Where Has the Time Gone?

Summer is almost half over and I don’t feel as if I’ve accomplished even a tenth of what I had planned. I don’t know where the hours go.

This sunflower is one of at least a dozen that popped up as volunteers this spring. I don’t remember ever planting sunflowers in the backyard, so they must have come from birdseed. I hate to pull up volunteers if I know what they are, but next year I’m going to have to get ruthless and yank them out as soon as I see them. Most of the plants are single but this one just keeps putting out the blossoms.

The tomatoes are finally starting to produce. Not enough to make Gazpacho yet but I haven’t had to buy tomatoes for over two weeks now. I’m thinking about Panzanella for dinner tomorrow. We have some leftover Pugliese bread from Costco that should be perfect for it. The amazing zucchini plant has now given us at least 5 dozen fruits, ranging from 4-5 inches to “too big for stuffing even.” I haven’t let many get big because this is the absolutely best zucchini I’ve ever grown. The plant came from a nursery in San Carlos and was part of the batch of plants our son gave me for Mother’s Day. The label said it was an heirloom variety called “Romanesco” but it doesn’t look much like the photos I’ve found online.

I planted a six-pack each of lemon cucumbers and Armenian cucumbers. However, the Armenian must have been mislabeled because we now have twelve lemon cucumber plants, each producing what seems like several fruits a day. I swear, you lift up a branch and the cucumbers are growing in clusters, like grapes only a lot bigger. Thank goodness they are so good – we are eating two or three a day and have been able to find takers for the rest.

I didn’t get any beans planted this year although we do have some volunteers that sprouted from last year’s crop. I think I might try to get a small batch in next week if I can find the space. The moon is waxing which means it’s a good time to plant beans. I’ve never tried planting by the phases of the moon but I’ve always wanted to experiment with it.

The Husband picked our first apple this evening – no photo because he ate it too quickly. It was an Early Summer Red according to the label. There are several more that look ready, so I’ll probably try one tomorrow.

The Blenheim apricots were very small this year. I think we should have thinned them. Also probably should have pruned them last winter. I checked a book on pruning fruit trees out of the library this week. It appears to have a lot of information on the kinds of trees we are growing, so maybe we can improve our harvests.

Our friends brought us a box of their wonderful Blenheim apricots a couple of weeks ago, so I tried making jam for the first time in many years. This is the first batch. A few days later I found a recipe for Apricot Riesling Jam and decided to try it. I didn’t have any Riesling but I did have 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier so I used that. I got 2 small jars and a bit extra from that batch. We had a little of the extra over some vanilla ice cream the other night and it was pure heaven.

I’ve rearranged my sewing room again and now have room for a cutting table. It’s so nice not to have to use the dining room table when I want to cut something. All this is so that I can make GD1 and GD2 summer nightgowns. I’ve been planning this for weeks and was just about to put it off until next year. But when I asked one of them if that was okay, she said she would really like to have it this year and it didn’t matter that summer is half over, she could wear summer pjs all year, no problem. After that, I couldn’t not make them.

Some quilting has been going on this summer. Big Busted and the twin-size POM are ready to baste. I pieced the back of the POM quilt, so that took longer. I’m going to try the Sharon Schamber method of basting. I’ve read some good reviews on my Yahoo quilting groups. I’ll probably try it on a catnapper first.

Going, Going, Gone

This weekend was the quarterly Bulky Item Recycling event at the local landfill and I gritted my teeth and donated this chair and the sewing table.  We had them in our yard sale last month but they didn’t sell.  Go figure. 

  

I bought the chair in about 1975 at a Salvation Army store in San Jose.  The upholstery was fully intact at that time. I think it cost $15 and they delivered because I didn’t have any way to get it home.  I loved the shape and the carved wood arms and feet.  I did not like the color but, in those days, I was quite capable of doing the reupholstering  myself.  We put it upstairs in the master bedroom and I spent many an afternoon happily reading, knitting, doing needlepoint and, later, counted cross stitch.  Somehow the reupholstery job didn’t happen.

When we moved back east, the chair went with us.  I don’t remember where it lived when we were in New Jersey, but when we moved to Florida I covered it with a couple of flowered sheets to match the bedding in the guest room and it looked pretty good.  When we moved back to California, the sheets survived the move without any disturbance and, in our current house, it has spent time in the guest room and, for the past several years, in our living room.  It has been a good friend for almost 35 years now but, once I made the decision to sell get rid of it, it wasn’t too hard to say goodbye.  The husband didn’t even ask me to help load it into the truck.  He probably thought I might change my mind.  My new knitting chair is the wooden rocker that my co-workers at the Court gave me when I retired.  It’s a little hard on the rear, but I have plans to make some cushions for it.

 

The sewing table doesn’t really have any sentimental memories.  I bought it with a Singer Slant machine at a rural yard sale, maybe 10 years ago.  I thought it was very clever, the way the front of the cabinet pulled out to reveal the chair.  In real life though, it was difficult to pull out and the seat was uncomfortably hard.  The sewing machine has some mechanical problems and is sitting in the back of my closet waiting for repairs.  It has a lot of cams with it and could possibly be a good machine if I ever get it to work.  Not that I really need another machine….

So that’s two large items out the door on our way to getting organized.  My family will be happy to hear this.

Until a few days ago, June had been rather gloomy.  But yesterday it was 100 and the prediction for today was 101.  However, the good old fog started through the Castroville Gap and we topped out at 92 in the late morning. 

Farmer’s Market Week 3

Apricot Pie bought at the Casa de Fruta stand at today’s Farmers Market.

We had this for dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I’m somewhat of a purist when it comes to pie – rarely satisfied with a commercial crust.  But this one is a winner!  The apricots were perfect, not too sweet, and the crust was tender and flaky.  No hint of store-bought with this one.  Still warm from the oven and only $10.  They also had apple, cherry and peach but, in this family, apricot wins every time.

This was my haul last week.  The strawberries really were bigger than the apricots; the purple veggie on the right is kohlrabi.  It looks a bit like a space ship when it’s standing up but is really quite good.  We had one of them raw with ranch dip on Memorial Day.  I will probably cook the other 2 tomorrow for dinner, maybe steamed with a little butter.  The sugar snap peas were delicious and the asparagus, which is grown here in our county, was much fresher than we get in the supermarket.  The raisins are from the Central Valley and are yummy.  We first bought these year before last but they didn’t bring any to last year’s markets.  Being used to packaged supermarket raisins, these were a real eye-opener for us.

The bottle in front is lotion made from goat’s milk.  I haven’t tried it yet (except for the tester at the market). I was surprised to find out that the owner of this business is a well-known local quilter. 

 

One of the vendors sells orchids.  He has a really wonderful selection at very reasonable prices.  This one was only $8.

 

 

 

 

 

I have a checkered history with orchids.  The Husband often would buy me one for Mother’s Day/my birthday from one of the sellers who appear in local parking lots around holidays.  And every year, it would last about two weeks and it was all over.  Finally one year I managed to keep it going all through the bloom and into the next bloom, until the grandchildren, horsing around near the plant, knocked it over.  I tried repotting it but no luck.  Another orchid bit the dust.  But the man is very persistent and, the following year, here comes another orchid.  Actually, 4 orchids in a basket.  That was in 2007 and one of them is blooming for the third time, with smaller flowers and healthy-looking leaves.  One died (I’m not sure why) and the other two bloomed the second year but now are just hanging on.  Their leaves look pretty good but no blooms.  I think I will try repotting them and giving them some fertilizer. 

Today we bought more asparagus (the season will probably only last another week or two), more sugar snap peas, a basket of strawberries, some stone fruit (peaches and apricots) and a cauliflower.  Also a bottle of olive oil made from olives grown in the grove in front of San Juan Oaks golf course.  We’ll have to do a taste test to see if it’s better than what I buy at Costco.

Catching Up, Part 2

KNITTING

Despite having three unfinished lace shawls, I have started another one, the 2009 Goddess Anniversary Shawl. I had hoped to finish the 2008 shawl before starting this one but I broke a needle and had to wait for the replacement.

This pattern is different from other styles I have attempted. There are six triangular sections with a straight center section. The first clue was uploaded last Saturday morning and I started that evening. There are only 33 stitches to start with but you increase 12 stitches every four rows, so the piece gets bigger pretty fast. I finished Row 64 last night, just in time for Clue 2 which was released this morning. This one only has 40 rows, but again, the increases will add a total of 120 stitches by the time the clue is finished.

End of Clue 1 on 2009 shawl. The circular needle isn't long enough to stretch the entire piece out.

This is a pair of socks I made using Cat Bordhi’s Simple Sock pattern from “Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles.” I can’t remember what the yarn was and it’s not in my Ravelry stash and I can’t find the remaining yarn, so that will have to be a mystery for a while. I mostly knit toe-up patterns and this one is a top down, but it fits pretty well so I am using it for the Jojoland Melody that I bought at KnitWicks in Rogers, Arkansas when we were on vacation last year.

It is really soft and such a gorgeous teal color. I’m about 3/4 finished with the second sock; may be able to complete it later this week if I finish Clue 2 of the shawl quickly.

This photo shows both colors of the Melody, although the pink one is really more of a dark peach.

The 2008 CAL afghan blocks are ready to be sewn together. To make the job easier, I crocheted the same two-row edging around each of the 15 blocks. This was supposed to be a stash project but I ran out of the lavender I was using for the edging with about 5 blocks to go and had to buy another skein. It’s labeled as no dye lot but it does not match exactly. Once they are sewn together, I will start edging the entire piece. Not sure yet what pattern I will use but I will definitely use only stash. If I run out before a row is completed, I’ll switch to another color. I did the squares in a variegated, so I have a lot of leeway. I’m using pure acrylic for this one. Nobody can call me a yarn snob.

I have only done one 2009 CAL afghan block so far. Actually two – a 12” and a 6”. So that means I’m four months behind, soon to be five. However, these blocks can usually be crocheted in about two hours, so I’m not worried.

Coming Soon: Quilting and Sewing

Catching Up Part 1

Not much blogging going on around here, but lots of other stuff happening:

FAMILY

Mom has come to stay with us again, so life is a lot more structured – 3 proper meals a day, no peanut butter sandwiches with hot chocolate for dinner. But we are settling in just fine (and definitely eating better).

It has taken about a month but we are now into a workable schedule as to baths and laundry. We replaced the bathtub in the family bathroom with a new shower. Big improvement in looks and comfort. The shower in the master bath is quite small so The Husband prefers to use the front bathroom. I didn’t get a before photo but here is the new shower.

GD2 made her First Communion in early May. She was able to wear her sister’s dress with just a few alterations to the underslip. We thought the crowded church would be too much for Mom, so she and I stayed at the house. That worked out well as I was able to help with the meal preparation.

I did not make the cake but forgot to get any photos of the other food. The purple roses were very much in demand among the children present.

GARDENING

The summer vegetable garden is partially planted. Our son came down the day before Mother’s Day with a box full of plants.

There were 3 different kinds of tomatoes, a summer squash, 3 six-packs of lettuce and a variety of peppers, including one habanero.

We had already planted 4 tomatoes, 6 eggplants, 12 cucumbers and 6 Anaheim peppers. There are some volunteer beans in with the Costco tomatoes, Santa Maria pinquito I think. Still need to plant more beans, onions and some more squash. Also mesclun and arugula for summer salads.

Mom wanted to give me a pomegranate tree/bush for my birthday, so we caravanned out to the nursery on Southside Road. They had two very small plants, each in a 5 gallon can. We bought the taller one and it is now planted out by my greenhouse. Probably no fruit this year, but we are hoping for some next year. When I was a child, I remember visiting my step-grandfather’s sister Marie Trescony. She lived in the old adobe house on their ranch near San Lucas and the walled garden was very old California. The big attraction for me was the pomegranate. As a city girl, I was really impressed about being able to pick something off a tree and eat it. In those days it seems I was always hungry, no matter how often I was fed. Actually, I guess I haven’t changed that much…

For Mother’s Day 2008 we gave Mom a self-watering planter box with a rolling stand to raise it so that she wouldn’t have to bend. She grew tomatoes, peppers, onion and basil that year with pretty good results. This year we did the planting for her: a cherry tomato and a mild green pepper. We’ll probably add some basil seeds and maybe a few green onions.

The sunflower seeds we planted in April are growing up nicely. They need to be thinned but I just can’t make myself pull up a healthy plant. I know it needs to be done for the health of the remaining plants, but it’s so hard.

We also planted over a dozen dahlia tubers on the other side of the front walk. They are almost all up and growing fast. We should have a good supply of cut blossoms for the house this summer.

GENEALOGY

Nothing has been done in this department but I really need to get my Spencer Stout info together because I hope to visit Montague Co, TX and Cedar Co, MO on our vacation this year.

I cancelled my Ancestry World Deluxe membership and went back to the US Deluxe. There is just so much information still to find in this country, that I don’t see myself using it enough to warrant the price difference. I need to check with the Gilroy library to see if they have World in case I need it on down the line.

Knitting, Quilting and Sewing catch-up will follow soon.

A Day of Faith

Yesterday was Good Friday, a cloudy day with possible showers. The clouds persisted, but the rain was limited to a few sprinkles early in the day.

Every year on this day the Catholic parishioners of Sacred Heart Church have a procession where they follow the Cross. It used to be just in the area around the church but, since a second church was built in Hollister, they walk from Sacred Heart to St. Benedict’s, a distance of about 4 miles, maybe more. This photo was taken at about the half-way point where they had stopped to rest. The entire procession was about two blocks long at this point. You are looking more or less west, towards the Gabilan Mountains.

I don’t remember hearing about this kind of Good Friday event before we moved to Hollister and, for many years, I had wanted to see it but wasn’t able to because of my job. So when I was on my way to the supermarket and saw all these people walking, I realized what it was and took a detour.

Sunflower Bed

Sunflower Bed
Originally uploaded by sarahjb2007

Finally got my spring planting going. I used Flickr to add notes to this photo to show what seeds I planted where. The notes don't show up in this photo but you can see them here.

This parking strip is especially difficult to grow anything because it's so dry - no irrigation system, although a couple of years ago when the city replaced the sidewalk, we laid a pipe under it so that eventually we can add one more easily.

There is another strip beyond our front walk but I'm thinking of putting dahlias in that one. They don't require too much water once they are established.