Harvest Time

It's been raining all week here in Pittsburgh. It really did wonders for my garden. Here's a shot of my first big harvest. This is the fourth cutting of lettuce from my garden and the these are the first zucchini I've ever grown. We ate the big one for dinner and it tasted great. The green beans and snap peas were delicious too. Did you know the purple beans turn green when you cook them? I have a tomato almost ripe enough to pick.

You might notice the blog looks a little different today. Zack has been working hard on expanding the size so I can include a few ads in the borders. We also have some different blocks to make it easier for you to follow the blog - you can sign up for an RSS feed, or have it delivered via email, or follow it on your Google or Yahoo home page.

I decided today that I'm going to give small tutorials on the blog. I need to take a few photos to finish it, but I'm going to show you step by step instructions on how to make a Cathedral Window squares.

How does your Garden Grow?

My garden is growing amazingly well. This raised bed garden is the best I've ever had (knock on wood) so far, I'm really impressed. My tomato plants actually have tomatoes on the stems already (that doesn't usually happen until August for me), and my Early Girl tomato plants might really be early. I fed the plants yesterday, so hopefully it'll give them a little boost in production. I always overdo it - planting too many plants for the space they are in. I did thin them out a little (I just hate pulling out healthy plants), but everything seems to be flourishing, even if it is a bit crowded. Don't they look awesome?

After my lilacs stopped blooming, the scent carried inside on the evening breeze is from my honeysuckle plant. It's a gorgeous smell and it seems to have continuous blooms. The only thing I don't know how to do is control it - you're supposed to wrap it around a trellis (which I do have), but I'm not sure if you do that at the beginning of the year, or at the end. Lovely, lovely flower, and it's supposed to attract hummingbirds, although I haven't seen any yet.






Here's what I'm working on in the sewing room. Right now this is in three segments that need to be sewn together. In addition, I'm working on my oldest son's graduation quilt (yes he graduated in 1999). I'm slightly behind on that one, but would like to finish it before he moves out at the end of the month, into his new home.

Enjoy your day!!