Tag: Gardening

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Baby peaches

Baby peachesWe were out in the yard this evening, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Baby peaches! My newly-planted little peach tree already has several tiny peaches on it. How exciting. Of course, those will have to be snacks for some small woodland creature, because that narrow branch will never support full-grown peaches. Still, every exciting.

IrisThe iris are in bloom as well. I need to divide my iris bed so we will have more blooms. Iris blooms become more scarce as the plants become overcrowded. That can be a fall project.

I’ve been working on some Lucy dolls that have been waiting a long while for their appliquéd details, and I’ve got a Super Slug almost done. My Viking Platinum sewing machine is working sometimes, and sometimes not. It seems to calm down after I turn it on and off a couple of times, or leave it to rest for a while. Still, I’d like to resolve this as soon as possible. I’ve surpassed my limit on patience with this six-month repair ordeal.

3D Desktop AquariumI found a small, but amusing-to-me distraction in a desktop aquarium. I know everyone probably has seen these before, but I wanted one after I saw them years ago. Apparently, no one around me wanted one however. They keep asking me if the toilet is running when the fish tank noise comes on. Whatever. I think it’s fun.

Thank you, to my new subscribers. I’ve appreciated your kind comments. I hope you will enjoy my blog. Thanks for joining us on our Ruffing’s Facebook page too. Now that I have a new, working sewing machine that does some decorative things, I hope to have more projects to show soon. I certainly have some projects I need to get up online. Always lots to do.

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My food and sewing revolution

flower and vegetable gardenAfter watching a Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I decided that this was the year I was finally going to get around to planting at least one fruit tree, some berry bushes, and a vegetable garden. I’ve meant to do this for about ten years now! Time for some fresh, garden-grown produce!

I planted the vegetables and herbs in my flower bed. Easy enough.

newly planted peach treeThe peach tree was more of a challenge. Before I started digging, I was quite certain I had enough stamina to plant at least two trees. Then I struck ground. Have I mentioned before that I don’t garden like I used to because the ground is mostly clay here? Well, it is.

At first, I felt like I was trying to dig using a spoon, because that’s about the amount of dirt I was moving at a time with my shovel. Then I got out the pick ax, and I felt like I was trying to chop my way out of prison. I said I wished it would rain, and my mom said, “Why don’t you just get the hose?”

So, I dug a 4 inch basin, and filled it with water. After letting it sit for an hour or two, I was able to dig a little deeper. I filled it again, and repeated the procedure until my tree had plenty of room. I replaced the dirt with a bagged mix for trees and bushes. I’ve still got a pile of clay-dirt to move.

blooming blueberry bushesI’ve got six blueberry bushes to plant next. I thought that sounded easy before! I’m determined to follow through.

I looked all over for an ornamental Kwansan cherry tree, and finally found one. But, it was too big to stuff in my Corolla. I may still give that a go.

Kenmore 19233 Computerized Sewing MachineI also saw Sears was having a good sale on a their Kenmore 19233 Computerized Sewing Machine this month. We’d looked at that model before, as a good potential spare machine. I decided to go for that too, on the same day I was thinking about finagling that Kwansan into the car. I considered the challenge, for a moment anyway, of getting them both in there, but quickly realized that was not going to work. I’ve been packing plants, and tomato cages, and who knows what in there like it’s one of those clown cars lately.

Kenmore 19233 Computerized Sewing MachineSo, the Kenmore 19233 is very nice, I’m pleased to say. The inside parts are metal, and you can open the side to clean it. That’s an option that used to be on all sewing machines that I remember, but has been missing on a lot of the current models. I guess most companies want you to go to a repairman just to remove fuzz and dust, or they don’t want to invest in this extra, extremely useful feature.

Kenmore 19233 Computerized Sewing Machine stitch selectionIt has a good selection of stitches too, and a nice alphabet. I tried them out and the quality was impressive. I didn’t expect such a nice machine in that price range. I’m very pleased.

Kenmore 19233 Computerized Sewing Machine stitching sampleAs I’ve said before, I’ve been waiting a long time for my Viking Platinum 775 to be repaired. Wouldn’t you know, the part finally came in from the Viking company, the original seller repaired the machine, and he sent it on its way, even before I opened the box of the new machine. That’s okay. I’m keeping the Kenmore. The Husqvarna Viking company took 2 months to send repair parts the first time, and 2 1/2 months to send parts the second time. I’ve been waiting almost six months since that machine malfunctioned! Unbelievable. I’m just hoping it works when it gets here, and that it keeps working. I’ll be testing it out soon.