Month: July 2012

Bunny Rabbit Blues

There used to be a song titled “Bunny Rabbit Blues” that our preschoolers danced to.  This bunny rabbit blues is different.  I stuck up a make-shift gate of chicken-wire to try and keep the baby bunny out of my garden, but it just burrows under anyway.  I keep watering once in a while, but with this drought, I am about to give up seeing as I am only feeding the wildlife in the area.

Took a bad video of one that got caught in the act and was trying to get out.  Usually it lets me lift up the fence so it can run away, but this time it ran out the other side using the hole it burrowed.

Music by a local Detroit Group called Mudpuppy entitled “Funky Stuff.”

Peace, Love, Hope Garden Cap Instructables Entry

I submitted an entry for Instructables Fashion contest.  The first prize was a sewing machine that also embroiders.  Didn’t win but at least I tried!

I have put together some photos in a slideshow to kind of walk you through how to make the hat from a pair of old jeans.  I created a pattern from an old cap I still had, took it apart and made the templates from parchment paper and lined it with tea stained muslin.  The jean fabric was rather heavy so the cap is too warm to wear in the sun on a warm day.  I would recommend that you try the same thing with a cotton broadcloth or poplin and leave it unlined.  I went kinda krazy decorating it, but you can just leave it plain or use any fabric of your choice.  Please feel free to check out the patterns as I have written the size of the templates on the pattern so you can copy them to use.

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I Think That I Shall Never See A Bad Tasting Blueberry!

Blueberry Scone Bread

It’s that wonderful time of the year.  Even with the drought, the blueberries are coming into season in Michigan.  I usually just eat them plain after washing them in a vinegar rinse to get the pesticides off.  As delicious as blueberry dishes are, I try to eat them plain because I don’t like the additional calories and added fats.  However…

I did have some getting a little soft and always cook them up with some sugar or in a dish to preserve them longer.  Waste not, want not!  The following is a blueberry Scone bread that I made and I also cooked some berries in a couple of Tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch in the microwave for a few minutes to thicken into a sauce.  Then I broke down and went to a local bakery and saw they were selling pieces of their chocolate fudge cake.  I tried using the cake as a base for the blueberry sauce and it was really good!  I replace the butter and or sour cream in the scone recipe with low-fat yogurt and some mayonnaise and it tastes great with less fat.  Experiment.  Then just eat your failures or give them away.  I did not make all the dishes the same day!  You can always freeze some for a treat during the winter months.  I always cook up some fresh fruit sauces to eat during the winter months on pancakes or waffles.  Hearty meals are not a problem as long as you don’t eat like that all the time.

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Promising a Rose Garden in 1932

My mother’s side has managed to hang on to all kinds of photos since the invention of the camera.  Not sure when some of these were taken, but some were in the 1800’s.

Looking through the stash, I happened upon an envelope of black & white negatives.  Most were of my great grandfather’s home in Detroit and his beautiful rose garden that he was so proud of.  I had never seen these before and I was not aware that he had been such an avid gardener.  I lived with his daughters growing up, my gram and my aunt Ruth, who tended a garden in the yard as well.  Mostly black raspberry bushes and all kinds of flowers.  They had one apple tree, not sure of the type and one Montmorency tart cherry tree.  I used to love to climb the trees to eat of the fruit when they came in season.  My mom tells me recently of all the worms because they did not spray.  I don’t remember ever seeing any worms when I ate the fruit.  I don’t know if that is good or bad.  I guess worms are a lot better for you then pesticide.

I have scanned some of the negatives of my great grandfather’s gardens the best that I can.  I am not sure what type of camera they were taken on, but there are two sizes of negatives, both very large and not numbered.  My great gramps came to America from Canada.  His parents were from Germany.  He passed away before I was born so I never knew him.  His wife, my great grandma, had passed a few years before these pictures were taken.  Even though they are black and white, I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did finding the negatives and turning them back to print.  Check out the rungs on the ladder.  It appears homemade!  It may bring back memories for some of the older folks, for the younger ones, enjoy a trip back in time to 1932!

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