Quote of the Week

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God. George Washington Carver

Look

Found a few garlic sprouts in the garden...glad to see them,since I planted late and really haven't been watering them anyways.

Hey

Hey, it's been a minute since I've been here and it's been a minute since I've done any real work outside. What have you been up to, lately?

The last thing I planted was some garlic, but let me tell you a little secret...I'm afraid they might not grow or rot because I've been so inconsistent with watering and it doesn't help that the southeastern states are in a drought.

So, once again....what have you been up to, lately?

2016 Mother Earth News Homesteading Summit. Learn Farming, Gardening, an...

Oh Well...

Still can't post what I've been trying to post, so I'll have to figure out something else..meanwhile.....Happy   Tuesday.

Will this work?

Sorry, I'm  trying  to post something from my phone,but it won't post. I've been trying all weekend, and it keeps failing. Let's see if this little ditty will post. In 5....4.....3...2.....1!

Quote of the Week

Starting to notice a few leaves falling and this quote is the perfect reminder of how to use them.

LOL Moment

On Thursday, my daughter and I were out in the garden--enjoying the nice fall weather that was bestowed upon us, and the simple pleasure of not swatting mosquitoes out of our faces,every minute.

So, we're outside pulling a few weeds, clearing a small area out, so I can plant some garlic--I plant garlic every fall, and then my daughter tells me that she wants to grow some carrots, again. Well, I didn't plan on growing any, but in my mind, I'm thinking...they were really sweet and delicious--now I'm on the carrot bandwagon, too.

With this new level of excitement, I get my daughter to shovel several buckets of compost while I gather up lots of sand to add to the compost. We both add our different layers, she spreads out her compost, and then I layer with some sand, and the process continues three more times.

As I topped off the last layer of compost, I decided to take my shovel to stir up the soil a bit. My daughter and I were deep in conversation, and then she says, "be careful with that worm," now with us both being  organic gardeners, we try our best not to hurt them, after all, they're our little helpers.

So, as I stopped stirring, so I could catch a glimpse of this worm, move along safely across this freshly worked patch of land.....I didn't see anything, I'm thinking to myself....I lost it that fast, how? Meanwhile, my daughter's pointing and telling me, "right there, mom," and that's when I finally notice it. 

An unusually small and strangely colored worm.........and that's when it clicked.....that's not a worm, that's............................... a SNAKE! 

Tasty Tuesday: Article Brings out the Creativity

Yesterday, Nan Schiller over at Foodal, wrote an article about oil substitutions that can replace oil  in baked goods.

There were the obvious stand ins like: butter, applesauce, and sour cream, but the list also included some very out of the box ideas, and trust me, after reading the article I understand why certain unusual substitutes  work.

The article really got my creative juices flowing and I'm ready to experiment.

Please checkout the article here. Hope it inspires you, as well.

Quote of the Week

My Sunflowers

 Found this picture of some of my sunflowers. Sorry for the glaring sunlight in the image, but I really like this photo because this growing season has been and still is, pretty brutal. and these little beauties really struggled this year.

 

The drought and extreme conditions that the Atlanta area experienced this year was truly brutal for gardeners and farmers. That was the beginning of the growing season and then in the middle of summer, the rain gods showered us with an abundance of rain.

 

After quenching my plants and vegetables thirst, my sunflowers and other veggies started to grow and some things died off.....yeah, I'm talking about you....pumpkins and that powdery mildew you caught, but that's another story for another day.

 

 The remaining sunflowers eventually got a bit stronger as the dull leaves started to fall of and the flowers began to transform into a heavenly sight of bright yellow flowers and lush green leaves, granted it was a lot later in the season, but I'm thankful for the few that made it. They brought a  little sunshine to the garden.  

Happy Fall

Video of the Week

Quote of the Week

"Learn to be an observer in all seasons. Every single day, your garden has something new and wonderful to show you."

                                  --Author Unknown

Quote of the Week

Back on the Scene

I'm back and ready to tend to my blog. I've been gone for a minute to transition into Back to School mode, spend some quality time with my spouse and to enjoy the family reunion--that was brought to Atlanta this year, this is only the second time we've ever had a family reunion here. We usually have them in North Carolina and I understand why because that's the home state, but it is truly nice for the family to go to other places sometimes. The only other time the family came down for a family reunion was after my mother went through her chemo treatments. That really meant a lot to me, but it especially meant a lot to my mother.  Well anyways, we all had a great time at the reunion and I can't wait for future reunions to come.

Now.....let's garden!

The 3 A.M. Hour

Holy cow, it's 3 a.m.! I'm wide awake and very bored. So, here I am just passing time. I really want to go and sit in front of the TV and watch endless hours of the ID Channel, while snacking of course....well, in my case it would be a full meal.

Gosh, I love food! From me making that brief comment about snacking and TV watching, my mind is racing with all kinds of great dishes and treats to make.

I truly want a big Kale salad right now! A Kale salad smothered with big juicy tomato slices, sweet carrot shavings, lightly sautéed zucchini slices in oil, cooked with a hint of fresh garlic.

Oh my God! That salad is calling my name right now, but I must show a little bit of restraint and forgo my culinary dash into the kitchen in the middle of the night.

Instead of thinking about building a delicious work of art of a salad, maybe I should be planning my fall garden. I mean it is late July here in Atlanta and I haven't even gotten those fall seeds out yet and I don't even know if I need to purchase more seeds or not.

I guess that'll be something that I can work on later today.

Well, I'm going to head on out of here and work on some other stuff and then eventually make my salad to start my day!

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

--Shelly

Quote of the Week

"Like a big mountain, a small garden stimulates, restores, and delights us, just as it poses challenges, promotes mastery, provides exercise and relieves monotony."


                                                                     --The Power of Place,

                                                                                 Winfred Gallagher

Forty Days of Heat

I don't know if the Atlanta area has broken any records with these temperatures we're having-- over 40 days with temperatures in the mid to upper 90's, but I know for sure that my tomatoes aren't very productive because of this heat. I have flowers, but no fruit, but I'm thankful that my plants are strong and healthy.

Is anyone else experiencing high temperatures and low yields, I might add, we're also experiencing a drought too, anyone going through that too?

Happy Gardening and Always Keep Growing!!!

Quote of the Week

Good Friends,Stop By

Captured a picture of a couple of bees,enjoying this flower on one of my pumpkin plants.

Tasty Tuesday: Beautiful Basil

After being away from the garden because of some much needed rain, I'm clipping some basil.

Got to keep this stuff clipped down, so it doesn't start to flower. Believe me, I don't mind the endless clipping, either!

The other day, I couldn't figure out, how I wanted to use the basil I harvested. Do I want to make a big batch of pesto? Will I use fresh basil as a topping for pizza or use some fresh for the sauce?

I've got it....I'm drying some basil!! I'm drying because my usual stash in the pantry, is nonexistent.

Seriously, there's nothing like having a large stash of dried basil or pesto to season your palate, and ease your budget during the fall and winter months. Let's face it, basil is a bit pricey after the summer has passed, so harvesting and putting away is a tremendous help.

Well, I'm off....I've got some drying and storing to do.

But before you leave, checkout some of my basil plants.

Quote of the Week

Happy 4th Everyone!!

She's Here

Yesterday, I found my pumpkin plant growing strong and starting to creep into my neighbor's yard. As I guided the plant into a different direction, I spotted the first female flower.

I knew this time would come, but I'm so excited since last year was a bust. It was my first year growing pumpkins, so I didn't know what I was doing, and I planted the seeds pretty late too.  So, some off the plants took off and a few struggled with powdery mildew, and after I dealt with the mildew, it seemed like the weather cooled and I was left with pretty flowers, but no fruit.

Well, not this year! I have pretty flowers and now a little fruit!

Is anyone growing pumpkins, and if so, what kind? I'm growing sugar pie.

Have a great day!

Shelly

The Season's First

There's another cucumber that isn't pictured, but I can't wait to slice into this bad boy.

This is a pretty late time for me to get my cucumbers. This truly has been a very weird start to the gardening season.

Unusually cool temperatures to start off and now extreme heat, thankfully my area has been getting some really nice rain showers.

How's everything going for your area? Are you experiencing later harvests?

Happy Gardening and Keep Growing!

Quote of the Week

The Emergence:Sunflower Edition

Well look who has decided to pop up and make an appearance in the garden.

The mammoth sunflowers that I planted this past Sunday.

I tried to clear out a nice little patch so these big beauties can grow, I really can't wait to see how tall they'll get. I've grown sunflowers before, but nothing over 6 ft tall.

Has anyone ever grown this variety of sunflower? What did you like or not like about growing this variety?

I already know one thing I can't wait for with this variety---collecting sunflower seeds to enjoy later in the season.

Winter Squash Flowers

Good Morning!

Quote of the Week

Amazon is Amazing

Big shout out to Amazon for next day delivery!! Last night I ordered some raw honey from Y.S. Eco Bee Farms through Amazon and the product was on my doorstep this morning.

I'm not a prime member or anything, so I really didn't expect my package that fast.

Sorry, you're probably not that impressed, but this is really tripping me out....I'm so giddy about this that I've forgiven the new price hike on the free shipping orders from $35  to $49.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that there are cost with shipping, I just felt like the price increased to fast, but its not my business, so it doesn't matter.

Well.....I just want to close with....you're alright with me Amazon!!!

A Pumpkin Plant

Got a lot of new growth on the plant. I'm really excited to see how far I can get with the plant, hopefully, I'll be able to harvest something.

Last year was my first time trying to grow pumpkins and needless to say, they didn't produce anything and eventually died. I think I planted a bit late, it was mid July, and I was also dealing with combating powdery mildew. I think the mildew was the bigger problem of the two.

Hopefully, I won't be dealing with the mildew problem this year since I got the early planting covered this time.

Wish me luck!! I'll keep you posted.

Happy Memorial Day

I Failed

Okay, you know how on Friday I said, how excited I was for summer break to be here, and how I was going to sit on my couch for two days just eating, watching TV and sleeping.  Well, I failed. I failed at giving myself two days of nothingness and slothfulness.

Instead I spent countless early morning hours tending to my garden. I pulled weeds, planted seeds, watered and turned the compost and harvested some garlic, beet greens, and lemon balm. Then I spent my afternoon hours washing and drying my harvest.

Since I didn't let my garlic sit out and I wanted to use it immediately, I chopped up the garlic to put in a small jar in the refrigerator to use for some meals later in the week. The beet greens were used to compliment the Italian sub sandwiches the family will be enjoying this week. They will also be used as salad greens too. The lemon balm was separated into two groups. One group was dried and will be used for tea and the other group was used to make pesto.

See how much I failed and this was the first day of my supposedly lazy/reboot two day experience, and I couldn't even start my day on the couch for a couple of hours, doing nothing. Maybe day two will be a lazy day in the house?

Well, guess again, it started with a morning of  baking. I made two batches of sub rolls and two large trays of biscuits. When I start baking, sometimes I can't stop. I started to make pizza dough, but decided not to and decided to focus on cleaning and organizing the kitchen.

I eventually sat down and watched a little bit of TV, but I realized I failed at being lazy for two days. However, I felt recharged and energized just doing the simple things that I enjoy, like: gardening and baking. I guess all I really needed and wanted was being able to do things on my own time and I got it, so I guess it truly is a mission accomplished.

Quote of the Week

Summer Break Is Here

I'm going to keep it simple and just say, Yay!!! My mind and body just needs a little bit of rest right now. This whole year has been a really busy one, but these last three months have been insanely exhausting.

From running around handling dental and medical appointments, keeping up with my four school age children's end of the year activities, helping to get all the coding camp info for my 17 year old son together, and traveling to learn more about the program these last few weeks. Helping my college age daughter get her side hustle on, and just jumping in and starting her own graphic design business,  and  preparing for my 8th grade daughter's dance and graduation--shout out to my neighbor for giving my daughter the cutest dress....she totally loved it and it went with the theme of the night, "The Greatest Show On Earth." Not to mention you really helped me budget wise, instead of looking for two dresses, I only needed to find one, I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful neighbor and friend.

Now, that I've gotten all the shoe shopping, dress shopping, camp exploration, field trip dues, class dues, band concerts, honor's programs and end of the year projects done....I just want to lounge on the couch for a couple of days and watch some TV. Yup, all I want to do is to put my feet up, eat, watch TV, and go to sleep and do it all over again for day two.

Two days is all I need and want....so here's to you summer break! I'm glad you're here!


Shelly

Quote of the Week

Where's My Post

I see my Tasty Tuesday post never posted, and on my phone, it's still saying the post is publishing. Well, I'll just post it next Tuesday. Besides  I have some photos to go along with the post,so I guess it all works out in the long run.

Have you ever had an issue with your post not posting on the blogger app or whatever writing apps you use? If so, how do you fix or handle the problem, do you rewrite your post using your computer or just let it slide?

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Oh Okra

Didn't expect to see this in the garden today. Literally, I feel like I just put the seeds in the ground, and it grew overnight, but I know it really didn't happen that fast.

I don't remember how many seeds I planted, but all in all, I saw six in the garden today.

What did you find in your garden today?

Quote of the Week

Harvesting Garlic

This is my first time ever harvesting garlic in April, I usually do my harvesting in mid to late May. Since I planted some of the garlic  bulbs a lot earlier(early September) than my usual planting time(late October), I began to notice that the earlier planted bulbs' stalks  were beginning to turn yellow and the plants were starting to lean a little. So, that was a little earlier this month and fast forward a few weeks later, I had more yellow color to the stalks and garlic plants that are completely on the ground or leaning all over each other. Now the time is right to dig up some bulbs...check out my first garlic harvest of thr season.

Today

Had a very productive day in the garden. Did some planting and some watering mostly, but all in all, a very productive day!

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Rain Rain Go Away

I'm here in the Atlanta area and I'm a little frustrated with these gloomy cool days we're having. I don't mind that temps are a little bit cooler than normal,my problem is multiple cool wet drizzly days all week long. I just want one or two days without the rain...I want to spend just one day at least in a dry garden this week.

How's the weather in your area?

Quote of the Week

“Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'” — Robin Williams

Make A Wish

Tasty Tuesday: Race and Food

I know today is Tasty Tuesday, but I've had something on my mind for a few weeks now, and it might not be anything serious in nature to other people, but it made me think.  It also came across a little offensive to me.

About three weeks ago, my 15 year old daughter and I were doing a little grocery shopping. As I'm shopping with my daughter, she notices that the cereal is on sale(a really low price, I might add) and she begins to try to convince me to buy some, since we haven't bought cereal in months. I try not to buy cereal unless it's a great deal, and besides cereal is really a waste of money in my opinion. It really isn't filling at all, and usually a person is hungry within the hour, but that's just me. You might feel completely different.

Instead of pouring my money into these breakfast cereals on the regular--I'm seriously trying to lower or eliminate my households usage--I prefer to buy oatmeal, eggs, grits,fruit or bacon as breakfast foods to eat. I also prefer to keep our pantry well stocked with flour so I'll be able to make biscuits, pancakes or hoecakes.

I'm saying all of this because of something my 15 year old daughter told me in the grocery store. She shared this conversation with me--after I told her that I wasn't buying any cereal even though the price is really low, but the budget is tight and I want you guys to eat something filling.

So here's the story:

My daughter:( she's laughing) Some people at school were all sitting around at school talking about their favorite cereal and when they came to me, I said, I didn't know. Everyone was like, you don't know....what do you mean? What do you eat for breakfast, if you don't eat cereal? I told them, I eat oatmeal, pancakes, fruit, bacon, grits, biscuits, eggs...stuff like that for breakfast, and the kids all said, oh, white people food.

Me: What?!! You're joking right?

Daughter: No, they were just joking mom.

Me: I guess I can see the humor, but that comment says a lot. I'm sad and offended at the same time that children of color would associate a truly filling/dense breakfast with white people and not with black people.

I don't want any child in America to think that only certain types of people can eat certain types of food. Don't get me wrong, I know and understand the high cost of food in America, but I also understand that cheap highly processed foods isn't good for anyone's health and most certainly isn't the best budget wise.

What do you think? Do you think I should lighten up?

Have a Tasty Tuesday!!!


Shelly

Quote of the Week

Newspaper Cups

A few newspaper cups that I've made to grow some plants in. I haven't made these in years and almost forgot how easy they are to make, and how green and affordable they are on my budget.

Quote of the Week

Yellow

For me yellow is sunshine. Yellow is happiness. Yellow is beauty. Yellow is joy and today, I experienced all of those things in these flowers in my garden.

The Big Waste: Why Do We Throw Away So Much Food?

This is a Tasty Tuesday edition. Many of my Tasty Tuesday writings are recipe related, but hunger and food waste are big issues in this country and it really upsets me to see how much food is wasted in this country.

I hope this small film has given you a glimpse into the ways people are making a difference in our society, and maybe you'll act too.  I'm a lot more motivated to take part in any gleaning I can find in and around the Atlanta area.

What did you think of the film? What stood out to you the most? What are some ways you can cut waste in your household?

Quote of the Week

"Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of imagination."

                                                                   ~Mrs. C.W. Earle,

                                                                                           Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897


When I found this quote over at www.quotegarden.com , it really spoke to how I feel about gardening.  I get a lot of satisfaction from taking care of and harvesting from my garden, but there's also a wonderful feeling around the creative process and imagination plays a big part in the creative process.

Every winter I meticulously go through all of my seed catalogs, gardening books/magazines and Youtube garden channels that I'm subscribed to, to get my gardening desires flowing. Who knows maybe I'll find a great tip or maybe I'll find a wonderful craft idea to borrow, but one thing I know for sure is--my creativity for the garden seems to come to life and I'm filled with ideas of what to plant and where to plant for the year.

Is your imagination taking off yet or is it still dormant until Spring? Are you planning to grow anything different this year? I'm not much of a planter of flowers, I love growing herbs and vegetables, but my hope is to bring more flowers into my yard and garden this year.


-Shelly

Yay Gardening Season Kickoff

Whenever these little cuties pop up in my yard, this is my signal to start preparing for the gardening season here in Atlanta. This is the time of year, where I pick up my tattered seed catalogs and do one more quick review of what seeds I'll be ordering, and exacting my seed and gardening budget.

 

January is the start of a New Year, but February is the start of a new gardening year for me. I can't wait to start growing tomato, eggplant, and pepper seedlings once again all throughout the house(sorry to my family),watching them grow on  windowsills, shelves, and in the kitchen.

Can't wait to experience the sights and smells of plant growth in my home once again. Can't wait to see that first seedling emerge from its little cocoon and hopefully take off with tremendous growth, as I also expect to do as well.

 

Do you have any signals for the gardening season? What are they and how does the new season make you feel?

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

If You're Invested-quote

Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Mayo

Hello....hello. It has been awhile since my last Tasty Tuesday post, but I've been busy trying to clean out   my kids' closets. Just trying to get everything organized is a serious process for me, but anyway here's Tasty Tuesday.

Last night, was pretty hectic, well the whole day was busy. So, last night I still had some leftover chicken fried rice from two days prior, but there's not enough for all of us. So, if the kids wanted something quick they would most likely have to make sandwiches or a salad.

One decided to eat fried rice again, another decided on a salad. The other three decided on eating sandwiches(one wanted tuna,the other two wanted one with cold cuts),but the one thing that was missing for the three of them was....mayo. We had ran out of mayonnaise....it wasn't a big deal for me or my son--he was eating tuna and didn't really need the mayo. He was okay with a little oil and vinegar, salt and pepper and lettuce. But his older sister and younger brother were a bit disappointed about missing this essential condiment.

Usually, I just tell them to try to make it work, or eat something else, but last night, I actually remembered that...I know how to make mayonnaise, and why not make some for the kids and besides the kids could learn how to make something new.

If you've never made mayonnaise before, you really need to try homemade mayo. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or      vinegar(I prefer apple cider vinegar)
1- 1 1/2 cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard (optional)

Instructions

Put egg yolks in a blender or food processor. You can also put this in a bowl and whisk by hand. Make sure you blend/whisk until smooth.

Add lemon juice or vinegar, and seasonings. Blend until everything is mixed. If you're using mustard then this is when it needs to be added as well.

Slowly add in oil as you blend or whisk all the ingredients together until all the oil is incorporated and the mayo isn't runny.

Homemade mayo is absolutely incredible....I even forgot how wonderful it is until I made it the other night. Back in the day I use to make it all the time, I don't know why I even stopped. I'm just happy that my kids were able to see how easy it is to make this condiment.

Like, I always say about every recipe, try it out and don't be afraid to experiment with the recipe. Tell me what you think of the recipe and share if you did anything different.

Have a Tasty Tuesday!

Quote of the Week

Watch Myavana On "The Real"

 See the women behind Myavana on The Real on January 4th.


Myavana has really been picking up steam lately, and it's really great to see start up company's, bloggers and youtubers  in any genre that I follow or followed take off, but it's doubly special for me, as a proud natural haired woman for over 15 years now, when it happens to the natural hair community.

I remember when these young ladies were just starting out in 2012 and reading all their business ideas and concepts, and thinking....what a great idea! But also thinking, would it work and would people pay a membership fee for this concept, when they can go onto youtube and watch a video.

One thing any hairdresser or youtube hairstylist knows is: products work differently on different types of hair, and Myavana  helps women find the right hair products specifically for them, through a hair analysis, and a tremendous online community that's taking of.

So please set your DVR's to watch and learn more about these ladies and their company. 

Girl Power!!!