Garden, Berries and Prims

I have quite a few pictures to share with you. Our garden is doing awesome and our field is FULL of dewberries.

First off, this is my Hibiscus which at one time
had outside, but for the past three years it has
been in my living room. It doesn't bloom that often
and when it does the flower only lasts a day. I was
able to get a picture so I could enjoy it longer.

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GARDEN TOUR

We will have quite a few watermelon.

Did I mention I will have squash coming out
our ears!! I would say there are at least
25 or more.

Muskmelon.

The deer or rabbits ate the other plant
so we'll be lucky to get a couple to enjoy.

We will again have a pumpkin for Natalie
this Halloween.

Dewberries
I made 6 pints of jelly from these.
I checked the field on Thursday and
came to the conclusion that when they
all ripen (which will be soon) we will have
to spend an entire day picking! I hope
dewberry jelly is a hot seller again at the
craft show in November!!

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PRIMS

I found this saying in a magazine and LOVED it.
You might be wondering about the little heart.
Well this was a table runner and there was a
little spot of paint that just wouldn't coffee

stain so I put a heart over it.

Another saying I found and love.

I thought this door doll turned out

awesome.


Well that is what has been keeping me busy lately. This is the lull before the canning storm! I hope I get a lot of it done before we go to North Carolina and see Shane. I don't want to wish August away, but I am looking forward to spending three full days with my son and seeing what his life is like at Camp Lejeune. When I asked one of the Admins at our Distribution Center in NC what the weather was like in September she said...August and September are our hottest months. GREAT!! That's okay as long as I get to hug my son!!

Blessings to all!!

Sheilda

The Garden

I thought I would share some pictures of our garden. It has been a battle this year against bugs, deer, rabbits and storms. The critters got our beans while we were on vacation so I had to replant them. I think the rabbits got into them again. I'll be lucky if I get any to can.

Zucchini and green peppers
I swear the zucchini grows about 5 inches
every day. I missed picking one the other day
and when I found it, it was HUGE!

We got the corn upright again and it is starting
to tassel so we should be enjoying fresh sweet
corn soon. I can hardly wait!!!

Squash and watermelon
They LOVED the hot weather and
exploded with growth! I should get quite
a few squash so it should make up for no beans!!

This is one of the new flowerbeds I made in our woods.
We can't get grass to grow there so I decided to fill
it up with plants and flowers.

Flowerbed #2
The middle one is the hydrangea bush
I bought with my birthday money (thanks Mom!)
I have always one of these!

Black-eyed Susan
This is another perennial I have always wanted.
I got this when I stopped at a garage sale and this lady was selling
plants right out of her landscaping (which was absolutely
beautiful).

Last but not least, my fern.
My sister gave this to me about 5 years ago and it
is still going strong. It LOVES the hot summer
and always fills in nicely. Every time I look at it
I think of my wonderful sister!!

I hope you are enjoying your summer and the beauty of your own garden and flowers. Every night when I get home from work I walk my yard and look at each flowerbed and garden. I just love this time of year. Thank you God for what comes from a tiny little seed. It is truly a miracle!

Blessings.....Sheilda

Weekend with Natalie

We had Natalie for the weekend so Zack and Becky could enjoy Becky's sister's wedding. I picked her up Friday afternoon and the fun began. All I can say is she is the best baby ever. She is happy 99% of the time. She is busy, but not into everything. I did not have to put a single knick knack away. She slept all night and got up happy and ready to play.

I found a game to keep her busy

We took her to East Bethel's Booster Days,
but we didn't get to stay very long. The
sky was clear when we got there, but quickly turned dark.

This is what the sky looked like. We were home
for awhile before the real storm hit. It rained
buckets and the wind blew harder than we
realized.

After Church Kelly went out to assess the damage
to our garden. All our corn was laying on the ground.
It looked like a swirl pattern! We did get it
propped back up again.


Natalie helped us outside. I was able to catch her
making this face. This is the same face Shane
used to make. Must run in the family.

We had such a fun weekend with this precious little girl. We are truly blessed grandparents. I have a feeling I'll have to go get her sometime just to have her overnight because I miss her already!

Have an awesome week!

Sheilda

Natalie Stays Over Night

Natalie, our 15 month old granddaughter, came to stay overnight with us for the first time last weekend. I was a little nervous because I haven't had a baby in the house for 19 years and I was afraid she'd cry most of the weekend because she is pretty attached to her Mom. Well to my surprise we both did awesome! She didn't cry once, and I didn't let her out of my sight for a second. Talk about an easy baby!! She didn't put anything in her mouth, she slept through the night and she eats almost anything.

Here she is enjoying her mac & cheese.

She was eating with one of my measuring spoons.
She didn't care, she was having fun!

She can walk, but prefers to get around
on her knees. She can cover a lot of ground
this way!

After a busy day it was bath time.

She is all ready for Church, but she did
not like the barrette I put in her hair.

We enjoyed our weekend with her and we are all set to have her again in July. I didn't get a single thing done all weekend except play with Natalie, which was okay with me. She is a doll and the best little girl. God has truly blessed our family with this little girl.

An update on Shane...he is now in North Carolina at Camp Legeune. Once he is settled in there, Kelly and I are planning to fly out to see him probably sometime in August. It will be 6 months then that we have seen him and I can hardly wait to give my son a big hug!

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July! We are on our way to Cumberland, WI for our annual vacation time with Dave and Jan (Kelly's oldest sister from St. Louis).

Sheilda

Gardening Has Begun

Our field is full of wild strawberries. We did not let them go to waste! Kelly and I picked enough to make three pints of frozen jam, and seven half-pints of jam (which I canned so the jars are sealed). As you can see I have another bowl full waiting to be cleaned and processed. I LOVE making jams and jellies. Thanks Audrey for all the jars!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of our gardens. I'll update my blog as everything grows.

I planted a variety of lettuce this year (left) and have been
eating a salad almost every day. I had never had fresh
lettuce and it has an awesome flavor.
My Romaine lettuce is just starting to grow (middle row)
and we planted Kohlrabi this year (right side).

This is a LONG view of our original garden.
Corn, tomatoes, green peppers, zucchini,
carrots, beans, lettuce are all planted here.

This the extension Kelly started last year.

Planted here are onions, peas, cucumbers,
hot peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes,
corn, cantaloupe.

If all goes well this fall, we will be very busy picking and canning everything!

Sidekick Melody. My 10 year old
girl does not leave my side when I am
in the garden. I just love my faithful friend!!!

Last but not least, here is the current prim I am
working on. I have a few more cat's cut out and
ready for a face.


Have a blessed week!

Sheilda

Finished Basement, Family & Birthday

Sorry I have been MIA for the past few weeks. I have a bunch of pictures to share with you. The basement is done, we spent last weekend with family, and I celebrated my last birthday in the forties!

Here is the finished product. It turned out

beautiful and we love it!

The blue couch will be donated soon,
it just doesn't go with the new color scheme.

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Last weekend Kelly and I went up to Spooner to celebrate Mother's Day, my sister's 50th birthday, and my upcoming birthday. We had a wonderful time being with family and we are so grateful to my niece Kara and her husband Travis for letting us all stay at their house.

My nephew Kasey's two little boys came over (Carson
and Noah). They enjoyed licking the beaters from the
dessert their Granny Rhonda was making.


We went out to see the horses, but Carson
was not too excited about it. I did get this
adorable picture of the two brothers. I really
enjoyed getting to spend a little time with these
two precious little boys!

Saturday night Kara was busy getting the
campfire started for us.

Mom, Rhonda, Ray, and of course Skooter
all ready to enjoy the fire and the Smores!

Before the campfire we ran out to see Rhonda
and Brent's house. It was just a hole in the ground
the last time I saw it.

We all wondered what happened
to Mom and Audrey and when we looked over
there they were trying to figure out how they
were going to climb up into the house!

With a little pushing and pulling...they did it!!

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On the way home Sunday Kelly and I stopped at Zack and
Becky's townhouse in St. Croix Falls. We got to see them and
our granddaughter Natalie.

She just keeps getting cutier and cutier!

She was busy with her stroller going up and
down the patio. It won't be too long now and she'll

be running around without any help.

After all that walking it was time for some
juice and crackers.

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For my birthday we went to our first Twins game at the
new stadium. Here is a view of downtown Minneapolis
from our seats. The game went 5 innings and then
was postponed due to rain. It was a very fun
time anyway and I'm glad we got to go.

The Minnie and Paul sign. It was fun to see it
in person vs. on TV. No home runs were hit so
we didn't get to see it light up.

Well, that should about catch you up. We planted all the gardens this week so I'll post pictures as everything starts to grow. What a beautiful Memorial weekend to get it done. On Monday, take a moment to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day. Thank you to all the veterans who fought for our freedom, and thank you to all the young men and women who are still fighting. May God Bless you and keep you safe!

Sheilda

Almost Done!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I was waiting for our new carpet to be installed. Other than that there is not much exciting happening right now. We started to plant our gardens (yes gardens!) but then it turned cold and snowed, and has not stopped raining in a few days! I guess we will still have to wait until Memorial weekend to get it all done.

The ground and deck were covered with snow last weekend .
Good ole Minnesota weather for you!!
I know we didn't get as much as Duluth or Hayward, but any
snow is May is hard to take.

Our new carpet was finally installed on Monday.
You can't really tell by the picture how it looks.
All I know is that old, dirty, smelly carpet we
had is GONE!!!

Here you can see the pattern. It really is
beautiful.

Before the home makeover!

After all the hard work (and mess)!

I have two new storage shelves to help
keep things organized. You should have seen
this corner before...I'm embarrassed to
say it was pretty bad!

We are still working on the living room side. Zack, Becky and Natalie are coming over on Sunday. Poor Zack, every time he comes over Kelly puts him to work. But, it will save my poor back from having to move all the heavy stuff back inside. Thanks Zack!! I'll update you with pictures of Natalie next week. Shane just called while I was blogging. It is always wonderful to hear his voice. He is busy with his schooling. Today they took apart an engine. You should see the size of the vehicle he is working on. Imagine putting it back together!!

Have a blessed week!

Sheilda