Soap and more...

Well, I posted some new items over on my etsy site. Some really cute organic unscented soaps.Aloe and oatmeal.
I had some soaps and they were tiny bars, and I decided..why not bundle them into little primitive/country looking little bundles of 3 and present them in these really cute ceramic baskets that are also tied with gingham cloth.
(If they matched my bathroom, I'd definitely have one of these baskets in there, but my bathroom is floral themed.(one bathroom with orchid wallpaper/the other is rose themed)
But anyhow..these adorable baskets are over at my etsy site at www.GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com for only $7...plus $4.50 shipping/total of $11.50..they include 5 mini bundles of soaps(that's 15 tiny hand size soaps/about the size that they have in the hotel soaps) These would make a really cute gift or would be great in a guest bath.and when the soap is gone the basket can be used to hold a nice plant.I also created some nice handpainted lavender sachets that would be great either hanging on a linen closet door or in a closet to scent your clothing.
Each one is different, no pattern used on them, just what I felt to paint at the time.Those are at the shop for $6.50 each. They did take a bit of time to both sew and to handpaint.
----------------
Ok. that's my little advertising spill of the day:0)
--------------
Today I worked on getting notices emailed out about the new issue of "Small Town Living" www.stliving.net being available online for reading now.


It is taking me a bit longer as I have a new email address and none of the emails had been moved from my old account over to my new one, so I have also been typing in the emails to have them in my new database.
A bit time consuming.
I'm sure there must have been an easier way to do things, but I haven't figured all of this computer techy stuff out yet.
ahh well.
The new issue has articles on rain barrels, and edible landscapes, mini cattle and more.
It is so enjoyable to help with the production of each issue.Would be terrific to see it on news stands one day.
---------------
Today marked one year that I had been posting comments onto the Mary Jane's farm forum. My goodness I had 2,275 comments on there..had no idea I was such a jabbery thing..LOL
I do enjoy learning and sharing things with others though...and have met some nice folks through it.
--------------------
These beauties have started popping up in my cottage garden!
Aren't they just lovely?
I had been given a plant of them last summer by an elderly woman, and after a bunch of rain...well the plants went all moldy and mildewed on me and died, but they had the flower heads remaining on the dead twigs,
... so in the fall I went ahead and gathered the seeds, not thinking that they would grow after what the main plant had gone through
... so I just tossed the seeds into the cottage garden and decided that if they grew ...well, I'd be surprised.
And surprised I have been..I have about 4 of these plants growing in the cottage garden now!
I absolutely love them!
I am drawn like a bee to honey when it comes to yellow flowers..I find them to be so very warm and cheerful and they just have a terrific way of brightening a day.
This type is called "Gloriosa Daisy"
I am going to make a point to gather seeds from the flowers again this year as I definitely want tons of these cheerful plants growing in my yard.

Well, let's see..tonight's dinner for my crew was ranch style breaded porkchops with broccoli florets and sweet potaoes sprinkled with cinnamon as the side dishes.Dessert was a mix of mandarin orange fluff.

Mandarin Orange Fluff:

1 large can mandarin oranges in juice/cold and undrained

1 pkg instant sugar free lemon flavor pudding mix

4 large tablespoons frozen whipped topping

Blend all together and serve in dessert dishes.

Cool and refreshing.

-------------------

Well, that's all for today.Have a great evening.

~The Garden Goose~

Recent RAOK gifts...

Just had to share a few of the RAOK (random act of kindness) gifts that have graced my mailbox recently.

The first is a wonderful cheery teatowel and magnetic note pad from candismom over at Mary Jane's Farm forum. (thanks Elizabeth)

The second is a delightful group of vintage hankies from Mellaisabella over at Mary Jane's Farm. Don't you just love those little child themed hankies?..I think they are so adorable! (thanks Melanie)

These gals certainly know how to spoil someone and really brighten up their week.

It really meant alot to me..thanks so much.

~The Garden Goose~

Small Town Living...

Pleased to announce that the June/July issue of the online magazine that my husband and I create...

"Small Town Living" is now available for reading online!!!

You can visit the website here:

www.stliving.net

We love putting this magazine together and hope to one day get it on to news stands.

The articles in this issue cover such things as rain barrels, gourd history,mini cattle and more!

It is such a joy to create something that has so many things that we are interested in learning about and sharing with others.

I hope that you will take a look at it and feel free to email us with your comments. We'd love to hear from you.

~The Garden Goose~

howdy...

Hope you all had a great day.
Today was a really pretty day out.
The little cottage garden now has flowers of lavender colored bee balm, some blanket flowers, some gloriosa daisies and some other sunflower looking flowers that I'm not sure of the name on. The scabiosa flowers are doing great in the garden too(pincushion flowers). I also have a few stands of blue bachelor buttons as well.
In the courtyard area the Stoke's Asters(another blue/purple flower) have started to bloom and so have the african irises.
I also have daylilies in bright yellows and oranges coming up.
I discovered today that my raspberries look like they will give a wee bit of berries this year...maybe only a handful..but that is still nice..as I planted them back in March... it only means that next year they should do even better.
Same can be said on the cottage garden..we hope it will do twice as nice next year since we tend to let the flowers go to seed out there and then toss the seeds back into the area.
-----------
There is an owl that sits in the pines either in my front yard or directly across the street from my stand of pines..I'm not sure which..but we have been hearing it at night pretty regular now..
tonight when I was herding my ducks into their pen..they certainly heard it too and acted quite alert.I am glad that they have a shelter to go into at night.
They love sitting up under my drake elm directly outside my kitchen window, and since it has been a bit warmer they now scurry up under the pittosporum hedges too if it gets too warm..but they are never far from their water trough.
This afternoon they had a treat of lettuce leaves..they really like that too.
-------------
Tonight's dinner was the crews pick..I gave them the choice of homemade pizza, or a pasta casserole..they chose the homemade pizza.
Very casual evening meal, and very quick and easy for me.
--------------
Yesterday we had a full day of hazy smoke all over..could even smell it into the evening hours. I guess the winds from all the fires had shifted enough for it to blow across our area...this was only the 2nd time we had a day of hazy smoke..the other time was the earlier part of last week.
It was rather strong smelling and did cause a wee bit of hoarseness and a drier feel to the thraot and just a touch sore throat.
But today..back to clear skies and fresher smelling air.
Come to think of it..I haven't smelled the paper mill smell here in a while either. We live in a papermill town..uggh. I detest that smell...but folks need paper..and not just for writing on..ha.
--------------------
I'm hoping to get out to a few garage sales with hubby tomorrow..just a few hours of he and I by ourselves...that should be fun.
I'm thinking that I may start doing a few "yard sale days" here on my blog..where folks can either barter or buy the treasures that I find and think are neat..but that I really probably won't use in my own home..but were just too good to pass up..I think that would be a bit fun to offer them to others...and I do tend to find some pretty neat stuff too if I say so myself..so..I'll be giving that some more thought..and of course when I decide for certain..I will let folks know.
--------------
I haven't forgotten about posting some recipes.
I have a few easy ones to share and will definitely be posting those real soon.
-----------
Have a great weekend!
Thanks for joining me in "blogland"
I have appreciated all of your comments.
~The Garden Goose~

Hello again,

feeling much better today, still a wee bit sore , but heaps better than yesterday...yay!

We actually had rain here today! woohoo. We needed it badly too. About an hours worth this evening about 7 p.m. so that was nice.

Well, my day was pretty good..I tried doing a little bit of crafting for my etsy shop..but didn't get too far into that...I did manage to make 2 pairs of hair stix this evening..but working with little beads and wire gets tedious and time consuming..so..I gave up on that.

My husband really suprised me today..he ordered some supplies for me..some really nice things that I can make for my little etsy shop..can't wait to get started more,

...and he designed a really nice logo for me..exactly the look that I had wanted for my shop..but since I am not a computer designer..had no idea how to design it for myself..but he is a graphics illustrator, and just decided he'd create the little design up for me..so sweet of him..but now I have quite a bit of things he ordered for me as a suprise coming in..so I will soon be busy getting the little shop into full swing.

How nice!

And he has alot of other ideas for me too that he come up with...product ideas.

It is so very nice to have such a sweet and supportive husband..I am really a blessed woman.

(thanks Paul)

Tonight's dinner was oh so yummy..I made a ham and asparagus quiche and a greek style salad...and dessert was chocolate pudding.

For the salad:

chop 1/2 head of lettuce /fine

Add about 1/2 cup pepperoncini pepper rings

1/4 cup chopped black olives

1 chopped tomato

1/2 chopped cucumber

3 tablespoons real bacon bits

1/4 ctnr feta cheese tomato/basil type

drizzle with Kraft Greek Vinaigrette

Toss well, and serve with a few croutons on top

-----------------very yummy and refreshing

I'll try to start sharing a few recipes here and there when I can.

Have a great evening.It is late here and I have got to hit the hay.

Thanks for joing me in blogland...

~The Garden Goose~

..and how was your day?...

Just loved how this gull seems to be asking "so how was your day?" ..ha.
Yes, I took all of the photos shown on this blog.
Anyhow my day was well..a good bit blahh..I have been sore most all day long.
At 8:40 I had a dental appt. to have 2 fillings in the very back of the top of my mouth filled..so there I laid in the dentist's chair for 2 hrs or so with a drill going and those real nice metal clamps to hold my mouth open. I was given 2 shots of the numbing stuff. Well when I finally got out of the office at about 11:00 I looked like a stroke patient...and I was numb all the way to my collar bone on my neck and up into my eyelids and over to my ear on my left side. It took until about 4 p.m. to un numb. Sheew.
Then when the numbness wore off I discovered that somehow my tongue had gotten scraped up on the side..ouch..that hurt nearly worse than the soreness of the teeth....uggh.
So today..I simply had a very lazy day..other than carting my baby that is being potty trained back and forth to the bathroom and making a simple dinner and dessert..I did nothing..yep..you read that right...nothing..except sit on the couch and watch recorded episodes of Dog the Bounty Hunter.
So..see not all of my days are a whirlwind.
Oh, dinner was a homemade pizza that we calle "White Pizza"..if you'd like the recipe just leave me a comment and if your name is on the RAOK list over at the MJFarm..I'll drop it in the mail to ya.
dessert was a blend of cream cheese, french vanilla pudding and whip cream and strawberries poured over graham crackers.
so yummy.
The pizza is very light and lo fat too.
Anyhow..so how was your day?
Have a great evening..thanks for joing me in "blogland"
~The Garden Goose~

End of the School Year...

Sheew..we did it! We finally got our end of the
school year home schooling evaluations completed
today! Yippee!
Now we can officially say that our summertime has begun.
The teacher/evaluator was quite impressed with
our accomplishments..and I must say that I was proud
of both myself and my children for everything we managed
to accomplish.
I taught a child to read..and to learn to enjoy math.
I also taught my oldest child how to balance a
checkbook and to start a small business of her own.(at 16 yrs old she now has her own small business!)
Pretty good things to have accomplished I think.

After the evaluation was completed ..I got back to the house and immediately started my household chores. Vacuuming the entire house, then mopping the whole house.
Cleaning a few mirrors and cleaning the french doors.
Then it was dinner time.
I prepared some chorizo sausages with romano, then sauted that together with a package of seasoned summer vegetable medley(green beans, and a variety of squashes and peppers) then served it over brown rice with garlic cheddar biscuits on the side.
It was fast, easy, dash in the pan..but oh so yummy.

Then it was time to head outdoors and take care of my "waddle butts"/"quackers"
They needed fresh water and of course their cage needed moved a few feet over, everything has to be sprayed down daily, then they always, always come up onto my patio to wait for me to come outside and give them their evening meal..and of course ducks do leave little
watery presents everywhere they go..So every evening
the patio gets jetted off.
Then after that I have to fill up their water dish in the cage.

While I am outside, I always attend to the watering of the cottage garden, the courtyard flowers(we have passion vines, birch trees, daylilies, agapanthus,asters, roses, figs,amaryllis etc.)
that all have to be watered in our courtyard/dining area.

Then I have to water the strawberry bed, and my bulb garden.

Then I water the little navel orange tree and the meyer lemon tree, then the grape vines and the blackberry vines.

Then I shower the pots on my deck with water. I have a few pots of daylilies, roses and a few tomato plants and a big pot of lavender on the deck.

And every few days I turn on the irrigation system to thoroughly water the raspberries.

And I fill up the bird bath and jet down any extra duck leavings that I see
into the ground.

I guess when I stop and start listing the things that I actually do in a day..I guess I actually do stay busy...ha.

Plus I was homeschooling 2 children every day ..and also potty training another.

Plus I sometimes act as errand girl/secretary for our sign business that we run from home.

Boy..o.k. yeah..I guess I do get busy sometimes.

I think I'm going to go get a cup of tea and prop up my feet now.
I think I have earned it today.:0)

I'm so glad that our "summer vacation" is finally here..that means I can take the time that was devoted to lessons with the 2 older children and hopefully get some of the projects around my house taken care of..like painting a few rooms and doing a bit of yard chores that have been put off for a while.

Thanks for joining me in "blogland"
Have a great evening.
~The Garden Goose~

shopping list to last about a month....

I was asked if I make a big list/plan out my shopping trips..and really I don't like some folks do.
Yesterday's shopping trip was a little planned in that I took the time to go through some of my Weight Watchers cookbooks and try to choose a few meals that I would like to make. Then I built up from there...with the intent of making a point to make sure that I stocked up on plenty of frozen vegetables, plenty of meat products, plenty of things for the pantry such as pastas and sauces and a few canned items.
I made a point to switch over to less sugary foods/snacks for my children. Choosing instead to purchase cereals like shredded wheat/and snacks like peanuts, pretzels and crackers and dessert related items like jellos and puddings.Making a point to try to get store brand items as possible

Here is a run down on what was purchased:
1 lb bacon
3 packages of boneless porkchops (about 4-5 chops to a package)
2 pkgs cream cheese
1 bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 pkgs breakfast sausage links
4 pkgs ground chuck
2 pkg Italian sausage
1 large pkg stew beef
1 large pkg macaroni pasta
3 mac and cheese dinner pkgs
2 large boxes of bow tie pasta
3 boxes jiffy pizza crust mix
1 large bag brown rice
1 jar applesauce
1 ctnr parmesan cheese/shaker kind
1 ctnr mustard dijon type
1 jar green olives
3 lb ctnr Smart balance butter spread
1 ctnr orange juice
1 ctnr beef buillon cubes
1 ctnr real bacon bits for salad
2 cans pepper jack cheese flavored soup for quesadillas
1 ctnr butter cream frosting
1 key lime dessert kit
1 pumpkin dessert kit
2 cake mixes
1 ctnr pepper rings
1 ctnr peanuts
1 jar apple juice
4 pkgs cornbread mix
1 bag pretzels
2 rolls of biscuits
2 rolls of crescents
1 bag sugar
1 bag flour
1 ctnr cilantro spice
1 pkg splenda for baking
2 pkgs sliced ham
2 pkg whole grain tortillas
2 6 pks of yogurt
1 gallon white vinegar
1 ctnr squeeze ketchup
1 ctnr mayonnaise
1 ctnr italian style bread crumbs
1 jar salsa
1 box of barley for soups
2 large boxes of baking soda
2 ctnrs of dishwasher detergent
1 ctnr dish detergent
3 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes
1 lb yellow onions
1 cantaloupe
nearly 2 lbs of golden delicious aples
1 head of cabbage
1 loaf whole wheat bread
2 dozen freerange style brown eggs
1 pkg tomatoes
1 pkg paper towels the 3 pk.
1 red bell pepper
6 green bell peppers
3 jalepeno peppers to make fresh salsa with
1 head of lettuce
2 pkg of frozen pie crust5 pkgs shredded cheeses/different varieities
2 boxes of cereal
2 boxes of graham crackers
2 pkgs of other variety wheat crackers
7 pkgs of pudding mixes
1 large ctnr cool whip
6 pkgs of varieties of jello
4 pkgs of muffin mixes
1 ctnr crisco
3 cans tomato sauce
2 cans white hominy
3 cans black beans
2 cans garbanzo beans
2 cans asparagus cuts
1 bottle greek style vinagrette dressing
1 can chopped black olives
4 cans chopped tomatoes/2 of italian style seasoned/2 were mexi style seasoned
2 cans of chili beans
17 bags of frozen vegetables/mixed varieties like whole green beans, broccoli, pepper medleys, squash medleys, steam peas,corn, etc.

o.k. that is the list..
my total expenditure.......
$273.01

yesterday and today...

Well, yesterday I had a dental appt. at a new to me..dentist's office.
The appt. was for 9:30 and lasted until after 11..close to noon.. before I left the office. Wow!
I had to have new xrays done and a teeth cleaning. The xrays were the most thorough teeth xrays I had ever had taken. Those alone took nearly an hour to capture..I guess it didn't help that my gag reflex was working overtime either..uggh.
Seems everytime the plastic baggy cover on the little xray thing was put wayyy back in my mouth..it tickled my tongue just enough to make me gag..uggh. It made my stomach hurt at one point cause it was so strong of a reflex..that I was more than thankful I had not eaten anything .
Glad that is over.
But I have an even funner appt. set for Tuesday morning. Have 2 fillings to get taken care of...bad girl that I am..I had 4 cavities! eek! fer shame, fer shame.
Guess it goes to show that chocolate does catch up to you sometimes.

I also stopped by Joann's fabrics yesterday..seems they had the fat quarter fabric pieces on sale for 99 cents. I plan to craft something..can't decide what yet..from some really cute florals that I found.... Victorian looking and cottage garden styled prints. I'm thinking maybe little mini pillows embellished with laces and ribbons, or perhaps little tiny handbags with lace and embellishments...for my little etsy shop.

Today..Saturday...was menu planning day..well..not quite as thorough of menu planning as some folks...as I just basically looked through some cookbooks to decide what I'd fix that was different, but healthy...then I built up the list from that..and planned on stocking up on plenty of meats and frozen veggies for the freezer, some fresh produce, and plenty of staples and canned goods for the pantry.

I decided that for my cleaners I'd start trying to use vinegar for my mopping, and using baking soda to scrub the bathtub with ;as it removes soap scum really well.
The vinegar when mixed with a little bit of dishwashing detergent actually does a nice job on cleaning the floors and doesn't leave a smell..the vinegarry smell dissipates very quickly and you are left with a nice fresh clean.
Really no odor at all.

My shopping trip took 2 hrs and I wound up with enough to safely say it will last about 3-4 weeks for our family of 5... before I have to go back to the store.
Of course I'll have to get things like toilet tissue and papertowels and bread and milk again..but the other will last quite a while.
It took me an hour to put everything away..uggh.
Grocery shopping is really one of my least favorite things to do..but it is nice to see a well stocked freezer and pantry.

My "quackers" are doing well..seems the oldest one..the female..is doing some molting..I have found feathers/small feathers about an inch to inch and a half in size..all over my yard.. and in the pen that they stay in at night.The ducks are only about 2 1/2 months old. I got them in March right before Easter... She appears healthy though..I don't know much about when they are supposed to molt or anything like that..I do know that she recently fully feathered out about 3 weeks now.
The male is just finishing up getting fully feathered..he was about a week and a half behind the female on everything..and has just a wee bit of light downy fluff left showing near his tail feathers.
(** note..I just did some research..apparently ducks have a molt around the end of May/end of Spring..hmm..interesting...she appears "right as rain"though aside from the fact that there are little feathers every where)

Checked out the cottage garden..looks like I have some light lavender colored bee balm sprouting up everywhere..and I have a plant of gloriosa daisies that has sprouted up and is fixing to bloom..yay! I adore the gloriosa daisies. They are so cheerful.

Well..that is the latest news here.
Thanks for joining me in "blogland"
Have a good evening and a wonderful day tomorrow.

~The Garden Goose~

Dizzy busy...

Sheew,

It's been a bit hectic here lately..things that it seems only mom can do..have been keeping me pretty busy the last 2 days.

I had a day full of errand running yesterday..hubby was home with sinus stuff, so I had errands to run..

drop off completed wholesale signage orders to a company across town(we do wholesale full color vinyl graphics for a couple of sign companies in town that do not have the type of full color equipment we do)

then it was to the feed store for duck food

To Kmart for copy machine paper and tissue

To the post office to mail packages

to the fruit stand for produce

------sheew.

Then afterwards the normal cooking dinner, straightening up the house.

Then today..I have been working all day on sorting/choosing samples of my daughter's school work to be included into her "end of year" student portfolio that will be evaluated on Monday by a State Certified teacher.(we home educate 2 of our children)

It is a bit time consuming..and I always do a very thorough job, and type the cover sheets and other information up very neatly....but no matter how organized I am during the school year..it always is a bit of work picking and choosing what to show for evaluation...and I never fail to get myself just a wee bit stressed about it...ha.

(I have to compile a notebook for each subject taught, with samples of work completed for every month of the school year.)

I know that I'll have a sigh of relief when we can be done with that task this year..and be able to say that our summer time is "officially" here.

At least my son's portfolio is completed and ready for evaluation..and I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on nearing the completion of my daughter's portfolio.

Well..that's what has been going on here..I know..just overwhelmingly exciting..NOT..ha.

But sometimes things keep us busy that aren't necessarily fun things.

Oh, I did actually have fun yesterday at the feed store though...one of the employees stood chatting up a storm with me about the baby turkeys and baby bantam chicks they had for sale there...and let me know that they could order for me any type/breed of chicken I'd like in any amount.

I was also allowed to leave cards by the cash register with info to Mary Jane's Farm website.(the cute cards Cindy over at the farm made up)

So maybe, just maybe we'll have some farmgals from Florida joining in soon..I hope so.

Oh, and we are in the middle of potty training a 2 year old here at my house..now that can be a challenge and keeps me busy too...ha

And whoever said that housewives never work..was full of beans!

Well, that's the news here.

Oh, and I wanted to share an image of what I live near..gorgeous beach areas.

So maybe if any of you farmgal friends of mine have a hankering to visit my area..I'd love to show you some beautiful beach areas that are currently untouched by condos.. how long they'll remain so..I have no idea.

Have a great evening!

Thanks for joining me in "blogland"

~The Garden Goose~

Mother's day surprise..

Look what my daughter made for me! Cool huh?
She taught herself how to make fondant today..and so she created this lovely 3 tiered cake with beautiful flowers on it.
What a surprise. And yummy too. The fondant is made from marshmallows and a 1 lb and a half of confectioners sugar..talk about a sugar high...then a sugar let down..whomp!
But it was good none the less..and so very sweet of her(no pun intended..but hey...that was a good one huh?)

My eyes are about bugged out this evening..made some cute beaded earrings this afternoon for my etsy shop over at http://GardenGooseGifts.Etsy.com and made a set of hair sticks too(for holding long hair into a bun)..those sold immediately after posting..yay! ..that was really nice.
I'll have more pairs of earrings to post tomorrow afternoon.

Well...I'm going to have to find a way to fence off my Ozark Beauty Strawberries in my strawberry bed out back..no sense in having 50 lush strawberry plants and expecting to get a crop from them..when all of the sudden I glance out the window yesterday and what do I see..but one of my little "waddle butts"(that's what I call my ducks sometimes..ha) heading straight for my strawberry patch! eeek. I took off at a run for the patch and tried to shoo it out..it got out of the patch..but I could have sworn that crazy duck was a grinnin' at me..as it had strawberry juice stain all along the side of its beak.ha.
Ahh well...we'll have to get a bit of fencing that it cannot step over.

We had some much needed rain here today..yay. Always nice to get a bit of rain after we have had quite a dry spell here. So nice to walk outdoors afterwards and everything feels and smells so fresh and clean...and I love how the raindrops sparkle on everything.

Well..here is wishing all of you mama's a very "Happy Mother's Day!"

Thanks for joining me in "blogland" tonight.
Have a pleasant evening.

~The Garden Goose~

In the yard...

Well, I promised some images of the pearlets on the tree, and an image of the baby grapes..but I just could not resist walking about the yard and into the cottage garden patch today and getting some images of what is blooming here and there through out the yard.

So..you'll see images of an Easter lily, a scabiosa flower(pincushion flower) a meyer lemon blossom with tiny meyer lemon, a blanket flower(bright orange) some unknown bright sunflower looking flowers,bachelor buttons(blue), an unknown purple flower, and several roses, and an african iris. This is what was in bloom this afternoon in the yard.

Today was pretty much an uneventful "laze around" sort of day.

I did make a run to the post office to send a RAOK gift to a friend at Mary Jane's farm.

Then to ship an item from my etsy shop.

I have to create some jewelry this evening for the shop.And will be creating items this weekend after I make a Hobby Lobby craft supply run tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner was a bit more involved than last night's "one pot wonder"..ha.

I made a chicken casserole dish with rice, chicken, some stir fry veggies and a can of cream of broccoli soup.

I put alot of veggies in with the rice.

I guess you could say it was another "one pot wonder" meal.But hey..it was easy and everyone was satisfied and had full tummies...and it tasted yummy.

Well, I wanted to share the pictures of the flowers/fruit that was in bloom today.

Here's also wishing all of the moms..a "Happy Mother's Day!"

My husband and daughter took off to the store this evening while I was making dinner, and came back with orders for me to "close my eyes" while my daughter hid something in her room...so..I have no idea what the surprise is...but they are up to something.

I guess I'll have to wait until Sunday huh? ..ha.

Have a great evening and thanks for joining me in "blogland"

~The Garden Goose~

A new etsy shop...plus more...

Today I worked on sorting out my new email , and trying to figure out how to transfer about 400 email addresses over to the new email address.

Ughh...something else to get figured out.

I'll get it accomplished though.

I played "secretary" a bit this afternoon too.

Recieved a call from one of our "Small Town Living" magazine article contributors today.The next issue wil have some fun things in it.

Then had to answer a few calls in regards to our sign business work.Seems the phone was ringin' quite a bit..but that's good for business though..so no complaints.

Then I added an item to my new etsy shop this evening.

A pretty rose colored glass beaded necklace.

I'll be crafting some more items like the necklace and pinkeep soon.

Tonight for dinner I made something rather fast and easy,

a Southern easy "one pot" dinner..black eyed peas, brown rice and polish sausage cooked all together in one pot.Nothing real fancy..ha.

I have a bunch of sweet potato plants needing planted now..we have a flat of about 40 of them..but I have to get a tiller rented and an area by the side fence tilled up.

Hopefully that project can be tackled this weekend.

My thornless blackberry canes (I planted 3 of them at the end of March) are finally putting forth some pretty good sprouts up from the base of the canes. When I planted them, they looked like simple straight brown sticks..but now they are starting to grow pretty good..took them a little while, but hopefully by next summer we shall have blackberries.(blackberry cobbler and jam..oooh yum!)

I also have 9 canes of raspberries that have started putting forth growth.

Again..next year we should see something from these plantings.(raspberry jam and raspberry sauce..ooh yum!)

I will try to share with you all an image of what is happening with our pear tree..seems this year it is putting out its largest crop ever. The tree is a young one..we have only had it planted for about 4 yrs..but this year we have about 2 dozen baby pears on the tree..last year we only had about 5 pears total.

This year a good crop shall be had from it..hopefully.

But I will try to get a shot of the baby pearlets tomorrow.I like making a chunky pear sauce from them..alot like the Cracker Barrel style "fried apples".

We also have teeny tiny baby grapes on the vines too..we have Niagara grapes. We should see a nice harvest from that by September..again if all goes well.(meaning if the birds do not devour them all first)

I have some daylilies starting to put forth flower buds now.

I have a HUGE plant of daylilies in a pot in the courtyard area out back..and if memory serves me..it is from a start from a 65 yr. old daylily bulbs that a farmgal friend named Babs(over at Mary Jane's Farm) gave to me last year.

My husband joked that if I killed that plant after it had survived in Babs family for 65 yrs..that surely I would have committed a federal offense..ha.Anyhow..this plant is HUGE..and is fixing to bloom any day now.

I have no idea what color it will be..so that will be something fun to share with you all.

Well..that is all of my ramblings on for today.

Thanks for joining me in "blogland"

~The Garden Goose~

Getting Crafty...

Today I tried my hand at crafting.

Sewing to be precise.I had seen over at the Mary Jane's Farm website..a call for farmgals to "thread their needles". ..for a "Pinkeep Contest" (pincushion)

Well, I came up with a really cute idea last Thursday and bought my supplies at our local Hobby Lobby and sketched my pattern out.

Today I created my little pinkeep, took a photo of it and it is now amongst the photos of other "pinkeeps" that no doubt will put my little attempt to shame.

But..it was fun none the less, and an item that I can offer through my shop at etsy.com

Here is a photo of it, because I know you all just won't forgive me if I don't show it..so here it is..in all of it's humble glory...

"Tie one on!"..yep..a little Apron Pinkeep. The little pocket can hold your needles, while the other part can be poked with all the pins your little heart desires to poke it with.

Oh I have other ideas now too of course..but this one..well..it was just "sooo farmgirly!"

Let's see..what else got accomplished today..

I added lots of my friends blog links to this site...

I baked a yummy peanut butter cake this afternoon..like I needed cake...NOT! ..but I wanted to make absolutely sure that the recipe I sent out to alot of my farmgirl friends was actually correct in the equations..and it was.

So now there is a big peanut butter bundt cake in my kitchen..I'm sure that between all of us here..it won't last very long.

My little "Quackers"...Daisy and Daffy duck are doing great..the silly things..now when they get hungry..they will peck on my back door..you'd think I didn't feed them..but they are FAT ducks.

They forage for weeds and also get mash to eat twice a day, plus have a big tub of water to drink and splash in..but then of course..they think I am "mama"..so I think too they just like to see me.

Oh that reminds me..speaking of ducks..there is a darling looking movie coming out soon called..yep...you guessed it..."Duck" about an elderly man and his pet duck..and the duck featured in the movie is..a Peking Duck...

who knows maybe I can train one of mine to become a Hollywood Star!

I can just see it now..a big webbed footprint on the HollyWood Star Boulevard..ha!

(yeahhh!)

hmm..gotta get those ducks some bangles and baubles and decorate them up pretty....

"Hollywood..here we come!"

(ok, ok..maybe things are getting a little too quacked up around here...ha)

Night folks. Have a great evening.

Thanks for joining me in "blogland"

~The Garden Goose~

busy bee...

have been a bit busy here today...I guess that is good in a way...but the things I really wanted to get done today..didn't quite make it onto my "completed" list...uggh.(I had wanted to create a cute little project for a contest being hosted over at Mary Jane's Farm..a contest on making a "pinkeep"..a pincushion...and wanted to create some of those for my new etsy shop....I have a really cute idea...so..that will have to be reserved for tomorrow's "to do" list)

I did get my son's portfolio for the end of our homeschooling year completed...yay.

Every "end of the school year" ..we take samples bound into a "portfolio format" to be reviewed by a State certified teacher..to have her check things out.(I have been homeschooling now for 10 years)

(we always kind of "blow her away"..haha..as we pack more than plenty into our school years with lots of projects and accomplishments by the children)

I'll have to compile my daughter's portfolio next..and I'm sure that it will be impressive to a reviewer... as this year she has started her own business now..and has started designing things like aprons and skirts to sell, as well as other items.Not everyday that you hear of a teen starting their own business.

Not bad at all if I say so myself..and I'm quite proud of both of my kids.

I mentioned also that I'd post a picture of the items given to me in a lovely RAOK (random act of kindness) by my farmgal friend.."levi'sgrammy" from Mary Jane's Farm.

So here that is..what lovely items.Don't you just love that little duck?

So adorable...so a great big thank you to "levi's grammy"!

Tonight's dinner was rather simple and rather quick..a small salad on the side, some stir fry veggies(a blend of broccoli, red peppers, squash and sugar snap peas) and pasta with sundried tomato alfredo sauce. Rather simple and quick..but everyone was satisfied.

The ducks are doing good. They have a habit now of quacking at the back door very loudly if they miss me too much, or think that it is dinner time...ha.

Well..that's the news for today.

Thanks for joining me in "blogland"

~The Garden Goose~

A pretty good day...

Had a pretty good day here today.

The weather was oh, about 70 degrees here in North Florida.
Lovely, sunny day.
Apparently we had a bit of a cold front blow in to cool things down..and a glorious day outside it was!

I got some housework accomplished..just the typical "after the weekend" clean up..vacuuming, a touch of mopping, and straightening up here and there.

Then I wrapped packages from a few ebay sales..things we just want to clear out.
It is always amazing to me just how much stuff can be accumulated in a household in just a short while.
So..we have been purging here and there and it feels good to be rid of the unnecessaries.

I recieved a wonderful random act of kindness package today from my farmgal friend from Mary Jane's Farm(If you are a farmgirl or a farmgirl at heart..you really need to check out this website www.maryjanesfarm.org)

... anyhow..."levi'sgrammy" sent me a lovely embroidered tea towel with a duck sweeping(it's absolutely beautiful), and a set of note cards (Mary Englebriet) with garden scene on them and a lovely pink floral hankie..all tied up with a pretty satin pink bow...so a very big "Thank you!" to my friend...hugs to you! She made my day!

She also sent a tea towel and Aunt Martha transfer to my daughter along with a small bit of floral fabric..again all tied with a pretty pink bow!

Farmgirls really are the best! They know how to brighten a day even more.(I'll try to post a picture tomorrow..I'm still trying to figure out this whole blogging thing, so maybe I'll be able to get an image here)

I baked a couple of loaves of sourdough bread this evening.
It is always a real treat to smell the dough rising..such a nice homemade bread smell and a yeasty type of smell..nothing quite beats good old homemade bread!Yum!

Then this evening I had my typical chore of taking care of my pet ducks..we have 2 beautiful white Peking ducks that I recieved as a gift from my husband around Easter time.
Of course they always love to leave a little mess by my french doors on the patio...so every evening it is clean up time jetting things off, and then I change their drinking and swimming water..they have a large black plastic "trough" that they love to swim in.And I also have a large moveable cage that they stay in at night..that gets moved to different spots in the side yard every 2 days.So, I take care of filling up their water dispenser that stays in the cage at night as well as their large "trough" that sits in the yard(it is actually a large plastic bin for mixing up potting soil, but it serves the purpose well for them)

Then I had to water all of my plants.
I have a cottage garden area, and potted lettuces and various other plants on my deck(roses, daylilies and lavender, and some starts of heirloom tomatoes and some sweet potato starts that will need planted in the ground soon)..then a large raised bed garden area full of strawberry plants..all of these things had to be watered...along with all of the plants in and around our courtyard area(lots of potted roses, and amaryllis, ferns, etc.)

I enjoy it though.
And to me it is relaxing...and it is always a joy to see what is in bloom...and also to watch the antics of the ducks.

Anyhow..that's a small run down on my day.

Thanks for joining me in "blog land"

~The Garden Goose~