The spectacular rhododendron at my parent's house.
This week's post is centered around the idea that at the end of the day we all want to have "something to show" for our hard work. For all of our work at our jobs, in our homes and in our gardens we all want to be able to say "Look at what I did!" This has always been something that has been my motto. For example, I would spend a lot of time thinking of what to spend my vacation money on. I wanted to make sure it wasn't candy, gum or some other expendable item- I wanted to make sure I had something to show for my money- like a doll or a necklace.
Now, I am the same way with my time and my money. If I have free time I have a hard time sitting down just reading a book or watching TV or a movie. I almost feel like I would rather "get something done." It just leaves me with a better feeling. Even when I watch TV many times I try to fold laundry or get ironing done at the same time. That doesn't mean I don't like to relax in the evenings and just watch a movie without doing something, but most of the time I want to get something accomplished. And with my money I like to be able to get as much as I can for it or have "something to show for it." For example, if I get a spa treatment (every once and a while) I prefer to have a pedicure or manicure because I can see the pretty colors on my toes or hands and enjoy it for a while!
With this blog I feel that I am creating not only a record of the work my mom and I do in our gardens and in our homes but it will be "something to show" for all of the meals prepared and all of the care taken in our homes and gardens for all to enjoy.
Weather:
A lovely, bright bloom on the rose bush in the garden that produces large rose hips for tea.
Now, I am the same way with my time and my money. If I have free time I have a hard time sitting down just reading a book or watching TV or a movie. I almost feel like I would rather "get something done." It just leaves me with a better feeling. Even when I watch TV many times I try to fold laundry or get ironing done at the same time. That doesn't mean I don't like to relax in the evenings and just watch a movie without doing something, but most of the time I want to get something accomplished. And with my money I like to be able to get as much as I can for it or have "something to show for it." For example, if I get a spa treatment (every once and a while) I prefer to have a pedicure or manicure because I can see the pretty colors on my toes or hands and enjoy it for a while!
With this blog I feel that I am creating not only a record of the work my mom and I do in our gardens and in our homes but it will be "something to show" for all of the meals prepared and all of the care taken in our homes and gardens for all to enjoy.
Weather:
A lovely, bright bloom on the rose bush in the garden that produces large rose hips for tea.
We had just a bit of sunny weather this week- not very much compared to the fabulous weekend that we had last weekend, but we did enjoy it all we could!
Here's the weather report according to NOAA (I am featuring mainly the parts about the northwest) that my mom looked up:
Snow pack in the Northwest and Northern Rockies was much above normal during the late spring, raising concerns about potential flooding once the melt season began. The Northwest had its wettest spring on record with a regional precipitation average that exceeded 10 inches (3.76 inches above normal) for the first time on record. The previous record, 9.39 inches, was set in 1993.
Average temperatures were much cooler-than-normal in the Northwest, which had its seventh coolest spring. Within the region, Washington had its third coolest spring and Oregon its fifth coolest."
Indeed our spring has been quite cool. At least this week most days were above 65 degrees at least out here in the suburbs. It is a slight improvement on last year's very low temperatures during spring and summer. I hope that the weather really does start to warm up a bit more and we need more sun to grow our tomato and pepper plants as well as all of the others!
Some grapes forming on a grapevine in the country garden.
Country Garden Report:
The country garden with a row of potatoes and two long rows of tomato plants.
Last week we had the good fortune to visit the country garden twice! We went out there on Wednesday and then later on Saturday for a short visit. It was such a nice treat since I am on a short break from teaching classes I had more time to go out and do some gardening. We surely will have "something to show" for all of our hard work in the garden this year as long as the weather cooperates! I am hoping for loads of tomatoes to use in sauces and many other dishes this year!
A very healthy potato plant in the country garden.
We had a bit of time in between going on walks with Adam to get a long row ready for planting tomato plants and do a bit of weeding in the garden. My parents finished planting the tomatoes and peppers later on in the week. Everything is looking great! The potato plants look very robust and many of the seeds we planted are coming up.
The boysenberries are blooming!
We will have to go in and do a lot more weeding now that the tomato and pepper plants are planted. We still need to plant corn, beans and a few other warmer weather crops very soon.
One of the healthy tomato plants that my parents planted last week.
On our walk through the woods with Adam and through the "tunnel" as he likes to call it we found many native plants in bloom:
Some sweet little twin flowers in bloom in the woods.
Here's the weather report according to NOAA (I am featuring mainly the parts about the northwest) that my mom looked up:
U.S. Climate Highlights – May
"Average May temperatures across the western third of the country were below normal. Oregon and Washington (tied with a previous record) experienced their sixth coolest May on record with average temperatures more than 3.6 degrees F below the 20th century normal. Wyoming and Utah had their seventh and eighth coolest May on record, respectively. "
U.S. Climate Highlights – Spring (March-May)
"A persistent pattern during the spring brought frequent storms and cold air to the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. Drought intensified in the south, while much of the Northeast, Ohio Valley and Northwest were subjected to historic or near-historic precipitation.
Snow pack in the Northwest and Northern Rockies was much above normal during the late spring, raising concerns about potential flooding once the melt season began. The Northwest had its wettest spring on record with a regional precipitation average that exceeded 10 inches (3.76 inches above normal) for the first time on record. The previous record, 9.39 inches, was set in 1993.
Average temperatures were much cooler-than-normal in the Northwest, which had its seventh coolest spring. Within the region, Washington had its third coolest spring and Oregon its fifth coolest."
Indeed our spring has been quite cool. At least this week most days were above 65 degrees at least out here in the suburbs. It is a slight improvement on last year's very low temperatures during spring and summer. I hope that the weather really does start to warm up a bit more and we need more sun to grow our tomato and pepper plants as well as all of the others!
Some grapes forming on a grapevine in the country garden.
Country Garden Report:
The country garden with a row of potatoes and two long rows of tomato plants.
Last week we had the good fortune to visit the country garden twice! We went out there on Wednesday and then later on Saturday for a short visit. It was such a nice treat since I am on a short break from teaching classes I had more time to go out and do some gardening. We surely will have "something to show" for all of our hard work in the garden this year as long as the weather cooperates! I am hoping for loads of tomatoes to use in sauces and many other dishes this year!
A very healthy potato plant in the country garden.
The boysenberries are blooming!
We will have to go in and do a lot more weeding now that the tomato and pepper plants are planted. We still need to plant corn, beans and a few other warmer weather crops very soon.
One of the healthy tomato plants that my parents planted last week.
On our walk through the woods with Adam and through the "tunnel" as he likes to call it we found many native plants in bloom:
Some sweet little twin flowers in bloom in the woods.
Some lovely salal with many blooms on it.
A plant we have always called "thimble berry" in bloom. Later on it has raspberry-like berries on it that you can eat.
A baby fig on the fig tree in the back yard at my parent's house.
Adam marching along in the woods on his walk.
A plant we have always called "thimble berry" in bloom. Later on it has raspberry-like berries on it that you can eat. 
A baby fig on the fig tree in the back yard at my parent's house.
Adam marching along in the woods on his walk. Suburban Garden Report:
A lavender iris in bloom in my back yard.
My little lettuce plants keep growing.
My first rose of the season!
Barbecue Sauce Recipe:
A lavender iris in bloom in my back yard.
I love that every week in my yard I can discover new blooms and enjoy new flowers and new growth on the plants there. A yard or garden is an ever changing and never ending project but it is such a joy to have! I am learning to love each and every plant in it and it is fun to see what will happen next!
A volunteer snapdragon blooming in a pot on the deck!
Unfortunately last week Adam got a bit sick. It all started on Wednesday afternoon when we came home from my parent's house. Adam had a fever and was very tired. Also, all day that day he hadn't eaten very much. Poor little guy!
A bit of a serious Adam outside with his sunglasses on. He was slowly recovering from a bit of a "bug" he caught.
The next day in the early afternoon he seemed to be doing better and his fever seemed to have disappeared so I decided it was okay for him to venture outside since it was our one and only sunny day so far that week. He had fun outside but soon became tired again and took an early nap. I am glad we got out in the sun just for a bit that day. He recovered over the weekend and is now feeling so much better! Thank goodness!
Some raspberries forming on our raspberry bushes!
A volunteer snapdragon blooming in a pot on the deck!
Unfortunately last week Adam got a bit sick. It all started on Wednesday afternoon when we came home from my parent's house. Adam had a fever and was very tired. Also, all day that day he hadn't eaten very much. Poor little guy!
A bit of a serious Adam outside with his sunglasses on. He was slowly recovering from a bit of a "bug" he caught.
The next day in the early afternoon he seemed to be doing better and his fever seemed to have disappeared so I decided it was okay for him to venture outside since it was our one and only sunny day so far that week. He had fun outside but soon became tired again and took an early nap. I am glad we got out in the sun just for a bit that day. He recovered over the weekend and is now feeling so much better! Thank goodness!
Some raspberries forming on our raspberry bushes!
Our raised bed garden is doing quite well. The rhubarb is positively gigantic! I am going to have to start harvesting some to make pies, bread, preserves, etc. I will have a big crop this year! Also, it is very exciting to see that even in their first year we will have a few raspberries off of our raspberry bushes. Delicious! My lettuce continues to grow and prosper as well. My onions are still too tiny to even take a picture of, but I am hoping for the best.
My little lettuce plants keep growing.
I will finish up my garden report with this lovely photo of the first rose of the year! I love it! It was just in time for the Rose Festival here in Portland, Oregon! What timing! I am really beginning to love my rose bushes. I have two traditional ones and three heirloom roses. It is very special to me to be growing these roses because I have very fond memories of my Grandma Pedersen's large rose garden and also my Grandma Johnston's rose bushes in her front yard. It gives me great joy and peace to take care of these roses and to watch them grow and thrive. I truly have many things to "show" for all of my work in the garden this year and I hope to have many barbecues throughout the summer to share the beauty with others and enjoy the surroundings.
My first rose of the season!
Barbecue Sauce Recipe:
I'll finish up this post with a favorite recipe as I often like to do. I really love to barbecue in the summer and although the weather hasn't been the greatest for barbecuing very much yet this season I decided to make this sauce to coax the sun out! I ended up roasting a chicken in the oven, making some rice and sauteing some asparagus to go with the barbecue sauce because it was raining outside this Sunday, but there is plenty left over to use with some barbecuing I plan on doing soon.
I am not sure where this recipe came from but I have had it a long time. It was so good it caused me to type it up and put it in my recipe notebook and it has been my favorite ever since. I like how it is tangy and sweet at the same time. Since I don't know where it came from I shall claim it as my own! This recipe is actually half of the original because it makes so much. However, it does freeze well so if you are planning a party later on in the summer you could double this recipe and save some for later.
The barbecue sauce simmering in the saucepan.
Trista's Favorite Barbecue Sauce:
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1 1/4 ounces Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup oil
1 cup cider vinegar (when I last made this I had to use red wine vinegar because I had run out of cider vinegar but it was still very good)
1/8 cup salt
1/2 ounce black pepper
1/4 ounce hot sauce of your choice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cube or 1/4 cup butter
1/2 ounce liquid smoke flavoring
1 clove garlic- minced
Combine all of these ingredients into a medium saucepan and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes making sure to melt the butter thoroughly.
Enjoy this sauce on chicken, ribs, steaks, hamburgers, etc.
Happy gardening, cooking, living and making the most of it this week!
I am not sure where this recipe came from but I have had it a long time. It was so good it caused me to type it up and put it in my recipe notebook and it has been my favorite ever since. I like how it is tangy and sweet at the same time. Since I don't know where it came from I shall claim it as my own! This recipe is actually half of the original because it makes so much. However, it does freeze well so if you are planning a party later on in the summer you could double this recipe and save some for later.
The barbecue sauce simmering in the saucepan.
Trista's Favorite Barbecue Sauce:
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1 1/4 ounces Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup oil
1 cup cider vinegar (when I last made this I had to use red wine vinegar because I had run out of cider vinegar but it was still very good)
1/8 cup salt
1/2 ounce black pepper
1/4 ounce hot sauce of your choice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cube or 1/4 cup butter
1/2 ounce liquid smoke flavoring
1 clove garlic- minced
Combine all of these ingredients into a medium saucepan and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes making sure to melt the butter thoroughly.
Enjoy this sauce on chicken, ribs, steaks, hamburgers, etc.
Happy gardening, cooking, living and making the most of it this week!
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