Hello dear friends! It's been a bit since I last shared a garden journal. In this journal video I decided to take you along with me while I make a batch of salsa. There is a bit of garden chatter, an adorable bee moment in the snapdragons, and chickens!
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Last week I was busy with stuff, man, stuff. ... (Do you remember where that line is from?)
The mundaneness of the harvest season. I could tell you what I was doing, but ... well, it's all sort of a blur. When I wasn't working, I was working on preserving, prepping for preserving, feeling overwhelmed or tired, or thinking about hunting. Which is coming up right quick.
I was also working towards an early deadline for work since we had Monday off for Labor Day.
A three-day weekend looked really good by the time I signed off of work on Friday afternoon.
The weekend was a productive one.
Saturday we went to town to get some needed staples and once we got back home I did a quick tidy up before heading out to the garden, to give it some attention after ignoring it almost the entire week.
Tomatoes!
So many tomatoes were ready for picking, and I said to my husband "Salsa time!" Well, salsa time again. I've made a batch of salsa already and was waiting for the next flush of tomatoes to come in.
Red and ready to be made in to something delicious.
My husband came out to the garden and helped me harvest what ended up being five gallons of tomatoes.
Some of the slicers were HUGE.
I saved these two for sandwiches.
This is just the start. There are still a ton of tomatoes on the plants, waiting to blush red.
I've made a few batches of salsa this weekend. Yum!
When I started prepping for salsa I had an idea ... Oh boy did I have an idea.
I decided to scrap my original garden journal idea and make a video of myself making salsa.
Eeks!
I've never done anything like this. I haven't looked at the video clips yet.
It's coming soon, to a Youtube near you. I hope. Unless the clips are dreadful. Then I'll go back to my original idea.
Other aspects of the weekend included a foggy trip to town. I do believe this was Saturday. How dreary!
Then, on Monday (happy Labor Day) we got up at our usual time. Well, my usual time, I don't know what time he got up. 😆 We made an early trip to Menards to buy some supplies for a project.
Check out that sunrise.
When we were at the store I meandered my way over to the Halloween decor.
I also saw one of those shelves that is in the shape of coffin. It's interesting. Not for me, though. I decorate for just Christmas. Plus, it was $30.
When we got back home my husband started working on his project. Pictures to follow in a later blog post. I went out to the garden and did something new-to-me.
I've never planted anything in the fall. My growing zone is too short to have a second grow season.
However, it's not too short to try growing a second crop of radishes.
Radishes and lettuce. I forgot to take a picture of the container I tossed some mixed greens lettuce seeds in. Don't worry, you aren't missing anything.
I know I've said it before; my crafting has slowed way down. I've also been focusing on one cross stitch project. Mostly.
"Love is Patient, Love is Kind," by Artful Offerings. This is a stitch-along piece I'm working on with Denise over at Black Ribbon Stitch Studio.
I started a new vanilla sock.
Toe-up this time.
It's been ages since I've done a toe-up sock. I suppose I'll have to dig out my Wendyknits book when it's time to knit the heel.
What else .... Oh, yes, I worked a few rows on my Porkie Island Shawl. No photos at this time. The shawl was in time out for a bit because I messed up a row. I had to rip back four rows. It was not a fun time. I seem to be back on track now.
Today was back to work. I woke up to rain. It started raining sometime last night and it helped me sleep. I slept very soundly.
My sense of time is a bit off, thanks to no work yesterday. This week is going to be a busy one, I'm thinking. If I have a successful opening weekend, next week is going to be even more busy. Wish me luck on that one.
When I was busy doing other things, August went by in a blink.
That's how it seems, anyway.
The garden bounty is starting to come in. Check out these tomatoes!
I've been busy with canning and fermenting.
My fellow flosstubers were keeping me company while I was making sauerkraut and fermenting radishes. If you haven't had fermented radishes, I encourage you to give them a try. They are so good for your gut health.
I've also done some dehydrating.
This past weekend I was able to participate in a zoom yarn circle hosted by the two women in the Yarn Over With Us Podcast. It was so much fun! I wasn't able to participate as much as I'd like because I was busy making salsa. I had so much fun sharing what I was doing and showing off my progress.
Yup, I'm the queen of multitasking, or some such thing. But look at that salsa!
I pulled some salsa out to check the heat level, before adding the cilantro. My husband tasted it and deemed it the perfect amount of heat. Yay!
I probably haven't spent as much time out in the garden as I should.
The tomato plants are still growing and producing.
The marigolds are in their prime.
I've been working on a garden video. I'm hopeful to get it out by the end of the weekend.
What else ...
Last week I had a work trip. I attended a meeting. Mostly to observe, but I did end up speaking for a few minutes.
It rained after I made it to the destination.
I think we are pretty much ready for hunting season. I picked out yarn for vanilla socks to work on while I'm out in the blind.
I may have already started that pair of socks ... *whistles and looking innocent*
And then I broke into my snacks. ... I'm probably going to have to get more snacks for when I'm sitting out. Darn me for having such tasty snacks.
It's still pretty green out there in the back 20.
The first signs of fall are here.
I've been crafting in between the things. Not as much as I would like, of course, but enough that I feel progress on some things.
One morning, before I started doing the weekend things, I crocheted on one of my Maeve Squares while watching an episode of Kinda Loopy.
I did a cross stitch birthday stitch along with my friend Mair, and stitched "Picking Strawberries" by LumiStitch.
All done!
I'll post the stats in the shownotes of my next flosstube.
I'm back in PT. For a short amount of time. I hope. *fingers crossed*
In my last flosstube I mentioned going back to PT and trying a few new things to see if any of it helps what I'm dealing with. I'm seeing some improvement.
I thought I'd never see this tapestry again. It gives me something to stare at in the waiting room, if I don't bring my knitting.
So I guess that's brings everyone up to speed. Works been busy-ish. Life is busy-ish, while we do the things. Oh, I just realized I forgot to write any kind of update of the garage remodel. I'll save that for another day. It is super close to being done.
Oh, one last thing. Last week a friend contacted me and asked for my address. I thought she was sending me one thing, and she did send what she said she would. BUUUUUUUTTTTT, she also included something else.
Oh my gosh, isn't she precious?
I knew right away where I'd put her. Next to Furby Jr., of course.
Furby Jr. is thrilled to have another hen in the house. She's got a friend to have girl talk with. Furby's Boyfriend looks like he's not sure what to make of having another hen in the house. Or, he's getting ideas in his little pea brain. 😂
The new girl has a name, too. Everyone, meet Miss Wendy.
In this video I celebrate what I consider to be a significant milestone in the flosstube/youtube community. ❤️ I also share current works in progress, a fully finished object and a few new starts. (Even though I said I wouldn't start anything for a while. 😂) Thank you so much for spending time with me!
I forgot to take a progress photo of this project before working on it again. This photo shows more progress than in the video. This is the birthday stitch-along chart my friend Mair chose for her birthday stitch.
Knitting
* Vanilla sock. The low-priced PDF is by The Crazy Sock Lady
Project name: Santorini blue socks
Started: July 11, 2026
Finished:
Designer: Vanilla sock pattern by Kayla, Crazy Sock Lady
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici Yarn
Color: blues
Needle size: U.S. 1.5 / 2.5 mm
* Porcupine Island Shawl by Denise Bartels
Project Name: Porcupine Island Shawl
Started: June 16, 2026
Finished:
Designer: Denise E.M. Bartels
Where I got the pattern: Ravelry link - https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/porcupine-island-shawl
Needle Size: U.S. 2 / 2.75 mm
Yarn: Deep stash Forbidden Fiber Co
Yarn Color: Wisp - Blue
Guage: We don't need no gauge.
Crochet
* Premie Octopus and blanket
Project Name: Gift for Nephew and wife's first baby
Pattern originally found on www.mynomadlife.com. Pattern by Gosia of My Nomad Home.
Try and I might, I can't get the link to the wayback machine to work properly. I already had a few people reach out and ask about the pattern. So here we go! Disclaimer: This is not my original pattern. All credit goes back to Gosia of mynomadlife. Her website is no longer up and the wayback machine links don't appear to work. At least not for me. This is as original as I can make it. I was also able to grab a PDF of the blog post. If you'd rather work with the blog post PDF, that is here.
ch – chain
sc – single crochet
2 sc tog – 2 stitches together
sl st – slip stitch
R1: 6 sc in a magic ring – here’s a tutorial
R2: 2 sc in all st (12)
R3: 2 sc in every 2nd st (18)
R4: 2 sc in every 3rd st (24)
R5: 2 sc in every 4th st (30)
R6: 2 sc in every 5th st (36)
R7-14: 1 sc in all st (36)
R15: *4 sc, 2 sc tog* – repeat *-* 6 times (30)
R16-17: 1 sc in all st (30)
R18: *3 sc, 2 sc tog* 6 times (24)
R19-20: 1 sc in all st (24)
R21: *2 sc, 2 sc tog* 6 times (18)
R22: 1 sc in all st (18)
R23: *7 sc, 2 sc tog* 2 times (16)
R24: 1 sc in all st (16)
R25: Here you start the arms: * 1 sc, 50 ch, turn and make 2 sc in each ch, finish with 1 sc*. Repeat 7 times so you get 8 arms. End with 1 sl st and pull the yarn through. If your arm doesn’t want to twist try making 3 or 4 sc in each ch. And here is a nice photo tutorial on the arms.
If the outstretched arms are longer that 22 cm, make fewer chains.
The bottom of the octopus:
R1: 5 sc in a magic ring
R2: 2 sc in all st (10)
R3: 2 sc in every 2nd st (15). Finish with a sl st and pull the thread through. Weave in the ends.
Fill the octopus with the fiber and sew the bottom to it.
As for the decorations such as eyes, hats etc. let your imagination run wild. For example, I made the octopuses’ eyes with 6 sc in a magic ring and then 2 sc in all st (12). Then I weaved in the dark yarn and that’s it:) You can find many nice tutorials on the Internet on how to make amigurumi hats, bows and eyes, e.g. this one here. Here is a very useful tutorial on how to embroider the details to the body.
*Battenberg squares
I started this project at the beginning of the year, with my friend Leann, as a crochet-along. As of Aug. 18, I have 120 squares. I think I need 800 total.
*Maeve Squares
This is a blanket crochet-along I started with my friend Cat. We are doing 20 squares total to make a blanket. I'll be mattress stitching my squares together.
There is a slight change in the air. Last week I had been waking up to cooler mornings. It was nice to sleep with the windows open. And the leaves are starting to change from green to red and orange. We haven't had any decent rain in weeks so I'm sure this is what is causing the color shift.
Time to break out the hazelnut coffee creamer.
Well, I might be a bit early because the last two days we've had enough heat that I've had the air conditioning on.
Once again it's been a moment since I last put virtual pen to digital paper. I've been busy-ish.
Busy-ish and a bit in my own little world lately. My mind has been tangled up with all sorts of things. Thinking about the garden, hunting, canning, the animals, recording videos (☺️) and my projects. Oh, and reading.
Hunting season starts in about a month. We've been checking the game cams about once a week.
Here's a couple fun photos.
Turkey babies!
The tomatoes are starting to ripen. I harvested my first tomato. Yum!
I pulled the first cabbage from the garden ...
And made my first batch of sauerkraut from the garden cabbage.
Then I sliced a whole mess of cucumbers up ...
And made my first batch of dill cucumbers in what feels like forever.
I am very sad to say that they did not turn out. 😢 I checked on the internet to verify this type of cucumber was good for pickles. The internet swore up and down it was a good pickle cucumber on various sites. Alas. ... my hubby said they would make good relish ... I suppose. ...
I've been doing some gift crafting, so I don't dare share anything on the blog, just yet, in case the recipients read my blog.
The biggest thing that's been going on is the makeover we are giving the garage.
My hubby will be retiring in a few years and he's very deserving of having a good work space.
The last few weekends have been spent at various big box stores, looking at tool chests and other manly things that go in workshops.
This was when we were wandering around a Fleet Farm trying to find where they kept all their tool chests. Apparently tool chests that hold tools for working on cars is over by wood working stuff. (Yeah, we thought that was odd, too)
Checking out the weight on a tool box.
Debating on which line of tool chests to go with.
It was finally decided what to get and we put orders in for everything.
One thing was in stock, and we brought it home.
But first, painting.
We cleared out the area of the garage we wanted to start the makeover with, and started painting.
The painting went better than expected. It also took longer than expected because we had to put several coats on.
White paint was chosen, to help make it brighter. Then we decided to do something fun with the door that leads in to the house, and to match the color of tools chests.
Fun, right?
My hubby spent a LOT of time on the door, making it look as good as it does, and keeping those lines sharp.
The garage is going to be a work-in-progress for a bit.
In between the crafting I decided that I must have a notions tin that covers both cross stitch and knitting. I've had this container for ages. I started filling it up with this and that.
Am I missing anything?
Today I took the day off work. I had an appointment. Afterwards, I swung by the library. I haven't done that in *ages.*
Yes, I was looking at knitting books.
Since the C0v*d, I have barely gone to the main library. Usually I put requests in and have the books come out to the branch in my area.
Almost all the people are new. Well, new to me. It's a whole different vibe. Especially since they remodeled the library a few years back.
So now I have a stack of cozy mysteries to read, or reread, a few knitting magazines, and at least one knitting book.
I chose cozy mysteries because ... well, because they are cozy. A few weeks ago I put a request in for a book that I saw that was causing a big discussion in a book group I'm a member of. I didn't really know what the book was about but knew it was an important book in American literature.
Before I got the book, however, I decided to read more about the book, besides what it was about. Is anyone familiar with "Beloved"? Well, I can do tough topics.
However, it was classified as horror and that's when I decided "nope." I haven't read a horror novel in years and I'm not about to start now.
So I guess that's it, for the most part. I'm working on my next flosstube. The big 5-0. I'm not sure when I'll release it, as I'm working on it in bits and pieces. I'm hoping it will be a fun one for people to see. I keep watching how-to videos, here and there, on making and editing videos. It feels like the production of my videos are getting better. But, really, how much can you improve on flosstube videos? 🤷♀️😃 I'm always open to suggestions and tips.
The rest of the week is going to be a quiet one. Of this I am fairly certain.
