Copper Heart

Here is herringbone stitch in odd count, changes the whole look of ndeble/herringbone. This has a free form copper wire heart attached.

Thanks Flo! L&L

Our Green Tree

Artificial or natural? Store it (where?)? Or have it shipped in? Each year we wrestled with these questions and more. Having moved to Florida, not the Christmas tree capital of the US, we knew that purchasing a natural tree meant having it trucked in, as well as surviving the climate change upon arriving. Adding to that we are almost always away for some part of the holiday and unable to water a cut tree, we have needles everywhere as we haul it out for disposal, and then where does it go? We have VERY limited storage space so any artificial tree will take up room we can use.

So, we brainstormed one evening and this is what we came up with. I am sure we will fine tune it in the years to come (last year it was just the quilt top). Here is our quilted tree . It holds lights and ornaments, requires minimal floor space and storage, and best of all: it is ours!

Helping Hands

A friend of mine had meningitis recently. She is a widowed mom who homeschools her three girls and manages to do everything with grace and good spirits. She has some BIG hospital bills following her illness. Some other friends of mine have set up a website with donated crafted items that can be purchased with 100% of the money going to the family in need. Please take a look and consider some Christmas/Holiday shopping. http://www.unschoolgathering.com/teri/index.htm

Silver Dance

For the first time since we moved here, I sat down at my workbench and answered the call of the silver dance. After a bit of cleaning up and making space to work, I found myself coiling some 18 gauge fine silver to cut some jump rings. After closing all the rings, I fused them. Now I'm off to shape and see if the idea I have flows into a wearable item.

Buttons included

Caboch-style on ultrasuede background.

Thanks Nicole. L&L

Right angle

And another...

Right angle weave with hearts added on top.

Thanks Wendy S. L&L

Modern twist

And one more beaded square for the Bead it forward challenge. More to come. Herringbone or Ndebele stitch

My design, adapted from design in Bead and Button by Carol Perrenoud. L&L

Another Square

Another beaded square for Beaders have the Heart to take on breast cancer. Single drop Peyote stitch.

Thanks Fire. L&L

Beady project

Bead artists against breast cancer has a new Bead it Forward project: Beaders have the Heart to take on breast cancer. For the details on the project check out the link on the side.

My contribution to this project is to stitch squares. As many of you know I was at Live and Learn in September and invited folks to draw hearts that I would then interpret into beads and stitch. These will be submitted under the name Live and Learn Unschoolers. I also invited family to design and will submit those under family name. I think I have about 48 squares and a deadline of Mar 1 (with time to mail). So far finished projects are SLOWLY being done, but lots of time has been spent thinking a working out details and... shopping for beads (oh darn ;-)

Thanks Dottie for this design. Family

Garage project

One morning Kirk woke up and decided he wanted to clean the garage... I was thinking empty it out and sort and put back... He was thinking empty out the back and tear down the shelves and build a new set of studier/more useful shelves. Either way, once the shelves were out we were committed. Fortunately he had help.

It is the little things...

I ate the eggplant from my garden. It was the only thing left from the summer growing experience that didn't get eaten by somebunny. It was delicious in my fried rice (the eggplant, not the bunny - I don't want to  even know what bunny tastes like). I sprinkled some rabbit repellant around the base of the raised bed and planted new tomato and pepper plants. Things seem to be growing well, or at least recovering.

I saved my favorite shower curtain. I noticed that after a few years of use the world map plastic curtain had finally ripped out one of the holes. So I picked up some grommets at the fabric store today, made a new hole and reinforced it along with all the rest. The curtain lives on and our map continues to inform us.

We got virtually no rain from Tropical Storm Fay (unlike Katherine whose city received about 16"). Perhaps tomorrow we'll get something from one of the outer bands as Fay continues her slow traverse. Otherwise I am going to have to contemplate filling our pool a few inches. How can water evaporate when it feels like I am swimming in humidity?

Finally, thank you to my walker friends. I know it is non-traditional to get an early morning phone call from me and proceed to "walk" with me while we get caught up. You make getting up and walking that much easier!

Return to haoles land

Katherine and Kristine were here briefly Friday night as they returned from their Hawaiian adventure. Amidst the luggage, laundry, spaghetti and packing the car, we did spend some quiet time viewing amazing photos and catching up. We had to get a photo as proof they were here. Now they are off to settle in to the dorm and get ready for classes Monday morning. Whew!

Book case conversion

Okay, here is the other photo I took of the bookcase/desk. The desk top folds up and then into the shelf of the bookcase. Hope this clarifies!

Is it a bookcase? Or a desk?

I made a modification to a bookcase in our guest room. We want to offer our guests a place to set their laptop and enjoy our wireless network (or do their homework) without the footprint of a desk. So, with a bookcase, a 24 inch piece of red oak and a piano hinge we now offer a hideaway desk. I haven't "finished" the wood yet, showing better contrast for my photo opportunity. And it may need a tuck away bottom support, but we'll test it to make sure. Happy computing or letter writing or...

Travelers Find a Home

I stumbled on a really good deal at the local big box hardware store, Traveler Palms for under $20. Kirk and I bought 3 to supplement the backyard plantings and I came home to plant on a REALLY HOT day. Slowly I am finding plants to place on the back edge of our property to soften the whiteness of the fence. I also added a Passion Flower Vine to climb and fill in between the travelers.

Mack came out to digital document the experience.

On a sad note, that morning we had a storm and the top of the frangipani broke off. We spent some time researching how to root them and now they are drying on the woodpile in hopes of replanting and recovering the beauty of these big leafed plants.

I don't think I updated you to the recovery of the banana tree. We thought we had lost one last year due to our oscillating sprinkler malfunction, but in fact the roots must have taken hold and it has made a glorious comeback. No bananas yet, maybe next year, but leaves are healthy and growing.

Beadwork

A while back I was asked to post some of my beadwork. Here's the treasure chest and treasures I designed and made for the Beady Shanagians Aquarium Challenge (see the sidebar for the link to the breast cancer donations and information). I hope that the pennies I used help with size perspective. The chest is permanently in the open position. I didn't "hinge" it, just hid an internal frame in the beading. It is stitched using size 11 Delicas and PowerPro Fishing line, with bugle beads for the strappings and misc for the locks and treasures.

Where are we now? (or) If it is Tuesday it must be Florida...

After lots of thought, I have decided to change my blog address and move everything to this new web address. In keeping with my long tradition of garden updates, I felt that my address needed to represent this ever-growing aspect of my life. So... here I am. Favorite things in life, flowers and herbs, vegies and digging in the dirt. Plus ramblings, all of which are my own opinion (others may vary, void where prohibited by law). Welcome or welcome back.

Masters of the festivities - 2008

We chose to celebrate the 4th of July at home. Mack and I bought a package of fountains and some snakes and sparklers. We had a great time in the warmth of the evening, humming the songs we knew in the background, and comparing the various pyrotech events. Colors, height and effects varied for each. Plus, bonus, Mack got to light them!

Hope you had a great holiday, too!

4th of July Visitor, 2008

This tree frog joined us July 4th to watch the fireworks that we used in our back yard. We had two of these critters.

How's the yard coming along? 7/21/08

While still a work in progress, all the plants are in for now and most seem to have survived the planting. A couple haven't sent up new leaf shoots, so... they may need replacing. But overall it is good. There are White Bird of Paradise alternating with Jatropha which have red flowers. The butterflies have decided we are a friendly place now. In the back along the fence are jasmine and calla lilies. Now time will tell as it all fills out.
The garden is an interesting thing. So far the peppers are doing fairly well, the tomatoes are hopeless and no squash wants to grow within the area (though we have volunteers around the compost bin). Marigolds are growing like weeds and are taking over. Growing here is definitely a learning experience.

We are enjoying the pool. With all the rain of the past few weeks it came close to overflowing. We're not sure where it will go if that happens... We should get a few more weeks of warm swimming this year since it will be in the sunshine for longer hours of the day without the sea grapes, but then again night temperatures seem to be the determining factor.

Let's plant one tree over Memorial Day weekend... 6/08

Famous "last words"...

Unfortunately I didn't take a before photo. But imagine the area outside the screening filled with 6 30 foot sea grapes. We took them down with the help of a chainsaw and various other tools. Then spent a few days taking out the stumps. Makes it sound easy... but add in some heat and humidity, dirt and roots, not to mention dragging and bagging and bundling.

The area is a little bare with exposed fence, but with Bird of Paradise trees going in and undecided to plant in the space between it should be long term beauty.

We are slowly making this house ours. Each project is taking time and effort, but we are putting our stamp here.

How Many Miles? 5/08

For those of you asking for a photo of this writer, here is your teaser. I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with mother friends from Norfolk. The food was fabulous, the weather was perfect (no matter what the weather was) and the time spent connecting was priceless.

On the Water 6/3/08

Dragging a shrimp along the bottom of the gulf hopefully catches a fish. In this case it meant a shark came to visit for a short while. Kirk was hoping he had caught "the big one" based on the fight the fish was giving him. Instead he had hooked an 18" shark. After hook removal, the little one was freed to grow up in the open waters... but it was exciting for us to see it up close.

Beach and Birthday 5/4/08

We celebrated a birthday this week, Mack turned 11! This coincided with the end of Katherine's Freshman year at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). We all went down to help her move out of her dorm room. But we took the opportunity to play and celebrate first by heading to a picnic at the beach. Always one to test the waters, Mack was body surfing and enjoying the waves that we don't have here.

We had the opportunity to chat with Katherine's friends who joined us and meet a couple homeschoolers in the area whom Wendy met through World of Warcraft. A great evening!

She is starting her summer adventure. A day with us, 10 days at home with her mom and extended family, then off to Hawaii for her internship until mid August. I've included a link to her blog in my fav's. Feel free to check up on her!

More later, the boat is calling!

Catching up 5/4/08

I have been remiss... I got to wondering if there are folks out there who read this, but have been assured that reading is happening. So, I will persevere. Here's a photo of the beginning of our carrot crop (8 inch knife). I forgot about them during January, but they did not forget to grow. Since then we have culled and eaten, so our edible results are getting smaller.

The garden still grows. Trees are all accounted and present, though the ponderosa lemon is not doing very well. Out of the frozen remnants of the banana leaves we have new growth on both. Maybe next year we'll get bananas.

And we are doing well, but more on that in a bit.

New Years 1/08 (OR) Just Swell

Heading for lower temperatures, we picked this beauty from our Ponderosa Lemon Tree today. It has been yellow for a while and I'm not sure how to tell if it is ripe, but with a potential freeze warning for tomorrow night it is a done deal. I'll be covering the peppers and baby beet plants as well as the basil. After the next few days, temperatures are supposed to warm again.

Mack and I discovered we are not Swell people... We all headed out Christmas Eve Day to find the St. Pete Reef. It was a medium chop day on the water. I would call it medium swell as the only place we saw chop was at the pass from the Intercoastal to the Gulf. Once we arrived at the reef and set up to fish things got a little green... Fortunately Kirk was willing to end the trip early (there might have been a mutiny had he not). He had already met his goal of catching a grouper, though it was only 4 inches long and we had to release it rather than serve it for dinner. We'll try again. While today proved to be to windy, there is always next weekend.

If we are not out on the water there are projects for the New Year... including painting the kitchen as a midway project. It really needs a total redo, but at least the wallpaper was peeled off at Thanksgiving. A little wall prep is all that is needed to start the painting. We'll tile the remaining floors (that didn't get bamboo'd) this year and keep enough left over to add to the kitchen as needed when plans are finalized.

It is amazing to ride around and see trees laden with fruit in people's yards. I have a stop on the way to the library where some folks pick their avocados and grapefruit and leave them piled for folks who want it. Thank You! I rode to the library Christmas day to return some books before our trip to visit Kirk's family and spend time with K & D. It was amazing to see people outside grilling and visiting and yet smell turkeys roasting in the ovens.

We wish you the best for the New Year!

Hold the bugs 12-14-07

No more zucchini and cucumber in the garden. we have some kind of beetle/bug that is over-running the garden and they seem to particularly like the leaves and stems of the cukes and zucs. There was basic nothing left of the plant by the time the ants got to the fruit and reduced it to mush. Yum Yum.

So, those are gone and I have scattered some salvia and garlic chives and marigold seeds. Hopefully these will bring some natural pest control into play.

Speaking of playing, we continue to enjoy boating and fishing. 80 degree days make gulf touring very pleasant. With a new fish (depth) finder aboard, we're heading out next to Treasure Island Reef for some underwater viewing with our acrylic bottomed bucket. It would be more fun to snorkel and see, but that is just to cold for me! So far we've hugged the gulf side of the beach, but this will be 5 miles out.

We're getting ready for the holidays. The house is decorated. Packages have been mailed to those far away, and cookie baking is just around the corner. I love the smells of baking!

Bees in the Garden 11-25-07

Bees are pollinating the cucumber plants! I know that seems mundane and boring, but I haven't previously seen that here. I've been pollinating by hand for both cukes and zucchini and it has worked (though I am sure it was no fun for the plant) as I have several of each growing. Nothing of eating size yet. Last night we had a salad that had home-grown radishes and spinach. Yum. And I've had a bush bean (raw). Don't tell, I sneaked it while checking on the garden.

We lost a banana tree. It was in the line of fire when the oscillating sprinkler malfunctioned and stayed in one place for the duration.

We've been learning more about the gulf and fishing and our Salty Mama boat. Lesson: Only two lines can troll off the back of our boat. If there are three then there is a mess and lots of time is spent untangling or line is lost because we cut our losses.

Mackerel are running. Our goal was to have one for Thanksgiving dinner. We missed that by 3 days. Thursday and Friday were gusty and cloudy, so we had no boating joy. Saturday found us still kicking back and enjoying being home. By Sunday the call of the water was strong! We launched by 9 am and trailered by 3:30 pm. In the meantime we caught 3 Spanish mackerel, all of keeping size. It was a blast! Upon arriving home we hit Google to find out how to fillet them and prepare them for dinner. Two are in the deep freeze and one was delicious with fresh squeezed oranges, basil, rosemary and thyme.

Gotta love Google.

November 2007: Growing in Florida

A zucchini is on the vine and the bush beans have little beans. It is time to harvest the ponderosa lemon - we have three growing. We harvested radishes (a fast and easy crop to grow and a soil tester, too). Our banana trees are forming new leaves so they seem to be settling in from planting. It is exciting to grow and nurture things that we can eat and enjoy.

We brought home a boat two weeks ago. We've put it in the water every weekend day so far. It has been a learning process and fortunately we had the foresight to buy a used boat... otherwise it would look used now. Lessons we have learned:

1) Thumping speed is to fast and someone will cry.

2) If it looks like a sand bar it probably is, and will take you a lot longer to get out than it did to get in.

3) Raising the prop before the boat comes out of the water allows the car to drive forward.