pot pie, chicken stuffed peppers and possibly chicken enchiladas). I like to get a bunch cooked up and then store it for meals. Then I'll make and can more stock out of the leftovers. Now that the heat is here, the garden is starting to grow. The lettuce is all bolting, so I'll need to go harvest what is left out there tomorrow and get it all in the fridge. Salads for this week and next, and then maybe it's done. I did buy some lettuce seed called "heat wave mix". It's supposed to be able to grow in warmer climes, and I'll plant it under the okra so at least it's shaded. The green beans are climbing the fence and I think I'll actually get some this year. If the grasshoppers become an issue, i'll let the chickens have them. Planted all the curcurbits (cucs, squash, pumpkins, watermelon) in the front this year. Ran out of room, plus the squash bugs are in the back yard. Maybe I'll be able to trick them.

Gotta run, we're watching my new dvd of Dexter, first season. Such a good show!

peace,

Deb