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.

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.

Jesus and Knitting

I love Christmas.  I love thinking about the birth of Jesus and how humble it was.  There were animals and dirt and crusty stone feeding troughs.  Can you imagine?  Birthing a child in all those germs?  )My mysophobe friends may now shudder.)  Yet, God chose that.  For himself.  For Mary.  For the visitors.  It's so wonderous. I love it.

It comforts me, also.  When I start to feel a bit annoyed that I don't have money to buy the gifts I want to buy or the decorations I want to put up, I think of those crusty places that Jesus laid his head.  It makes me feel comforted.  And spoiled.

In honor of those humble thoughts and not having money, I like to make things at Christmas time.  Also, I just like to make things.


One of my favorite new creations this year is this wreath.  We have a gargantuan pine tree in our front yard that has probably been alive since Jesus was born.  It throws pine cones down like nobody's business.  I used some foam we had to cut out a ring, hot glued 5,000 pine cones to it, and added grapevine twigs to fill the spaces (also from the yard).  Then I dusted it with a fine scatter of white glitter to give it a hint of sparkle.  Its simplicity makes me happy.



As you may have read before, my latest obsession is knitting.  You know I had to knit some Christmas stuff.  Knitting goes with Christmas like grits on a breakfast plate.  I knitted three scarves, two hats, and these...



I had always wanted to make my own stockings.  Knitted stockings.  Yeah baby.

And then there's my ornament tradition.  Have I told you about my ornament tradition?  Every year, since my first child was born, I've made my children each an ornament for Christmas.  Sometimes I paint it, sometimes I glue things or pin things or fill a glass ball, every year is different.  Last year I had learned to sew, so I made these little stuffed candy canes out of an old pink, red and white striped shirt the girls had both worn and grown out of.  This year, I'll give you one guess what my chosen craft was.

I'm too predictable.

I knitted these little bird ornaments from a pattern that is available free to download here.  Forget the wreath.  These are my favorite creations from this year.  How.  Stinkin.  Cute.  I stitched the girls' initials and the year on the underside. 

I wonder if Mary knitted anything.  Surely she made some things in anticipation of the birth.  A blanket? Maybe a sheep and cow mobile? God knitted: "You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews." Job 10:11

Oh look, the dirt on the door also reminds me of Jesus' birth!  How convenient we have so much of that around here too.

Merry Christmas!