Wednesday Medley and Bits of Life Wednesday

 Quick glimpse of the front porch on a sunny yesterday.


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1.  The Circleville, Ohio, Pumpkin Festival starts today.  All things pumpkin are everywhere. What is your one very favorite pumpkin flavored food or drink?  Do you wish it was available all year or do you only want it in the Fall?

The gluten-free pumpkin muffins I made last week are incredible! An IGer had mentioned the source of the recipe, (www.blessthismessplease.com) so I thought I'd check it out. 

2 c. rolled oats (gluten free if needed)

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 eggs

3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt (not fat-free)

1/3 c. maple syrup

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. sea salt

2 t. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

1 c. mini chocolate chips (semi sweet)

1 c. chopt walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

In the jar of your blender, add the oats. Cover with lid and process until the oats look like flour (1-3 minutes). Pour oats into your KitchenAid mixer bowl or some other mixing bowl. This is supposed to be a blender-only recipe, but when I made my first batch that way, it set up like concrete in the bottom of the blender. I wasn't about to try that a second time!

Into the mixer bowl add pumpkin puree, eggs, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix.

Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spoon batter into muffin tin.

Bake at 400 degrees for 17 minutes or until muffins spring back slightly when touched.

I love this recipe!

 The neighbor's Jerseys.

Thinking about that yogurt

2.  What product would you seriously stockpile if you found out they weren't going to sell it anymore?

Coffee beans. Can you imagine opening the door of our largest guest room and coffee beans come gushing out? Try. Just try.

North of our farm about 2 miles on 17th Street.
Gorgeous color on the 11th of October.

3.  What is the most interesting thing you have seen online this week?

The most interesting thing I saw online this week was a set of Bruynzeel colored pencils, which I purchased. The color feels so nice and smooth as you're working. (playing). The Banksy (graffiti artist) spoof, was the most interesting thing the week before. 

More neighborhood pics

4.  Is it better to be a "big fish in a small pond" or a "small fish in a big pond"?

A big fish in a small pond is more likely to encourage one's ego and give us a false sense of our own importance. A small fish in a big pond is more likely to make us dependent upon God. From this great distance on the timeline of my life, I'd choose the second option. But as my mother-in-law used to say, "Too soon old; too late smart." 

Here's an interesting article, entitled, 'Your Life Does Not Belong to You.'

I wonder if a gangster or a serial killer holes up here

(in our neighborhood)

5.  My Joe has become obsessed with playing chess on the computer.  Do you play chess?  Are you good at it?

I played chess when I was young, but haven't played it for years. I'm  more likely to play a word game. 

(or maybe HERE)

6.  Tell us something random about your week.

 Yes, that's snow you see

Making its autumn appearance on October 14.
(Daughter-in-law and three of the grandkids)

I thought you'd never ask! :-)  We enjoyed a nice gathering of family and friends for our Early Thanksgiving. Not only did we all get an opportunity to tell each other one thing we were thankful for, and not only did my son bake two apple pies to go along with my two pumpkin pies, and not only did my daughter make a killer gluten-free, dairy-free green bean casserole, and not only did we have too much ham and turkey, and not only did the kids have a blast playing out in the sudden snowfall, 

 

and not only was a group around a game table in the library and from the sound of it having a rip roaring time, BUT our son and his wife, who are expecting the birth of their second baby in February shared a 'gender reveal' with us. I'm showing a video for all of you, but especially for those friends in the UK who would probably be arrested and hauled off to gaol for doing such a thing. LOL

And not only do we have 'open carry' in Wisconsin, but we have 'open shooting,' I guess, as long as it's not at any living thing, including a tree. (Okay, the last part was my rule for the BB gun when our kids were young.) I guess this would be considered target practice.

Some of the gang on the hilltop with their pink or blue balloons, their guess of the baby's gender before the big explosive 'reveal.'

Two of the cousins, both 8 years old

One of the lovely granddaughters

Expectant mom and dad and older 4-year old brother


***

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Figgy Pudding

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Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

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The Grandpuppy

Waiting for the thin layer of ice to melt from the pond

Given to me by my cousin, Bobby

I had no idea how true this would be. This dog loves to be outdoors. She lies at the edge of the deck, looking out over the field below the house, and she lies beside the garden pond. When she wants to come indoors, she knocks on the patio doors. I'm not kidding. She uses her paw to knock on the patio doors! So I let her in.  Of course. Then she lies on the window seat, waiting to bark at the UPS man or anyone who should venture up our driveway. She's a great watch dog!

I need to teach her to ring the strip of bells beside the back door, in order to notify me that she wants to go out, like Bridger used to do. Then again, this dog almost always wants to go out, so...

***

CHRISTMAS soaps are ready!

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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  The Marketplace  and  and  Market Yourself Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Le Chateau des Fleurs and   Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and   Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Adorned From Above and  Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

Making a Medieval Peasant Cottage - Tutorial

 Medieval Peasant Cottage

Making a Medieval Peasant Cottage:

We're using Answers in Genesis' Kingdom Chronicles this year in VBS (Vacation Bible School).

The Medieval Peasant Cottage is not part of the suggested crafts, but I wanted to make one and thought the kids might enjoy it too. There is a 'Castle Catapult' suggested for the juniors and primaries, but it's made with a little wood ice cream spoon and a bottle cap, not exactly the kind of stuff my craft buddy and I like to use. Now if we could make an actual catapult...

Anyway, the Medieval Peasant Cottage is going to be a two-day project, allowing an overnight for the stucco and the paint to dry.

For this VBS craft, I used the following supplies:

• 5 x 5 x 5 cardboard box (with flaps)

• 6 x 9 piece of chipboard for roof

• 8 x 8 piece of cardboard for the platform on which the cottage sits (tiny lot)

• 4 1/2  x 2 1/2 piece of chipboard or heavy cardstock for chimney

• Tiny fake flowers for window box

• Moss for bushes

• Coconut matting (loose) for thatch, or you can use straw

• Tiny gravel or fish rocks for walkway

• Acrylic paints: Green, Brown, Black, Gray

• Vimasco (vinyl acrylic mastic) for the stucco effect on the outside of the house

I'll admit, there are definitely perks for being married to a contractor. We have just about everything around here. (That's also the downside.)  But if you don't have Vimasco sitting around, you can use a heavy white paint with sand added. 

• 1" wide paint brushes for applying the Vimasco

• Assorted narrow paint brushes for applying the detail

• Tacky glue (which the kids will paint onto the roof before applying straw 'thatch.')

• Hot Glue gun and glue sticks. The adults will be doing the hot glue. I don't want the kids losing any fingerprints, like I almost did.)

Here's how:

Assemble the box, taping the bottom closed with Scotch packing tape.

Cut two opposite-end top flaps of the box so that each forms a triangle. Now bend the side flaps inward. Your roof will be affixed to these side flaps.

End flaps cut to form triangles

Construct a chimney by folding the 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 piece of heavy cardstock or chipboard at 1-inch intervals with a half inch leftover as a tab to glue or tape to one of the sides.

Fold 6 x 9 chipboard (roof) in half and cut a square (the size of the chimney) out of it.The 6x9 gives the roof a little overhang.

6x9 roof with hole for chimney

Hot glue the roof to the side (top) flaps of the house.

Glue the chimney in place. When that's dry, Give the chimney a stone look by dabbling gray and black paint onto it.

Paint the platform with a green acrylic paint (The platform is not yet glued to the house)

Paint the roof brown.

When the roof is dry...Apply the Vimasco 'stucco' to the outside of the house and let dry overnight.

***

Now paint the brown timbers, the window frames, the walkway, etc.

Adults hot glue the cottage to the platform.

Now would be the time for the kids to use Tacky glue to adhere flowers to a 'windowbox,' gravel to the walkway, and lastly, the straw to the roof.

The kids can use the 1" wide paintbrushes to paint the Tacky glue onto each side of the roof, then sprinkling straw on, like you'd add glitter to something. Probably best to do one side at a time.

Although I like the look of the coconut matting on the roof of the one I made (in the photo), an adult would have to hot glue that on. So at VBS, we're going to go with the chopped straw instead, so that the kids can do it themselves.

P.S. If you have any questions or if I left anything out, be sure to email me or leave your questions in a comment.

****

And speaking of Coconut Matting...

Lord Peter Wimsey, Harriet Vane

tumbler.com

Lord Peter: "I was rather hurt. Fancy having to ask the Morning Star where the pole-star of one’s own heaven has gone to. . . How do these things get into the papers?”

“I rang them up myself,” replied Harriet. “First-class publicity, you know, and all that.”

“So it is,” agreed Wimsey, helping himself lavishly to butter. “Rang ‘em up, did you, with all the gory details?”

“Naturally; that was the first thing I thought of.”

“You’re a woman of business. But does it not, pardon me, indicate a certain coarsening of the fibers?”

“Obviously,” said Harriet. “My fibers at this moment resemble coconut matting.”

“Without even ‘Welcome’ written across them..."

                                               from Have His Carcase, by Dorothy L. Sayers

***

'Coconut & Lime'

Vegan, Natural, Handcrafted Soaps

Deliciously Fragrant

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and  Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

Public Right of Way - Anglophile Friday

Public rights of way from gov.uk

"Public rights of way are open to everyone. They can be roads, paths or tracks, and can run through towns, countryside or private property.

"You have the right to walk along them. Some rights of way are also open to horse riders, cyclists or motorists:

• footpaths - let you go by foot only
• bridleways - let you go by foot, horse or bike
• restricted byways - let you travel by any form of transport that doesn’t have a motor
• byways open to all traffic - let you travel by any form of transport, including cars (though they’re mainly used by walkers and horse riders)"

Lovely Reeth - in the Yorkshire Dales. Even the pigs take little notice of the tourists who decide to walk from the lower level of the town (above) along the public footpath to the upper level. Look what a beautiful environment those pigs are in, yet they seem oblivious to those incredible drystone walls and the grand hills surrounding the village. Snort. Oink. Zzzzz.

Turning the corner of the [fenced in] footpath

and heading toward the incline

Looking back, from halfway up the hill (still on the footpath)

Problems in using a right of way (from gov.uk)

"The people who own or maintain the land must keep public rights of way open and useable. 

If you have a problem using a right of way - eg an obstruction, poor maintenance or a misleading sign – you should report it to:

• the National Park Authority if it’s in a national park
• the local highway authority – you can contact them through your local council
• the Forestry Commission in woodland"

Aha! an obstruction! But I think we can forgive this one and not report it to the authorities.

 Source

He went 'thataway!'

Public footpaths are great for the walking enthusiast, but not always easy to follow.

 Source

 What?! This is a public footpath sign?

Some public footpath signs are hardly distinguishable from any other old post, especially if you don't know exactly what you're supposed to be looking for, or if they're obscured by flowering shrubs. When my daughter and I were in Bourton-on-the-Water, we decided to take the public footpath toward Little Rissington and lost track of the sign posts, eventually ending up in a pasture with a friendly? bull. That was our first real clue that we must be off the posted track. Fortunately, neither the bull nor we were irreparably offended.

***

Hoping to have another opportunity to get lost in England

***

Last Chance!

Father's Day Giveaway

(Click on the link above to enter)
Ends Tonight at Midnight

Vegan, Natural, Handcrafted

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

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and at

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Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

 This post may be linked to some of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and Amaze Me Monday and   Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and  Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

Barns of NW Wisconsin - Barron County

My favorite barns are usually red, but I love the stone wall of this barn on SS north of Cameron, and the fact that it's built into the hillside. To my eye, this has most of the important features, i.e. a silo, a fence, a nice straight roof, and a field of wildflowers. (Yes, they're dandelions, but when you've seen only white for the past several months, the yellow dandelions look beautiful!) Unfortunately, cows, the major feature, are missing.

You know they're only weeds because you don't want them.

Look how pretty they are!

***

This week the grandkids are here. Lots to do, including working on VBS projects (You're right, it doesn't take normal people this long), going to Sand Creek on one of the warmer days, taking the grandpuppy to the vet for checkup and shots, going on nature walks, attending my weekly Bible study with a great group of friends, cleaning up the backyard, playing games, and if we get a really warm day - picking snails for our garden pond.

***

Father's Day Giveaway
Ends Friday night at Midnight

Don't miss my HomemadeSoapnSuch Giveaway

Check the blue Giveaway box on my sidebar.

'Lemon Verbena'

Vegan, Natural, Handcrafted

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

My ETSY Store 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and  Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

MOTHER'S DAY GIVEAWAY - HomemadeSoapnSuch

Isabelle Thornton of Le Chateau des Fleurs is hosting a GIVEAWAY of HomemadeSoapnSuch handcrafted, vegan soaps!

TWO HomemadeSoapnSuch vegan luxury soaps, your choice, made with all-natural base oils, natural colorants, botanicals, and quality fragrance oils/essential oils. These gorgeous soaps have a lovely lather, but are gentle and mild to your skin, leaving it feeling soft and silky - not dry and itchy like commercial soaps. You will love the fragrances! Each beautiful bar of HomemadeSoapnSuch luxury soap is 4.5-5.0 oz. and comes labeled and wrapped (photos on Etsy). Perfect for your own shower or bath -  or to give to someone special.

This Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.

Giveaway April 1 - April 16.


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Thanks, Isabelle!
and
Thanks, everyone. :-)

Figgy Pudding - And CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!!

'Figgy Pudding'

...with everything you'd expect in your Christmas figgy pudding, well, except for the flour and eggs.

Brown sugar, figs, oranges, spices - they all add up to an amazing fragrance you'll love. And the soap? Made with all natural base oils, essential oils, and quality fragrance oils. Altogether, it makes a beautiful and fragrant bar of soap for your shower or bath.

Why use heavy chemical soaps when you can treat your skin to a kinder, gentler, natural bar of soap that will leave it feeling soft, refreshed, clean, and moisturized - and smells great.

Each beautiful bar of 'Figgy Pudding' comes wrapped in its own distinctive label with a list of ingredients on the back, and is enclosed in a clear cello bag, ready to give as a gift. Of course, the cello bag is resealable - so if you're careful, you can take a whiff of that amazing fragrance before you give it away! No one will ever know.

All of our soaps are natural, handcrafted, and vegan. Only natural colorants are used - no oxides.

Great for stocking stuffers or 'Thinking of You.' This is a gift they will remember, for these natural, handcrafted bars last a long time.

Stock up now. You-know-what is just around the corner! 

***

 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL:

Now through December 19

BUY FIVE - GET ONE FREE!

on all our natural, vegan, handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapnSuch 

...and more! Check out all our handcrafted soaps

This offer currently not available at our ETSY store. 


  Mop it Up Monday   and Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Gluten Free Monday and  The Chicken Chick and The Marketplace and    What's in the Gunny Sack and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and Made By You Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous  and  Get Your Craft On and Tip Me Tuesday  and  Inspiration Board and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Two Maids a Baking and   Cast Party Wednesday and   We Did it Wednesday  and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Mom on TimeOut and  Link it Up Thursday and It's Fall Y'all and Crafty Friday (Thursday) and Mandatory Mooch and  Petals to Picots and  Threading Your Way and Lisa's Gluten-Free Blog  and I'm Lovin' it Friday and Maiden d'Shade and It's a Hodgepodge Friday  and Foodie Friends Friday and Creative Bloggers and  Serenity Saturday and Overflowing With Creativity and  Home and Family Friday and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

 

 

Our Etsy Shop is OPEN!

Little Frog in a Big Pond

So here I am, posting while Svengoolie is hosting 'Bride of Frankenstein'  on Me-TV, one of the six channels we get - which is still more than we need (obviously). Kevin, Bridger, and Misty are watching Svengoolie and eating popcorn. I left the room because I don't like to watch scary things before going to bed. Compared with What Lies Beneath, (a movie I will never watch a second time), maybe it's not scary at all, but I'm not taking chances.

So the point of this post was to announce that at long last our Etsy shop is up and running. Besides www.homemadesoapnsuch.com, we wanted to have an Etsy presence for those who do not know us and feel more secure shopping at Etsy.  Our Etsy store has international shipping for Canada and the UK.  

We're getting our soaps listed on Etsy, a few at a time.  Please pass the word along to your friends. :-)

Our daughter is taking care of our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/homemadesoapnsuch. 
Be sure to 'Like' us on Facebook. It will make her happy. :-)

Of course you will continue to find all of our natural, handcrafted soaps listed at our main store,  www.homemadesoapnsuch.com. We appreciate all of our loyal Homemadesoapnsuch customers and invite everyone to check out our new autumn soaps.

Our new Etsy shop is at www.etsy.com/shop/homemadesoapnsuch

So have I thoroughly confused everyone?  I'm sorry.

I've been sitting at this computer way too long!

P.S. No, we do not sell frogs. 
I took this photo at Sand Creek when the grandkids were staying with us, and I thought this little guy deserved to have his photo on a blog post.

***

'Clover Blossom'

...and more! Check out all our handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

Now, also available at ETSY 

Sunshine Squash

'Sunshine' Winter Squash

I love the intense orange color of this winter squash. I ordered the seed from Park Seed Company, which is where I also order my Carmen Pepper seeds. I haven't eaten a Sunshine Squash  yet, but if the color has any influence on me, it will taste good. Funny how that color is so appealing in a fruit or vegetable, but not in wall paint or clothing. It looks a lot like a Buttercup, except for the color.

There's still a lot growing in the garden - carrots, squash, lots of peppers, and herbs that I plan to pot and bring indoors. Then there's the cleaning up of the garden. I hope the weather stays nice. It's much more pleasant to work outdoors on days like this - low 70's. I spent much of the afternoon digging up irises to thin out the bed, a job I've been putting off for the past three or four years. I think I got about 1/5 done. Hopefully, with the light gained from trimming the huge maple, my irises may actually bloom next spring. This year I only had a few blossoms, due to overcrowding and lack of sunshine.

Carmen Peppers

This is last year's photo, but we managed to get a great crop of Carmens this year too, once the really hot weather passed. I also noticed that my lemon verbena plant is doing well. I'm not sure I'll be able to winter it over in the house, but it's worth a try.  Seems that it's only hardy to zone 8, and we live in zone 3.

 Is your garden cleaned up already?

***

Soap Sample Assortment Sets

now available

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