In the caravan

Good morning everyone,

It’s a few minutes after 10 a.m. and we’re both in the caravan. The tiny a.c. is on low and it is comfortable in here.

The stove was put in place yesterday and with that done, we could put on the a.c. We only tried it for a bit yesterday then shut it off and went back into our cottage.  I told DH yesterday that this morning my project would be to empty the space basically, so that we could see what to do in here next in comfort.  So, that’s what I did.  Took almost everything into his workshop, took up the tarp, then swept it and laid down a couple of rugs to put our folding captains chairs on so as to not scratch the floor. The chairs need the wood to be refinished, and new coverings for the chairs, maybe I could just wash and dye them, we’ll see. I had brought these quilted valances in (that I bought the other day for $2 each),  to see about using them on the chairs, but DH doesn’t want to see me cutting them up for these chairs. I don’t really want to do that either, it was just a thought. The fabric on them now is canvas and in great shape.  We’ve had these for years and used to use them to sit in when we sold at a local flea market many, many years ago.

Anyway, below are pics from yesterday and this morning.

Before

After ~ I grabbed a curtain I plan to use for this east window, there is a pair, and just put a couple of nails up on either side, and hung the curtain to see the effect and to keep some of the sunlight out.  

Close up of curtain panel.  I love this. It is antique looking and maybe it is, I don’t know. I’ve had them for years, either bought at the flea market or a yard sale.

This is my temporary set up until we head in for lunch, then I’ll close this all up and take it inside, so that DH can work away tomorrow, while I’m at my part-time job.

Here is the stove nicely painted with high heat black paint. The light from the window is making it look more charcoal gray.

I took a picture of DH already starting to do some work in here. Having a.c. in here gives us more incentive to work. Now he can finish insulating and paneling the walls, etc.  I already love this dear little space, 6’x8’. Our late friend Frank, would love what we have done with this old camper, turning it into a stationary little ‘get-away’ here at Plum Cottage.

I’ll take more pictures as things move along.  It is really amazing how much of this we have been able to do with curbside shopped materials that we’ve had in our stash.  We’ve used a lot up and that feels great.

It is pretty dang quiet in here from outside noises.  I love all of the light that fills the space.  I need to come out here when it’s dark, to see how it is then, as we are thinking of sleeping out here while we remodel our bedroom. I look forward to being out in here next fall/winter when I can have the windows open and here the birds chirping away.

I look forward to cooking in here, and making us tea. I look forward to needleworking out here too.  This little restored/recycled space  makes me feel happy and thankful to God for His many blessings, large and small.

This is a view looking out the north side, looking north east.

This view is looking south east, into part of the secret garden and you can see our screened in ‘catrium’ off the back of the cottage. Where Tork, our outdoor feline, sleeps at night, where the outdoor shower, jacuzzi and clawfoot tub are, along with a swing and two chairs and a table.

Some of the passion vine has creeped and crawled over the crepe myrtle, and other plants  that are outside this window. DH even mentioned all of the zebra butterflies that we are seeing. They love the passion vine, and I see little eggs all over it.

 

That’s it from the caravan for now.  I’m getting hungry.  I’ll write another post about the program that turned my photos into paintings later.

Thank you all for visiting and your kind comments. 

Later ~ FlowerLady Lorraine

Lots of rain from Tropical Storm Debby

Good evening everyone ~ I do hope those on the west coast and in the central and northern part of our state have fared well with this tropical storm.  I’ve read of tornadoes, flooding, etc. from this storm as she continues to dump rain.

We were having lunch with family at a wonderful Cuban restaurant when the deluge happened here. We hardly noticed except for hearing the rain when people would come in, through the open doors, and from where I sat I could see the heavy rains falling.  We were there about 2 hours and that was the worst of it for us, it wasn’t too bad when we left.  We got about 4-5 inches.  Our property had standing water of several inches in different areas, which has since gone down, but the land is squishy and will take some time to dry out as more rain is expected over the next couple of days.  We had no rain today, just wind and gray skies, with high humidity and it was very warm.

Here are some pictures of our water laden property.

Flooded

Dry on the 8th of this month.

This is in the main garden. Path under about 3” of water.

Northwest corner of main garden also under water.

We’ve been in drought conditions since Hurricane Wilma blasted over us, but the past few months of rain have made a huge difference as I’ve mentioned before. I’ve got mowing and trimming to do once we dry out down here. We are thankful for the rain, but it would be nice to have it spread out now that we’ve had an overload.

Below are some photos from around our little compound.

This is a new little butterfly to me, a tiny little critter.

Here are three of my photos that I’ve turned into paintings via the computer.  I love them.

Tonight I made a new recipe.  It was delicious! I had bought fresh green beans today and have some fresh ginger so did a google search of the two and this was a recipe I found. I do not have a wok, I cooked the green beans and carrots together in some water about 10 minutes, then added them to minced ginger and garlic which had been sautéed in a bit of sesame oil. Then the soy sauce, rice vinegar and white sesame seeds. Served it with talipia filets.  Will definitely be fixing this recipe again. DH really like it, I did too.

***

Ginger, Carrot and Sesame Green Beans

TOTAL TIME:10 min
Prep:5 min
Cook:5 min
 
YIELD:4 servings
LEVEL:Easy

Ingredients

    1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sesame oil)
    1 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger
    1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
    12 ounces haricot vert or standard green beans, trimmed
    1 tablespoon light soy sauce

    1 teaspoon rice vinegar
    Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
    Toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish
    Toasted black sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions
Heat a wok over high heat, and then add the vegetable oil. Add the ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Add the carrots and green beans and stir-fry for 2 minutes (adding a splash of water if necessary to facilitate cooking). Season the vegetables with the light soy, rice vinegar and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Garnish with a sprinkling of the toasted white and black sesame seeds.

SERVINGS: 4 (SIDE); Calories: 106; Total Fat 7 grams; Saturated Fat: 1 grams; Protein: 2 grams; Total carbohydrates: 7 grams; Sugar: 3 grams Fiber: 2.5 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 137 milligrams

***

That’s it for now.  I’m ready to get horizontal to read before sleep.

Have a great week wherever you are, whatever you do.

FlowerLady Lorraine

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature

is that all of us tend to put off living. 

We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon -

instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. 

Dale Carnegie

Blooms, caravan update, etc.

Good morning Friends ~

Boy, oh boy have we had some rain. We have another almost three inches predicted over the next couple of days.  I just hope it isn’t raining when it’s time to go to and from work, as I hate driving in the rain.  I haven’t been able to mow this week, and hopefully will get to once it dries up around here.  I’m working the next three days, so no garden puttering for me.

Yesterday I worked most of the day on getting 5 listings in my Etsy shop.  Sheesh, that really takes time that you don’t think about. Creating is so much more fun, even though that takes time too.  I’ve still got more to upload, all in good time.

Here are some filet crochet pieces that I will be uploading.

My friend Nanci, who with her husband own the shop next to the one where I work, gave me maybe 75 spools of sewing thread.  I don’t do much sewing, so I got out a fine crochet hook, size 14, and a stronger pair of eye glasses and crocheted this tiny flower.  It’s about 1 inch in size.

Here are the two stove parts that were rusty.  DH got the rust off then coated them with ospho for retarding rust. He has painted these two pieces with black high heat paint I just don’t have a picture of that yet.  They look really nice now.

Here is a pic of the fridge with maple trim that our neighbor across the street gave us a few years back. He screwed the trim on using brass screws for taking off easily.

This is the cover for the stove. DH put formica on all surfaces.

The little sign is original to the caravan camper, so we put it back on the cover.

When we did our errands the other day, we noticed a wharehouse type place that is only open certain times, and was open for a special sale so we went in.  I got these two pillow shams for $2 each, they are leaning against our double size headboard, so you can see how large these are.  I had the feather pillows, and the shams fit perfectly.  These are going in the caravan.

This is a peak into the secret garden.  You can see the caravan roof behind the hedge. I took this picture to show the first passion vine flower growing over the entry into the secret garden.  The vine on the left is Confederate jasmine, no longer in bloom.

Prosperity roses about at their end.

These next pics are of a yellow double datura bloom.  I grew this from seeds from Nell Jean, of SeedScatter. The blooms have a deliciously sweet scent and I just love their shape and color.

That’s it for now.

Thank you all for visiting and the comments you leave behind.  It means a lot.

FlowerLady

 

A clarification and crocheted blooms

Good morning everyone ~ It is Saturday, the last day of my two day work week this week.  We had more rain yesterday, plus a little during the night, so our jungle is continuing to grow like crazy.

My ‘clarification’ in this post is this, the caravan is stationary, anchored to the ground and as far as we know, not going anywhere. It will be a tiny get-away (in our back yard) whenever we feel like having one, and we will be sleeping in it when we re-do our bedroom.  I also look forward to doing some needleworking out there.

The next part of this project, will be the stove, which DH has to sand down, then paint black with high heat paint. Once that is in its’ place in the counter, then we can turn the tiny a.c. on and DH can continue working on the inside, as the vents for the fridge heat to the outside, will then be sealed off from the inside space. Cool air won’t be able to escape. (Hope I explained that right.)

Here it is, planted in place just outside the ‘secret garden’. It overlooks the picket fenced enclosed clothesline area. My clothesline is called a ‘solar dryer’. I love the way line dried laundry smells.

I will keep posting pictures as we move along with this project.

I thought I would show some of the crocheted flowers I will be putting in my Etsy shop, for those who crazy quilt, embellish projects, etc.

I love to crochet and love flowers so have been searching for older patterns for crocheted flowers.  Some of these are Irish crochet patterns.

Here are the needle cases that are ready to upload to Etsy too. There are some beads in the crocheted flower and a mother of pearl button closes the case. I have a ‘small’ collection or m.o.p buttons that I have in my stash of stuff that I am using for these.

I will just show the inside of this one so as not to have too many pictures.  The felt is picked out according to which color goes best with the color of thread of the case.

I have one of these cases that I am using myself and love it.  Straight pins I keep in my pin cushion, but having the needles all in one place where I can see them easily is wonderful.

That’s it for now.  It’s time for breakfast then I need to start thinking about heading off to work.

Have a wonderful weekend and to all of you Father’s have a lovely day tomorrow.

FlowerLady