hmmm to start a new mystery or not?

wheww.....I have a a lot of WIPs, still getting back into a routine after a lovely vacation in Peru.

you can read about it here.

http://tralpersinperu.blogspot.com/

I've been trying to figure out a complicated knitting pattern to use with the alpaca yarn I bought in Peru. The idea of knitting on 2 round needle all in one piece is appealing, but I can't quite decipher the pattern..........decided to start something simpler with this natural alpaca yarn. And yes I broke down and started Easy Street.......

The Garden has been consuming me

but the harvest has been amazingI have made jalepeno sauce and a cayenne pepper sauce is fermenting! not sure how that will turn out.

there is the lawn to mow, too much lawn!!

a little bit of broccoli for steaming and the beans I marinated in an Asian style, yummy!

It's been awhile!!!

I've been busy in the garden, not much sewing going on. The rockery that was completely overgrown with brambles is now full of mid summer colour

Progress on the driveway has been huge in the last month, the sinkholes swallowed up 20 cubic yards of topsoil. Edging laid, gravel sifted, grass seed spread, even a shell border, photos soon.

The herbs are growing and 2 batches of pesto already made.






                                                                                The vegetables are growing, I have been harvesting beans, a little broccoli and yellow summer squash, time to sow more lettuce seeds

The exotic voodoo lilies are dominating



Marty's shirt quilt is almost complete, just a label and washing, I hope little Georgie, now 2 months old will like it.

Operation Sink Hole Fill

Sink holes have been appearing after heavy spring rains in the drive-way and adjacent areas, perhaps there is an underground stream. This one appeared before our very eyes and DD#2 finally said "mom, I think you should move your car", the sink hole was close. Finally the time has come to do something about this.

Step1.Filling in the holes in the driveway with large stones and then gravel. DONE, but one area continues to sink and we are getting rain and more rain which seems to make the situation worse.

 In the meantime, I almost tripped into a sunken area in the lawn (felt like a trampoline), to discover a new sink hole, but this one got partially filed with a bag of cement I found in the garage. Now I need a big rock and then I can fill it in with the top soil.

Step 2. Delivery of 20 cubic yards (a tri-axle) of top soil. DONE and too wet to move.............this will probably take the rest of the summer and I will end up in good shape hopefully. I'm also having  wild outrageous ideas of creating more beds and breaking up that soccer field that takes hours to mow.....

Gardening has been eating into Quilting

My perennial rockery with all the bramble pulled out thanks to my mummy and some of the flower seeds we scattered are sprouting, hopefuly this will be a nice splash of colour in mid-summer.

The leek harvest this spring was fantastic. Mother made leek and potato soup, I gave a crate to the broken yolk cafe for roasted leek omelets and still have a handful left in the refrigerator.

Lettuce sprouting, although I confess this isn't my garden, but the Frim Fram Farmers, 2 young couples trying organic farming for a living, they are an inspiration, doing everything by hand. Love those raised beds.

I'm lucky enough to have friends that have a nursery and they hooked me up with all these seedlings, I came home with 4 different shades of purple petunias! Whoohoo.

My vegetable garden, this photo a little of date, the mixed greens have been harvested a couple of times already, mixed with some fresh herbs make a yummy salad.

The TUSAL, the TUSAL was on May 20th

I suppose it's the norm for me to be late posting the ORT at TUSAL time, the new moon was May 20th so only 2 days late.......this month's was mostly shirtings from Marty's shirt quilt that I am hand quilting now and quite close to finishing.  I had been enjoying hand quilting while watching the redsox with my dad in the evenings. After a month's visit my parents went back to the Czech Republic yesterday.  I really miss them.......

Fabric from the Czech Republic for my stash

This is some cute fabric that my
mother brought me from the Czech Republic and it is made in the Czech Republic, a great addition to my stash.

Pouring rain and thunder here last night and this morning, perhaps good for the grass seeds but not so sure about the flower and vegetable seeds and seedlings.