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Archive for the ‘My Thoughts’ Category

Thoughtful Thursday: Gardening Edition

Posted in Gardening, Home, My Thoughts, tagged , on June 7, 2012|

It has been a few weeks since my last gardening update and, my goodness, how things have changed!  C & I have been munching on lettuce for a couple of weeks now and it is so so good.  The cucumbers have tiny little cucumbers growing so I seeded the second generation this past weekend.

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The green peppers are doing great with one plant already having a little pepper on it.  My sauce tomatoes and watermelons are also growing like gangbusters.  The plants just love the warm and rainy weather we have had.

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Here is a overview of the two raised beds:

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My flowers are doing just as well as the veggies…

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C & I moved these two Knock-out roses from my grandparents’ yard to ours and we were so afraid that they wouldn’t make it, but they did! 

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I just love this time of year!  Every color seems intensified and all of the plants are so lush. 

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Thoughtful Thursday-What’s In Bloom Edition

Posted in Gardening, Home, My Thoughts, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2012|

For this thoughtful post, I am turning to flower power.  Since it is May in Kentucky, now is the prime time to add color to your outdoor view.  This spring has seen a few new additions around here, both perennial and annual.  The raised flower bed behind the garage that we built this spring is going to be a perennial bed, but perennials aren’t cheap so I am starting slowly.

So far, I have planted 4 shasta daisies:

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Four perennial salvias:

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C & I also planted two knockout roses that my grandparents wanted moved from their landscaping.  They are still trying to settle in and right now look a little sad, but they are hanging in there.  In another bed are two new dwarf red Asiatic lilies that were a spontaneous purchase at Lowe’s.

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In the two flower pots I have on the back deck, I used hot pink geraniums with white summer snapdragons, white calibrachoa and a spike. 

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Oh, there is also a new little gem in there, a double calibrachoa called Calibrachoa Mini Famous Double Amethyst. I just love this little pot filler!

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On the front porch pots, I always do red, white and blue so this year it is filled with a spike, red geraniums (with the biggest blooms I have ever seen), white summer snapdragons, and blue fan flower.

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I can’t end this post without posting a photo of the gloriousness of my double red Knockout roses in the front yard.  These things are amazing!
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Thoughtful Thursday: Garden Edition

Posted in Gardening, Home, My Thoughts, tagged , , on April 26, 2012| 2 Comments »

Despite having extra-warm temperatures for most of March and the first part of April, Mother Nature has gotten back to normal.  Our area has been having its share of little “winters” the last couple of weeks, which means much cooler temperatures.  Normally, this is no big deal, BUT when all of the plants decided to come out and enjoy that early warm weather, it could spell trouble.

C & I had trimmed some grapevines in his parent’s yard a couple of months ago and they were coming out in full force.  They covered them in burlap to protect them from the freeze, but, sadly, they got burned.  Oh, well, they are recovering nicely now so hopefully no great harm was done.  Our new grapevines got nipped, too, but they are starting to show signs of life again.

I am so glad that I didn’t jump the gun and try to sow seeds of veggies that need the warmth.  I guess I had better confess that I didn’t do this because of my smarts, but because I just didn’t have the beds ready.  God watches over us all the time!  The early warm weather has given us time to do a few projects around the house.  Last year, we had a concrete driveway and two sidewalks poured so this year we built a raised flower bed between one sidewalk and the garage.  We still like a few more details, but here is a sneak peek:

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I plan to have a how-to post on how we built our wall in the coming weeks.  C also built another raised bed for me so now I have even more room to grow fresh veggies and fruits…

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I have visions of paste tomatoes, green peppers, and small watermelons in here.  See all that beautiful dirt?  That is thanks to my wonderful father-in-law who took time out of his busy farming schedule to put his front end loader to work.  He brought me four huge scoops of composted dirt/leaves/cow manure/hay that has been sitting undisturbed for a few years.  It is gardener’s black gold!  Thanks, R!  You saved us a lot of back breaking, or at least back bending, work.

Well, that’s about it for now. In just a few weeks, I’ll be seeding cucumbers and watermelon, not to mention planting my tomatoes and green pepper plants.  Oh, and how could I forget the flower pots that decorate my front porch and decks?  They are coming soon, too.

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Thoughtful Thursday: How-to Edition

Posted in Home, My Thoughts, tagged , on April 12, 2012| 3 Comments »

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while (thanks by the way!), you will know that I have been trying to “green” my cleaning routine for a while now.  I have used store-bought non-toxic cleaners and was really impressed with their cleaning power, but not so impressed with the prices of these.

Then I began reading on different blogs that many people were making their own cleaners at home for pennies on the dollar of the bought stuff.  I found this pretty intriguing and started by making my own clothing detergent.  This post tells all about that.  The results were great and I haven’t bought any detergent since.  This got me to wanting to try more cleaning recipes and I found these instructions on Pinterest at the blog Macheesmo.  I ordered all of the components from Amazon at about fifty bucks for everything including the bottles.  Now that may seem like a lot, but I have enough of the ingredients to make a LOT of the cleaning products, plus these should be much easier on the environment and hopefully our bodies. 

I will start with the antibacterial spray that is made with only two things: water and lavender essential oil.  The oil has natural antibacterial qualities so it makes a great-smelling safe spray.  Just mix 1 cup of water and 20 drops of the essential oil.  I made a double batch since my bottle was big enough to handle it.

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Next was the all-purpose cleaner which includes:

3 Tablespoons vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon washing soda
1/2 Teaspoon castile soap
2 Cups hot water

Mix all of these together in a spray bottle.  There will be a slight reaction with the vinegar and washing soda so watch out for a few bubbles.  I noticed that the ingredients will separate a little when the bottle is left alone, but all you have to do is shake it up to re-mix.

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Next is what I call the tub and tile cleaner and it worked great!  You will need a squirt bottle for this instead of a spray since it is quite a bit thicker in consistency.

2/3 Cup baking soda
1/2 Cup castile soap
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1/2 Cup water
A few drops of Tea Tree oil (another natural antibacterial product)

Mix all of these in a squirt bottle.  Again, watch out for a few bubbles from the reaction of the components, but they will dissipate quickly. 

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The fourth container in the above photo shows the homemade window cleaner that I have been using for a while.  It is 1 part distilled vinegar to 2 parts water.  So easy and so effective!  So far, all of these homemade products were effective and it only took about 15 minutes to make all of them. 

If you are trying to “clean up” your cleaning routine, give these a try. 

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Thoughtful Thursday-Travel Edition

Posted in My Thoughts, Travel, tagged , , , , , on March 15, 2012|

Last week, C & I traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, for his annual work conference presented by KySTE (Kentucky Society for Technology in Education).  C is the technology coordinator for our local school system and this conference is held to present new ideas for technology in the classroom and schools.  I tag along every year for a mini-vacation that is partially paid for and I always get a lot of good rest and get to eat a lot of great food.

The conference is held at the Galt House Hotel which is in the heart of downtown Louisville right up the street from Fourth Street Live and other big public venues.  I like to pick one new restaurant every year to try out and last year we ate at Bistro 301 and it was so good!  This year I picked Impellizzeri’s which is an Italian restaurant on West Main Street. We had a short walk from our hotel on Fourth Street down past the Actor’s Theater of Louisville and the KFC Yum! Center to get the what is known as “Whiskey Row”.  Let me just say that it is a beautiful urban area that is perfect for walking.  In fact, we parked our car on Tuesday night when we arrived and didn’t move it until Friday at lunch to head home.  Whiskey Row is just a short section of West Main Street that has been refurbished with remodeled apartments and many eateries.  Impellizzeri’s is one such eatery and I picked that one to try.

A lot of the NCAA conference tournaments were going on during that time so all of the televisions in the restaurant were tuned it to those which didn’t bother us a bit.  This is more of a family/social kind of restaurant and the ballgames were good entertainment.  We ordered bread sticks with pizza sauce and garlic butter on the side for dipping and these were out of this world good!!  The breadsticks come swimming in garlic butter while still in the pan and they are fresh made and steaming hot when you get them.  I could have made a meal just with them and a salad, and that’s probably what we should have done.  That would have been the smart and “healthier” thing to do, but no, we also ordered a small pizza with Italian sausage.  We were just a little disappointed in the pizza.  I thought it needed more sauce and the sausage was spicier than the Italian sausage I am used to and not quite as sweet.  The crust was great…thin and crispy on the bottom and just a little chewy around the edges. Yum!

Now, don’t come here if you need to get in and out in a hurry.  They make everything as it is ordered so there will definitely be a wait time, but it is worth it just for the breadsticks.  I could eat a few right now!

I was a bad food blogger though because I forgot to take a camera with me.  Oh, well, just take my word for it and go to Impellizzeri’s and order the breadsticks. With pizza sauce and garlic butter. Then dip the sticks in both of them with each bite.

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Thoughtful Thursday-Garden Edition

Posted in Gardening, My Thoughts, tagged , , , on March 1, 2012| 2 Comments »

Today is March 1st, y’all!  That means that spring and gardening are right around the corner.  Can I get a woo-hoo?!?!?  I really can’t complain about our winter weather this year since it has been so nice and mild, but I am itching to get my hands in the dirt and see some green things grow.  Since I had some of my regular veggie seeds left over from last year, I decided to experiment with some heirloom varieties which I ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  Have you ever seen one of their catalogs?  I could sit and read it like a book over and over again.  The photos, the descriptions…it’s just too much! 

C & I are a bunch of lettuce/cucumber/carrot loving people so I always make sure to have a big supply of seeds for those.  There were so many lettuces at Baker Creek that I would love to try, but I finally settled on two types: Gentilina, which produce "lovely bright green leafy heads" and Brune d’Hiver which is a French heirloom butterhead type.  Hmmm, butterhead, that just sounds so good.  Since I found a great carrot variety last year and it seems to be an heirloom, I am sticking with it.  "It" is Danvers 126 Half Long and the flavor is just so carroty.  The cucumber "Marketmore 76" had a wonderful description and good reviews so that was added to my shopping cart as well.  I also want to experiment with making my own tomato sauce and juice since I use so much of it in cooking so Amish Paste tomato seed also was included in my order.  The description is what led me to choose it over some other paste tomato varieties: "Giant, blocky, Roma type tomatoes have delicious red flesh that is perfect for paste and canning.  It has world-class flavor and comes from an Amish community in Wisconsin."  I can’t wait to try this! 

For fun, I also purchased two types of sunflower seeds, Mammoth Grey Striped and Tiger Eye mix.  The plan is to plant these in the fence row behind our house and let the birds feast on them.  Since watermelon is a favorite summer treat around here, I also got some Malali watermelon seeds which is a small fruited variety that weighs in around 10 pounds and boasts a light-red flesh that is refreshing and "sugary sweet".  I will definitely be purchasing from Baker Creek again and they also threw in a free gift of "Parisienne" carrot seeds.  Yay, I love free gifts!

Each year I try to add to our "orchard", which so far consists of two apple trees and two pear trees, along with about 50 Tribute strawberry plants.  This year I decided to add another 25 strawberry plants, also Tribute, and two grape vines.  I ordered these from Miller Nurseries and I highly recommend this company.  Their prices are great and the quality of their plants is even better.  They have a three grapevine deal called "Most Wanted Grape Collection" for only $23.15 which is a bargain in my book.  The collection consists of one of each of the following vines: Interlaken, Canadice, (I am planting these two), and Reliance (which my grandmother wanted). 

This doesn’t include the sweet pepper plants that I will buy this spring or anything that might strike my fancy along the way. Maybe some herbs too?  Now, if I can just get another raised bed built before planting time! 

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Thoughtful Thursday-How To Edition

Posted in Crafting, Home, My Thoughts, tagged , , , on February 16, 2012| 4 Comments »

Today I am going to show you how I made the Valentine’s Day wreath that I posted a couple of days ago.  There is always a wreath on our front door during fall and Christmas, but I didn’t have any for the rest of the year.  When I looked at home stores, I found that finished wreaths can be really expensive so I decided to try to make some myself.  Of course, one of the first places I looked for inspiration was Pinterest and there were many ideas to peruse.  It looked like a Deco mesh wreath would be the easiest to start off with so that’s what I did.

All of the supplies I used came from MardiGrasOutlet.com.  They had the cheapest mesh and wreath frames that I could find.  They also stock the “Work Wreath” frames that are made especially for the mesh, but I just bought the plain frames and put florist wire on them to hold the mesh to the frame which I will show below.

Here are the supplies that I started with:

Needle-nosed pliers

Scissors

Florist Wire

Wreath Frame

White and Metallic Red Deco Mesh

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See the short cross-wires on the frame.  I started by putting pieces of the florist wire on all 3 circles of the frames at those locations.

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Then I started running the mesh.  Grab the end and bunch it up.  Pick a starting point (I started on the inner most ring) and wire the mesh to the frame.  Work your way around the frame by bunching up some of the mesh then attaching it to the frame at the next florist wire location.  How much you bunch is up to you.  The bigger the bunches the bigger and fuller the wreath.  Since you don’t cut the mesh, this is very forgiving.  I restarted at least twice because I didn’t like the size of my bunches.

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I put the red on the inner and outer rings and the white in the middle ring.  I then added a bow made from Valentine’s Day ribbon and ran the remaining ribbon around the wreath.  I also bought some puffed glittery hearts at Hobby Lobby so I hot-glued them to the white mesh and they really stand out against the white.

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I was so happy with the results!  My next project is a spring time wreath that is yellow and turquoise with daisies.  This is one of the easiest ways to make a wreath, and I am not a big crafter so if I can do it, anyone can!

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted in Fun, My Thoughts, tagged , , , on February 14, 2012|

Here’s wishing all of my readers a very happy Valentine’s Day!

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I actually made this!!  Come back to visit on Thursday and I will show you how I did it.

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Thoughtful Thursday

Posted in My Thoughts, tagged on February 2, 2012|

C and I made a pact with each other to be more regular in our church attendance this year and January was a huge success.  We made it every Sunday!  Woo hoo! I know I have really enjoyed getting back into that routine and have gotten a lot out of the services since we have been back regularly.  Here’s a question for you.  Have you ever been to church and thought that this sermon was meant just for you?  I have heard that all my life, but never really experienced it until the last couple of weeks. 

Two Sundays ago, there was a special speaker and I am so glad that we were there to hear him.  We had heard him speak about 3 years ago and he had come back again.  His name is Bro. Kim Klaudt and if you ever have the chance to hear him preach, please do so!  He is reverent and funny and thought-provoking and entertaining all at the same time.  He started by asking everyone if we had goals or dreams that we wanted to come true.  Most people do and the advice and Biblical back-up he gave was really inspiring.  He said that God has already answered our prayers and that we just had to believe that it was going to happen, but there were things we could do in our lives to help this process along.

Here is the list of his five principles to success:

1. Write it down (Habakkuk 2:2-3)-Literally, write it down.  He said that he truly believed that if you write something down and pray upon it everyday, then this would help you achieve your goals.  He advised writing it down and taping it to your bathroom mirror so it is the first thing you see in the morning and one of the last things you see at night, so C & I did this.  We have some personal goals that we would love to accomplish, so this is what we did.  Now, not just in the morning or night, but every time I go in the bathroom, there are my prayer requests. It’s awesome!!

2. Change your mind-Not this doesn’t mean to change your goals.  No, he means that you need to change your way of thinking by letting go of the worry and the woe-is-me and be positive about what is happening in your life.  Easier said than done, I know, but I am trying.

3. Confess what you are believing God for-Even if you pray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you may have to wait on the results until it is right in God’s time.  That’s a tough one for me.  Patience is not my virtue! This point means that you need to tell some people (not everyone, we will get to that in a minute) what your dream is and let them pray with you to make this a reality.

4. Don’t confess to everyone, just other dreamers-Not everyone will believe what I am writing here and that’s ok.  I trust in the other “dreamers” to pick up the prayer slack and run with it!

5. Sow into someone else’s dream-You want someone to pray that you get what you want, don’t you?  Then help them too!  Pray for them and with them and support them in any way you can.  Hopefully, that will make both of your goals a reality!

Brother Klaudt also used Philippians 4:4 during his sermon.  If this wasn’t enough, just last Sunday, our regular pastor preached on this topic as well.  Bro. P used verses Daniel 9:23-24 to make his point.  Daniel had prayed for something to happen and had to wait a long time for this come to fruition. Did he give up?  No, Daniel prayed and prayed, but had to wait for the answer from God.  Just because we want something right now doesn’t mean that God is ready for us to have it.  Yes, He has already performed wonderful miracles and all we have to do is believe it and confess it and it shall be ours, but only in God’s time.  Bro. P also said that prayer is so powerful and that most Christians do not use it to our advantage.  His example was someone asking, “Since God has already done all these things, why should we have to pray for them?  Why don’t they just happen?”  He said that, in his opinion, prayer brings the power down from heaven and gives us the chance to receive God’s blessing.  What a message!

Yep, they were both preaching at me and that is ok.  I left both services realizing that all things happen in God’s time, not mine and He’s a lot smarter than me!

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Thoughtful Thursday-Favorite Things Edition

Posted in Gadgets, My Thoughts, tagged , , , , on January 19, 2012|

Up until the last few weeks, all of the photos on this blog were shot with a super-zoom compact Sony H7.  C and I have had this camera for about four years or so and were really pleased with it.  It was simple to use, but it also had a lot of different options if you didn’t want to shoot on automatic. 

C & I are both photography fans and he has been wanting to buy us an digital SLR for a year or two, but I was too cheap to do it.  Well, I finally gave in and we bought one as our joint Christmas present because C told me he was going to buy it for me if we didn’t buy it together. He can be stubborn like that! 🙂 So during Thanksgiving weekend, we ordered a Canon EOS Rebel T3i with a 18-135mm lens from Amazon while it was very much on sale.

Wow is all I can say! WOW!  This is one awesome and complicated camera!  My mom and dad had a film SLR when I was growing up and I remember trying my hand at photography back then.  I would try to shoot “artistic” shots of flowers and my Cabbage Patch dolls.  Then I would use my allowance to have them developed.  Isn’t that funny?  Several times there was a finger or even a toe or two if I was shooting down in the pictures, but I was hooked.

This is not something you take out of the box, turn on, and then start shooting beautiful, gorgeous shots.  Nope, there is definitely a learning curve involved in this.  Thankfully, another Christmas present I received will hopefully help with that.  I had been wanting to improve my food photography for a while even before we decided to upgrade our camera so I asked my in-laws for the book “Plate to Pixel” by Helene Dujardin.  I have just started it, but in the few pages that I have read there is a lot of information.  Ms. Dujardin’s shots are so pretty and I hope to be able to duplicate some of the beauty with practice.  She has done seminars at The Pioneer Woman’s ranch and I wish she would do one around Kentucky because I would love to have more instruction.

So bear with me, folks.  The photos on here might get worse before they get better, but I am trying my best to learn the ins and outs of our new favorite toy!

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