Outdoor Sink / Work Station

This outdoor sink / workstation may not look like much (cuz I made it myself....) but it has been wonderful for keeping the canning / preserving part of gardening from totally trashing our kitchen. Having a countertop, an old sink, and the composter right there together, my first batch of pickled beets was just a completely different experience. No sand in the kitchen sink etc. It makes a great potting station also because I can just sweep leftover soil off the counter.

Those rubbery, flexible buckets were a great find. I can wedge the little one under the drainspout of the sink to catch the runoff water for my flowers. I bought them at the garden expo in Madison, WI last year. I bought 3, one in each size.

Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas - Succulent Garden

For the past couple of seasons our family has agreed to a spending “cap” for holiday gifts. Homemade gifts may not necessarily end up being less expensive, but are definitely more meaningful than another scented candle; (unless, of course, it’s a homemade scented candle.) Last year I made little jars of a homemade bath soak which recipients seemed genuinely pleased to receive. It was a fun and inexpensive way of telling family and friends you rarely see that you love them.
I’ve started some succulent gardens and plan to spend the next couple months looking around for unique containers. Hopefully, by the time December rolls around I’ll have some lovely succulent container gardens to give as gifts.
Succulents require soil with excellent drainage. You can always just buy some specialty mix, or just make your own. I did a little research and the “recipes” can get pretty crazy. I mixed up a bag using approximately equal parts of potting soil, sand, perlite and peat moss.

Credenza Before & After

I finally got around to sanding, priming, "re-finishing" our cool old credenza.
The top of the credenza is a blue enamel. For the front and sides I used Behr's glaze mixed with Behr's Antique Brown over an undercoat of umber brown, for the darker panels I glazed Behr's Toffee Crunch over the Antique Brown. I "scumbled" some gold trim detail, put a layer of glaze over it, then scumbled another layer of gold over that. The pretty blue flower pulls are from Anthropologie.

Canning Time

Last year Sherm bought me a copy of "Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving"....(I know, how romantic!!) The man knows what I like, I guess. This year I've vowed to try something beyond sweet/dill cucumber pickles and beets. First effort was last nite....a mixed veggie hot pickle, looks yummy. Sitting on the couch hearing those lids popping as they sealed, fall is coming soon.

Next in the canner will be tried and true sweet pickle cukes using spice mix from Wal-Mart...then Aunt Clara's pickled beets. Last year I tried my own version of canned beets. Yesterday I dumped about a dozen large jars of flaccid, pinky-pale, inedible beets into my composter. This year I'm using Auntie's recipes....whenever Mom slips us a jar we devour them immediately.

Auntie Clara's Pickled Beets

Boil beets till tender, submerge in cold H2O, slip off skins and cut into chunks

Mix and heat to boil 2 cups sugar, 2 cups H2O, 2 cups cider vinegar

Put beets into mix and boil 10 minutes

Pour into hot jars and seal...be sure to wipe the rims of the jars before putting on lids, leave about 1/2 in head room.

Mom swears thats it.....not boiling bath necessary.

Garlic Scapes

Our garlic has started shooting out these lovely garlic scapes. Apparently they are quite delicious, and must be cut so the plant puts it's energy into producing bulbs. I've been putting it off because they are so graceful and lovely to look at. I think some of the kidney shaped swirls echo the organic shapes in a Joan Miro painting. Today is the day.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2005-10-01/Garlic-Scapes.aspx

School's Out For Summer!!!

My "to-do" list = totally Martha but my sentiments are all Alice.

Water- Starting a Rain Garden, Building a Wall

I was so excited to start my new rain garden, did a little web research, checked out some pictures, ran home and started enthusiastically digging. Next day at work, I did a little more research, actually read a bit this time and realized I'd put the rain garden too close to the house. This is bad because the water seeping down can mess up the foundation. Ugh, back home, fill in hole and dig again this time further from house and with far less enthusiasm. Filled it in with a few Irises and some Millet and tried to convince Shermen it was a good idea.

Meanwhile, Shermen is building the cool sandstone wall on East side of house along the drainage ditch he dug last year to keep water away from house / foundation. It looks cool already, can't wait to see it when all the Creeping Thyme, Creeping Jenny, Phlox, Scotch Moss and others start to fill in. I topped off the ridge with some Daisies, decorative grass and Calendula. Should be absolutely lovely in a few weeks.