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Pyrex

Pyrex -- three bowl sets all at one yard sale.  (And I won't tell you the price because you might hate me.  Let's just say that it was a *really* good deal.)

 

Strawberry Time

Finally getting some strawberries from the garden.  The squirrels are stealing their fair share, but still leaving a few for us.  I'm looking forward to going to my favorite u-pick -- hopefully next week -- so I can get enough to make a good stock of strawberry jam.

Back to the Sales

Not the best photo, but here are the things I picked up at yard sales over the weekend.  

I spent a total of $4, and $3 of it was for this green Hull planter.  I love these old planters and am always on the lookout for a few to add to my collection.  This one was a good buy as the piece was in perfect condition and is a pretty good size.

This unmarked planter was not in perfect shape, but I couldn't resist the amazing decorations (or the 25¢ price).

The other items include a little FireKing sugar bowl minus the lid, a cute tomato glass which I'm assuming was a jelly jar, and a nice measuring cup.  I collect measuring cups and this was the second one I found already this year.

So, I'm still hitting the sales, but the boxes of Pyrex and FireKing in the attic mean it's time I got started on filling my Etsy shop -- especially if I want to have room for new things!

I've Been Spinning

This was spun from some lovely hand dyed merino wool from Jill Draper Makes Stuff.  If we ever see the sun around here, I'll take some post soaking photos.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

via www.boogaj.com

Check out my latest post at Going Gluten Free!

First Harvest of the year

We pulled and ate one of the radishes today.  This is the first official harvest of the year, and I'm pretty excited that it is happening early in May.  

And soon we will have strawberries!  Our strawberries apparently liked the wet Spring -- they look amazing this year.

The cherry tomatoes should be ripe before long and since I planted a ridiculous number of them, we will have more than we can handle.

I'm feeling pretty good about the garden this year.  It's taken several years of trial and error to get to the point where I sort of feel like I know what I'm doing and I also know what I like to grow.  

This will definitely be the year of the tomato since I planted a ridiculous number of plants, but it is also the first year I'm planting radishes, beets, tomatillos, watermelons and garlic (which was planted last fall).  Old favorites are back too -- tomatoes (obviously), strawberries, raspberries (which are multiplying like mad!), potatoes, jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, herbs (flat leaf parsley, basil, sage, oregano, cilantro and thyme), carrots and lettuce.  And I shouldn't forget the flowers which I grew from seed this year -- petunias, impatiens, marigolds, and sunflowers.

Whew.  I really need to keep a gardening journal to keep all this straight from year to year, but I suppose the blog will suffice.

Lilacs in bloom -- and why I take so many photos

Our lilacs are in full bloom and look gorgeous.  When we moved into our house, the lilacs were stunted and sickly as a result of a big, ugly fence which blocked much of their sunlight, and possibly hot bbq grill ashes which the previous owner appears to have dumped at their base.  In the 8 years we've lived here, we removed the fence and improved the bed in which they reside.  (We used to call it the gravel pit, because it was a nasty, weedy patch filled with gravel and broken up bits of asphalt.) 

I like to look back at photos from previous years so that I can see when things bloomed.  For instance, last year our lilacs were in full bloom on April 7th!  A full month earlier.  Crazy.