Lessons from a Blackberry Vine

I have a problem with blackberries. Not the yummy ones I put in cobbler, the wild blackberry vine that is trying its best to take over my yard.

It has been a bitter war and there have been casualties, namely my pretty hydrangea. While I've spent countless hours battling my dreaded invader I've had plenty of time to ruminate on something.

Sin is a whole lot like that blackberry vine. Here are some of the similarities I've come up with.

• Trying to get rid of it is painful.


• It doesn't want to go.


• You can easily break off little pieces, but when that's all you do the root remains.


• The thorns get bigger and it's harder to get to as you get closer to the root problem.


• Sometimes the branches that others see look like they've died but down at the bottom and in the roots it's still growing.


• It invades whatever is around it until it choked it out and eventually kills it.


• It can only be stopped by the gardener's intervention.


• It costs the gardener effort, time, and it is a painful process for the gardener.


• Once it's gone, however, it's better for the other plants.


• The children no longer have to look out for its thorns.


• And after the tangled mess is cleared away, you find hidden treasures that were lost.


• And there's room for beautiful new things to blossom.

Hope your garden is weed free!

Cut It Out

I was working in one of my flowerbeds yesterday pruning away some of the dead parts of the flowers that had left it looking like a spindly brown mess.

It reminded me of conversations I've had with my neighbor. I'm more of a perennial planter. She's an annual gal. She prefers the fullness I get from flowers but says she can't stand not to rip plants out when they finish blooming.

As I was snipping away I was very thankful that God doesn't share Mrs. Brenda's plant policy. We flower and flourish in our faith and then we go through some dry patches or wilt in the heat of trial. These fluctations leave us with some spindly patches of unproductive "dead wood" in our lives.

He patiently and tenderly cuts away at those things, sometimes even the parts that once were lovely, to leave us healthier, stronger, and ready to take on the winters that are to come.

When we shy away from the shears everyone notices. Our neglected spot are apparent to the passerby. And, the places that need tending are brittle. A little lopping and we look better, we feel better and we are extraordinarily more productive.

So I'm thankful for the pruning process. It has many times been hard, sometimes cost me things or relationships that I held very dear, but it is necessary.

And it sure beats ending up in the compost pile.

Peter Piper Picked a Peck...

I'm not sure if I'll have pickled peppers like the nursery rhyme says, but I've got to do something with all these peppers. My garden was fairly poor this year because of too much heat and too little attention. The one thing that managed to thrive despite my neglect was the peppers.

(Although, I did do well with potatoes and will definitely plant more next time.)

I did find a whole book on cooking with peppers at that library sale I love. Hopefully I'll find something to do with them all since the ones in the pictures are just a few of the ones I have (and that's a big basket). I've got more coming in, lots in the freezer too.

Now that the kids are in school I'll have to get busy making pepper jelly, pepper relish, pepper sauce, pepper.......

Updates and Uglies

First off, my comment problems are fixed. Hooray! In fact, the comment part is working better than ever. So now I need lots of comments.

Also, did you visit Pink Saturday this weekend? If you did, you saw that our friend LV from http://livinatmemescorner.blogspot.com/ was featured. How great to see her honored in that way. She always offers such sweet encouragement to the rest of us. Did you know that the LV stands for LaVoice? I bet her mama was hoping for a singer. Can you sing Miss LV?

My mom was also fond of unusual names. Her plan was to name me Cherokee Rose. Thankfully (I think) fate intervened and I ended up plain old Kelly. I just can't imagine someone saying, "Cherokee, where'd you put my socks?"

If you want to check out the post on LV you can do so at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Now for the ugly. One of my vegetable boxes, the one filled with garlic and asparagus, keeps having a spider web in the corner. I keep attempting to knock it down, but to no avail. It's the toughest thing you've ever seen. The spider went one step further and began pulling down the asparagus ferns to use as cover. I knew I had a formidable foe.

I just didn't know how formidable she actually was. Or big. This past week while I was watering she ran out when I got her web wet. She was a

Big

Black

Widow

Nasty, nasty, nasty. Spiders are not my favorite. I called my expert (a.k.a. oldest son Jack) and he spied three egg sacks. Sure enough, all these little black widows came out. We have since established an arachnid eradication program. At least in my vegetable boxes.

On that creepy note, let's think about food.

Monday--Seven Layer Dip, tortilla chips

Tuesday--Roast, potatoes, carrots, rolls

Wednesday--Turkey Salad, croissants, sliced cucumbers

Thursday--Creamy Chicken & Pesto Pasta, tossed salad, rolls

Friday--out to eat

Saturday--homemade pizza

Sunday--leftovers

Monday, Monday

I thought I'd share a few more pictures with you today. Everything's really blooming, despite the heat. My poor grass is dying. I really should be watering the yard, but I haven't gotten that far. I keep hoping for a good shower or two, I've yet to get my wish. My yard needs the kind of soaking we get when there's a tropical storm off the coast. Isn't that first one supposed to be named Arlene? Arlene, where are you? I could use a good sprinking.

Jack told me he didn't think I should've planted those black-eyed susan seeds a couple of years ago. We keep having them pop up all over. He said they're getting to be like weeds. If these are my weeds, I'm happy to have them.



This rose bush only puts out a few at a time. The ones that do bloom are very big and last long. I'm not sure of its name.




I don't have a clue what this one is either. It's one of my pretty rescue plants. Lowe's always has a rack with $1.00 plants that are about dead and out of season. I take that as a personal challenge. I've found losts of great stuff on that rack. And 9 times out of 10 the plants bounce back with just a little attention.

I was taking a picture of one of my butterfly bushes for you. This particular bush is right next to a pink seven sisters rose and they kind of twirl together in a pretty display (a.k.a a wild jumble). I was going to take a picture so you could see it, but the butterfly bush's flower looked so pretty up close I thought I'd share that instead. Each blossom is like a little field of flowers. No wonder the butterflies and bees love it so much.

We went for a ride yesterday to a farmstand in a nearby town for some of their homemade peach ice cream. Peaches are coming into season here. I picked a few other vegetables too. Tonight I'm making a peach cobbler. Yum.

Monday--Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Sauteed Squash, Rice, Stewed Tomatoes, Rolls, Peach Cobbler

Tuesday--Cheeseburger Pie, Corn, Salad

Wednesday--Grilled Pork Chops, Creamed Peas and Potatoes, Rolls, Sliced Tomatoes

Thursday--Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Homemade Bruscetta

Friday--Turkey Salad, Croissants, Southern Cucumbers

Saturday--Homemade Pizza

Sunday--Leftovers

Our House, in the Middle of Our Street

I always liked that song by Madness from the '80's. I thought today I'd share a bit of the happenings at OUR house.

It all started with a rustling sound in my rosemary. I looked to see what it was and there was this rabbit. I guess that's what I get for putting out that bunny flag in the backyard that says "Happy Easter". It was some sort of banner that apparently means help yourself in rabbit-speak. I will give him some credit. By the time I took the photo he'd hopped over to another flowerbed and ate a large dandelion that I'd yet to pull.At the time the rabbit was making his rounds in my garden, my neighbor and her chihuahua puppy had come for a visit. The puppy's name is Chloe and can often be seen wearing a sundress. The puppy started running in spastic circles at lightning speed all around my yard. The kids were trying to catch it for Brenda, my neighbor, before she spotted the rabbit and took off on a chase. Rabbits in bushes, spastic chihuahuas, fruitless chases and me trying to water the peppers. This is a typical moment in my life and the sort of site you often see at my house.


Measuring around 1/3 of an acre, our house manages to produce a lot of action. It is home to pirates (see last week's post), host to neighborhood boys' WWII re-enactments or Star Wars intergalactic battles, depending on the day and, as you can see, boasts monkeys in the trees.Be careful when you walk near the fort or behind the shed, there are quite a few potholes from attempts to dig to the center of the Earth.


This little yard isn't all play. I do manage to squeeze in a few pretties, like these purple irises. They look so delicate but they're made of tough stuff. They make their home right in front of my water hose and are constantly being bumped and battered in the daily treks to water the vegetables.The flowers are often transplants from others. The African irises came from my parents' old home, the thrift from Mrs. Louise. Everywhere I look is a reminder of the ones I love.



I've got vegetables and fruit growing everywhere. There are vegetable boxes, herbs in pots, squash in the flowerbed and cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.Here's a little baby tomato. Nothing beats a homegrown tomato.


One final thing to share. Meredith was drawing quietly during the sermon at church on Sunday. I looked to see what she was drawing and here it is. Isn't that what we all long to see from our kids? 'I love home.' This drawing is a keeper.

That's a typical evening at our house. Like the song says, our house IS a very, very, very fine house.

Blogiversary

How sweet it is!
Sound the bell (even if it is a cowbell I got as a door prize from Chick-Fil-A).
Should we cook up a little something special to celebrate?

It has been one whole year since I started blogging. It's funny how something I started on a whim so I could be accountable on a diet actually has become so important. Actually the blogiversary (I know it's not really a word, but I like it) was yesterday, but it was an unexpectedly busy day and I never got time to finish my post.

I went back and read that very first post and was amazed, I guess I should be depressed, at how little has changed for me. I'm still struggling with my dieting. I had to laugh because the day I started the blog Deb and I had begun a no flour, no sugar diet. I didn't last so long on that one! Even then I was bemoaning my love to bake and my sweet tooth. But here it is a year (and several pounds) later and guess what I've finally had to do to get even a modicum of success...step away from the sugar.

I'm still gardening in my same little plot of suburbia. My vegetable boxes are full and the patio is lined with containers full of peppers, herbs, and other veggies. The peach trees we planted last year have really grown and I'm hoping for a good crop of peaches this summer. The blueberries are ripening and there's squash growing in the flowerbed. Thus begins my battle with the bunny rabbits to see who gets to eat them. They usually win the blueberry/squash battle, but I plant them and hope anyway.

Y'all would laugh if you could see some of my containers. I got these huge terracotta pots at a yard sale. Well, my mom got them and then passed them to me. We're guessing they were used at some chain smokers' wedding because painted on the side of each one in pretty silver script they say..."Butt Pott". Seriously? Who does that? These pots are going to get a paint job as soon as it quits raining around here. I just needed to go ahead and get my stuff planted. If I plant my jalapenos in a butt pott should I call them poopers instead of peppers? If so, I'm also growing tootmatoes, oh,no-ions and rad...well, we'd better still call them radishes.

Even if I did accidentally stumble into blogging, it has been such a great experience. I've talked with people from all around the world and been blessed to share a little of my life with you all. Whether it's cooking a recipe, sitting together to study the Bible, or laughing at our craziness, you've let me have a part in your world. And for that I am eternally grateful.

Happy blogiversary!

Oops, almost forgot Rednesday. Visit everyone over at http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

Now for a Few Things from the Outside

By the time I was able to get outside to take pictures, there were lots of shadows and wasn't a lot I could photograph. I'll just have to share some more another day. This first one is of one of my azalea bushes. I have several. They are all over our town in masses. It's a really pretty place to live right now.

This tree stands between my house and my neighbors. Brenda planted it and I'm not sure what kind it is, something Japanese I think. Right now it's shedding its flowers so every time you walk outside you're walking in a soft pink rain.

These little purple flowers don't like getting their picture taken. Every time I try it doesn't turn out right. They are a darker purple than they look with a bright blue center, a nice little addition beside the step.

Anyone in the mood for salad? I usually plant buttercrunch but this year I tried the gourmet blend. It's been really good. Maybe next year I'll plant both.

I thought I'd lost my grapevine over the winter, but it surprised me and came back with a vengeance. We've got to slow down and make it a permanent home. For now it sits contentedly in the pot.

That's it for me today. Can you guess where I'm off to this morning? Picking strawberries! Yummy, yummy springtime.

A Walk Most Beautiful

There aren't enough pictures to begin to show you the beauty of my friend Louise's garden. Every little space is filled with something waiting to be discovered. I took LOTS of pictures to share. I'll have more tomorrow. And the next day. And probably the next day. Enjoy.


She made this herself from concrete and broken dishes!


I love this stump in the flowers.


The Easter Bunny is checking on things.


The architect of her own little Eden, Mrs. Louise.


Nandina


Red Camelia


Cinnamon Fern


Succulents and pretty pink flowers


A view through the bushes

A Few New

First, I wanted to share with you a new blog I found. Well actually, our sweet friend BJ from Sweet Nothings found her and shared. Now I'm sharin' with y'all. LOVE the things she makes. It gives me project fever. The blog is Creative Ambitions and you can find a link to it on the right side of my blog.

I finally finished cleaning in Meredith's room and getting out all her warm weather clothes, putting away the winter ones. That was a big job. She has more clothes than any other girl I know. I don't have to go buy them. They breed in the closet. Now maybe I'll get to tackle a new project.

I also went to one of my favorite garden stores yesterday and got some more plants. Today I'm going to dig in the dirt. Hooray! Broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cilantro, basil...

I did manage to load some pictures for you today.

Have a great day!

A Time to Plant

Like it says in the Bible, there's a time to plant...and I did manage to plant a few things at the end of last week. Admittedly, I was a little late. Around here, the sayin' goes you've got to have your potatoes in the ground before Valentine's Day. I didn't quite make that cut off, but I planted them just the same. We'll see.



I planted red potatoes, onions, garlic and asparagus in a couple of my vegetable boxes. My peach trees have blossoms, the grape vine is putting out new leaves (which is a good thing since I thought I'd killed it) and the blueberries have already blossomed and are getting ready to make fruit. One little blossom is still hanging on.



There are lots of other things to plant still--tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, watermelon...maybe tomorrow. For today, I'm stuck inside cleaning. The whirlwind of a weekend we had left a monster of a mess.



What's for supper?

Monday--Crockpot Chicken, Biscuits, Fresh Strawberries

Tuesday--Chili, Cornbread

Wednesday--Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday--Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, Rolls

Friday--Pizza

Saturday--London Broil, Peas, Buttered Corn, Rolls

Sunday--Leftovers

Here's the recipe for tonight's supper.

Crockpot Chicken

4 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, sliced
1 can greeen beans
5 small red potatoes, quartered
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 c. hot water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
pinch of pepper

In a crockpot, layer the first seven ingredients in order. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over the top. Do not stir. Cook on low 6-8 hours. You can change the seasonings to suit your taste. I'm spicing mine up a little tonight.

I had some pictures of my plants to show y'all but my computer is not cooperating with uploading them. Maybe tomorrow.

Watering the Grapefruit Tree

I was out watering my yard when I saw my poor little grapefruit tree. It's been looking rather puny but we could not figure out why. We knew something was eating it, but we couldn't see what it was. Well, I spied them last night!

(I didn't dare poke them again to get a picture, I found these on Google Images.)


They were three rather yucky looking caterpillars, the ones that look like bird poop. I went in the house and got the kids and a jar. We're always on the lookout for a good show-and-tell item for school. Up close these critters look like snake heads, their skin even looks a little scaly. When we went to put one in the jar, out popped what looked like a forked tongue and out sprayed a stench. Creepy. And smelly. And eatin' my grapefruit. I had to call in backup (Jon, my husband and bird poop caterpillar collecting hero). It was a smelly affair before they were all in the jar. He then sprayed the tree to discourage any more from visiting the grapefruit buffet.

For all their ugly, they actually turn into something beautiful.



The same can be true of us. People may not notice us at first. At first glance we may even be on the bird poop side of the beauty scale. Take a jab at us and you might catch a glimpse of our forked tongue or we might raise a stink. Oh, but just wait. Give us a little time, and the things we need to nourish our souls, and we'll amaze them all with what we'll become.

We were never meant to stay at the bird poop stage. We're only here long enough to get prepared for what is to come. We were created for beauty. We were created to fly.

We'd better all go eat a grapefruit.

Tomato Troubles and Trash Pile Squash

As you can see, my tomatoes are growing big. They're taller than me, although that's not saying much. I even have a good number of tomatoes. The problem is the quality. They just aren't doing so great this year. Last year we had a bumper crop of delicious tomatoes. This year's crop is spotty, prone to bruising, and all around disappointing. We've fertilized, we've sprayed for bugs, all to no avail. We've got squash and cucumbers in one of those Earth Boxes. They did great at the beginning, I had them climbing a trellis to keep them away from the ever growing rabbit family that lives in the neighbor's hedge (who knew there could be that many rabbits in a subdivision). It too is looking pitiful. They are past the point of salvation. The bright spot in my gardening is a little squash plant that has popped up in my brush pile. He came up right next to the trash can and is small but very prolific. If I can just keep those rabbits away, I'll be soon picking squash from it.

Oh, I tried that new recipe for Tomato Cucumber Salad last night and it was good, and super easy. It called for italian or ranch dressing. I used a vidalia onion vinegrette instead and added some black pepper. I would've added bacon bits too if I'd had them. They'd be great in it as well, especially with the ranch or vinegrette. This was just a really simple, quick way to use some things from the garden.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

1 large tomato
l cucumber
2 green onions
1/4 c. salad dressing, italian or ranch

Peel and chop tomato. Slice cucumber and onions. Put in bowl and toss with salad dressing to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

See? I told you it was easy.

On the Bookshelf

It's the last of the photos I've taken in the yard for the week. I'll try to have something different than flowers for next time, but they were just so pretty I couldn't help but share. This clematis is from the trellis in the front of my house. Poor little thing, I nearly killed it last year. I got a little "prune happy" and thought I'd lop off all the dead looking parts. Apparently this clematis turns woody on the old growth. The whole thing came off. There was just a nub left. It decided to give me another chance and I promised it I would leave the pruning shears for the roses.

Today I thought I'd take a minute to share a few books that I refer to over and over. They help keep me organized, grounded, and sane. Maybe you can sneak a little information into your summer reading. They're all oldies, but they're oh so goodies.

* Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman, Ann Ortlund (getting yourself together)
* Simply Organized, Emilie Barnes (getting your home together)
* Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, Sarah Ban Breathnach (I don't agree with everything she has to say, but there's some great stuff in there, and wonderful quotes)

There Goes Another One

Why is it when you're trying to get ready to go on vacation, that everyone gets sick? I had to take another child to the doctor today. That wasn't in my plans at all. And no, they aren't even sick with the same thing. Jack's got the beginnings of strep or the flu, they're not sure which it is yet. The crazy thing is that this happens every single time. I don't think we've ever gone on vacation that I didn't end up with someone at the doctor the week before.

Don't think I've lost my mind (yet). The menu for last night was for london broil and that's what we had. I just used the recipe below and substituted london broil for the brisket. It smelled so good cooking we could hardly stand it, and it was very tender. It was a nice change to the usual way we cook it.

Home-Style Beef Brisket

1 env. onion soup mix
3/4 c. water
1.2 c. ketchup
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 lb. boneless brisket (or london broil)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In 13x9 pan, add soup mix blended with water, ketchup, garlic powder, parsley, and pepper. Add meat and turn to coat. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake 3 hours. Serves 8

Here's a picture of one of my crepe myrtle trees. We have several. The pink ones aren't blooming yet. The white ones are full of blooms though. I've got a different garden picture to share with you for the rest of the week.

Stay well!

Friday, Sweet Friday

How sweet it is to have a day of rest, a minute to breathe. I am thankful for the busy-ness because it reminds me I have a full life, but I am also thankful for the quiet reprieves. I thought I'd share a picture of one of my daisies. They're such happy flowers in the garden. I've got lots of Black-eyed Susans that will be blooming soon. I've also been picking a few squash, peppers, and lots of onions. And there are tons of green tomatoes. Supper tonight is grilled pork chops, which doesn't have a recipe. Jon is in charge of the pork chops. I did explain the way he does it, I think that was back in an early April post. Have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully now that school's out I can concentrate on being crafty and creative.

Stopping to Smell the Roses

I've had a request for pictures of my roses. I guess I should have taken them the other day because they were packed with blooms. We had a heavy thunderstorm that knocked most of them off. My eager assistant insisted she be in the shot. I was going to show y'all how that one particular branch had about eight blooms on it, usually there are only clusters of three. Maybe you can still see it. I hope you're taking time in your day to stop and smell the roses too, to be outside, to dig in the dirt, to enjoy the beautiful day we've been blessed with.

Strawberry Picking

I think you can tell where we've been again. We were at the strawberry patch with our friends Haley, Kate, and Judah. The kids had a great time picking out the perfect ones and fun eating them once we got home. It's always great to spend time with friends. I was afraid the picking would be sparse today, but there were still plenty of strawberries there and the lady told us they'll still be open through the end of May. We may need to have strawberry picking, round three.

I guess I'd better give an update/confession on the diet progression. I weighed this morning and am still at exactly eight pounds lost. Before you congratulate me on at least staying at the same place, please know that number has fluctuated back up rather often. I have been terrible about sticking to the no flour/no sugar rules. In fact, my day last Friday consisted of doughnuts for breakfast, doughnuts in a meeting, cupcake for lunch, pizza and birthday cake for supper. It's a miracle I didn't go into some kind of sugar coma! There it is all laid out for you. I probably just lost a few more pounds from all that guilt I'd been carrying around.

I haven't forgotten about being creative. I have actually made a few attempts at drawing something and then quickly through it in the trash. I seem to be suffering from some sort of creativity block. Maybe I'd do better with guidelines, someone telling what I should make. Any ideas on what I should do?

Pot Full of Petunias

Oh, today has been a busy day. Lots of going here and there and meetings. But, it was a very good kind of busy. A productive and exciting kind of busy. I won't bother you with the details, but I did want to stop in and show you my petunias. They're such a shockingly vibrant,pretty color. I'm off to water the garden and cut my broccoli.

A Peak at the Garden

Y'all have been asking about my garden and I thought I'd show you a few pictures. Here are a few squash that the rabbit hasn't reached. I'm training the squash and cucumber to climb some poles. Hopefully they'll be out of hopping range. The broccoli is just about ready to pick. I'm glad. I thought the hot weather was going to get here before it was ready.

This was a busy weekend. There was a birthday party on Friday, a graduation celebration on Saturday, and Mother's Day on Sunday. It kept me hopping, but was all filled with love. Oh, the sweet sound of hearing boys laugh. They're all at the age when it's not so cool to giggle, so when I had a room full of 11 year old boys laughing uncontrollably, I knew I had a precious treasure. I did manage to slip off to a couple of yard sales close to home. I found a bracelet, a pendant, and Riley found tons of Bionicle and Star Wars Lego. I told you it was a good weekend. Although, when I took my potato salad to the party I doubled the recipe. Don't do that.

Here's a picture of Jack's birthday cake that I made. Do you know how hard it is to find something to put on an 11 year old's cake? Major decision. And, for some reason, Hobby Lobby and Michael's had hardly any cake decorating stuff. My cousin Sharon saved the day when she spotted these figures in another section of the store. Jack liked it because when we lit the candles behind them, it looked like the dragon was breathing fire.


Now on to our menus for the week. There's nothing too wild and exciting this week. Let me get finished with the end of the school year and then we'll try some new stuff. The recipe for tonight's meat dish is in an earlier post.

Monday--Country-Fried Steak, Mashed Potato Supreme, Italian Green Beans, Rolls
Tuesday--Blueberry Pancakes, Sausage
Wednesday--Chicken Pot Pie, Strawberries & Cream
Thursday--Meatloaf, Creamed Corn, Carrot Salad, Cornbread
Friday--Grilled Fish, Rice Pilaf, Garden Peas, Salad
Saturday--Homemade Pizza
Sunday--Leftovers