Monday, June 4, 2018

T Stands for Tuesday & Lots to Share & Lots of Photos

Wow Another Tuesday is upon us, and I can't believe May is gone-where did it go?? 

    I know I have been in a "fog" since Memorial Day weekend and we have had brutal hot weather for most all of May-absolutely no Spring here--so mostly trapped indoors but time is just passing me by way too fast.  
    I remember when I was working full time the days just dragged-went so slow, and I had to commute a long distance too for many years-very stressful as I am not someone that enjoys driving. We also had a full time home business as well-I get tired sometimes just thinking about all those 16-18 hour days we put in for years.
    I really love that I am retired now and can just stay home-I really love and enjoy that very much.  I have no idea why all this just got typed lol--I said my mind was still in a fog though (smiles)
   I also know many of you are getting this same weather too, so I will stop commenting -for now that is-(smiling)

T Stands for Tuesday is where we gather together and share a drink related post over at our hostess Bleubeard and Elizabeth. Find the link in my right hand column-you are most welcome to join us.

I have lots to share so will try not to get even more wordy-I probably should have split this into a couple posts but decided to just do a big catch up.

   My gluten free sourdough experiment baked up beautifully-but tasted horrible-I mean horrible. This organic quinoa flour I bought must never had the grain rinsed well first before it was then dried and ground into flour-this was soooo bitter and soooo sour.  I did love the technique of how it was baked-it actually looks like bread, not as doughy as some I have tried in the past. I am not discouraged though as I see promise and am working on my sourdough starter by adding only brown rice flour in hopes to get rid of the quinoa-if I can't I will just start from scratch and follow her directions for capturing wild yeast. 
    Again the book is by MaryJane Butters Wild Bread. She also has a forum which I just joined as well.  A nice way to get feedback and learn as well.
   If you would like to try sourdough with regular wheat-I highly recommend this book and her forum-(gluten free too-but trust me your wheat sourdough should not have the problems that I have with gluten free)  just read the whole book first including the back which was loaded with more information that I should have read first. 
    The wildlife got the bread-and it was all gone the next morning

(Note: since this is a heavy photos post-I am keeping some of the photos smaller-just click to fully enlarge them)

I got a good rise with the starter


I think one of her secrets for getting the gluten free bread to bake right is to also make small loaves. Normally if this was wheat you would make one loaf this one she had us making two small loaves-I think that is a good idea.


Many gluten free baked goods recipes always gives an internal temperature to know that it is baked. I have never done that before but decided to this time. the temperature was to be 200 degrees f to 205 degrees f  the first loaf at 200 was a bit under baked the second one baked up perfect


Sad these did not taste as good as they looked sigh



The last two mornings Mother Nature has given us a beautiful cool down-instead of mid 70's f early morning it has been 58 degrees f and instead of high humidity full sun and mid 90's f we are in the low 80's f  wonderful!!!  Although today the air was pretty thick again for me-still too much pollen, mold in the air again for me-but at least I could work at catching up.

Of course the weeds in my butterfly garden areas was a nightmare.  I had that really cleared of weeds, so I am almost thinking the less expensive big bags of garden soil I have been getting for this area must have weed seeds in it-and it comes with two types of thistle weeds-those are so hard to get out as the roots run deep.

I can't even find my milkweed plants in all this and did mark them with those wooden popsicle type sticks.  I did preserver-and got most of the really bad thistle out-although I wasn't able to dig out the roots do to all the zinnias popping up.  I spread the seeds thick in hopes they will crowd out the weeds. 
  The last two seasons I saved the flower heads as they began to dry and just put it all out this year.

These photos are mostly after I tried to get allot of the larger weeds out of the zinnias




Below blank spots were weeds


all this green is mostly flowers-zinnias-the butterflies will love it


I found this rope in an out building-a big tangled mess and I had straightened out enough for my project. Hubs said he got this at a garage sale when we first moved down for about $5.00 and already used some of it too-I am happy with the way this turned out.-I wanted to give a little definition and hopefully discourage the deer-we'll see haha





This is my madder dye plant that I planted from seed 3 years ago-hoping there are enough roots to harvest this late summer into fall. I planted this in a raised bed up near the house, and will plant more seeds this year to get another batch going
   Have any of you dyed with madder root from scratch?? this is new for me


This is a sunflower type perennial that I planted last year and the deer ate all of the flowers-they love love sunflowers.This is to get up to 12 foot tall with lots of sunflower off shoots-I Hope they make it to full flower this year as I put a little fence around the bottom and tied some plastic bags in hopes to deter them-we will see.

Another view-and another arch-this one supports the big orange trumpet vines-the hummingbirds will love these-and they should bloom nicely this year as this is their third year. My friend from Wisconsin brought them down for me 

  You can see the rain forest type weather we have had is making everything grow and grow and grow ha ha


My indigo plants I grew from seed-am hoping these will grow well so I can play with indigo dye later




I have all this old straw down to help keep the weeds down and keep the moisture in the soil when we end up with weeks with no rain.

A little peak of our new vehicle-Hubs has always wanted a suburban. When he got his oil changed at the dealers for his truck he thought he would take a look at the used lot and see if perhaps there was a suburban-and wow there were two-we thought this was the better choice-very low mileage, just a year old, fully loaded-a treat for us, and loved the color. and the price was marked to sell-to us-lol  Sometimes you get lucky and find just what you want-like it was meant to be.  
  This will be better for his fishing with friends-lots of room and seats. He loved his truck (we have always had a truck living rural), but could only have one other person with him.

   Today I received my silk eco printed scarf that I won from an artist in England--It is sooooo lovely and beautiful and I agree with those of you that said this was the nicer scarf of the two-it truely is.  I held this up with one arm and snapped a few photos.

Please click to enlarge for better viewing-this is so special-I love her art She used a variety of plant leaves.






She also included this eco printed paper-She does not have a blog but posts on this facebook page, so if you are on fb I wanted to share her page. 
    I stay on facebook for artists and groups like her-she is so gifted.  I asked her about the paper as it feels like cloth almost-she made the paper and said she will tell me how she made it-I will ask if I can share the information with you. I have been wanting to eco print paper and had collected some different papers and weights a couple of years ago-this will inspire me for sure.

Again please click to enlarge these photos for better viewing-this handmade eco printed paper is amazing.



Sorry for such a long post-I just wanted to share with you all.

We had our first watermelon One deer came up and ate all the rind except for one-animals love the rind. (I didn't get a good photo of the deer)


I found fresh mangos on sale last week so I made one of our favorites-mango margaritas-so delicious and perfect for hot summer days. In the vita mix or heavy duty blender- Place chunks of a whole peeled mango, add to taste-tequilla, lime juice, orange liqueur, lime liqueur, agave, add a little water-blend til smooth-add loads of crushed ice and blend again-enjoy.


I am realizing I am falling in love with pretty water bottles. This one is by the Pioneer Woman-I love her flowers-in dishes, linens and more.  I filled it up with coconut water when I was out pulling weeds


Whew--I hope you all made it through to the end without getting to bored--

  Happy T Day everyone.

30 comments:

  1. I just planted my veggie garden yesterday, so you really are ahead of us if you have watermelon already. I have never tried watermelon thinking our summers are just too short, but maybe not. AndI am curious about this indigo you are growing. I hope you show us how you process it to dye. I have done some indigo dyeing but have never grown it. Oh I am looking forward to retirement myself- as I have a long commute- so I will have time to try these fun kind of things Stay cool. Hugs-Erika-oh and happy T day.

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    1. Hi Erika, the watermelon I bought from the store- they do need all summer to grow--I am anxious to try the indigo too-will keep you posted Happy T Day Kathy

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  2. Woman, do you ever sleep is what I'd like to know! You have me exhausted:):) A woman of many talents you are and very productive to boot. Your eco scarf is so pretty and how nice the artist will share her paper making with you. The mango drink and coconut water all sound pretty good to me. Happy T day!

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    1. lol Hi Linda, I blame it on my Mom and her Mom-they always had us hopping all day
      Happy T Day kathy

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  3. I made it through your whole entire post Kathy!! lol And i loved every minute of it. :) Love seeing your garden... Everything is so green and growing well.. We sure could use some rain. But have been enjoying the cooler temps along with you.. Looks like we will pay for it soon though with temps back in the 90's and 70's at night..uuughh.. I'll be missing the T party this week but i saw your post and wanted to stop by. Hugs! deb

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    1. Hi Deb, so glad you stopped by today is last day of cooler temps for us too

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  4. Good for you for keeping busy even if it is so hot outside. It's hot here too and it stops me from doing anything! The scarf and paper from England look great, enjoy! Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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    1. Thank you Valerie-I was able to work in the garden in the cooler mornings-I really needed to get to those weeds-enjoy your day

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  5. SO happy you are getting back out in the garden...I'm totally about ya about the heat. After growing up in Arizona...we can't stand it after 85! LOL!!!! Love reading about your baking, gardening and friends. Ugh...I know what ya mean about commutting. I walk to work while many commute 30-60 minutes a day....I couldn't stand that.

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    1. i never did enjoy the commute-especially during the winter snow blizzards-I worked for the phone company so had to be there-

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  6. You have been very busy. I am truly impressed with your indigo plants. They aren't recommended here, because our winters are too cold. I look forward to seeing what yours turn out to produce.

    Your eco dyed scarf is wonderful, and now you've inspired me. I'm anxious to start creating some eco dyeing again this year. I seem to do better with live leaves, than dead ones.

    I was extremely impressed with your lovely arch. I have some of that trumpet vine. It grows all over my side fence. I try to get rid of mine, though. You have really corralled yours nicely.

    Wow, both a mango alcoholic slushy and coconut water to share with us this week. I think that PW bottle is gorgeous. I can see why you are attracted to that design.

    Thanks for sharing your beautiful silk eco dyed win, your gardening adventures, and your two drinks with us for T this Tuesday.

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  7. omg - where to start? i envy you for the space to grow madder and Indigo... i´m looking Forward to your dyeing experiments. so far i only tried mostly the yellow scheme (onion Skins etc) and a few walnuts (not so easy to get). i have a few eucalyptus leaves here (a friend brought them from a travel), but i´m not sure how to try. i read they don´t work the orange results on Cotton, linen etc, but only on animal fabric like wool or silk... i´ll have to read my india flint book...
    the "fence" with the rope turned out beautiful!! hope the deer will respect it:)
    the scarf you won and the papers are a hoot!! (then, again, some dyeing will come out better on silk...)
    have a great week and happy t-day ♥

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  8. What an interesting post, you are so busy! So sorry the bread tasted bad, it looks so good! I hope you can get some pictures of the butterflies that stop by.

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    1. thanks Carole-this will be really pretty in another month or so

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  9. That bread looked amazing, but at least your animal visitors got to enjoy your efforts. I loved walking around your huge gardens. I liked the rope fence you came up with. Clever. The scarf is so beautiful. Wear it in good health as you sail along in your new car. Love the color. It will coordinate nicely with your pretty water bottle. Happy T Day!

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    1. Thank you CJ I am still in awe of her scarf and paper. I am happy with my little fence too-all from left over recycled materials. I was surprised the wildlife ate up all the bread since it was so sour tasting. Have a wonderful day hugs

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  10. You have so much more space than I do, and I love seeing what all you do :) That weeding job looks challenging! I look forward to seeing the blooming zinnias and sunflowers. Happy T Tuesday!

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    1. this weeding was challenging for sure-once more of the flowers grow taller should choke out most of the weeds except for those thistles-Happy T Day

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  11. Glad you are feeling better, just in time for some nice weather! Looks like you are back to everything, pretty red vehicle! I love the archway for vines, enjoy!

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  12. Oh Kathy you have been very busy again. I am
    impressed with your indigo plants. I am most curious about them!
    A pretty car! And good that you feel better!

    Your eco dyed scarf is so beautiful and so is this nice archway!

    Your drinks are super - both! The bottle is gorgeous.

    Happy T-Day dear Kathy! ♥♥♥
    Susi

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  13. Wow, you have been busy baking and working in your garden and it's looking fabulous! WellWdone for pulling out all those weeds and I love the rope fence that you created 😁. Your scarf is so pretty and the eco paper is amazing, so beautiful. I adore your pretty water bottle and the watermelon looks so scrummy too - Happy T Day! J 😊 x

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    1. Hi Jo, thanks, feels good to get a bunch of weeds out before the hot and dry arrive later this week.
      I am loving my new water bottle too-makes me smile
      hugs Kathy

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  14. Gosh Kathy I am nearly exhausted reading about what you have been busy doing this past week.. Your garden must take hours of your time, but it must be rewarding when your plants flourish, I hope the rope does the job and keeps the deer out.
    It was a shame that you weren't happy with the bread, it does look delicious.
    Your new car looks good as well.
    Happy T day wishes.
    Yvonne xx

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    1. Hi Ynonne-the weeding is not too bad especially with all the straw mulch I have down in the fenced in area-but where the zinnias are that has been a struggle for a few years now-I think I got the worse of it out. we have been seeing a deer or two every day now-hopefully they will not eat my sunflowers ha ha
      Happy T Day hugs

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  15. Some very beautiful flowers are sure to grace your yard soon! I hope you will share photos once they have bloomed. Those GF loves look yummy. Too bad they didn't taste like you were expecting.And what beautiful hand printed paper.
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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    1. Thank you Kate-this handmade eco printed paper is amazing. I am hoping to try this soon-it has been on my to do list for a couple years now.
      Happy T Day hugs

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  16. So much fun stuff here...I love zinnias too...and indigo dye sounds like a wonderful project. Congrats on the new vehicle too. Happy T day!

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    1. Thanks much Dianne-hubs is loving his new vehicle especially when he goes fishing with his friends.
      Happy T Day Hugs

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  17. It's still hot here too, Kathy. But today was mostly cloudy, so a bit more comfortable. We had a little sprinkle last night. The rainy season will be here soon. Ojala (God willing)!

    I look forward to seeing all your zinnias in bloom! Have I ever dyed with madder root? No. I don't even know what madder root is ;-)

    Congratulations for the great buy on the red Suburban! I'm sure you'll enjoy the comfort and convenience.

    The scarf and paper are beautiful. Your entusiasm is catching, Kathy. I enjoy reading of your rustic adventures. I pass a lot of your gluten-free tips along to my sister. I wasn't bored for an instant ;-)

    Belated Happy T-day! Hugs, Eileen

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