We hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful day filled with great food and even better company! We had a low key day with a delicious meal for dinner and apple cranberry pie for dessert. That pie is so good! Sleep came easily (thanks to the turkey?) and we woke to a cold, windy, gray morning. Yuck! It seems that Mother Nature has flipped the switch from fall to winter and I’m not quite ready. At least not ready for single digit windchill readings so soon after that 60 degree day a week ago. I’d rather ease into it and get acclimated, and let’s hope that my purple parka (with a new zipper) comes back from the cleaners on Monday.
Just like the weather, everyone is shifting gears to holiday decorating and shopping for gifts. Over the last week, I’ve been making lots of products in preparation for the shoppers. My display at Rescued is double the normal size and it was absolutely full when I left it Wednesday afternoon. Please remember how important it is to support local, small businesses during this season. A portion of my sales will be donated to Rescued to help support their mission of helping local animals in need. Primarily, they help with unexpected vet expenses. The shop is a boutique resale shop located at 825 1st Avenue in Silvis where you can shop Tuesday through Saturday between 10:00 and 4:00.
Speaking of shopping… I spent some time doing online shopping yesterday while our turkey roasted. I’m happy to report that the seeds for the 2025 season have been ordered! Whew!! That’s a big ticket item. Now, I need a spreadsheet with the varieties and other details. Then, some snowy day, I’ll work on the garden layouts and hope that it will all fit here! There may be three more beds arriving today to help ease my mind about having enough growing space. Then, my brain says “What about all those sunflowers and zinnias?” Ugh! Our deer population treat these young plants like a high-end salad bar that has been planted just for them. There may be electric fencing or some other barrier in the spring to allow some of the regular beds (not fenced in) to be used for flowers. Pesky critters! I’m in awe of fellow growers that live in places where there are very few critters trying to eat the crops. We would have marigolds if gardens weren’t fenced here. Just marigolds. And, probably the squirrels would dig those up looking for their overwintered walnuts. Hahaha!
I’ll think about critter-proofing while cleaning the kitchen and preparing for holiday baking. My first round of baking will happen this afternoon with a batch of cardamom cookies. There’s more baking for the weekend and then by mid-week, I’ll be ready to bake the English Muffin and focaccia breads that many of you requested! I’ll stay in touch as your orders are filled.
I counted all of you in my Thanksgiving thoughts. Without your support, none of this would be happening. Through this journey that we call Miss Amy’s Garden, I’ve met some of the most amazing people! Thank you for your continued support, and here’s hoping that you enjoy this season.
Well, I’m off to start a laid-back weekend of cleaning, decorating, baking and a nap or two!