A Bountiful Garden



Our garden is turning out to be a lot of work, but we are sure enjoying it.  It's our first somewhat organized garden in a number of years.  We've planted tomatoes and cilantro in pots before, but this year, if you've been reading the blog, you know we tore out half of our lawn and made a 10' x 10' space.  We are on the coast in central/southern California, so we don't get a lot of heat.

So far, we've been getting a lot of squash -- both zuchinni, yellow, and crook-neck, and also cucumbers! 

Next season, we'll plant fewer tomatoes, and more beans.  We'll forget about cilantro as it goes to seed too quickly for us to really benefit long term, and perhaps plant one more cucumber plant as we're really enjoying them.  Just made some refrigerator pickles and doubt we'll ever buy pickles again!  We hope to find a great "Pico de Gallo" recipe to help use up the tomatoes and chilies that we are hoping for. Now we need to figure out what to try and grow through the cooler seasons, and plan for it.

Lovin' this gardening, and being able to turn to our own resources for at least a few things we would typically buy at the store.  Thinking about chickens for eggs, but don't think we have enough room or even energy to take that on.  Well, little by little, if we can become a little more sustainable, even on a small scale, that's a good thing, right?



This yellow squash plant really took over the garden!






The squash and cucumber are abundant, and taste fabulous!

 


This is the most tomoatoes we've had yet.  I think we planted too many plants to close together.




Pretty and great tasting cilantro, but it goes to seed too quickly for us to use it.  Could use more beans!!





Really delicious recipe I found for Refrigerator Pickles!




Siamese Squash?  It was wonderful!



How does your garden grow?  Any good tips you'd like to share?  Next up for us in the gardening department is to start composting...reducing waste, and turning that "garbage" into super soil!

Baby Quilts!

Have been side-tracked from stained glass lately, and back into fabric and sewing.  Could be because we have some very dear loved ones expecting babies!

A trip to the fabric store last weekend was tons of fun for me.  I always go alone because I don't want to feel like I have to hurry.  There is nothing like browsing the rows and rows of various fabrics, and believe me, you can find just about anything you're looking for.  

I settled on a few different pieces that would yield about 6-7 different baby sized quilts.  Here are a few pics of my progress so far. 



This reminded me of one of my own kid's blankies back in the day. 




This is the backing -- it is so soft.  I think they call it minky.




So soft and warm, with batting in between the layers.




I was so drawn to the jungle animals!




I had enough to back it with the same fabric, and just added batting in between.



Edged with satin blanket binding, for added comfort.



My son used to love to slip his fingers in the binding, so I left this open.  :)




Two down, so far so good!





I quilted it six-inches apart to hold the batting in place.




Loved this cute piece of fleece!




Had to give this one away, to my very own "baby."  My youngest.



So three down, about three more to go!  Stay tuned.  

Love Is...

Love is..... celebrating our 33 wedding anniversary and still feeling that spark, that genuine love that has only grown stronger through the years.  Love is, after all this time, still being able to tell each other that we'd do it all over again.  Where has the time gone my love? 

It's been a life time.  Our children are grown.  How can that be?  Looking at these pictures of our early years, and feeling like those young 'uns in the pictures, but the mirror tells us something else, ha ha.

We had so much fun tonight.  Just a simple dinner out, a walk by the beach, but the company and conversation was great!  Just us, still us, and we are so fortunate that we have stayed the course, and hung in there.  Holding hands, we talked of our feelings, and still... our hopes for the future. 

Well they do say that life is what you make it, and I am so happy we made it together. 

July 1978

                                           "Grow old along with me....the best is yet to be....."