chicken run

Well hello...

 how goes?

It's been a very busy week.

2 days at the brewery, creating at the Glass gallery, 

drive to Liverpool for the kid to see the Doctor 

and I start teaching my Family Music Time classes tomorrow.

Between the bottling and glass cutting, my fingers are wrecked.

I want a nap. 

We got this ready though... Finally

 No, it's not a dog run, it's for the chickens. 

Only 5 of them. 

It's a palace really, with lots of leg room for the Mister, 

in case he's sent to the proverbial dog house. :}

Hoping to sew even a little tiny bit for the last Market of the season. I practically sold out of my children's stock and not many mittens left. It will be a sparse table for sure.

But...

I'll be selling my felted woolen goodies at the Gallery 138 and the Whirligig Bookshop and will be at a few upcoming Holiday Markets 

(oops, that would be Christmas Markets. You're allowed to to say Christmas around here.)

I'll be hosting 28 people here on Saturday for a little gobble gobble celebration. 

Potluck. I love a good potluck. Wonder what will show up?

Have a good one,

Amanda

if i were...

Joining Lisa and Julie today.

if i were a month i’d be October. Thanksgiving, Halloween and no doubt that it is indeed, Autumn.

if i were a day i’d be Friday .

if i were a time of day i’d be noon.

if i were a sea animal i’d be a starfish.

if i were a direction i’d be facing the water.

if i were a piece of furniture i’d be a murphy bed.

if i were a liquid i’d be a cuppa tea. A different flavour each time.

if i were a gemstone i’d be an agate.

if i were a tree i’d be a lilac.

if i were a tool i’d be a pair of scissors.

if i were a flower i’d be a bright, lightly scented one.

if i were an element of weather i’d be light rain on a summer's day.

if i were a musical instrument i’d be a cello.

if i were a color i’d be teal.

if i were an emotion i’d be content.

if i were a fruit i’d be a juicy peach.

if i were a sound i’d never be louder than lovely.

if i were a car i’d be a Dodge Caravan with stow and go seats.

if i were a food i’d be comforting.

if i were a place i’d be by the water.

if i were material i’d be powder blue cashmere.

if i were a taste i’d be sweet and salty.

if i were a scent i’d be Satsuma orange.

if i were a body part i’d be eyes.

if i were a song i’d be up beat and clever.

if i were a bird i’d be a male cardinal.

if i were a gift i’d be handmade.

if i were a city i’d be living in a quiet pocket of it.

if i were a door i’d be painted red.

if i were a pair of shoes i’d be high quality Italian leather that screamed practicality and comfort, but cool looking.

if i were a poem i’d be anything from Dr. Seuss.

Autumn and the bear

Ah, what a lovely Monday so far. 

I'm sitting outside, eating an awesome omelette 

with the left over roasted veggies from last nights dinner fried into it. 

Yummo!

 The crickets are chirping, the birds are singing. 

There are 3 female and one male cardinal flitting about the bird feeder.

Yesterday, we started to prepare for autumn.

The winter wood that was dumped at the end of the driveway back in the summer is being moved to the winter resting place. 

 The garlic bed has been tilled for this year's planting.

We've been enjoying just picking what we need for our meal. 

Soon, we will have to harvest all the potatoes and the 1 million green pumpkins that are growing and taking over the garden.

Oo, the woodpecker has taken up the bird feeder. Noisy things aren't they.

The angle of the sun has changed and the shadows are much deeper. 

The sun gives warmth in the lea of the house.

 Yes, autumn is a comin'. Best to embrace it. 

After all, it is my favourite season.

It is also the season to think of new products for my wares.

Here's the first ...

Bear finger puppets. 

Which eyes do you like better? Vs or tents?

Here's my piggie

 

Love my owl and it's ribbon belly

 And the sad/worried elephant. Is it too emotional?

So, I've finished my omelette, my tea is cold. 

Time to head inside and make more things!

Hope it's a good day where you are.

Cheers,

Amanda

blueberry hill

It's Blueberry season!!!!

 And we live only a 5-10 minute drive to a lovely blueberry farm.

 So you know ya gotta stop in on your way home.

 To fill our boxes 

 And our tummies. 

Like my boots? Glad I had them in the car. They smelled like beer though. 

They be my bottle fillin' boots.

 Speakin' of beer, like my shirt? Newly arrived! Check it out here.

 And for some reason, I got to see this in the evening. Oh yes, I was going to the  movie. Love the jibs, the colourful sail out on the water.

Hoping to get in some more sewing this week. I have 2 days to do it. And I also have a "decorate it yourself? gel pen wallet" that has been in my head for about 2 years to show you.

till than, ciao,

Amanda

In the Garden

For my record keeping for next year...

July 29, 2013

As you may have previously read here, our little garden had a haphazard start. 

Planting only what the deer wouldn't eat.

The two trees in the garden are pin cherries. More on those later when they grow.

 Turns out, that's only garlic! But since the fence, I've been adding things where ever there is space.

 As such, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

  Like the pumpkin and squash plants 

planted with the kale and fava beans

Potatoes are doing very well. Note to self: leave more space in between next year.

 Peas are finally starting to grow. Not a good start with the deer.

Next year will be so awesome.

 And the collards and cucumber will not be so close together.

 All in all, I'm very content with my first year of gardening. I love going out in the evenings after supper and weeding and watering before the mosquitoes get me.

 In a week or so, I'll be coming out this way for another reason. 

This space will become our chicken yard!

We'll extend the fence and build a chicken run.

We just got a coop this evening for free! Just a few adaptations and we're good to go.

 You're still here?

I harvested my first thing today.

Curly kale.

 To make Caldo Verde. A portuguese green soup!

Soak the leaves in water so the buggies come to the top. I had one little green worm. Proud of that.

Roll the leaves together, cut them very small. These are a little too thick, according to my husband. 

(He still ate it though.)

 Boil the potatoes until they are almost mushy. I helped these along with my masher.

 Add the kale for the last 7-8 minutes.

Add some salt and olive oil. It's also common to eat it with sliced chirizo in the soup. 

A very nutritious and delicious soup. 

have a good one,

Amanda

All in a Week

About a week and a half ago, I was excited about my new clothes line. Stick in the middle a la Newfoundland style.

 And after processing my dad's sudden passing and the joy of family around, I return home a week later to see that life does indeed carry on. 

The grass continues to grow.

 As do the potatoes. The front ones are in the eel grass. The soil spuds are doing better.

Beans

 Lily pads and flowers. The Spring peepers are gone! GONE! I can sleep in my own bed now. It's been since April. I couldn't sleep with their high pitched noise. But now, they're gawn. And have been replaced by the GUNG GUNG of the bull frogs. That's not so bad.

 Patches of Queen Anne's Lace

 Wild strawberries. It was one year ago that DH and I hopped on a plane to buy a house here. This house. The yard had wild strawberries in the back yard. I remembered how I would head to the cliffs of McDougal's Beach to pick the wild strawberries whenever I went home to Newfoundland in the summers. They're small, but warm and sweet.

 The hostas took over. I will certainly remember to split them up next year.

 And the first cord of 4 loads of wood arrived in preparation for next fall. Yes, with the unusually cold winter (for here), everyone was running out of wood. 

So now, everyone is piling up to dry out for next season.

I did manage to get a day and a bit of sewing in for the Shelburne Farmer's Market on Saturday.

 Market bags with longer handles as requested by customers.

 And a few little bags for the kiddies. I love this fabric. It's Tidny fabric from Ikea. 

I thought it would be quilting cotton weight, but it's more like duck and the print is huge. 

So much more than I was expecting. Perfect for the bags.

Tomorrow, I'll be making a rainbow of Monsty's.

And that's how I'm adjusting to being back to "normal". Only, it's not.

One day, one moment at a time.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the market though. ;] It's a nice place to be.

You should come.

Ciao,

Amanda