Oliver’s Bungalow Blog

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Sunny Faces

Christine

These were just two of the varieties of sunflowers that we planted last year. I had so many, I had to give them away to anyone who would take them. I guess I kind of went overboard, what with so many pretty varieties to choose from… well, I didn’t choose. I got one packet of each fancy variety that I liked.Neither of us had to plant any this year, because mom found many volunteers coming up on their own in her garden.

Some varieties from last year:

Velvet Queen

Italian White

Lemonade Mix

Chinti Hybrid

Van Gogh Mix

Mammoth Russian

Vanilla Ice

See how a girl could get carried away?

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Cucumber Harvest

Christine

So, I’ve picked six cucumbers in the last 48 hours. And one bell pepper. What am I going to do with all these cucumbers? I have three cucumber plants, and they are just getting started.

See the misshapen cuc there on the far right, next to the bell pepper? That one grew wedged between the porch pillar and the lattice that the plant is climbing. It is all flat on one side, and I’m not sure it is going to be any good.We know there are tons of great recipes for zucchini, but how ’bout recipes for an over abundance of cucumbers?

Help a girl out, share your cucumber recipes.

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Pillowcases, Buffy, Junk Mail, Cleaning, and Parties

Christine

I haven’t gotten much house-related stuff done lately, mostly because of these: Yup, that’s three sets of completed pillowcases there. They are for Christmas presents, so I am being productive, while re-watching the entire series of Buffy and Angel. Thanks, Greg!

I’ve managed to keep most of the downstairs mostly tidy, except for the surface of the marble topped cabinet. That’s where the mail lands. And then settles in for a long, leisurely stay.

But I’m going to have to deal with that soon, as well as giving the whole house a good cleaning, because we are having a party. That’s right, I will be turning 30 in one month and I figured that’s as good an excuse as any for a party, right?

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Mother Nature’s Poison Ivy Remedy: Jewelweed

Christine

I gave this sad looking little plant to my cousin Nikki after she got a nasty case of poison ivy all over her legs. Which she scratched open. And then got infected.

Don’t worry, she’s been to the doctor. They gave her antibiotics, and a steroid cream. She should be feeling better any day now. But she’ll still be out in the yard, and she’ll encounter more this season, so I also gave her a bar of Burt’s Bees Poison Ivy soap. I swear by this stuff. I wash with it everytime I come in from doing yard work. It really does seem to be helping, because I’ve gotten a couple of spots, on my hands, arms, feet, and washing diligently with this soap seems to have kept it at bay, and the spots usually go away in four or five days, instead of spreading rapidly all over in less than 24 hours.

For Nikki, this is the first time it spread all over, just the way I get it if I’m not careful. She said she used to get spots, only where she came into contact with the poison ivy, but it never spread like this before. The same thing happened to me. When I was a kid, no big deal, a spot here or there. Then one summer, I was weeding for our grandmother, must have gotten into it more than I realized, and woke up the next day covered. Head to toe. My eyelids were swollen almost completely shut. It was in my ears, between my toes, in my belly button. I was beyond miserable. I’m so glad Nikki didn’t get it that bad.

Anyway, back to the jewelweed plant. Mom has a little patch of jewelweed next to the house, but it comes up wild elsewhere in her yard. You can break off a stem and apply the juices to your poison ivy, much the way you would use an aloe leaf. The juice from the jewelweed is supposed to cut the oils in poison ivy, to prevent it from spreading.

Even though it is technically a weed, it is kind of pretty with its little orange blooms.
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The Other Jenny Lind

Christine

Meet the other Jenny Lind.With a little luck, plenty of water, and some sunshine, this little plant should yield beautiful watermelon.

Now, I hadn’t really planned on growing watermelon, knowing from mom’s garden how they like to spread out, but when the lady at the nursery was helping pick mom select veggies for her garden, my ears perked up when she said Jenny Lind. How could I resist?