It's finally finished ...

I feel like I've been stitching on this Quaker (Praiseworthy Stitches ... The Simple Gifts: Love) for a SUPER long time ... it's ready for a dye bath and pressing and blocking ... then to find a frame ... always the toughest part ... if hubby wasn't up to his eyeballs in re-glazing the 150 year old windows for my greenhouse (not something he expected to have to do when this little project first started), I could probably talk him into making one for me.

So, the greenhouse continues ... we'll re-glaze the last three windows tomorrow and will pick up all the framing materials at the lumberyard in the afternoon ... Monday we can begin painting all the lumber ... I want it all white inside and out.  Hubby will begin framing next week ... I'll begin painting windows next weekend (new glazing must dry 7 - 14 days) ... hubby predicts another month before it will be all finished.  The re-glazing and the weather has really slowed our project down.  We'll be glad in the long run that we took the time to do the re-glazing now.  The old windows really needed it in several places so he removed it all and replaced it.  That's just the kind of guy he is ... a bit of a perfectionist (oh yeah!!!) but he would never admit it.  The stained glass window that he bought for me (what a guy!!!) has been taken to the repair shop and won't be ready for another three weeks.  I can't believe I'm going to have a stained glass window!!!!  Right above my potting bench.  How fun!!!!  The floors are done ... and of course, I forgot to take pics tonight when I was out there watering the gardens earlier ... not that there's really much to see as we'll leave the sand on the bricks til the greenhouse is finished.  I'll get some pictures tomorrow for everyone who has asked to follow our progress.  The floor in mostly brick (given to us by a friend that had it left over after he finished his patio -- gotta love the free stuff, right?) and the front of the greenhouse has pea gravel in the floor so that I can water freely. 

We've been spending quite a bit of time tending to the gardens too ... the herb bed is fantastic this year ... oregano has returned in a couple of spots, which I was glad to see although I've heard it's aggressive ... the orange mint also returned and I have to think it's also aggressive as it seems to have spread ... ALOT!!!!  The hyssop, lemon balm, and lavendar have also returned ... I keep waiting for the year when our harsh winters finally does my last remaining lavendar plant in.  The chives have returned in abundance and the first batch goes into the dehydrator tomorrow morning.  Newly planted in the herb garden this year -- lemon grass (perennial), cutting celery (annual - in a pot tucked up close to the lilies and daisies as it tends to droop in the hard sunlight), dill, lemon verbena (in a pot this year so I can move it inside this winter), a Tiny Tim cherry tomato plant (freebie from the greenhouse when we bought our veggie plants ... we get one every year), fresh basil, and a Brandywine heirloom tomato plant that I grew from seed that I bought at Landis Valley Farm in Lancaster, PA.  The new raised beds in the vegetable garden are exciting.  I love not having to bend over so far ... and the maintenance (ie., weeding) is next to nothing ... gotta love that.  The peas are now about 18" tall or so ... we should see flowers soon ... the radishes have all been harvested (YUM!!!) ... the tomatoes (Roma and heirloom Brandywine) are all planted ... the gherkin cukes (dill pickles this year!!) are coming up ... the zuchinni are up ... the carrots (second planting) are sporadic ... don't know WHY I can't ever get a good start on carrots ... no matter how hard I try ... the bunching onions are looking good at about 4" tall.  The broccoli and cabbage seem to be taking their time ... probably trying to figure out our 65 to 95 degree weather ... lol!!!!!  We went from early spring to early August and the hot, humid dog days of summer in the matter of two weeks!  Next week we are supposed to settle in to more normal temps in the mid 70s.  Hubby's Walla Walla onions look fantastic ... and his pepper plant medley is looking good too.

And we have a wedding on Wednesday!!!  By Wednesday evening, I'll be a (gasp!!!) ... a .... a.... a.... MOTHER-IN-LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  lol