Good Morning, on this very cool and overcast Saturday. The weather report from South Bend (about as far east of us as Chicago is West) predicted a new record low high for the day. Current record is 73 and they say the temp today will struggle to make 70. Since our temperatures this morning are only around 60 I have two very ticked off cats who want out on the patio and don't understand why we don't let them out. Mom is in long sleeves and we both put on sweaters yesterday afternoon. And she pulled out her lap blanket last night. This IS supposed to be JULY!!

Lets get on to something more pleasant than the weather, the economy, or politics all of which are very dismal. The picture on the left here is my latest quilt. I am almost finished with the outer border. I had a bit of the patterned fabric left from the last two quilts I made and have been trying to come up with a way to use them up. Fabric is much too expensive to not use fully. This is the first effort.

Then, of course, there are the container gardens. They are doing rather well given the strange weather. The blossoms on the left are the first of the yard long pole beans. I have more in another container that haven't bloomed yet. They have been slow to take off. As I have complained--everything has been slow this year.

This is the part of the patio I call my jungle. From left to right I have a mix of pole beans, double petunias, sweet peas, portulaca, and (invisible under the petunias and portulaca) lavender. Next I have acorn squash hiding sugar snap peas and violas. And, in the last tub, I planted Zucchini which is hiding another stand of sugar snap peas. I didn't intend all of the hidden items. I just forgot how some of these plants spread. Monday I will be transplanting a couple of the petunias. I know it is a bit late to do that, but I really want the lavender to have a chance.

The scent from just brushing a hand over it is wonderful. In the fall I plan on trying to take plugs and potting for inside over winter. Hope that works out. I love lavender.

This picture is the first of my 'False Alarm' peppers. They are small (jalepeno size) and are supposed to have just a bit of a kick. These plants seem to have perked up after their slow start.

Here are my first tomatoes. They look bigger than they really are. They are the new 'Fourth of July' variety from Burpee. We won't be doing these again. Too small and we have already gotten early tomatoes from our farmer's markets. They simply aren't worth the space in our containers. Haven't tasted them yet. Will let you know on that later.