Fall Garden and Prepping for Cooler Weather

My friend at Season of Harvest asked just a few days ago how the garden is going now, since I haven't posted any photos in about a month. Well, here is my update for her, and for any who stumble upon the Booksncoffeehouse in web-land. Fall garden in pictures:

Two large branches of this bell pepper plant broke off in the wind earlier in the week, but the peppers were quite large enough to be useful!

 Big Jim New Mexico green chiles

 another bell pepper

 last carrot harvest of the season

 the last collard green plant, and it is HEALTHY! Next to it is another New Mexico green chile plant, this time "Barker" variety. (Very hot)

 Not too shabby for fall! See the hoses to the right? I have been unwinding and taking them out of the raised beds to store for winter. We are actually getting a decent amount of rain each week now, and I can safely put them away for the season.

 Jalapeños

 one of multiple kale seedlings!

serrano pepper plant

 dozens of onions

 peppermint is making a comeback, just in time for hot chocolate and peppermint tea!

 Another view of the loaded New Mexico green chiles...loaded, loaded, loaded!

 purple basil and bell pepper

 Newer red chard planted in August, green chard behind that. Globe basil at the back

 older red chard from last year...just keeps on kicking!

 snow peas

The tomatoes are pretty much all finished producing. There are blossoms and about nine small tomatoes, however most of the plants are dried up. Normally, we still have them until the first freeze, but not this year. I don't think my plants were that strong to start with. The cool weather crops will stay through the winter, and I can just cover them with leaves during frosts, and add blankets if it it snows or if we have an ice storm. Though I love my garden, I love winter, too, so I won't complain about the growing season (especially for warm weather crops) minimizing production or drawing to a close.


Any of my readers have things growing this fall? It doesn't matter how large or small. Tell me about it!

Javamom

Being Creative in the Middle

I shared a friend's blog posts yesterday to encourage others to be inspired! Her October series "In The Middle" have prompted me to change one of the last places to get real attention and re-arranging in our home; the room that I always put last on the "to do" list, for various reasons. Mainly because everyone else's rooms and the main living areas took precedence first, plus I was cooking a lot of family meals and kept very busy teaching these past twenty years here in the cottage. BUT before I write about the master bedroom and post photos, I have to back up a few months.

Being in the "middle" years means the nest empties out, bit-by-bit. Ours began emptying about seven years ago. When our third child transferred from a local college to go to a state university this summer, I knew I had about two-to-three weeks to re-do his room, which needed repainting. I also needed to bring down a daybed (from the attic) to have ready for this same son, and other guests, before my part-time Spanish teaching schedule kicked in. Working on that project kept me from missing him too much. This is key to making it through another transition: Don't just "keep busy," but stay productive creating new spaces in each new stage of life.

Dear son's kitty was not at all happy that he was moving.

protesting at his feet and clothing bag ~

This is what was left after we moved our son to the university and an apartment he is sharing with some of his old friends. The stack of books is new to the room, but everything else needed an upgrade. We were blessed to have leftover paint from other projects, so I didn't have to buy one thing. Not one thing for the transformation.

I mixed peach, white, with a few spoons of blue paint to make this lovely, beigy-blush hue

I even repainted our daughter's high school daybed and our son's old, small desk an espresso brown, to better co-ordinate and give a richness to the new room.

I then "shopped" a storage area of our laundry room for some art to re-vamp and put on the walls. I painted the frames the same espresso color to go with the furniture and drapes that were left behind.

And that, my friends, is how I spent the last couple of weeks of my summer vacation!


Javamom

In The Middle

I wanted to share a friend's blog with you all, then tell you that her timing could not have been more perfect to breathe new life into my creative bones. I'll post the last message from October, because it also includes a giveaway.

This is for those of us in the middle years ;-)...I love this gal...have known her for a long time but have only gotten to meet for coffee, great conversation, and sharing of hearts just once. You may want to go back and read all of her Oct. posts, though. She is a gifted writer and creates beautiful art. Be inspired!

A Season of Harvest


I'll be back to share the details of my new creative energies thanks to Sheila's prompting.

Thanks for reading,

Javamom

Fall garden finally responding!

I tried planting last month, but it was still too hot and dry here to plant for the fall. Green chard, basil, other herbs, varieties of hot peppers, a couple of short rows of onions, and collard greens are still doing pretty well. Tomatoes are taking a break, but beginning to re-blossom once again. Beets and carrots are still growing from earlier in the summer. Only one red chard seed planted in late August managed to sprout and hang in there for me.

That means, nothing else came up and I had to try again about two weeks ago.

But after two good sets of rain and slightly cooler temps...finally, some success!

snow peas

kale (one spot of four)

Still waiting on new baby collards and sage to pop up. We shall see how it goes.


Happy Fall, Y'all!

Javamom

Befores and After: restoration of a more modern hardback

This is how this book came to arrive in my bookbinding shop:

 

held together by duct tape

 

not even hanging together by a thread

 

with damage to the interior pages

 

The finished, restored book!

Javamom

More examples of hand-bound books

One of my favorites: Exposed spine binding. Both decorative and practical!

 

 

 

This is an example of one of my students binding her own stories for a Christmas present for her grandparents:

A more traditionally bound hardback of Blessing Letters for a graduation book. I have made many and many of these for different families. It also includes printed photos for some of the pages.

This was a graduation gift for one of my Spanish class students a few years back, a blank, Coptic-stitch bound journal:

Teaching younger ones to make simple journals:

Watching them and their variety of choices is a delight!

 

 

 

Inspired, yet? I hope so!

 

Javamom

 

Planning for Christmas

I've made these before, and I am planning to make more this Christmas ~

 

Exposed spine binding blank journals

 

 

 

This Coptic stitch journal is a larger sketchbook size

 

 

 

Are you, kind reader, already working on your Christmas projects?

 

 

Javamom