Lady In Waiting

Way back in October

I decided (after pricing pumpkins)

that I would have a patch of my own in 2011.

James wanted a giant pumpkin.

Giant means expensive.

He got his giant pumpkin

I got the seeds.

Hopefully these were not Mon$@^to patented.

Funny story...

I had them on the counter to dry.

That very night...

a little mouse had a feast in my kitchen.

He ate every single seed,

but one.

Fast forward to my sister Mary talking about mice

kicking my brain into gear.

"My Pumpkin Seed!"

Yes, it was late June and I planted that seed.

Talk about faith of a pumpkin seed.

While I was at it

I figured I might as well plant more.

I'm calling this my Five-Gallon Bucket Experiment.

Rocks and bricks in the bottom for drainage. My compost pile was depleted so I purchased Potting Soil... and filled that bucket up. Stuck my finger right in the middle.

Covered.

Watered.

Placed it in a sunny location.

Said a little prayer.

Did the same with my front door planters.

Much nicer than annuals.

Okay...

so I've gone a bit seed bonkers lately.

Another metal bucket means

more pumpkins.

I think I can squeeze a few seeds

on the edge of my raised beds.

I know what your thinking...

those pumpkins will be ready for Christmas.

After a whole bunch of online research into the lore of the

pumpkin...

some sites had me dancing naked under the solstice moon...

I might get lucky.

Most farmers say planting too early is the bane

of the pumpkin harvest.

I don't have to worry about that,

now do I?

But...after all that digging,

I did have to worry about gardener's hands...

icky.

Then I found this recipe at a cool site

simply called

Tend.

Three Ingredient

Gardener's Hand Scrub

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

1 Cup Coarse Sea Salt

1/4 Cup Lavender Buds

(Amendment after additional use: I'm not a fan of the

lavender buds which add little fragrance and a lot of mess...

again, in my opinion...next time I would add

a skin safe fragrance oil OR essensial oils)

Mix and store in an air tight container.

Really leaves your hands feeling squeaky clean and moisturized.

Now...

once again in my life

I have become that person I am intimately familiar with.

The Lady-In-Waiting.

After 4 babies who liked to be "over cooked"

I know I can do this.

I can do this well.

This time around my hands will be beautiful.