A Picture-Free Update
October 26, 2009 at 2:24 pm | In Gardening, Sewing, South Florida living, The Joys of Decorating | 2 CommentsIt’s too bad I don’t have any pics to share, but I’ll sum it all up and hopefully take some decent pics to share soon. (I really need to amp up my photography skills. It’s sad, people.)
Gardening
My Aurora pepper is doing fabulously. There are a couple peppers growing already, but the one that’s been around the longest doubled in size over the past day. I’m excited to be getting to this point of gardening; I feel like there’s a little treat waiting for me each time I check my plants for new developments.
My two tomato plants are doing quite well, too. No flower buds yet, but I keep scrutinizing daily and will let out a little “woot!” as soon as I see them. Maybe I’m being naive, but I’m thinking I’ll have better luck on my open-air patio.
I had a minor run in with powdery mildew on all my plants a few weeks ago, but I spritzed the undersides of the affected leaves with my mixture of baking soda and water and brushed off the mildew. I haven’t seen any of that sneaky stuff since, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Again, I’m hoping less humidity + open-air patio = bountiful results.
Home decor
Our dining room is almost done has taken one step backwards, as of last night. First, the good news: We have our beautiful dining room table, complete the table runner, placements, and pumpkin centerpiece. We have our light fixture (which a couple strangers said they loved last weekend, so score!), and a whole leaning bookcase/wine bar unit. We’d like to add a few more accessories to that piece of furniture (a white initial for our last name, a white vase/bowl/sculpture thingy), but that will come in time. We had custom-made curtains, sewn by yours truly, that I was really digging. Until last night.
It was rainy the other night and we followed our usual routine of carrying Peanut inside so we can wipe off her paws. One curtain panel had a minor run in with a muddy paw. No biggie. The panels are all 100% cotton, so I just threw the one panel in the wash (cold water, gentle cycle) and let it air dry. Paw print out. All good. We hung the panel back up last night. It’s a good 6 inches shorter.
&$%*@!
I am still mad. I can’t even talk about it anymore.
Moving on.
We finally found an entryway table. We had such a hard time with this because our space isn’t large enough to allow a typical entryway table generally sold in furniture stores. We were starting to give up, but then stumbled upon a tall, square table for $50. Score! It was originally oak, which does not fly with our style, so we got out our trusty power sander and went to town. Then we painted it black. It’s perfect. We’re still looking for the perfect accessory to place on top of it, but it works in the meantime. We hung a piece of artwork above it that we already had but weren’t using, but decided we prefer a mirror. So, we’re on the quest for the perfect, budget-friendly mirror. I have spray paint and I’m not afraid to use it, so I’m keeping my eyes open.
We’re saving for a couple bucket chairs to add to the living room. They’ll fill our open space sorta behind our main TV viewing area. The open space will serve us nicely by providing a reading nook, guitar display area (gotta keep the husband happy), and board game nook. Plus, we’ll gain more seating. I can’t wait to get those chairs. They swivel, and I swoon.
Crafty projects
I’ve been doing a little bit of sewing and trying to get back into it on a regular basis. Besides the curtain panel customization I did for the living and dining rooms, I did manage to finish one skirt that’s wearable. I’m planning on wearing it to church next Sunday, and I’ll try to get a good picture posted. I started on a second skirt with some minor adjustments, but I lost steam. I did sew a baby blanket for my good friend who is having a baby boy in December. That was a fun, meaningful project, but what I’ve been hankering for is something to keep my hands busy when I’m otherwise being a couch potato. I did some digging and found a site that gives easy crochet patterns for some really, really cute animals. They’re supposed to be baby toys, but I worry they’re too small (any mom readers who want to weigh in?). At the very least, they’re cute, out-of-baby’s-reach decoration for a nursery, so I’m going to try my hand at it. I could stare at the penguin all day:
Check out the Web site to see the patterns and other pictures. If you never hear from me again, you’ll know I wasn’t successful with crocheting these cute little guys. And if you’re my friend in real life and pregnant, forget you saw this post. 
Edited to add: Shoot. I guess my title doesn’t work anymore, but what I really meant was pictures I took myself.
Oh, gardening, how I’ve missed you…
September 11, 2009 at 4:02 pm | In Aurora peppers, Gardening, Peanut, Planting | Leave a CommentI’ve started another garden! Woot! Due to space constraints and my compromise with my husband not to take over the entire patio, I’m only planning one Aurora pepper, one Everglades Cherry tomato, and one Marglobe tomato. The two tomato seedlings are just a tad too young to transplant, but I just transplanted this beaut:
I almost lost this little guy in the transplant process. My yogurt container didn’t want to let go. I don’t remember that being a problem last time around and I’m concerned about the same thing happening when I transplant the tomatoes. We’ll see soon.
And, just because I haven’t shared any Peanut pictures lately:
Because sometimes she just gets too tired and doesn’t make it all the way under the couch (which is one of her favorite naptime spots).
Overdue update
April 15, 2009 at 1:19 pm | In Gardening, South Florida living | Leave a CommentIt’s been so long since my last post. Sorry to point out the obvious.
We found a house! Well, townhouse, but I’m calling it a house. It’s near where we live now, and we close mid-May. Junior has been obsessed with HGTV and has more design ideas than I do. I’m proud. 
So far, the process has gone quite smoothly. My fingers are crossed it stays that way.
I may not have much room for a garden, but I’m tossing around some ideas. I found a DIY article in a magazine about using mosaic tile to spruce up pots. It’s the wrong time of year to plant anything, but when the right time rolls around again, I’d like to try the project.
I have to admit I lost steam taking care of my current garden. My tomatillos never took off. My cherry tomatoes did really well, but the plant has reached the end of it’s life. (Maybe because I forgot to water it for awhile…) I had great success with my Aurora peppers again. The herbs, not so much, but I can’t pinpoint what went wrong. The beans kept falling over, so if I grow those again, I have to figure out a sturdier pot and support setup. I learned a lot, though, but I need a better spot for a garden to thrive. Maybe the townhouse will have that perfect spot.
And, on a note related to Things That Freak Me Out, there was a snake in the threshold of our front door the other day. Yeah. Imagine the scary dreams I had that night. Snakes are so worse than lizards, especially when it comes to having them inside my house (or nearly inside). Ew.
Overdue post
December 22, 2008 at 1:54 pm | In Aurora peppers, Gardening, Purple tomatillos, Tomatoes | Leave a CommentLook at my garden:
The Everglades cherry tomato has officially taken over the entire balcony:
There are lots of cherry tomatoes, and I’m so excited because I thought I was doomed in that department:
I thought I was even more doomed in the purple tomatillo department, but look what I saw today:
Could it be? Is that a tomatillo? I have no idea, but I do know it looks different and much larger than the other things on the plant and two of them just popped out of nowhere. I was about to give up on the ‘ole purple tomatillo, but I have renewed faith now.
I have officially lost faith in my Marglobe tomato (the full-size one). It’s beyond pitiful, and I’m pretty sure it’s dead. I won’t share a picture of that sad sack. Since the cherry tomato plant is thriving so much, I have planted another seed to replace the Marglobe.
And to close this post, a pic of my still-thriving, favorite Aurora pepper plant:
A beachy Christmas
December 10, 2008 at 10:24 am | In Gardening, South Florida living | Leave a CommentWe finished decorating for Christmas. I made a wreath this year, and I’m so proud! Yes, that’s even glitter you see on the sand dollar.
I also made some sand dollar ornaments to hang on the tree. I think it all ties together nicely.
In gardening news, my Everglade cherry tomato plant is taking over the balcony. There are 10 little tomatoes so far. I’m relieved at least one of my tomato plants is producing. My tomatillo and Marglobe tomato are flopping. I think they’re not getting enough sunshine. I hadn’t noticed the side of the balcony where the cherry tomato sits gets more sun than the opposite side where the others sit, but it might. I plan to rearrange things over the weekend. I’ve been enjoying lettuce nearly every day, and my Aurora pepper plants are thriving. All four bean plants toppled during a particulary windy storm a couple weeks ago. They looked pretty pitiful after that, but they’re starting to show new growth. I don’t have any new flowers yet, but I think I will. I’ve noticed the beans are pretty resilient.
misc updates
November 26, 2008 at 9:37 am | In Gardening, Peanut, Sewing, South Florida living | 1 CommentGarden
- We ate the five beans I picked recently. They were goo-ood! I picked a few more yesterday. There are 10 on the vines right now, so I keep hoping we’ll eventually have enough for a whole serving. Two whole servings would be even better.
- My tomato plants are growing so big, but no fruit to report. I remind myself the plants are still less than 3 months old, so it will be a little while.
- The two Aurora pepper plants are thriving. One plant has several nice-sized peppers, and the recent transplant looks healthy.
- I ate my first salad from my mesclun mix I planted. It was so yummy. I can’t wait for more!
Sewing
- Last week’s sewing class was irritating. My instructor is 85 years old, and while she really knows her stuff and can be quite entertaining, she’s not the most efficient instructor. I also realized last week that she’s probably not really going to teach anything. Rather, she’s going to do it all herself. I was frustrated because I was tired, not much was accomplished in the 2 1/2 hour class, and I had no clue what the lines she drew on my pattern were for (much less how to do them myself). I decided I need to take a leap of faith and just do whatever she tells me to. Maybe I’ll make it to the end of the class and be able to apply the fit adjustments to other patterns, or maybe I’ll make it to the end and only be able to make one pattern for the rest of my life because I won’t know how to do anything.
- This week’s class was cancelled because the instructor is in the hospital. I certainly hope she’s OK, but the status of the class is uncertain. I’m supposed to call back next week and see if it will resume.
Thanksgiving
- We’re headed to Jacksonville tomorrow morning to celebrate Thanksgiving with some family. It won’t be the Thanksgiving we’re used to, but we’re both pretty excited.
- We have to board Peanut. It’s silly, I know, but I’m having separation anxiety already. I have to drop her off before Junior gets home from work, so I’m very concerned Peanut will remember that and not want anything to do with me when we get home.
- Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (Or the two people who read this blog.)
Photo update
November 5, 2008 at 9:41 am | In Aurora peppers, Gardening, Herbs, Lettuce, Pole beans, Purple tomatillos, Tomatoes | Leave a CommentMy garden is doing well. No mildew or other icky things going on at the moment. I have lots of flowers on my tomatillo plant and four or five teeny tomatillos. I’m keeping my fingers crossed they turn into actual, usable tomatillos. Both my tomato plants have flower buds starting. I have lots of bean flowers, but no beans yet. There are several Aurora pepper flowers and two peppers already. I started some mesclun mix in a shallow pot last week. It’s growing well, but no true leaves yet. I trimmed back my mint significantly to make way for the new growth that is faring much better than the old stuff. I also have a new addition: An aloe plant from a friend’s garden!
My setup is, from right to left: Marglobe tomato, Purple tomatillo, four purple-podded pole beans, Aurora pepper, Everglades cherry tomato, lettuce, mint, aloe
Ahhh, gardening
October 14, 2008 at 6:00 pm | In Gardening, Purple tomatillos, Tomatoes | Leave a CommentHave I mentioned I love it? My garden is growing like crazy. I can’t believe it’s been less than month since I transplanted my tomatillo and Marglobe tomato plants. They’re huge already, and I discovered yesterday that the tomatillo has some flower buds developing. I can’t believe it! I dreamt of little tomatillos all night last night.
It was a gorgeous day today, but pretty windy, so I checked my garden carefully. One of the lower leaves on my tomatillo partially snapped off, so I just snapped it completely off. I happened to catch a whiff of the most delicious, fresh, tomato/peppery smell coming from the leaf. This description doesn’t do it justice, but the smell makes it so hard to wait patiently. I can’t wait to have grilled tomatillos and tomatillo salsa. I’ve never had a tomatillo, but based on the smell I smelled today, they’re going to be scrumptious!
First garden reflections
September 14, 2008 at 6:18 pm | In Gardening | Leave a CommentI’ve been a bit lax about updating my blog. The truth is, I threw away gracefully disposed of my seedlings and started over and there just isn’t much to report. I planted two types of tomatoes, a purple tomatillo, an aurora pepper, and tea. Hopefully I’ll have good news to share soon.
I’ve been meaning to reflect on my First Ever Garden. I’m coming up short, though. I envisioned a perfect post about interesting garden knowledge, but here’s all I’ve got:
Um, how about not loading up plants in a hot car and moving across the country during the gardening season? Especially when that involves moving to the part of the country where summer is *not* the right time to grow vegetables. Also, screened-in balconies promote gross, stealthy mildew. And my dog likes to eat plants. And gross monsterslizards on my balcony scare me so much I don’t want to go out there to water.
Hmm. These reflections aren’t so astounding. I truly enjoyed my first garden. It just wasn’t as fruitful as I thought it would be. I’m still convinced that’s entirely due to the fact that I moved to Florida and tried to nurse things along when they just plain shouldn’t have been growing. I feel optimistic about my next garden: the weather is getting better and I am planting varieties that are good for this area. Fingers crossed my hopes aren’t dashed this time around…
Lotsa stuff going on…
September 3, 2008 at 7:46 am | In Garden problems, Gardening, Sewing | Leave a CommentI finally got my old garden disposed of, and let me tell you, that’s quite a job on a screened-in balcony. There is still a little bit of dirt dusting the balcony floor, but there is just nowhere for it to go.
My Aurora pepper and purple tomatillo seedlings were doing great, but obviously I passed the window of time when I should have transplanted them. They are going downhill fast, shriveling leaves and all. I put off transplanting them because I was preoccupied with cleaning out the old garden and didn’t want to plant them until that was finished. Now that it is finished, though, I’m putting the transplanting off until after some storms pass this next week. It’s a terrible excuse, but I dread having to drag those heavy pots inside. Besides the space issue, my seedlings have a little bit of mildew on the undersides of the leaves. Some air does circulate through the screens of the balcony, but it must not be enough. I started spraying the leaves with a solution of 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 16 ounces of water. I think I’ll nurse the seedlings a few more days and then decide if I’ll go through with the transplants once the storms have passed or just replant seeds.
I found an organic seed store in a nearby town and bought some seeds: Everglades tomato (that’s the cherry one, I think), Marglobe tomato (full-size, I think), Wando pea, peppermint, and tea. I’m still trying to get my own little herb tea garden going, although I learned the tea plant could take a few years to produce usable leaves. We’ll see…I’ve already planted the two tomato seeds, so hopefully I’ll have better luck than my earlier seedlings. I’ll wait another month or two to plant the pea and peppermint seeds. I will go ahead and plant the tea seed; it’s currently soaking for 24 hours.
In nongardening news, I’ve picked up sewing. I have grand dreams of sewing skirts, tops, and dresses and seeing where that takes me. I love some of the new patterns available now, especially the Simplicity New Look ones. The style of clothes is right up my alley. I’ve already finished one top, but I’m disappointed in it. The seams aren’t as neat as I’d like, but that will come with experience. I didn’t get the size in the bust right, though, because it’s too tight. I’ve started making a similar top in the appropriate size and in a soft, t-shirty material. It’s far easier to work with than the linen I started with. I hope to be able to model the next one.
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