How To Care For Roses

Do not let the title of this post fool you. I have no idea how to care for a rose bush. By the way, one of the websites I searched, they informed us that roses are bushes and not flowers. Good to know. Anyway, up to now, I have never wanted to attempt to care for roses. I felt they were just too high maintenance. I did not want too put too much time and work into a plant only to have it wither away under my care. My handsome husband has the green thumb in this family. My thumb is not! For example, my egg crate fiasco.

So last week, I took the plunge and bought myself my first rose. A very pretty pink one. I forget the name of it. I was so excited to plant it, I threw everything away. 

The rose right after it was planted.

Then, I went online and searched how to care for roses. The first website I clicked on was, how to care for roses for dummies. Well that pretty much said it all! For all of my nervousness and fear of trying new adventures, here was what the website told me to do.

1. Water the rose thoroughly.
2.Fertilize your rose
3. Prune your rose

Excuse me, that is all there is for the care of roses? I have been afraid all these years of roses. To discover that roses are basically the same care as other flowers I have planted. 

This is a picture of my rose after a week of watering.

It has surely doubled in size, if not tripled. My friend informed me that I needed to water the rose in the morning, thus allowing the leaves to dry. This prevented black spot and powdery mildew. Of course, guess when I was watering my rose, at dusk. So, I quickly changed when I watered my rose and water it in the mornings now. She also told me to water pretty heavily for the first year. So, I have also been watering the rose very heavily. As you can see in the picture above, I must be doing something right!

If any one else has any tricks for caring for roses, please let me know in the comments below. I can use all the help I an get.

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Spring blooms  on Vergilia bushes.

Linking up at-

&
Wordless Wednesday

This is a Blog Hop

Everyone, thank you for reading
Have a blessed day!
~Kathy~

The Tuesday Inquiry

This week on The Tuesday Inquiry....

Do you prefer to use head phones?

or

Would you rather use ear buds?

*******************************************************

Now the results for last week's question...

Have you ever licked the top of a 9 volt battery?

Results...4 have licked the top of 9 volt battery and 2 have not

Everyone, thank you for coming to my channel each week and answering random questions!

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day?

~Kathy~

Everyday Life Photography

Hi everyone! It is Monday and time again for Everyday Life Photography.

Happy Memorial Day

Pictures are keepsake remembrances. I wish I had more pictures of my grandparents.

Everybody, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

How To Make Organic Weed Killer

Last week I shared how to use an empty egg carton to plant seeds. Well, the seeds never grew. I emptied the potting soil into my flower bed. Maybe the seeds will take root. But as I stated, I have no idea how old or where the seeds came from. I will try to plant more seeds from packets again. 

So, on that note, I will share how I have killed the weeds in our yard using organic ingredients. This is my handsome husband's recipe he discovered on the internet a few years ago. 

(Disclaimer- This recipe will kill the grass, also. Take precaution where you spray. On windy days, the weed killer solution can spread to areas of your yard that you do not want sprayed.)

The recipe is as follows-

1 cup salt (diluted)

2 tablespoons dish soap

1 gallon vinegar

Here is a picture of the weeds before I sprayed them.

Here is a picture after the weeds were sprayed, once, 29 hours later.

This weed killer does require preventive maintenance. Once a week, I spray the weed killer on our brick sidewalk and other areas I do not want weeds to grow. Thus preventing the weeds to germinate. 

Also, if I do not have enough vinegar, I will use what I have and fill the rest of my sprayer with water. I find even though it is not as strong, this still works very well.

On a side note, when dandelions pop up in my flower beds, I pour straight salt down in the middle of the plant. This dehydrates the dandelion. Then, the plant withers away. I do not even have to pull the dandelion out of the garden. Hey, I am all for any way to ease getting rid of weeds in your flower gardens. 

If you have any others recipes for eliminating weeds in your yards, let me know in the comments below.

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

Tea Pick of the Week...Twinings Earl Grey Tea

This week I have been drinking...Twinings of London Classics 
Earl Grey Tea

(click on pictures)

This is a black tea perfectly balanced with the distinctive flavour of bergamot, a citrus fruit.

source
Bergamont is found in citrus trees in Italy. The flavor is floral and rich, with a faintly bitter astringent flavor.
Bergamot is believed to be uplifting and energizing.  Essential oil derived from the peel of the Bergamot peel helps to reduce stress, energizes and treat depression.

Twinings teas come in a variety of premium teas...black, premium black, chais, origins, greens, herbals, and cold brewed.

I have been drinking this tea as my first cup of tea in the mornings. I do add a touch of honey to this tea. All of the combination of fragrances and flavors are not overwhelming. I find the tea to be a relaxing drink. It calms your nerves, so to say. This is a darker brewed tea. But not a heavy tasting or "weighted down" tea. The flavors are not bitter, nor does it leave a bitter aftertaste in your mouth.

I enjoy drinking this tea and I will purchase it again. But first there are many more teas to try!

Let me know in the comments below what favorite tea of yours that I should try next.

Everyone, thank you for reading 

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

The Tuesday Inquiry

This week on The Tuesday Inquiry.....

Have you ever licked the top of a nine volt battery?

***************************************************************************

Now the results for lasts week's question...

Do you prefer to use a straight or flexible straw?

Results.....2 people prefer to use a straight straw and 2 people prefer the fun flexible straws.

Thank you, so much, for participating in The Tuesday Inquiry

Everyone, thank you for reading
Have a blessed day!
~Kathy~

Everyday Life Photography

Hi everyone! It is Monday and time again for Everyday Life Photography.

I love the little bell flowers.

Everyone, thank you for reading 

Have a blessed Day!

~Kathy~

What To Do With An Empty Egg Carton?

I have some old seeds that I have been wanting to start. But because of the age of the seeds, I did not want to invest much money into a venture that may fail. So when I read her post, I knew that is was how I could try and start the seeds without spending any money. 

I have no idea when or even where I acquired these seed packets.

I washed and cleaned an empty egg carton. I placed potting soil in each of the egg holders. I pushed the seeds into the potting soil and watered the seeds. I was done. 

This picture is taken one week after the seeds were planted. I have not noticed any growth yet. But then, we have had a cold, rainy spring. The little seeds have not had much sunlight or been able to sit outside. 

Again, as I stated above, if nothing grows from these seeds, at least I tried. The next time I try planting seeds, I will have an inexpensive way to start my plants from seeds. 

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

Tea Pick of the Week- Tazo White Tea

This week I have been drinking Tazo White Tea flavored Apricot Vanilla Creme. 

(Click on the pictures)

The ingredients are:

White tea

Natural flavors

The caffeine level of this tea is 31-45 mg. The side of the box states that values are based on an 8 fl. oz serving and reflect our standard brewing methods. A standard 8 fl oz drip coffee contains 150 mg caffeine.

This tea is a light, white tea. It has just a delicate touch of apricot sweetness with a hint of vanilla. The box states the flavors dance and twirl together in creamy intoxication. I did not notice a creamy taste. Just a subtle touch of sweetness from the two flavors blended together. No bitter after taste. I enjoy drinking this tea in the afternoon, sipping the tea as I sit on my front porch. Side note- I was only able to do this activity one time because of the weather. The slight level of caffeine is perfect for this time of day. Giving me just a slight boost of increase of energy. Nothing too harsh. Just a little pick me up in the afternoon. 

If you are a tea drinker, as I am, leave me some of your favorite teas in the comments below. I am always interested in trying out new teas. 

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

The Tuesday Inquiry

This week on The Tuesday Inquiry...

Everyday Life Photography

Hi everyone! It is Monday and time again for Everyday Life Photography.

Beautiful rainbow in our neighborhood. This picture could never capture the beauty of that rainbow.

Everybody, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

Gluten-free Vegetarian Spaghetti Casserole

Recipe:

 gluten-free spaghetti

1 eggplant

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

green pepper

onion 

gluten-free bread crumbs

Delicious!

My ingredients.

I preheated the oven to 350.

I cooked the spaghetti noodles. While the noodles were cooking, I cut up the onion, green pepper, and eggplant. I sauteed these ingredients together with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

When the the vegetables had finished sauteing and the noodles were cooked, I layered the noodles in the bottom of the casserole dish. I then added a layer of the vegetables and sauce. I added a layer of cheese. I put the casserole in the preheated oven for half an hour. Just before the casserole was finished, I added the bread crumbs on the cheese and broiled them for approximately 5 minutes. 

Served with a side salad and your vegetable of choice, this was a fabulous and easy meal. I had plenty left over for lunch the next day and 2 more evening meals.

 This was a hit in my home!

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day! 

~Kathy~

My Sewing Machine Has Not Had A Rest!

After sewing together the owl stuffy, I got to work on another sewing project. I was interested in making small cosmetic bags, after I came upon a craft pattern in the Simplicity pattern catalog. I decided to try and tackle the small tote bag. The tote had pockets and a zipper. Two items that I had not tried before. I got busy. I cut out the pattern of the tote. I went to Joanns and picked out an outdoor fabric. I felt the outdoor fabric would be the most durable for everyday use.

Here is a picture of the finished tote and the fabric I chose.

The tote had 15 steps to follow to create the tote. I cut out the material. The first step was to make the hem for the pockets.

I was pinning and sewing, following the pattern instructions. But then, I hit a glitch. I had sewn everything together, but my husband and I could not understand the instructions on how to sew together the bottom of the tote. So, I used the handy, thread ripper, my favorite tool, ugh, and finally figured out what the instructions were telling us what to do. Very simple once I ripped my mistake apart!

Next, I had to figure out how to sew in a zipper. The instructions said to cut the zipper in order to make it smaller. Well, I just did not want to, so I left the zipper alone. I sewed it as per the instructions, minus the zipper alteration. I am happy with my choice. The zipper, in no way, is too long for the tote. I finished sewing everything together.

Here is the completed tote and the pattern I used to create the tote.

Tell me in the comments below how you tackle the zipper. Is it as difficult as it looks to alter the zipper?

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

Much Needed Spring Cleaning In The Kitchen

I finally tackled cleaning out my last kitchen cabinet that needed organizing. In January, I started organizing my house. I have put off this last cabinet, for awhile. The other day, I thought I needed to get to work. So, I started on the project and took many breaks. This is a picture of my procrastinated organizing project. 

I don't know why I was so nervous about working in the cabinet. Oh yes, I forgot to show you my cabinet before I got to work!

This cabinet had become a kind of catch all, so to speak. So, I removed items and placed them back where they needed to go. Then, I cleaned the cabinet with a damp cloth. Let it dry and applied contact paper to the bottom of the shelf. I threw away some old pots and pans that I knew I would not use anymore. Then, I put everything back in the cabinet. Now, we can find the pans we want to use without everything coming crashing down! 

Now, to tackle under my bathroom sinks and drawers!

Everyone, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

  

The Tuesday Inquiry

Today's question is...

Everyday Life Photography

Hi everyone! It is Monday and time again for Everyday Life Photography.

A scarf I created for a Mother's Day gift.

I am excited to see what picture(s) you share with everyone!

Everybody, thank you for reading

Have a blessed day!

~Kathy~

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