My Adventures Where in the world is ….

Sometimes in life you choose your jobs and sometimes they are chosen for you.  We had talked for some time about changing the “rock wall” and garden area near the driveway and Carl had dug up the area and we had planted some daylilies that Rhonda had given us and some bulbs we wanted to relocate from another part of our yard.  He put in a lot of time last fall to prepare the area and we planted them all there.  We had recently removed the mulch we had covered them with for the winter and the day lilies looked great and the bulbs were starting to grow.  Then a week or so ago our doorbell rang and we learned that a car parked in our neighbors driveway had taken off and landed on the rock wall, stopped mostly by the rebar post that was holding up a sprinkler head.  Thanks to our neighbor up the hill the car was able to be moved off the wall and although it is probably totalled they did drive it back across the street.  At the least we needed to fix the sprinkler head that was destroyed and fix the wall and garden.  So poor Carl was forced into a labor he had not planned on.

Here are some pictures of the accident.

A surprise visitor. Our neighbor’s car traveled on its own across the road to our garden.

Our neighbor checking out the damage and assessing the possibility of moving the car. It is actually on a rebar post that was holding us a sprinkler head.

Our neighbor up the hill just happened to have a back hoe and was willing to come and lift the car off the wall so it could be moved away. The rock wall suffered as did the railroad ties but the day lilies survived.

The first step was to get Andrew and Matthew to give us some counsel on what was the best way to resolve the sprinkler issue.  We wanted to have a sprinkler head up on the hill more as the one that was taken out had been watering the hill and the grass and was really wasting a lot in its cycle.

Then we decided to move the day lilies first.

They are now planted in an area up the hill on the first tier from the top above our garden. There is lots of room to clear and expand as they take root and settle in or as we acquire others.

Carl then cleared the area on the bottom tier from our garden to the railroad ties and we bought Potentilla bushes (five yellow and five pink) to put in.  Since they bloom all spring, summer and fall and do well in hot dry weather they are perfect for our garden here.  Here they are waiting to be planted.

The white buckets are pink and the black ones are yellow.

These are all yellow. In the middle is a section of garden with kale I planted from seed. It is already coming up. Yeah!

Then on Friday, Matthew came over to help Carl dig and prepare the area and set the pipes for the new sprinkler extension.  Carl had already dug some of the trench but that morning our computer had a glitch that he had to deal with which delayed him finishing but with Matthew’s help the trench was quickly dug.  (Andrew came by mid day and he was able to get our computer up and running again – what would we do without the help of our children – they do so much for us.)  Here are some photos of Carl and Matthew working on and in the trenches.

Clearing the trench. Notice all the dirt they have removed.

This is the extension beginning by the driveway at the base where the old sprinkler head was.

The extension that goes behind what was the rock wall – which will be rebuilt in time.

More of the extension behind the wall.

An extension in case we want to add a sprinkler up the hill behind where our bushes are going.

Clearing a space so the extension fits better.

As happened in New York and happens all to often here, they ran into a large rock.

Trying to pry out the rock.

Almost loose.

Matthew moving the rock.

So here is the rock that stalled the digging. You can see it is very large. We could not believe that Matthew lifted it out – he is very strong. It is destined to become part of the rock wall when it is rebuilt.

So that is what is filling all of Carl’s time right now.  Today he is moving soil so we can plant our Potentilla bushes and get them going in the ground.  We will not cover up the new sprinkler line until we can test it for leaks.  The secondary water comes on in a week or so and so sometime after that we will test the line and if it is leak free Carl will fill it in.  He plans to use some of the gravel he has dug out along the way under the pipes to give them a secure base.  It is a good way to use the gravel which we have lots of.  Much like New York there is no shortage of rock here and they tend to grow over time as well.  The good news is that mostly of the dirt Carl is digging up is quite good for gardening and plants.

So that is our early spring activity – mostly Carl’s – I just am there to take pictures and lend support.

I thought I would post some pictures from our Christmas decorations this year.  Last year we bought our first artificial Christmas tree.  Technically, we had an artificial tree our second Christmas in Ukraine, a gift from one of the parents to each missionary.  It was just a little tree but very appreciated.  But last year was the first one we bought.  I think it looks very nice and it is certainly easier to clean up after Christmas since it doesn’t drop needles over the season.  Because of the location I was able to use all our ceramic village houses this year and all but three ornaments (I ran out of hangers or I might have used those as well. They were from our first Christmases.)

If you look to the left of the tree on the wall near the bottom you can see Carl’s Christmas Story leg lamp nightlight.

With the lights on.

Close up of the village from the front.

Our living room decorated.

Back view of the tree from our dining room.

Back view of the village from our dining room.

Bookcase to the left of the door in our dining room with nutcrackers and other decorations.

Bookcase to the right of the door in our dining room with nutcrackers and other decorations.

These boughs used to be hung on the railing in our living room going downstairs but I have not such railing here so I hung them over the kitchen windows.

Many years ago the Morgenegg family got a nativity that Carl remembers from when he was a child.  He is not sure exactly how old it is but probably over 70 years old.  Most of the figures are made of plaster of Paris and have cracked or been broken over the years.  One of the sheep no longer has a right ear and the camels are missing parts of their feet.  For some time I have wanted to do something to make them look a little better.  This year, with Carl’s approval, I borrowed paints from Holly and painted them.  Some needed some repair and I used craft glue to fix them as best I could.  Here are the before pictures.

Nativity Before.

Here is the almost finished newly painted and repaired nativity.

Here it is completed and sitting on the shelf in our living room.

I am actually quite pleased with the outcome.  The picture is a little blurry – sorry – but now the colors are brighter and the cracks and scraped off places are fixed.  I also glued the stable so it doesn’t wobble any more.  The colors are not exactly the same but I like them.  I think Carl likes them as well.

Our garden is doing really well.  We have had four roma tomatoes and the first of the larger salad tomatoes are turning red.  Our corn is progressing but it is still an experiment.

Here are some updated photos.  You can see some tomatoes on some but the vines are loaded down with them.  We had to alter our tie up strategy to get them off the ground.

Our Garden-05

Rock Garden and Wave Petunias-01

Rock Garden and Wave Petunias-02

Although the weather has been hot, Carl continues to work outside.  He has done so much and I am so grateful for his skills and his diligence.  What a great blessing he is to me.  One project that began with our buying new window well covers is finally coming to fruition.  The old window well covers were screwed into the brick of our house – not a very safe idea if you want to exit the basement.  Although the windows are small we have decided they are large enough you can get out of them if you have to so we wanted to make the exit safe.  Carl took out the screws not long after we moved into our home and he discovered the problem.  However, even though they stay in place there is some worry that in a strong storm they might fly off and then there would be no cover.  Here is a picture of one of the windows with the old cover on.

Here is an old very cloudy window well cover. This is what all our window wells looked like before.

Yesterday Carl put on the first cover and today the second.  This has taken some planned to make them fit our window wells but Carl is amazing.  Here is a picture of a newly mounted window well cover.

This may not stay as shiny as it is now but it looks so nice. It has metal clips that secure it to the window well but you just push up from inside and it pops off. It is very secure from the top though so it will protect the window and the well. Carl also cleaned out all the wells of debris so they are very nice now and I would not mind if the shades were up so you could look out if needed.

While I was out I took some other pictures so you can see how our garden is growing.  There are weeds but that is on going.  Descriptions are with the pictures.

If you have been to our house you have seen this arbor, here it is with the roses that grow on it in full bloom. Last year Carl pruned it and we tied it to the arbor. Although it is not much I think the roses are lovely.

We learned last year that the hedges had not been trimmed in a while and the man at the local nursery identified them and told us to cut them bag severely in February. Carl did and was worried if he had overdone it but they obviously are doing well. They are not nearly as overgrown as they were and with the edging fixed they look quite nice. Flowers are budding so soon they will be covered with purple flowers.

Here is the west side of our patio garden. The geranium was a gift from Matthew for Mother’s day. It needs to be cut back with is has been full of flowers. The petunias are wave petunias which vine on the ground and grow well here. One thing we learned in New York is deer do not like them and we do have deer here. There surround the upper patio and are doing well.

More wave petunias

This is the side of our garden closest to the patio. The green is the radishes we have growing. We have harvested two so far and the second crop is up so once the first is all done there will be more to eat. I didn’t use to like radishes but I like them in salad now. The next two small plants are kale and are actually doing very well. I really like kale in soup in the winter, or in casseroles instead of spinach. Beyond them are tomatoes.

The planter Becky gave me last year. She and Daniel made it. It has chives, parsley and basil in it. I have used them all. The basil is really doing well and I love fresh basil. The chives are from last year. The parsley I need to use more often. It is curly parsley and doing very well. You can see the tomatoes in the cages Carl made with wire webbing we found here. Beyond the tomatoes there will be more corn. There is some at the end now but much of the middle is not yet planted. We hope to spread out the harvest to enjoy fresh corn on the cob over several weeks.

A closer look at the garden with the hose that we found here that has holes in it, perfect for watering the garden between our main watering.  You can see some of the corn coming up.  Carl weeds almost every day.  It is ongoing.

Closeup of one of our tomato plants. Look at the blossoms. So exciting.

Another closeup. We have eight plants and they all have at least a few blossoms on them and more are coming. So exciting.

We have not had a garden for many years as our yard in New York was too shady for a garden to do well.  I had some porch gardens I tried but they were never very successful.  Here we have the benefit of a place to put it and you can weed standing up – always a good thing.  It is exciting to see it all coming up.  I can almost taste the fresh corn and fresh tomatoes.  YEAH!

FYI.  My third attempt at sour dough bread gave me the nice looking bread as the second loaf and the flavor of the first but more open.  It was delicious.  Sour dough has been a big part of our lives lately as I always seem to have leftover starter from when I divide and feed my starter.  I have found a great sourdough sweet bread recipe and have made cinnamon bread and danishes.  Both delicious.  We have regular bread for a while now but I will be back to sourdough again.  So glad to have discovered this as with so many not being able to find yeast I know I can make good bread without it.  No wonder the old miners were so protective of their sourdough starters – truly it is amazing.  The really good news is now I know how to make it and although that takes time (a week or two) to get a good starter going I know I can do it and with lots of rye and wheat I have the sources I need to provide for us very nicely.