Garden Fail

Oh man...the 2012 garden of mine is a disaster! I really had a romantic ideal in my head that with a new baby, I could just strap her on and spend hours in the garden, taking a few breaks to feed her and then returning to get more dirt under my nails. HA! How naive can I be?
The reality was:
1) By June I was too huge and sore to really get down and dirty in the garden - which was the beginning of the end
2) A newborn and a 4 year old and hosting to all the family that came to see our beautiful girl left little time for gardening
3) With the baby-free time that I did have, I had to choose between sleeping, eating, showering, spending time with family or gardening and sleeping usually won.

On the plus side, my husband built me four new garden boxes that we used this year. I had four, 4'x4' raised garden boxes that I separated again into the 1' sections like last year. I say 'raised' but when I went out to check on Eric who was setting them up, he had dug down into the earth so that they were kind of half above the ground and half in the ground...and he had put them in a different spot than I had wanted, but really, I was super pregnant and I couldn't help so I shouldn't complain, right? (but on a side note...my plan had been explained to him several times and he still did it wrong. It was a little frustrating). Oh, and I should mention that all the dirt/sod that he dug up to make room for the boxes was thrown to the side and is still sitting next to the garden beds, with a forest of weeds on top.
Anyway....
What I planted this year:
Green bush beans
Scarlet red bush beans
Red onions
Lettuce mix (I don't think I'll do a mix next year, just individual heads of lettuce)
Tomatoes - cherry, plum and your typical round tomato
Snap peas
Carrots
Green Peppers
Watermelon - which gave me tons of flowers but only one fruit which only showed up about a week ago so I highly doubt that I will get a ripe watermelon this season, plus, this little watermelon decided to fruit on the one flower that made if through out fence into our neighbours yard and is now too big to pull if back through. That must be karma's way of telling me not to be upset about the garden boxes being in the wrong spot.
Beets - which did a whole lot of nothing
Turnips - which I harvested too late and were rotten when I pulled them from the ground
Radishes - they were yummy.

I got a great amount of cherry tomatoes, which I roasted and froze to add to sauces later in the year and the green beans are so delicious that I can't completely write off this garden just yet. But it definitely wasn't the garden that I had fantasized about.

Next year will be better.

So Sorry

For the few people that read this little blog of mine, I apologize for the lack of posts of late. BUT - I have a pretty good excuse...

Knitting away

Before you ask, no.....I haven't sewn in the ends or chosen buttons for the purple sweater yet. But - I have finished the blanket (pics to follow soon-ish) and cast on two more projects.
Here they are:

1. Bobble Edged Shrug by Debbie Bliss

























Knitting this out of Rialto Lace in this beautiful creamy white colour. I just wanted something pretty to knit (and hopefully finish so I can wear it). Maternity clothes just don't make a girl feel pretty.

2. Beyond Puerperium (again - this is really becoming my go-to baby sweater of choice. It is really a quick knit that's easy and looks great)
Knitting this in some EcoBaby cotton for a girlfriend that just had the most adorable baby boy. This will be done before the shrug. It is nice to take a break from pattern reading/counting/bobbling.

A New Favourite

When I was pregnant with Gage, I craved and ate Captain Crunch cereal and nectarines (not together) like they were going out of style. With this pregnancy, in the earlier months it was anything citrus and as cliche as it sounds, pickles. During the last 2 months however, I've been craving carbonated, sugary, beverages, with COKE being at the top of the list. I've always been a Coke drinker, as that is my drink of choice during social outings (I'm not one for alcohol) but my desire for it has increased ten fold. The problem with this, is that drinking a lot of Coke, as I'm sure you're aware, is consuming quite a bit of sugar and caffeine. Plus, it was giving me heartburn. BUT, my craving was (is) still here so I needed to come up with a different solution.
Hence my new favourite carbonated beverage (okay, it's not really my favourite as nothing will ever top Coke, but it's good enough).
Vanilla Soda.

It's so simple yet so delicious, and the best part is that you can control the amount of vanilla syrup you put in so it can be as sweet or not so sweet - whatever floats your boat.

You need:
Can of club soda
Ice Cubes (don't get me started on my craving for crushed ice)
1/3 cup (or less, or more) of vanilla syrup

Mix all together and enjoy!

Vanilla Syrup:

1. Add 2 cups of granulated sugar to 2 cups of water in a saucepan
2. While constantly stirring, heat mixture over medium/low heat until sugar is dissolved and liquid is clear
3. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, give it a quick stir to incorporate the vanilla
4. Pour into the container of your choice (I use mason jars), let cool and then enjoy!

My View

Hope you're able to enjoy this beautiful day.

On My Needles

Here's what I've been up to lately.

This is another Beyond Puerperium cardigan - knit with Sirdar Baby Bamboo in this awesome purple. Super easy knit. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. As you can see, I still have to weave in ends, block and add buttons. I don't know about you, but I have the hardest time deciding on buttons...

This is a chevron baby blanket. You can find it here. After the pink, there will be white and then two different blues. The yarn is held doubled so it's thick, warm and a quick knit. 

What's on your needles?

Mother's Day 2012

To all you fabulous mothers out there, I hope you were celebrated yesterday. I had a wonderful day full of family, love and laughter. I was also gifted a new gadget that I've had my eye on. I'm going to try it out today.

Sorry for the fuzzy iTouch photo, it's the only working camera in the house...