Let the Growing Season Start

I’ve had the Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seed catalog for over a month now and finally was able to make a list, although throughout the ordering process I was still wishy-washy because I felt like I was missing something. You can blame that on the beautiful photos in the catalog.


Needless to say the total was $64…and here is what we bought. Keep in mind this is totaling my Dad’s order and mine.

-Banana Melon
-Contender Bush Bean
-True Gold Sweet Corn
-Chantenay Red Core Carrot
-Snow White Carrot
-Sikkim Cucumber
-Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumber
-Fin De Meaux Cucumber
-Blue Podded Garden Pea
-Charentais Melon
-Purple Plum Radish
-Jarrahdale Squash
-Fox Cherry Tomato
-Delicous Tomato
-Reisetomate Tomato
-Dr. Wyche’s Yellow Tomato
-Sungold Select II Tomato
-Violet Jasper Tomato
-Golden King of Siberia Tomato
-Stevia
-Jet Black Hollyhock
-Mongolian Giant (Sunflower)
-Titan (Sunflower)
-Envy Zinnia
-Canary Bird Zinnia
-Meteor Zinnia

I already have my basement seed-starting station setup and ready to go, now I just have to start the countdown...oh and expand my garden, because there is no way I can grow everything I want in 3 raised boxes.

Read the Printed Word

So I was skimming a "new to me" blog named {frolic!} and found a post Chelsea wrote about a pledge to Read the Printed Word.

You can visit the website and pledge by placing one of their icons on your blog. You'll find mine on the left hand side.

Reading has always been something I've enjoyed, although as many of you can attest to...we might not have do it as frequently as in the past.

In elementary school, I can remember spending hours at the local library, because the school library would only allow us 1 book a week and it wasn't enough. In junior high, when my English Lit. teachers would give us a reading list and ask us to pick one to write a report on...I would do so; but secretly read several others too. This continued throughout high school and into college, where I minored in English Literature.

Yet after college, a lot changed. Okay, so I read almost all of the Harry Potter series (although I've seen more movies than logged books read), and yes I did read the Twilight series and a few other books here and there. Yet, honestly my reading the last few years has been more towards home improvement books, gardening, etc. While this does still count as reading the printed word, it's like I'm cheating because I'm not reading those good 'ol English Lit classics.

So, let's hope by the end of 2010 I'll have covered some ground and maybe picked up Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy or Mark Twain again.

Taste Change

I imagine many of us have some sort of pile, folder or binder which holds the ideas, magazine tear sheets and paint chips we collect for inspiration.

I remember starting mine about 10 years ago as my pile of old magazines was taking over my bedroom. I used a 4" black binder and filled it with plastic sheet protectors. I didn't have a particular style, I just ripped out whatever caught my eye.

That binder has been edited several times over the past 10 years and in some ways it amazes me how much my taste have changed even over such a short period of time. There are still some images I cannot part with, and those that know me well...will tell you they are classically Me.

This past weekend I spent about an hour going through the binder yet again.



The above image was taken during the sorting process. I had piles for Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, Outdoor Living, and a pile that was just "Cool Things".

After all was said and done, pages neatly put inside the plastic sheet protectors and labeled with Post-It Notes...I ended up with this.


Turns out I had a lot of stuff that just wasn't me anymore.

Cue Disney Music

I can show you the world

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide

I can open your eyes

Take you wonder by wonder

Over, sideways, and under

On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world

-Music from Aladdin

Okay, so it's crazy; but I feel like I've been living under a rock all this time. I'm a crafty person and have made my fair share of things...quilts, afghans, scarves, etc.

Recently, I picked up the crochet hook again to start something new...only to discover that I felt bad leaving some older projects unfinished. I sorted through them and found a simple large granny-square afghan that I had started almost 6 years ago and it was "this close" (showing hands a few inches apart) to being done. It was a kit I found on sale and I remember racing through the first 20-30 rows faster than lightning; but life got in the way and the unfinished project was pushed aside.

I picked it up again a few evenings ago and have already made some progress. I'll share some photos soon.

But back to the reason for this post. One of the things on my To-Do List was to join a crafty group...you know like a quilt club or knit-crochet club. I came across a local one on Yahoo! Groups; but then a fellow crafter mentioned the site Ravelry; which is an online community for knitters and crocheters.


The site is so AWESOME and I cannot believe that I hadn't heard of it before. Hence the Disney music. It not only has a list of groups all over the world; but introduces you to people, patterns and also allows you to "bookmark" nearly everything. If you are so inclined you can also fill out a form allowing you to index all of your yarn (this might be a bit obsessive though).

Those of you who knit and/or crochet, if you havent' joined Ravelry...you have to do it NOW.