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Sunday, June 5, 2016

MORE LOVE THAN MONEY

Hello dear friends!  Hurray!  We finally got some rain!  The birds are merrily chirping outside my window as I write this.  I'm sure the farmers are saying a prayer of thankfulness.  Never have I seen such a dry spring .   The ground was so dry before the rain we needed a jackhammer to break the soil.  And that is only a small exaggeration!  In spite of the weather,  the garden is growing and this week we will be able to harvest the first of our lettuce and I spied one small cauliflower that is ripe for the pickings.  Of course, we are still gathering asparagus almost daily. I tell you, if you want to make friends, just plant yourself a nice plot of asparagus.  We've been spreading goodwill throughout the village with our gifts of free asparagus.  Besides the friendships, it has netted us free plants.  Just yesterday a friend swapped a bushel basketful of irises for some.  Not that we really needed anymore irises (but hey, who can turn down free plants?), here's a picture of one of several large clusters we have planted around the place:
If you want to make a big impact on your landscape, plant in large clusters.  When I was a beginner gardener, I would plant many different plants because I wanted them all, the results ended up looking a bit like a tossed salad.  Over the years I have learned that it is much more awe inspiring to see a field of daffodils (or irises) then many varieties of plants.  It is times like this, that I wish I were a better photographer for you all. But to be truthful, there is no camera that could capture the serenity of the birds singing, the church bells chiming in the distance, the lilacs wafting, and the feel of the sun on your face.  I guess you will just have to climb in your cars and pay me a visit! I couldn't bear to let the irises that toppled over to go to waste, so I brought them inside.  The made a rather ginormous bouquet, I had to use a crock for the vase because I don't have a vase big enough, but that's OK because I like rustic, as you can plainly see.
I've been rearranging this room to meet out needs.  It has to do duty as a sitting room, music room and sewing room.  Oh!  And also my dressing room, as it is the only room with enough wall space for the linen cupboard that houses my wardrobe. Speaking of which, I finally got around to painting said linen cupboard.  It was green and yellow before. Ugh! 
I'm still not satisfied with it.  Looks too plain and not primitive enough for my likings. I cannot abide perfection in furniture or people.  I'll probably sand it a bit and apply some antiquing rub  to it.  BTW, please ignore the broom in the corner!  When you have corgis the broom is seldom put away!

Living in a tiny house can certainly present some challenges.   Just yesterday Ran bought both a watermelon and a large jug of juice.  How to fit that into our apartment-sized refrigerator was a puzzler.  One creative way I save space in the fridge is to make lemonade syrup instead of having a large pitcher of lemonade.  You just add 1/4 cup of the syrup to 3/4 cup of cold water and you have lemonade. It's good added to iced tea also,

Old-Fashioned Lemonade Syrup

1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. water
1 tablespoon of lemon rind, finely grated
1 1/2 C. lemon juice (6-7 med. lemons)

In a small saucepan stir together the sugar, water and rind,  Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  Stir in the lemon juice.  Transfer to a quart jar and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Another painting project that I completed recently, was to paint a bench that I purchased at a garage sale for $15. 
For some  reason I'm attracted to red for garden structures, which is odd since red is my least favorite color.  But it does contrast beautifully with my white garden, which is starting to bloom.
First the bleeding hearts and the anemones, followed shortly by the lupines and lilies and ending  with the bridal phlox in August.  Oh!  Speaking of white flowers, here's a picture of Beauty of Moscow.
Since we are spending so much time outdoors, it was only reasonable to do some campfire cookery.  Saves on fuel and doesn't heat the house up.  Plus it's a fun inexpensive little adventure.  Make everyday fun!
This is the classic campfire tin-foil packets of potatoes, carrots, onions, hamburg and salt and pepper  wrapped in tin foil and roasted in the coals. Only we used a Dutch oven instead of making packets.  When we were kids, we would make up those packets and camp out in the backyard.  We were ones for camping and I'm sure our parents didn't mind that we were only a few steps from the house.  It was nice wholesome fun!

Speaking of adventures, regular readers to this blog might recall our Christmas morning adventure when we came across a pile of free lumber.  Well, we finally got around to using it up by making a mixed lumber wall in our back room.  This is the room that houses our woodstove and we spend most of the winter in this room.
This one a project that was way out of Ran's comfort zone as he like to make everything plumb and perfect.  Sticking up random boards without regard to how level they were and whether they butted exactly was pretty nerve wracking for him, but we ove how it turned out.  We even made a light fixture from an old farm funnel and parts that I picked up at an estate sale.  I always head straight to the workshop at estate sales.  Never can resist old hardware and as a result I always have those odd parts needed whenever we do a project like this.
Ran also used some pallets to make a table with a piece of zinc that we found thrown out in the vacant lot nearby.  He also made a workbench from some of the pallets.  Free pallets are a good thing.  If nothing else, you can always burn them for fuel.

Another little project we finished recently was making this stick fence from dead branches that we collected from our walks this winter
It's hard to get enough that are suitable, but maybe this year, we'll get enough to continue along the next side.  BTW, that's my rhubarb going to seed.  Three plants is too much, but I think its flowers are just as pretty as astilbe.  The yellow flowers are woad, an herb used in dying things blue.

All this to say, that if you do things with great love, you need very little money.  I must finish this post quickly because my computer froze at the end of the above paragraph and I borrowed Ran's to finish up.

Hugs
Jane









19 comments:

  1. This blog post is like reading a magazine on a Sunday afternoon! You have done so much and your pictures are so nice. Where do I start?? The wall...Ran made it a work of art with the different woods and how perfect they look. And the light fixture is so neat! I'm happy for you and the birds too, that you got some rain! Everything is growing so healthy and nice. Your rooms look so nice and the insert in your fireplace (wood-burning) is so nice along with your perfect-looking room. Your fence reminds me of something you'd see at Tasha Tudor's homestead. Well keep on enjoying the lovely weather and your yard! Hugs, Andrea

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    1. Hi Andrea! Every time I attempt to take a picture I always think to myself what Andrea could have done with this setting! It's so frustrating because my pictures do not do the gardens justice.

      Thank you! We're very pleased with the wall. It was like it was meant to be. We were debating whether or not to put some sort of finish on it and we walked into the local hardware store and sitting in their pile of mistints was a gallon of satin varnish just perfect for the wall. We even got the paint for the ceiling. All total the room redo costs us about $50.

      I probably have that image of Tasha Tudor's fence somewhere in my memory. For some reason I always wanted one and that could be it.

      Just bought some Russian sage today on sale for $3 a pot. For some reason our local garden centers didn't have very many perennials this year. I been watching Escape to the Country on YouTube and it really makes me want to do more flower gardening. That's a great show to vicariously house hunt, BTW.

      I hope you are having a lovely Sunday afternoon!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    2. Well your pictures (and their colors) look beautiful. I had trouble finding lavender to plant and after I ordered some online two places here began carrying it! I guess it was just late in coming. I will look at that YouTube now! Thanks! Andrea

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    3. Isn't that strange? You'd think that you'd be able to find lavender everywhere, it's such a common herb.

      Oh you'll love that show. Too bad they don't have properties like this here. You'd find a place quickly enough. This is one of my favorite episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMKn-g1wNsA

      What a doll house!

      Jane

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  2. Oh my Jane the wood is beautiful! Ran sounds like my Ken- he USED to think when something came home chippy it was getting scraped and repainted- haha. Do crepe myrtles grow in your neck of the woods? We use the trimmings a lot for stakes; I think they would be great for your fence. I so wish rhubarb and lilacs grew in GA. I know there are some that say they can grow here but funny you never see any. Your bench is gorgeous! I lean to a deep French country blue for garden things. It is wonderful to hear from you!

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    1. Thanks Angela! Your Ken and my Ran sound like they are both cut from the same wool! While I was painting the linen cupboard he kept pointing out places I missed and where I had drips. When I explained I didn't want it to look perfect he said "Well carry on then"! Ha! Anything I paint is instantly primitive!

      I don't think crepe myrtles grow around here. At least I've never heard of anyone growing them. Lilacs and rhubarb are compensation for harsh winters, I guess. Oh! French country blue would be so pretty too. Now I'll have to come up with something to paint that color.

      Wonderful to hear from you too!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  3. Jane, at the very least you and your husband lead an enviable lifestyle. I loved seeing your flowers and glimpses in your home. The wall is really beautiful! And that red bench is the coup de gras.

    Love the spider you have your Dutch oven on. Mine has shorter legs so it's not as useful unless I prop the legs on something higher than the fire when I'm cooking outside.

    I learned the same thing about planting flowers in a large group instead of scattering them hither and yon. We are iris fans. Have you noticed some smell like grape soda/candy and some yellow ones smell like nutmeg?

    Have a great week!
    Toni

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    1. Thanks Toni! Yes, we do lead a pretty sweet life here, and don't think I don't thank the Lord for it every day!

      A dear friend of ours is always on the look out for things such as the spider for us. She has amazing collector's luck.

      I never noticed that about the scent of irises. Now I'll have to go outside and have a good sniff!

      Hope you are enjoying your Sunday afternoon!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  4. Oh Wow, I do love that wall! One of my dreams is to have a log cabin, but if I could have a wall like that in our house, I would be content! Beautiful!
    Your red bench is so pretty, and I'm sure it is wonderful to sit there and watch/hear the birds and smell the flowers...so peaceful!
    Thanks for the lemonade syrup recipe..going to have to try it this summer.
    Your dutch oven meal looks delicious too. We cooked ribs in our dutch oven on our camping trip last week. I think everything tastes better cooked outside. :D
    Thanks for sharing with us. So good to read your posts again.

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    1. That was one of my dreams too, Kathy, but I guess I will just have to settle for one wall in our back room. It really was an easy project to do. I think the more careless you are in selecting the boards the better it turns out. Might be something you could try to get your log cabin fix.

      I agree, everything does taste better cooked over a campfire. And it's fun too. I'm thinking of firing myself out as a chuckwagon cook. Ha! Seriously, I do love doing things the olden ways. Good practice for when the power fails.

      Hope all is well your way!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  5. Beautiful! All of it. Thank you for the lemonade syrup recipe.
    This year I decided I wanted to get to know my neighbors better - I am hoping to offer them veggies from my garden as an ice breaker. I haven't figured out a space for asparagus yet though :)
    Have a wonderful week! Jen

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    1. That's the way to make friends Jen! Most people won't turn out any veggies or fruit except rhubarb. Ha! Poor rhubarb nobody likes it. Hope your garden is doing well. That's what I was doing today - weeding.

      Have a lovely week!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  6. Jane! You're back! This makes my day! I clicked (without thinking this time) like I used to on Monday mornings and to my surprise I saw the new posts. I'm so glad you've returned! I thought of you not long ago when I visited a high end garden shop I was curious about with a friend just to see why the place is so popular and I saw a windchime made from old silverplate silverware and I really missed your posts. This one was made from old silver sugar and creamer with the silverware instead of a teapot and not nearly as attractive as yours. It was more than $100. Your creativity is a talent you should be proud of. -Sharon

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    1. Hi Sharon! It's so nice to be thought of! $100? Wow! Maybe I should make some more. Hope you are having a wonderful summer. It's a beautiful day here today. Makes you feel good just to be on earth!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  7. Hi Jane! very glad to see you stopped by! I do love that red garden bench, it looks great. That wood wall is very nice and I've been seeing several of those on the decor blogs....and they are becoming quite fashionable and trendy. Y'all did a great job on that. The campfire packets bring back memories....we made those in Girl Scouts at camp all the time---they were so yummy!

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    1. Hello! I think that's where I learned to make those campfire packets too. I wonder if Girl Scouts still do that sort of thing?

      Hugs
      Jane

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  8. hello jane,
    what a wonderful post. i love the wooden wall, ran did a great job.
    your home looks very cosy.
    have a nice day,
    regina

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    1. Thanks Regina! I hope all is going well for you.

      Hugs
      Jane

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