Krafty Kitten

We’re quite inundated with flowers here on the Urban homestead.  My bean plants and tomatoes are flowering, as are my herbs.  I have pale pink blooms on the oregano, my purple sage flowers are fading out, but the lemon balm has a bunch of tiny white blooms and even the basil was attempting to blossom.  I had to pinch the blooms off the basil to keep it alive and I clipped some of the oregano blooms because they were just so very pretty.  They are currently sitting in a vase on my kitchen window sill.

We went and saw my in-laws today to help with a potential computer issue.  Big Guy and I are a pretty good team when it comes to dealing with computer problems.  He knows how to handle hardware difficulties, I know how to work around software issues.  We ate dinner there and chatted while we got the computer adjusted and then came home.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the scent of the oregano blooms.  They don’t smell like oregano, but instead have a very light, floral fragrance.  The bees like them too, considering they are bouncing from plant to plant drinking them in.  Another plant that’s drawn surprising visitors are my petunias.  They’ve brought some little hummingbirds to our yard who flit from blossom to blossom and then zip off.

Some of the wildflower seeds we planted earlier have also sprouted and started to bloom and seem to contain petunia and marigold seeds.  It was rather amusing when we discovered that because we planted marigolds and petunias in the same spot last year and were shocked when we found more marigolds and petunias there this year!

Little Guy and I are working on an art project, a paper plate fish.  I got the idea for it from watching Sprout.

You take a paper plate and cut out a triangle for the mouth.  Then you glue the triangle on the opposite end to make a tail.  Let the child color it and decorate it.  Then, punch a hole through the top and attach a string to hang from the ceiling or a high up place for a swimming decoration.  Little Guy is loving the coloring part.

I’m also going to try and get the last batch of peach jam made today.  I only have a bit left to do and then I will can them and (hopefully) sell a few.  That is, if Big Guy doesn’t devour them all first in the name of “quality control”.  I’ve got one of the jars from the first batch listed on Artfire .  I think this batch may be more peach-y due to the fact that the peaches sat for a few days longer.  It also has some larger chunks in it.  Now, I hope it just sets.  That seems to be a common problem between first and second batches for me.  I don’t think I do anything differently, but my second batches never seem to set.

And, my tomatoes are finally flowering.  We’re going to have a nice crop of tomatoes when they ripen.  The pumpkins are getting larger as well, but not flowering yet.  The beans are also growing nicely, I think the past few days of rain have really made a difference.

One of the other things I need to prepare for is the Harvest Market at Woodlawn Nature Center here in Elkhart.  Mom and I have plans to sell some of our homegrown, homemade goods.  She has a ton of eggs to sell, I plan on bunching my lemon balm, oregano, and sage and selling it.  I also have hairbands, birds, and other things I can sell.  I can make small aprons for little girls, pillows and lovies, and sell some of the extraneous junk around the house, like books and knick-knacks.

It’s finally sunny.  And, of course, it is a day I have to teach.  Oh well.  I’ll do what I can.

I found two little cantaloupe sprouts from the seeds I planted directly in the garden, which is good and the potatoes need to be “hilled”.  I’m going to have to dig out some compost for that.  My tomatoes have flowers and the beans I planted in a hanging basket have taken off.  My other beans seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs.  I think the lesson I have learned from all of this…  Seeds are probably a cheaper way to go, but around here, already established plants may be a necessity thanks to groundhogs and ants.

I was going to re-clean the pool this week, Little Guy and I emptied most of the water out of it but I was planning on letting the sun bake and evaporate the remaining water, but then it’s rained for the past 2 days.  The best laid plans of mice and men…

Yesterday, in the mail, Big Guy got a letter from his youngest daughter wishing him a Happy Father’s Day and telling him she missed him.  She had handmade a card on notebook paper and included $2.  Big Guy started crying because he does miss the kids so very much.  We wondered how she was able to get it out of the house… Now we’re trying to figure out a way to get her a thank you note without it going immediately into the trash.

Little Guy has been loving “Between the Lions ” and is now singing the theme song…  “Hey now hey wow here’s how come an’ read…  ATWEEN A YIONS!”  Between this show and Kai-lan teaching him about emotions: “I’m jealous!  I’m so ANGRY!”  Right now, thanks to “Between the Lions” we’re practicing phonics.  When we look through his picture books, I make the starting sounds A-pple, B-all, C-at, D-og and we work out what the starting letter is.  “Between the Lions” also does a bit on phonics which reinforces what we practice.  He’s figuring out the sounds slowly but surely.

And today begins another month of classes.  I am teaching 2 independent studies; one in composition and one in comparative literature.  At the end of the month, I am also participating in the graduation ceremonies, walking as a professor.  I feel so grown up.

After the great weekend we had, Little Guy is in toddler heaven today.  Currently he’s sitting with a large bowl of popcorn, some iced tea, his army guys, a toy truck and he’s watching Sesame Street.  Seriously, could life get any better.

Today has been a rather unexciting day on the Urban Homestead.  I’ve been doing dishes off and on.  This morning, it was storming and I realized I had left the sidewalk chalk outside last night while we were playing.  So, when there was a lull in the rain and thunder, I ran out and brought it in.  I’m glad they didn’t get ruined because Little Guy loves his “outside colors”.

I also had to re-wind some yarn.  Little Guy managed to combine three very similar colors from my yarn bag and got them all tangled up.  *sigh* I love my yarn, but I prefer it neatly wound in skeins rather than a large pile of it.

I have a couple of my bean plants which have sprouted and two of my tomato plants died.  I suspect a groundhog killed them, though it is a toss up between the goundhog and two other suspects.  Our Tiger Cat who invades my garden on a regular basis and Little Guy who thinks that plants are for STOMPING on.  My seeds have been a collosal failure.  I’m rather depressed about that. No fresh carrots and I have to replant the cantaloupes.  The pumpkins have be growing though, as have the potatoes.

I do love summer.

Today has been a busy day.  This morning, Neighbor Girl stopped by to borrow some stuff.  While she was here, mom arrived.  While I helped mom, my sister-in-law came over.  While my sister-in-law was here a friend, WhiteyBare, stopped by.  Everyone wants to spend time with me.  But then, I do serve a purpose.  I sold the flute to my sister in law, taught my mom how to set up her blog, and helped WhiteyBare with his resume.

Mom brought me more eggs in exchange for fresh sage.  Little Guy and WhiteyBare had a blast taking each other down with the remnant of some foam swords.  We also sang “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid” which CJ enjoys.

We’re had an unexpected cookout tonight with WhiteyBare and Big Guy’s co-worker.  Grilled chicken topped the menu.  While we were outside, we set up the pool, much to CJ’s excitement.  We also planted some beans and I emptied the flower seeds into the new front garden.

After Little Guy went to bed, we cracked open Dessert and alcohol.  Unfortunately, Comcast has not fixed their line issues yet so we couldn’t watch any of the movies available On Demand.  It also screws up our internet access.  Right now, they are giving us what amounts to free access until they get it fixed.

We’re looking forward to a relaxing weekend for a change.  No drama, all fun.

We dug up the gardens last night.  I moved the pumpkins closer to each other and now have to dig up the dirt to plant the seeds.  I managed to get the extra Snapdragon and Bachelor Button seeds into the dirt.  Now to pray they don’t get eaten up by birds.

Each day, Little Guy reveals more and more of his own personality that is amazingly hilarious.  Apparently, when Big Guy got home from dropping me off to teach class, he removed Little Guy’s shoes and annouced: “Stinky Feet!  Pashew!”

Little Guy’s response was: “Noooo!  Mommy washed my shoes.  They are clean!”

Tonight’s class went fairly well.  I babysat another class while teaching my own and managed to get the information that needed to be imparted to my class while guiding the other class to their assignment.  I did think it was hilarious that the teacher I was covering for had told her class that they HAD to show up on time on Thursday, 6 pm.  No less than six people showed up late.  AFTER I had sent the remainder of the class down to the library to do their assignment.  After 6:15.   Makes you wonder what would have happened if she had given them permission to show up late.

My class is working on persuasive essays.  They need to learn to tone down the writing.  They throw filler phrases in there and it detracts from their point.  What I think I will do the next time I teach a comp class is have them go over their rough drafts with me.  That way I can nip some of these problems in the bud before they begin infecting their papers.

I find myself wondering where the week went.  I keep thinking today is the 19th.  When I checked the date and realized it was the 21st, I really gaped at the computer screen.  “When did that happen?” I wondered, and then realized it happened over the past two days.  Tomorrow, I’ll see my mom and my sister-in-law and we have the holiday weekend coming up.  Game on Saturday, and then nothing that I can think of off the top of my head for Sunday and Monday.  REJOICE!  I’m looking forward to peace and relaxation with my husband and child.

Maybe I’ll finally get the beans planted.

Today’s been a good day.  I’m making plans and have great ideas on reclaiming my life.  I’m selling some of the excess clutter in our house.  We have two flutes the girls never touched and are not likely to use now.  I have to go through the clothes and start labeling them for the garage sale in a few weeks.

I’m going to connect the three mini-gardens in the front yard and make them one long flower garden.   I’ll plant the snapdragon seeds, the bachelor button seeds and a wildflower packet in the new, bigger garden.

In the meantime, our vegetable garden will continue growing and we’ll have some wonderful vegetables.  I finally got a bunch of them planted on Sunday.  Carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, cantaloupe…  My berries are planted.  My mint and basil are planted.  Little Guy is trying to help mommy do planting too.  His gardening tools are fun for soft dirt and the sand box.  Plus, as he helps me plant, I tell him about each plant.  What it means, what it is used for, what it looks like.  We planted a few snapdragons for him and he ran around yelling: “SNAP-dwagons!  SNAP-dwagons!”

I think that this weekend, I shall have to pull out the pool and fill it up.  Fun times!  Little Guy LOVED the pool last year.  Looks like another good year for swimming.  We’ll start making other plans for summer as well.  I’m going to have a lot more free time.  I’ll be able to teach classes.  We’ll be able to go places.  A trip to Redamak’s, the beach, and maybe even Oink’s up in New Buffalo.  Going to see movies together.  Going out by the lake.  We’ll make some wonderful, happy memories.

Now is the time for my family: Little Guy, Big Guy, and I, to not only survive, but thrive.

Not money (though that would be AWESOME) but Gardening and Grading. Yesterday was midterms for the class so I have papers and tests to grade this weekend.  Wednesday was my only free day and it rained.

All

Day

Long.

Really not cool.

It’s grey outside today but hopefully the rain will hold off because I MUST get planting done.  On Tuesday, I soaked my green beans overnight, anticipating planting on Wednesday.  That did not happen.  So, last night, after I got home from teaching, Big Guy peeked in the cup I had soaked the beans in and asked: “Did you know these are GROWING?”

Sure enough, my beans, which had soaked and simply needed to be planted, had decided that waiting one day was too long.  They are already sprouting.

For Mother’s Day, Big Guy also got me tomatoes, basil, and peppermint that I need to plant.  Along with the sage and oregano, which has gone INSANE with the weather around here.  The oregano has spread violently and I have a small sage “bush”.

Even better, the strawberries have spread out and hopefully, I’ll be able to get enough to do something, even if it’s just strawberry tea.  The petals have pretty much fallen off and judging from the sheer amount we had, there’s going to a lot of berries.

Little Guy will be off visiting family for a bit, so I’ll have a chance to immerse myself in the garden and escape from some of the stress.   And, when I’m not gardening, I can grade, crochet and hide out.

It’s not exactly the best weekend plan, but it is one to help me survive.

As a gardener and a pagan, I know that most herbs play double duty.  That is, they both add something to your kitchen and add something to your practice. The following five herbs are mainstays in my garden.

1 - Basil - Aside from being a prominent herb in most italian dishes, Basil also helps to fight depression and is used to ensure fidelity in your significant other.

2 - Lavender - Known for its pleasing smell and aromatheraputic effects, it’s also used in french cooking, giving dishes an earthy taste.  Lavender is also considered to be a cleansing herb.  When pregnant, a tea made from lavender will help with morning sickness.

3 - Sage - Used in all sorts of dishes, be careful when using this herb while pregnant.  Sage can stimulate uterine contractions and cause miscarriages.  However, a tea of sage leaves is amazingly delicious and also useful for cleansing toxins from the body.  You can use a bundle of dried sage to smudge the home and eradicate any lingering ill spirits too.

4 - Peppermint - Peppermint has long been used in candies and desserts.  It can also be used as an uplifting and warming tea in the winter.  Peppermint is also good for morning sickness and chewing on a few leaves may alleviate some of the symptoms.

5 - Catnip - Related to mint, this is another cleansing herb that is good for upset bellies.  Catnip also is used to draw bees to the gardens(and cats too of course).

Growing herbs is both fun and useful once you know what they mean and what they can do.

I have a feeling that night time is going to be the best time to update during the month of May.  During the day, I’m wrapped up in class planning.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE teaching, but we’re using a new book which means more than just new notes.  It means a whole new and different way of teaching.   The new book isn’t laid out for the papers as well as the old book was, which means a lot of jumping from section to section, but the book has its advantages too.  It also shifts it;s focus.  Luckily, my notes from the old class are thorough enough that the things they don’t cover in the new book, I can bring up in class.

I’m glad I plan out my classes the way I do as well.  It enables me to do the talking and consult my plan as I’m talkng to pick up the salient points.  It also keeps me on track, which is something I desperately need.  I am convinced I manage to get the excitement across, but staying on track is a lot more difficult.

My love for freecycle continues as well.  I picked up a start for a golden raspberry plant.  That’s going to be delicious once it gets going.  That brings planted goods up to rhubarb, chives and a semi planted raspberry bush.  Tomorrow, in the big garden the cantelopes, carrots and lettuce are going in.  And in the flower garden I am planting the snapdragons.

I think I’ll do that after the lawyer visit though.  I’ll do Thursday’s class plan in the morning, meet with the lawyer, and then dig around in the dirt to relieve some stress.