INDEPENDENCE DAY 2009

Celebrate this wonderful day in a very patriotic way...fly "Old Glory", eat, and watch fireworks!

Gardening

The heat is about to get to all of us in this part of the country.

At this point we have come to the conclusion all gardening should be done in the early hours when the temperature is in the 80's. Afternoons have been producing temps in the 90's and have hit some over the 100 mark.

We are watering the vegetable garden on a regular basis now. Sweet man of this home has a grid set up of soaker hoses - so with just hooking up the leader hose and turning the water on - he is in business with the watering process.

Squash - both yellow and zucchini are going crazy - producing plenty to eat and of course to share. Cucumbers are doing their part too to keep me supplied with fresh cukes to eat.

Okra is blooming and starting to put on some...bad part is those plants are only about 18 to 20 inches tall...so makes for difficulty in picking...but they will grow in height as the summer progresses.

Tomatoes are blooming and we have quite a few green ones - but no ripe ones yet. We set the plants out later than usual due to the weather at that time.
Of course these zucchini are too large to eat...we can not figure out how we missed picking them back at the appropriate size.

You know how much I enjoy my flowers - so want to show some of the pictures I have taken recently. These are just a small part of what is blooming now.

I am so thankful for God allowing me to retire and to putter in my garden...what are you thankful for today?

A Bargain!

While out and about this morning we stopped by a garage sale to check out their wares. As I was headed to pay for the items I had selected I saw a plastic box sitting on the floor. All I could see were 4 plates and could tell there were more dishes wrapped up in different kinds of kitchen linens. Not seeing any price I asked the lady the prices - she said she had thought about $10.00 but was willing to take less. I offered $5.00 and she said "sold". I did throw in an extra 50 cents for the plastic tote and the linens.

There was no way I could manage getting it to the pickup...but my sweet strong honey came to my rescue and loaded it.

Early afternoon I started unpacking to see what I had bought...I was pleasantly surprised and very pleased with the results.

Information on the back says pattern is called Vineyard and was produced by the name of Vernon Ware by Metlox. Research on the net says this company was out of California. One source that seems to be reliable (but who knows) says production was in 1960 - not any earlier than that. The company was in business until the 80's - so don't know if they continued to produce this design or not. I doubt it - most companies come out with new designs frequently. As you can tell there quite a few pieces...certainly more than what I had figured. Here is a list of what all I got: salt and pepper shakers. 1 lid to a serving bowl. 2 serving bowls (different sizes). l sugar bowl with lid. l serving platter. 2 small bowls. 9 coffee cups. 17 saucers. 14 plates. 12 salad/dessert plates. This shows the pattern better.

According to some websites the selling price for some of these pieces is way more than what I paid. For instance, the platter was listed for $45.00 - plates range from $15.00 to $25.00. This picture shows the linens and the tote as mentioned above. No, cat was not part of the purchase...he just lives here. The linens all this was wrapped in definitely is from the 60's and 70's period. The colors reflect this time as well as the patterns on the printed pieces. Several of the tea towels are hand embroidered. Also were a couple or so dresser scarves with hand embroidery. The largest item used for cushioning these breakables was a large velvet like piece - size about 3 foot by 6 foot - with fringe - with a picture of a peacock in a roman coliseum like surrounding....to me this was certainly of that time period.

Have not decided what to do with the linens yet - no they will not be thrown away.

Some of the dishes have stained places - just indicating they were used. In all the pieces I believe only found about 4 chipped places. We will use these plates - they will not be just be for display. When I bought them this AM I wanted them for daily use - even finding out they could be sold for considerable more than what I paid has not changed.

Do any of you out there in blog world get tired of using the same plates each and every day? I know I do - putting in dish washer, taking out of dish washer, and then using it for eating...time for a change.

Thankful for the fact I do have dishes and food to go on them...the Lord certainly does provide.

Amelia

Growing Weed

The weed I am referring to is not in the drug area.

We first spotted this weed about 4 years ago at a widely used cross roads. In fact, I was so excited in seeing something so pretty I asked Leon to stop the car so I could take a close look. At that time I could not recall ever seeing it growing anywhere in this area.

In a few days Leon came home with some he pulled up at that location. We planted them - and was hoping they would live.

Each year we get more and more plants...so it must like its new home.

Found out the name of it one time in thumbing through a magazine and saw a picture of it. The picture called it Wild Bergamot. Sure enough our "weed" is that.

The wire you see is for the Hyacinth Bean and Cypress vines that are growing. The vines are slowly starting to grow up the sides of the wire...by end of summer most of the wire will be covered in these two vines.  This is a close up of the blossom. The bumble bees really seem to enjoy the nectar of this flower.

Tip - look out for wild flowers in your area and see if they would like a home in your flower bed.

Answer to my flower question

All is fine in the Watkins flower garden now.

All flowers/plants have a true identity.

Must give thanks to Scrappydee as she was correct. Also Belvie e-mailed a picture and asked if this was the plant...which it was!

It is in the Ice Plant family. Latin name is APTENIA CORDIFOLIA. This particular one is called Baby Sun Rose.

I will have to make a note of this name and post it on my bulletin board that I use for all my flower things. I have called it Shirley's plant for so long - it will take time to adjust to the Baby Sun Rose.

Again, thanks to these ladies for their help.

Time to go check out my flowers and pull a weed or two.

Have fun this weekend!

Flower Garden Question

For the past 5 or 6 years I have been growing a plant that I lovingly refer to as the "Shirley Plant". Reason is I have no idea the name of the plant. Friend Shirley gave me a start from hers. She purchased the plant from a roadside garden in the southern part of Oklahoma. She didn't get the name then so was unable to tell me.

Each fall I break off about 3 healthy stems and put in potting soil. They root easily enough. Then the plants are kept along with my plants that I keep in the well house or garage during the winter.

This plant is easy to grow in a pot - if the ground gets too dry it will wilt some what - but after a good watering it will perk right back.

The flowers are small - maybe the size of a quarter - but no larger than that.

So if any of you have any idea what this plant is called - please let me know. I have researched many web pages over the years but no luck. However, it is kind of hard to research a "green plant with reddish pink flowers".



The leaves are thick and what I call fleshy.

Any ideas, please let me know.

Decorating - My Style

When it comes to decorating - my style can not be considered any one particular one. As you know outside I had lots of things that would bc considered "primitive", some in the house is "country", others are somewhat "Victorian", and still others have a "theme", and a place or two looks sort of "Modern".

I suppose you could call me a mixed up crazy lady - but I am happy!

Yesterday during an excursion to Dollar Tree I came across three vinyl wall stickers. One was a "family" saying and another had a "friends" theme. I will show you the third one shortly. I bought all three of them. The ones for family and friends will probably go in the hall amidst the pictures - but after we paint there this summer.

First thing I did was go thru my selection of garage sale frames to find one appropriate for the saying and the location. Then it was time for a paint job from the horrible gold. I have decided I like the black paint used for painting charcoal grills. It seems to be the perfect color between a matte and a glossy black. Seems to appear old looking but with a touch of shine...somewhere in the middle.

Since this saying is special I did not want to place it in open public like area. The designated place was the bathroom just off the bedrooms. The frame seemed to fit right in with the rest in the bathroom. 

This shows the other wall in the bathroom. Wall color is a warm yellow. Since this room does not have crown molding this border was selected. There is much discussion on to have border or not...I like it. It is definitely a personal preference.

So this last decorating episode was not expensive...less than three dollars. Plus I enjoyed the process...priceless.