Quilts, Crafts and Things

Arts master

2010-10-18T15:49:00.000-04:00

Tomato galore

2010-06-06T11:31:00.004-04:00

My tomato plants are looking very good and healthy and if things keep going like that we will have lots of tomato. This year I did a few things different from last year. This is the beauty of garden, you always learn from your experience. Instead of buying seeds of hybrid tomatoes, I bought heirloom varieties. They are supposed to taste much better than the commercial ones, plus they are fun! They come in different shapes and colors and they have funny names. My favorite is 'mortgage lifter'. Back in the 30's, Mr. Byles, from West Virginia crossed several tomatoes and sold the plants for 1 dollar each. He made enough money to pay his mortgage!

Last year I didn't stake the tomatoes properly and by end of June, everything was a mess. So, this year I got several tomato cages in yard sales for about 50 cents each (one got to love yard sales!) and I got lots of bamboo stakes from the yard of my friend Crystal. This year, all the tomato plants have support and I enjoy going around removing the buds and tying them to the bamboo.

Yellow pear

Tigerella
Brandywine

Mortgage lifter

I planted long green beans against the trellis. Last year I had cucumber there and the trellis is an easy way to keep plants that need support. They need a bit help in the beginning but then they find their way up.

I have been letting the girls out of the chicken coop when I am in the garden. They love to go out to explore and scratch the ground to find yummy treats. They stay around me and when I need to go inside, I just walk behind them and they get back to their house. P.G. now doesn't bother them and they don't seem to be afraid of the dog. I am sure they are more scared of little boys...

Garden

2010-05-14T14:08:00.002-04:00

Visiting friends and a nice concert

2010-05-11T08:24:00.003-04:00

My husband is a big Peter Gabriel fan. We have a kid and a dog named after him, it is not surprise. Apparently taste for music is genetic, as my son also likes Peter Gabriel's music. When he was younger, he used to play a gloomy sound called 'Darkness' very loud and dance like crazy around the house. My husband said he would take him to see Peter Gabriel next time he is on tour. Last week Jens paid his promise. We drove to New York to see the 'Scratch my back' concert. On our way, we stopped at friends' houses and we had a wonderful time.

The boys can't wait to see him.

Yorktown. It was such a pleasure to talk to Constable Heartless. He told us all about being a pirate. Gabriel was trilled to hold a real granada!

We remember the fringe tree just like that on the back of Fifield Hall.

No, this is not the return of Devo. Open house at Jefferson Laboratory.

Natural History Museum in New York.

Peter Gabriel sang 'Darkness' and Gabriel sang along, but no dancing like crazy this time.

Busy as a bee

2010-04-20T08:54:00.000-04:00

Spring is a busy time for us gardeners. There are so many things to do and after all the winter days spent inside, there are lots of energy and will to go drive us outside and dig, prune, till, plant and pull weeds until we get sore.

I am so happy so many plants I was not expected to survive the particularly cold winter are showing up. And also some plants I grew from seeds last year are now looking good. The clematis I thought was dead is covered with flowers. The saponaria had a very slow start, but look at the purple flowers! It really pays to be patient when gardening.

I planted most of my tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. The red onions and elephant garlic are looking very good. We have been eating lots of spinach and collards and now the lettuce is in season. I will need to plant lots of lettuce, Gabriel eats 2 bows of lettuce salad every day. Yesterday he said he prefers romaine lettuce over bibb.

The girls are in their new house. My husband did a great job building the coop and the girls are growing and they seem very happy (except when the kids decide to 'play' with them).

My jack in the pulpit is blooming!

The girls

2010-03-31T08:13:00.000-04:00

Females used to be minority in my house: a boy son, a boy dog and my husband. I used to be the only female. Not anymore.

Now, besides me, there are 4 other girls!

We got them on Monday and they seem very happy here. They eat, poop and peep a lot!

The boys are excited! We will have fresh eggs in 6 months...

The best bread ever

2010-03-24T19:51:00.002-04:00

Finally I learned how to bake a delicious rustic and crunchy bread.

My husband got to know a woman when he took Gabriel to gymnastic class. She heard them talking in German and she introduced herself. She is from Mexico but her husband is German and we got to be good friends. One night we went to her house and she served us this wonderful bread and I had to ask the recipe. It is so simple and it has an unbelievable crust. I guess I am retiring the bread machine for a while.

5 cup flour (3 white, 1 rye, 1 whole)

1 cup water

1 bottle of beer (yes, beer)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

Microwave the liquid for 2 minutes and mix all. Let it raise for 6-24 hours.

Spray a bit of water on top of the dough and bake at 410F in a preheated Dutch oven with lid for 25 minutes and then 25 more minutes without lid.

Believe me, it is the best bread ever!

A day in the garden is always a good day

2010-03-22T08:20:00.002-04:00

Saturday was the beginning of spring and nature really reminded us of the equinox bringing a beautiful, sunny and warm day.

The boys were gone all day, first to German school then to volleyball and I took advantage of the solitude and worked in the garden until I couldn't walk anymore. Literally! My legs, arms and back were sore, but I was very content. As you imagine, I got a lot done.

I moved all the seedlings to the greenhouse, transplanted a few tomatoes that were too big for the pot and sowed some flowers. I think I have plenty of tomatoes for me and my friends.

It is so amazing how things start growing so fast. Everything turns green and busy making new leaves and flowers.

I got this pulmonaria last year on sale. It was in bad shape but now it is ready to bloom.

I love spring bulbs but several times I had forgotten where I planted them. Later in the summer I find this nice spot and try to plant something there until I got reminded something is already there when I slice a few bulbs with the shovel. And these poor hyacinths were under rocks, thankfully I saw a green leaf poking between rocks in time and removed the rocks.

The vegetable garden is ready. I already planted leeks and lettuce and we have been eating spinach, mache and collard green, the though plants that survived the cold winter.

And I already mowed the lawn. Jens knows I don't like to mow and he asked me if I was not sad winter is over and mowing season started. Of course not! I rather mow the lawn every day than be cold and miserable!

Daffodils! Finally!

The border is taking shape. Little by little the soil is improving with lots of manure. It is not easy to tame the clay. I had to build a second wall to stop the runoff. Let's see what will come back.

Today is cold but it looks like it will not last long. It is a welcome break after the busy weekend.

It is getting exciting

2010-03-13T10:19:00.000-05:00

The plants are waking up after a especially cold winter.

Crocus

More crocus

Lenten rose

I had a lot accomplished this week: weeded the beds (not all though!), cut and chopped a dead tree, spread horse manure, sowed pea, lettuce and spinach, moved a pile of leaves my neighbor gave me to the compost pile, cleaned the house, deck and the back gutter. I want to get bamboo today, let's see if the weather contributes.

Fresh eggs

2010-03-03T09:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to Oak Ridge to buy fresh eggs. I found out about it on Craigs List and I call to see if they had 5 dozes (not all for me, I want to buy for my neighbors too). She was out of eggs but she would have more the next day. We couldn't get freshier eggs. The owner of the chickens (and pigs, duck, cats, dogs and goats) is a very nice lady. Even though is was bitterly cold, patiently talked and showed us all her animals.

The handsome man of the yard.

The pygmy goats were so cute.

This is Snow White. She was very friendly and her babies were of course very very cute.

And here are the fresh eggs. Different shades of beige and the cute blue ones. Soon we will have our own eggs too. We are getting 4 chicks!! Gabriel is so exited and he already named them: Elaine, Morgan Le Fay, Le Chuck and Guybrush. And the chicken coop will be called Monkey Island. I guess he is bringing his video game world outside. And this is good!

Waiting for spring

2010-03-02T09:34:00.001-05:00

My seedlings are looking great so far. The artichokes and leeks are quite grown and the tomatoes and peppers are just starting germinating. I have no more room under the lights and I am sure by this time last year I had my seedling in the greenhouse. I hope I can move them this Saturday, when we start having more mild temperatures.

I couldn't resist and I bought more seeds. I know, I said I was not going to buy seeds anymore but I found a pack of shiso (Perilla) in a yard sale and I got it. Then I went to Earth Fare and found many heirloom seeds and I got a colorful quinoa and lettuce romaine freckles. I already sowed the lettuce. I put the quinoa seeds in the fridge to improve germination.

I have been finding lots of unusual seeds in the stores this year. Lots of heirloom seeds that were available only by catalog, now I find can quite a few of them at big box stores. I guess this is all consequence of increase interest in gardening. More people are discovering the countless benefits of gardening!

While winter still hovers upon East Tennessee, I keep my hand busy inside. I got lots of nice yarn in a yard sale and I am knitting. My friend Amisha is my inspiration. She makes beautiful sweaters, very difficult ones with zipper and hood. It is even more impressive knowing she is a self taught knitter. I don't think I will ever be as good as she is, but I am having fun and I think I will end up with something wearable. That works for me.

Getting desperate

2010-02-16T08:11:00.003-05:00

I look outside and I see snow showers again. I check the weather and it will be cold for the next 10 days. I am becoming desperate. This feeling of eternal winter gets worse when I read the Brazilian newspaper online and see people on shorts and T-shirt (sometimes even less clothes) dancing carnival on the streets. Then I feel home sick on top of my winter sick.

I didn't have Internet connection during the weekend and I went outside to work in the garden. There are always something to do. I raked pine leaves and planted a few bulbs were the ground was not frozen. I was wearing long underwear and I was not cold, except for my face and my eyes. Gardening like this is not fun at all.

I bought more berries. I wonder when I will be able to plant them.

This is how my sun room looks like. I will run out of room is it doesn't get warm soon. Very soon.

Smoking

2010-02-12T08:02:00.000-05:00

The boys are smoking again. Of course, my husband always think of a smorgasbord when he smokes meat.

And the little one loves to mix the spices and of course, he also likes to eat the meat.

We can't eat it all by ourselves and our neighbors and friends always become part of this meat overdose.

Once I tried to become vegetarian but it didn't last long. I do like meat. But lately I have been eating much less meat. I read many of Michael Polan's book and I do agree with him when he says we should eat less meat because it is better for your health and for the environment. To produce meat takes lots of natural resources. Besides, we always think of the animals that got killed for us to eat.

Now I am reading 'Urban Farm', by Novella Carpenter. She talks about her experiences as a farmer in downtown Oakland, California. She raises chicken, turkey, rabbits and pigs and she eats them. She kills them herself! If had had to kill the animals myself I certainly would become a vegetarian. Meanwhile, as other people are doing the killing, I am enjoying my meat. But just every once in a while.

Seedmania

2010-02-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

I am a seed maniac. I am aware of my problem but I am not very concerned. Even though I have 17 types of tomato, 6 types of lettuce and counting, I am very good at getting them into the soil (some of them live to produce fruits, others not quite), which makes me feel good. Besides, I am not alone and most of my garden friends are like me, they can't resist a pack of seeds. Amongst gardeners, I am a normal seed collector.

I am so excited about my new passion fruit seeds. Last year Francis sent me some seeds from her garden (red passion flower) and I also bought a pack at Lowe's, but unfortunately I couldn't get a single seed to germinate. And I waited 1 year! Now my father sent me yellow passion fruit from Brazil and I think Knoxville's growing season is long enough for it to bare fruits.

I forced forsythia for the first time and it is so nice to have flowers inside. It feels spring is closer and closer.

I know I am pushing, but I am trying to grow artichoke. My son loves it, but it is so expensive! I searched the net and it looks like it is possible to grow artichoke almost everywhere, except Florida. Besides, the plants are beautiful and if these seedlings survive long enough we will save a lot of money!

snow storm

2010-01-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

It started snowing as the meteorologists said, Friday at 3:00PM. But the big storm was not that big. We got maybe 8 cm at night. It also rained and the streets are slushy. It is not very cold but it still snows.

Inside the greenhouse was 5C and outside 1C.

The top of the greenhouse has a lot of snow, I need to go there and remove it. Who would have thought?

The backyard looks nice but I prefer it green (even though it means weekly mowing).

My faithful gnome, happy no matter the weather, is taking care of the daffodils coming up.

Snow storm

2010-01-28T16:29:00.001-05:00

Today was a sunny and warm day, one can't imagine we are getting a snow storm tomorrow.

It will be very cold and gray outside, but at least we try to make the house cozy and colorful. The other day I went to Home Depot for a DIY class and I found this nice palm at affordable price. I had to buy it. It looks nice in that corner and I hope it likes it there. I am not very good with house plants, I find it very difficult to keep them happy inside.

If it snows a lot and we are trapped inside, I will not get bored at all. I have so many nice books to read!!

I am loving Nurture Shock, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. My mom says kids don't come with instructions, but I am glad to find out some people are doing research on the best way to raise children and journalists are writing about it. I am learning so much with this book and changing the way I deal with my son.

I am also finishing The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. It is about this boy from Malawi who built a windmill with scrap metal to generate electricity for his house. It is very inspiring. It is so amazing how little he had and all the constrains he went through and even though he was able to build something to make his life better.

Yesterday I got Farm City, by Novella Carpenter. It looks very interesting

Bring the snow on!

Quilting with friends

2010-01-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful time quilting with my friends yesterday. We went to Lori's house for an old-fashion hand quilt evening. Like me, Lori considers herself a hand quilter, but even Jo, who has a state of art sewing machine found some hand sewing to keep herself busy.

Here is Lori with the table runner we made for her. Back in October, Lori thought us long stitch quilting and we put the blocks together and gave her this table runner.

All the girls are incredibly productive. Jo made this beautiful quilt in 3 weeks during her beach vacation. She used oriental fabric and the combination orange-purple was perfect. I wish you could see the details.

Here she is working hard!

And so is Lori, who was a great host! She had delicious food and a cozy fire waiting for us. I can't wait for our next meeting!

Getting ready

2010-01-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

The cold weather gave us a break and I could get a lot done last Saturday. I weeded, cut and removed dead plants, raked pine needle and used it as mulch. It feels good to look at the beds ready to be planted.

The greens survived the cold and snow, but had lots of damaged leaves.

I made a cold frame using an old sand box and windows. I planted mesclum, romaine (my favorite) and bib lettuce.

And I started sowing. I know, it is quite early but I couldn't resist.

Saturday was very productive but Sunday I didn't even bother to get dressed. I was on my pajamas all day. It rained and rained non-stop. Not even the dog wanted to go out to pee, I had to get an umbrella and take him out. Now it will get cold again and I need to move the plants in. My peripatetic plants... Until April it will be like this

I better get dressed today to run errands. No gardening for the next week or so.

Ah! Winter sucks!

Spring, here we go

2010-01-22T10:37:00.001-05:00

We had a few warm days and I went to the garden to work. After all the cold and snow it was so good to go outside, pull weeds and see the spring bulbs coming up. Back in December I planted red onions and elephant garlic. It was a bit late but gardeners are hopeful people. I was happy to see the onions poking up. I haven't seen the garlic yet.

And finally I finished covering the greenhouse, with the help of my friend Kay (who calls me slave driver!). I know, it looks quite ugly but it serves its purpose. I saw a very cute greenhouse for sale at Lowe's. I will ask Santa one for Christmas.

I better be a very good girl this year!

Being patient

2010-01-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

Finally temperature is above freezing and yesterday was a beautiful and sunny day. I really really wanted to go to the yard but I had a house full of kids, it was school holiday.

I managed to go out for a few minutes and had my neighbor to help me cover my plastic house. Haven't finished yet, but I am almost there.

Last fall I got a few cuttings of one of my favorite plant, sweet olive (Osmanthus fragans). As the name indicates, it has the most delicate and pleasing smell. When I was in Japan, I used to ride the bike to the lab and one day I was riding and I smelled something so good that I had to stop to find out where it was coming from. It was not hard to find this tree full of tiny flowers that was perfuming the air. At the lab, I asked the technician what tree was is and it was not difficult for her to figure out what I was talking about. In Japanese it is called kinmokusei.

I am so happy to see my cuttings rooted and they are even producing flowers!

And here is my Christmas cactus (it must be German because it is late!). My friend gave me a small cutting last year and look at it now! It pays to be a patient gardener and I have so much satisfaction rooting and growing things from seeds.

Talking about seeds, the leek seeds are germinating.

And here is the spring garden! I already have all the seeds I think I will be able to handle (I always want more!). I ordered several heirloom tomatoes and I can't wait to put them in the soil.

Back from the cold Florida

2010-01-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Seeing this picture, you don't realise how cold it was in Orlando these past few days. It is a heated pool. Even though not many people dared to dive in, just the crazy German of my family.

It was record low. It was colder there than in Juneau, Alaska.

It was not the best time to visit Florida, but my husband had a meeting and we tagged along. It was a good chance to take Gabriel to the parks.

We walked through Downtown Disney and saw a few things.

We went to the Hollywood Studios and I had to ride the several 'stomach-upsetting' roller coasters with my son.

After his meeting, Jens joined us at the park. Gabriel was so happy to see him. Me too! It was my chance to escape the terrible roller coasters and the cold weather and go back to the hotel.

Definitively a trip to Disney is not my kind of vacation, regardess the weather. I think Gabriel was not very excited about it either. It looks like we will not go back any time soon...

Frozen garden

2010-01-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Garden season

2010-01-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

We had a 'big' snowfall last night. Big for Tennessee, at least... 2 inches!

But all the cold outside doesn't stop me from gardening inside. Officially, my garden season started yesterday!!

I ordered seeds. Lots of heirloom tomatoes and I am very curious how they will do (and taste!) here. I also ordered archichoke, leek, sweet pepper and eggplants.

I found a pack of leek seeds in the garage. I keep all my seeds in the fridge, I guess I forgot this one there. I was so happy to find it and I sowed the seeds immediatelly. Last year I had a great crop and the leek quiche and soup we prepared with the tasty and sweet stalks were delicious. I read some leek varieties are very cold hardy and one can sow them before the soil freezes and they will be fine. I looked for seeds last November and I couldn't find any to buy and I didn't want to order just a single pack of seeds. I found them a little to late. That is what happen when you are not organized... Lesson learned.

I hope I am lucky again with the leeks.

7 years ago

2009-12-14T07:50:00.000-05:00

Gray winter days

2009-12-04T12:25:00.004-05:00

I am not a winter person. I don't like cold weather and I find snow very beautiful in movies, not when you have to live with it.

I don't like the naked trees and the gray sky. I don't like the empty flower beds and the absence of butterflies. I deeply dislike getting up when it is still dark. Well, I have to admit 2 good things about winter: no mowing the lawn and lots of leaves to compost. Even though the leaves are available on fall, the trees drop them because of winter. Let's give credit to this ugly season.

Cold winter is like root beer, if you don't grow up with, you don't appreciate. At least this is my experience with Brazilians. You will not find a single one who likes that yucky soda and one who is not miserable during the cold season. Well, maybe one or two nut ones. But we are just spoiled with the perfect weather and the most delicious soda pop made out of guarana fruits (at least that's what the industry makes us believe).

Cold days are good to stay home, drink tea and sew, but after a few days, I am ready to put on my shorts and go outside. Well, I will have to wait until April (I wish I was a bear...).

November temperatures were very mild giving the plants a few extra days to grow and bear fruits, for the happiness and satisfaction of the gardener in charge.

The hydrangeas are starting to get ready for the cold. Raking all the pine needle available in my garden will be a nice chore when it is not so cold.

I wish I had planted more broccoli. The 2 plants I have are looking very nice. I need to remember this next year.

Cress. First time I planted and it is so easy to take care and delicious! And looks good and green when very few things are still in good shape!

My snow peas are also very healthy and full of flowers. I hope they survive our 70% chance of snow tomorrow.

Have a good weekend!

Still gardening

2009-11-19T08:05:00.003-05:00

This beginning of fall has been very nice and the mild temperatures are making the gardening season long. The plants may be ready to rest but there are always so many things to do in the garden. The gardener here is not yet ready to rest.

We decided to remove the hackberry tree, as every year it gets attacked by aphids that secret a sweet dew that drips all over plants, play set, stones and the new built deck. The sweet dew is substrate for a black fungus and everything becomes dark and gooey under the tree. Last year I had to drain my small pound and move my fish to my neighbor's pond. This year I cut some branches and the pound was spared. I feel sorry to remove this big tree, but the black soot is just disgusting and it is killing my plants.

We are cutting 1 tree and planting 3.

My family is enjoying lettuce, corn salad and spinach from the garden. My boys love the crisp leaves and I am so proud of Gabriel for eating salad with just salt and olive oil. He doesn't need to be tricked by sweet and fattening dressings.

My new tree, a week ago.

Corn salad. Still planting the seeds my husband brought from Germany 2 years ago.

I hope we have never have to put down another tree. Dealing with the branches is hard. Besides, we have plenty of firewood.

Lettuce. Fresh and crispy.
This is how my new tree looks like today. It has beautiful red leaves.

Hiking with Marcy and PG

2009-10-26T09:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and we especially enjoy those kind of days after a few days of rain and cold weather. Our friend Silvia called us to see if we wanted to go for a short hike with her and her dog Marcy. Sure, it was a perfect day for a hike.

We didn't know about this short trail just 1 mile away from our house. Too bad there are to sidewalks and we can't walk to there.

Gabriel had so much fun playing with the dogs.

Marcy loved to fetch and Gabriel made the poor 10 year old dog very tired.

Now, trying to get all the energetic beings still for a picture. Good enough.

raspberries

2009-10-08T14:19:00.002-04:00

From the garden. A single pear and a hand full of raspberries. It is the first year and hopefully the plants will produce more than this next year. This is the beauty of growing things.

Garden rainbow

2009-09-22T07:59:00.001-04:00

It is almost fall and most of the vegetables I planted during the summer are still producing. I got disappointed with tomatoes, last year I got so many tomatoes but this year they got so many diseases and died half way through summer. But I am harvesting several other vegetables was not able to grow last year.

I am excited with all the eggplants I am getting. Last year I had lots of problems with flea beetles eating their leaves but now I am armed with neem oil and the flea beetles gone. I am getting eggplants in different shapes and colors and the grown ups in this house love them! Eggplant parmigiana,babaganush, grilled or just stir fried with lots of garlic.

Finally I am getting beets. I haven't been very lucky with them but this time I got it. We are also eating the leaves, they are delicious stir fried with olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar.

And here is the new pond dweller, Sir Joseph Banks. It was a tadpole my friend Kay bought me a few months ago and now, look at him.

And the proof fall is around. Sedum blooming beautifully. I don't know the name of this variety, apparently I have 2 different types. Sedum is a though plant, propagates very easily and brings color to the garden when everything else is done for the year (unless you buy mom, which I don't). Definitively I am planting more of them next year.

Feeding the hungry

2009-09-10T08:21:00.000-04:00

My friend is traveling and Gabriel is taking care of her bunny. He loves chase the poor thing. He pets and talks to Honey Bunny as if he was his dog.

On our way back, we stop at the horses and feed them too.

It takes a lot of food to feed a horse.

Oh! It is hard work!

I don't know what is more fun: feeding or gathering the food...

Garden

2009-08-17T22:07:00.002-04:00

The white greenhouse, back in February

And today. The plastic didn't last. I planted hyacinth beans (Lablab purpureus) because the frame was quite an eye sore for the neighbors.

Self seeding Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi). The flea beetles love the leaves and the plant looks very bad until the orange 'lanterns' appear. I heard it is edible but I am not sure I want to try.

Garden

2009-08-13T22:51:00.001-04:00

It feels summer is almost over. Maybe because school will start in a few days, my tomato plants are practically dead and the flowers of the Rudbeckias turned into seeds that are delighting golden finches.

It was a good summer, we had lots of rain and the plants appreciated. We worked a lot in the garden and my husband finished the deck around the pool and ended it with a beautiful moon gate. It was a nice surprise.

The zinnias are starting to show the silver color of mildew on the leaves. I am enjoying the bright and warm colors of the zinnia Lilliput.

My white greenhouse is now support for the hyacinth beans.

Still enjoying the eggplants. I had a lot of problems with flee beetles. You can see the the small holes they make and the leaves look like a fine lace. Problem solved spraying a bit of Pyola, an organic insecticide.

I already started the fall vegetable garden and it looks like I will get a nice crop of beets. I will miss the hot and humid summer days but I am excited about fall.

Vegetable garden

2009-07-19T22:29:00.001-04:00

I had a long day gardening today. The boys (dog included) took the boat to the lake and the weather was so nice, it was a perfect day to pull weeds, fertilize the plants, mulch and harvest some vegetables.

suhyo cucumber

egg plant

butternut squash

acorn squash

We are getting lots of rain this year and I couldn't wish for a better irrigation schedule. Not much watering but in the other hand, lots of weeding.

We are getting lots of veggies. Zucchini, squash, tomato, cucumber and today we ate our first egg plant. Soon we will have enough okra and green beans for a meal. And I am already sowing things for the fall garden!

Happy halloween!

2009-07-07T17:20:00.000-04:00

I have been spending the hot and humid days of summer gardening. We have been getting lots of rain! There is so much to do! I finally planted a few seedlings and weeding seems endless!

And look what I found! I have a couple of volunteer pumpkin plants and I got 3 big and beautiful pumpkins. I wonder if they will last until November...

Family

2009-07-06T14:35:00.000-04:00

My parents, my sister, her husband and kid came all the way to Tennessee to spend some time with me and my boys.

We had a lot of fun grilling and hanging out

And my son got to play with his only cousin.

PG got some love too.

And the Gabriel's aunt was in charge of sun scream.

We also went to Las Vegas and California and everybody had fun!

About the weather

2009-05-05T13:19:00.000-04:00

It has been raining here almost non-stop since Saturday (we got a short break yesterday). I am not complaining, the plants like it and considering the drought the past years, the rain is most welcome.

Staying inside and trying to get ready for my family's visit. Painting walls, moving things around and organizing. My parents are very neat and they don't feel comfortable if things are a mess. But my sister and her husband couldn't care less.

I wrapped in fabric a couple of canvas I bought for my son to paint and hung them. The chest of drawers I got for 2 dollars at a yard sale and I painted my favorite green. My neighbor Susan made me the flower vase. I love it. She does wonderful ceramic and I was very happy when she gave me this one when she came by to get the lamb's ear I gave her. I wonder if she wants more...

This corner looks neat and clean. Many more to go...

Though days

2009-05-03T08:53:00.000-04:00

Some days are better than others... U2

Last Thursday, I startled the birds nested under the deck and I felt very bad because I don't think they were ready to leave the nest. The birds ended up on a tree and the parents got very upset with a squirrel that was around. Oh! Why did I have to check the nest?

My son and his friend were getting wild, they ended up with sand in their eyes. Mysteriously! Nobody threw sand, it magically hit their eyes. Washing and crying, at least crying is good to get rid of the sand.

Husband was leaving town.

My father was considering cancelling his trip to Knoxville because of the flu in Mexico. He has a connection in Huston, was his reasoning. I think I was way too sarcastic with him and the conversation didn't go very well. I know where my hypochondriac genes come from.

We went to eat at Captain D's. Gabriel loves fish but that restaurant has the greasiest food ever. The food took forever, they made a mistake and our order was cancelled. I promised never go back there again.

Then I realised I needed to fill tax return in Brazil, just a couple of hours before the deadline. The good thing is it is really easy to fill online. I mean, if you are using a PC. Tax form ready and I tried to send it electronically but it didn't work! As my husband would say, 'Welcome to Mac world!'. I searched the web and found the solution, at least Mac people seam to be nice and helpful.

But is so comforting to see how much Gabriel loves his dog. PG gets kisses and hugs all the time. At least someone is getting his love!

And the poppies are blooming! Big and deep red flowers! It is the first time I see these flowers and I think it was well worth all the trouble germinating the seeds and waiting a whole year for the plant to grow. Well, the last days were not that though!

Have a good week!

My Versailles

2009-04-26T21:23:00.005-04:00

I talk to my mom in Brazil about twice a week. When she calls me, chances are I am in the garden, which she calls 'Versailles', just to make fun of me. I know, based on the time I spend gardening, mine should be something close to the famous French garden, at least in terms of weed-free flower beds and organization, but one have to take into account all the time I spend looking, enjoying and thinking what is the next most needed task.

Yesterday, my friend Denise called me from Chicago, she knows about my mom's joke and she asked me to post some pictures of my 'Versailles'. Then this morning I was talking with my in-laws and I told them I would post pictures.

Here they are.

Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina), yellow iris (not blooming yet) and wallflower (Cheiranthus allioni)

Hostas are coming back, some are growing fast others not so much.

Daffodils flowers are already gone but I need to wait until the leaves turn yellow to cut them. I already planted snow in the summer (Cerastium tomentosum) but they are so small and only the label is seen. Behind are the shasta daisies. They grow well here and all the plants you see came from a poor root-bound 1-gallon plant I bought for 1 dollar. The tulips are past their best, but still looking good. The plants on the left side are Penstemon (not blooming yet).

Columbine (Aquillegia x hybrida). I started them from seed last year and they didn't look very happy until this year, when they put out these beautiful, colorful and intricate flowers.

The irises are also doing very well this year.

Allison were also started from seed last year and they looked pitfull until now.

Pink (Dianthus plumarius) are very showy. On the left are Coreopsis (not blooming yet).

I thought the clematis I planted to climb the arch was dead. I am glad I didn't pull it.

There are so many more plants doing well and about to bloom! More pictures soon.

My garden is not weed-free and there are always something to be done, it is a work in progress, it challenges me and it makes me very happy. I really love gardening!

Before and after

2009-04-20T13:11:00.000-04:00

I took a short class at Home Depot on tiling and decided to tile the bathroom. I was going to put the tiles on top of the linoleum, as the guy at HD recommended but when I started removing the base board, a quite large area of the sub floor close to the tub was completely rotten. Oh my gosh! What do I do? The good thing was that the area was dry, so no leaking. What was a simple task became a problem bigger than my limited expertise on home improvement.

I called my husband to see if his handy man coworker (a.k.a god of home improvement) was in. The guy knows everything about houses, as he built his own, all by himself. I was lucky, he was there. I explained the problem and after a few jokes he said it was very simple (for him) to fix it. We invited him for dinner one night so he could tell us (my husband, actually) what to do.

Toilet bowl (or commode, as my neighbor says) removed, new sub floor and cement board in place, it was time for the tiles. The first tiles were not very leveled and once again talking to the 'god of home improvement', the problem was the thin set. It was not thick enough.

For a first time tiler, I am quite happy with the results. I painted the walls light green sage and the cabinets dark green (I thought it was brown). I got the paint at the sale shelf and it was very cheap. Now I need to have my husband's friend over for dinner so he can criticize. Or compliment...

Easter egg hunting

2009-04-14T09:26:00.001-04:00

Easter was a nice day, warm and sunny, perfect for an egg hunting.

The posse.

The eater.

The eater and his helper.

And a proud owner of a greenhouse.

A crowded bed

2009-04-10T09:08:00.000-04:00

6 pillows, 3 blankets, 1 dog, 1 boy, 1 man. Gabriel told me he wants a cat. No way!

Have a good weekend!

Bye bye baby tooth

2009-04-09T12:10:00.002-04:00

Last week Gabriel lost his baby first tooth. He was so happy, he showed his new condition to all the neighbors. He kept wiggling and jiggling the loose tooth until it came off. He said he thought he would never lose that tooth. I guess his anxiety is because almost all his friends are toothless and he wants to belong. When I was a kid, I was so embarrassed for being toothless and I have several pictures of me with a funny smile, being careful not to show my incomplete set of teeth. I am happy he is not like me. In Brazil, kids throw the baby tooth on the rood of the house and wish for good and strong new tooth. No tooth fairy there. My son is very skeptic and we teased him he would not get any money from the tooth fairy because he didn't believe in that. Then told me: 'I know there is no such a thing as tooth fairy, but could you put some money under my pillow?' How could I not?

Fresh from the garden

2009-04-08T14:41:00.000-04:00

Not mine, my neighbor's. My sweet and caring neighbor. She cut the beautiful flowers from her garden and brought me with a lovely card. I also got a hug! A friend like her is priceless! Thank you!

After the terrible weather yesterday, with several snow showers during the day, it is warm and sunny today. At least it was not as cold as expected and all the plants survived without damage. I was able to keep my 'white' greenhouse 10C above the outside temperature with 2 small heaters. The plants stayed cozy and warm all night. That greenhouse was a good investment!

It feels like winter again

2009-04-07T12:31:00.000-04:00

After a sunny and warm weekend, temperature dropped in Knoxville. What happened? We even had snow this morning.

Poor plants, thinking it was fine to start growing and blooming.

I kept checkinng the weather forecast and I thought the plants would be OK, until I saw my neighbor covering her plants.

Then I panic. I got almost all the sheets I have and covered some of the new growth. Uff! More cold tonight. Hopefully the last one.

Eat all your greens (and purple)

2009-03-27T10:02:00.000-04:00

I am starting to get salad from my garden. A couple of years ago, my husband bought from Germany seeds of corn salad (Valerianella locusta). I was never able to grow it for salad, the plants didn't develop well and flowered before it was ready to eat. Apparently they reseeded and I found several small plants I kept over winter and talking to my father-in-law, he told me I should thin them. I put some fertilizer too and voila'! We have been eating corn salad! I also planted arugula and salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor). And to top, a couple of pansy flowers. Yummy.

I am very proud that my son eats lots of salad (not arugula, though). He likes it with thin-cut onion, olive oil, salt and vinegar. Soon we will start having lettuce too.

Garden (nice) surprises

2009-03-25T20:03:00.001-04:00

It rained all day today and I had to take a break from gardening. I am glad it rained, the plants needed and I was quite tired of the last couple of days intensive gardening.

When the rain waned, I walked around the garden and everything was so fresh and crisp.

And I had a few good surprises. Last year I bough a small bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and I accidentally stepped on it. Oh! It broke my heart. The only leaf was gone and I though I lost my plant. What a pleasant surprise to see it back this year!

The lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus, Russell Hybrid) didn't do well at all last year. Look now! They are growing and looking very healthy. No signs of flower yet. Hopefully soon.

The columbines (Aquilegia vulgaris) are lush and lusty! I didn't get a single flower last year but now they are full of flower buds.

I have no idea what this is but for sure they are some vigorous seedlings. Last year I had a Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi) here and I wonder if it reseeds. The seedlings I started inside last month don't look like these, but the leaves kind of resemble those of a Chinese lantern. What else could it be? Patiently I will wait so see. I hope they are not weed!

A present and more daffodils

2009-03-24T08:20:00.000-04:00

My friend Clara made me beautiful towels, I love the color and the applique is perfect, the flowers are bringing spring to my bathroom. Isn't wonderful having creative and generous friends? Thank, Clara!

She also sent me the cutest coasters and after a day out working in the garden, nothing better than a cold glass of water. The coasters are so colorful and make the water taste even better.

Last week was spring break and I couldn't do much with my son at home, requesting my attention all the time. But yesterday I had a very productive day gardening. I went (again) to the doomed houses and got a big load of soil, lots of stones and I found several bulbs, day lilies and even a peony! I was so excited.

This is one of the latest daffodils to bloom in my garden. I don't know the name of it, I looked in my journal and couldn't find any record of double daffodil. I should keep better records of my plants...

I planted white daffodils (Narcissi triandrus Tresamble) but they didn't bloom yet. There are so many types of daffodils and one can have flowers for a long time choosing the appropriate types.

Poppies and getting ready

2009-03-17T08:53:00.000-04:00

Last year I bought 2 packages of poppy seeds and after several frustrated attempts I was able to get about 10 plants. Out of hundreds and hundreds seeds! Definitely, growing poppies from seeds is really a challenge.

I tried sowing the seeds in individual pots, flats and direct seed. Martha Stewart suggested mixing the tiny seeds with sand, put in a salt shake and sprinkle all over the ground. I got only 3 plants this way. I don't like scattering seeds because you never know where you will get the plants. I am a 'garden control freak', I want the plants well-spaced, where I put them.

The other 7 plants I got from seeds germinated in a flat. Even though I read somewhere poppies are not easy to transplant, mine didn't complain. The plants look very good, I am taking good care of them and I am curious to see the flowers.

Last week the weather was nice and I went to get horse manure with my neighbour. We got almost 2 truck loads!

The beds are ready, I am eagerly waiting for mid-April, when chances of freezing drop to 50% to plant the seedlings outside. Sigh.

Good morning, garden!

2009-03-13T08:43:00.006-04:00

Even though it is officially winter, the plants in the garden don't think so. Everything is waking up from the long sleep and it is so nice to see green spots all over and to know my plants are still alive. I am anxious to see what will come back, as planted so many things last year. Definitively, spring is my favorite season.

And the first air of spring seems to be yellow. Daffodils, hellebores and forsythias are the first ones to announce the end of the cold and gray days.

The hellebores are so beautiful after I pruned the old and burned leaves, as I learned from Francis.

Most of the bulbs my friend and I dug from the 'doomed houses' her church bought to build a parking lot survived and are now booming.

This is an old forsythia bush. It will not be here next year. Someone planted a row of them 3 meters from the property line, leaving a strip of grass behind them, without any other function but to make me mow it. I already planted 15 forsythias along the property line and what used to be grass will be a berry patch. I bought blueberry, raspberry and blackberry. And no more mowing! Yippee!

I made a small arbor to plant grapes. And I am using the trellises I found under the deck. There are lots of them and I will grow cucumber on this.

One day, my son's friend asked me 'What was that thing', poining to the greenhouse. I said 'It is a greenhouse'. He said 'No, the white thing'. I had to laugh.
I am so happy with my white greenhouse. Last night the temperature outside was 2.7C and the small heater kept inside at 6.5C. I have almost all my seedlings there and I hope I can keep them there until the end of April. I wish there will be no more freezing this year.

The hydrangeas I rooted are starting to show new buds. I was especially concerned about them. I wrote the extension agent here and asked if I they would survive outside and he said go ahead and plant them. I trust him, he is a very knowledge man and has lots of experience, but you know, I am their mom and moms are always concerned, even worse when you can't tell your offspring to put a sweater on when it is really cold outside.

I couldn't root any oak leaf hydrangea. I was very disappointed because I really wanted an oak leaf hydrangeas. One day, my friend was at the 'doomed houses' and she asked a man to dig her 2 big oak leaf hydrangea. She paid him 20 dollars. She kept one and gave me the other one. Isn't she the most sweet woman?

Last time I checked mine, I didn't see any sign of life. Yesterday she said hers started to show new buds and I can't tell you how happy I am to see the new bud breaking free from the brown twig on my plant.

Happy gardening everybody!

Charles Darwin

2009-02-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

If alive, Darwin would be 200 today. I am thrilled with all the special programs around to celebrate his birthday.

I read several books about him and still I keep finding new things. I didn't know he studied earthworms. When I was a teenager, my father bought an encyclopedia and it came with an extra book with teeny tiny letters called 'The voyage of the Beagle'. I started reading it and I couldn't stop. Darwin described the places he visited so well. Not only the landscape, the fauna and the flora. He made fine observations on the sociological aspects of the people of the countries he stayed. I still have the book with me and every once in a while I read a few pages.

I am going to bed now and I will read it a bit, in honor of this fascinating man, whose ideas changed the way we see the world.

Seeds

2009-02-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

I have been looking for gardening blogs from Tennessee and I came across this wonderful blog written by a great gardener. Fairegarden has beautiful pictures and lots and lots of good information and Francis has a lovely way to write.

Once I saw a picture of a nice passion vine on her blog. I wrote asking her to save me some seeds. What a surprise when she wrote me a few months later asking for my address. Soon I got in the mail an intricate envelope with the seeds. That was so thoughtful and sweet of her.

Now, the seeds are comfortable in a nice and wet substrate (it looks dry on the picture!). Soon they will become a beautiful vine.

I always wanted a passion vine but I never found a good and affordable plant to buy. When I was a child in Brazil, my father always had passion fruit vines (Passiflora edulis, those with edible fruits) and my mom used to prepare passion fruit juice and one of my favorite desert: passion fruit mouse. The vine was very prolific and we had lots and lots of fruits. I loved to see the big flowers with big anthers and the big, black, hairy (and scarry) bee that polinates them.

I am anxiously waiting for the small green sign announcing the emergence of the leaves. I can't wait to see again the beautiful flowers that bring back nice memories of my childhood . Thanks, Francis!

Lots to do

2009-02-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

I have a great neighbor. The kind of neighbor I can knock at her door to ask for eggs when I need and don't have time to go to the grocery. She is a wonderful cook and she shares with me all the goodies she prepares. She gives me a ride when I need and she takes care of my son when I have appointments. She is a dream neighbor. I enjoy her company and we do a lot of things together. One morning, we decided to eat at the deli. I was supposed to meet her there. She was so excited, she barely could talk. I couldn't wait to hear what was the deal.

It turned out her church bought several houses that were to be demolished to build a parking lot and everything in the yards were up for grabs. Hooray! She know how much I like a good deal, specially garden-related.

We have been hauling rocks and digging plants like crazy. We found lots of bulbs and we are so curious to see what they are. I got several yuccas and lots of liriope and irises. I planted most of my loot but this cold weather came and forced me to take a break.

On top of that, my husband cut lots of branches of the trees that shade the pool and I had to separated the wood for the fireplace from the twigs. It took lots of time and still didn't finish. I hope we don't need to prune trees any time soon.

The snow is starting to melt and tomorrow is supposed to be warm. 10C. I have lots to do outside.

School is closed

2009-02-02T16:58:00.000-05:00

I went to school today to bring lunch to Gabriel. He doesn't want to eat the school food anymore and I didn't have anything to send him this morning. I enjoy going there for lunch and he told me he likes when I go. It takes me 4 minutes to get there and I am glad to see him eating the healthy food I cook.

It was snowing this morning and there was a big commotion at the school's office and the cafeteria. As first time mom, I didn't know what was going on. I asked the lady at the cafeteria and she told me many parents were taking their kids home because of the snow. 'I would take Gabriel if he was my son', she said. I listened to her and when I was outside I heard the PA announcing all the Knox county schools were to be closing at 12:30.

It is the second time this year. The first time Gabriel played a lot outside. This time he went out for a bit and didn't go back when his friends came ask him to play in the snow.

Charlie, on the other hand had a lot of fun. His owners took his electronic collar and he is now loose again. He is enjoying his freedom. Charlie is a sweet boy.

I hope the schools will be open tomorrow.

Giving and receiving

2009-01-30T08:27:00.002-05:00

Every year our Minerva Circle sewing group in Florida has a Secret Santa. We have been exchanging hand-made presents for 3 years and it is a lot of fun making something special for a special friend. This year I am way late with my present. But it will be mailed today, for sure. I made 4 place mats and I hope my friend likes it.

Last year, my neighbor and friend asked me if I want to go to a workshop about the Quilts of Gee's Bend at the museum. What a question!

The workshop was a lot of fun and my friend framed and gave me the block she made. Isn't it beautiful? I love it and it is hanging on the wall in my sunroom. My friend is so sweet!

And finally I finished the quilt I started at the workshop. I pieced by machine and hand-quilted. I really enjoy hand sewing, it is very relaxing, sitting by the computer, listing to NPR.

The quilt turned out very comfortable and warm. The fabric are corduroy, wool and flannel and it came in good time, it has been so cold here.

When it is cold outside...

2008-12-09T08:22:00.000-05:00

I stay inside.

Martha Stewart had a pattern for a cute felts slippers. Here is my attempt. It turned out too small and I am not motivated to fix it and make one more.

My 'nursery' corner. At least I have some gardening going on. I was surprised to see a few roots on the butterfly bush cuttings. The conifers, holly, yew, ligustrum and lavender are looking good and I don't expect to see roots for a while. Every 2 or 3 days I open the plastic bags and spray the cuttings with water. Those with roots I water with a fertilizer solution. Soon they will be ready to go outside. I can't wait!

Giving thanks for good friends

2008-12-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

We had company for Thanksgiving. And we had a great time. We love to have friends over. It is so nice to cook together and enjoy the time. We are so fortunate for having many good friends.

Everybody helping.

Even the little one.

And we had live music.

Food was delicious! My husband wanted to cook lasagna, but the American in the family said he wanted turkey. So, we had the traditional Thanksgiving smorgasbord: corn, squash, sweet potato casserole, mashed potato, rolls (by my neighbor Kay), salad (by my other neighbor Irene), cranberry sauce and stuffing. After eating so much nobody had room for desert. We played games and talked. It was a wonderful day.

Who is coming for Christmas?

I'm still here

2008-12-02T19:32:00.000-05:00

I haven't been here much lately. I was enjoying the last few days of fall, the weather was so gorgeous. No time (or will) to write.

Now, it is cold and rainy. Nasty. I haven't been in the garden for a while, it is very depressing to see the sad and brown stalks, to think they used to be my lovely plants. In a desperate act to try to bit the cold, I asked my husband to build me a plastic house. He got a helper, a boy with big shoes.

The plastic house turned out very nice, he did a great job. I thought I was going to be able to keep it warm without extra heat. Stupid me. But I think it will make a big difference later on, when it is not so cold and maybe a heat light will keep my seedlings warm enough. Can you believe I already ordered my seeds? My sun room is full of cuttings looking health and some already rooting, there will be lots of planting! I can't wait.

And fall means raking. I really enjoy raking. I got a bit help from a naughty boy.

The naughty boy is also the king of the hill (or the leaf pile). I got leaves from 2 of my neighbors. Lots, lots of them! Hopefully, lots of compost. I have no idea how I will turn it.

Seedlings

2008-10-09T08:02:00.000-04:00

It rained all day yesterday. Much needed rain.

Here are the products of my uncontrolled compulsion for collecting seeds. This is apple of Peru (Nicandra physaloides). I could get only one plant but I still have seeds for next year.

And some white cone flower.

I got a big pile of horse manure from a barn up my street. It came in good time, as my compost pile is gone. And I still have a few plants to plant.

Elections

2008-10-07T20:10:00.001-04:00

My friend gave me this bumper sticker and she said she hopes I put it on my car. Here it is...

I haven't been very lucky the last elections. Maybe this year...

Fall gardening

2008-10-06T08:21:00.000-04:00

The nights are getting colder and the leaves are changing color. In a way, I am happy because this means no more mowing for a while! But there are lots of leaves to rake. My compost pile is already quite tall and I enjoy raking better than mowing.

Here are the hydrangea cutting I rooted. They are growing very well and they look very healthy. I planted about 20 hydrangeas in my garden and I gave a few to my friends. I love to propagate my own plants.

My father sent me endive seeds so I can bake my favorite pizza. Yes, endive and garlic pizza. Believe me, it is delicious.

Finally cilantro is growing in my garden. I found a few volunteer plants and I transplanted them. We are crazy about cilantro here (Carmen knows it).

I got bok choy seeds in the Oriental store. Amazing, I think I got 101% germination! The plants grow fast but there is something nibbling on them. I guess gardening also teach us how to share...

Have a great week y'all!

Homemade playdough

2008-09-25T08:11:00.001-04:00

It was a rainy afternoon and we were trapped inside. Let's make some playdough, I suggested and amazingly, I didn't hear the expected 'no!'

Mixing.

Cooking.

Dividing.

Adding color.

The playdough turned out very good and Gabriel had a lot of fun making it. Once we put them in plastic containers, he never touched it again. I find it interesting how he has fun making things but not playing with them. He is very good at constructing and creating, but now we need to work on his ABC's. Badly. It is a big struggle, he is not interested at all. Wish me luck...

cosmos

2008-09-19T08:02:00.001-04:00

I am not very crazy about annuals. It is a lot of work (and money) to replace the plants every year, so I stick with perennials. But there are a few annuals that are very easy to grow from seeds and once established, they don't need any attention. Even though they are neglected, the don't cease to bloom. Cosmos is one of them.

When I was about 10, there was an empty lot full of cosmos seedlings close to my house . My father asked me to transplant a few of them to our garden. It was a lot of work for me and I hated it. But cosmos are resilient and many survived the skills of a 10 year old gardener. The garden looked very nice and I loved to use the petals to concoct 'potions' as if I were a pharmacist (no Harry Potter at that time). It was my reward for all the hard work.

At that time, the only cosmos I knew were the yellow ones. Now, look at the variety.

Definitively, I will plant them again next year (if they don't reseed).

Y'all have a good weekend. And Go Gators! (They are playing here tomorrow).

Veggies

2008-09-17T07:50:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, I got these 2 eggplants from my garden. Not the vegetable garden, but the flower bed. For some reason, I planted 2 seedlings I thought were apple of Peru (Nicandra physaloides) but later on I realized they were other Solanacea. The plants were doing very well and I decided not to move them. I really don't mind if my garden looks chaotic, I love all my plants and I have so much fun taking care of them. Maybe I should label my seedlings better...

I still getting lots of okra and tomato. I have just a bit of corn and invariably, there was a caterpillar in every one of them. I just wonder how much pesticide it takes to grow the beautiful and perfect produce we buy at the grocery.

Hyacinth bean

2008-09-11T14:11:00.002-04:00

Last year, Sara Jane gave me some hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureous) seeds. It was a bit too late, the cold weather came and my plant didn't grow very much. Still, I was able to save some seeds for the next year.

This plant is very dear to me, the seeds I was given belonged to my friend McNair and growing it reminds me of him. Besides, this is a beautiful vine, it grows so fast and soon it gets covered with purple flowers and amazing dark purple seed pods. I have one plant close to the house and I am trailing it along the basement. It looks very nice. Then, I made a pyramid with sticks and raffia and planted 6 seedlings by it.

Here is how it looked like back in July. I was so eager to have it cover as soon as possible and oh my gosh! It did cover the pyramid. I think it could cover my whole house. It is growing so much! It got so heavy and the pyramid couldn't' hold. Now I know. Next year, just one plant will be enough.

I see I will have lots of seeds. If you want some, let me know and I will gladly mail them to you.

Quilt workshop

2008-09-08T07:58:00.000-04:00

My good friend and neighbor Kay knows me quite well. As a Knoxville Museum of Art member, she knew about the Gee's Bend workshop happening on Saturday and she asked me if I would be interested in attending with her. It was a rhetoric question. Of course I want to!

I miss meeting my Minerva's friends to sew and talk and I was very excited to sew with other women here in Knoxville. The workshop was very nice and the instructors, Debbie and Darlene were fabulous quilters. They have been quilting together for almost 2 years and they won several prizes. It was so nice to hear them talking.

We watched a video about the Gee Bend's quilts and we walked through the museum to look the quilts. It was wonderful to see in the museum the quilts they were talking about in the video .

After some demonstration, we were given a suitcase full of clothes to use to make a block. Here are the happy quilters with their creation. It was a wonderful morning, and I had a lot of fun.

Ps. The American Quilt Association Expo will be here in Knoxville next year. I heard is a great show, lots and lots of quilts and quilting material. If you want to come, I have a place for you in my house.

Iresine

2008-09-03T12:25:00.000-04:00

Usually I don't buy a lot of plants. Unless I find a good deal. I like to start things from seeds and I have been lucky rooting cuttings I get from my friends (and from some other sources...).

I went to a plant sale with a friend back in the spring and I had only 20 dollars to spend. There were so many nice plants but everything quite expensive. Then I saw an Iresine herbstii and I couldn't resist. It was quite affordable and I brought it home.

Iresine is native from Brazil and it was widely used by the well-know Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle-Marx in his projects. It is a beautiful plant, grows fast and it is easy to grow. We always had iresines in my house when I was a kid in Brazil (It is really funny how come people tend to like plants they grew up with. It is not easy for me now that I garden in zone 7).

I tried several times to root iresine cuttings, but I have no success. So, I decided to try layering. I found a couple of low branches and buried then. A few weeks later I carefully checked and surprise! There were roots! I severed the branches from the 'mother plant' and planted them in a pot. Now, I need to think how I will overwinter them.

Okra

2008-08-31T21:53:00.000-04:00

Okra is not a very popular vegetable. Most of the kids don't eat it and just a few of my friends like it. Like it, nobody loves okra. And I don't know many recipes that take okra. It is not like tomato. Everybody likes tomato, if not raw, at least tomato sauce. But okra...

I am getting lots of okra and I am looking for things to do with it. I really like okra. I had it deep-fried, with chicken (popular dish in Brazil). I made gumbo (it was really good) and we ate some stir-fried. I found an old magazine with a recipe for pickled okra. Sounds interesting and I decided to try. I also blanched some and froze it. I don't know about that. The pods where very slimy after being in boiling water for 3 minutes. I also found a recipe for Succotash. It is an interesting name and I am curious about it.

If you have a recipe that takes okra, let me know.
Have a good week!

McNair (part 2)

2008-08-28T08:37:00.004-04:00

Grilling with Chiho and Yoshihiro

Dancing with Gabriel

On the way to the laundry

Making a difference

Playing with Gabriel at the community gardens.

McNair (part 1)

2008-08-28T08:33:00.001-04:00

Today is a sad day. Two years ago a bicycle accident took my friend's life. It was a hot Sunday and he was riding his bike on the shoulder when a car swerved and hit him. It was a straight road, it was not dark, he had helmet and he was at least 6-feet away from the traffic. It was a terribly coincidence that the driver got distracted right at that place and hit him.

Life couldn't be more unfair. McNair had a 6-month baby, a wonderful family and was about to finish his PhD.

McNair was my friend, my neighbor and I had the opportunity to work with him. He created a computer model for the Viburnums we were growing at the University of Florida. He was smart and fun to do things with. Work related or not.

I always think of McNair when I am gardening. He had a plot at the community gardens and every summer he frequently stopped at my house at the end of the day to give me vegetables (not tomatoes, he didn't like them). I got inspired and I also got myself a plot and we spent many hours by our plants talking about them. He thought me a lot, he had plenty of experience gardening.

He loved the yarrow. He planted a few of them in his yard, in front of the laundry room at the university village and he gave me some. He also planted in the neighbors gardens. As many students don't have time to garden, McNair gladly took care of many of his neighbor's garden. He created and took care of several gardens around the village. As the mayor of the village, he got funds to buy plants and today the village looks very nice because of him. His favorite color was orange and he planted a couple of Mexican sun flower by the laundry room. They grew very tall and took long to bloom. Eventually they did and the nice orange flowers were beautiful.

I have many found memories of him. Gardening, cooking, working, talking about kids or just hanging out. These memories will be with me forever.

A grocery bag for Catherine

2008-08-27T07:46:00.001-04:00

Catherine was my neighbor before she moved to NC. She loves Gabriel and I can say Gabriel loves her too. She never had kids but she was very good with them. It was a big effort to keep Gabriel here when he knew Catherine was home. 'I am going to Catherine's' was said many times a day and I always had to find an excuse because she worked from home most of her time. It is not easy to get things done with a talkative kid around.

Gabriel and Catherine used to play with balloons, with the dogs and their favorite game: checkers. Last week Gabriel said: 'I miss Catherine, I wish she was here to play checkers with me'. 'I can play with you', I replayed. We played a two games and he won them all. Catherine told me she would let him win 20% of the games. The next game I started winning and he got very upset, left the table crying and locked himself in his bedroom. I went to his bedroom and explained that one doesn't win all the times, etc, etc...
I wonder why it was fine to lose to Catherine (and later that day to his father) but not to me. We haven't played since the incident. I am curious to see how it will be next time.

I made Catherine a grocery bag so she can remember us when she goes to the farmer's market to buy good things. I miss her too.

Pond

2008-08-25T08:07:00.000-04:00

This is my small pond. My husband help me digging and I finished it placing the stones. I never thought I was going to have a pond, but when I saw a pond kit for 10 dollars at Audi's, I had to buy it. As Welch said, I can't pass a bargain. I am very happy with it, consider how much I spent. My neighbor gave me all the plants and a friend gave me 4 gold fish. I bought a Koi and his name is Odo (yes, I am a Deep Space Nine fan...). My very good friend and neighbor bought me lights (I will tell about her tomorrow). I like to sit by the pond to see the fish, especially the baby ones.

Now, let's talk about real pond. Saturday I went to Modern Design demonstration pond. I had been there before, but I don't miss a chance to see those beautiful ponds.

It was a pleasant evening and it was great to walk around, listening to the sound of the water and observing the fish. Those are serious ponds...

Vegetable garden

2008-08-22T08:02:00.006-04:00

Help me! My vegetable garden is out of control. Mind you, I found a pumpkin growing on the top of a forsythia bush and the gourd is taking over the corn.

Pretty much end of the season for cucumbers. We had lots of them. Some really good but some bitter. Does anybody know why?

After a slow start, the okra is growing like crazy. Miss harvesting one day and they get too hard to eat. They will be seeds next year. When I showed my husband the first 2 okras he laugh and asked me what I was going to cook with all that okra... He didn't know better. We already had gumbo and yesterday I stir fried a bunch.

Cherry tomatoes are fun to grow. Easy and rewarding. It so nice to eat them while working. Warm and without washing.

First time growing yellow pear tomatoes. They are very cute and taste very good. Totally aproved.

This watermelon is a volunteer in my front yard. I don't know who to blame for dispersing seeds, but I am looking forward to tasting it.

I was not planning to plant corn. It takes lots of room and preparing soil for planting is not an easy task. Then my neighbor gave me a seed pack she didn't want. I don't like to waste so I planted 3 rows.
I bought this yellow bell pepper at a store. I like to grow everything from seeds but when I found my son liked bell peppers it was too late to start from seed. I also bought 2 red pepper plants but they are not very happy.

Gourd is crazy, growing everywhere. My friend from Vietnam told me she eat green gourds. I would like to try.

And pumpkins. A bit early, but... I don't think they will last until Halloween.

I am excited about a fall garden. I am planning to grow peas, spinach, greens, cauliflower and broccoli. But when I think of all the soil I have to prepare...

It is becoming a tradition

2008-08-20T09:14:00.000-04:00

Every time my friend Carmen goes to South Carolina to visit the Bosticks she finds time to come to Knoxville. She always finds a nice place for us to meet in Asheville so I get to see Luca, Sara Jane, Welsch and Julie and spend time with them. Last year we met at the Children's Museum. This time we met at the North Carolina botanic garden. It was great! Lots of nice plants and things for Gabriel and Luca to do. Just outside, Gabriel and Luca had a blast playing with these big circles.

Then, we decided to go inside and Gabriel said: 'Here comes the boring part...'

But I don't think he got bored at all. They mad a lot of noise with this big bell.

Sara Jane clicked us in front of this beautiful sculpture.

And Luca chased Gabriel all over the quilt garden.
Carmen didn't stay long but we had a relaxing time together. I wish we could do this more frequently.

Butterfly

2008-07-27T09:31:00.000-04:00

No wonder this plant is called butterfly bush.

Camping

2008-07-26T10:19:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we camped at Indian Boundary, a state park about 90 minutes from here. We even took PG, who turned out a very good outdoor dog and camper.
Camping is fun, although there is not much sleeping involved... It was just for one night, anyway. We shared a campsite with another couple and their 2 kids. It was great to have company. They were so easygoing and the kids are very good friends.

We played games, made fire, hiked...

And Jens cooked his super breakfast: eggs and pancakes, all in the small burner nested in his boots.

And there was a beautiful lake. After such a busy day, Gabriel slept all the way back home.
We all want to camp again.

Scarecrow

2008-07-23T08:06:00.000-04:00

I am sort of embarrassed to say that yesterday I watched 'Wizard of Oz' for the first time. Gabriel borrowed my neighbor's DVD and we watched together (he has watched it before, many times). Then we went to the bookstore and found the book, which we are reading a few pages every night. As you can imagine, he enjoys listening the story he has seen on TV. Then, last week we decided to make a scarecrow for our vegetable garden. Some of Gabriel's old clothes, sticks and newspaper to stuff and we now the final touch.

For my surprise, he wanted to paint the face.

It was a hard work.

Now the hat.

Ta-da!
We are thinking of making the Tin Woodman next...

A special night

2008-07-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

A few days ago my neighbour invited me to go to the Knoxville Museum of Art with her. It was a party for members only and she took me as her guest for the book signing with the Gee's Bend artists. It was not the whole Gee's Bend exhibit, but I was trilled to see part of the wonderful and famous quilts.

And I had to have my picture taken with the artists, maybe I can get some inspiration just to be close to these great women.

And I had a chance to walk to the gardens, it was a pleasant night.

And here is my precious book. I am longing for a cold and rainy day to sit all day at my sewing machine, surrounded by fabric...

A new dog and guests

2008-07-13T10:01:00.000-04:00

Today is raining and I am trapped inside. The rain is certainly welcome and it is good to take a break. I am no long a 20-year old girl and my body frequently complains of the hard work in the garden...

Now I want to introduce you my new dog, G. He is PG good friend and they love to play. G. is a great dog and he loves when I pet his belly.

He barks and he licks his hand. But he doesn't eat dog food.

We had guests last week. Marta and Eric stopped by on the way to Ohio and it was so good to see them. They said they will come back, let's see. We love when our friends come to see us. Carmen said she will come in August. Anybody else?

And taking pictures of Gabriel is always a struggle.
Have a good week!

Summer is for...

2008-06-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

Splashing

Painting stones

Taking naps

Fishing.
Definitively, not blogging.

Lavender

2008-06-14T12:42:00.000-04:00

I love the smell of lavender. It is so fresh and delicate, no wander it is recommended to help pregnant women to cope with morning sickness. This is the first time I had a chance to grow lavender and I am so happy with my 3 plants. They were covered with flowers and I see the bees love them.
I can smell them when I am gardening. Usually, I get dirty (and sweaty), then suddenly a fresh breeze brings the sweet smell. It feels so nice!

White water rafting

2008-06-03T13:12:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we went white water rafting in the Ocoee River. Jens's friend from volleyball were organizing a group trip and he asked me if I wanted to go. First I said no, but then I thought I am behaving like an old gardening lady. I am not very adventurous, I don't like to get wet and I didn't know anybody going. So, I decided to give a try, just to do something other than sewing and gardening.

It was fun. I wouldn't say I had a blast...

It was a long day (4-hour drive) than waiting for the rafting. All for a 45-minute rafting. I was scared but it was not as dangerous as I thought. The couple we ended up with in the boat was very nice (although I am almost old enough to be their mom). During the rafting, the girl lost her paddle and Jens managed to bend his (we don't know how, maybe at the girl's head). We were down to 2 paddles...
It was interesting, I am glad I went. I can tell my friends and family and now I can go back to my nice and boring life.

What is blooming II

2008-06-01T15:32:00.005-04:00

A boy and a dog

Cleome

Purple cauliflower

Hydrangea

Salvia

Coreopsis

Spirea

Lady bugs

Lily

Lavander

Achillea

Does anybody know this plant?

Hydrangea

Seeds

2008-05-30T08:15:00.000-04:00

I have the bad habit of getting seeds from people's garden. Sometimes I ask but most of the times there is nobody around and I can't control myself. I know...
The other day at Gabriel's tennis class I found lots of columbine seeds begging me to take them. They are already sown.
Most of the times I manage to make them grow and every time I look at the plant I remember the place I took them.

Officially, it is summer here

2008-05-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

Friday was the last day of class for Gabriel. There was the end of the year celebration and the 5-year old kids got a rose. Gabriel will start kindergarten at the public school and we will miss the Montessori School.

And summer means lots of time to do projects. Here is our first: a bird's bath.

Carmen told me her friend made a nice bird's bath with ceramic pots covered with mosaic. Sounds like fun.

'Ohoh... I cut my finger'.

'It hurts!'

Penny rug

2008-05-20T09:39:00.001-04:00

I saw a felt rug once and I loved. It was made of several circular pieces of felt and it didn't look difficult, so I decided to try. When I went to the fabric store to buy felt, the lady helping me asked what I was making with all the felt. I explained it and she said: 'Ah! A penny rug.' I didn't know the name of it. I just learned something.

Here is a picture on a magazine I recently bought at the thrift store. Isn't beautiful? This is how I want my penny rug to look like...

Instead, here is how it looks like. Not much like the one on the picture. I will try to add more colors and some small circles between the large ones. But not now. One more thing to do during the cold winter months. Now, I am going back to the garden.

What is blooming

2008-05-07T21:25:00.004-04:00

Spring is definitively here and I have been working a lot in the garden. I get super tired at night but happy and excited with all the digging and planting in the morning. I don't mind all the work but I don't enjoy mowing the lawn. Now that it is warm, the lawn needs to mowed every week. To cut on mowing, I am making beds, especially on the hilly places where it is very hard for me to push my small mower. I planted several forsythias that were rooted by the shrubs on the back of my yard and my neighbor gave me lots of yellow irises. And there is more room. Hopefully all will be gone by the end of summer.

The peach tree I bought last fall has baby peaches.

Rose

Irises.

And lots of seedlings to plant.

Yarrow

Salvia

Honey suckle, lavender and dianthus

We bought a kit to make a pond for 10 dollars. Lots and lots of digging! It is not ready yet but almost there. Preston Franklin, our turtle will have a house this summer.

More roses... (and lots of weeds!)

Raspberry, if the birds allow there will be two berries for each of us three...

The pile of mulch I bought is almost over. Now I have lots of flagstone to make a path. Better get some sleep so I have plenty of energy to carry the stones tomorrow.

More Chicago

2008-04-29T13:26:00.000-04:00

Millenium Park and Frank Gehry's trademark architecture.

The 'Bean'.

It was a popular spot for pictures.

Chicago/Batavia

2008-04-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

We had a great time up North visiting our friend Denise. She lives in Batavia, a small city close to Chicago, where Jens had to attend a meeting.

The Fermi Laboratory in Batavia has a nice building with a Foucault's pendulum.

And Batavia is known as 'energy city'.

By the Fox river Gabriel's favorite playground.

Lake Michigan in Chicago, collecting rocks, his new hobby.

Busy as a bee

2008-04-16T13:28:00.000-04:00

I almost finished my kitchen's back splash. The hardest part is done, now I just need to clean and seal it.
Here is how it used to be:

During...

And finally!

I had fun doing it. I had to buy a small wet saw because I couldn't break the tiles with the nippper. Of course. Silly me. It was not very expensive, about 60 dollars and I am planning to use it again soon. It was a good investment.

And here is a picture of my bedroom. I finished the quilt last week during the cold/rainy days. I don't have a picture 'before', but it used to be dark purple. Jens put the pendent lights and now my bedroom is light and bright. I like it much better now.

Better go. I have lots of work to do outside. The weather is good again and it is so nice to be outside.

Tchau!

Friends

2008-04-07T20:33:00.005-04:00

We had guests last weekend! We love having friends over, of course this involves lots of food, wine and talking. The weather was not very nice and but we showed them a bit of Knoxville. It was a short visit but we had fun. I believe our friends too. Let's see if they will come back...

By the Tennessee river
The Sunsphere
Up in the sunshere

By the fire
Even Charlie was there
Miki talking about zombies with Gabriel

Feeding the horses
Wet after a walk
Jens cooked a delicious lasagna

Yard sales

2008-04-04T15:27:00.001-04:00

It is that time of the year again: yard sale season! I love going to yard sales. Now that the weather is getting better, yard sales are popping up everywhere. I am lazy to get out of the house on Saturday morning but I find lots of sales on Friday after I drop Gabriel in the school. There are many yard sales on my way home. This morning, I bought several quilt magazines and I rescued a few blocks. It is a traditional design and the colors are nice. Not bad for the first yard sale of the year.

It has been raining the last couple days, but I managed to mow and fertilize the front lawn this morning. We are having guests from Florida and at least the lawn should be neat.

And today is Carmen's birthday! She is having a big party with lots of good food. I wish I was there...

Happy weekend!

Gardening

2008-04-03T09:18:00.000-04:00

It is hard to stay inside when the weather is nice and the garden is announcing spring. I bought mulch and mushroom compost and I have been preparing flower beds, vegetable garden, removing dead plants and reorganizing the few plants in the garden. After a winter of no physical activity, I get very tired at the end of a day gardening. And sore. My arms and my back are stiff but it feels so good! A gardener doesn't need to go to the gym... I get my membership money in plants.

Spring break

2008-03-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

I have been neglecting my blog lately... It was spring break and then I have so many projects that I want to finish and there it goes my time...

We went to the zoo for a whole. We meet Gabriel's friends and for the first time he had fun looking the animals. He even wanted me to take his pictures! When I saw this picture, the first thing that came to my mind was the face of Jack Nicholson in the move 'The Shining'.

Almost spring

2008-03-16T21:05:00.000-04:00

I can't wait until mid April, when it is not supposed to freeze anymore in East Tennessee. Well, at least until next winter... I hope this year doesn't repeat last year when a late frost hit hard new growth and plants didn't like at all.

I have lots of seedlings to plant outside and I am very curious to see how the garden will look like.

Until then, Crocus are bringing some color to the garden. Daffodils are almost showing their colors.

Tomorrow starts spring break. The weather is supposed to be nice. Let's see how much gardening I will manage to do with Gabriel. I am ordering a big pile of soil with mushroom compost with my neighbor and I hope Gabriel will help me spread it.
Have a great week!

3 days, 3 presents

2008-03-13T11:23:00.007-04:00

When I started blogging, I didn't imagine I would still be writing 2 years later. And I didn't know I would get to be friends with so many creative women around the world. I really enjoy blogging and it plays a big part in my life to help me keep my sanity and keep in touch with people I met outside the virtual world and now are far from me.

With blogs came swaps. I didn't even know the meaning of this world 2 years ago. I have so much fun putting a pack together for someone I know just through blogs. Some of them I don't even know their faces but it is so nice to imagine where they live, how they speak and what they do for a living.

Last 3 days I got 3 presents and only one of the senders I had the pleasure to meet and be good friends. How I wish I could hang out with my blog friends!

This came from Portugal. Zelia send me this cute book about stuffed dolls and animals. It is so nice and special because it is vintage and in Portuguese.

This is what I want to make. Isn't it lovely?

Then I got something from Amisha. Amisha is so fun to do things with! She is now in NY and I miss her! Amisha is so creative and is does (very well) all sorts of crafts. We used to meet every Sunday to sew and talk and she always brought delicious treats. Amisha is so sweet.

I wonder what is inside...

A beautiful fabric by Darlene Zimmerman called 'Happy Homemaker'. This is me! And a piece of her homemade soap that I will need to hide from Gabriel. He said it smells very good and I don't want to see it disappear into a splashy bath. I know him. I told him this soap is mine.

And a gorgeous bag with yellow liner! Loved, loved! Thank you so much, Amisha!

The next pack came from Italy but from a Portuguese woman who lives in Burkina Faso. Brikebrok was on vacation in Italy and mailed me a pack from there. I have to confess I didn't know where in Africa is Burkina Faso. Now I know. I also learned that they speak French and its capital has a long name: Ouagadougou. Brikebrok sent me so many things, she is so generous!

I got 2 pieces of African fabric, beautiful colors. One with the fishes she suggested I can make a bag for Gabriel. This is a great idea! I haven't done a bag for him yet and he has so many things that could go in a bag. I also want to make an applique T-shirt for him with it.

I can see she was busy sewing before going on vacation. She made me a nice luggage tag, a very original necklace and bangle that I am very excited to wear. And more: a lovely bag. So many things! I also got a karite butter soap that I am very curious to try. It also goes to a hidden place to avoid 'soap-loving' boys. I loved everything! Thank you so much, Brikebrok!
I had a tooth surgery a couple of days ago and with so many presents, I don't even had time to think of the pain.

Thank you all for the presents, but thank you so much for being my friends.

Mountains

2008-03-10T09:53:00.010-04:00

Weather in Knoxville Saturday morning.

Weather in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday.

We headed to the mountains on Sunday with sleds sure there would be plenty of snow for the kids to play, considering the snowfall in Knoxville on Saturday.

Not enough snow but it was a wonderful day, cold but beautiful blue sky. It was good to be outside.

Even PG enjoyed the short hike.

We ran into our optimistic friends with cross country skies. No snow but a good place for a break.

The kids had fun climbing and playing with icicles.

Finally we found a small slope with a bit of snow for a taste of sledding.

Work in Progress

2008-03-04T10:03:00.001-05:00

The weather had been so nice the last couple days. I couldn't miss the chance to go outside and prepare some beds for the seedlings I am growing inside. I can't wait to plant them outside, besides, I am running out of room!

But I have been sewing a bit too. I want to make a quilt for the sofa and I got inspired by Denise Schmidt's Hop, Skip and Jump quilt. The top was so easy to put together because the corners don't have to match. What a brilliant design. Denise is a genius. I love her books and fabric (I wish I could afford them).

We were planning to go to the mountains last Sunday for a light hike and for Gabriel to play with snow but we ended up in the emergency room. Not exciting. Gabriel had a rash on his face that was getting worse and then he had fever on Friday night and Saturday morning. I called the nurse and she said I should bring him to the hospital. The waiting wasn't so bad and the doctor said Gabriel had ear infection/cold (flu test was negative) and he asked me if Gabriel had been playing outside because the rash looked like poison ivy. In fact, he was rolling on the lawn a few days ago.
I don't even want to start cursing this nasty plant...

Ps. I will post a Gumbo recipe soon.

Gumbo with spaghetti

2008-02-28T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I cooked Gumbo. I didn't know this dish until a friend gave us a recipe book from New Orleans. As usual, I didn't quite follow the recipe (but I refrained from adding cilantro, Carmen). Some Gumbos take file powder and others take okra. I bought a bag of frozen Gumbo mix vegetables (corn, red pepper, celery and okra), so I didn't use file powder. Roux was another unknown cooking technique for me until I started cooking Gumbo. I think it is sort of weird to fry flour but it is a great and delicious way to thicken a stew.

I am sure Amisha, who is from Nola is having a fit to see my plate of Gumbo and spaghetti, instead of rice. I know I am committing a sacrilege mixing Italian food with this rich and flavorful dish from Louisiana. Believe me, it tastes really good. Bon appetite!

Some sewing around here

2008-02-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

Last week I really had to go to the fabric store to buy beige thread. I ran out of it in the middle of a project. I always check the remnant bin and I found a nice piece of gray wool felt. Humm... I thought it would be nice to make a bag with it. So, I bought it. I made a bag and I used some small pieces of my Japanese fabric to add color. It is hard for me to use my Japanese fabric, I want to keep them forever. But that is not what fabric is for.

I made a table runner for a friend who likes paisley patterns. She doesn't live far, about 20 miles, but we never find time to see each other. And no way am I mailing it. I will call her this week.

I am enjoying my 'not so new' sewing machine so much. The walking foot is great and I am so happy to be able to machine quilt. I am very excited and I even started a new quilt. The top is almost ready.

My husband is better, thanks for all the 'get well soon' wishes. What a nasty flu going around here! Hopefully no one else in this house will get it.

You all have a good week!

Busy kids

2008-02-21T11:24:00.001-05:00

I thought I was getting a lot done today, but what a surprise to find a note at Gabriel's school saying the school is closed because of illness. Apparently the public schools are having trouble finding substitute teachers with so many sick teachers at home... Today and tomorrow schools are closed to allow teachers and students to recover. Alone at home Gabriel gets bored and it is hard to get things done with a whiny kid around me. I need to keep Gabriel busy. The best way? Someone else to play it.
I was lucky to meet another clueless mom at school and I volunteered to take her kid with me so the boys could play.

I think the fun is directly proportional to the mess they make. Fortunately everything is contained into the playroom. They are a good combination, Gabriel's friend is not wild and he plays for hours and hours with trains and cars. He keeps Gabriel mild. Maybe I will get something done...

Husband is sick, I hope he doesn't spread it...

Tomorrow I plan on going to the ceramic place so Gabriel can paint a plate. A few years ago I painted a small plate he used to take to school and he loved it. The plate was broken and he keeps talking about it. Let's try to paint another one. That would take care of the free days.