A Veggie Patch Post for Mum and Dad

When talking to his parents on the phone this afternoon, my DH mentioned all the things we are growing in our little veggie patch and Mum was so keen to hear all about it. They don't use a computer, but we thought if we take pics of the veggie patch, DH's brother could show Mum and Dad this blog post on his phone on his next visit. So I took lots of photos and this post is especially for Mum and Dad ( but you can all look as well, of course ;-) ) -

Veggie patch 1 

a few different varieties of tomatoes -

Climbing beans -

Red brussels sprouts, red onions, rainbow beetroot -

Cavolo Nero and yellow courgettes -

There are also some soft fruit bushes behind this veggie patch, raspberries and blackcurrants -

On to vegetable patch No. 2 -

Rainbow Swiss chard -

Peas, which we love eating raw straight from the pod -

And different kinds of courgette type things, something called sweet summer dumpling, normal courgette, butternut squash and of course patisson, the very tasty white spaceships :-) -

and cucumbers, they are so lovely in salads -

We have grapes growing behind this veggie patch -

The last little veggie patch is a new one, and it is in the top field. We planted different kinds of potatoes and some sweetcorn for corn on the cob -

The potatoes have started flowering -

and the sweetcorn is doing well -

And we have started harvesting some things already, sooo delicious! -

And while I am doing this blog post, what are my darlings doing? This -

I wish we could show you all this in person, mum and dad!

xxxxx

Oh, I needed to add a couple of things, because today we picked some of the baby rainbow beetroot and the first potatoes! I love the rainbow beets, they are so pretty, and we bake them in the oven with herbs, garlic cloves, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Totally delicious. And as a bonus, the leaves of the beetroot plants can be cooked just like spinach and taste soooo good. I cook them quickly, let them drain for a while, and then chop them finely and just heat them through again with a little sea salt, freshly ground pepper, a little nugmeg and cream. Our first potatoes, yummmm, almost straight from the ground onto the plate, lol ( I do wash and cook them, lol ). We planted our 'early' potatoes rather late, so they are only starting to get ready for harvesting now.

xxxxx

Back in the Craftavan

Finally, I have unpacked my craftacase and stored my lovely little craft bits and pieces away in my craftavan again. I hadn't made anything for weeks, and I really really needed to get creative again, even if it meant only making a tag and some ATCs.

I had missed so many Tag Tuesday tags but I was determined to make this week's tag with the theme 'On the Ocean Wave' -

I also made the ATCs for the July swap over at Kimberly's ArtJoyStuff blog. The theme for July is GRUNGE, Tim Holtz Style. Huuuuge challenge for me, as I am not really sure of the definition of grunge and not really very familiar with TH style either. Nor do I have any of this stuff ( oh, apart from inks that is ). Not sure whether I got it right, but I like the ATCs anyway, lol. I used very grungy backgrounds, grungy colours, and bits and pieces similar to what TH seems to use -

I grunged up little envelopes for the ATCs -

and now they are on their way to Kimberly.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
toodlepip xxx

Two beautiful purchases

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know what this is about - two gorgeous items I bought from two different Etsy shops. You may well know the shops, or if not the shops, then definitely the shop owners, because they are also wonderful bloggers :-).

Firstly, I'd like to show you this gorgeous little needle book. It was made by Judy and you can find her Etsy shop HERE. It is lavishly embellished with lace and darling little roses, and the image is so sweet -

My second purchase was a kit, omg, what an exquisite kit! I think I only need to show you one photo and you'll know straight away whose shop I purchased it from -

Yes of course you are right, it was from Susiqu on Etsy! But I am getting ahead of myself with the photos, first I need to show you how beautifully it was wrapped -

And the photos of all the beautiful bits and pieces in the kit speak for themselves -

Now if only the kit had come with a few spare hours of time for me to get creating! But I will find the time soon, these lovely things are just too irresistible.

Toodlepip xxx