Christmas Cardinal

 

I love cardinals.

There's just something about them

that I am inexplicably drawn too.

 

 

In fact, if I see something with a cardinal on it

I am very hard pressed to pass it by.

 

 

So, when I saw this little Cardinal

cross-stitch picture I knew I needed to stitch it.

 

 

I am so pleased with how it turned out

and can't wait to display it for Christmas!

 

 

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Around the Yard and Garden

Whenever we are away I always wonder

how the yard and garden are faring

so one of the first things I do when we get home

is take a tour of the yard and garden.

This is the first flower bed you see when you drive in.

It is my only shade flowerbed

but it is thriving this year.

The daylilies add a wonderful pop of color.

I was concerned how some of my flower pots would do

without their daily watering but they were fine :)

The chili peppers turned from green to red.

 

The pumpkins and cantaloupe over doubled in size!

And the spaghetti squash is producing lots of squash

and baby watermelons are beginning to appear.

I have been so blessed with a very bountiful garden this year.

The beans are almost done for the season

and the peppers are large and healthy.

We were able to pick our first cucumber

and the corn is filling out.

The strawberries are continuing to produce

and are nice and sweet.

The flowers in the garden are blooming

and bring me such joy with their beauty

while I harvest the vegetables.

The bachelor buttons with their various colors.

Dahlias and stocks.

My forgotten garden is also coming along nicely.

The light blue mushroom almost glows

surrounded by greenery.

I added this little solar light with a blue jay on top.

The blue jay is my daughter's favorite bird.

If you look closely near the back

you can see another solar light with a cardinal on top.

Cardinals are my favorite birds.

I also added a trellis in the corner.

It was wonderful to come home and see

all the beautiful blooms.

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Drying Herbs

My parsley was overtaking my herb pot!

It's obviously very happy with its growing conditions.

However, it was definately time to cut it back

before it overtook the other herbs in the pot.

Now I know that hanging herbs is the recommended way to dry them

and I have done that in previous years

but I seem to have the most success with the herbs

making it into my cupboard when I dry them in the oven.

First I wash the herbs and remove any damaged leaves

and then I lay a single layer on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

I then put my oven racks to the top

and set my oven to the lowest possible temperature

(which is 150F on my oven).

and leave the oven door open an inch or two.

I set my timer and turn my herbs every half hour.

They are done when the leaves are crunchy and dry.

I let them cool and then crumble them into a jar

and voila - the herbs are all done!

I usually pick my herbs when I go out to water my pots

first thing in the morning.

And have them drying in the oven

while I prepare breakfast

and get everyone out the door for the day.

I have found this system works best for me

and once you have home grown herbs

you will never want to go back.

Aren't these little herb jars the cutest?

It was a Christmas present from my parents :)

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

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Herb Garden Markers

I have been seeing so many variations

of garden markers on pinterest

that I wanted to make some

for my herb garden.

I found some little wooden dowels at Dollarama

and I bought some wine corks at our local grocery store.

I took a medium-fine marker

and labelled the corks.

I broke the dowels in half

because I wanted smaller stakes

and then inserted them in the corks.

It was so simple and quick to make.

And it gives that little extra added touch to the herbs.

Quick, simple and economical -

my favorite type of project :)

~Finding the amazing in the simple~

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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