JALAPENO JELLY MAKING TIME

I didn't plant a garden this year. We moved in December and since then, we've barely gotten a (partial) lawn in, shade on our patio and our pool up with lots more to do--so no garden this year. 

I still plan on making my jalapeno jelly in August, but I will have to buy my jalapenos this year. 

I have perfected my recipe to include three degrees of heat. 
 
Mild (lots of good flavor and tiny touch of heat)


Medium (enough heat for the masses)

Medium+ (Good heat that the guys really like!)

Habeneros are my secret addition to my original recipe.  You can read about my jelly making adventures here, here and here.

I'm looking forward to making several batches this year--maybe more with heat!  I know the guys will be happy about that! 

July has zipped by and I have still not written close to what I expected to for my Camp NaNoWriMo....anyone else out there participating?

OUR NEWEST BLESSING

I haven't been NaNoWriMo-ing as much as I'd planned to, but I did sit down and spend some one on one time at my desk with my laptop yesterday and feel somewhat less guilty.

I have a very good reason to not be absorbed in writing, though....I am happy to announce the birth of our newest precious grand-daughter, Isabel.  She was born July 5, 2013,  weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces and was just shy of 21 inches long.  Healthy and beautiful, I am in love already!

I can't wait to make the trip east to go meet her and spend time with sweet big sisters Emma and Kailee and mama and daddy!

Proud Mama, Daddy with Isabel

 

 

Daddy is in love with his baby girl

 

 

 

                     ♥  Three sweet sisters ♥

CAMP NANOWRIMO

Here's the deal.

I'm signed up for Camp Nanowrimo for the month of July...meaning I will be writing, writing, writing for 31 days. 

My goal is to write more than I wrote in November for Nanowrimo.  For the record, that was just over 14,000 words.  My goal was 50,000, so I did not come close to my goal. I started strong, but then all the sorting, packing and planning for our December move just got in the way.  Moving is like that...time consuming.

So July appears uneventful...no moving on our summer horizon (can I get a halleluiah?).  That means I should get a lot of writing done...right?

Everyone nod yes.  Thank you. 

WRITER'S RETREAT SNEAK PEEK

Okay, here is a sneak peak of my 99% completed writing space. A space of my own where I can  write, create and brainstorm.  Our newly hung drapes have transformed this room into the cozy place I envisioned when we moved in.

The drapes and light fixture are hanging and I am so happy with the choices for both! 

I am still searching for the "perfect" writer's chair,  For now, I placed one of our dining room chairs with a throw pillow in it to use until I find the one meant for me.

I can't wait to find some beautiful art for the walls and a few decorative pieces for the tops of my bookshelves.

 

I'm pretty thrilled with the  way it is turning out and I so appreciate my hubby's hard work today getting my drapes hung. Thanks, babe!!!

(I'll post some more pics of the entire window and hanging drapes when sun is not creating such an annoying glare). 

I've had a relaxing and productive weekend.  Those are the best kind!

BACKYARD PROJECTS AND HYDROFLASH

Summer is approaching and we've got several backyard projects in the works.

Our first project has been to get our lawn is seeded and we are excited to watch our dirt backyard become lush, green grass.  Thanks to HydroFLASH, managing watering (from anywhere in the world we happen to be) just got easier.  We can manage and access all of our yard watering (and home lighting and a ton more functions) from our smartphone!  How cool is that?  I can't wait to start using it for our lights (and not have to worry about messing with timers, adjusting for the time changes, etc).

Check this out!
 

"With the built in Insteon control interface you can begin controlling just about anything you want around your home or office based on a program schedule or via manual control, all with your smart phone or java enabled web browser! Common uses are home/business lighting, garage door openers, gate openers, thermostats, pool pumps, fountains, green house control, fans, etc. All that is needed is a small plug in Insteon Modem that connects to the HydroFLASH controller and Insteon devices for each item you want to control at your home or business."

Not only a huge time saver (and headache saver) but money savings in water usage, and electricity.  The watering program access weather data via the Internet and when it is raining and will automatically turn the system onto a rain delay mode. 

The second project is what I call our "shade project".  We are trying to figure out the best way to get lots of shade on our patio (without breaking the bank).  We love to spend time out on our patio and will need some shade coverage for the heat of the days of summer.  We have a cool 10 foot adjustable umbrella that provides some good shade and can be moved around.  We used it on Easter for the first time and it worked great!

Our final project is getting our pool set up and ready to use at our new home.  First, we have some leveling of the area we plan to landscape for the pool and covering the dirt surrounding the pool with some small "feet friendly" river stones. 

I will be keeping busy this weekend with our backyard projects and looking for tiny sprouts of green...what are you doing this weekend?