Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, today is my 16Th anniversary... its been a crazy, sometimes rocky often smooth ride. Somehow we have managed to raise a really sweet and wonderful daughter. We found a way to work together at the same business for 13.5 years. There were times when it was difficult but I love him and he loves me and we have found a path that works for the both of us. A toast to another 16 years...

On to my garden news.

The weather here is slowly changing from the hellish hot summer to a wonderful crisp autumn, but the nights are dipping to near freezing temps and I still want to grow a garden. Being blessed to live in California our temps are very mild in comparison to, say, my families place in Montana.

I found a great idea in Mother Earth News on these row hoops. I now have a mini greenhouse at a fraction of the cost. When it is summer I can remove the plastic and put a shade fabric over instead. Basically it is just a 10' PVC pipe stuck on a piece of re-bar in the ground and then covered in heavy plastic sheeting.

So I made one yesterday, about 8' long, it was very easy and cost me $20. Better yet I have 2/3 of the roll of plastic left and for $14 more I will have another one of these at least 2 times as long.

We are going to try to eek a few more peppers off the pablano plant, you can see them in there still blooming and setting fruit. That bed is also full of carrots, radishes and a mixture of either broccoli, cauliflowers or cabbage.. I am uncertain. The cat dug up all my starts a while back and mixed them all up. I just did my best to save the little shoots and now it will be a surprise to see what I saved. Nice kitty.

I plan to plant lettuce in there or in another one as well as bok choy. I think my winter garden is going to do well. Right now I have a ton of kale and swiss chard but they are infested with aphids and although I try I am having a hell of a time getting rid of them. I hope the cool weather means they will go away soon.

I wanted to show this mini hooped greenhouse set up to all my gardening friends, maybe you can get a head start next spring by erecting one of these.

Last but not least we got a new cat recently.. his name is Gus, he is a sweet and loving cat that actually likes to snuggle and be pet, unlike Ms Kitty and Jude. Jude actually howls and growls at you when you pet him... kinda scary.

Here you can see Jude and Gus playing through the bathroom door. They spend hours laying there attacking each others toes. Gus is the grey one.

Fall has arrived and I'm feeling creative.

Why is it I need rain and dreary skies to get me in my crafty state of mind. It would not be so bad if I did not live in a place that is warm and sunny all but 3 months a year. Okay so maybe its not warm , but the sun always shines in California. October is kind to my creative self, the weather is cooling off and it even has rained!

Sneak preview of Lexi's Alice in Wonderland dress, It is made from sheer blue fabric with a good drape. It hangs and spins beautifully. I cut the apron from a play dress we have had around here since she was just a little girl. I just need to finish the neck and the apron and this costume is ready!

She found some darling black shoes to go with this. Wait till you see it on her.

We went to San Fransisco again this weekend. I love it there. I bought a couple of new Cd's, the soundtrack from Whip It and Pink Martini's Sympathique.

Now I have music to keep me company while I decide just how I will use all the fabric I got at a fabulous little store in the Sunset district called Peapod Fabric.

The store is tiny but the space is used so well. Every fabric in this place was one I loved and felt I needed. Well when I win a lottery or just come into lots of cash I'll buy it all!

Here is most of what I bought, aren't the owls cute? I also found cotton rickrack that is in good natural colors not the horrid primary colors you find at Jo-Ann's. I wish you could really see the patterns on these. I need a new camera, mine has had a little humidity damage and every picture is poopy and I cannot focus up close. What a drag.

What will I do with all that fabric you ask? Well, I plan to make aprons, I've been on a little apron kick and I have a place to try to sell them in November. If they don't sell then they will go on Etsy and go out as gifts for Christmas.

In keeping with my self sustaining lifestyle, I started packaging all the seeds I harvest and save every year. I have a long way to go with this project... there is still 3 or more kinds of lettuce seeds I saved as well as flower seeds and pepper seeds. Somehow I also need to save seeds from this one tomato that volunteered from last year. It is so yummy and such a fast grower I feel I should try to capture it.

Prime Growing Season is Upon Us.

Today I want to address composting and getting ready for a winter/fall garden.

As any gardener knows rich organic soil is the perfect place to grow tasty veggies. In this new more aware green era I think even more folks are trying to grow their own "Victory Gardens". To make it sustainable and prolific for years to come you should most defiantly have a nice compost heap. The added nutrients you will be putting in the soil will replenish what your garden took and save you money next season from having to buy additives.

It is not hard to find materials to start a heap, we use all our kitchen wast, dog hair clippings, some grass clippings, coffee grounds.. just about anything except meat products, NO BONES!



I use two metal garbage cans both are drilled on the bottom with holes to allow for drainage and ventilation.

I began my first compost can in the beginning of the summer. The first thing I added was a bowl of kitchen scraps, some newspaper, some grass clipping, a bit of doggie poo ( activates your compost very well) a container of night crawlers leftover from a fishing adventure and a scoop of garden dirt.

Let the rotting begin! It is now three months later, I have a lovely black and rotted matter that I can now add into the soil around my plants.


My first can turned to compost so quickly I wanted a second can to add new fresh scraps too. You can see the sort of stuff that goes in. In this second can I used a large shovel of the compost I had already made. Instantly it became active with the creepy crawly bug life that a healthy compost will have.

See the grubs below? They are in paradise.





I love the garbage cans as a composter, first off they are affordable I think I paid $17 each. They have lids that aid in heating up the cans, they also keep the smells contained. Trust me compost has a very prolific odor... kind of gross and kind of good in a deep earthy way. They are also clean and you don't have some giant rotting pile of food waste bugging your neighbors or cluttering the scenery.

I use a pitch fork to turn the pile about once a week, or I roll the can around on its side. Rolling is not to easy if the can is full and heavy though. My first can filled up really fast before the rotting began, but after the rotting began it is reduced to 1/3 of the original volume. There is plenty of books to buy in regards to composting, but really you don't need one. Just throw all your organic materials in if your pile is to wet and soupy, remove the lid add some dry leaves or dry materials.. even paper waste will work. If it is dry add more wet materials or even a bit of water.

Nature knows what to do, so let nature take it's course.. be happy if you see grubs and bug life they aid in the decomposition.

I wanted to share this photo of my winter squash, I grow mine in the ground but I string it up in the air. I love this little trick, my plant id huge and is not taking up almost any space. The fruits are very strong and they don't need any sort of support as they grow heavy and ripe. This method also helps shade my house, and I can see the plant from my office window.


Summer is quickly passing and It is nearing the fall growing season.

The average date of my first yearly frost is November 14th. Luckily I was able to plan ahead and I have began my winter veggies in little homemade pots.

The pots are newspaper that I cut into about
4 1/2" x 7" strips. I glue them into tubes, then pinch the bottoms as I fill with dirt. Wa-La a growing pot for nothing more that a few min of cutting gluing and recycling.

I have my starts in a wagon so I can move then to and from the sun. It gets so blasted hot here I cannot start the seedling in the garden directly they would just burn up.

So far following the planting guide listed below I have begun growing artichokes, swiss chard, cauliflower, turnips, cabbage, and broccoli .
While the page below is for my growing season, and zone those of you in other cooler zones should adjust the plant dates.

I found lots of good garden info online, but so far my favorite page is : http://www.sacramentogardening.com/edible_gardening.html


Happy gardening, my your plants grow large and your compost rot fast!

Good Morning,

I have finished my Shepherdess fiber painting. I loved making it. My picture was inspired by a photo of a Baluch herder child. You can see the original image in the above photos. The Baluch nomads have been herders for centuries, because of my love of wool I thought this image was very fitting to be made with wools. This fiber painting is made solely from loose wool fibers and silk fibers. I needle felt them onto a felt base which was wet felted. If you are new to the world of felt please google Needle felt or wet felt. It is one of the most pleasurable art mediums I have ever worked with. I am now in search of the next picture that will inspire creativity in me.

In the meantime I'm working on cars this week. That's my hand taking a bolt out from the tracks of a seat :)

I do upholstery for my living. So although it seems like I'm always home having a good time, I am always home.. just working my bootie off in the garage.

On another note, despite it being January and frosty every night, the days have been incredibly warm. My garden was singing out to me. So I weeded, and worked on the rows. The radishes, carrots and onions are quite happy. I wish I had planted more winter veggies last fall. If I had the fore site to do so I could be growing Kale, cabbage and other greens.

Oh well , there is always next year.