Wardrobe Wednesday

Binny turned 7 last weekend.  We had small family birthday party for her here Saturday afternoon while it rained outside. And of course there were presents!  Binny pulled this little sundress out of the box and insisted on putting the strap around her neck to try it out right away.

The weather cleared up by Monday morning so she was able to wear it to school when she brought in her birthday cupcakes for the class. I think this may be a new summer favorite.

Monday Garden Club

We have to stop meeting like this. Or, rather I have to stop waiting until the last possible moment in the day to post on a specific day of the week theme, especially one that I host, like say... Monday Garden Club.  Cuz yeah, my kids are already in bed and the Gardener is taking his nightly shower and still I'm working on a silly little blog post.  Albeit, the most important garden update of the entire year considering I (with the help of my brother) managed to get the garden planted last Friday, but still, I feel like a slacker for not posting sooner.

The Gardener worked the garden with the rototiller 2 solid nights until the soil was as soft and fluffy as it was ever going to get.  Fortunately, the heavy rain held off until after we planted and actually, Friday was a picture perfect day.  My brother and I were out in the garden for 9 solid hours (giving me one hell of a sunburn on the bridge if my nose and my forehead, thanks in large part to my oversized sunglasses and a ponytail for my hair), measuring and driving stakes, and hoeing rows, and drinking beer, and planting seeds. We planted everything.  It would be torture to make my brain remember everything we planted last week but let me tell you, it was plenty and there will be no shortage of produce at the Feet Off The Table house this year. 5 or 6 kinds of tomatoes, 3 kinds of beans, summer squash, winter squash, snow peas, 2 kinds of okra and enough peppers to make a Norwegian sweat just thinking about it.  Yep, overkill at its finest.  What the hell, it's gardening season!



Peonies



Strawberry flowers

Anybody else gardening this week? If so, grab the Monday Garden Club button on my sidebar, paste it to your blog entry and link up below with Mr. Linky.

Wardrobe Wednesday

I actually had a few options for Wardrobe Wednesday this week.  I could have taken a photo of all the shoes Flash has chewed apart in recent days, but that would be incredibly depressing.  I also could have posted a photo I took of Binny fully clothed wearing an extra pair of bright blue undies and one of my bras on the outside of her clothing, but oddly enough, I've already done that. 

Instead, I will offer up a mix of Flash's destruction and Binny's knack of finding a wardrobe possibility in almost anything.

The girls brought a plastic inflated ball in from outside for Flash to play with and within about 10 seconds of him noticing its existence, he popped it.  As I walked over to pick it up and throw it in the trash next to my favorite leather sandals he ripped apart just hours earlier, Binny thrust her index finger in the air and said "Ooh! Can I have it?"  Minutes later, it was a hat.

Monday Garden Club

The weather here has been a little unpredictable lately, making Spring gardening extra tricky, which also means I have planted exactly nothing outside yet.  Heck, the garden isn't even tilled yet and all of the flower pots are still buried in the planting room of the barn. When it's not raining, the wind is blowing so hard that you have to watch for flying objects when you go outside. The cover on our charcoal grill blew off and landed in the flower bed, and we've been finding broken roof shingles from the barn scattered all around the yard.

The asparagus have finally emerged from between the weeds, but I haven't picked any quite yet.  I'm hoping to have enough to steam and serve with a meal by the end of the week.

The rhubarb is big enough to eat, and like every year, we always have more than we can use. I chopped up this batch and made a strawberry-rhubarb crisp the other day.

My Father-in-law called me yesterday to tell me he found peach trees at a local garden center for just $10 each and I should go pick one up before they are all gone.  I went first thing this morning and bought 2.  The going rate elsewhere for similar trees is around $30. Now that's what I call a gardening win!  Now we have to plant them and wait to see of they will grow and produce peaches!

The plants are all still in the greenhouse, and unless the weather makes a quick turn for the better, I may not get the garden prepared and planted by the end of the week like I was hoping. 

Anybody else gardening this week? If so, grab the Monday Garden Club button on my sidebar, paste it to your blog entry and link up below with Mr. Linky.

Charleston 2011

So technically, we've been back from Charleston since Monday, but let me tell you, I have been so busy editing wedding photos and recovering from being gone 4 days, it almost feels like an eternity now that we're back home.  Our flights on the way back were delayed and when we finally touched down in Milwaukee, it was raining.  Yuck!  But back in Charleston, it was sunny and hot, as was most (not all) of our time there. 

We arrived in Charleston Friday morning after taking the very first flight out of the airport.  So early that none of the ticket agents or TSA people were there yet when we started lining up at 4, one hour before our plane left.  Getting into town early for a little sightseeing made up for the early morning take off.

As soon as we hopped into what was supposed to be an economy size rental car (but when there were no economy cars left, we were upgraded to a brand new Jeep Liberty at no additional cost), we headed for downtown Charleston. 

Since of course none of the breakfast/coffee stands at the airports were making anything decent (unless you consider $4 for a small cup of drip coffee, decent) at the hour we were traveling, we started looking for a place to grab some breakfast.  We turned down a side street because we saw a sign for a bagel shop, then spotted this place right next door. 

For just $12, the Gardener and I ate some good home cooking all made by Jack himself.  We even sat at the counter and you better believe I said "yes" when the waitress asked if I wanted grits with that.

After stuffing ourselves, we walked around some more and found what I believe to be the most cobblyest  cobblestone street ever.  Walking on it, I was afraid I might twist an ankle.

Clearly, the Gardener is smoother than I am.

Then it started to rain. hard.  So we hid under an awning in front of an art gallery storefront until the rain let up. 

And watched the rain...

When we finally had enough hiding from the rain, we went back to the hotel for a quick swim before we had to be at the wedding rehearsal.  I put on the fish-eye lens I rented for the weekend and took a photo inside our hotel room.

Then one more of my left leg.  You know, just for fun.

Believe it or not, that's it for photos. I have lots from all of the wedding festivities, but on Sunday when we did some more sightseeing and tourist-y type stuff, I left the camera equipment in the car.

Wardrobe Wednesday

Last week I mentioned that I needed to find a pair of sensible heels to wear while photographing a wedding this weekend.  While it is yet to be determined if these shoes will blister my toes or give me cramps in the arches of my feet, they are exactly what I was looking for.  I love the height they offer and they should be sturdy enough to walk around in the grass. 

I will have my trusty black clogs along too just in case these don't work out, but I'm hoping I won't need them.

Did I mention this wedding is in Charleston, South Carolina?  I checked the weather for this weekend online today, and it is forecast to be in the 70s and 80s with no rain.  Bring it on!

Monday Garden Club

I moved the plants outside into the greenhouse for good last Friday.  We still wheel them into the garage overnight, but they are now able to handle dropping down to 40 degrees without a problem.


There has, however, been one problem with the new arrangement.

Yesterday, after I flipped down the door to water the plants, the wind (That damn wind!) caught the back window like a sail and smashed it to the ground in several hundred pieces.

Less than an hour later, the Gardener was finished replacing the windows, and the greenhouse was back in business.  This is exactly why we save old windows. 
This time he added some more screws to the frame to make sure this doesn't happen again.

The girls and I went to a garden center over the weekend (I love to make the rounds this time of year.) and they each picked out a begonia.  They are both sitting patiently in the greenhouse until the weather cooperates a little bit more.  Today is another windy one but the sun is shining and drying up the puddles.



Peony shoots



Anybody else gardening this week? If so, grab the Monday Garden Club button on my sidebar, paste it to your blog entry and link up below with Mr. Linky.