Garden Update June 29

The garden is in bloom.  Everyday I'm finding new treasures coming up.  It is truly amazing how much this woman planted.  I'm sure I've pulled many lovely things that I thought were weeds.  But, you would never know by how much is growing now.  We've just had 2 days of heavy rainfall.  Cael and I were going stir crazy so we headed out into the garden when it looked dry enough.  It was very cloudy so the photos could be better. 

Here is an overview of the yard coming down from the deck.  I don't think I've taken pictures from this angle.  The vegetable beds are to the right behind the tree in the photos.

Here you can see the many mint bushes, Oregon Grape bush, Juneberry Bush, and many other things everywhere.

Here you can kinda see the veggie garden beds to the right with tons more folliage everywhere.

The veggie patches.  There are currently 4. I just added in the one on the far right with the teepee style branch trellis made with willow branches from the bushes that we massively trimmed up.  I've just planted sugar snap peas in there.  Also I planted some beets and cauliflower in front.

Here you can see the spaghetti squash (left corner) the yard long beans and green beans in the bed and the zucchini in the left. They are all coming up, but not fast.  I think these need more sun.  Which we are now thankfully getting.

 The rock area with lots coming up.  My Calla Lillies are doing great!  Bonus picture of my sweet boy!

 The lettuce area.  It's doing great as is the Kale.  I also planted some spinach mustard behind the lettuce and it's already up after just 4 days.

Finally some flower and bushes.  I know the bottom left is Yarrow.  But, I have no idea what the other 3 are.  Do you?

I'm loving this garden.  So many surprises.  I've found more mint (I think it's spearmint) and cilantro growing in a weird place and lots of beautiful daisys.

Just Like Me

These kids of mine have changed so much. Seeing our family Christmas photo reminded me of this. I couldn't believe how much Alaina is looking like me. She's always looked so much like her dad.

The other day I learned what a selfie is. Really! This is something that's been around forever, but now has a new special name.....yeah...anyways I was sitting trying to knit when Cael climbed in my lap. My camera was next to me so I grabbed it and took this.

And this

And this

And this

Take that! Photos of me with every one of my kids. I'm always the one behind the camera so finding a photo of me with a kid is crazy few and far between. I love seeing how much of me is in each kid. Same shape or color of eyes, our chins or cheeks. Boy do I love these babes of mine.

A Cross Stitch And A Doll

I'm working on a few things.  I'm finishing up my Bellatrix socks. (yeah!) I'm halfway down the foot of the second sock.  I'm hoping to have them finished in a day or two.

I'm working on a new color wheel cross stitch piece.  This will go on my art room wall.  I used only colors that I had on hand.  Some aren't quiet right, but so far they are looking ok. 

I also redid a reborn that I've had a long time.  (do you remember when I did that? hehe)  This little babe I kept for myself when I decided to stop making reborns.  I always loved this sculpt by Berenguer.  The body that I put on the poor thing was waaaay to big.  Rachel found the doll last week while I was searching for some garage sale stuff.  I also found premade bodies from years ago.  This white one was perfect.  You can see how much of a difference it made.  The doll is super cute and well proportioned now.  She has been carrying it around all week.

Liam Michael

I don't think this little man has yet to have his own post. Shame on me! He turned 7 months old just a few days ago. It really is amazing just how fast the days run by. But now.... Now its time to really introduce our sweet little surprise boy.

He was born November 20th. I wish I could say it was a peaceful beautiful birth. But I would be lying.  It was the longest and most difficult delivery of my four babes. I had hoped to have a quick natural birth. But after 12 hours I was ready for that epidural. In hard labor the anesthesiologist tried 4 times to get in the epidural. I finally told him to stop. Less than 20 minutes later our son was born. He was healthy and soooo beautiful. 7 lbs 4 oz and 19 3/4 inches. We were in the hospital an extra day.

We were lucky to have my folks staying with us for the month he was born. It really made it nice to have the extra support around.

Cael took to Liam right away. We had been worried that Cael would try and hurt a new babe. He's of the jealous type after all. Even the hospital pediatrician said we should watch carefully. Gee thanks....because I wasn't already worried! As it turned out I didn't need to worry just then. He loved him. Cael was always telling us when Liam was crying or when he was just fussy. Even if we were already holding him. It was very sweet. The girls loved their new little brother. Rachel had an amazing touch. Liam would sleep on her chest for hours. And she would him and give him kisses.

As a newborn he was amazing. He slept well and loved to be cuddled and held. He never fussed unless there was some reason. He nursed beautifully and snuggled so sweet. He really reminded me of Alaina when she was new. And still does today.

He's hit his milestones as he should. Alert and grasping things by two months, fussy during one time of the day between 6 and 10 weeks,  cooing and smiling and just being adorable by 3 months. He rolled over at 5 months....would have been sooner if his belly wasn't so big! And now at 7 months he is rolling, scooting, sitting, and eating first foods. And still, he has this peaceful calm to him that reminds me so much of Alaina. He's such a sweet boy and we are thankful for him everyday.

Just look at those sweet chubs!!!

We love you sweet boy!

Garden Update June 14, 2014... Late!!!

*Note... This post was supposed to be posted on June 14.  But, blogger didn't post it for some reason.  So, here it is.  Late, but necessary as it shows the garden a few weeks before my last posting.  I think these photos were taken around the 10th of June.

I don't even know where to begin with this garden.  This house was empty for 18+ months before we moved in.  Many of our neighbors have described the women living here as the "Crazy Plant Lady".  I guess every weekend she would drive up with her car filled to the brim with plants.  I could have guessed that by looking at this yard.  It was a jungle when we moved in.  But it was October so we decided to wait until spring to get going on it.  (not to mention I was due in just a few weeks!)  When April rolled around and it thawed out enough for me not to freeze, I got to work.  I pruned, hacked, and ripped up weeds.  And, the hubby and I hauled rocks... lots and lots of rocks.  They seemed to have stood on the upper deck and just throw rocks all over the garden as art.

Little bit by little bit the garden is emerging.  She was actually smart with what she planted, but not so much with where she planted them.  It's all edibles and butterfly and birds stuff.  luckily I've found about 50 plant tags scattered around.  So I've had a place to start.  As you all should know by now... I have a black thumb. I've been trying though.  And, really, if I can't become a good gardener here, I won't be able to anywhere.  The soil here is sandy loam. It's beautiful and rich.

I cleared out space for a slightly raised veggie bed.

Here are just some pics from around the garden.  There will be lots of updates over the next few months.

Out From The Bowels Of The Storage Room

I wonder if they all took a great big gulp of fresh air when I opened up their boxes last night.  I know I did.  I can't believe I've gone so long without working with these dolls of mine.  I miss sewing and knitting for them.  I miss the community that I was a part of when I sold clothing for them. 

I've decided to start making and selling clothing again when I have time.  I went through my bin of unsold clothing.  I found some new things that I had made prior to moving that I never got the chance to put up for sale.  I also found a lot of funky very old stuff that I either never posted for sale or just never sold for one reason or another.  Those items I'll be placing in lots at super cheap prices.  If your at all interested they will be in my Etsy store or on Den of Angels. 

Here are some pics of some of my crew.  Lousy pictures.  I did them last night with an overhead kitchen light and flash.  My good lights are still somewhere in storage.

I made room in my desk for my favorite dolls and their clothes, shoes and wigs.  And, I've pulled out my patterns.  I can't wait to pick something easy to sew up.  Maybe a simple dress?  My girl doesn't have a one of her own.  For Shame!!!

 Latidoll Rucus - Lucas.  He's wearing a prototype for a jacket that I'm working on.

 Dollzone BB - Persephone - She is wearing some overalls that I made before we moved.  She is sooo cute!

 Dolfie Dream V1 Body / Luts Nanuri head - Vena - She is wearing a prototype wool jacket.  She was my first doll.  She's changed so much over the years.   I splurged a few years ago and got her a lovely faceup.  You couldn't tell by this pic though.  I'll be taking more of her later!

 And, lastly my sweet Narae - Inara - She is wearing a Tonner knit dress in the first picture and in the rest she is wearing a shawl I knit for her.  It's the Far Away So Close pattern.  I love love love that pattern.  This was my 4th one.  I knit it exactly as written using thin fingering yarn and size 1 needles.  Unfortunately my Inara needs a new faceup. This one is getting worn after all these years.  She is from 2007 and I think her faceup is from then too. She is still my favorite all time BJD.  I'm so glad that Bimgon is now selling his work again.  Hopefully sometime in the future I can get another girl from him.

A Finished Object!

Looking through my knitting pile (trying to find some knitting mojo) I decided it was finally time to finish one of the 6 pairs of unfinished socks.  I picked up the oldest.  My first official non-vanilla socks.  Why I chose such a hard pattern is beyond me.  It's no wonder the thing took 7 years to finish!  I had the second sock done just past the heal.  So I picked it up, fixed some mistakes over the course of a few rows and finished the foot.  And, the next morning I finished the toe!  Ravelry Link. Now just 5 more pairs to finish!

These I'm proud of and I don't think I have posted anything about these.  These are my first hand dyed, hand spun, hand knit socks.  I love them.  I knit them tight so they would last.  They are thick and warm and I got to wear them a lot this last winter.  (hence the slight fuzzyness)  Ravelry Link.

A Corner Of My Own

This is mine. All mine. My very own. And l love it. All 16 square feet of it. This is the first space that's all mine since we moved back in September. I didn't know how much I missed my own space until I got this desk. I haven't had much of a chance to actually sit and do something here yet. But I did decorate it and I found some things in storage to work on soon. Awwww yes!

 On one wall I have my finished Firefly cross stitch piece.  I love it.  And, the frame I found in storage works perfectly.  Below that is the box that my dad made for me.  It holds most of my sewing goodies.  On the other wall is the girls handprints from many years ago, a pin board/embroidery hoop, and my large quilting hoop.  This thing is so pretty.  I've been wanting to decorate with this since we moved it.  I finally figured out what to do with it.  I decided that it would be a work in progress hoop.  I found some lovely natural linen.  I will add embroidery, cross stitch, and found thingies onto it as time goes by.  I used some transfers from the book Little Stitching.  I love her designs. I have since finished two embroideries.  It's charming and it looks nice on the wall.

I see many many nights and days ahead of fun projects in this area.