Thursday, May 13, 2010

Wednesday shopper

As I was leaving to go shopping yesterday, I took time to look at my garden.

I've been harvesting lettuce like crazy,



and I thought the onions were doing well until I pulled one and found it was mushy. Not sure if it means it's not ready, or if it means it's not any good.

I admit, the lettuce is doing quite well, and the tomato plants are starting to show a bit of growth. However, I can't tell if that is spinach or weeds to the left of the lettuce. After my friend Scott turned the soil and did away with the rotting newspapers, I now have a bumper crop of WEEDS in the garden. Remind me to NEVER EVER turn the soil again. That's the beauty of a lasagna garden. You never disturb it, but keep adding layers to it. Looks like I have some serious weeding and repairing to do in that entire part of the garden.

Doesn't look like I'm going to have to find places for my bell peppers. I simply had no room for them and didn't plant them. Now they are dead.

Along with a lot of weeds, my rows of peas have now turned into massive plantings. Before it started to rain, I ran to our local drug store for

the pink stuff. Can't you just hear "indigestion, upset stomach, die-uh-ree . . . ." OK, you know the lyrics.

As I was leaving the drug store, I took a photo of some SLCs. What, you ask, are SLCs? Our local weather caster named the acronym. It stands for Scary Looking Clouds. And yes, we had them all day. No blue skies in any of my photos yesterday, that's for sure.

Next it was off to the Salvation Army, where their pricing was so confusing, even the clerks didn't understand it. I asked if the white and green tag discounts were for seniors only, or if they applied to everyone. After several workers discussed it, and reread the sign, they determined the discounts applied to everyone, but seniors got an extra discount. I think a drunk sailor must have written that sign that seemed to make sense to no one.

First I was off to look for some tea cups and/or a nice tea pot. As you can see, all I found was run of the mill junk.

Next, I looked through the sheets and found four (two flat, two fitted) white ones that I plan to cut up and dye. I am also going to make some fabric paper using them. I also found a pale pink pillowcase with a nice lace edge, which I will also be dyeing and using in my art art quilts. After looking through several bins and containers, I also found one tablecloth I want to cut up and use in a project.

Next I was off to the bridal area.

There was a plethora of lovely gowns, none of which were any more shapely than one of my dress patterns. However, they gave me ideas for my June Dress Up dress.

They were everywhere, even hanging to the ceiling.

As I was heading to pay, I saw these in a display case. I was in line and couldn't get a good picture because people were getting impatient that I would take photos. When I asked, I was told these hands were not for sale.

All in all, I did quite well at the thrift store. Even though I bought 4 sheets, one pillow case, and one tablecloth, my bill was only around $5.00. If I could only get dye that cheap!

As I was arriving home, I was greeted by the tornado sirens. Although the tornado missed us for a second day in a row, we got a lot of good coverage, because people from the Weather Channel were at our National Weather Service (NOAA) office located near the airport. Late last night, we had rain, rain, rain, and hail, along with high winds. It's springtime in KS!! Hope your weather was bright and sunny.

Update: I thought it would be helpful for those who are not familiar with tornadoes to see what I live with each spring.


A diagram of tornado alley's rough location (red), and its contributing weather systems I found in Wikipedia Commons.

To put it in perspective, I live in the bottom left dot on the semi circle that represents "Tornado Alley." It's the red dot right above the top tornado icon. You can read about the name in depth at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley, or you might be just as interested in this version from that same article:

The most common definition of Tornado Alley is the location where the strongest tornadoes occur most frequently and was first coined by Jennifer L. Wiley in 1904. The core of Tornado Alley consists of the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern South Dakota, and the Colorado Eastern Plains.[5] However, Tornado Alley can be also be defined as an area stretching from central Texas to the Canadian prairies and from eastern Colorado to western Pennsylvania.[1] It can also be argued that there are numerous Tornado Alleys. In addition to the Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas core, such areas include the Ohio Valley, the Tennessee Valley and the lower Mississippi valley.

Cited references can be found in the above linked article.

No matter how far out I go from my circle of internet friends, I find someone who is familiar with my blog pick of the day. Today's blog is no different. Meri Wiley, who lives in AZ, whose blog is called ImagiMeri's Creations, is no different. I'm sure some of you are familiar with her blog, especially those of you who make paper clay dolls, paper dolls, or love old graphics and images she generously shares. Those of you new to her blog will find something delightful, I'm sure.

15 thoughtful remarks:

Julia Dunnit said...

Tornado? Uh, Elizabeth, so NOT everyday for me!! No wonder you have acronyms for clouds! Fascinating post, shame about the hands, wouldn't ya know it though. I'm no expert, but bleieve that squishy onions aren't a good sign - bad weather and too much wet...spoiled crop...I hope not!

Unknown said...

Great post- I can't wait to see your art quilts! I love that every week I get so many new inspirations from you- now if only I had time to act on them. That's scary about the tornados, when we lived in St Croix, we had to watch for hurricanes, tho only one hit while we were there; we had lots of close calls!
Have a great day!
Stephanie

Diane said...

Tornadoes are scary--we get the warnings and watches, but I've never experienced one, although there have been small ones in the area. Great bargain at the thrift store too--they're fun to go to, but garage sales are my first love :)

Unknown said...

What a great post I love that you took photos when you went round the Thrift store (Maybe I will do this too lol) Thank you for the help on my blog about the blouse to use for fabric paper! I am sure I have one of those foating around and if not I can buy one really cheap in a (charity shop) thrift store near me. I have also been looking for white material as I know it will come in handy (but I do this alot! I am always buying stuff thinking ooh this will be good for something then it ends up in a pile lol of other things I need to use lol) I loved your post so much I think I will follow a while and see what other goodies you come up with. Off to check out yr recommended blog bye

Love Dawn xx

Terri Kahrs said...

When my sister lived in Indiana, she was witness to quite a few tornados. Stay safe, Elizabeth!!! Love that you've used the bridal gowns at the Salvation Army for inspiration. Goes to show - Inspiration is Everywhere!!! Hugs, Terri xoxo

HeARTworks said...

I watch the Today Show and see all the news about the tornados. It really wreaks a lot of havoc! Btw, I'm impressed that you garden too! Patsy from
HeARTworks

Caterina Giglio said...

I am just n west of you and we had snow.. a good four inches and last summer I got some amazing shots of the beginnings of tornados that went out thru Kansas, I will have to share them sometime! very slc's!

Patti Edmon Artist said...

tornado alley - now that's scary! we have warnings in Kentucky but they are usually for the southwestern part of the state. yikes!

what kind of stuff do you most need?? I have extras of so much that I'd love to share...

Tammy Freiborg said...

Yummy - fresh lettuce. Our potatoes were 10 inches tall when they froze a few nights ago. Hopefully, they will still make it. I live at the top of the red in MN. May you continue to be safe during crazy weather.

Donna: said...

As usual you have tons more energy than any of us E. :) Love your travel blogs.

Dianne said...

hope you stay safe in 'tornado alley'...the Scary Looking Clouds made me smile, though. trip to Salvo is always interesting. often have to tell myself I don't really need more stuff! enjoyed your travels today....

Halle said...

My lettuce is about an inch tall. Of course, it's been living in the garage with the rest of the pots for almost a week now. Too cold!!

Your thrift store looks like fun to shop even though you found no good teacups.

Lynn Cohen said...

So much to ponder here...loved all those wedding dresses...yes good deals...hide somewhere from those tornados please, be safe.

Marlynn said...

Loved your post, Elizabeth - in fact this is my second time trying to post here. I will be shooting Blogger before we are done. You are teaching me way to much about gardening and turning the soil. Loved your trip to the Salvation Army - and loved those hands! You did remind me of my time growing up in Oklahoma City right in the middle of tornado alley! Was there in 1998 when the F5 tornado went thru a mile from us at my aunt and uncles. WoooHoooo. Wizard of Oz comes to mind. Yup, them there are the scary clouds....

~*~Patty S said...

fresh lettuce
wedding gowns and a super cool jewelry/hand display
do you ever get used to living with the threat of tornadoes I wonder!
hoping it is an easy season for you!
oxo