After a couple of weeks with a minor back injury (but it felt BIG!) I'm back in the middle of things! Like my job, my garden, and finally, my blog. Catching up in the garden has been a real trick, but I feel like I'm starting to get there finally. With help (drafted, but help none the less!) from family, and a stool to seat myself on while I work so I'm not bent, I may just get back on top of this.
I'm a little puzzled by these tomatoes. My sister started them from heirloom seed, and told me they were German Red Strawberry tomatoes. The are fun looking - pear shaped with multiple lobes. Funny thing though - I can't find an image online of that type of tomato that looks like mine....hmmm. Wonder what I have here - maybe a cross of some sort? As long as they taste good, I don't care one bit. Just curious.
The crookneck squash always amazes me - the leaves are simply HUGE! You can see blooms and a couple of tiny yellow squash under the monster leaves. They grow so quickly, I hope to harvest our first squash sometime over the weekend. That is if my battle against squash bugs is successful. I've used wine in bottles to attract and kill them (no captives yet, but I'm not ready to give up yet). Also a concoction of cayenne pepper, garlic, onion and dish soap. And by simply picking them off and crushing them! And I sprayed eggs and hatchlings with a dose of hairspray. I'm serious about this! I love my squash.
Happy little watermelon plants. Actually they're well on to a growth spurt. And I am hopeful onward to a nice blossoming of flowers. This plant is growing in our newly created watermelon patch. A huge tree blown over during the May storm created a deep hole. Hubby filled it in with soil from the old cow yard. Then I added some sand, blood meal and mounded it all up. Grandson poked the seeds into the mounds and we watered it. Hopefully we're on the right path to get a bunch of juicy sweet melons in August/September!
I should have taken a "before" photo...but I think I can explain. 
This little wall is just one section of a fairly large room that serves a variety of purposes. My desk, filing cabinets, computer, printer, etc. take up nearly 1/2 the room. A TV, VCR, DVD player and toy chest create an area for the grandkids to enjoy. One tiny spot is the workout center - for the treadmill. And the closets are filled with out-of-season clothing, wrapping paper, craft supplies, and so on. Needless to say it can be a bit distracting for someone (namely artsy daughter) to focus on her jewelry design, sculpting or paintings with so much going on. So, I encouraged her to make this spot her own. I didn't have to say it twice! Naturally it had to be done on a bare-bones budget. Not a problem for a junk-savvy kid with plenty of imagination.
A small dresser-turned-cabinet hides shelves for storing her supplies. The little table was a freebie from her brother's roomie - rough enough to be charming and allows her to work without concern for damaging the finish. Great space for bigger tools, paintbrushes and a lazy susan.
The window frame was 25 cents at a garage sale - it was horrible! Someone had sponged it with purple and green paint and glued plastic flowers to it. It's now a warm chocolate brown with cool pale green highlighting the openings. Old white porcelain insulators attached across the top ($1 yard sale find) serve to hold the necklaces she creates. An old porcelain doorknob (25 cents-yard sale) attached at bottom center will be useful as another hook of sorts.
The oak box with gold tone handle and corners, to the left of the table, is a wonderful little tool chest found at a yard sale for $7.50! It is even lined with felt, and holds some of her more delicate and treasured tools, as well as some finished earrings.
Brown curtains and rods ($34 total at a liquidation store) hide the closet openings. Robin's egg blue paint ($15) provides a calm, soothing cool background for the creation process.
Even across the room, deep in thought, clicking away at my keyboard, I find myself turning to gaze at it. Definitely a great spot for dreaming up new ideas and then bringing them to life.
And how about this paisley stripe...I remember using fabrics like this in the early 1980's to create crafts.
This retro print reminds me of my grandma and the 60's. Mantle clocks and vining flowers - who came up with that?
There are several other pieces in the batch I bought, but I think my favorite is this abstract rose print. The colors are so vivid on the pure white background. It would have made the perfect 1960's sheath dress (think Jaqueline Kennedy) with a colorful belt and handbag and heels to compliment the colors. 
Not sure yet what will happen with all the pieces - I've posted a few for sale on Etsy. And I have plans in mind for a darling pink dotted swiss piece to become something sweet for my granddaughters. And, my youngest daughter has been eyeing another daisy print with a turquoise background. (I knew she would probably stake claim to some of it!) Hopefully I'll eventually get some of this made into fun new items and post them here.
