News From the Garden

Life's been keeping me happily busy these days but I need to get back into the blogging mode.  Here's what's been happening in my life lately.

The flower beds.

The dark pink peonies have been blooming and what a treat! 

My pale pink ones are just starting to open.

 

The irises have been pretty, too.  This is an old fashioned kind my mom shared from her garden years ago.  I always smile when they bloom.  They are a wonderful reminder of her.  She had an incredible green thumb. 

Wish I had a bit more of that special trait!

She wouldn't have like these, though.  She did NOT like the color yellow but I do.  These have just finished blooming. 

I don't have very many tea roses but two are blooming. 

This is one Mom would have LOVED!  Pink was her color! 

This pale pink rose bush is one Wonderful Hubby bought me years ago. 

I just love the delicate color!

The clematis have been trying to outdo each other.  I've planted several different varieties together and the color combination is so pretty.

 

These little alliums are a new addition and are a bit smaller than I hoped for.  They are pretty, though.

 

The vegetable garden is planted and coming along nicely.  I'm trying a few new beans and some new gardening techniques I've learned about through my Master Gardener group.  I'll write a post about that garden soon. 

 

Favorite Son is doing a summer internship in Pennsylvania and my Dear MIL went with me last week to take out some of his things (golf clubs, guitar-you know, things he can't live without!)  It also gave us some peace of mind seeing his new surroundings.  He's in the heart of Amish country, Lancaster County!  He's staying with a wonderful family and has his own little 'suite' in the country.  I think he's going to like it.  Wonderful Hubby and I will go back just before he comes home to bring his things back and let Dad get a chance to see where he's been working. 

 

During this first visit, which was over Memorial Day, Fav Son wanted to visit Gettysburg.  I took some pictures that I'll share closer to the 4th of July but here is a flowering hawthorn, Missouri's state flower.

Our front porch was in full bloom when we returned!

One of our Border Collies, Sallie, said she watered all the flowers for me but I think it was Wonderful Hubby who actually kept them well hydrated!

Sallie and her dad, Champ.

 

The chicks have grown up!!  They won't stay in their pen anymore and have become fixtures in the yard and gardens.  I was hoping for all hens but I strongly suspect I have two roosters.

 This fellow is one of them.  I don't mind them being assertive but we may have to make some decisions if they develop too much attitude!

 

My tiny violet has finally bloomed!  One of our garden club members showed us how to propagate them about eight month ago and I think this little guy is going to make it!!

 

I just talked to Precious Daughter and she's planning to come home for a visit!!  It will be SO good to see her!

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I'm going to try to get back into a weekly blogging habit.  I really enjoy it and it's such an easy way to 'scrapbook'

our newly retired life! 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

Zenda

 

 

Linking to:

 

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Book Club Night and Moderntone Dishes

I hosted our monthly book club last week and we discussed Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.  The novel was centered around two female characters, one an orphaned Irish girl who, with other children from New York, was sent West to hopefully find a new home, and a modern day orphan in today's foster care system.  Kline did an artful job of weaving these two women's lives together in an easy and interesting read.  As always we had a lively discussion and lots of laughter! 

Since part of the book was set in the 1930s and 40s, I decided to use the Moderntone Platonite dishes my dear mother-in-law gifted me several years ago.  I've never actually used them and thought this would be the perfect time to get them out.  As a very young child, I remembered my mother setting our table with pink plates, pink cups and saucers and even little pink salt and pepper shakers.  Many years later, I think the first time I visited my husband's parents' home, I saw those same pink dishes PLUS BLUE dishes, GREEN dishes and YELLOW dishes!!!  Besides the plates, cups and saucers, there were BOWLS, TUMBLERS AND SHERBET DISHES!  I couldn't believe there was actually a complete set!  My mother told me she had gotten her starter set from the local grocery store but had traded the other colors with family members so she could have her pretty pink dishes.  I was so taken with my mother-in-law's collection that she gave them to me when she moved.  They've been in storage until now.

Here are a few photos of our table.

We enjoyed popcorn during our discussion but I chose two recipes suggested from the book for dessert.  The first was Mrs. Murphy's Current Cake, which Dorothy enjoyed for her birthday while attending Miss Larson's class. 

The second was a rhubarb tart Dorothy remembered her grandmother baking.  (Well, she remembered her making a tart, not exactly sure it was rhubarb.)

I'm including the recipes for the current cake from this site, which gives great ideas for book club recipes!

Dorothy's Current Cake

“The bread, dense and moist, tastes like Ireland.”

(This recipe is adapted from Nick Malgieri's “The Modern Baker” [DK Publishing, 2008].)       Makes 1 loaf

 
2 cups whole-wheat flour (see note)

2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt2 large eggs1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
¾ cup buttermilk or whole milk
2 cups dried currants (or chopped raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 ½-by-4 ½-inch loaf pan.
 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. 

In a large bowl, whisk eggs then beat in sugars. Separately whisk in oil and then buttermilk, whisking until smooth after each addition. Fold in flour mixture and then quickly fold in currants.
 

Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top.  Bake in preheated oven until well risen and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool bread in pan 5 minutes, then unmold onto a rack and cool completely before slicing.

Note: A combination of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour also can be used.

 I hope you enjoyed seeing my lovely Moderntone dishes as much as I've enjoyed using them this past week!  I'm having a little trouble putting them back in their boxes.  :)

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He's Retired!

Well, I'm now married to a REITREE!  After 30 years of working for General Motors, Wonderful Hubby has decided to just work for himself. 

His new job description includes:

• Golfing
• Fishing
• Woodworking
• Traveling
• Gardening
• Farm Management
• and Hunting....

... He thought retiring at the beginning of Turkey Season would be the perfect way to begin his new 'freedom' so that's just what he did!  Since college, WH and his fraternity buddies have gotten together each season to call in and hunt these large beautiful birds.  Even Favorite Son and Precious Daughter's boyfriend joined in.  They enjoyed several days of camping, catching up and calling.  Unfortunately though, they didn't see many birds. 

 

Yesterday morning, he went again with a high school friend and they were BOTH successful!!  Each got a bird! 
The meat will be used soon at a party for local farmers.

Hunting isn't the only thing keeping Wonderful Hubby occupied these last two weeks.  We've joined a couples' golf league so Friday, we played our first round.  We know several of the couples but are excited to get acquainted with others.  I'm not much of a golfer but since it's a scramble, I can play off of WH's shots and we did pretty well and had a lot of fun! 

Sunday, before Favorite Son went back to college, we went fishing.  We caught several bluegill and two catfish!!  (I caught one and WH caught one.) 

They were grilled for supper!

Farm Management is another part of his new 'job' and this involves another one of his favorite pass times, dirt moving!  We rent out all of our farm acreage but WH does the drain tile and brush removal work and brush hogging himself.  Another project is tearing down many of the old structures on our properties.  As he says, there's always something you can do if you own ground!

 

This is such an exciting time for us!  We have spent most of our married life on different shifts and now we can finally enjoy spending a little more time together.  It's such a blessing to say that, although I love my husband, I also really LIKE him (!) and am so proud I am his wife!! 
 

I'm a pretty lucky Lady of the Manor!

 

Linking to:

 

  Amaze Me Monday

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Spring Is Here!

Spring has finally sprung around here.  I've been a bit preoccupied these last few weeks and haven't felt much like writing but Spring has slowly made it's way into our neighborhood.  Here are a few photos I snapped this afternoon.

Violets and Clover

Forsythia

Hostas slowly waking up

Flowering Magnolia

Dutchman's Breeches

My helper, Sallie



Several weeks ago I bought six chicks, three Rhode Island Reds and three Barred Plymouth Rocks.  We've kept them in the kitchen but let them out, supervised of course, a little as the weather allows.

We've bought a cute little hen house.  (I'll call it my early Mother's Day present.)



We have a bit of 'landscaping' to do but isn't it cute?!

This side has outside access to four nesting boxes.

Here's an inside shot.  Wonderful Hubby is going to finish off the inside a bit to make it easier to clean. 

It will be a while before they're ready to move to the 'big house' but we hope they'll get acquainted with the dogs by early summer.

Sallie is ready to plant garden!

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope Spring has come to your neighborhood, too!


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A Bittersweet Ending

This project actually began last August when my friend and her husband took me along on their trip to the Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, Missouri.  You can read about our adventure here. 

We had a great time visiting all of the fabric stores in this little town, planning multiple projects to keep us busy through the long winter months. 

My friend was planning a Christmas quilt that included an embroidered top and pieced border.  Here is a picture of it, a pattern from Crabapple Hill Studios.

source

We had a great day and came home with some beautiful fabric!

Here is some I bought that day, along with some other material from my stash. 

I made them into a lattice-style quilt.

I machine quilted the interior and hand quilted the borders.  As I was finishing up the last of the borders, my friend's husband called to tell me that my friend was in the hospital with a severe infection.  I was concerned, but she was pretty ill and couldn't receive visitors. 

I started binding the quilt and worked on it when I had the time during that next week.  Each night, my friend's husband called or sent messages updating on her progress.  I then passed these messages on to our other friends.

Her condition did not improve and each day we became more and more concerned.  Finally, the unbelievable news came.  She had passed away.

We were completely stunned. 

I finished binding this quilt the day before she passed.  We enjoyed getting together to work on our projects and I was looking forward to showing it to her.  There would be no more get-togethers.

It is so hard to believe she's gone.  She was such a kind and gentle person and will be greatly missed by many.

When I see this quilt, I'll remember her and all of the fun we had talking and quilting together.  It will be bittersweet, though.

My friend and her husband had two daughters.  The oldest daughter, Jenn, had a congenital heart condition and, after 21 years and almost completing college, she passed away.  That was 13 years ago.  My friend's husband said they drove by the cemetery on the day of my friend's passing and noticed two small daffodils blooming on Jenn's grave.  They took it as a sign from them both.

I do, too.

Farewell, my good friend.



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Dutchman's Breeches

I always look forward to one of nature's first signs of Spring in Missouri's forests, Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).  These early bloomers are so dainty and unique!  You have to be watchful, though.  They don't bloom for long.  There's a saying around here that 'when you see the Dutchman's Breeches and Dandelions blooming, the bees will be waking.' 

And so Spring begins!

Happy Spring!

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A Jeans Apron

Last year, a friend shared a project she had undertaken for some of her great nieces and nephews and I thought they were so cute.  All year, I thought about trying to make some myself and have finished my first attempt.  Here's the first one and I wanted to share it on Our Second Hand House's "March Craft Challenge Link Up - Jeans/Clothing" blog crawl. 

I started with a child's denim overall (12 mo.) I bought at a thrift store and cut off the legs near the crotch. 

I then cut it apart at the side seams.  The front of the overalls would make one apron and the back a different one.

To the bottom of one apron I added a little "skirt" made by gathering some fabric and sewing it on.  The fabric was leftover material I had used to made some pillow covers. 

The fabric was sturdy, outdoor fabric and thought it would be a good match as it was about the same weight as the denim.  I'm sure if lighter weight material was used, it would work.  This particular fabric matched pretty well and I had enough to work with.

The strap was an experiment and I'm still not sure I like the end result.  I sewed two strips together, right sides facing and turned it right side out.  On one end, I sewed a button hole.  The other side, I added a buckle.  You can see the result.  The fabric choice didn't lend itself well for a tie at the neck and I thought the buckle would allow for adjustments.

The tie around the middle was stitched to the front of the apron. Embellishments can be added as desired. 

I'm still working on the second apron and am trying to give it a more 'masculine' flair.  I'll post it when I get it finished.  These are really fun to make as you can use whatever material and embellishments you have on hand.  If you're an embroiderer, you could add your child's name.  How special would that be?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Zenda

Linking to:

   Our Second Hand House's "March Craft Challenge Link Up - Jeans/Clothing"
Tuesdays With a Twist @ Stone Cottage Adventures

   Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Simple and Sweet Friday @ Rooted In Thyme

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Friday Finds @ Tried and True

Something to Talk About @ Karen Up On The Hill

Amaze Me Monday @ Dwellings The Heart of Your Home