4 Things Happening Right Now

1. Fresh out of the oven right now! Sicilian No-Knead Sesame Bread, made with whole durum flour! So easy and definitely a family favorite!

 

 

2. Mason Jar lunches are being prepared for next week!

 

 

3. Things are growing in the garden, despite the adverse conditions inherent to the blisteringly hot Phoenix summers, followed by the somewhat more destructive Monsoon storms! The new transplants and seeds for the fall planting season are going in too, but that’s a whole post all by itself!

 

 

4. Figs Galore! Fresh fig abundance has come to our house, thanks to a friend with a very prolific fig tree! Now we are reveling in fresh figs, fig jam, bacon-caramelized onion-fig chutney and homemade fig and coconut ice cream!

 

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Beautifying The Garden - Compost Bin

So, as I’ve been amping up the gardening activities around here in my tiny backyard, the question of a compost heap of course came up. It makes sense to make our own compost, keep the fruit and veggie scraps out of the landfill and generally give the kids a chance to observe the cycle of nature.

However, we are in the middle of a big city, we have a tiny backyard and we don’t really want a stinking heap of all sorts and attract every undesirable critter in the neighborhood!

So, after some extensive research on the art of composting, I felt moderately comfortable  in tackling this task, without the undesirable side-effects.

When I checked out what the city ordinances might be in regards to composting, I found, much to my surprise, that the city actually encourages composting! Not only that, for $5 they offer compost bins, which are essentially cut up trash cans. Since other options for a compost container have been considerably more expensive, I thought using one of those would be a good way to start and take it from there.

 

 

My husband went to the place to pick one up, but as it turns out, the only one that could possibly fit into the trunk of our car, even with a lot of bungee cords, was the most beat up one around. It didn’t even have the lid properly attached - they improvised with a chewed up bit of pvc pipe!

I forgot to take a picture of our bin. In fact I didn’t take any pictures of the entire process, so keen was I to cover the mess up!

It was also very blue, since it had been a recycle bin in it’s former life. Even though the main décor color in my garden is actually blue, I really didn’t want a great blue bin attracting all the focus. Especially as it’s just not great to look at.

It was beat up (literally, like somebody had actually beaten it with chains or something) and even though it was blue, it seemed to have various shades of blue and not in a good way. Some faded, some not, some black stains, some faded white logo printing on it. Just not pretty at all. Not that compost bins have to be pretty, but if you put it in a very small garden, it’s going to be a focal point, even in the very back corner of the garden, behind the raised bed!

So, I had a look around my extensive craft stash and found that I had two cans of brown spray paint for plastics with inbuilt primer (score!) sitting in my cupboard.

And since I didn’t just want to spray the whole thing brown, I also got out some scrap vinyl and cut out a variety of shapes on my silhouette.

That was actually the most time consuming part of the project. Once I had those cut and applied to the trash can, cleaned up the messily drilled holes a little,  it was really fast. Remember, it’s a dry heat around here and at 7 PM we still sport 110 F and up, so things dry really fast.

The trick was definitely light but sweeping spray action and going over everything several times that way. Voila, not a single drip in sight. It helps that the paint was dry practically the minute it hit the can!

I let it dry for another hour or so, just to be sure I hadn’t missed a spot, then I peeled the vinyl off and now we have a Compost Bin worth looking at! It’s not exactly a thing of beauty, it’s still a compost bin, but it has some interest now!  And now all the fading and beat marks add to the interest and texture of the whole thing!

 

 

And now we’re busy filling it all up!

 

 

This is the temporary setup for now, we’ll be swapping out the bottom once we’ve found a suitable piece of scrap wood and some bricks. But for now, we’re using what we had, which happened to be more bright blue. I sense a theme!

 

I got us a bucket with a gamma lid for the kitchen. It’s a generous size, so we don’t have to take it out after every meal preparation and the gamma seal lid prevents odors and fruit flies. So far it has worked out well!

I also stuck instructions as to what can and can’t go in the compost bin on the bucket, so the kids can be reminded (and their dad too!)

 

 

I have plans for a Vermi-Composter, but that has to wait until it is a little cooler, so we don’t fry our little worm friends!

More on that in another post however, since I also combined it with some major garden bling that I am in the last stages of finishing!

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Beautifying The Garden - Easy, Inexpensive Solar Lanterns

It’s summer time and everything moves outside - except for around here, where everything starts to move inside! We do, however, have the privilege to spend most of the rest of the year in lovely temperatures and outside, including the “Winter” when everyone else is holed up!

Just lately, I’ve been gardening a lot, turning much of our unused patio and portions of our yard into planting areas for fruits and vegetables! I have been growing things in the odd container here and there, the last 3 years or so, but I really want to kick this up a notch or three and grow a lot of our own stuff!

We do get a double growing season around here, which is great (Spring and Fall) but this year I am also trying to grow at least some things through the blistering heat. It requires a lot of babying of the plants, especially in the early stages and some creative use of shade clothes and watering techniques.

So far, so good, but with temperatures of 120 F in the forecast, things are getting pretty dicey out there!

Since we can’t be outside much and the kids are of course on summer break, we’ve been making things for the garden inside.

My kids totally delight in rock painting, which we have done several times now.

 

 

 

They love the walk around the neighborhood, hunting for the roundest, smoothest and biggest (or smallest) rocks.

And they love the actual painting - and then the playing with the finished product, as well as placing them all over our garden!

 

And I’ve been busy making other things for the yard, mostly inspired by a variety of pinterest pins I have collected over time,  which I will be sharing with you over the next little while.

The first little project I want to share with you, are quick and easy solar lanterns. Very little effort and a lot of savings by doing it yourself, even if you purchase all the components!

 

 

You will need:

These mini solar stake lights. I purchased 12 and with shipping and tax, they came to $1.80 each. If you can find them at your local Dollar Tree, they’ll be even cheaper!

Mason jars (1 pint, with lids and bands)

Wire

 

I got the  Heritage Collection Pint Jars at Target for $10.99. As  I wanted blue lamps, that worked out pretty well. If you can’t find them at Target anymore, they are also available here.

You can also do it with different lights of course, but these happen to be the exact size of the mason jar band, meaning you just need to wedge them in the band, with no glue or anything, screw them on tight and you are done!

If it seems a little loose, you can  put a ring of hot glue around the inside, where the band meets the solar light. If you get a lot of rain where you live, you may want to do that anyway, so the rain won’t fill up your jar over time.

Mine worked out just perfectly, so no glue was needed!

I put the band (minus the lid) on the jar and screwed it on loosely.

 

 

Then I took the stake off the solar light and dropped the top in through the band.

 

 

 

 

Then I tightened the band and that was it! The light settled into a nice and tight spot. But not so tight that I couldn’t get it out again!

 

 

Then I just made a little hanger with some wire by wrapping it around the lip of the jar a couple of times, wrapping it around the side and up to be joined into a hoop.

 

 

 

 

And that’s it!

 

 

Twelve solar lanterns for $3.70 each. Not bad, considering that the solar lids alone usually retail for $11 and up ... each! And then you still have to provide the jar, which would add another dollar or so to the final cost!

I put mine on Shepherd’s Hook Stakes all over the garden! Not only do they look lovely, they have functionality since we have a lot of raised beds and containers all over the garden now and it helps to know where the corners are, when it gets dark!

 

Other notes:

• Of course you can also use these without the hanger for table decoration or just by placing the jars all around your garden.

• Or you can use the  more inexpensive clear mason jars, which also make a beautiful light.

• Or you could color your own mason jars by thinning out glass paint with some nail polish remover!  Just pour it inside your mason jar (band and lid taken off!) and swirl it all around to cover the inside as evenly as possible. When you get to the top rim, don’t be afraid to help it along with your finger a little. It will even out once it dries. Once your have coverage, turn the jar upside down on a kitchen towel and let the rest of the pain drip out.  Once it stops dripping, remove the paper towel/scrap paper, give the jars a quick twist on a clean kitchen towel to remove any glue residue from the top rim and allow the jar to dry completely.          Don’t just leave it to drip and dry in the same spot though, as you may find yourself peeling and scraping stuck kitchen towel off!

• There are several tutorials all over the internet which use mod podge or Elmer’s glue and food color to tint glass. Those methods work great, however, if these solar lanterns are going outside, that method won’t work. It flakes in the sun and it washes off in the rain, even when applied to the inside of the jar!

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