Garden Update and A Story
On Saturday evening, the girls and I went over to our garden at my parents’ property. We were hoping to plant potatoes; however, the ground was too damp from rain earlier in the week. And so, I worked on weeding the garden, trying to walk in it as little as possible so that I wouldn’t pack down the dirt.
On arriving at their house, the girls and I exclaimed over the beauty of the pansies growing at various spots around the house!
Of course, Ellie (5 years old) wanted to pick a bouquet of flowers to bring home! She handed me this arrangement when we got home, and I put it into the vase as she had arranged it. Her arrangements are so beautiful!
Sadly the garden is growing slowly and quite a few of the seeds we planted didn’t come up so I will need to replant again soon. Here are pictures of how things are growing.
Lettuce/spinach/beets/carrots in a raised bed:
Peas:
Kale:
Beets, which I will definitely need to thin!
Thankfully, the garlic is growing beautifully! I can’t wait to harvest garlic scapes in the next month or so.
And while I was working in the garden, Ellie was busy making mud pies. She built this fire ring/oven and placed “coal” (gravels) under the pies to cook them. I am so thankful that the girls get to have so much fun at Gramp’s and Grammy’s house!
On Sunday, I was planning to take a break from sewing; however, my hand was so sore (probably triggered by all of the hoeing in the garden on top of the sewing that I have been doing), and I knew that I needed to use ice/heat therapy to help it. So, I made this ice/heat pack, which worked great! I filled it with rice from the freezer so that I could use it instantly. Once it lost the cooling effect, I put it in the microwave to heat it and used some heat therapy. I then put it back in the freezer to get cold, and did the cold and hot therapy again later in the day. By the time I went to bed, it was feeling much better! I love being able to come up with solutions and make things that I need! Usually ice/heat packs don’t stay in place very well—with this one, I was able to have the cold and heat wrapped the whole way around my hand and could somewhat go about doing what I needed to do to take care of my family.
As I was showering after working in the garden, I had a flashback to an earlier May evening when I was six years old. Here is that account as I recall it.
It was the first week of May, and as I recall today is the actual anniversary—at least May 5 sticks in our memories as the date. Mom had been working outside, preparing flower beds for planting, and came in to prepare dinner. I vividly remember that she was making spaghetti and peas that night. I was sitting at the kitchen table coloring while Mom was busy at the stove. I heard the doorbell ring. Mom didn’t answer it. A bit later, I asked, “Mom, didn’t you hear the door bell ring?” Note, the doorbell was defective and didn’t always sound loudly, and it would lock up once pushed so that it wouldn’t ring a second time. Knowing this, Mom ran to the front door on the other side of the house. Going through the living room, she slipped on a magazine that my younger brother, a toddler at the time, had left on floor. She fell and couldn’t get up to walk to the door. So she crawled to the front door and opened it. Looking up, she saw members of the local rescue squad, soliciting for donations. She said, “I think I need you!” They had to call another ambulance to come get her, and she went to the hospital for an x-ray. Her hip wasn’t broken; however, she had hip pain for years to come.
Her story was frequently retold by the first responders, and I think that they hesitated from then on when ringing the door bell at our house to ask for donations…and Mom is forever embarrassed by the fact that she had dirt and dust covering her feet and legs because she hadn’t had an opportunity to shower before she started cooking.
And speaking of Moms. I haven’t gotten as many items made to put in my shop for Mother’s Day gifts as I was hoping—I was working on mask orders most of the week. However, I do have off-white linen eye pillows available, and if you want a very, very special gift, I have also listed my brother’s handcrafted wooden bowls in my online shop. If you are interested in more details or wish to purchase, click on the photos.
Linen Eye Pillow with Removable, Washable Cover
Or another option for the pillow only without a separate, removable cover.
And here are the bowls made by Sherman, my brother:
As I get more items added to my Etsy shop, I will let you know!
Have a great day!