Chalk a Doodle

Ever since hanging our wine rack and clock, we've been looking for the perfect piece to fill the hole above the light switch. We found it this weekend at Pride's in Westport - a little slate rooster chalkboard. Roosters are good luck in the kitchen, and I like that this one is simple and clean, plus having a little space to write messages is fun. So here's our little friend in his home.

Happy Memorial Day!

Reading Corner

For as long as we've lived here (that's three years as of this month - so hard to believe!) we've wanted the corner of our living room to be a perfect reading corner. We bought a chaise lounge and tucked it next to the fireplace, next to two bright windows, but it's always been missing something.

And that something is . . . . light! Shortly after our kitchen remodel, we got a gift card in the mail from Restoration Hardware, completely unexpected. I called them and was informed that when we exchanged some items, we were credited an incorrect amount. They discovered this during a sales audit, and mailed me the difference. 

 So in late march I purchased the light, only to find out it was on backorder. Fast forward two months (if only I could have fast forwarded!) and the light finally arrived. So, after three years we finally had our reading corner.

We love the clean lines and the contrast of the dark metal with the smooth white glass shade, and it looks great with a little edison bulb glowing. It lights up our little corner perfectly - time to find a glass of wine and a good book!

Spring Harvest

I had this afternoon off, so I spent it in the garden. We've been really rainy the last few days, so everything out there is blooming and growing very quickly. I brought in our biggest harvest so far this year - some green beans, peas, strawberries and our first pepper. (The beer was for hydration).

Overall, the garden has been fantastic this year. It's been a warm, sunny spring with lots of rain, and on by my third time around I had learned a lot about planting in a small space. I couldn't be happier with the results. We're eating lots of strawberries (I'm beginning to freeze some of them), and we've had lots of onions and lettuce so far.

Our tomatoes and peppers are covered in flowers and buds, so those should be good for eating very soon. Our beets and carrots are also getting close. As far as the potatoes go, I have no clue how to tell if they're ready. I'll have to figure that one out . . . . 

The flower gardens are also filling in. This one in the backyard was planted last summer, but we rearranged it this summer to add a weeping cherry tree. If you squint you might be able to see it. Someday it will provide great shade and privacy. 

This is the bed I planted along the side of our porch earlier this year (shown here). It's quickly filling in and is currently bright with lily blooms. 

And here are a few more garden shots, just for the fun of it. Can you find the ant?

Spring Growth

Spring has arrived in Jonesville, and our outdoor activities are in full bloom.

Becca is growing lettuce in the garden with great success.

Our climatis flowers are blooming and bigger than ever.

We bought a Japanese Maple tree via mail order for our neighbor.

Becca really likes to plant trees.

Strawberries are also coming in. This year should be a great harvest, now that the squirrel cage is up.

Wrigley still likes to fetch, probably more than anything else.

Becca's new roses are looking great in their second year of growth.

Wrigley approves of the garden but wishes we grew bacon.

Garden Views

Tomato plants sprouting in the basement.

We've reached the time of year when things around the garden look different every week. Here are this week's views.

Convenient new spicket, installed by my handy dad and obliging husband. Will make it much easier to maintain our garden this year.

First anemone bloom. Love these little guys.

 Lettuce buds popping up like crazy.

 Lots of onion stems - the other thing blooming out back. Hopefully there will be lots of great things happening soon, but for now it's onions and lettuce.

 Growing, blooming vinca and clematis filling in the trellises.

    

Hens keeping the chicks company. And the logs. This little guy popped up more than a foot from the rest, between two railroad ties on our steps. And I love him. 

Farmhouse Sink Cutting Board

Part of my to-do list this year was a custom cutting board that would fit over Becca's beloved farmhouse sink. We chose walnut to match the kitchen island, and purchased the material at Schutte lumber, which is probably one of the coolest stores for hardwood enthusiasts. Results below.

I carved out some notches with the table saw to get the perfect fit. The board ended up being 1.5" thick to strike level with the countertop.

To keep the board from moving around too much, I also added a few rubber grippers on the bottom of the board. A basic 3/4" drill made the cavity for a secure fit.

My buddy Orion and I have made several boards in the past year. There are easy ways, and hard ways, to make a cutting board. This version is an example of the easy way. One wood source, one round of gluing, and side grain (vs. end grain up). It all depends on the look you want and how much work you want to put into the project. For more cutting board ideas, you should check out his work.

Firmly Planted

 

We are planted!  Well, mostly. Everything is in the ground except the potatoes and beans, which go in in April. Actually I got overly excited and accidentally planted the beans. We're pretty warm so maybe they'll be ok, but if not I'll replant them in April. 

Today was the first work day  post-daylight savings, and it was wonderful to come home to a warm sunny afternoon and have time to get some things done. I had turned all of the soil over during the weekend and even got my markers laid out, so today was all about the seeds.

Above is the garden from the north end, and below is from the south. It may not look like much now but in a few weeks we should see some life. Now, look closely in the strawberry bed. 

Do you see him? Nino really gets sad when I'm outside gardening and Wrigley gets to play, so Chris had the idea to put him in the enclosed strawberry bed. He loved it! He chewed up all the walnut tree twigs for me. Don't worry, I watched him closely to make sure he didn't try to help fertilize, and we won't put him in there once the plants start to blossom. Ok, disclaimer over. Isn't he cute? 



Zooming in on the north end, you can see that the vinca I planted last summer is taking over the ground nicely.

And don't worry about the dead stuff on the trellis. That's clematis, which is just beginning to sprout. It's one of the few perennials that should not be cut back in the winter, because the new growth actually comes from last year's dead stuff. Pretty cool. 

Finally, the other set of seeds. On Saturday I planted tomatoes, grape tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos in these starter cups. I have the grow light on a timer in the basement window and mist them daily, so they should be sprouting soon. 

Here's a close-up of day three. Hopefully we'll begin seeing green soon!