This Happened on Sunday...

 

 

My brother and sister-in-law came in for the weekend, and we set up shop at my mom's house, where we cranked out four flavors of jam and a peach/rhubarb crisp.  The crisp was in celebration of my brother's thirty-third birthday, which is today!  Happy Birthday, Elsworth! 

 

There's just nothing like making jam with fresh-from-the-farmers'-market strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  Our jam tastes good now, but in the dead of winter it's going to taste even better!

 



Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum

Remember the tiny little bean plants I showed off in May?  They've grown... and grown... and grown!  Take a look:

 

My husband is tall-- but our bean plants are taller!  

Yesterday, one of them finally climbed all the way up to the roof.  Now what?  The seed package said they could grow up to six feet tall.  The seed company apparently wasn't ready for expert gardeners like the Struckmeyers.   

Dirty Little Secrets

I just read this post about the secrets of tidy families; even though we don't have children, my husband and I could use a little help in this area.  I was struck hard by point #1 ("Their whole family has less stuff").  I've been kind of slacking on my 1,000 things challenge, and I have a few certain items I've been hemming and hawing over... I know we don't need them, and I don't even particularly love them, but what if I want them someday?  And what if they're worth money?  You know what, I just decided that I don't care.  They're going in the yard sale pile, and if they don't sell, they're going to Goodwill.  If I want them someday, chances are I can buy them again, thanks to the miracle of the Internet. 

Speaking of the Internet, I was also struck by point #2 ("They surf the internet less").  We don't have Internet service at home, but I'm on the verge of buckling and getting it.  I've avoided it for so long for two reasons:  I'm cheap, and I prefer interaction during our downtime rather than screen-staring.  And also I'm kind of controlling, but that's another post entirely.  We're still going to get Internet (probably), but hopefully we can keep our surfing in check.  And maybe I'll donate our laptop to Goodwill, so it won't even be an issue.  Just kidding. 

 

Seven on Ten: June 2013

1 & 2: Waiting for my ride to work
3 & 4: Container garden growing right before our eyes
5: Dinner outside!
6: Project-oriented husband
7: Treasure from the clearance rack... a girl in my sixth grade class had one of these (the clear one), and I thought it was the coolest thing.  That same girl wrote a poem about a boy in our class that has stayed with me all these years: "His hair is blond, his eyes are blue, his name is Aaron, his love holds true."  If you are not laughing right now, we have nothing in common. 

Find more ten on ten here. 

Next Set of Items Up for Bid...

Well, I did it!  I lived out my dream of being an auctioneer for Wisconsin Public Television's annual fundraiser.  I was scheduled as an auctioneer on Thursday night and then on the phone bank with a group from work on Sunday afternoon.  But on Sunday morning, the auction organizer called... one of their afternoon auctioneers had called in sick, so I got to do it again! 

 

 

It was super, super fun!  I did have one really tough card with the words "Savoyards" and "Iolanthe" on it, but other than that it was pretty smooth sailing.  I already can't wait to volunteer again next year! 

1000 Things: Birthday Edition

Eleven years ago, I bought this ridiculous, makeup-oriented card in South Africa:

 

 

 

That year, my sister was turning 17, and I knew she would think the card was funny... but of course when her birthday rolled around, I forgot to send it to her.  And then I forgot all about it until my "Get Rid of 1000 Things This Year" project led me to clean out our stationery box last month.  If you're trying to get rid of 1000 things, do yourself a favor and start with your stationery box.  Ours was a total gold mine. 

 

Fortunately, this card surfaced just in time for my sister's birthday-- I popped it in the mail a couple of days ago, and it should be in her mailbox today, just in time to wish her a happy 28th! 

 

By the way, where does the time go?  28 years is a long time, but the day my sister was born seems like yesterday. 

Bean Counter

After the terrace garden escapade of last spring, we've decided to try all container gardening this year.  Last year, we had really good luck with our containers, which yielded kale, lettuce, and tomatoes.  This year, we added a few beets (have I told you how much I love beets?  I hope the ones we planted flourish so I can tell you how delicious they are), purple beans, spinach, and purple watermelon that supposedly grows up on a trellis (in our case, a piece of twine hanging from the roof of the house).  We had a really late spring, so our seeds have only been in the ground for two weeks.  But take a look at these champion beans: 

 

They're loving the sunshine almost as much as we are!  They grow and change every day.  They live near our front door, so we get to peek at them multiple times a day.