Sept. 20, 2012 - Garden End of Season

As the year winds down, I pull what I can out of the garden to make some more yummy recipes.  

- Roasted Potatoes -

Rosemary, Oregano, Basil, Chives, and Parsley from the garden roasted with garlic cloves and potatoes. 

- Spearmint Tea -  

Freshly Pulled Mint from the Garden and cooked in a pot of boiling water to extract the flavor.

- Pesto - 

 Freshly Pulled from the Garden and blended with Pine Nuts and Oil.

 

This made quite a bit and I was able to pour the mixture into ice trays and freeze them for a future use.  They are very delicious and taste well on spaghetti noodles and sprinkled with parmesan. 

The new mums were getting ready to bloom finally.

A few Kentucky Pole Beans were still growing. 

A couple of Sunflowers were still blooming.  

Still no Brussels Sprouts to be able to be eaten.  

Mr. Toad is still guarding the Mesclun mix.  

The nights have finally cooled off and we threw some logs on the fire pit and enjoyed the warmth until the rain started.  Good thing I made the fire extra big to withstand the hard rainfall. 

Sept. 16, 2012 - Office Makeover

The Master Bedroom was originally set up to be an office for Evan.  These next three photos were taken when we first looked at the house before we bought it.  The stuff was the previous owner's property.  Beautiful hardwood floor, lots of lighting and a door to a deck that overlooked the backyard.  It also had a master bathroom attached to the room.  I originally wanted to have my studio in this room.  The sink and the door to the backyard was exciting, but the space was fairly small for what I needed.

So I had the finished basement set up for me as a studio to do my artwork.  My Mom and Dad did a great job getting my studio set up as well as other rooms in the house ready for Evan and I to live in. 

The basement was a great space for me to do my artwork.  Plenty of space and great lighting.  It was great!  Of course it does not look this nice now.  Spider webs, dog accidents, dead bugs, and stuff stored in here that does not belong fill it and after the first sewage backup in the basement in early 2009, I have not done any work in the basement since.  The air is, well, basement smelling: moldy, poor air quality, humid, and very bug ridden.  I won't even get into how many spiders are crawling around down there with all the other creepy crawlies that make a living in a basement.  A few measures were taken to help co-erst me back down there.  I have put numerous bug traps down, charcoal, water absorbers, an electric dehumidifier, and candles to help make it a more comfortable workspace.  Several years have passed and I have not done any artwork down there.  Then the other day, another sewage backup spilled into the finished area.  Smelly, wet, and disgusting.  I felt defeated.  Why bother?

After four years of living in this house and this is the result of not using the master bedroom for anything but storage:
 

For some time now, Evan and I have been talking about moving my studio into the master bedroom, or at least a portion of it.  This room should be used and not as a wasted space.  It is a great room and is the largest bedroom.  Yet, with one look at the room,  I felt like I hit a wall.  Stuff everywhere, the decor unpleasant, and I did not know where to start.  So I had my friend, Racheal jump start this project with me.  We sorted through tons of unused clothes and miscellaneous goodwill items that we bagged up and moved out of the room.  The floor became finally visible and I felt like we had accomplished a great deal. 

If it was my choice, I would just dump everything in a box and give it to Goodwill.  Start fresh.  The problem is that this stuff has sentimental value to Evan and I don't want to be disrespectful of his stuff.  The frustrating thing about it is that we don't use any of this stuff hardly and it just sits there collecting dust - taking up space.

The other main issue with this room, is that we use it for a second guest bedroom when we have company.  So I have to keep an area for someone to stay if we have extra company for the holidays.  The futon is nice, but it takes up so much space in this room.

Evan and I went to Lowe's to find some new shades for the window and door.  What a difference with the new shades!  One step closer to getting this room done.

While we were there, we picked out a few other items, but did not purchase.  Just for ideas.  We found an inexpensive solid piece counter top to replace the old laminate top and stained porcelain sink. 

With that, it would need new hardware.  I like the tall faucet with one handle for the water value like I have in my bathroom, but my mom mentioned that it's height would splash a lot in the shallow bath bowl. 

So this shorter faucet looks nice and had a good price.  Again, these are only ideas for now.  With our budget, it may never take off as well.  All I can do is set a goal for now. 

The paint choices are as follows, a nice light solid warm brown that looks similar to the brown in the room already and cream colored trim.  I may leave the door it's natural color or lighten it up to help open the feel of the room up.  After all that, the shades may have to be changed again.  Hopefully not, as I really like the dark blue.  My only fear is that they may be too dark for this room.  I want the room to feel bigger and have lots of light, but want them to provide plenty of privacy once the sun goes down.  We will see.

2012 - Sept 15

Now that the days are cooler, Panda will enjoy his stay outside more.  He loves sitting on the porch and watches over the yard from his perch.  The Butterfly Garden is also making a comeback after the scorcher of a summer we had.

Pixie loves being outside, regardless of the heat.  She will wonder around the yard or sit out in the yard and keep guard.  Deer, Squirrel, Rabbit, Mouse, Mole, Frog, Person or Cat: Beware of Dog.  She will bark at you!  Her cuteness will fool you and then she will shower you with wet tongue kisses if she deems you a good guy.

Oh, Brussels Sprouts, when will you be ready?  You tempt me with your Sprouts all along your stalk and then I defend you from your caterpillar attacks.

Tasty looking Tomatoes popped out of no where and now Evan and I have lots of potential Tomatoes, hoping for a red bounty of Tommy Toes and Yellow Drops.

An array of Kale leaves tempt me with a nice dish for Kale chips.  One day I will munch on your tasty produce.

Basil, Spearmint, Garlic Chives and Parsley Oh, My!  These guys are doing so well now that the summer heat has subsided.

The smaller stalk of Kale is making a push for some new leaves after I plucked them all off from the caterpillar attacks.

The Kentucky Pole Beans are doing their thing just fine now too.  Lots of little Pole Beans are lining the vine.  So exciting.

The last of the Summer Red Sunflowers.

A baby Rose of Sharon blooms underneath the Parent Bush.  So cute.

Evan's new flower from Powell Gardens is holding up well after I planted in the heat of the summer.

Mine is doing ok.  Half of it died off along with Evan's other plant he picked out had did the same thing.  The red flowered plant died, as the yellow one takes over.

After I split this Deep Orange Lily and gave it to my Mom for Mother's day, it had died off quite a bit too.  I am glad to see it still growing and several plants strong again.