May 29, 2014

Weed of the week: Goutweed

My garden is full of weeds.
Some are liked, some are not.

I know, there are people, who thinks, 
that any plant growing where it shouldn't be, is weed.
I don't feel that way.

If poor flower is out from flowerbed, it just need a new home.
Or has found it from lawn, so no for cutting!
My kids are often rolling their eyes and laughing at me because of that.

But even I have some plants I cannot stand all over.

Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) is one.

Aegopodium podagraria

May 26, 2014

Monday mood

Wind has turned to north.
Tomorrow will be colder again.
Garden is blooming and growing.

First aquilegia...


Caragana arborescens:


May 25, 2014

Home, sweet home...

I am so glad we don't have a summer cottage.
Sitting in the car hour after hour just isn't for me.
View during drive home was alike they were during the way to Kuopio.
Trees and rocks:


Pull-in stops by small lakes:


Buying a cottage comes on discussion during driving to race tracks.
Even I use to long for water during spring.
We have in Halkis everything else
but own shoreline.
Big ditch behind berry orchard cannot count,
even though it starts from a spring.

May 23, 2014

Long way to Tipperary...sorry, Kuopio...


Driving to Kuopio was long.
And boring.

View were mostly trees aside the road.
And few bridges.
And lakes, of course.


We were at race track way before the Motorist.

May 22, 2014

Walking plants?

Our younger daughter is coming over the weekend
- to take care of animals during we are away.

She isn't any passion gardener yet,
and as far as I know, she hasn't pre-grow anything.
So my language might sometimes sounds weird to her.

Weather cast has promised great weather during weekend,
so I sent a message asking,
could she also walk (meaning habituate to the open air) my plants.

Her answer was:


I guess my plants will stay in.


May 21, 2014

Pit Menu Bulletin board

Last weekend I was pattering through day,
what we had for snack, drink and lunch.
So I decided I'll have bulletin board next time in race track.

These were my supplies:


photo frame, scissors and black contact paper.

I took back plane and glass off:


For cutting contack paper,
I used back plane as model the size:


During peeling back paper off,
I would use ruler help,
but couldn't find any:


It is good enough:


Hanging hook to it's place
- ruler would help with centering...


and back to frames:


Here we are,
took about 15 minutes:


Why I haven't invent this earlier?


May 20, 2014

The heat is on...is it really already summer?

It has been hot last two days.
Yesterday we had some rain, too.
Rain was good.
I have been working in my garden plot,
making a new edged area.

I started it by arrange tiles around.
And because I am lazy, I just piled them.
On the bottom I put some leaves and dry grass and then covered it with newspapers:


Next layer was an year old leaves:


Those have spent their winter in waste bag 
-they supposed to turn in to soil,
but they didn't.
Now their duty is with newspaper is to keep weeds away.

Next step was naturally soil.
First one compressed:


and the next softly:


Now I have a place I an put all the daisies I have to take off from garden plot.
And I have:


Small ditch are for seeds:


Hope they make to bloom.
Hollyhocks were risen - and eaten.

May 18, 2014

Soft Sunday









Peace of mind.
Garden therapy.

Hard day's night

I am writing this in the middle of the night.
It was a race day.
This was my kitchen during the day:


Fancy?
A bit better that some I have had during years.
I had even electricity,
not only aggregator 
- which I can't use if motorcycles needed power fe. for heating tires.

And this was my living room:


And the whole house:


Next time I am going to have bulletin board.
Just to tell there is coffee.
There is juice.
There is yogurt.
And there is some lunch.
And sandwiches.
Available from kitchen.

It was a hard day.
Not because of cooking surrounding.
I just was so nervous for Motorist.
He is okay.
Just hurt his hand.


May 16, 2014

Cooking night

I am spending my evening in kitchen.
Just having a little brake between cooking now.
Meat-pasta casseroles are almost ready.
There will be four of them:


For four I use:
 800 g pasta (cooked in broth)
700 g meat (minced and fried) 
1 tbs dried onion
4 eggs and 2 ts salt
mixed in
1,5 l milk

Only problem is,
that my oven is quite small,
and it can handle only two at the time.

Tomorrow I will be in racetrack.
Serving coffee and juice.
Heating lunch in micro.
Trying to keep my self in one piece.

I will be joining today  #theultimateparty


May 15, 2014

Nervous mother and first aid kit

Supermoto Season will start on Saturday.

I am nervous.
I am collecting things to get with to race-track.
I checked my first aid kit.
It is not for serious situations,
but I feel myself more prepared:


It includes
- cold packs and cold cream
- elastic bandages and tape
- scissors
- wound cleaning fluid and plasters
- gauze
- repellent and hydrocortisone
- painkillers
- matches
- ear plugs

Tomorrow night I'll be cooking and making sandwiches.

May 13, 2014

Sowing summer squash

Grapes and cherry tomatoes are nowadays sold in plastic boxes.

They look like little greenhouses.
They have holes on the top and bottom,
so there supposed to be air 
and extra water should run away.
Right?

first covered  a large tray with plastic
and then tried how boxes fit in it:


This time I also remembered a tip I saw in Pinterest:
use coffee filters under pots.

The tray is bought from flea market and I have painted it:



Next step was, of course, put coffee filters on the bottom my "greenhouses":


Some soil and a seed:


The lid on and on the tray:


We will see, how these will start growing...

May 10, 2014

Let me introduce: Our Princess - Oona Aleksandra

Today we had our Little Princess' first party.
Weather was fine - not shiny, but not rainy either.
Opposite yesterday night,
when the tent was raised in front yard:


After tent was up,
I hanged - with boys' help-
paper flower mobile and other flower lines I made earlier:

Ladders helped, too
And name-lines:


Table and benches,
Oona's late great-great-grandmother's tablecloth,
and tent was ready:

unfortunately name-lines didn't manage rainy and windy night :-(
Inside the house I spent quite a lot of time arranging paper dishes.
I had to tie a ribbon around napkins,
otherwise they wouldn't stay in order:

basked is from Ikea, bought for Granny's house 
Plates and cups in piles:


And cake plates in basket:


As I hate myself situations,
when you try to get a single plate from tight pile of paper plates,
and they are just so stuck in each other,
I wanted separate all these in advance.

They didn't fit after that on tv-stand,
so I had to lug a side table as tailpiece.


A few balloons around kitchen doorway:


and hallway:


And now.
Let me introduce:
Our Little Princess,
Oona Aleksandra:


Met her great-great-grandmom
and great-great-aunt, 
but slept almost through her party.
Maybe we were boring her?