Christmas 2018 etc.

Merry Christmas!  We have collected nativity scenes through the years until we no longer have any more room to put them.  Here are a few of them.

This is one of my favorites.  It sits on a file cabinet for my music next to the piano.

Our granddaughter, Gracie's first 6th grade band concert!  I am delighted to have her play the flute that I use to play.

I am slow but finally got this table runner finished out of left over music material!

This is the material I used on the back plus one of the strips on the front.

I finally went to Goodwill for a little while since we have moved.  I have a pie plate like this and love it so spied this one and had to have it too.  The cup I bought to make a pincushion with it.  It is on my many want to do things someday!

Would you tell me what the name of this plant is and how to take care of it?

And Coco has the right idea!  Rest and relax!  Thank you for visiting my blog!  I really enjoy comments if you care to leave one.  Have yourself a nice Christmas season remembering the real reason for the holiday is to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Nancy

Blogging Again November 2018

Blogger is working now and I am going to try blogging again.  I have missed my blogging friends.  Winter time in the courtyard!  I bought a winter cover to go over the cold frame to keep my greens as long as possible.  We have had a couple of really cold night temperatures and I checked today and almost everything survived.  The Marigolds and just a very few leaves of lettuce did not look good but otherwise I am pleased.

I made this Christmas tree years ago and dragged it from house to house as we moved.  It is sitting on our dining room/kitchen table this year.

We are expecting our second great grandbaby next month.  I made this quilt for her.  They have picked out the name, Claire.

I had someone machine quilt it for me.  First time I have ever had someone do that.

Also made some other things for Clairee such as this flannel blanket.

Another flannel blanket.  This one says I Love Grandma with a pink and white polka dot back.

Burp clothes to put over your shoulder to burp the baby made out of left over flannel.

Sue is showing the mother-to-be how to use a sewing machine.

Hubby loves his little cart.  He uses it to load the groceries in from the car to wheel into the kitchen.

Two gluten free meat loaves ready to pop in the oven.  Part of it will be frozen after being baked and will make us four meals.  Still using my Mom's meat loaf recipe except for using gluten free oats

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I love this gingerbread scene that hubby made a few years ago.  It sits on the electronic piano this year.

My poor Christmas cactus!  It only bloomed on one side.  I have turned it around so the non blooming side gets some sun now but maybe it is too late.  Thank you for visiting and I would like it if you would leave a comment.  Have a good week-end!

Blog Trouble Part 1

We bought a half bushel of peaches to freeze.  It was a lot of work but we love frozen peaches and they will be so tasty this winter.  This blog is in four parts because "Blogger" has some demons in it and I have to post each picture separately.  I was planning to take a break anyway so won't be posting for awhile.  I harvested about 34 pounds of produce this year from my little courtyard garden.  We really enjoyed eating the strawberries especially.  Thank you for each and every one that read and left a comment for me.  Nancy

Blog Trouble Part 2

This is my flute that I was playing before I developed oral lichen planus.  Gracie started band this year so now she is playing it.  I hope she loves band like her mother and I did! 

Blog Trouble Part 3

I am wondering if this is a good moth or a bad moth.  Can anyone help me out?

Blog Trouble Part 4

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I have been sewing away.  The horses is the back of the quilt and the squares are the front.  Still have to add the back and batting.  That is a little bookmark I made laying on the squares of the quilt.

Butterflies and Courtyard

Some more produce from the courtyard.  Loving my 4x4 strawberry bed with Everbearing strawberries!  Only picked two zucchini so far and they are fat in the middle but not very long.  Why is that???  Hoping for another one or two but will see!  My first Rutger tomato picked.  Very few raspberries.  Only one bush is producing.  Something shredded so many of the leaves this year!

A Queen Anne's Lace was growing in the middle of a bush.  They frown on this kind of flower (weed) in the front yard.  Guess they don't appreciate God's gift of free beauty! 

I cut off the flowers before pulling it out and made a little bouquet.

The girls made my gluten free muffins for me and my gluten free cookies!  Aren't they the cutest and sweetest little girls!

Here is a picture of the gluten free yum-yum cookies.  Would you like one?

There were about 11 of these and this is the only one left except a baby one.  I hope this one decides to take off soon to make his chrysalis.  

This butterfly and another small one came back to visit.  I like to think they were the ones from here that developed into butterflies!

There are two of these things laying on the soil and I think they are dead.  It is probably my fault because before I knew better a couple crawled off to another place and I brought them back.  One was crawling up the side of our house.

This is one of the caterpillars that crawled off and is forming a chrysalis on the wrought iron near our gate.  He had to go a long way from the raised bed on legs down on the mulch beside the edge of the cement all the way here.  He was moving right along when I saw him.  It has been interesting to learn about butterflies!

These are the supports that hold up the covers on this bed.  I am using them for a trellis and trying to grow yellow pole beans and a cucumber.

The birds planted this sunflower but not in the best spot but I left it there.  It was fun to see this goldfinch trying to eat the seeds.

Here is another picture of him.  I love to see goldfinches.  So bright and cheery!  Thanks for taking the time to visit me.  Please leave a comment so that I will know that you have been here.  Enjoy your week!  Nancy  

Courtyard Happenings

It is that time of year!  Blueberries for the freezer!

I had a couple butterflies visit my yard!  Monarch and Black Swallow Tail.  Would love to have lots of them.

Evidently she left some eggs behind!  They landed on the little bit of dill I had in the strawberry bed and ate that up so I carefully moved them to the parsley.  There is about a dozen of them.  I hope they make it to the butterfly stage!  My Master Gardener here says they are the black swallow tail.  The monarch has little black like antennas on their head and the black swallow tail doesn't.

Playing "peek" with precious little Nora!

Still harvesting strawberries.  They started out small and then got to a nice size and now are getting smaller again.  Very few raspberries.  Disappointed in them after the great harvest we had at the previous house.

One or two hummingbirds are still visiting.  I was surprised at how long this one set on the tomato cage over the green pepper plant.  He looked at the sliding doors quite a bit and I am wondering if he was trying to tell me to fill the feeder!  I made the sugar water three times and the first time I didn't screw the bottom on correctly so lost most of it and the feeder was low at this point.  I made the sugar water a second time and hubby threw it out.  He didn't know I was letting it cool for the hummingbirds.  So I made it three times and had success the last time.

My one sunflower will soon have three flowers!  Hoping to grow more next year.  Birds planted this one.

I had one ugly leaf on the sunflower.  I cut it off and they seem to be doing okay since then.

I think most of my flowers on my zucchini have been male flowers but it looks like I might get two or three zucchini off this plant.  I have it setting up on the potting table so Coco doesn't eat it.  You all know what a problem she is eating my veggies!

I found these on the underside of a bean leaf.  At first I was going to throw it away because I didn't know if they were good ladybugs or the bad ones.  I showed a couple Master Gardeners here and they both thought they were good ones so I laid it back under the bean plant.  I hope I haven't killed them.  Will be keeping my eye on to see.   This is the last picture and I hope that you have enjoyed your visit!  Have a lovely week!  Nancy   

July 8th 2018

Our new solar bird bath!  We enjoy it more than the birds!  We can't have a regular bird bath here.  Rules!  It has to be moving water because of mosquitoes.

It lived!  I stuck this plant in the garage from last year and it came back so pretty!  I am amazed!

I am the luckiest Nana!  Our granddaughter who just turned 11 today made this dessert gluten free so that I could eat some!  She did it by herself!

I have am harvesting more sungold tomatoes now.  Love my plant on the front porch.  I don't have to cage it so Coco doesn't eat it!

Finished a blue and white flannel baby blanket for the gift closet.

Finished another dish cloth and pot holder set.  This one is a little smaller.  I must have miscounted or something!  I like the little larger ones better that I had made.

Harvested my first few yard long beans.  They look like little snakes!

Oh, how I wish all my strawberries from my little 4x4 foot raised bed were this nice!

Guess who got a new 24 inch bike for her birthday!!  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!!