Things That Should Not Come in From the Garden

Thing # 1 - CAULIFLOWER THAT HAS GONE TO FLOWER.  Yuck 

I was out in the garden trying to sort out what was weed and what was edible.  One thing for sure, cauliflower is my nemesis.  I have never been able to get a good forming head of cauliflower and this season is no different. I planted early, but our weather is crazy crazy.  I planted three cauliflower plants and they bolted to a flower and are very bitter.   However, one of the cauliflowers did manage to form a fairly white head before it bloomed and therefore it is not bitter.  I plan on eating it.  Never bring in a bolted head of Cauliflower, you WILL be disappointed.

Thing # 2 - UN INSPECTED DOGS.  Never bring in your dog before checking what he was doing in the garden.
I wasn't watching Merit while I was weeding this morning.  He has a new haircut because he gets so hot in the summer.  It might seem wrong to cut the hair on a Sheltie, but his is so thick he is really uncomfortable outside, and he loves his yard.  Well, to make the story short, I called him in to a nice clean house to discover he had dug himself a little cave in the rock wall and wallowed in the dirt.  He went out nice and clean and came in full of dirt.  I wish they had an automatic Dog Wash. 

Thing # 3 - THIS SHOULD NOT GO OUT INTO THE GARDEN.  My new cute brown sandals I paid almost nothing for, but love.  I got busy weeding and throwing weeds and dirt everywhere then noticed what shoes I was wearing.  Once I quit my weeding project and come in to change those shoes, I am not going back out in that baking sun.  I came in anyway. I hope I didn't destroy my lovely Walmart cheapo brown sandals.  I just can't bear it.

Thing # 4 - BUGS MUST ALWAYS STAY OUTSIDE.  I have brought my fair share of earwigs and ants into the kitchen on the lettuce and leafy green plants.  I don't use insecticides on my garden, I believe in "share and share alike:  However, if they come into the house, I do my best to feed them to the disposal.  Once in a while one will make a break for the counter top and I blast it with my handy dandy faucet sprayer, or Lysol cleaner, then I feed it to the disposal.  That was the case today.  I was focused on the last spinach of the season, I wanted every last edible leaf.  Snip snip swish swish and on to the paper towel.  The fan is spinning in the kitchen and a thought a loose hair brushed my neck, so I quickly brushed it back with my hand.  Yikes, Ugh, Ick, Oh No, it was something squishy soft and large.  Chill, shiver, recoil, fling into the sink.  IT'S A SPIDER.  I'm doing the spider dance all over the kitchen floor.  Shake, scrape, brush do it all again, put your right foot out and shake it all about and do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about.  Gotta Love Gardening!

What "Do" You Eat?

I hear this a lot when I tell people that we eat a plant based diet.  I will admit that I love salad, so I eat lots of salad, but Craig and I eat other foods as well.  A plant based diet encourages you to eat as many plant based foods such as fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, beans, etc.  If it grows in the ground, it is a plant and we eat the plants that are edible.  Of course you knew we weren't eating trees and bark, right?  Right?  

Here is what we eat on a typical day.  For breakfast, I make many different versions of Green Smoothies.  They aren't always the color green, but they are called that because we add some form of green plant.  My favorite greens are celery, kale and spinach.  I also choose from cucumber, parsley, beet greens, chard, and lettuce.  I add a banana for their sweetness and then I choose from the fruit I have on hand. 

Today I added half a blender full of fresh kale from my garden, strawberries, banana, blueberries, Mexican papaya, and some coconut water to get it started.  Then I added a few frozen peach slices  to make it nice and cold.    Blend it up and yummm  Breakfast is served.

For Lunch, I make some form of Salad.  Here are some of the  creations I have made over the last few days.

Carrot, radish, cabbage, spinach, garden lettuce, red onion, yellow bell pepper, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, baby greens from the garden.

Garden lettuce, spinach, green peas, cucumbers, white radishes, avocado, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onion, raw sunflower seeds - and yes that is a hard boiled egg and a pinch of cheese.

Here is a Dinner we had last weekend while we were camping in our trailer.    Amy's Garden burger, thin bun, plus a garden salad.  I like a little veganaise (mayo made with grape seed oil) and mustard.  Craig loves his with lots and lots of Ketchup.

Other things we eat for Dinner are grain and noodle and bean based.  With of course lots of veggies.  We do eat eggs occasionally, a little cheese, and once in a while we eat fish and even fewer times we eat organic chicken breast, but we are not eating beef.  We believe in eating meat sparingly.  So that is what I eat, no sign of trees or bark anywhere. 

Yup, it's a Salad Life for me.

Stay tuned for some yummy plant based recipes.

Meet Merit

Merit is our pet dog.  He is a Purebred Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie).  We purchased him from a breeder who had high hopes for him to be a show dog.  He grew too tall so could not compete so we were able to obtain him as a pet.  We love him, although he does have several really annoying quirks.  He is afraid of everything. 

We have worked almost two years to help him adjust to the world, but he just isn't happy with noise, men, anyone carrying parcels or anything for that sake.  I watched an episode of Dog Whisperer where he said he would rather train a mean and vicious dog than a scared shy dog.  Wow, that doesn't give me much hope. 

He has progressed, but don't get me wrong because we love him.  I just wish I could make his world a little less stressful.  Here are some fun pictures of him.  Look at that cute face, he isn't too happy about posing.  He has dark eyes, so they don't show up in the photos which gives him a bear look.

I love Car Rides and Treats

Tiger is giving Merit his morning Tail Hug.

Are you sure I am supposed to sit in the flower Beds?

Love my ball.

I Love Snow

Here's to Chlorophyll

Despite the crazy weather we are having, I have managed to pick a mountain of greens from my garden.  I thinned out the kale, kohlrabi, spinach, collard, turnip, lettuce and cabbage.  They are around 4 inches now and needed some growing room.  I combined the baby greens and filled enough zip bags for  neighbors and several family members, and of course I kept a big pile for us.

Buttercrunch and red sails lettuce. I learned a valuable lesson picking the lettuce - beware of hornets hiding in the leaves.  Ouch! 

Most the spinach is bolting to seed, so I have to pick it quickly.  The weather is just not stable enough to produce a longer growing season for spinach.

From the herb garden we have parsley and cilantro (which is also bolting)

The green that is taking over my rock wall -  Mint.

And the newest addition to the harvest - snap peas.

We will be eating a very green diet this week.  Yummmmmmmy Chlorophyll.

Sewing with Grandma

I had my granddaughters over to teach them how to sew.  We had a blast.  First they each received their very own grown up sewing kit.  I feel it is important to have the real tools so they are not frustrated with toy types that do not do as good as job.  Nothing is more frustrating than cutting with inferior scissors.  So we started with good tools.   

Next they learned to mark and cut their fabric

Now they were ready to start sewing a skirt.

And then they learned how to serge.

And of course they have to learn how to iron.

They finished by adding some fun Trim they had each chosen and then it was time for Lunch.

A little more sewing and we were finished.  But before we had our fashion photo shoot, we had a little Tea Party.  Dolly didn't make it to the party, but the three of us had a wonderful time.

While the girls were getting the invitations ready for the tea party, Grandma (that's me), used my embroidery machine to sew on matching appliques on a white T-shirt so they would have a complete outfit.  Of course we had to go to the dollar store to complete the ensemble with flip flops with flower clips, hats, bags, and sunglasses.  Now we can have the Fashion  Shoot!

What a Fun Day!  now Grandma needs a big long Nap.

Playing with Angels

I have started a new Block of the month class with a beautiful quilt by Kookaurra Cottage.  It is called Playing with Angels.  So far I am on block 3.  The fabrics I am using are a little brighter than this picture.

Isn't it great!

Just a Bit of Humor

I saw these cards at Sapling Press, and could not restrain myself.  I hope you enjoy a good laugh, too.  Think I'll buy a few.