Garden tea

Had to take a little break and check out how the garden fared after the high winds from last night. It's still super windy!! Seems as if it's either raining or windy these days.

The chicken wire is to try to discourage the squirrels from digging in the garden box. I found a black walnut that was beginning to sprout in there. I'm sure they are looking for more buried treasures. Little pests.

Also check out the beginnings of another small garden.  We still need to put up fencing...both the chicken wire kind and the tall kind. There are bunnies that live under the shed so we have to keep the from getting into the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord. The tall fencing is to keep the deer at bay.

Stop by Kimmies for the list of Tea Tuesday players.

Book Box

I can not take any sort of credit for this box...none at all. Yes, I did technically make it but I used Kimmie's instructions to create it. 
I decided I needed something to hold notepaper. The kids keep taking my notepads but for some reason they only seem to like blank papers.
Since the end of the school year is rapidly approaching, I'm starting to clear out all those saved papers. Spelling tests, one sided worksheets, junk mail flyers..you get the picture. A seemingly endless supply of paper. I might as well write notes on them before they hit the recycle bin.

Friday Freebie

I'm starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel here on my freebies.
Hopefully I'll happen upon some more sometime soon.

Enjoy!

Wee Bit Wednesday

{one} what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?Sadie Hawkins dance...my friends told me to call a friend of their boyfriends so we could triple date. Blind date for Sadie Hawkins....UGH! He was 14...I was 16...embarrassing at the time.

{two} if you could be any other person for one day, who would it be?

Wow...this is hard! I think I'd like to be Lindsey Vonn. 

I'd love to ski sometime...something I can't do and would really like to do, 

plus she's very athletic and likely looks awesome in any old thing she throws on.

{three} what is your favorite kind of cheese?Brie

{four} do you remember your 1st grade teacher?Oh my goodness..I was just talking about my 1st grade teacher today! Mrs. Sloe...or maybe is it Miss Sloe. She was pretty young.

{five} who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?Sandy...she's always there to lend an ear

{six} were you ever in a school talent show?

Nope...I'm Norwegian...my part of that tree is artsy not rhythmic.

{seven} who is your favorite fictional character?Jack Sparrow as portrayed by Johnny Depp

{eight} can you open your eyes underwater?

I can't see either way so there's no point.

{nine} do you look at the keyboard when you type?

I do a mix...glancing back and forth

{ten} when was the last time you took a nap?A couple weeks ago. Had gotten about 4 hours of sleep total in two nights. Slept for a couple hours...it was glorious!

Working tea

I've got a bunch of ideas in my head but not enough time to play lately. As a result...I have chaos.

Stop by Kimmies for the list of the Tea Tuesday participants this week.

Planting and a question

Between rain showers and thunderstorms, I've been desperately trying to get a few things planted.
I got 6 of 9 tomato plants into the garden box.
I planted marigolds along front again in an attempt to keep away the pesky deer.
The girl and I also planted a row of carrots and radishes between the tomatoes and marigolds. We planted them in the way my dad always did.... carrot, radish, carrot, radish, carrot, radish and so on. The theory is that the radishes mature and get harvested long before the carrots so you end up getting double duty out of one row.

I haven't gotten the window boxes along the deck planted yet. Only my basil seeds spouted. So I have that and the parsley I over-wintered in the house.  I'll be buying the a couple of seedlings...bummer. 


In the old aluminum bucket we are growing green onions. I started them in a dreaded Styrofoam egg carton.  They seem to have transplanted well.
The stump is also our wood chopping block. Works great for both purposes....well, I don't chop wood, so I'm just taking their word for it.

I also planted my big red pots out front. I picked a big variety pack this year. I wanted lots of plants and lots of color.  Obviously, this is only one of them...

I have a few more flowers started in the house and I may pick up a few more at the greenhouse. I love flowers! And since not all of my saved seeds produced little plants like I hoped..off to the greenhouse I'll go.

Lastly...I am wondering if anyone knows what this plant is?
(click to enlarge) --->

It came up last year behind a hosta. It survived the winter and has grown leaves again. It sends out little tendrils that last year adhered themselves to the deck. If it's some horrible invasive species, I'd like to dig it out...if not I think, I'll let it stay for now.

Friday Freebie

Good Morning!! 

I thought I'd share another postcard with you.  

Isn't it a cute little church?

I can imagine the sound of the bell in the tower ringing out across the farmland calling the souls to worship.

An evening stroll

My neighbor and I went for a walk such as we do several evenings a week but this time we walked to one of the nearby lakes with our cameras.


There's a wonderful trail through the woods along the lake.

It even seems slightly magical...

Can't you just imagine this as a little house for a fairy or gnome?!

And this...an arch for tiny woodland creature weddings.

I seem to be all about the photos lately! Probably because we finally have wonderful weather...gotta soak it up!

Wee Bit Wednesday

{one} do you watch the history channel? if so, what’s your favorite program?Yes... we watch American Pickers and Pawn Stars as well as historical documentaries.
{two} what is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?Make art, sew. crochet...play games with the family if they're home.  {three} what does your dream house look like?Log House that feels secluded but is still close to all my errands.
{four} what state were you born in?Minnesota
{five} do you have a change jar? if so, what do you use it for when it gets full?Yep...we have a growler and I hope to use the $ for a vacation.
{six} what’s the first website you look at when you get on the computer?My gmail, then Accuweather.
{seven} what is your favorite breakfast?Eggs over-easy with toast and hash browns.
{eight} what’s the most memorable trip you’ve ever taken?That's hard...  As a parent...last summer to Wisconsin Dells...loved making those memories with them.As an adult...hubby and I went to through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota.As a kid...a fly-in fishing trip in Canada for a week.
{nine} do you prefer your coffee black or with cream/milk/sugar?

I drink it black but I would prefer to have creamer in it but my waistline disagrees.

 

{ten} have you ever done a professional photo shoot?Senior pictures, if that countsandMy mom took me to Glamor Shots when I was 18 or 19. Hubby still has one of those photos in his office.

May Flower Photo Challenge- i heart faces

Traveling Tea Tuesday

Due to my crazy busy schedule lately and all the rain we had last week, I never got further than my front yard with the traveling tea cup.

I had plans for our adventures...little chip and all.

I had hoped to get to the Arboretum and the docks where the lake cruisers are moored but alas it was not to be.


Since we finally had sun for a couple of days I got the deck staining finished!
See the nice brown railing in the below picture....
What a job!  2.5 gallons of stain...ugh my aching back!

I did get a couple of little things done to include in our traveling  tea cup package.

A crochet dishcloth for handwashing those delicate tea sets and a magnet with a reminder....


Stop by Kimmies today and see what's happening with Tea Tuesday.

Inspired by Jill

As I was starting to clean up my art zone...again...it never gets completed... but I digress....


I was totally inspired by the greeting card that came with my prize from Jill Ruth.

 


 

Friday Freebie

Better late than never right!?!?
Blogger was apparently having issues this morning and I hadn't pre-scheduled anything...surprise, surprise.

This week we have this dapper gent named Art.
Was his full name Artemus?
Or Arthur?
Did his mom call him Artie much to his dismay...?

Enjoy!!

Wordless Wednesday

Iced Tea Tuesday

It's quite humid today and while the sun was out I'd even say it was hot. Now keep in mind that just 9 days ago it snowed a little. Not snow that stuck but snow none the less.  Gotta love Minnesota.

So today I'm doing a bit of planting today...

Just 2 hanging baskets and a small pot of flowers so far. All from seeds I saved and started in the house.

I'll be buying some plants but still have a few things in the house in need of planting.

Stop by Kimmies for the links to the other Tea Tuesday bloggers






On a side note to those participating in the Tea Cup round robin. I got my package on Friday but hadn't had a chance to do more than take a tiny peek inside until this morning.

"Houston we have a problem...." Apparently, the  package wasn't handled very carefully in transit.

I have emailed Judy privately to ask how we should proceed and am awaiting a reply but thought I'd mention it anyway.