changing chrysalis

I am sooo excited!!! She's changing!! I did get the garden time lapse camera and it's all ready to set up when the time is right!!! If I"m not here when I think she's close to emerging, then the camera will do the trick....If I am here, well my old faithful canon will capture every second. She changed so much since yesterday I'm sorry I didn't take a picture. From now on, I'm shooting an image a day. Enjoy Life!

Monarch cocoon

This is the most amazing little treat! Celia spotted this monarch cocoon on our front window. After researching I have found that Munster, IN is right on the Monarch butterfly migration path. They munch on milkweed, which the previous owners planted in our front flower garden (Thanks, Mark and Becky!!! I bet you did that on purpose, huh?)! The cocoon is clear but the color of the pupa is this gorgeous luscious green and the outside is adorned with lovely gold and black specks; the gold is so bright and so fabulous to find in nature!!! As the metamorphosis transpires before our eyes we will watch the pupa change from green to the noticeable Monarch coloring. The stage is 7-10 days and we are already seeing the wings inside. I swear I'm ordering a time lapse garden camera today so we won't miss the butterfly's awakening! If I'm lucky enough to find one online and get it going in time, I'll be certain to post it on here! Yay for mother nature!

Saturday evening

The sky was amazing! I couldn't resist snapping a couple images trying to capture the beautiful light. I feel so lucky that I get to enjoy this every single day. It makes me not want to leave! :)

Saturday, all day

We canned 10 quarts of tomatoes, one quart of pickled jalapenos, and one pint of tomato juice! Next, we are making pickles before these cucumbers around here take over our home!

for Mark and Becky

I'm throwing this pic into the mix simply because it's so funny!! I predict bread in this zucchini's future!!
The flower garden is such a joy! We added a couple of rocks, bird bath, and a hummingbird feeder, but no additional plants yet. I have some ideas for a couple of newbies, but don't worry I'm sticking to the blueprint!!







The grapes were quite successful, minus the japanese beetles! We were infested! Hopefully the milky spore will do its job and end the beetle madness! In my opinion, the white seedless were better tasting than the red. The skin wasn't as thick...maybe this was our fault as "farmers;" we are on a learning curve, you know!


The sunflowers are hanging their heads and our next chore is going to be saving the seeds and roasting them for trail mix snacks! I think we have 30 or so!! And some of them are super beasts!

The gooseberries were plentiful! We really didn't know much about them until we began researching harvest time, etc. We used some of the raspberries next to the sidewalk, the gooseberries, some cherries, and some fresh picked blueberries from Dan and Kelly (two doors down) and made two delicious cobblers. They were a bit tart, but yummo!

Three pears were on the pear tree...one fell off...we haven't eaten it yet, because it is hard as a rock!!

pumpkin?

This incredible garden of ours sure is full of surprises. I love the mystery of a volunteer plant, so I leave many of them to grow in the garden (much to John Paul's despise!). Therefore we have huge sunflowers that run the border of our garden (which consumes all of our back yard!), and sweet yellow tomatoes, bright red cherry tomatoes, kale, and now this...a pumpkin? I thought it was a squash or cucumber...but I am most certain I'm wrong about that. Hopefully we will be carving jack-o-lanterns in a couple of months!

First Day of Preschool

I just realized that I never posted photos of Celia's first Day of Preschool! She woke up at the crack of dawn Monday morning (August 22) rearing to go! She had a wonderful day even though I know she was terrified at first. She is so sweet and so brave, which is what broke my heart. She asked me to sit with her for a few minutes, then after she was introduced to her teacher she thanked me and said, "Goodbye, Mommy." I spent the next few hours wandering around Target and Marshall's like a zombie.

Yesterday, due to the storms, we were without electricity for 5-6 hours. I know there was an earthquake along the east coast and some of our friends felt the tremors, but we didn't feel anything here in Chicago. We cooked dinner (spaghetti) with a battery operated light JP pulled out the garage somewhere and afterwards I enjoyed the natural light coming through our front window (I know I played with a filter for this image, but I couldn't resist!).

Being a Teenager

A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long,
long, thoughts.

[Longfellow: My Lost Youth]


Yesterday John Paul showed Sam the surprise he'd been cooking up for a long while....a handmade, one of a kind, steel skateboard chair. It will have three decks on it: two for the seat and one for the back. Sam loved it. Maybe a table to go with it will be next!

Holy Garden Batman!!

I can't keep up!!! We have red tomatoes hanging on the vine and sitting in the kitchen. Zucchini growing to the size of infants, cukes coming out our ears, peppers to boot, raspberries too many to count, and now the seedless grapes are here! YUM! I'm so excited and a little overwhelmed!

8th grade begins

Let the fun begin! First day of 8th grade. What's really strange is that I remember 8th grade like it was yesterday! I can hardly wait for Sam to come home so I can hear all about Wilbur Wright Middle School.

So, tomorrow will be exactly one year since I've posted to the blog. Guess what....I'm back! Now that we have made the move to NW Indiana, I have vowed to update the family blog on a regular basis. So much has happened since last August, so much catching up is needed.

Sam is in eighth grade. School (Wilbur Wright Middle School) officially starts tomorrow and he's a little nervous and excited at the same time. He's grown like a weed! Now taller than me and skateboarding like a fiend.



Celia begins St. Paul Lutheran School (pre-school) next Monday, August 22. She too has grown like a weed and gotten very leggy! Her skinny waist has stayed the same but it seems her legs have doubled in length! She's still as feisty as ever!



John Paul loves his work. It is a stressful job, but it keeps him moving, which he enjoys. His work commute is only 20 minutes or so and he gets to go to Michael Jackson's home town everyday (if you've ever seen Gary, Indiana you know that can be a very, very scary place!!). He is still running and trying to keep that girlish figure!

I'm still looking for a job up here in great NW Indiana. It doesn't seem that it will be a very easy task considering 400 people applied for one teaching job just about 15 minutes away in Illinois. Being so close to Chicago multiplies the competitiveness of job hunting. But, I'm going to sub in the town as well as sub at Celia's school. I'm actually looking forward to making some new art and maybe even exhibiting again. Looks like the north winds have blown in change!