Hemlock Planter

Did an entire day slip me by? Hmmm...

John sure has been busy. He's even worked through rain.

~Making the Mad Dash through Torrential Downpours~

The measurements are 8 ft by 3 ft and it is 2 ft deep. I will fill it with a 60% screened topsoil and a 40% compost, which will all be mixed in together. 

The results sure are pleasing. Next time you see this, perhaps it'll be filled with lush plantings. Currently, John's considering using it as a poodle pound. Poor Molly!

Diane had this suggestion for me: Hope you gave hubby a Yankee dime for all that hard work! 

Now John and I had no idea what a "Yankee dime" was never having heard the term. We did come up with an interesting theory. John suggested that it is a post Civil War term meaning that a Confederate dime wouldn't be worth much. Not so. According to Diane, a "Yankee dime" is a peck on the cheek. 

Well, that's pretty cheap pay. In addition to a peck on the cheek, I made John a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It didn't come out of the oven until after ten p.m. and John waited up for it. Now that's saying something!

It wasn't pretty, but it tasted great.

Edited to Add: Printable Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Have a wonderful start to the weekend!

Languages

If you were to take a foreign language which one would you choose? When I was a student in high school, I selected French because my corner is right next door to Quebec and there are a lot of people in my area who speak French. If I were to select a language today that I may communicate with the minority in my area, I suppose it would be Somali.

When Jill told us about Captcha and Duolingo, I signed up for German lessons. Don't ask. No, no, you may ask. Duolingo offered two choices: Spanish
and German.

When I went to college, I tried to sign up for more French classes. Because I had done so well just skated by in high school. There were two languages open on that registration day: Spanish and German. Every time I have been given a choice between Spanish and German, I have selected German.

It's just as well. German is the closet language to English. (Sometimes John, having never taken any language, French, Spanish, Somali or German, comes in and translates my sentence for me making it all look so very easy-peasy. He says it is "logical."  I say he's a show-off. )

Anyway, I had been waiting patiently for my invitation to Duolingo for a while. It arrived last week. I have been studying dabbling ever since.

Yes, I have been learning ever so much.

 I'd just like to say that I have, by now, reached Level 5

 When in a bind, tell the truth. It will confound the green owl.

Either that green owl needs a taste of Lux or this is going to come in handy.

John needs two more of these. Verdammt!

Tying Up Loose Ends

Good morning. It's raining. I'm so grateful. Why this sudden change of heart? It means that we might not have to work as hard today as we did yesterday. John most especially.

Eight 6 by 6 by 8ft green hemlock=heavy!

This was our inspiration: a photo taken at the Fryeburg Fair last October.

So here the hemlock waits. John's going to build it in place. It'll be permanent. The goal is to set it up between the barn star and the white post to the right. My rhubarb will be going elsewhere. (It's never done well there anyway.) The chives will probably go into the bed/planter. I don't dare to call it a raised bed anymore.  =D

***

In the afternoon, I decided to dig out all that terribly invasive Lily of the Valley that has been advancing on my plants. It wiped out the Astilbe and Rudbeckia. Before it got any more of a stronghold, I thought it time to spring into action. Thing is my spring broke in 1986. Anyway, nothing that an hour of work with a pitchfork can't handle. Lily of the Valley is not easy to get rid of because it's tuberous and has miles of interconnecting roots. I still have a lot of work to get it straightened around yet.

                                                               ***

Lorrie sent me the most wonderful Note Cards last week. Didn't she present them beautifully?

If you visit Fabric Paper Thread, you'll find Lorrie walking on this very beach many days. She is a wonderful photographer and has an incredible eye.

They're much more lovely in person, believe me. Go see for yourself! I'm so impressed with Lorrie's note cards that I am more eager than ever to give it a try myself.

***

So many of you have expressed your love and admiration for Elisabeth Elliot
Gren that I want to tell you about Dani, a personal friend of the Grens, who blogs at The Invisible Reality. She has posted an update, which she says will probably be her final update. I will stay in touch with her via email. I felt most encouraged reading her post today.

Over and out. If you're still reading, another medal is in order. Have a blessed Tuesday!

A Stuff and Things Post

Such a beautiful string of days we've been having. Today, we are off to run a load of errands. The first stop is the lumberyard where we're picking up the lumber for a raised bed. It'll be three feet high so it will be quite a lovely one I hope. Then we're off for the compost and dirt to fill it and then the plants and then the mulch. Busy day. I think that many are having busy days like this, especially those in the north.

My daughter stopped by yesterday on her way to a baby shower. She has been using her gift of Christmas (a sewing machine) and this is what she made.

The cutest little pair of baby booties I've ever seen. Edited to Add 5/30/2012: Just getting back with the link for the blog where my daughter found the pattern at StardustShoes.

I had her stand out beside the white lilac because she gave it to me in 1995; it has never done as well as this year. It was in a bucket not up to her knees when I first planted it. Yesterday the sun was so bright that it washed out everything so here's a better look at the important subject.

I still can't see her...

Ahhh...Much better

So that's it for today. I have Note Cards waiting in the wings, dastardly Lily of the Valley that I want to discuss, and who knows what else will pop into this old head of mine through the week. And, if John does a good job, I may even show you a raised bed. What's on the docket at your place?

White Lilacs~Mosaic Monday

Linking to Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Hope that all my Canadian friends are enjoying a happy holiday weekend with plenty of time to smell the lilacs!

Have a great week all...

Prayer Request

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.~Ephesians 6: 13–18 The Message

Elisabeth Elliot's Devotional has been in my sidebar for a few years now. I enjoy popping in to read there every few days. It was because of that link that a blogger let me know that in recent days Elisabeth and her husband Lars Gren have been in a car accident. Elisabeth is doing well; however, Mr. Gren has extensive injuries. Please join us, and so many others, in praying for this Godly couple who both have been so faithful to do the Lord's work.