This Week

This week just flew by! And most of it flew by with my camera far from reach. There were several times when I thought "Oh, I wish I had the camera to take some pictures of this". But alas, I didn't run back to the house to get it. It's hard for me to stop doing something outside, especially when I'm covered in dirt and sweat, and run inside to grab the camera.
I spent the early part of the mornings outside, working in the gardens. I'm getting some beds ready for the fall garden and have been hauling compost and tilling. The afternoons were spent making jewelry, photographing it and playing with photo props.

1. Cactus blossoms. The hummingbirds love them!
2. Fall beads are starting to make their way into the shop.
3. White eggplants. I love this variety. I see Eggplant Parmesan in the future.
4. I got into my treasure chest of trade beads and decided to part with some.

That's it for now. Here's to a fabulous weekend.

CIJ Sale Ends This Weekend

My Christmas in July sale in my Etsy shop ends this weekend. I've added quite a few new items to my sale section, including all of my anchor necklaces. So, if you've had your eye on them, you can pick one up for 20% off. They can be found in my CIJ sale section right here.
Enjoy the weekend.

This Week

This has been an excellent week. After the rain that we had, the gardens came alive once again. And I was able to get a lot of work done, that I couldn't do because of the drought. Last night it rained again. 1 1/10" to be exact. There's nothing like sleeping with the sound of thunder and rain in the background.

1. The sage is bushing out like mad.
2. The morning glories are scrambling up the shepherd's hook. I'm considering running them up the siding of the house. Not sure though, but I'll have to do something with the vines. They'll grow into a tangled mess if I don't.
3. The purple fountain grass is kicking in. I love any kind of ornamental grass. They all remind me of sea oats.
4. The ground was finally soft enough to pound the tomato stakes in. The plants might not be as big as they usually are for this time of year, but they're alive. I know a lot of folks that lost much of their crop due to sun scald. I feel very fortunate that our tomatoes were late and not staked.
5. Happy tomatoes. Tonight we're having fried green tomatoes with dinner. I need to make the horseradish sauce as soon as I'm finished here.
6. The second planting of summer squash is coming in. 'Round here, we just pull the plants when the squash bugs get so bad and replant squash seeds in a new bed. I've tried every remedy under the sun (organic, that is) and they simply don't work. At least not in TN.

Well, there's a wee bit of what I've been up to this past week. Here's looking forward to another busy one.

Wordless Wednesday

This Week

This week has been a grand one. We finally got rain! Days of soft, steady, soaking rain. I spent a lot of time listening to it. Smelling it. Walking around outside in it. I missed it so.

1. Standing on the back deck. Watching it rain.
2. I stared at a lot of raindrops.
3. And chased the elder blue tailed skink around.
4. To top things off, we made and ate lots of peach ice cream.

Rain is in our forecast for the next week. Needless to say, I am one happy camper.

Christmas In July 2012

It's time for the annual Christmas in July ~ CIJ ~ Sale on Etsy. This year I have a section in my shop dedicated to the sale. It runs from today until July 22. I'll be adding new items throughout the week, so check back often. You can see the section here. Hope to see you there!

Wordless Wednesday

This Week

This week I complained a lot about the heat and the drought. Looking back, I think I probably complained too much. We spent the 4th of July at home and for the first time ever, didn't fire up the grill. We had a laid back holiday sipping Gin and tonics, eating BLT's and homemade peach ice cream. It was a nice change actually, especially since it was 100+ degrees outside.

1. I bought a new pair of much needed Converse. It's been years since I owned a pair of low tops.
2. Our sunflowers that are planted on the south side of the house are in full bloom. The bees and goldfinches love them. We do too. We get a bird's eye view of all the action right outside the window.

3. I laid the soaker hoses that I bought. And mulched the gardens. We're still watering with a sprinkler twice a week. The gardens are suffering, but hanging in there. You can see how dry it is by looking at the color of the grass in the yard.

4. The Rose of Sharon is blooming like crazy. She doesn't care that it's hot or that she's not getting watered. Maybe I should be more like her.

5. The chocolate morning glories are blooming. I love them. And I love the variegated leaves.

6. Our basil is big enough to start harvesting. Note to self: buy pine nuts.

Well, this coming week looks like we'll have some changes in the weather. Rain chances increase and temperatures decrease. Fingers and paws crossed.....

Hanging Around

The triple digit temperatures have me spending more time indoors in the afternoon, which means that I have more time to spend on my Etsy shop.  I've been experimenting with photo props. The possibilities are endless. Here are some of the results. If you click on the collage, it will take you to my shop.
If you're in this heatwave, try and stay cool~