Elderberries

 You may remember that the elderberries I planted when we first moved here are gone. They didn't die a natural death and it was not a happy day when it happened. The only reason it was not "less happy" than it was already is that I had planted 7 more elderberries outside the fence.

Our ground here is rock. We cannot dig more than an inch in most places without hitting rock. Planting anything is almost impossible. That's why my garden is all planted in raised beds or in mineral tubs.

There's a retaining wall - I think the original owners made it big enough they could use it for growing some things so there was the wall, and then as it sloped down, there was a lot of dirt added. I don't know how it got there but that's how it is. It's this area right here and the trees are no longer there.

There were two large Bradford Pear trees there when we bought the house. One of the trees was way too close to the house. We thought about just trimming the other one back and keeping it but when the tree guy started trimming it, the inside was hollow and it was not going to make it and we certainly don't grieve the loss of a Bradford Pear! That was all near the end of 2021, that's where I planted three elderberries in the spring of 2022. They grew and produced within a couple of years, as elderberries do. When I cut them back in probably February or March of 2023, I stuck some of the cuttings in a bucket of loose soil thinking Chad might want elderberries. I think everyone should have them . . Chad didn't think so. They grew like crazy so in 2024 when I cut the elderberries back, I thought . . what do I have to lose? I went outside the fence, between the fence and the solar panels, which is maybe about 12 -14 feet of space, and I poked 7 cuttings that were maybe 20" long down in the ground. I didn't dig . . I just poked them in the ground. If I hit a rock, I pulled them out and poked them a few inches over and got all of them deep enough that I thought they would stay.

Last year, they were scraggly. I wasn't sure if between the wood fence on their north side and the solar panels on their south side . . maybe they weren't getting enough sun but I left them alone. 

Since my other elderberries were gone, I went out in late winter and pruned them, then I fertilized them. It's been such a wet spring that I haven't needed to water them so I just left them alone.  A month or so ago, Vince said "Have you seen the elderberries?" I had not but when I went out there, I was shocked at how much they had grown. They are way over the top of the fence now and when I walk out my back door, the fragrance of the blooms is amazing!

That's what I see when I walk over to that side of the house and it makes me so happy!

There they are! Full of blossoms. I'm so thankful I planted those there, never knowing I would end up needing to have them there. Since these are outside the fence, I'm hoping the deer will not devour them all but, if they do, we'll just put up some kind of fence for them next year. You can see the solar panels  there and the fence that's already there so it wouldn't take much to put up a fence around them.

There are some black raspberries growing in that area too. The foxes LOVE those and almost every day during raspberry season, there's a fox out there getting a treat. 

The red raspberries are in the back yard. This is their second year to produce and they're doing great. I had to put bird netting over them. I don't mind sharing a bit but they were getting them all.

We have a lot of grapes on the vines too.

I know that having a lot of grapes at this point doesn't mean we'll get a good grape harvest but I'm hopeful.

If I can get enough to make one batch of grape jelly, I'll be happy.

Last Post - Cooper

 I've mentioned that Cooper is seeing a dog trainer. It hasn't gone smoothly. It's our fault. He's such a sweet and loving little guy but we never have people over. We don't take him anywhere. It's kinda sad . . our life . . it's hard to socialize a dog when we aren't very social and I feel like we failed both dogs. Taking Oscar to the vet this last time was an eye opener and that's when we decided to take Cooper for some socialization/training. 

This week, our assignment was to take Cooper to three places. We did. We took him to Walmart (of course!). Cooper and I sat in the car with the windows down while Vince went inside. People passed by the car, talking, laughing. Cooper paid very close attention but he didn't bark or growl and he wasn't afraid. A lady parked next to us and said something to him and he seriously considered growling but I kept telling him he was a good boy and he was fine.

We took him to the park. That wasn't bad because he's used to being walked on a leash down our little road and around our yard and that wasn't much different. There were no other people out where we were and no other dogs. We walked over near the playground and he watched the kids but didn't growl. There are geese out there and they make such a mess but Cooper was very interested in them. I kept the tension on his leash and he never tried to bolt after them. 

Last, we went to Atwoods. They allow dogs inside but we had planned to just walk around the garden area with him. He did so well, Vince suggested we take him inside. He did great! He wasn't afraid at all. They have those big sliding doors that open when you walk up to them and I thought he might panic with those but he didn't pay any attention to them at all. He didn't pay any attention to the other people in the store. I'm so happy with how well he's doing. We have two more sessions with the trainer and once we finish those, we're going to start working with Oscar ourselves. The trainer is an hour away and it's pretty expensive so I think we've learned enough that we can do it ourselves and, if not, we'll get Oscar registered and take him to class too.

It isn't a two month education period - it's something we're going to have to keep up with both of them. Maybe that means Vince and I can improve on our social skills also.  :)

The Cooking Post

 When Vince and I met, the first thing he talked about was Italian food and I told him I don't like Italian food but later admitted it's just the red sauce I don't like. I grew up where there weren't many (very few!) Italians and there was a real Italian restaurant in Lake Charles but it was high end and that wasn't the kind of place we ever ate. So, Italian food for me was my mom, who didn't like to cook and was not a good cook, opening a can of tomato sauce, pouring it over browned ground beef and serving it over spaghetti with grated cheddar cheese.

Vince has always told me that if I had good, authentic Italian food, I would love it and, he's probably right. We ate at Maggiano's in Overland Park, KS a few months ago and it was delicious but, as far as I know, there's no place around Joplin to get outstanding Italian food.

Somehow last week, Vince came across this YouTube channel - Pasta Grammar. I think Vince watched half a dozen of their videos, then he shared them with me and we have been binge watching. I want to cook everything they make! They also have a website where they share some of their recipes. And, they have a cookbook! I ordered the cookbook and it arrived today and I can't put it down!

Today I made Pesto Alla Trapanese. It's in the book but it's also on the YouTube notes for that video. My book arrived after we had gone to the grocery store so I had to do some subs.

Almonds - I didn't have almonds so I used pistachio nuts.

4 cloves of garlic - I used some of the garlic scape pesto that I made earlier this week. It's all frozen in cubes - 2 T. each.

Pecorino cheese - can't get that hebure so I used an Italian blend from Sam's. 

Busiate - Didn't have that so I used bucatini. It was so delicious. I think I now love Italian food!

Tomorrow I'm making the Italian Stuffed Meatloaf. We watched her make that on the YouTube video and I haven't stopped thinking about it!

I'm having fun cooking the recipes and, of course, Vince is thrilled to be getting lots of Italian food!

A Great Thursday! Cross Stitching

 Today was such a good day! In order to keep this post from being too long, I'm going to make several posts. This first post is going to be about cross stitching. The second will be about cooking and the third will be about Cooper (it's good!)

This morning we went to Sam's Club, got what we needed there. Vince asked me on the way to town if I wanted to go by Hobby Lobby and I said no . . didn't need anything but we were going right by there so I said "OK! Stop!!" We did and I got some inexpensive pieces and decorations to help finishing some of the patriotic pieces I've been working on. I'm still not 100% sure exactly how I'll finish them but I've had fun today playing with them all.

The journal won't be used for my finishing but I'll talk about it at the end of the post.

This is the first stitched piece I started working with:

I had this little wooden piece already but I also have another stand that I may end up using for it. There's a little blue rick rack around it but it isn't attached. See that little knob at the top? I got four of those. They were on sale and only about $2 - $4 each before the sale so I got these:

The one on the left is a deep blue. I thought I would use it on the round piece but then decided I liked the brassy looking one better. There's a light pink one that I thought might work on something for spring and the rabbit - I have several pieces by Brenda Gervais that have rabbits on them. Maybe I can use it one of those.

I thought I could paint some of the stars and use them somewhere along the way. I thought I could paint the spools and glue them on to a wood piece and maybe hang old keys or buttons on something.

I think this board might work for this piece. I'm thinking I'll use white crackle paint on it and maybe use some red trim around the edges of the piece. I may or may not use those bows. They're like little pillows.

My initial plan was to turn this flag piece into a pillow but I kinda dread making a pillow. It might work on this piece.

I love this piece. This tray is only about 2" deep. It looks much deeper in the photo. I'm thinking I would paint the tray white or an eggshell color, then cover a piece to put in the bottom - maybe a tiny red stripe or check. Then mount the stitched piece onto a padded foam core. If I used magnets to attach it, I might could also use it for a Christmas piece too - just pull the patriotic pieces off and attach, also with magnets, a Christmas piece.

Last of the patriotic pieces in this batch is this one!

This is the board.

I like the saying but I'll sand it down and paint it - probably white, maybe crackle or something with texture, then mount the stitched piece on it. I'm thinking I'll probably just make a bow with some patriotic ribbon and call it done.

This last one is one that I finished in 2022 and had never framed it. I know there's more space at the bottom below the stitching than there is at the top but I laced it back in 2022 and wasn't going to re-do it. 

Nice to have it up on the wall!

Now . . the journal. I've tried The Book of Days and I like it ok. The last couple of years I've purchased pages off Etsy that have all spots for all kinds of info - new starts, finishes, purchases, pans, progress, etc. I print them, put them in a Happy Planner cover and I like that it's kind of a lot of trouble setting it all up and by the end of the year, it's pretty ragged with all the pages printed on plain paper. I know - I could use better paper but it would mean changing paper in the printer every time I add something and I know I'm not going to keep that up.

Last year, near the end of 2025, Hobby Lobby had some of the 52 Agenda planners marked way down so I bought one. It's actually an 18 month planner. That one was July - December, 2025 and them all 12 months of 2026. Since I only started it in January, 2026, I kinda felt like it would never be finished so today, when I saw that the 52 Agenda planner was on sale, I got this one - July - December, 2026 and then all of 2027. My plan is to use it through 2027 and then hopefully find a 12 month planner like. That's a while . . I don't have to worry about it for now.

There's so much I like about this planner but I know everyone loves something different in their planners.

Now . . on to the next post!  :)

Baby Oscar

 Yesterday I was going through some pictures and came across two the breeder had sent me when we were thinking about getting Oscar.

He looks so sweet and innocent. Who would have imagined what a difficult puppy he was?

I can't tell you how many times I would tell him . . it's a good thing we got you because not many people would have kept you. He was so destructive but, I don't think he's had an accident in the house since he was five months old. Cooper . . we won't even talk about that. He'll be three years old in July and I don't trust him at all. 

Those ears! I thought for sure he was growing to grow up to have huge ears but he didn't. I didn't realize it at the time how serious he would be but looking at his face, he seemed concerned about something even back then. Maybe it's because I know him . . 

Same picture I shared the other day but you can see his ears are a normal length - maybe a little longer than Cooper's. 

It's very hard to believe Oscar will be five years old this year. Hard to believe we've had him that long and hard to believe he's half of ten years old! Time flies!

We sure love our little boys!

The Finger

 I haven't given more specifics about my finger because I don't know what happened. Here's what I THINK! Either Monday or Tuesday of last week, I would in the back yard. I do try to wear gloves in the garden but sometimes, I stop and make a quick "adjustment" and don't have gloves on. That day I was walking by and saw a weed. I reached down and pulled the weed out but it kinda disrupted one of my small plants so I was poking dirt around it with my finger and I hit something sharp. It was very minor - almost like pricking my finger with a needle. It bled a bit, mostly because I was squeezing it. I went inside, washed it with warm soapy water, dabbed it with alcohol, put some antibiotic ointment on it and put a band-aid on it. Later that same day, I was playing fetch with Cooper. He brought the little boomerang back to me and I reached to get it, he saw the band-aid and apparently both of them think band-aids are scary and should be ripped off. He grabbed for the band-aid before I realized what was happening and he snagged my finger. I couldn't tell if it was bleeding from the initial wound or from his tooth scraping my finger. Back inside - same cleaning routine but it really didn't need a band-aid and, obviously band-aids are dangerous to wear in this house.

Then on Tuesday night I was in the kitchen and I don't even remember what happened but I said "Ouch! That hurt!" I usually don't even say anything when I get hurt so I know it must have hurt a lot. Vince said "What happened?" and I said "I hurt my finger." He asked if it was the finger Cooper had grabbed and I said yes. I finished whatever I was doing but, my ear was hurting and I've been having several ear infections a year so earlier I had called the doctor to see if he could look at it Wednesday. Yes, at 8 a.m.

When I got up Wednesday morning, my finger was swollen, very red and I couldn't bend it so when I got to the doctor, the nurse was going to do the oxygen check gizmo and I said "No, not that finger!" She kinda jumped back and wanted to know what happened.  There was no visible injury. You had to search to see where Cooper had scratched it. Couldn't see at all where I injured it in the garden. I wasn't even thinking about whatever happened in the kitchen Tuesday night - I thought the injury in the garden or my medical assistant's removing the band-aid had caused it to be infected. The doctor also thought the finger was infected, gave me antibiotics and ear drops. Thursday it was more red and swollen. Same Friday so I sent a picture to the doctor and got this back from him:

That's when we went to the ER. The doctor there didn't think it needed to be x-rayed. He again drained it - nothing really to drain, and gave me another antibiotic to take along with the first one.

Then Saturday morning, some of the red and swelling had gone down and it was very purple. I told Vince . . I'm kinda feeling like my finger may be broken. He looked at it and said "Why didn't you tell the doctor you hurt it?" I wasn't thinking about that - I was thinking it was infected from dirt in the garden. Vince said he thought when I hurt it in the kitchen that I had slammed it in the drawer. Maybe. It was late, I was hurrying to finish the kitchen and go to bed.

Today (Monday) I can somewhat bend it. I can touch it on top and bottom but if I push on it from the front (like pushing towards the back) or push in the code on a door lock, or if I use it to scratch something off the counter . . that hurts.

Here's what it looks like today - which is so, so much better than how it looked late last week.

If you see the two little dots at and near the base of my nail, that's from the needle where they drained it.

I guess I'm going to just finish the antibiotics (one Wednesday and one on Friday) and hope for the best.

A New Week - A New WIP

 This past week, I worked on Prairie Life Sampler and got quite a bit done. Here's what it looked like when I started it this past Monday:

Prairie Life Sampler

Here's where I left off:

I got all the words in, stitched a little on the cabin, started another tree over to the right and got almost all the flowers at the top outlined.

The WIP I'll work on this week is Autumn Moon by Plum Street.

I'm using NPI Silks on this one and I love those so I'm looking forward to getting back to it.