For the record

September 23

It's two days into fall.

The temperature is still in the 90's.

The garden is still producing lots of tomatoes, even without rain and without watering.

We managed to harvest a few potatoes.  Note to self: the fingerlings failed.

My silver flip flops have a little life left in them yet.

But I'm ready for sweaters and boots.


Garden walk

Hydrangea

May 27

Peas

Deadhead

Those hydrangeas came from my mother's yard. She divided them, my brother drove them from Chicago to Kentucky.  Fatty planted them in our yard.  And now a little piece of my other home is at this home.  And I love that.

Carrots need to be thinned.  I did that a week ago and was disappointed to see white, spindly, root-like things.  I pulled one on a whim yesterday.  And look! I am growing baby carrots!  Fatty ate it. He said it smelled like carrot, but tasted like nothing.  Let's just wait.

Like the carrots, I pulled a pea pod. Yuuuummmm! I'm anticipating a harvest in a week or so.

And geraniums are my favorite annual. I always go for the shocking pink, almost red variety. The distinctive geranium smell is full of memories.  I should tell you about that some time.

I hope your weekend is wonderful.  Ours is off to a good start.  Dinner cooked entirely in the new kitchen and margaritas to boost!


Gardener's Hand Scrub

Hi. Long time no see.

Construction is moving along.  And with the chaos that ensues around here, I have been somewhat paralyzed.  No cooking, no sewing, no knitting, very little cleaning.  I really can't stand to be in the house so I have been away or outside as much as possible.  The only thing I am working on is the garden and that is a steady work in progress.

I don't wear gloves when I garden - I like feeling the soil on my hands.  Having my hands in the dirt for hours makes them filthy which I don't mind until it's time to wash off that dirt.  I read about a hand scrub in Garden Anywhere by Alys Fowler and decided to mix up a batch for myself.  I really like how it turned out so I thought I would share it with you.  Most likely you already have everything you need to make this gardener's hand scrub: a jar or container with a lid, sugar, liquid dish soap and a spoon.

Scrub 1

I used a 16 oz. canning jar and filled it 3/4 full of sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Scrub 2
Then add the liquid dish soap until it almost reaches the top.  Stir to mix the soap and sugar.  You want a paste - not too runny or too solid - so you may need to add more sugar.  I added another 1/2 cup to get the consistency correct.

Scrub 3
To wash the dirt off your hands, use a small amount and rub it all over your hands.  The sugar is a great exfoliant that removes the dirt while the soap washes it all away.  You could add a cute label to the jar if you were so inclined.  Pair it with a similar, moisturizing scrub made with olive oil and sugar and it'd make a fantastic gift.

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Hopefully, I will be back here sooner rather than later.  I'm planning on updating the shop around April 15th and I'll announce that as soon as I have the particulars figured out.  Until then, you'll likely find me outside.

Take care.