Garden Stuff

 Wow...how horrible has the weather been this winter?

I have read the news and emails and blogs and Oh M G

Yikes 

It is hard to imagine all of the snow and cold...but ... 

At least we all have catalogs and inspiration for spring and summer garden plans.

And spring is just around the corner!

Here are a few things we are working on this month... 

I must add that we have had lots of rain in California

 but quite a few days of unusual warm sunny weather too

These are the apples harvested from newly planted trees... last year...

And here they are this January...doing well, with the first blooms and buds.

We hope every additional year will bring more fruit.  

Most of the orchard trees are fertilized with compost from this garden.  

It is amazing how much the trees seem to benefit from the compost we add and how much we like making our own "soil" from grass clippings, lettuce leaves and the occasional "horse poop"  topping!

This year the sweet pea bed takes the place of bulbs...which I did last year.  It was pretty, but too expensive and too much work.

 The seeds of the sweet peas have just now started to crop up and will give us beautiful little arrangements in about a month or so...for pennies!

 Some of the English Roses were a mess...so a few new ones went in this weekend...

My son David was a big help...he can pull up the rocks and dig the new holes for these new bare root plants in half the time it takes me.

 The rocks are everywhere!

Lots of hand seeded lettuce is in...along with carrots...and beets

No tomatoes yet...

 but I did try the new "winter" varieties...bummer...

not a tomato in site!  

Pulled them all out.

Edible peas are up and we add a few of these to a salad..

but they are slowly growing...  

I like the way the plants look anyway...even if they are not producing peas just yet.   

The parsley beds just continue to produce...

I sometimes put the green leaves in small arrangements, 

with what ever flowers happen to be blooming 

Here is the winter broccoli...

This is a test....

Do we like broccoli?

Is it worth the trouble?

I looks pretty wimpy but I am going to let it do its thing and see what happens!

We have a few garden construction projects too...

this is a wisteria pergola at the rear of the veggie/pottager area

The gates will be at the front, just for some interest. 

We have left them out this winter to rust and age.  

I really want to get this done because 

this is the best time to get the wisteria in the ground.

This morning there was a small rain shower 

and it was nice to see the beds and pots getting some water 

from something other than a sprinkler.

Looking forward to the bulbs popping up too!  

And soon we will be here again.

Cheers 

and here's to all good things from the garden

kelley

Not all that stylish...but here goes

Wow, I got nominated for a 

stylish blogger award

What should I wear?

Vintage or new....?  

Is it in LA or will I need to hit Manhattan....

What?....I don't get go anywhere?

  

Or shop for some new Manolo's?

  

And I need to write something?

You're joking right?!

Ok....I'll do it anyway!

Twist my arm...

Two of my favorite bloggers actually tapped me for this task.

Jeanette, truly a great friend and a downright wonderful person.  Here is a link to her blog: JVW Home.  She is funny, creative and gorgeous too! 

Do we hate her yet?  Just kidding of course...

And Artie, also a wonderful friend 

and about as talented as any young designer out there.  

You know him via Color Outside the Lines

I heart Artie

So here is how this works....I must divulge 7 things about myself and then pass this award on to 10 bloggers so they can do the same.  

Sounds pretty simple right?

Wrong...

this post took me forever

Here are the sad but true facts....

1. I like to iron.... as in using an ironing board...is that just about the weirdest thing ever?  Its like meditation for me.  I don't do it very often, about once a month but it's a zen thing.  Oh and my favorite thing to iron is cloth napkins!  Are you excited for me?  Ironing a 12" square piece of fabric...what a party animal...
2. I ski.  Actually very well and I have skied with some really famous skiers.  I will name two of the top of my head...Robert Redford and Stein Eriksen.  Both wonderful skiers and really funny people.  Oh and Stein likes Schnapps!
3. I like to fish....I have bagged a Marlin, Barracuda, Bass and Trout, Halibut and the occasional tin can and other peoples fishing lines... I can bait my hook with live stinky anchovies and dead squid and  I can also scale, gut and fillet...OK now that I have made you all sufficiently sick I'll move along
4. I am a crazy nervous mess on airplanes.  I'm not sure why...I think it's the fact that I feel like I'm in "lock down" with a bunch of coughing strangers for hours....and I can't get away.  Oh and I always seem to get the extra security pat down.  Usually by a big scary lady who looks like she wants to slap me and thinks I have contraband in my shoe. 
5. Speaking of shoes...I love shoes...enough said
6. I am constantly in need of one or all of the following:  a manicure, a haircut, a visit to the dentist, gas for my car, a trip to the grocery store, a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, a pair of reading glasses, a triple AAA battery, my car keys, a doggie potty bag, lunch, my purse, a shower....this list just goes on and on!
7. If I could go back in time and change my life somehow, here is the thing I would do a bit differently:  I would have taken more time in my 20's to enjoy the world and nurture my creativity and spirit a bit more.   It's OK to be selfish sometimes, especially when you are young.

Now.....passing  this along

You are officially Nominated for

The Stylish Blogger Award....drum roll please

Cabinet Stew

Junkgarden

Simple Daisy

Seagrass Interiors

Vignette Design

La Borda Blue

Boho Farm and Home

The Adventures of Stig and Lolo
Rustic Rooster Interiors

Low Tide High Style

I chose these blogs because I really enjoy them...
along with about 400 other blogs that I try to read....

and if you don't feel like playing along that A-OK with me too

Gotta  run...now if I could just find my car keys...

~kelley~

An Old Gardener

Well...Mr. Jefferson

 I totally agree....

Thomas Jefferson lived to be the wonderful age of 83...he was a scholar, a statesman, an inventor... and a gardener

 And I would suspect , he felt that he never really mastered his garden...

 But how could he?...

 A garden has no beginning, really...there was always something there...before... 

 And try as we might to find an end to the work...

And the tweaking and the raking and the digging....

 The garden changes again...with the time, the date and the seasons

 I have found endless joy in this garden

 It makes me feel really "well" and grounded

 I have looked at it from every angle and seem constantly amazed at what this garden has to give me

 I love the simplicity of this garden and the creativity and complexity of it too...

 The age of the trees and the youth of the new lawn seem a perfect match

 Little objects are important here too

 And so is a family

 We get so much from this garden...that at times I feel unworthy of the things it continues to give back to me

 It is a simple 

 and thoughtful thing...this garden

 And I love it dearly

How smart you are Mr Jefferson

~kelley~

Condo Update: Dining Space....almost done

 I finally feel like I have landed....somewhere
&

It feels very cozy and bright, especially when the sun is shining!
Like today

 I managed to convince the buyer of our previous house that this huge faux bamboo cabinet was too big and that she would be much happier with it gone...so it came home to my new  "temporary home"...with me!
  Yea!

The lack of storage in the kitchen has made this cabinet even more important.

 The dining chairs are a favorite...from Mainly Baskets called the
Eastern Shore Boardwalk Chair


The cushions are done in a pretty linen floral, called Tokyo Rose from Bennison

 Bennison florals  have a tea stained, vintage look to them and they layer beautifully with other fabrics, especially English and vintage inspired stripes

 The blue shutters came from Capital Salvage  another favorite e-bay-er
(Is that a word?)
I love to use salvage as art and here it really draws you away from all of the beige shutters, walls,  etc

 A very cool dining table,
from Noir Furniture
It consists of two big steel slabs, with bolts and screws,
 that sandwich a  heavy piece of salvaged wood.

 It took three guys and a girl (me) to bring in and set up
&
 I doubt I was much help...in fact I was no help at all! 

The base is an adjustable "screw thingy"
 And is also heavy steel.

 I put my toaster lamps in the cabinet and found another interesting floor lamp to add some ambient light for working or for  dinner.
And yes those are old shovels in the corner...
A new collection...yep shovels!

 An old french bottle rack...this one found on eBay through a great resource in France...

 A few little cafe chairs and some of the old firkins I kept...

 A nice little splash of color. 

 Here is the bare bones "before"....just in case you forgot.
And I might add that this is a really long narrow room...
Think bowling alley! 

 And here we are "after"
almost done

I will take a few more photos of the completed first floor area

 as soon as I finish up all of the details...

Hope you like it so far!

Thank you so much
for
stopping
by
~kelley~