CSA update

Today, I picked up our first box of veggies from Good Earth Farm, near Oakfield.

The short drive to the farm was quite scenic. Country roads that I have never been on wound up and down rolling hills. Lots of wildflowers were blooming on the roadsides. Queen Anne's lace and chicory and tiger lilies, to name a few. And sheep! I saw a flock of sheep in a pasture.

When I got to the farm I was greeted by a yellow lab and a black lab, both very wet. They had been swimming in a pond just down the hill from the barn, along with Nicole (who grows the veggies) and her children. An absolutely idyllic setting!

The box of produce included:

Onions, green, yellow and purple beans, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, parsley, green and purple kohlrabi, garlic, lettuce, Swiss chard, and lets see........oh yeah, green peppers.

This was my supper, looks good and it tasted even better.

Finally, some knitting

Last evening, I knit! A seemingly everyday occurrence for a woman who owns a yarn shop, but I have been knitting very little lately.

Nine squares into the Lizard Ridge Afghan, and I am not bored with it at all.

One might think an afghan is a poor choice for summer knitting, but this particular pattern has a lot of short rows, which means a lot of turning the work. (I don't like to knit backwards) So, this afghan is done in small blocks, perfect to carry in a summer bag.

I am using Noro Kureyon in two colorways, the green is Cascade 220, and the rust is Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

Nine down, lots more to go!

some things you don't see everyday

A tiny cemetery surrounded by a corn field

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Shocks of wheat, or maybe oats

shock
Noun
a number of grain sheaves set on end in a field to dry
Verb
to set up (sheaves) in shocks [probably Germanic]

More shocks

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We ordered a new kitchen table, like the one in this photo, only made from hickory, not oak ..

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In Packwaukee, we saw this big machine in the water.

What the machine is for, I don't know, but it certainly smelled bad!

Anyone know about this contraption?

Birthday party

We had a birthday party at our house today. All went well.

I went for a ride with my son on his motorcycle. It has been 30 years since I have done such a thing, I think it was time, don't you?

I needed a little help to get on the dang thing.

Then my sister went for a ride.
Shinji stayed on the lawn



Emili showed us how it is done.

Even my Mom made it to the party.

My sisters and their husbands with the top down.

We all keep getting older, but will still manage to have a good time.

Weeds?

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered....................Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is a favorite quote of mine, I try to apply it to plants and people. We are all weeds until the good in us is exposed.

Weeds have had their fun this year in our garden. I have not pulled a single weed. No time or inclination. Dave goes nuts occasionally with the weed whacker, lopping the tops off the quack grass on the creek bank, but I have successfully ignored them all.

Something nice happened because of this this neglect. Self seeded morning glories decided to grow in the crack between the curb and the sidewalk, and are now blooming. I love the idea of something beautiful blooming in just a tiny bit if soil in a inhospitable place.

Now, if I can convince Dave to leave them alone when he is weed whacking.

all good stuff!

I spent some time with my mother today, she has been ill. Very ill. She has been dealing with Ramsey-Hunt Syndrome and all it's related troubles. And a cracked pelvis. She was bedridden for weeks. In and out of the hospital.

Today, I can say she is definitely getting better!... She is walking again, and taking an interest in the world. I did a few household tasks, and after the chores were finished, and the laundry hung out, we sat out on the porch and watched the lovely, summer day progress.

I walked to the their garden and picked some green beans for my Mom, and the first two red tomatoes. Granted, they were the little cherry tomatoes, but they were ripe. My parents garden looks fabulous, all the rain earlier this summer must be the cause.

I picked some Swiss chard and a summer squash to take home. They looked so pretty while cooking, I just had to take a photo.
Those first fresh vegetables certainly taste good, don't they?
Dave and I have decided to join a CSA this year, CSA stands for community supported agriculture. It means we are trying to eat locally and seasonally. Making a smaller carbon footprint and all that. We have purchased a "peak season share", which starts next week. Each week we will get a box of fresh produce from a local farm. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Studio, sort of

After 14 years of marriage, we recently have become "empty nesters". 14 years ago, our nest was a 1100 square foot ranch constructed in the early 1970's. The birds in the nest included my husband, twin daughters, a son and a cat. And me.
One bathroom. Three relatively small bedrooms... Over the 14 years, various birds flew, some came back, only to leave again, & we welcomed a nephew into our nest. And we added a family room. Still a small house.

I have always had a space in the basement for sewing. But now that the nest is empty, I have taken over what used be my son's room as A STUDIO, la de dah!

Here is one corner, with a shelf that is almost ceiling height.
Another corner

This is a chicken coop, it now holds felted sweaters. In it's earlier years with me it served as a coffee table.... without any chickens,of course.

Above the chicken coop is a tapa cloth that I bought on our last trip to Maui.

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This is a view of the room that says it all.

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This room serves as a studio for a woman who likes sheep and wool, sews occasionally, shrinks sweaters frequently, and collects a lot of junk.

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Please note.... the carpet is original 1970's shag!! So old and nasty, I decided to keep it, I need not use dropclothes when painting or dying....

I packed some stuff

Across the water

Met some people

Learned to make pogaji

Across the water again

Laughed

Knit, snoozed

A good time was had by all

Not going to happen

This is it! I am NOT going to let it happen....!!!!!



Lately, the days just slip by, one into another, always something urgent to attend to.... always busy,,,, and in a hurry. No time to visit with a friend, no time to walk in the garden, not even time to knit! I hate living like this. Always under the gun.





I had to look for my camera yesterday, and when I finally located the dang thing, I saw this is the last photo I had taken,,, on JULY 1st! My skills with the camera are very limited, but still, I like to take pictures, I like to blog, and I haven't done either in two weeks...
Here is the reason I was looking for the camera. My son and his girlfriend stopped by to show me his new motorcycle... He really is very handsome,,, but he looks like a simpering goofball in this photo.

And she is a very sweet young woman

So, here it is, simple, quick, posting but a least I took the time to write, and it feels good to do so.

I plan to shift over to the slower lane this weekend at Siever's School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island. Lynda and I are taking a class together and I don't care if I learn a darn thing! I am simply going to enjoy myself. So there.