Mobile Blogging, Sewing and Fall Gardens

As I was sitting on the floor in my living room sewing aprons and bonnets for my darling daughters' costumes, I meditated on why I never have enough time to blog as much as I want to. 

Well let's see, there's the fact that I have two kids, a husband, and a part time job.  There's the fact that I have an old house that needs lots of new paint. There's also the fact that, perhaps, I have way too many hobbies.  Everyone likes to have vegetable gardens, sew, knit, refinish and reupholster furniture, run, bake, photograph, craft, read and blog in their spare time, right? Back me up here friends.

Okay maybe I do need to cut out a few things. You know that book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie? My husband says it was written about me. I try to ignore him. I just like to do a lot of things!
So, in an effort to find ways to keep up with more of my favorite diversions, I've discovered I can do some of my hobbies at the same time! (Insert your eye roll here.)

For example, did you know you can read a book and knit at the same time? Granted, it helps if it's digital.  Also, don't be trying to knit anything complicated, like a sock, or you might end up with two left feet. But still, it can be done!  And also, right now I am sewing and blogging at the same time. What??  I discovered a mobile app for my phone while I was sitting and pondering a moment ago, and voila! Found the answer!  I stitch a little while I think of what to say. I type (or swype) a little while the iron heats up.

Being able to use my phone to blog especially appeals to me for two more reasons:
1. I always have my phone near me to take a photo or jot a note.  Big cameras and desktop computers are a little hard to fit in my pocket. (However, this does not mean I will be giving up these items...I just have more options!)
2.  I'm often out sitting at appointments or waiting on my children. Blog a little? Yay! Instant productivity for me!

So, in honor of my first multitasking mobile blogger test run, I will now

(hold on, gotta finish this gather stitch)

I will now satisfy the A.D.D. in me by taking photos of my fall garden and show them to you while sewing and blogging. Thank you for continuing, those of you I didn't lose back at the eye roll.

Carrots

Fava Beans

Bell Peppers.  They're feeling much happier
with those 90's outta here.

Radish.  Almost ready!

A few okra plants still going strong.
The rest, I pulled up to make room
for onions and garlic.

Kale

Lettuce

Eggplant, uh, tree?

A happy eggplant indeed!

Butternut squash 



Red cabbage

Collards

As you can see, my garden is also pretty busy, but I swear it's not my fault! My brother-in-law gave me way too many seeds! They were all just begging to be planted.  And really, who doesn't love to eat food they grew themselves? (Did I mention this is only a part of my garden?)

Well I think that this post has gone on long enough.  I have better things to do than sit around and show you vegetables. 

I'm thinking of taking up basketweaving, anyway.

Under...water.

The Big Dead Tree

So there's this tree...



You can't miss it. It's the Grandfather of All Pine Trees. It looms hundreds of feet in the air, at least. It's only a few feet away from my house.

And it's dead.

I'm not exactly sure why it's dead, but it is.  It once was alive, and then suddenly, several weeks ago, it died.

So, considering it's height and....er, deadness....we concluded that the tree must be cut down.  This is a much easier concluded kind of thing than actually doing kind of thing.  We heard estimates of hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars to be charged for having a tree service come do it.  We, being rich compared to the starving millions around the world, still find ourselves too poor for a gigantic tree to die in our yard. 

Plan B:  Enlist my Dad.  Do it ourselves.  (And by "ourselves," I mean Seth. I will stand by and cheer and cook dinner and keep kids out of the way and pick up sticks afterward.)

On Saturday, they built a scaffold against the tree.

They bolted it to the tree and at the base through its large roots.

At this point, we (the peanut gallery) had no idea what the plan was, but sat watching the action.  Apparently, the plan was actually this:  Get as high into the tree as possible.  Then, Seth would use climbing gear to reach the branches.  Then, cut the major limbs off with the chainsaw.  Then, figure out what to do next.

Several hours into the process, the action was pretty disappointing.

Okay, to their credit, they did a really good job getting things super secure and prepared for cutting the tree down.  And, let's not forget, this tree is huge.  Massive.  Daunting.  But we did not let it conquer us.  No sir-eee. Just as the sun was setting on the first day, one limb was cut.

Day two dawns.  We go to church.  Mom and Dad meet with their case worker for adpotion stuff.  We all reconvene at the tree by afternoon. 

This day, they add a ladder to the top of the scaffold.

Don't worry, it's strapped to the tree also.  And so is Seth.  The chainsaw is raised and lowered (while running) by rope.

And then Seth climbed up, up up....

...and cut, cut, cut.

At a certain point, it's getting late, there's no safe place left for Seth to climb to and cut limbs, and the tree is still stubbornly just as tall as it was at the beginning of the day.  Seth and Dad decide to top the tree by making a mid-way, partial cut, and then break it by pulling with cables and wench-thing-a-ma-jigs.

It got late.  The tree won for the day.  We had to sleep that night wondering if the thing would come crashing down in the middle of the night.  I prayed.  A lot.  This process was really getting to me.  I asked God to protect everything.  My husband.  My Dad.  My house.  All my other trees and plants.

Yes, I was really worried about my landscaping.  I had just planted four crape myrtles and six camellias along the driveway two days before.

 I just knew they would get crushed to smithereens, and so I actually dug them back up.  It took me all of five minutes, wearing a sundress to boot, so it wasn't that crazy.  Don't judge me.

Monday afternoon rolled around and everyone was really tired of this tree.  If trees could return to earth as something else in another life, this one would be a boulder.  Seth and Dad continued to crank the cables, which were attached to distant trees, tighter.  I listened to CRAck, crick, CRACK, all day long.  I prayed continuously. Mark came over to help.  They made another cut, lower down, deeper.  The tree leaned more and more.

While eating dinner with the peanut gallery inside, I heard the final crack.  It resonated somewhere deep inside me and I knew it was the final one.  I ran to the window.  The tree fell!!

We ran into the yard and cheered. 

Actually, I think my first question was, "Is everyone okay?"

Then I cheered.

The amazing part (okay, not so amazing because God is always faithful) is:

No one was hurt.

My house was spared.

The tree fell exactly where it was supposed to, in the only empty spot in the yard. 

The only plant that didn't make it was a tiny little sunflower in my neighbor's garden (I promised to buy her a new one).  If I hadn't dug up those crape myrtles and camellias, they would be flat, underneath a big dead tree right now.

Now I currently have a totem pole and a big mess.  Pardon me while I go erase that part about promising to  pick up sticks.

Just News and Stuff

We have so much to catch up on, where do I start?  If I start with one of the kids, the other one will complain, "That's no fair!"  Gosh I haven't heard that phrase very much have I? (insert sarcastic tone)  If I start with myself, that might seem prideful and a bit "Me Me Me," so I'd better start with Seth.

Seth

He's great.  He's out hunting turkeys right now with his brother Mark. 

His current projects are working at the fire department, working for EMS, fixing rafters in the barn, playing horseshoes in the barn, and next weekend, he'll be cutting down The Giant Dead Tree (I think there's a blog post to come about that) with my dad in our front yard.

Noodle

Back in February, I told you all about her upcoming surgery.  Well, she had her surgery on March 13th.  The surgeon seemed a little less optimistic about her recovering her full hearing abilities after getting in there and seeing the reality of the damage.  Her eardrum had been liquified by the tube and the tube was floating around in there.  She's still healing.  We are currently waiting for the skin grafts to fully take, the packing to dissolve, and praying for great results.  Right now, she's pretty deaf in that ear and the other ear is currently clogged up too.  On the up-side, she got to miss school for an extra week before Spring Break and not do any of the class work.

In other Noodle news, 4th grade is going superbly for Noodle as she continues to make all A's and a B.  They took their BIG field trip last Friday to St. Augustine, which Noodle was rather nervous about, but had an awesome time.  It was her first time being out of town without parents or grandparents.  They went to the alligator farm, the old school house, the fort, the trolley ride, and had dinner on St. George Street.

Her current projects include homework, drawing, reading, knitting, and playing The Settlers of Catan boardgame.



Hopers

This happy girl is having a wonderful Spring with all her school activities and friend opportunities.  She recently visited Wakulla Springs, as I wrote about here, and the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea.  She is growing like a weed (currently the tallest kid in her class) and does everything with boundless energy.

Her current projects include helping Mama cook, using her imagination with friends, riding her bike, and snuggling.

Me

I have been gardening like a mad woman for the past month or two.  I can't help myself.  The yard is like a drug and I need to get out there for my next fix!  (Why am I sitting at the computer? Oh yeah, the blog... Focus, girl!!)  In addition to the two peach trees, three apple trees, five pecan trees, and the blackberry patches that were already here when we moved in, I have added even more food:  A satsuma (mandarin orange), another peach tree, a loquat tree, and two blueberry bushes.  And that's just the more permanent fixtures.  I dug up a second garden patch and now have okra, tomatoes, bell pepper, and basil planted from seed.

In other news, I recently picked up a job.  Not only do I like blogging (almost as much as I like gardening), but now I'm going to get paid to blog.  Woohoo!  I'm now the blog writer for the super awesome Michelle Lawson Photography company based in South Florida.  Head over there and check out my first post on April 8th.

Spring.

Hi, Spring.

Welcome to my yard.

You're here early.

But I like it.

Under the Sun

I've never had a great sunny yard before. Our state may be famous for its sunshine, but most of that golden glow couldn't penetrate the angry tangle of trees and vines that always characterized the yards I've had.

Not that that was a bad thing. I learned a great deal about landscaping for shade over the years. Cast iron plants and hostas and monkey grass are dear friends.

BUUUUTTTT...

My current home, though it snuggles directly into the most deserving angry tangle of woods I've ever seen, has SUN! I have a great big field to one side of my home which begged me (audibly of course) to try something new this year.

Dahlia (Jean Marie)

Flowers!!

Most of the really cool ones require 6-8 hours of sun. This one here (above) is a Dahlia. I just feel like saying "It's faaabulous dahhhling!" every time I think of them. The fun part about Dahlias, is that they have tuberous roots that can be protected through the winter or even dug up and kept in a cool dry container. Next year, they'll grow again! Yay!! I love things that come back to life.

Dahlia (New Dimension)

I like to keep a garden journal. It's just a notebook that I tape the seed packages of what I plant into and then write down stuff. Like, when I planted it. Or, which variety grew the best. Or which plant got a disease. Or, which one died because I set the seedlings on my A/C handler unit beside the house. (Um, yeah. Don't do that, by the way.)

Blanketflower (gaillardia aristata)

I planted some good ole fashioned wildflowers that I loooovve. Blanketflower is so colorful and fun. It's a perennial (meaning, it comes back from the roots every summer).

Black-Eyed Susan (rudbeckia hirta)

Believe me, we have some pitiful, extremely sandy soil 'round here in our neck o' the woods. Black-Eyed Susan was an easy choice because it will grow in the most pitiful soil (ha hA! Got that covered!) and still be happy. That makes me happy. And it's a perennial. (Say it with me here folks per-IN-ee-uhl. ) And the flowers last FOR-EV-ER. No one day they're lovely and the next day they're all wilted and crumbling. No sir-ee! A single flower will last for a month a least before it starts to fade. Because of that, they're my favorites this year.

Have I sold you on any of these flowers yet? Great! Because for $29.95 they can all be yours plus $20 shipping and handling and lots of hidden service fees that we will tack on to your credit card...

Okay, not really. But plant some flowers. Really! You know you want to!

Watermelon Babies

If I could spend all of my time gardening, I would. Or maybe 82% of my time. Because, there has to be some time for eating, saying "I love you" to my family, and taking photographs, right?

Really, though, I love it. There's something amazing about scattering these tiny vessels into the dirt and watching them grow into beautiful living forms that constantly change. It's basically like raising children, if you think about it, only without the whining and arguing.

In the spring, my girls begged to grow watermelons. I'd never attempted them before because we hadn't had a large sunny area to grow them. I wasn't even sure if they would grow at all. But, being a sucker for trying new things and the awesome seductive power that watermelons hold on my taste buds, I said okay.

And they grew.

Hello, my little friend.

There are probably twenty or thirty of these "Sugar Baby" watermelons developing into juicy goodness out there. We ate our first one this week. It probably could have stayed on the vine longer if I had realized sooner that it was sitting on the grass. Apparently, that's a no-no. It developed a small soft spot on the rind where it rested on the decaying vegetation underneath. So we picked it.

Best watermelon ever. It was just right to cut into four pieces (one for each of us). We dug our faces in and had a seed spitting contest down the sidewalk at the same time. It was so sweet that even the green part was delectable like a cucumber. I drool just remembering it.

Did you know watermelons and cucumbers are in the same family? Circubits, they're called. I love knowing what things are called. It's a weird thing going on in my brain.

Oh, and you know what else I love? These.

Paintbrushes, Imposters and Grass

While I would like to be posting about my fabulous week in Charlotte, NC where I vacationed with my family and had a wonderful time--I will not. I have to put that post on hold on account of technology. Darn stuff. I love it and hate it. While transferring my pictures onto her Mac computer, my sister somehow replaced what was on my SD card with an alien language slightly resembling Farsi characters. I'm serious! When I got home to dump the photos onto my computer....um, well...no photos. Only files that my computer couldn't read. ugh.

So, while I wait for the return of my pictures from my sister, I will write about my ever so fabulous week here in the armpit of Florida.

Hmm. Yep.

Uh. So, it's been really hot. No surprise there--it's August. What does one do in Florida in August when the weather is a sweaty 95 degrees?

Refinish the deck! And have the children do it. It's right down there at eye level.

Okay, not really. I do enjoy a good refinishing project now and again at the expense of the children, but we only do that in the winter.

Today, we played in the back yard with water.

I gave the kids paintbrushes, scrub brushes, sponges, squirt bottles, watering cans, and buckets.

Oh, and a swimming pool and a sprinkler.

I told them to go to town "painting" the fences and walls.


Incidentally, this is Noodle in the orange swimsuit. The little girl wearing the pink shirt and blue board shorts in all of the other pictures is an imposter. Actually she's just Noodle's friend, Grace, who came to play today and had to borrow Noodle's swim attire to get wet in. Strangely, they are exactly the same size. Grace also had an uncanny ability of posing just like Noodle would, confusing my brain all day.


It was like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I think. (I've never actually seen that movie.) I bet even you had to go back and take a second glance at the pictures. Oh, and while you're up there, check out my fantastic grass. Remember the sod? It's been doing fabulously. I love love love having a grassy backyard for the kids to play in instead of dirt. I recommend it. Cuts down on the, uh, mud.

Also, while you're up there, try to translate those strange Farsi-like characters on the fence.


They might be directions on how to get my vacation photos back. Thanks.