Veggies, DIY Doors, and Sunsets.

I'm almost halfway through the read-aloud edit of my latest novel. My goal is to have it finished and sent to beta readers before my daughter's surgery. (If you remember last May, my son had cardiothoracic reconstruction. My daughter also needs the procedure. Only hers will be a more invasive reconstruction. I know, it's hard to imagine anything more invasive.)

Besides editing, I've been doing some other things. Do you remember my Postage Stamp Garden? Well, it's mid-November and I'm still harvesting! (Though not in the quantities I was earlier in the season.) Here's some fruits of garden.

Bell peppers, jalapenos, ghost peppers, basil, and burgundy cherry tomatoes. Yum!

And since I'm never without a DIY project. Here are some photos.

I was going to paint the door on the left. But during some preliminary sanding, the paint began coming off in hunks and I had to start scraping. FYI to the previous owners of the house, you can't throw some latex paint on a solid mahogany door and think everything's going to be okay, i.e., latex on top of of oil isn't going to work. Ever.

In any case, on the right is the finished door to my office. And yes, you do see double-shelved stacks of books. (But no judging.)



And coolest thing of all, my dad found a strange, huge cocoon on a river birch tree in his yard. After a Facebook plea, we discovered that it's the cocoon for a Polyphemus moth, which has a six inch wing span. So we're going to put it in an empty aquarium and we can't wait to see it break free.

One last picture to share. Sunday evening on the way to church, we came over the ridge and were treated to this amazing sunset. And, of course, all I had was my cellphone and the photo quality doesn't do the sunset justice. (Sorry the photo is blurry. Traffic was whizzing past.)

My Own Postage Stamp Garden

I decided to take the things that I learned from The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden and begin my own postage stamp garden. (Click here to read my review of this fascinating book.)

I don’t have the space for a 5 x 5 garden or even a 4 x 4 garden, but I applied the principles to my south-facing flowerbed. Also, I didn’t make a raised bed. Hopefully, in the autumn my husband and I can do that. But we just didn’t have time this year. Our youngest son is having a cardio-thoracic reconstruction in early May, and it was all we could do just to prepare the flowerbeds for planting and get the seedlings in place.

My space measures 2.5’ x 44’. (It seems like a huge space. But since much of it is unusable because it abuts the side of the house of driveway, it’s still a small space.) In this space, my husband and I planted:

12 white corn plants

6 jalapenos (Yes, I realize how many peppers that will give me. My guys live on peppers.)

1 habanero (Scoville rating: 250,000)

1 ghost pepper (Scoville rating: 1,001, 304. Matthew is giddy about this.)

4 red bell peppers

4 yellow bell peppers

4 beefsteak tomatoes

1 purple cherry tomato

2 cucumbers

Mint (Properly contained in a fabric-lined pot, set into the ground)

Chocolate mint (Same as above)

Chives

Sage

Oregano

Thyme

Tarragon

Basil

Strawberries (I originally had six plants. Now I have more than I can count.)

Here are some photos of the beds. I'll post more later in the summer as the plants mature.

Most of what you see here are the strawberries and herbs
I've been growing for several years. 

Some of the pepper plants are behind me.
Corn plants are beyond that.

 Habanero (foreground) and ghost pepper.
Black tubing is drip irrigation.

N.B. My blogging, which has gotten sporadic, will probably be even more sporadic over the summer since my son's surgery has a 12 week recovery.