Outside My Window ~ 5.15.11

Outside my window…is a Sunday that didn’t quite know what it wanted to do.  Cloudy….rain….sun….cloudy….more rain….more sun.  Currently, at 8:00 p.m., we are at 72°F with cloudy skies…there may even be a few rain drops falling as I sit here.  Looks like we have had a little over a quarter inch of rain in the past 24 hours ~ I think most of that fell last night during some storms that moved through our area.  When I went to bed it was raining quite hard with lots of lightening and thunder.  It is quite humid outside right now, 78%…and if you are doing any type of activity out there right now, you know it.  I was working outside a little earlier and I can attest to the humidity.  There is another chance for storms this evening and tomorrow evening as well.  I don’t mind the storms at night…I’m not so fond of the exploding thunder boomers that wake you from a sound sleep, but your normal every day thunder storm isn’t so bad.  There is a chance of storms until Thursday with the highest chance on Wednesday.

I am thinking…that I shouldn’t be this sore after a day of working outside!  I mean, seriously!  I was even feeling it in my sleep last night when I would  roll over…it felt like I had been hit by a truck.  I started about 10:30 yesterday morning and worked until about 6:00 in the evening.  I was hauling around a concrete splash block and buckets of rocks…and I had to unload six old manor wall blocks from the car and get them to the back yard.  Maybe a little sore, but really…not this sore!   It wasn’t my intent to do all that I did…and there is more that needs to be finished….but I’m glad to say I did get quite a bit accomplished.  Even though I’m sore today.   I finally got my seeds in the ground ~ second generation morning glory seeds, cilantro, sunflower seeds (a variety this year), zinnia’s  and a new comer ~ Spanish eyes mix Thunbergia ….my second rain barrel is fully assembled and attached to the original….my tomato plants have been transplanted into the large garden pots I grow them in….my corner flower garden has been weeded and cleaned up ~ it looks good too.  Don’t worry, there will be photographs coming in the near future.   Returning for their second year ~ red and black lilies….lily of the valley….my purple iris….lavender….day lilies….jasmine  blooming like crazy this year, and right by my front door too ~ heaven.  The violets  did their thing earlier this spring.

From my kitchen…is fettuccine with Gorgonzola sauce and a small grilled steak.  Yum.  No, I haven’t forgotten that I said I would post recipes in this section….to be honest I haven’t taken the time to get them online so you can download them.  I do have a few to share….and I will share this one with you as well.

I am currently working on…my gardens outside….they are slowly becoming what I had always wanted.  I think I must have inherited that from my maternal grandmother and mother ~ mine are just on a much smaller scale than theirs were/are.  🙂

I am going to…put together a small tutorial on making your own rain barrel.  No video, only words and images which I took yesterday.  I have used a lot of water this weekend watering inside plants that have gone outside for the summer and outside plants just in case it didn’t rain last night…refilling the bird bath and fountain…watering new seedlings and other plants that I wanted to give a drink to yesterday.  I started with one full barrel and after all that use, I still have one 55 gallon barrel full of water just from the rain last night.  Plants love this water….more than tap water….more than tap water with an additive that helps plants grow.  I decided if I could help someone enjoy the benefits of a rain barrel, I would try.

I am currently reading…quite a bit online from the Professional Photographers of America, of which I am a member.  Their resources have been a great learning tool.  I am looking into their certification program as well.  I have also been watching parts of a free workshop on food photography by Penny De Los Santos on creativeLIVE this past weekend.  I wish I could have sat down and watched it all uninterrupted…this wasn’t the weekend for that to happen though. I have caught little bits here and there, mostly on the re-telecasts.  Too much I needed to do this weekend….although I may get the chance to catch some of today’s re-telecast this evening.

I am hoping…those individuals in the path of flood waters somehow make it out of this nightmare without too much damage.  It is amazing to see the photographs of this historic event.  There have been 84 year old records broken….most of us may not see floods of this magnitude in our life again.  Amazing.

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks…the hum of the refrigerator….Criminal Minds on television….dryer tumbling Cailin’s clothes dry.  It has dawned on me that my Sunday evenings sound the same each week.  😐

Plans for the week include…working from home on Monday and Wednesday….wishing my parents here in Newport News a Happy Anniversary tomorrow  🙂  …..working in my gardens a couple of evenings after I get home from work….going prom dress shopping Wednesday evening for Cailin ~ her boyfriend invited her to his prom.  I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not giddy with excitement over this prospect.  Shopping with Cailin can be a long experience at best.

One of life’s little pleasures…is watching something you dreamed about become a reality.  I love that my little garden is coming together so nicely.  Another little pleasure, discovering the lemon balm you planted last year and did nothing has come back very nicely this year.  I was reading about it earlier….it says it can be a nuisance in a garden because it will seed prolifically.  I say sweet deal, bring it on….I have recipes for that too. 

From my camera…I’ve got ‘maters baby!     🙂   

And happy 19th  birthday today to my sweet niece who just finished her first year at college this year….