Continuing......

Yesterday, we ordered and got a truckload of compost and potting soil...after 20 trips back and forth from the driveway to the backyard..ta da! done! it was a lot of work....and we got our share of bumps and scrapes...today Alan hooked  up the drip irrigation for the different beds and seeded one bed with yellow wax beans..now if we can keep Kingston out of the beds...for some reason he thinks we made them for him!

The weather has been very nice, warm in the high  60s and 70s.....the potted tomato plants are really taking off.....

So looking forward to some fresh homegrown tomatoes!

A Giveaway and more Garden news

I just discovered a darling Etsy shop, blog and FB page...My Stitches to Treasure...Deb Bures is giving away this wonderful prim sheep to celebrate her year anniversary on Etsy...
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isn't he beautiful? I sure think so anyway and hope you enter ...would be cool of one of my readers would win......
she has a lovely Etsy shop......My Stitches to Treasure ...her stitchery is wonderful...I am so tempted as I can't use my sewing machine right now with so many  in our little house...no room! we lost so much in our fire two years ago....its been fun picking up a few new things for the holidays...I put her shop on my favorites....

The storm we expected came in like a lion on Sunday afternoon and rained most of the day and into the night..clearing off yesterday....Alan did manage to build 3 more raised beds...he calls them planters....they are completed now and next on the agenda is getting some compost and amendments to add to our natural soil....there is a company not too far from us that sells such things, and fairly cheaply if you bring your own truck..a truck load is about $30 which will would be all we would need......we have a neighbor who has a truck.....

this is so basic right now.....but coming together.....Alan also trimmed our jasmine and sago palms..the very front wooden planter boxes are planted with sunflower seeds which do very well for us.....and will attract birds....the ground will be covered with the grass mats so we won't have to worry about weeds....I plan on having some pots of flowers here and there too....

I cleaned out the flower beds and planted some dutch iris...

the flower beds are new for us too having just been dug last year......before the yard was all grass, but as the kids are grown now, we just don't need all that lawn anymore..but are leaving an area for our grandson to play on.....plus the clothes line.....I would like to completely fill the flower beds with iris and day lilies eventually...
all this exercise has been so good for both of us...Alan's blood sugar has gone down!

More on Raised Beds

We've been thinking for the last year about putting ours in.....and this month in the Better Homes & Gardens magazine, there is a large article on a family who put a raised bed garden in their front yard...well worth getting the magazine for the article....not only that, but the another little magazine I get is the home improvement one from Lowes..guess what, they did an article about raised beds too so I knew it was time....
the above photo is one from the BH&G website.....I picked out one with hoops to show you what ours will look like later in the year...or so we hope anyway.....our growing season here in inland Southern California is long and with some cover can go through until Christmas if the weather holds up......

We didn't do any gardening today as we had jobs in San Diego county..but did go to a nursery to check out plants and get more inspiration.....both the jobs were cash for keys...adventures of locksmithing.....the first was a gorgeous condo overlooking a lovely valley...with a big patio area...I really liked it....the second was a cute older and smaller condo but it had alot of potential...no view but other good things going for it......
tomorrow we have other jobs coming up so its all good......and a good sized storm is coming in for Sunday.....so there goes the weekend......

What We've Been Doing..digging in the dirt

We've been rather busy these last few days....Alan built two of these raised beds as we turn our garden into an easier more manageable arrangement.....we're planning on building two more....you see the "grass mats" in between the beds? Our youngest sons works for the company who makes these and he is going to be bringing quite a few more home as we can afford them...the entire area will be covered so no more weeds! Its alot of work but well worth it......we will continue to amend the soil in the beds.....in the last two years, we've gotten most of the rocks out of the soil, added alot of natural fertilizer and other amendments but it still needs more..very poor ground.......

our weather has been wonderful, and only a little chilly at night.....in the 70s during the day.....so we wanted to get the garden going before the hot season comes in late June/July.  The beds can be covered..we are adding a system so we can installed PVC pipe hoops over them for shade cloth.....tomatoes tend to get sun burned here.....

I just discovered the cutest radio show and wanted to share it with you...Southern Fried Radio with Tim & Christy......if you need a laugh,  you will enjoy them...I know we do......

Down To the River and Hamburger Stroganoff

I wanted to share this wonderful video.....
Wishing  you a wonderful Sunday.....

We've been rather busy with work so haven't posted as much as normal.....yesterday and today have been very cold and rainy....snow in all the mountains....it poured from about 3 in the morning until day break..and is raining again now.....cold cold rain, we thought it could snow so brought our potted tomato plants inside...

Our boarder, Josh drove to Lake Havasu last night...he has a job interview this week and he hopes to be moving out by the end of the week if all goes well. We will miss him, he's been here almost 2 years but of course, we knew he'd be moving on eventually. He turned from a older teenager to a mature young man in those two years.....he's like a third son to us.

I am planning on fixing Hamburger Stroganoff  for dinner .. very easy and tasty on a cold evening.....served over noodles..its a great meal along with steamed broccoli, green salad and fruit......we always keep canned mushrooms in stock along with condensed soups...I get these at Costco in bulk...and always buy the best hamburger meat there also...cut it up into portions for the freezer....actually this recipe is one I've had and we've enjoyed for about 40 years..guess its vintage..

Hamburger Stroganoff

1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. butter...( I now less)
1 lb. or so hamburger meat
2 T. flour
1 t. salt
pepper to taste
1 small can mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom  or chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
minced parsley, optional

Saute onion and garlic until softened. Stir in hamburger to brown. Stir in flour, salt and pepper, and mushrooms. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in soup...and simmer about 10 minutes more....it will be thick...Stir in sour cream. Heat through..and serve over cooked noodles, sprinkle with parsley....its good and doesn't take long to make......

Apifera Farm and the Cookbook

Nancy will be donating proceeds from the sale of her celebrity cookbook to help in the care of the animals at Apifera Farm....Aprifera Farm: where animals and art collide...Katherine does amazing work with forgotten farm animals..the elderly and the infirm...please check out her blog..........she is an artist and also writes books.....

These are some of our Menifee/Perris sheep just north of us.....

By purchasing one of the cookbooks,  you are helping animals plus get a nice cookbook to  keep or give as a gift....you can order one by clicking on the link on the left  hand side of this blog.......

Family

We've been rather busy...not necessarily working but busy...this last weekend we had a family reunion, Alan's aunt and uncle live in Long Beach...his uncles sister came out to visit, along with her two boys and their wives.plus two of his cousins....it was alot of fun..Uncle Tom had us in stitches over his stories of his boyish exploits on the farm in Iowa....fortunately, several people taped the stories as Uncle Tom is in his 80s as well as his sister who is a bit older..there are only 3 left of that generation....we went to SoupPlantation for "supper" and then to his cousins Debbies new house which is a darling cottage......this photo was taken in front of the house....

The weather was absolutely wonderful..warm and sunny as you can see......we had a job that morning so were in our work clothes....
His aunt Viola or Vi had never been to the Pacific ocean and had a wonderful time......

They gathered sand dollars to take to all the ggrandchildren back in Iowa.....that is Aunt Vi and Alan's uncle Tom who is a retired LA police officer.....what blest me immensely was the love that abounded amongst the family....as we departed, we held hands and prayed for each other.......
Alan and I determined to go back as often as we could to visit his aunt and uncle....we didn't know where they lived actually as they'd moved several times but now are living in Long Beach.......we are  hoping we can get our boys out to see them too..I know they would enjoy Jayden........

Mexican Food and a Road Trip

Growing up in Southern California, we all love Mexican food......and my friend, Kay shared a wonderful website with videos on how to make your own Mexican food at home....I am really impressed with the website and wanted to share it with you as I know you will enjoy it also...the first thing I made was the Strawberry Lemonade as we had both lemons and strawberries, it was very good and disappeared very fast........




Here is the link to Robin's website....Delicious Mexican Food Recipes...she also has a blog! Rockin Robins Mexican Recipes blog....

you can, of course, adjust the spices, chilies, etc. to your own families taste...

Yesterday, we had a job deep in San Diego county, up in the tiny little mountain town of Alpine....the modular house needed some work but it was in a lovely area, on a private street outside of town....two fireplaces, one in the kitchen, and one in the master bedroom...

This is looking out from the front porch......looking south

 this again is in the front, looking north....the fenced area is a patio.....nice views.......and being in the mountains, never is as warm as down in El Cajon and La Mesa....

Here is the country kitchen with the fireplace....

The doorway leads to the laundry room and a small bathroom.....it also has open beam ceilings.....granite countertops....but the floor isn't too good..I'd replace it with tile....
Below is the master bedroom....

as  you can see, the carpet should be replaced also..but the house has lots of potential........
the house sits on a acre of land with another large lot above it where a second modular home could be placed.....and includes this old tree house..not safe now but what fun kids must have had back in the day!

It was a nice drive, some 90 miles from home......and a beautiful day...we have  two jobs tomorrow in the same area.
That is all for today....hope  you enjoy the food videos and cook up something wonderful....

Wednesday News

The weather here is going into spring and the nectarine tree is in full bloom...so pretty to look at the kitchen window.....the bees are buzzing around it and we hope to have some nice sweet nectarines this year...the last two years, we got a killing frost which destroyed the crop...

our lawn is starting to green also....we haven't watered it this winter but there has been enough rain lately.....our water district is actually paying people to get rid of their lawns but with our grandson here, we both think it would be nice for him to have grass to play on.....
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I also received the beautiful little bunny from Kim in the giveaway I won..I had mentioned it before in a precious post but having the little guy in front of me is wonderful...the bunny is beautiful made with great finishing details..I love the size also and would like to collect more as he is just so darn cute.......

He has rusty wire whiskers and the cutest little bottom.....

Cute, cute, cute!

You can find this little guy and more in her Etsy shop   The Barn Hollow

and I also wanted to mention again that Nancy Huggins is now selling her wonderful Celebrity Cookbook....this is truly unique and I am so excited about receiving my cookbook from her........going  to start waiting by the mail box......and to think not only getting a wonderful cookbook but helping support a no kill animal shelter makes it even better......

If you click on the photo, you can spy just a few of the celebrities who have contributed to help the abandoned pets.......if you would like  your copy please clip here to her blog....Huggins Haven

Spring is here

Spring has come to Southern California and with it, lots of seasonal good stuff...strawberries are now arriving...we went to a local fruit and vegetable stand in Vista, Ca on the way back from a job, and got this half flat of strawberries...the tomatoes are local also as well as the cabbage and limes... Haas avocados are coming into season also and I bought 6...they are in one of Nancy's fabric storage bags to ripen..
..I have a sugar free yellow cake in the oven and tonight, strawberry short cake!

I was so delighted also in being one of the  30+ winners of the PAFA spring giveaway.....I won this darling bunny from Kim Shultz Dickinson..her Etsy shop is the  Barn Hollow...

 please visit her shop and her blog, The Barn Hollow..