Sunday, June 5, 2011

Here I Am

Phew....what a week!   It has been very full, with a lot going on.  I found myself feeling a lot like this at times...........
The best part of the week was Tuesday night, when Mr. G got home!  He had a great week in Mexico. They caught a lot of fish, a little sun, and had a lot of laughs.  Boy was I glad to see him get back home!  I missed him!  In no particular order, here are a few pictures of what has been going on around here. 

Lots of gardening, and harvesting of veggies and herbs.


 We have been enjoying our own lettuce, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, basil, dill, thyme, mint, chives, sage and strawberries.  Within a week or so, we will be having ripe tomatoes.  Soon after that, oodles of cucumbers!  Corn is not too far off.  I am staggering the planting of different lettuces, so we can enjoy that all summer long.
I have a couple of gardening secrets.  Number One:  Composting!  Things like this.......
Turn into soil like that.........
This is the best nutrient rich soil you can ever use!  Secret Number Two.....(.well, nine reasons really)  These two.  Hair Lip Lucy, and her partner in crime, Ethel.  AKA  The Little B's.
These Seven...
And this ONE...the special ONE.  The Super Snacker!!
Chicken droppings make excellent fertilizer!  And also a great addition to your compost heap!   Snacker is finally almost back to normal.  She is still not laying eggs, but I think she will soon.

I did a little something to make the The Little B's pen less unsightly.  The canvas drape over the top for shade just wasn't working.  It was not only ugly, but I couldn't get up underneath it very easily to clean the coop and bring food and water. 
I realized I had this big beach umbrella in the shed.  So I took an old basketball stand meant for the pool that we no longer use and put that in the coop and it works perfectly!
Ahhhh, much better.
My daughter Gennifer said, " You Papafied it"   The grand kids called my Dad, Papa.  This is definitely something he would have done or built.   I most certainly did Papafy it.  Using only things I had laying around the house.  Now we continue to get these....
And make yummy things like this.
And this...
It is so nice to sit outside and have breakfast lately.
I have been doing a little knitting.  Made a few of these.

Kitchen dish scrubbies made with tulle on a roll.   These are also nice in the shower for loofahs.  Separate ones, of course!
We have been busy helping Gennifer and Jake get their new motor home all cleaned up and ready for camping.  Today we are repainting all of our exterior lanterns. We meant to do this last summer when the house was painted, but never made it.   And tonight we are bbq'ing some of the yellow fin tuna that Greg brought home from Mexico.   I hope all of you are enjoying a nice weekend too!  Until next time..............  

18 comments:

Janna said...

Love your little scrubbies - so cute and crafty! Your food and fruit/veggies pics inspire me to eat healthier and move our meals outside.

annielizabeth said...

You have had a busy week! I think I can answer for everyone that we missed you and glad everything is "A" ok! I should be outside but I just hit my hand with the hammer chiseling away at some concrete and now I have ice on it and decided to go blogging a bit. Your veggies look fantastic and I love your chicken's home. You did a great job and didn't spend a dime. Those scrubbies look interesting. I could make something practical and practice knitting, too! Did you follow a pattern? Enjoy your fish tonite!

Pammy Sue said...

Very nice breakfast plates. They look yummy! It's a little too hot for us to eat outside these days, but it's always nice when the weather is right.

Interesting scrubbies you are making! I've never seen those.

Lauri said...

How nice to be so self sufficient with all of your fruits and vegetables and eggs! I am envious every time you post about your "farm."

Holly said...

Yay! Blogger finally allowed me access to make a comment. I already sent you an email as a comment but wanted to tell you that I thought the first picture of your scrubbie was corn. I was wondering why you were knitting it. I know, you probably don't want me there in Sept anymore huh?

Genn said...

Love all your crop you've been harvesting!! Thanks for bringing us some!! We are gonna eat some of the veggies tonight.

Hey, I LOVE those yellow scrubbies!! Can I have two? Or do they take long to make? I want one for setting soap on in the motorhome shower and bathroom! You're so talented mom. I wanna be like you when I grow up.

Anonymous said...

oh such lovely photos,, I've been reading your past posts,, I'm your newest follower,,

Cheryl said...

Beautiful fruits and vegtables...love the umbrella!

Dawn said...

The harvest looks great, as well as some fresh fish. Still love the chickens, so glad you get enjoyment out of them:)

Stacey said...

I'm back!! I need to catch up on your blog.. I've missed it :) Here's my new blog:
www.3gsinapod.blogspot.com

Cathy said...

I get the biggest chuckle out of your chickens, Kris. And the big umbrella to shade the coop is comical, but very effective.

I had an omelet made with farm fresh eggs this morning and it was so darn good. I put a little avocado and salsa on it -- yummy.

Bethany said...

Genius! I make my scrubbies out of nylon net and crochet them. But knitting tulle is a great idea!! What size needles do you use for that?
Your garden is delish by the way. We've already got basil on our "killed" list for the year, but the flowers are still hanging on...

deb said...

your harvest is amazing, I have NOTHING yet:(
lucky you for the fresh eggs!!! LOVE the sunny yellow scrubby pads!!! Snackers looks so healthy now!!

Linda said...

I thought the little scrubber was corn in the first picture! Your garden looks great...we ate our first ripe tomato this week...nothing better! Have a great week!!

Traci Elizabeth said...

Hey Kris...Im friends with Genn and I hop on over once in a while to check your blog. I had a gardening question. You seem to be the master.

I planted 3 early girl tomato plants and they grew like crazy and have a BAZILLION green tomatoes on them, but they won't ripen! Its been over a month and they are big and Green. Is there something I should do?

Thanks!
Traci

Sunny Simple Life said...

You have been the busiest of girls. You have the most original of chicken coops I would say. Love it. Glad your hubby is home mine just left today for the week for work but given how crazy our house has been this week he is probably looking forward to a quiet hotel room for a few days.

Pam said...

I wish I was your neighbor... maybe you would share all your yummy veggies and eggs with me?

I love the scrubbies - they are so cute and they work way better than store bought ones.

Kristi said...

So jealous of the eggs!! Yummy! I think I start drooling every time I come to your blog, haha!

Your harvest is quite impressive! I'm over at my Mom's every other day waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a ripe tomato! The other day I was for sure I saw something red, only to see it was her little marker telling us which kind of tomato is growing there, haha! I was bummed to say the least!