Moolie - Happy Thanksgiving :)

[moolie]

It's sunny and almost 70F out and I've got radish sprouts in the garden!

The tomatoes are happy with where I've put them in the raised garden boxes, and I will get the rest of the tomatoes into the deck pots this afternoon, just had to duck inside for a while to get some work done (I run my own small business from home).

The sun makes the flower boxes on the edge of my deck look so nice, I had to snap a photo of them as well:

The deck railing is out at the moment because the old owners had built it as a privacy wall between our deck and the neighbor's house (not even necessary because their house is set back further from the street than ours and there are no windows on that part of their house) and we have taken out the plastic lattice panels in prep to shorten the posts and build a normal railing there.

 

[justusnak]

Thanks again Moolie. And...YEAH on the baby radishes....I need to get some in the ground here as well...soon! The flowers look great! Just waite till they fill in, that will be ohhhh, so beautiful!

 

[moolie]

Thanks justusnak! It's so nice to see something finally sprouting--the rain kept washing my bean seeds to the top and I kept having to poke them back down.

I love those planter boxes when they fill in. The lobelia and allysum make the deck smell so heavenly when we're out there barbecuing or eating dinner.

And my favourite annual of all time is marigolds so I always get 3 or 4 different types--the smell reminds me of my Mom gardening when I was a kid--every row in the veggie garden had flowers at the end and we always had marigolds in the flower beds in front of the house

 

[justusnak]

I like the marigolds as well. And, they are great in the garden for pest deterrents! Marigolds to me bring back fond childhood memories as well.

 

[moolie]

Busy weekend, but finally catching up on my journal:

I hosted the end of the year Girl Guides (see post #70 of this journal for more info on Girl Guides of Canada) leader BBQ for my District on Friday, so hubs had to quickly finish the new stairs for our deck to replace the rotten lower section we pulled out last month.

The steps still need to be fully closed in and stained, and the deck skirting behind the steps needs to be reinforced to keep our cats and the neighborhood cats (and squirrels and skunks...) out before they're done:

But hubs did a great job on short notice

The BBQ was super fun, the Special Events Committee planned a craft which was carried out with much silliness, everyone brought an hors d'oeuvre, salad, or dessert and the District provided slider hamburgers and buns, and we had our Guider awards and gifts time. A number of Guiders are changing positions next year, some are moving up from Sparks to Brownies, Brownies to Guides etc. and a few ladies are "retiring" but joining the Special Events Committee. I'll be changing roles from Guide Guider to District Camping Adviser and will get to go camping as Quarter Master with any unit (mostly Brownies) that needs me

I finally cut the rhubarb this morning and chopped it up for freezing--we only have one plant, left by the last owners of this house, so it's not a huge haul but it will add some great flavour to future strawberry jam!

The radish sprouts have been joined by carrot sprouts all over the garden, mostly inter-planted with the tomatoes and onions but here is a row next to some radishes:

And the apple trees that we planted last month may actually bear some fruit this year!

One more note, nearly all of the photos in this journal are taken with my cell phone--sort of a personal challenge, as I'm a professional photographer--so sometimes they aren't the best photos but they should do the job

 

[moolie]

Huh, I forgot to mention that I hit Value Village over the weekend--just a general browse--and found a copy of a great cookbook my Mom has had for donkey's years, a brand-new still-in-the-shrinkwrap Recipe Keeper Binder (I've been wanting something cute for my ever-growing recipe collection), and some more Pyrex (amber Visions) to add to my collection.

I've been collecting thrift store Pyrex for about 5 years now, I use Pyrex for just about everything--prep and cooking, fridge and freezer storage.

1/4 lb butter dish (from the Pyrex Refrigerator Dishes set)

Baking and serving dishes (mostly Spring Blossom Green and Primary Colours), coffee pot & tea pot (blue Flameware)

Casserole dishes (Cornflower Blue and my wedding gift French White)

 

[JRmom]

Oh, that rhubarb looks yummy! That is definitely something I miss down here. We had a huge patch in Wisconsin when I was a kid that "came with the house" - I used to pick it and run a line of sugar down it and eat it raw. Unfortunately, I was the only one in the family who liked it so my mom never did anything with it.

I love Pyrex too!

 

[moolie]

Thanks! I love it too, but hubs just looks at me like I'm from outer space when I talk about putting rhubarb into perfectly good apple pie or strawberry jam

It was actually a bit further along for cutting than I would have liked, but every time I thought about it, it was raining.

There's rain in the forecast for the weekend so I thought I'd better get it done today no matter what!

Pyrex made so many great shapes of dishes for various things, and so many darn patterns! I always see great pieces at thrift stores but have to stop myself because I'm trying to stick with the Spring Blossom Green that my Mom had when we were growing up. Actually all we had were the Corelle plates/bowls/mugs etc. and the gravy boat, cream and sugar, butter, and salt & pepper but I've always loved the bowls and casseroles. It's taken years to get the pieces I have, but they are just so darn useful, and bring back memories from my childhood

 

[FarmerJamie]

Pyrex and Corelle, brings back tons of good memories for me, too. Thanks for sharing all of this!

 

[moolie]

Well most of the seeds in the garden have sprouted now--just saw the beans are poking through today--and the tomatoes are growing nicely--but it's turned cold and rainy the past couple of days so the hot caps and water jackets are staying on the tomatoes.

Hubs headed downtown to the court house for jury selection today, I got my letter two years ago and was fortunate to not have been selected so I'm hoping the same for him. Not that we oppose doing our civic duty, but we've both been called up in summer months which is the busiest time of year for my business. We have a crazy busy summer ahead of us and jury duty for either of us would wreak havoc with my work schedule. I'll find out in a couple of hours how it went, and obviously we'll work around a trial if he does get called up, but I hate having to hire extra staff to keep up with work when I need my accountant and computer guy (hubs) the most.

My parents arrive this afternoon for the weekend, they live 6 hours away and only come out 2-3 times per year (we reciprocate about the same number of times per year) so I just made up the guest bedroom in the basement and put fresh towels in the bathroom down there. Trying to plan meals so that we don't change what we are used to too much, but my Dad is a strictly meat & potatoes guy and we don't eat meat every day. So tonight is roast chicken, tomorrow is hamburgers on the grill (if the rain lets up for a few moments to allow us to do that), Sunday is roast beef for Father's Day, and Monday we'll cobble something together out of my freezer meals--I'm sure I still have two of something left but I haven't checked my list yet.