Soaker hose

I've tried hard this year to only rely on the water in my rain barrels for my plants and vegetables, but we've had a little bit of a dry spell so I had to pull out the hose.

You've probably heard of people making soaker hoses out of their old ones but here is a better idea - use your kids old Slip and Slide. Just cut the "slide" part off and attach the tube portion to your hose. It already has the holes in and they are spaced perfectly apart. You can even use the stakes to secure it in the ground. I have a few of these that I just leave hidden in between flower beds and when the dry spell comes I just bring the regular hose out and attach it and I'm good to go.

Easy does it with spiked grapes and Roobios tea

I am always looking for great summer recipes for small parties or entertaining. Here is one that is a little different from the norm. It's easy too. (It is from Better Homes and Gardens Aug, 05)

Rum Runners - These are good to put out on the table for adults to nibble on post-dessert. Soak small bunches of red grapes in dark rum for 1 hour. Remove them with a slotted spoon (reserve the rum), place on a tray, and freeze them overnight. Remove the tray about a half an hour before serving. When the grapes have thawed a bit, place them in a bowl of reserved rum along side some flavored (margarita) rimming sugar for dipping (You can always find these at TJ Maxx)

For those of you that like Roobios tea but don't like to drink it hot in the summer, here are a few good recipes. I tried the Roobios Chai Float, it was very good!
http://www.yogitea.com/Pages/Lifestyle/Recipes/LS-SummerRecipes.html

I know this isn't the best before and after picture, but at least you get the idea. Maybe the story behind it wil help you appreciate the project a little more. The brick that you see has been set 3 times, yes 3! First I did it, then I pulled it up because I didn't like the way that it looked so I ask my husband to help me redo it. THEN... we found that our sewer sytem was shot ( a story for another day) and the patio was sitting on the old septic tank that needed to be emptied, (i'll pause so you can read that again), crushed, and then topped off with sand. We always wondered why the grass grew so well in this area.

I plan to enter this project into the BHGs makeover contest this year. I think I have a pretty good chance.

Martha Blogging?

I just found out tonight that Martha Stewart has a blog. Imagine that, Mathta Blogging! I am actually impressed. I didn't think that Martha did anything on her own- I was wrong!

http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/

Lamb's ears and bad composting?

I gave lamb's ears to my mom last year who in turn dug some up to take to my sister who lives in Atlanta but went to Cincinnati for my brother's, daughter's baptism. Whew! I hope she has as much luck with them as my mom and I do.
They do spread alot and are pretty drought intolerant so well see. She lives in very pretty neighborhood but most houses do not have grass, just ground cover so adding a little texture and color should look nice.

Okay, so either I am really good or really bad at composting. My first batch of the season I used it in every container that I potted plants in. Obviously, the tomato seeds loved it because they started growing in almost every pot!!!

When I smile

A few Sundays ago we were sitting in mass. It was just the girls and I as Rob was working and it was one of those days where it was hard to get out the door. I know, I know, we only live down the street from church, but you know how it goes when you live so close to something; you are either early or late. Anyways, we had a visiting priest and the start of his sermon seemed pretty interesting so I decided to put all my (what seemed to) troubles for the day aside and pay attention. Well, what seemed to be the start of a sermon turned out to be a joke and I found myself laughing right along with everyone else. At that moment I realized that Amelia was looking up at me and smiling. I looked back and said "what?" and she said "I like when you smile, it makes me happy."

At that moment I realized that I don't smile enough in front of my girls OR my husband.