Mountain Musings

Green ~ Garden Greens

This morning I picked several items from our garden--(clockwise from top) beets, swiss chard, spinach, sugar snap peas, oregano, arugula, and lettuce! I put all the fresh beet greens in a vase of water while cooking the beets. I think we now have plenty of ingredients for a salad!

Everything is growing well, and I especially noticed the fast growth when we returned home from our trips. It is hard to believe this is our 5th season of having a garden. I'll try to post some more pictures soon!

This post is part of Shades of Inspiration.

~Hannah

Green ~ Knitted Dish Towel

Have you seen the new jumbo skeins from Sugar 'n Cream's Confectionary Color line? I've had several in my stash for a couple of months now and finally got started on a dish towel found on the Dishcloth Boutique site.

These two colorways are beautiful, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. The color on the left is Fruitcake, and the green on the right is Pistachio. Other colors include Plum Pudding and Marshmallow. Don't you love the names? 

I took this picture when I had just started the pattern, but I do have a little more completed now. My knitting has been set aside so often lately for more urgent things that have cropped up.

Maybe I can get some knitting done on Saturday...I'll be Knitting in Public with our local yarn shop for World Wide Knit in Public Day!

This post is part of the green challenge for Shades of Inspiration.

~Deb

Green ~ Antique Bowl with Dill

The number on the bottom of this green antique bowl is #9, and I think that's supposed to mean something; I'm not sure what. I do know that my mom gave it to me back in 1991, and it was an antique back then.

(Update: My sister just posted all about this #9 McCoy bowl including pictures of hers.)

Here's the story behind mine...my parents were just arriving to visit us when we lived near Afton Mountain in the early 90s. They had stopped by Tuckahoe Antique Mall to see if they had any of these bowls for sale. Sure enough, a beautiful green bowl almost made its way to my house.

My dad had a firm grip on the bowl as they came up the garage steps, but the next instant he slipped and fell backwards. Oh, no! Thankfully, my dad was fine and didn't get hurt, but the antique bowl was broken. Shown above is the replacement my mom found for me later.

Alongside the bowl I placed the dill that Hannah picked from the garden yesterday and put in water to revive. They make a nice combo as part of the Shades of Inspiration challenge this week for the color green. Go here to see other photos.

~Deb

Green ~ Lambs' Ears

Whenever I see Lambs' Ears, I think of the Washington National Cathedral Greenhouse...a beautiful garden shop located behind the Cathedral in downtown DC.

When Tom and I visited DC a few years ago, we took a tour of the National Cathedral and afterwards walked through the well-kept gardens. I wanted so badly to purchase a plant to bring home, but I knew it would have to survive a very crowded city bus ride to get back to the metro stop, some very hot temps, and then the drive back home.

I decided to chance it, and even though I liked all the plants there, I finally decided on Lambs' Ears--small enough to be carried even though somewhat delicate under the circumstances.

Well, my plant survived and became a much loved plant in my garden. I've told the WNC Greenhouse story to friends who have walked around my yard asking about various plants. Alas, a couple of years ago my healthy lambs' ears were fading fast even with much plant doctoring on my part. I managed to salvage a baby plant, but now that, too, is no more. The lambs' ears picture above was taken at the Park Seed Company which I visited last month.

This post is part of the Shades of Inspiration which began last week with I Saw Red and is continuing this week by popular demand with the color Green. This post is also part of the June blogging daily posts which, thankfully, just made it with only an hour to spare!

~Deb

Red Mailbox

This is the faithful old red mailbox that has become quite the garden conversation piece since it's home has been on our garden post for the past few years. Used to hold spades, small tools, and--would you believe it--panty hose used to tie up the tomato plants, it is quite a convenient storage box!

And...as usual, I purchased it at a yard sale for...you guessed it...one dollah!

And guess what the girls and I are doing on this HOT Saturday? We've been at my mom's in South Boston since Wednesday to help prepare for her huge yard sale, and it begins at 6:00 a.m.today! In 100 degree temperatures, no less!

What will your family do today to beat the heat?

This post is part of the I Saw Red Challenge.

~Deb

Sew Red

I love working with my new Bernina Activa 230 Patchwork Edition!! It is so much better quality than the $15 yard sale sewing machine I had been using--and a lot lighter, too, as the Activa models are meant to be especially portable. I love trying out all the new and different stitches that are possible on this machine. It runs so smoothly. The red color of the cover and buttons are a plus, too! :)

This post is part of the I Saw Red Challenge!

~Hannah

Red Quilt Update

I am finally posting an update on my project in progress - a RED (or at least reddish...) Double Wedding Ring quilt. I posted about buying the fabric back in December, and I've finally gotten started on actually sewing it together.

My room has recently been filled with piles of red fabric - in strips, wedges, and in all stages of being sewn into arcs. They are now all completed, pressed, and stacked awaiting the next steps. At the moment, I am in the process of cutting out arcs of fusible interfacing, which I will sew onto each fabric arc. That means I have to trace and cut out 254 of them...so far I've finished 93. :) I've got a ways to go!

This post is part of the I Saw Red Challenge.

~Sarah

Red Wooden Bench

I love my rickety, peg-leg, red wooden bench that sits by the sidewalk and welcomes our visitors.

My grandmother's antique leaky dishpan sits on top, and I plant annuals in it every year...mostly red geraniums, but this year I planted pink vinca after the hail killed the red begonias when I was away in South Carolina.

My red wooden bench was a great yard sale find for only one dollah! Who knew that one day it would participate in the I Saw Red challenge?

~Deb

Red Door

Here's another entry for the I Saw Red challenge this week. I've always loved a red door, and ours is decorated with a patriotic theme: white wreath with red, white, and blue stars.

A snake plant finds a home in the corner and grows well in the light. The carved wooden fish on the wall greets visitors and was given to us by missionary friends serving in Papua New Guinea. Also to the left is a favorite calligraphy penned by my sister that has moved with us from house to house. The glare makes the words hard to see in this picture, but it reads:

"For now have I chosen and consecrated THIS HOUSE, that my name may be there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually."   II Chronicles 7:16

~Deb

I Love Red!

I love red geraniums, red begonias, and red strawberries, along with lots of other reds! Since I'm such a fan of this bright cheerful color, it will be fun taking the I Saw Red challenge this week. (This challenge will surely help with blogging every day, don't you think?)

Hannah just picked these delicious red strawberries today, and Sarah has a pound cake in the oven baking as I type. Looks like we're all set for tonight's dessert!

~Deb