Friday, June 19, 2009

Stir-fry on the stove and a fun day at the Black Sheep Gathering!

Hey! I just put together a stir-fry, using some of the veggies from the CSA that we now belong to (our friends, Sheila and Andre...Growing Wild Farm... run it) and my own beautiful Red Lights Swiss Chard! I used their bok choy, broccoli and green onions. Yum!

Last night I was so inspired that I had Roth's cut up some lamb stew pieces for me and I made a lamb stew. Looked at an online recipe, but mostly did it intuitively. I've never cooked with lamb before!! It turned out wonderfully....everyone loved it!! I used the turnips and the turnip greens, green onions, my swiss chard, some sherry, carrots, garlic, chicken broth and a bay leaf from my own backyard. :) I also made corn fritters that had green onions in them and some diced yellow bell-pepper. We ate those with sour cream. Yum! Had fresh "Batard" bread, like a rustic french bread, from Red Fox Bakery (local) that I bought at the Farmer's Market and green salad, made mostly from all those great local veggies!!

My friend, Jana, and I went down to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. It's a fiber festival....lots of roving (for needle-felting or spinning your own yarn) and beautiful yarns to see, touch, smell, rub against your cheek, etc.... Jana bought some roving, for needle-felting/fairy-making projects with her boys. I only bought one skein of yarn. But, it's beautiful yarn and there was enough on there for me to knit myself a pair of socks. Maybe if I count my rows this time, my socks will turn out the same!! I have no doubt that they will. Other than that, they turned out beautifully last time. So, I'm excited! I didn't, however, find any nice yarn to use for the Booga Bag that I want to make, so I guess I have to go to the local knit shop. Well, I have a gift certificate for them, anyway; maybe I'll get some of that gorgeous Noro yarn!

I'm determined to learn how to spin now... just with a drop-spindle. Jana said that she bought one and I can borrow it. I'm thinking that's more of an Autumn activity, but, then, after a long day in the garden/yard, I've been known to have a shower and watch a little tellie... so, I'll need an activity for that. I have a hard time just sitting and watching TV... I bite my nails if I don't have something to do with my hands!!

We played at a Solstice Party last night... in a barn, with bales of hay all around us! It was a lot of fun. Not many people there, but the people who did hear us were appreciative, so that's nice. We're playing at Cornerstone Coffee (on Third St.) on Friday, July 17th. 8:00, I think, but we might start at 7:00. If you're local, please come and join us! OH! We have a name, so we are now on My Space!! Go to www.myspace.com/urvaan and you'll find us. We'll have our schedule there... please drop by and say, "hey!" Yep, Urvaan is the name. It's a Zoroastrian term... look it up. (We aren't Zoroastrian.... we just like the term.)

Enjoy the day!

~Teri

Monday, June 15, 2009

Toe update

Well, my toe looks much better! I'm hopeful now!
I went to the MD and he added another antibiotic to the mix, plus another eight days of the original antibiotic. Whew. So far, my body seems to be fine with the flora balance issue, though.
Very strange and scary to see an infection get so nasty so quickly!! But, it appears that we're going in the right direction now. :)

Enjoy the day!

~Teri

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Well, here's the update on my toe! This was taken about 30 mins. ago, so it's current. It looks awful but it is actually feeling better!! Wa-a-a-ay better!! I started taking antibiotics on Friday. It'd been hurting less than 24 hours when it started looking this bad....so, whatever this is, it moved quickly. Kind of scary.
I took Monday "0ff" and just layed around, with it elevated, and watched old Lost episodes that I hadn't seen yet. :) I'd been on it so much even though the doctor's orders were to keep it elevated as much as possible and to soak it as much as possible. But, I had a graduation to attend and a party to get ready for!! Once that was over, I took a break. I think it paid off.
It's amazing how slowly the healing process has been, though. And, to not know what the culprit was is rather disconcerting. But, I'm more confident now, though, that it will be totally better...even though it's been looking like it's going to fall off!
I hope you're all having a good day.... and wear closed shoes when you're playing in the dirt! (That's what I think happened.)
~ Teri

Friday, June 5, 2009

My toe


Isn't this bizarre? It's so painful and I can't believe how fast it came on! It hasn't even been 24 hours since it started hurting and it looks like it's dying!! (Not really, but it does have a gruesome look to it!) I'm going to the Naturopath in about an hour so I'll let you know what it turned out to be after that. For now, I need to go lie down, so it can be up.... it feels better that way.
And, wouldn't you know it... it's been raining and so I'm going to have to put on close-toed shoes for Kyla's graduation. Ugh! I hope whatever the remedy is has a profound effect and works fast!!
Enjoy the day!
~Teri

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The other thing I've been doing

The other thing I started doing a few months ago, (before gardening season came on!) was knitting handbags, to felt them. The first one I did for my sister, for her birthday. I took a picture of it on my phone, but it didn't work when I tried sending that to my email account. Go figure. But, the second one I have right here so was able to take a picture of it. The one I did for my sister was more interesting because I needle-felted some flowers over on the left-hand corner of it. Kind of viney, swirly flowers. I'd never needle-felted like that before, so was a little nervous doing it on a finished project!! What if it looked ugly? Would I be able to take it out?? Well, luckily, that wasn't an issue. It worked out just fine...even while watching television. :)

So, here is the second one I did. The colors were brighter before they were washed all those times.... I liked them better before. The sagey green gets lost in all this purple and there's exactly the same amount of both! I'm not crazy about how this one turned out. I might even try to sell it. :) I shouldn't say that I'm not crazy about how it turned out... it turned out great! But, it's a little big for me, as handbags go. I'm going to try the Booga Bag next....I think the dimensions will work better for me. The other thing is... and tell me if this is odd... but I don't want to carry around a wool bag in the summertime! Even the last few months, I've been thinking that it sounds too warm! To have wool up against you? It just sounds like a "cozy" thing.....I think that would work out better in the Fall and Winter. Is that crazy?
The pic below is a close-up of the felted wool. I'm picky about how the felt looks... I don't like it to look like it's been knitted!! I want it as smooth as possible. I was pretty happy with this in that regard. I got the pattern from Kyla, my daughter, who was doing this project for a class in school. Hers turned out really cool! She played around with colors more. I'll see if she'll let me post a pic of it.

Enjoy the day! Happy gardening, knitting, whatever-it-is that makes you happy!
Teri

Monday, June 1, 2009

What's Blooming in your neck of the woods??

Greetings! How did it get to be June 1st?!?! Well, I hope that you're all enjoying whatever the season is where you live. We are coming into Summer and I am most appreciative of the dry, hot weather we've been having! A bit hot, yes (94), for working in the garden.....but I work in fits and spurts....starting early to take advantage of the beautiful, warm, clear morning air....then I take breaks in the afternoon when it's just too hot to be out for long. I mean, out - working. :)

My flowers are looking good, although I have more weeding to do....always! I've got stuff in the veggie beds now, too! Yay! The flower to the left of this is Thunbergia, aka Black-Eyed Susan Vine. I love them but I really only love this color and it's hard to find! (They are usually a bright yellow.) They're an annual, but they bloom all summer long, as they climb up whatever you give them to climb onto.

Here are my Cecile Brunner Tea Roses!! I wanted them to cover up my falling-apart picket-fence and they are doing a darn good job of it. They are such sweet little flowers....beautiful, little buds. And, you can smell them from about ten feet away!



















These are pansies, "Johnny-Jump-Ups", actually, that survived being under two feet of snow last December! They've been showing off all Spring! Self-Heal is coming up in them now. I need to look up Self-Heal because I know it has medicinal properties, but I can't recall what they are. They say everything you need is right in your own yard...so, it's probably something that I could use. :)


Here is a Siberian Iris that was planted last year. Some people were giving away hundreds of them and they gave me lots! I planted several clumps and then gave away a lot, too! I think it was too close to their bloom-time, when I transplanted them last year, or it was just too much for them...not sure, but nevertheless, they didn't bloom last year. But, this year they are putting on a show! They're beautiful! They're a more simple iris than the Bearded ones.

And here are the raised beds and the melons! Right after I planted the cantaloupes and watermelons, a squirrel came and ate the top right off one of the cantaloupes!! Grrrrr!! They've eaten the top off of one of my Cosmos, too! I've decided that I don't like squirrels any longer. :)














I have a few varieties of tomatoes out there, including cherry, grape and pear tomatoes. Tomatillos, "golden" bell peppers, Swiss Chard ("Rhubarb Red", but their stems are a variety of reds and yellows.), green beans, sugar peas, strawberries, potatoes, a few walla-wallas that the girls brought home from Horticulture class, plus a broccoli and cabbage from them. They weren't lookin' too good when I put them in, so we'll see. Oh, some Mesclun lettuces and Patty Pan squash! This family has to have Patty Pans!! Someone just gave me some black zucchini, acorn and yellow summer squash yesterday... so, I'm going to try to fit them in!! :)
I really should be out there right now, working! We're having a graduation party/BBQ for Kyla on Sunday....yes, in six days. There's lots to do out there to get it ready for a special occassion... I have my work cut out for me! But, it's supposed to be cooler this week so that will help. Plus, I'm making a list of all the things that need to be done, so that my kids can help! Austen cut branches out of the Juniper trees yesterday. Wayne bought a small chain-saw that has a guard on it. Uh-oh, I might just go crazy with that thing!! Filberts, watch out!!! :)
Speaking of Horticulture, Kyla got a scholarship for her work in Horticulture!! (She was on the winning team for the State Contests for FFA, so they go to Nationals in October, in Indiana! But, that's not why she got the scholarship.) She also received one from the Master Gardeners of Yamhill County. Did I say how proud we are of her?? We are so excited for her and so is she! Only three days left of high-school! I'm sure, 2.5 years ago, she felt like she'd never get to this point. But, she did it!! Hurray, Kyla!!
OK.... I need to get out to the backyard!!
Enjoy the day!
Teri