Garden Pictures For Today ~ Sparks, Nevada

Pictures today…it’s been one heck of a week here at work! Seems all I’m up for are picture postings. Sorry.

Maters! We ate our first garden tomatoes of the year! Red Siberians. Yum Yum YUMMMMMIE GOOD!

I’ve cucumbers growing! There are four plants throughout the yard…here are the Spacemasters.

I still think these wee bees (they are not honeybees, some other type or bee-like) are the cutest things…they were all tucked into the sunflower this morning.

The Lemon Queens are blooming! They are also over 8 feet tall! Holy Cow! I was finally able to submit data on the Lemon Queens to The Great Sunflower Bee Project. My other data submitted was for the honeybees on the lavender, russian sage, beebalm, and coneflowers.

Please look past the water stained windows (they are very very very old…like 70 years old) and instead gaze on the pretty jar with lavender buds and white vinegar. I’m making my own clothes softner/rinse.

For Today ~ 9 July 2009 ~ Simple Woman’s Daybook

FOR TODAY … 9 July 2009

Outside My Window… Same ole construction workers, only the building is much taller now. Concrete guys putting in walls and sidewalks. Blue sky…no clouds looking north out of my window. A big crane.

I am thinking… My head hurts. Me thinks I’m scrowling and furrowing the brows too much the last 3 days. I want a massage. Are those Toyota Prius commericals the neatest? I’m going to fill up the cast-iron claw tub up with lots of hot water and a bath bomb tonight and stay in there until the water is cold.

I am thankful for… my job, my family, my house.

From the kitchen… Better be clean dishes when I get home.

I am wearing… Jeans, tennies, sage green/purple blouse, hair was down but now its up…with my brows and eyes looking like Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry…Go Ahead MAKE MY DAY!

I am creating… Wrinkles in my forehead.

I am going… slightly mad
I’m going slightly mad
It finally happened – happened
It finally happened – ooh oh
It finally happened – I’m slightly mad
Oh dear!
I’m one card short of a full deck
I’m not quite the shilling
One wave short of a shipwreck
I’m not at my usual top billing
I’m coming down with a fever
I’m really out to sea
This kettle is boiling over
I think I’m a banana tree

I am reading… I’m almost finished with Denis Leary’s Why We Suck…a Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid.

I am hoping… My constant wish ~ That everyone that is looking for a job, finds one.

I am hearing… The copier and the person moaning that they put the paper upside down (blank copies)…me giggling.

Around the house… a bath tub just waiting for me to come home.

One of my favorite things… three feather pillows, a goose-down bed top and a ceiling fan…with me under the fan and on top of the other two.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… to make it through Friday.

Here is a picture thought I’d share with you… Sunrise on 3 July 2009. I was watering the garden in the backyard early in the morning. The steeple is from the chruch next door to us.

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The Simple Woman is the original home of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook will take place each Monday.

Here’s how to take part:

1. Write up and publish your journal page using the questions/picture ideasI have listed below onto your blog. Be as descriptive as you can! This makes it more interesting to your readers. (You may cut and paste them for the purpose to participate in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.)

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Cabbage Beet Relish ~ Great Garden Recipe

Don’t know about you all, but I’ve some cabbage and beets in the garden that are ready to be used!

Yesterday I linked to Edna Mae's Escalloped Cabbage recipe from Pioneer Woman’s website…am definitely going to give it a whirl.

Today I’m going to share a Cabbage Beet Relish recipe. It makes about 3 quarts. You can put it through a hot water bath or stick it into the frig since it’s summer and it probably won’t last that long to begin with!

Beet Relish

8 cups (2 quarts) beets, cooked and finely chopped
4 cups cabbage, chopped fine
2-1/2 cup sugar
4 cups cider vinegar (I like mixing the vinegars up some, cider/white/wine garlic)
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup horseradish (grated), or prepared from a 4 oz bottle
1/2 or 1 tsp cayenne pepper flakes (optional)

Variation: 4-5 cups beets, 1 cup onion, 1 cup sweet red peppers, 4 cups cabbage

Cook and peel beets. Finely chop beets and cabbage. Mix all ingredients together in a glass or stainless steel bowl.

Pack mixture into sterile quart jars leaving 1/4 inch head space and seal (follow regular canning procedures). You can now either put it into a hot water bath for 15-20 minutes or stick into refrigerator. Eat the frig beets within a couple of weeks of making them.

My Growing Garden in Sparks, Nevada

Had an extra long Fourth of July weekend…yesterday I took the first of 12 unpaid furlough days. Spent yesterday in the garden, napping, crocheting, and bowling. I bowled a 121 my second game…was doing an Irish jig (if you knew my average was in the 80-90’s you’d do the jig right along with me! )

Anyhoo…am going to post some pictures of my garden. Seems to be a bit slow this year, probably was all the cool weather we had earlier in June.

On Friday I picked some of my beets and onions to pickle them…wanted to take some up to Truckee area for the Fourth of July. I didn’t can them in a water bath…figured we’d eat most of them up so I just put them in the frig. With the leftover beet brine I made a variation of Dilly Beans with the green beans and some dill that I also picked Friday morning.

I have two heads of cabbage, I yanked about 4 other cabbage plants as I really didn’t have the room for them in the bed. They’re a nice size now…even have two recipes lined up for them.

Edna Mae's Escalloped Cabbage Recipe

The other recipe is from my Cooking from Amish Country book…I’ll bring the recipe tomorrow.

I’ve about 8 Brussels Sprout plants with these guys growing on ‘em…

Peppers are setting on the plants…

Hungarian Stuffing Peppers

Cayenne Peppers

Sweet Italian Peppers

Yellow Pickle Peppers

Corn was knee high by the Fourth of July; will be picking the first of my heirloom maters this week!; Hearts of Gold cantaloupe growing well; grey squash finally setting on; have lots of different kinds of cucumbers growing; oodles of tomatillos; green bush beans have been producing well; yellow wax beans are coming along; I’ve onions and garlic ready to be picked; and I’ve already harvested quite a bit of the herbs, shared them with coworkers and have some up drying.

For Today ~ 2 July 2009 ~ Simple Woman’s Daybook

FOR TODAY … 2 July 2009

Outside My Window… Blue sky with clouds…possible rain later? New buildings behind me going up faster and faster! I heard they are 3 months ahead of schedule.

I am thinking… I’ll have to move into the conference room soon if they are 3 months ahead of schedule. My office will be punched through soon. I’ve lots of work to do before the holiday.

I am thankful for… my job, my family, my house.

From the kitchen… I’m thinking of going out tonight! Soon I’ll be canning though. I’ve beets that are READY for pickling! These are the type I planted the first of May.

I am wearing… Cropped pants, sage green top, betula’s and my hair up in a ponytail.

I am creating… crotcheted cotton wash cloths…too tired after work to finish my sister’s quilt. Maybe this weekend I’ll get back to it.

I am going… to go to lunch with my mom. Pickle and can some beets. Hopefully go to the lake (Pyramid, not Tahoe) this weekend. Maybe go up to Virginia City if they’re having a 4th of July parade (silly me…they have parades for every holiday, me thinks).

I am reading… Denis Leary’s Why We Suck…a Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid. Still snorting, chortling, and outright belly laughing. I know he’s at least 10 years older than me…but we definitely grew up with the same type of parenting.

I am hoping… My constant wish ~ That everyone that is looking for a job, finds one.

I am hearing… HVAC up on the roof, the office next door, the clanging of the building going up, beeping of the tonkas, me typing, phone ringing, head pounding.

Around the house… Bed sheets need to be washed, garden needs to be watered, beets need to be pulled, new seeds planted.

One of my favorite things… watching the bees on the lavender. Have you ever just sat and watch bees do their work? I’d love to know where their hive is. Lavender honey…sounds yummy, no?

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… canning, eating, watch fireworks, swimming, sleeping, take pictures.

Here is a picture thought I’d share with you… the sticky thing said they’re Yellow Pickle Peppers. Have no clue what those are, but I like the sound of them.

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The Simple Woman is the original home of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook will take place each Monday.

Here’s how to take part:

1. Write up and publish your journal page using the questions/picture ideasI have listed below onto your blog. Be as descriptive as you can! This makes it more interesting to your readers. (You may cut and paste them for the purpose to participate in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.)

2. Copy the “permalink” from your “The Simple Woman’s Daybook” post, not the link to the front page of your blog. This will make it much easier for others to find instead of looking through the entire list of entries at your blog for your “daybook”. This will save time for all of us.

3. Come back here and add your permalink to Mister Linky.

My Favorite Things of Summer

After seeing this at Homespun Simplicity, I thought I would make a list of my own favorite things of summer…

Bees
iced cold sun tea with lemon
fireworks
big fat garden tomatoes
sweet little garden tomatoes
sunflowers

sunny skies
afternoon thunder storms
bbq’ing
thistles
flutterbys
going bare-footed

the beach

the lake
fresh cut grass
ceiling fans
gardening
sleeping with the windows open
baseball

canning veggies and jams
staying out late in the evenings

So, what are your favorite things of summertime??

More Pictures Today…

Taking a break from paper work to post some more pictures this afternoon.

Not sure if any of you are in the Great Sunflower Bee Project where you take a half-hour block and count how many bees visit your flowers…well, shoot…I have hundreds of bees that visit ALL FLIPPING DAY. I have honey bees, mason bees, and some wee bee (at least I think they’re bees) that visit my lavender, sunflowers, coreopsis, delphiniums. I should go document them I guess.

Here is a white striped bee (?) with green eyes…it’s not fuzzy like another one I saw with the same colors.

And here is the wee bee, it really is 1/2 the size of the honey bee.

And FLUTTERBYS! We lots of flutterbys visiting the lavender right now…here is one of the Swallowtails that visited over the weekend.

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The hollyhocks are very pretty now!

Coneflowers are starting to bloom too…

It’s Just CRAZY Around Here…

End of the Fiscal Year is 30 June 2009. I’ve lots of new contracts/pafs to generate for everyone and in an hour will have to walk on down to the “Joe” for a Classified Furlough Session. I’m the leave keeper too, so everyone is asking me questions. Have to figure out the answers. It’s sorta hard when most of our department’s classified people are paid from research grants…no state money. Why do they have to take a paycut when they are not costing the state any money. That leaves me, one of the only people paid from state monies…I must be a HUGE DRAIN on the system. I get the paycut. WooHoo! Go Team! (UPDATE: After going to the session yesterday afternoon, I discovered that all Classified will be taking furloughs, no matter what their funding is)

SO! It’s gonna be a picture day.

I’m growing 3 Tomatillo plants this year…isn’t this a great blossom?! I’ve never seen one before!

SOON TO BE PICKLE!

Lemon Queen sunflowers against the fence, 2 Horseradish up front, 2 pickling cucs on the left…the rest are blueberries, elderberries, and herbs.

HOLLYHOCKS!!!!!! OH! I CAN NOT WAIT to see them!

This is Gabe…my newest gargoyle. He giggles a lot hence the hands over the mouth and crossed legs (don’t want to piddle, you know!).

Poppy pod ~ pretty, no?

For Today ~ 23 June 2009 ~ The Simple Woman’s Daybook

FOR TODAY … 23 June 2009

Outside My Window… Sunny, warm morning. More of the building going up behind my work…it’s a lot bigger than what we thought it was going to be! It’s amazing how fast a group of ~12 welders can put up a building!

I am thinking… I need to walk down to the south end of campus and pick-up some paper work. Better do it before it heats up.

I am thankful for… my job, my family, my house.

From the kitchen… Will be pork tacos…it’s Taco Tuesday! Usually it’s chicken tacos, but I have leftover country pork ribs that we BBQ’d on Sunday.

I am wearing… Blue jeans, navy short sleeved shirt, tennis shoes, and hair up in a ponytail.

I am creating… crotcheted cotton wash cloths and still working on my sister’s quilt.

I am going… beats me…can’t think of anything.

I am reading… Denis Leary’s Why We Suck…a Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid. I’ve been snorting, chortling, and outright belly laughing.

I am hoping… My constant wish ~ That everyone that is looking for a job, finds one.

I am hearing… HVAC up on the roof, the office next door, the clanging of the building going up, beeping of the tonkas, someone is using the microwave.

Around the house… Bed sheets need to be washed, garden needs to be watered.

One of my favorite things… a good belly laugh…the type that makes your face hurt.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… not really sure.

Here is a picture thought I’d share with you… Lucy’s favorite napping place…in my shopping bags next to the front door.

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The Simple Woman is the original home of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook will take place each Monday.

Here’s how to take part:

1. Write up and publish your journal page using the questions/picture ideasI have listed below onto your blog. Be as descriptive as you can! This makes it more interesting to your readers. (You may cut and paste them for the purpose to participate in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.)

2. Copy the “permalink” from your “The Simple Woman’s Daybook” post, not the link to the front page of your blog. This will make it much easier for others to find instead of looking through the entire list of entries at your blog for your “daybook”. This will save time for all of us.

3. Come back here and add your permalink to Mister Linky.

Sunflowers & other flowers ~ Sparks, Nevada ~ June 2009

I threw out a couple of packets of sunflower seeds up in the front corner of our lot…they’re coming up everywhere now. Here’s a picture of my first bloom ~ this plant actually has 20+ flowers that will be blooming on it!

The Lemon Queen “Three Sisters” are over 6′ tall now. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THEM BLOOMING!

The rest are flowers that are blooming around the front yard…

Remember “mini-burning man”?

Just me playing with photoscape ~ I love the “antique” filter.