KITCHEN GARDEN

  I´m a beginning gardener and don´t have a particularly green thumb to begin with. But I have the will to try and learn new things, so I try to grow something in my garden.
   My grandpa used to have a kitchen garden, way before it was "fashionable", and he always said he wanted to be somewhat self sufficient with food in case of another war time. He was a young lad during WW2, and remembered and dreaded those times. Well, my gardening isn´t due to a fear of another war, but rather in the means of reducing commercial consumption.

Welcome to my small, humble, and very amateur garden.

This year I grow strawberries, rhubarb, cucumber, spinach, lettuces, garlic, carrots, potatoes, kale, and raspberries.

Potatoes are blooming. I threw them in the ground a bit late, so harvesting will be later than usual.

This is a specialty I´m very happy to have accidentially found a few years back; the common ice plant. It has become my absolutely favorite lettuce. Unlike other lettuces I´ve had, this one is fleshy, soft, and juicy. I slice it into thin strips and eat with pesto sauce, or put it on bread with only butter. Very nice.

This is what the leaves of the common ice plant look like underneath. They are full of little water crystals inside the plant´s leaves. Therefore it is so moist and delicious to eat. And I´m happy to say that these babies grow practically on their own, with no special care needed!

A guest in my garden. I don´t use any pesticides or commercial fertilizers. In the spring I only throw in some of our own compost and that´s it.

Flowers are not important to me, but I have a few edible ones growing, like this marigold. They make a nice garnish for dishes.

  My simple philosophy for gardening is that what grows, grows, and what doesn´t, dies. I don´t want to fight nature and make things only complicated. The plants that succeed naturally in my "care" are the ones I will focus on. And the ones that don´t I leave for others to grow. Gardening should be fun, and the most fun for me is when it doesn´t rule my life, but still gives me culinary experiences!

RASPBERRY SEASON

  Raspberries are my second favorite of berries, right after strawberries. I boght a few bushes 3-4 years ago, and this year is the first they actually bear fruit well. I´m so excited!

Mouthwatering!

A perfect piece of nature.

Here is my dinner from the other day. There were still some strawberries left in the garden, and I found wild blueberries in our back yard. In they all went along with some sunflower seeds and honey.

  I always prefer eating raspberries raw when in season, but now that I have an abundance of them, I think I will make some simple jam of them too for winter. I use the same recipe for all kinds of jams. Simple and savoury.

The recipe:
1 kg (approx. 2 liters) berries
1/2 dl water
1/2 kg jam sugar (which is 98 percent sugar and some pectin in it)

+  Place the berries and water in a kettle and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and let simmer for 10-15 min. Let cool and scoop into jars.
  I like to freeze my jams for winter. That way they won´t spoil for sure.
  Yum!

HOLIDAY FASHION - BY THE SEA

  Holiday season is at it´s hottest right now. We, as a family, have spent a lot of time in our summer cabin by the sea. Whenever I´m there, surrounded by the big blue water, I only feel comfortable wearing something blue. I want to match with the nature around me, go with the natural flow.

  This is what I made for this holiday season for my trips to the archipelago region.

For fabric I used an old bedsheet, which had different prints on either side. Mixing them gave a more interesting look. A head scarf is essential in the winds of the sea, especially when boating, and it protects from the sun as well. This  dress can not be worn without something underneath it, so revealing it is in the front... But that makes it perfectly adjustable to any weather! The hotter it is, the smaller the under garment. Here I have a tank top with a wrestler´s back.

No makeup is my holiday style. Leaves me more time to sauna and swim!

  This dress was originally an apron called "Mangotango" from the book A Is For Apron . I adjusted the back of the skirt to reach around my waist, and added little length to the hemline. I find it easier to wear as a dress rather than an apron.

  Although in "the real world" we are living through the sabbat Lammas, and I want to wear powdery colors, at sea in our cabin only water-like colors go. I would feel uncomfortable slipping into something peachy for instance. Funny, but with these little details like this I can make my life a better place. I love beauty and all things pretty in life, and I want to contribute to that myself the best I can.

DIY LAMP SHADE

  Fancy home decor shops often sell lamps that have a linen shade on them, made of off-white thin fabric, and perhaps some writing in it too. And they cost a fortune.
  I have always loved the look, but never could afford to buy one. Or should I rather say that I always considered the price ridiculous, and left the lamp in the store.

  In our summer cabin, which we bought last year, I found an ugly lamp. It almost ended up in the trash, when I realized that this was my opportunity to try and make a similar shade to it, which I have always drooled after in the shops.

This is what I came up with. The lamp stand is in it´s original state, and I´m quite happy with it.

The fabric is, surprise surprise, a leftover piece I had lying around from an older project. It is relatively thick, and thus doesn´t give as much light throug. But the lamp is merely for decorational purpose, rather than for illuminating the space.

I made a generous bow of the lace, but kept the color subtle and not too romantic. Our cabin is much used by men and boys for their fishing trips, so I want to keep the look suitable for them too.  =)

  The recipe:

a piece of (old/recycled) any fabric
some yarn/lace
an old/ugly lamp
some elastic cord

+ Rip off the old/ugly shade cover material, so that you are left with only the skeleton of the cover. It can be made of metal or plastic, depending on the style and age of the lamp.
  Measure the circumference of the skeleton at the widest part. Double this measure and you have the width. Measure the height of the shade skeleton, add 3-5cm for seam allowances, and you have the height needed for your new shade piece.
  Cut out the correct sized piece of fabric, and sew the short ends together. Turn in the top and lower edges and sew, forming a tunnel for the elastic cord and lace.
  In the upper end, slip the lace through, and tighten to the desired length. Make a nice bow of the leftover hanging ends. In the lower edge, slip in the elastic cord. Place the shade on the lamp and adjust the tightness of the elastic according to the lamp.
  Voilá! You have a just beautified your home one grade higher!

STRAWBERRIES FROM HEAVEN

  My thumb is usually anything but green, but strawberries have surprised me by growing strong year after year in my garden. This year they are giving, once again, generously delicious berries for us to eat.
  

This is one of the things I dream about during the cold and dark months of winter.

I´ve been having strawberries for breakfast for over two weeks now.

  Breakfast recipe:

bowl of strawberries
cashews
little vanilla sugar (optional)

+ Chop up the cashews and sprinkle over the strawberries. Top with a couple of pinches of vanilla sugar.
  Simple, tasty, and filling.

Dessert recipe:

bowl of strawberries
whipped cream (preferably vegan)
vanilla sugar

+ Quarter the strawberries and fold in with whipped, sweetened, cream. Sprinkle vanilla sugar on top and garnish with one whole berry.
  Simple, tasty, and more healthy than most desserts...

DIY BABY DRESS

  It is difficult to find pretty and practical baby girl clothes from the stores! It is always either or.
  So what am I to do but make some myself...

I used leftover pieces of jersey fabric I had lying around. Why should girls only wear pink to look like girls? When they wear  dresses, they definitely look girlish, while the variety of looks is much wider.

Snap fasteners are a must, even with home-made garments.

I made the neckhole big enough to slip on without snap fasteners on the shoulder. The easier the better.

These are plain old body shirts with only the hem added to them. A very easy way to make a dress, or turn a regular shirt into a dress.

This is what makes this so practical: when lifting up your baby, the hem will not gather in her armpits!  I love it. With this same trick and pattern you can create numerous different looks. Simply clever.

  The recipe:

a baby body shirt
some matching stretchy fabric

+ To make the hem you need to measure the circumference of the shirt at belly height. Double that measure and you have the width. Roughly measure the length you want (I did 23cm for my four-month-old) and add 3cm for seam allowances. Cut out the piece, sew the short ends together in the back, and turn in the lower edge of hem.
  Gather the top end of hem to match the body shirt and sew on place. I simply eyeballed the right place. It´ll look good even if the placement is at something around there. With kids´ clothes it is harder to get it wrong.

  There you have it! A cute, modern, and easy-to-wear everyday dress.

P.S. If you want to make the whole body shirt yourself, here is an example of a pattern.

LITHA NAILS

  Toes are often neglected when it comes to beautifying oneself. It is fun to prep them up to date with nailpolish to match with the rest of your beautiful self.

  Here are my nails in Litha spirit, soaking in the sea and enjoying the summer:

Remaining true to my style, I do the dots only. I get the look but with less toxins. Red, white, and blue is the essential  color combination of my Litha.

On a hot summer day, what could be better than cooling down by the sea?

This is about as much as I´ve dared to "swim" yet this summer.  =)  The water is still below 20 Celsius.

Homo sapiens was here...

What a wonderful time of the year! Remembering all this is what gets me through the dark times of winter.