A LOVE AFFAIR TO LAST A LIFETIME!

Do you have one of these?

If you do you are at least my age or maybe older than me.

For those of you who are much younger and maybe have never seen one before it is an Sewing or Embroidery box.


Ancient - positively ancient - I know!  But once upon a time a lot of little girls received one of these around the age of 9 or 10 yrs old.

I got mine from my Aunt Annie for Christmas when I was 9 yrs old.  The lid was filled with needles, and the box itself had a package of assorted embroidery threads in just about every colour one could imagine - and a pair of tiny scissors.  I thought I was in heaven!

If you have one of these, and haven't opened it in years and years - you may just be sitting on a goldmine - especially if you have the really old silky threads, that nowadays are considered specialty threads.

Do we even teach little girls how to embroider anymore?  We should be.  Hand stitching is a very useful tool for anyone - male or female to have knowledge of.

And in case you are wondering - people still are embroidering, still enjoying it, and still using it as a very viable craft.

In our day we embroidered things like T-towels, pillowcases, and baby blankets...

Today it is considered Art!

Check out a few of these images...

These are not at all what I learned to do with a needle and thread - and yet I could do these... embroidery can be anything you want it to be, now a days - 

 

 

So why not teach our young this very useful craft?  You never know where it will take them.  Maybe they might be a textile artist someday - a designer - who knows there may be a day when they will need to supplement an income... like I have done many many times over the years with my skills.

Or just maybe it might be a hobby that pleases them, something quiet, solitary, something they can do to escape stress, a broken heart...to think things out.  Maybe it will be that one activity where they feel close to you, because you taught it to them - maybe it will bring back fond memories when you are no longer here with them.

With a little thread and a needle, you could start a love affair that lasts a life time.

Just like my Auntie Annie did 54 yrs ago!

WHAT VIVI DID NEXT!

"Good morning everyone, how are you all today - I hope you are well?"

That's how every video by Vivi, on  her YouTube channel  What Vivi did next; begins.  Of course you see Vivi sitting in her garden shed usually with her hair up and her glasses on and she is usually already perspiring from the heat... at least that is the case in most of the video's recorded in 2018.

Vivi is in London England, and they have had the same sort of spring and summer that we have had here.  Hot and dry... something that is relatively unheard of in the UK, especially the dry bit.

Vivi is a seasoned gardener, nothing much gets in the way of her love of gardening, and her ability to produce enough food to sustain her for a year.  But this year, Vivi is upset, stressed, loosing interest and wondering why she bothers, aside for the fact that she needs the food to get her through the winter months.

I know how she feels, and watching her videos has made me realize that my negative gardening attitude this year is more a result of the drought and poor growing conditions on my particular patch of land, than anything else.

Because, like Vivi - I do love gardening.  I love the work, and I love the results.  I just don't love working without results, and this year gardening has been more about that, than anything.

I have never seen a more pathetic garden than mine, and it bothers me that others drive by and may say - "OMG - Have you seen Dale's garden - doesn't it look awful?" 
I actually mentioned that to someone here and she cracked up laughing and told me to come and check out her garden.... and she is a farm woman who always has a huge productive garden!

 The attitude is everywhere... that's rather reassuring!

So I have come to the conclusion that the garden will be out of the ground long before it should be.  The beans are going to be pulled in the next couple of days, and everything else behind it.  Whatever has no fruit on it, will be gone and put on the compost pile.  The freezer won't be filled, and the jars will stay empty on the shelf in the cold room until next year.  It's not the end of the world - but we will miss the good food it gave us all winter long.

I will switch my gardening energies to my flower beds, which as usual are doing rather well, in spite of the drought.  I still have rose bushes to deal with, and now is the perfect time to get those worked on.

So as Vivi would say -   "Crack on, let's get the job done!"

A SPIT AND POLISH, NOW BACK TO WORK!

While the weather has been cool and rainy this week, I have been busy doing a bit of rearranging in my studio ... I know - so what else is new?

I wouldn't have been doing this as I really liked the flow of my space just as it was, but last week I purchased a sewing machine from my Aunt Viola, and because I want to use this new machine, and my old Elna as well, I had to make space to accommodate both machines.

The new machine is not a new modern machine - it is an older model - but it has very little hours on it, so it is in "like new" condition.

I bought it because my machine, which was my Mom's machine before I had it, is showing some major signs of age and wear.  I have noticed that the shaft that holds the needle is starting to gravitate towards one side now, and as upsetting as that is - I know the machine will be expensive to repair, and I'm just not sure it would be worth the cost to have it fixed - so I bought a good second machine.

I am going to use the new machine as my main machine, but there are still some very fine stitches that only the Elna can do, so although I won't be using it exclusively any more, I will still continue to use it.

So I moved a few tables around so I could have both machines close so I could move  easily from one to another ( the machines are under the covers)

My cutting table:

 My ironing and hand-stitching table:

It gave me a great opportunity to go through and arrange my fabric ( again) as I have been pulling pieces for months without putting them back where they belong.  What I really need is an open  bin system where I arrange my fabric by colours, or even by patterns - that would be my ideal - but that's not happening any time soon, so for now a tidy and clean up will have to do.

So now I can get back to work and start working on those orders for the Shop in Selkirk, and for our little shop here in town, and hopefully soon to sell online.

The rest of the studio has remained pretty much unchanged...

The Office end of the studio:

The desk area...

I desperately need to make a material run somewhere very soon, I am running low on background fabric of every colour.

But in the meantime I will get cutting mug rug pieces for applique.


Have a great weekend, everyone - talk to you again next week!

RECIPE THURSDAY - COOKIES!

We have had some cool rainy days this week, and this kind of weather always gets me in the mood to bake.

Nothing like our best comfort cookies to munch on with a cup of tea - mid afternoon, when it raining and the wind is blowing, and you almost could believe that fall is right around the corner.

It's nowhere near that close ( I hope), but these cookies can be enjoyed just as much sitting on the deck with a glass if lemonade or ice tea...

They are the best twist on a old favourite that I have ever made...

Thank You Corri, for sharing these with us so many times at work, and for sharing your recipe with me as well.

So this recipe Thursday, I give you Corri's recipe for the yummiest of yummy...

This makes a very large batch (5+dozen)- but they seem to disappear rather quickly!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups oatmeal

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream margarine and sugars together, add eggs, water and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients, then oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Mix well.

Drop by teaspoon onto greased pan.

Bake 9-10 minutes @ 350F

"To make chewy cookies, drop the pan on counter when taking out of the oven"  cookies will flatten and get chewy.

Enjoy!

GROWING MY OWN!

One of the things I have most wanted to do in my garden, pretty much since I've had a garden, is grow herbs for teas and cooking.

English Thyme

I tried unsuccessfully for many years when we lived in the city - but then I didn't have a yard that was good for growing much except hardy perennials.

I have never been overly successful in growing herbs indoors, either - the best I have managed was over-wintering a rosemary plant in a pot for two winters.

This spring, I decided I would really try and get this herb and tea garden idea of mine going.  I thought I would plant this garden on the south side of our house.  I didn't do that - and happy I am that I changed my mind, because I now know they would never have made it there.

So I purchased a ready made 4x4 raised bed from Home Hardware, set it in a sunny spot in my yard, and planted my herbs...

Lemon Balm

I soon realized that they hated where they were living, it was too hot, too sunny, and windy days whipped them around, which they really did not like.  So I dug them all up and moved them to the north side of my garden shed, that gets morning sun and a bit of daytime sun, but by mid afternoon is shady and cool....  They flourished!

My herb garden is really tiny - but I am here to tell you that this type of garden can be very small and still give you lots of cuttings of herbs.

Sweet Basil

I have Peppermint and Spearmint ( in pots), and in ground I have Sweet Basil, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Summer Savory, Lemon Balm and Chamomile.

Sage

Oregano

The only thing that has not done overly well, and no fault of the plant, is Chamomile.  My tiny fragile plants have been choked out twice by weeds and really have not had a chance to get to their full potential - still I am getting some flowers to dry off them, but not near what I had hoped.

After I moved them, I let all the plants get good and established and then I started cutting for drying purposes.  I leave some fresh stock on the plant for cooking, but mostly I want to dry my herbs for future use.

Drying is so easy, and it takes so little time to get the dry product, that I wonder why we buy our dried herbs in bottles from the store.  I can tell you now, that I have never opened a jar of store bought herbs and smelled what I am smelling from my own dried herbs now.  It is amazing how strong the smell and flavour are!

To dry your herbs:
Cut your herbs, give them a quick wash with cool water and shake off any excess.  Remove any leaves that are brown or spotty, gather into small bundles ( smaller bundles dry faster) and tie the tops with string.

Tag your herbs with name and date you bundled them for drying and hang them somewhere cool and dry.  I didn't tag the first bunch I hung to dry - after all the plants all look so different - easy to identify right?  I learned the hard way, that when they are dry, some of them look alike and even smell alike - so I have tagged them ever since.

Peppermint

If I have to remove some leaves to make stems on the top long enough to tie, I save those leaves as well.  I don't waste any part of this precious harvest.  I either use the individual leaves fresh in teas or cooking, or I let them dry and add it to my dried product later.

I found a used CD rack at the recycle store, and purchased some long dowels at the hardware store, and Voila!  My drying rack was born!

Depending on the size of your bundles, your herbs will take several weeks to dry.  Once dry, remove the leaves from the stems.  If you wish you can crush your herbs simply by rubbing them in your hands.

Store your dried herbs in labeled glass jars, I use small jars from things purchased such as Jam or pickles - anything really!

A note to remember that dried herbs are 3 times stronger than fresh, so keep that in mind when using them.

Next year I plan to add several more tea herbs to my garden.  I have purchased a perennial Chamomile seed for next years planting, and I want to add Hyssop and Fennel and a few other tea herbs as well.

My office area smells amazing at the moment, and I know the flavour from each of these bundles will be just as amazing in a few weeks time.

Try it - you'll like it!

A CAMERA CHASING BUMBLE!

When I was out taking pictures in my garden last week there were quite a few bees working around the garden, which is something I had not seen yet this year.  Every other year there have been bees working right along side of me - sometimes we are even working on the same plant, but that has not been the case at all, this year!

I had just left the vegetable garden, but could hear a really loud buzzing sound, so I followed the sound and found this very large Bumble in my Delphiniums up against my garden shed.

I still had my camera in my hand, so I popped the cover off the lens and started shooting.  I didn't have a lens on the camera that would allow me to get a nice close picture so I had to lean in real close to the working bee.  It didn't seem to care that I was only inches away from it for awhile, but after about 20 shots it had enough, and went for the camera.

At first I thought it was just relocating to another flower, but it was out to get the camera.  It backed me away from the plant, and the shed, and when I set my camera down on the grass and stood back it was all over my camera.

I have never had that happen before, so I was kind of shocked - and yes, even a little hurt that one my MY bees would be taking offence to my camera.

I let it win that round, took the camera inside and forgot about the incident.

The next day I was outside picking herbs from that same bed near the shed and I heard it again.  This time it was a very loud buzzing, followed by a funny little buzzing sound, that sounded like a bee with a head cold - it was very cute.

So I stood up, and walked over to the Delphiniums, and sure enough - there was my big attack Bumble, and right beside it working feverishly was the tiniest Bumble I have ever seen!

Adorable...

I think perhaps I now understand the big Bumble's aggression.  And good on her for chasing that black camera out of her zone.

Don't you just love nature?  I am so thankful that I get to spend so much of every day with these amazing little creatures that call my yard their home.   Our is Their yard, my home?  More and more I believe that to be true.

They bring me so much joy, but they also teach me so much about the world around me.  They make me better, and they make me want to be better still.

So here is my big Bumble - before she chased the camera away.  What an image she gave me!

MID JULY GARDEN TOUR!

Even though we had another very hot and dry week last week, I did manage to spend quite a bit of time working in my vegetable garden, and I have to say, I was quite excited to see some progress there, even with the drought.

It was time to spend some time with my tomato plants.  Many needed tying up, some needed the bottom leaves removed where I thought some blight might be about to happen.  When I actually stopped and worked in the tomato bed, I realized that I do actually have a lot of fruit on my plants.  Even though the plants themselves are somewhat puny, they are loaded with tomatoes.  None are ready for picking, but another week or so, they will be ready to eat, can, freeze, or whatever I decide I will do this year!

 







On to the beans.  I have three different varieties of bush beans that I grow every year, Dandy Green, Dandy Gold, and Provider.  Last year I froze over 10 gallons of beans.  So far this year, I have picked and froze this lot:  Maybe a pound, all said and done!

I am also growing a bush drying bean that was given to me by a friend.  There are a lot of beans on these plants, but I will be leaving them to dry on the plants, and then will just pod them.

One of the plants is a renegade climber.  I totally love when this happens.  So I gave it a pole and hopefully it will grow something amazing for me.  

The corn is a big surprise.  Even though the plants themselves are quite short, every plant has a couple of ears growing on it.  So far I have only planted corn for us to have fresh, but next year I hope to plant more so that I can freeze some.  

I think my favourite thing in the garden this year is this Kale.  Oh my Gosh, it is so good.  We have been eating it and the Swiss Chard for a few weeks already.  I almost feel like seeding another couple of rows for an autumn garden... I will have to check our fall frost dates to see if I would have enough time.  It just has the most amazing flavour.

 







I have yellow, red white and Spanish onions growing, they are not a great size, hopefully they will have a good flavour, and they do have some time to fatten up before they come out in fall.

My pumpkin and squash bed is crazy wild, blossoms everywhere and there is a lot of small fruit on the vines.  I have butternut squash, Zucchini and a small pumpkin planted and so far it looks like I will have some of each to harvest come fall.  I really want to try some different varieties next year...

My cucumbers are totally pathetic.  I have picked 3 very small ones so far... not the best year for cuc's, I'm afraid.

I didn't plant potatoes this year, and my carrots never did come up ( after 3 plantings) it was just too hot.

I have a few beets but I think it has been too hot for those as well.

It hasn't been my best garden ever, but I am thankful for what I do have growing.

We had a really good rain yesterday - I can't wait to see if it will make any difference to the garden this week, or not.

My herbs are doing great since I moved them out of the hot sun.  I have been steadily harvesting and drying mint, lemon balm, chamomile, basil and sage and oregano, so far.  We have already had some teas from our herbs that were really really nice.  I am definitely going to expand my tea garden next year, for sure.

So that's my garden tour...

Can't wait for my first fresh tomato sandwich.... yum!

BUSY DAYS ARE A COMIN!

It's a good day today - it's finally raining!  We have been having a nice slow soaking rain for about 2 hours this morning and already things are starting to come alive.  The grass which was totally brown has a wee hint of green mixed in there now.

We could really use a couple of days of this type of life-giving rain, but we will settle with whatever we are given!

It's a good day to spend working in the studio, and a good thing too as I have some news about some of my creations.

A antique shop in Selkirk Manitoba has expressed an interest in carrying my mug rugs in their shop in the near future.  The shop "THE GYPSY TRADERS"  is adding a artisan/crafters space in their antique shop, and are in the process of finding Manitoba Artisans who can supply unique items in this new space.

I currently have no stock, I have sold everything I had made up a month or so ago, so I need to get busy and get some stock - "Stocked up" !

I am also hopeful for an opportunity to supply some of my creations to a new place recently opened in Minnedosa, and also replenish my supply to our own Uniques and Antiques shop here in town.

My head is buzzing a bit with all the ideas of things I want to do, and then there are the things I HAVE to do. 

As always, am I biting off more than I am going to chew, let alone swallow?  Possibly - but it seems to be what I always do, so for now, I will go with it.

I know one thing, it's going to be a very busy fall - teaching piano, working 2 jobs, and producing enough items to keep a couple of shops supplied...

Who knew retirement would be so busy!

And a day ago, I decided I really want to change the wall colour in my dining room and living room...

Well there you go!

BEST CURE FOR A BAD HEADACHE!

I went to bed with a headache last night, and woke up with an even worse one this morning.  Yesterday the wind was so bad, it blew us apart inside and out... and there is something about strong wind that really unsettles me, for some reason... so I blamed the wind for my headache!

The temperature got down to 10 overnight - the house was so nice and cool and fresh, after such a long time of having the house shut up and AC on - it was such a welcome treat.

But I still had that really bad headache.

I wanted to take advantage of the cool morning to get some much needed work done outside...

But I had that headache.

I ate breakfast, had a cup of coffee and decided bending and working in the garden would only make my headache worse, so I decided to stay indoors.

I went up to my studio... by the time I climbed the stairs my head was pounding even more.  I couldn't do anything, because I had that headache.

I went back down to my rocking chair, watched a video or two, and then decided I really wanted to be outside, so I got dressed and headed out to the garden.

I needed to water everything, so I started there, doing the tomatoes first...

And I still had that headache.

Then the Swiss chard, the kale, the beans...

And I sort of forgot about the headache,

Then the cucumbers, beets, flowers, lettuce, herbs, more flowers, shrubs...

What headache?  It was gone...

I don't know if it was the very fresh fall-like air, or the act of watering all my growing things, but without taking any medications, somehow my pounder of a headache had disappeared.

So I got to work in earnest.  I decided to continue working on the new flower beds I am making at the front of the house.  I completed digging that and started around the corner to the other front of the house on the south side.  By the time I stopped for lunch I was half way through that bed as well.

Now I'm going to start working in the studio for the rest of the day - the windows are open, a very cool breeze is blowing through my work space, the birds are singing out my window - it's a a perfect environment for getting something accomplished.

Better get to it!

IT WILL GIVE YOU GOOSE BUMPS - IT DID ME!

If you didn't read "A Typical Dale Day" post from a couple of days ago, you should go back and read that one before you continue with this post -  this is sort of a continuation of that one...

I spent most of my day on Wednesday sorting through the ribbon, braids and trims that my cousin sent me from my Aunt's home.

She was a Floral Designer by trade and so she always had a lot of ribbons and trims... and she used a lot in the crafts she did.... sewing, quilting, eggery, crocheting... floral arrangements.

I received a lot of ribbon - but truthfully - I know my cousin has not even scratched the surface when in comes to this particular crafting supply.

I use a lot of ribbon as well, so I am very happy to acquire this lot.

 In those boxes are many different colours, and widths of satin ribbons, which I use a lot of when I make my crochet ornaments, but now the ladies of summer will have even more embellishments on their hats!

I mentioned  in my post the other day, that I felt that my Aunt was near when I was going through her stuff.  I know now that my feelings were founded, because I found three things tucked in her ribbon boxes that I know my cousin did not put in there.

The first was this -   it was in one box.

Another box had a bunch of pieces of ribbons in the bottom... and rightly so - you never know when you will need little bits of ribbon, so you don't throw them away.  I cleaned the box out then turned it over and shook it over the trash can to get the really small stuff out - and this fell out of the box... it must have been face down and I didn't see it.

But it was the fourth box that did me in.

Again I was sifting through the dregs on the bottom, there were little plastic bags that maybe once held ribbon, and some cardboard pieces, where maybe ribbon had been wrapped around at one time... and a paper... I almost threw the paper away, thinking it was from a wrapper...

This message went straight to my heart! 

I know my Aunt used her ribbons right out of these boxes that I now have, they were all labelled for colour and size of ribbon... Who knows when she put these objects in her ribbon boxes, and who knows why?

I believe her hand was guided, she didn't know why she put them there either - she was meant to put them there, and I was meant to find them - it is after all, just that simple!

Does that freak you out?

Not me - it gives me so much comfort... you can't even begin to imagine how much!

My Aunt had a very strong faith, and she also believed that throughout her life, she was left signs and directions that guided her through the rough spots - and she had many of those in her 99 years here on earth.

For some it is a very hard concept to grasp a hold of...  but I know what those three items were meant for me to find....

I'm so very happy, that I did.

RECIPE THURSDAY SORT OF!

My recipe today, is more an idea than a recipe.  I tried something different the other day, and thought I would share it with you.

We were having leftovers one evening for supper, and I didn't really want to eat them, so I let Gary finish them and I decided to fry myself a couple of eggs.  I kind of lose my appetite for meals containing meat when it is so hot outside, so I thought the eggs would be perfect.

Then I remembered that I had some really nice Kale and Swiss Chard ready to be picked in the garden to so I thought I would have that as well.

After I washed the greens, I decided I also didn't feel like washing extra pots from cooking greens in the usual way ( steamed)  so I chopped them up,  and sauteed them in a little bit of butter, salt and pepper in the frying pan for just a couple of minutes...

Then added the eggs in the pan with the greens.  I did not add any more butter just fried the eggs in the juice from the greens and butter...

Pretty instant meal.  You could add fruit, or bacon or ham, whatever you want, but this suited me just fine.  And it was delicious.  I found that the greens had a much richer taste cooked this way.  I am thinking that one could add any number of vegetables to the greens as well and it would be equally as tasty.

So if you are inclined give it a try - I think you will find it quite tasty.

ANOTHER PROJECT DONE!

Quite some time ago,  I was visiting with my friend at her Antique shop, and she showed me three walking dolls that a customer had put in the shop.   All three dolls are Canadian made REGAL dolls, and not at all collectable.

They were kind of sad and the more I looked at them the more I just wanted to snatch them up, take them home and give them all a spa day.

When I asked Lou if I could do that, she informed me that she wanted them to be donated as models in our little one room school house, which is part of our town's museum.

I agreed completely.  We had been through the museum last year, and it lacked models of this kind in the school room.  Presently there is just a comatose teacher and a sleeping child.

So I took the dolls home and gave them all a bath. 

Two of the girls got boil perms, and the other doll's hair was so bad I decided to chop it off and turn her into a him.   They got some different clothes and shoes, I made a paper boy-style cap for the boy, and he even has a sling-shot in his front pocket.

Here are the new students for the school, they are ready to start school any day now.

As always, working with dolls is such a fun project for me.  I don't do much with my dolls anymore, as I have so many other activities I am involved in - so this was a nice relaxing treat for me.

Wonder what grade they will be in?

A TYPICAL "DALE" DAY!

A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from my cousin in the States, who is the son of my Beloved Aunt Margaret.  As with every conversation with Earl, there is a lot of joking around, but the reason for his call was much more serious.

If you have read my blog over the years, you will already know just how precious my Aunt Margaret was to me, and you will  also know that she was very much my inspiration, and indeed my teacher when it came to the crafts, hobbies and collections that I have always done - even to this very day.

My Aunt Margaret lived in a tiny little house, but unless you ever visited her - you could never imagine what was in that tiny little house.  She wasn't a hoarder, but she did have a lot of collections of different things, she was a creator of beautiful things, and she had all she needed to create, right at her fingertips at all times.

I remember many trips with her to Lee Wards, to buy craft supplies... it was the first time, I had ever seen a craft store larger than a shopping mall!  To be honest, that Lee Wards store remains the largest and best craft stores I have ever been in... but it exists now, only in my memories!

Earl has the task of cleaning out my aunts home.  It's not a task for the faint of heart!  Many many times over the years Aunt Margaret and I discussed just what Earl is facing right now... she said she would get rid of things as she got older ( she was in her 80's when she said that) but she crafted another decade past that day - in her mind, she needed all her supplies.

The serious side of my conversation with Earl was to find out if I could use any of her supplies, and if there was something in particular I wanted from her house.  I answered yes to the first question and there was really only one thing I really wanted, and another item I was concerned about.

The one thing I wanted, was a little cross stitch picture I stitched and gave her for Christmas in 1996.  It is a picture of a little girl dressed in a red coat hanging a quilt on a wash line.   I stitched that piece on every lunch break at work for months, and I loved the finished piece so much I always intended to make one for myself. 

The object I was concerned about was Elizabeth - my Grandmother's china doll.  Elizabeth stood on Aunt Margaret's dresser in her bedroom forever.  Because she had many china heads that looked much like Elizabeth, I was concerned that Elizabeth would be sold off with the rest of the collection, and not passed down through the generations to come, as I believe she should be.   I knew that she was the only china head doll that my aunt had that had a Kidd body, and so I instructed Earl to look for her, based on a picture I had taken 8 yrs ago during my last visit with my aunt.

Yesterday a large box arrived from Earl - thanks to another cousin... Thank You Kelvin for being our messenger! 

It was an emotional experience for me.  As I dived through the stuff Earl had sent, I swear that Aunt Margaret was right there beside me.  I believe she was - I know she was!

Along with lots of braids and ribbons, and craft supplies that Earl somehow knew I would use, there was this sweet little picture....







And there was Elizabeth!

Meet Elizabeth Owens...  she is around 122 yrs old, belonged originally to my Grandmother Mabel Fischer (nee Owens).  Her dress and pinafore are not original, these were made by Aunt Margaret, and I am going to knit an Irish lace shawl for her.  She has had a wash, her clothes have been washed and pressed and she is going to be standing on my dresser in my bedroom for as long as she is with me. 

I will keep her for a time, but eventually I would like to find someone in our very large family who will treasure her and pass her on to the next generations of little descendents of Mabel Owens, and I will make sure she is tagged with all the information needed to keep her in the family.


What an incredible day!  What a typical "Dale" day!  Memories, emotions, and wonderful, beautiful things!

BUT - something was missing.....

SHOULD I GIVE UP?

Am I the only one disappointed with their yard and gardens this year?  I know some areas have had much more rain than us, so perhaps your properties look a lot better than mine - but I really feel like I am beating my head upon a brick wall this year.

Nothings is growing... things that I transplanted that I had grown indoors by early seeding are just about the same size as when I put them in the garden.  Things that I direct sewed into the garden are spotty - some things - like carrots - I have sewn 3 times and still not a sprout.  Other things like beans, maybe half came up, and the things that did come up, are just not progressing.

Once again I have an entire garden filled with portulaca, and I have actually taken the tiller to the garden and tilled all the open spaces.  I have ants everywhere, I have cutworms everywhere, spiders killing my cherry tree and my birch tree, a neighbours cat using my beds as his personal toilet,  dead grass, and straight line winds that have broken most of the tall perennials down in my shed bed.

I have birds that live in my strawberry patch, and some that have set up shop in my Saskatoon tree!

Oh and I forgot, worse of all - I have very few pollinators!

Yes - I am royally fed up.  I am about ready to take the tiller to the whole yard and be done with it.

BUT

Then I come across something like these little beauties...

Beauty in spite of the drought, ants, spiders, wind and lack of bees, choking weeds...  How can I give up, when they haven't?

I can water everything to curb the effects of the drought - but treated water is not the best, and I have a lot of property to water - not sure it's really worth the expense.

I can attract pollinators ( another blog coming up about that)

I can try and kill ants, and I have killed a lot - but you just get one hill down and another forms in another spot.

I can pulls weeds, and I have been doing that every day, but where to start when they are everywhere.  I also could mulch, and that is something I want to do - but without vegetation growing, not much mulch is produced.

I delight in hacking cutworms to bits - if I dig one up - I go into terminator mode.

I could do the same with the neighbours cat - but it is someones pet after all... I have nothing against cats - I like them - just not pooping in MY yard!

I can't do anything about damaging straight line winds, except bawl when I have to cut back plants that should bloom for another 4 weeks or so.

The birds - well to tell the truth, it cracks me up when I go outside and see a head pop up out of the middle of my strawberry patch - and then disappear again, because they are not quite done!  The cheeks!

We netted the Saskatoon bush but the birds  flew up from the bottom and went inside anyway.

I love my birds and I don't really care if they get some fruit - I don't have enough from either source to do anything with anyhow....

My biggest problem is not any of these things.  If I could be outside all day to stick with these tasks, I would gladly be outside all day and get them all done.  But I can't do that with the extreeme heat we have had for the past 6 weeks.   I just can't tolerate the heat, so I work in the early morning, and late evening... or on a breezy day.  But it's not enough.

SO

Should I give up?

You see - I come from a very long line of very stubborn people (on both sides of my family).  At times like this I am very thankful for that fact.

And - if those little beauties up there aren't gonna give up - then I'm not going to either.

A POTAGER ?

Do you know what a Potager Garden is?

I must admit that I have always loved them, even wanted to have one myself, but never knew they actually had a name - before this week that is!

I was watching a video on YouTube from yet another young gardener who lives is Arkansas.  She is a homesteader and her and her husband have started their homestead farm and gardens from basically nothing.

I love her garden - it is beautiful and it is so productive - and I might add - HUGE!  She maintains 10,000 ft of garden, filled with fruits and vegetables, herbs and flowers...hundreds of varieties of plants producing enough food to sustain her very large young family.

So what is a Potager Garden?

It is a garden that combines fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs in one garden designed to be as much a feast to the eye as it is to the tummy.  Potager gardens were invented in France and were considered ornamental kitchen gardens... meaning their purpose was to provide food, but they also had to be a place of beauty, to be enjoyed by the gardener and his guests.

 Potager gardens are informal, romantic, natural.  They are comparable to The English Cottage Garden, except Potager gardens are centered on vegetables and not flowers.

Potager gardens, have paths and beds, and rarely have bare earth showing,  They have as much vertical as horizontal and some have hedges and walls.  They are a myriad of shapes, colours, annual and perennial all intermingling as one.

I am quite sure that traditional vegetable gardeners, such as my Dad was - would detest them.  These gardens lack the clean lines of neatly spaced rows of a traditional garden.  Instead they appear haphazard, even wild... but they produce just as much even sometimes more food as the traditional garden can produce.


So how do I get one?

Well there's the big question that I already know the answer to!   Planning... and sweat equity!

I know what I have to do, and starting this fall as my current garden is removed - I will start building my own version of a Potager garden.

No more sleepless nights of thinking, dreaming and wishing  - the planning stage has now begun!

RECIPE THURSDAY IS BACK!

It was Gary's birthday a couple of weeks ago, I didn't have any mixes to make him a regular birthday cake,  but then remembered a really good cake that was always popular with both him and our son whenever I made it.

Not your traditional birthday cake - but oh boy, it was sooooo good!

So birthday or no birthday - give this one a try - and I promise you it is not Banana bread - it's a cake, and way better, and so simple to make.

BANANA CAKE

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 eggs

 4 tbsp sour milk

1 cup mashed bananas ( 3 bananas)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

Cream butter, add sugar gradually.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and banana.  Add dry ingredients  alternately with milk. 

Bake in 375 degree over for 25- 30 minutes.

Ice with Butter Icing or serve with whipped cream

...

I used a tube pan, but you can bake yours in whatever suits you.   I did not ice my cake, I just drizzled icing sugar mixed with some milk over the top of my cake once it was cooled.  

It was delicious...

Enjoy!

THE LILY NOOK!

 I have been digging up more of my yard once again.  The very neglected front of our house, is finally getting the start of a much needed face lift.

We tore down a narrow brick planter that ran the entire length of the house, and I have been creating a flower bed ( a very long one) where the planter once stood.   I have widened the bed significantly, and have been moving some of my more established perennials into it.

A couple of days ago I decided to work on the rest of the area that had the planter, on the other side of the front steps.  I had bought a Mock Orange bush for somewhere over on that side, so had to dig a  space for that - what I ended up with was a  a nice size flower bed to accommodate not only the bush, but some flowers as well.

Last year I had planted a small dogwood just beyond the spot I was working on, so I decided to join the two spaces with a small peninsula-type bed.

My first idea was to move some of my rose bushes to this peninsula bed.  It would be perfect for roses, as one could work around both sides of them to keep them looking their best.  But that idea required more work than I have time for at the moment, because my roses are old and so well established that they are pretty much growing into the foundation of the house.  Removing them is not going to be a easy job ( know this from experience as we tried removing some from a different bed last year).  And to be quite honest - although I would love to be able to maintain some of those roses, digging them and moving them will not be the way to go.

So I have been reading up on how to propagate new roses from cuttings - and as soon as I get my hands on some hormone powder, I will be starting that process on all the varieties of roses I have.

So what to put in my new peninsula bed?

I can't believe it took me so long to think of it - I must be slipping!

I live a little over a half an hour from the Lily Nook!  I am going to plant Lilies.

I love Lilies, but sadly the Lily beetle destroyed all mine in my garden in Winnipeg.  Happily - the Lily beetle is not here ( yet), and the Lily Nook, located just 2 miles south of Neepawa has over 1500 named varieties growing in their six acre plot of land.  Their catalogue offers 150 of those varieties, and they ship world- wide so if you are interested visit their website ( below).

www.lilynook.mb.ca

Even more exciting for me is from July 1 - 31, they allow the public to open tour their lily fields.  Can you imagine?

A camera moment for sure... I will have it charged with an empty SD card in place...

So, next week, I have a date with my hubby to visit the Lily Nook - to take photo's and to buy some new Lilies for my garden.  I already know a few that will be coming home with me..

                                                 

          

   

Blackstone

Of all these Stella is still my favourite!  Stella and Bumble Bee are both Day Lilies, so if the beetle does make it's way to us - these two plants will be okay.

Am I excited?

You Betcha!