As I was checking on my plants today I noticed to my delight that there are two precious little tomatoes growing I just recently bought one of those oh so magical topsy turvy thingies and since my own tomato seedlings (which I had grown from seeds) still looked pretty fragile I had decided to buy a sturdy looking tomato plant from kmart which only cost about $3 or $4. It would have been nice to see tomatoes growing from my own seedlings first, but I'm still quite excited about the ones that are growing on the topsy turvy plant.

First two tomatoes growing on my topsy turvy

My husband got me these beautiful flowers for my birthday and I just didn't get around to take pictures of them yet. The are called Angelonia or also summer snap dragon. The colors on them are just beautiful (my favorite colors) and supposedly they will grow all summer and even winter (of course indoors) provided they have a sunny spot. I will definitely try and get them through the winter that's for sure. Nothing's wasted around here

Angelonia plant that I got for my birthday!

And here are some more pictures of my remaining plants...

Cucumbers growing nicely

Another tomato seedling I had bought since some of my own tomato seedlings had died after I had repotted them.  I still have some left but I'm waiting for them to grow a bit more and get stronger.

Pepper plants...growing slowly.

Various vegetable and flower seedlings that still need to find a permanent home.

I wish I had more space to grow vegetables and flowers, but this will have to do for now.

More updates to follow..so stay tuned

...I had first introduced my husband to Maultaschen back in October of 2010 when he came to visit me in Germany. Maultaschen are a German dish predominantly cooked and eaten in the south western part of Germany where I'm originally from. They can probably be compared to Ravioli - basically dough pockets filled with a secret meat filling. My husband has been on my case to make some from scratch for ages. In Germany you can get them anywhere premade but making them from scratch is a whole other story. All in all I'm happy with the way they came out, obviously there's always room for improvement. The most common way to eat Maultaschen after the simmering part is to serve them in a chicken broth and potato salad as a side dish.

If you ever end up with too many you can put them in the fridge over night (without the broth). The next day you can cut them up in stripes and fry them up in a pan using butter which is the way my husband likes them the most. But, I find they are almost too good to be used in that way if you make them from scratch...but, I guess, each to their own. So, here are some of the pictures I've taken...

That's what the Maultaschen looked like before their bath in the saltwater

Maultaschen waiting for the saltwater to boil

The Maultaschen simmering away in the saltwater

That's what the Maultaschen looked like after simmering in the saltwater for about 15 minutes

The front plate was mine.  I like to eat my fried up Maultaschen with a bit of jam...sweet an savory...drool :-)

Finally, this afternoon I repotted my vegetables so they can expand a bit more before their final destination (my balcony) I just hope I was gentle enough with them as I have read that seedlings don't like to be handled too much...so keeping my fingers crossed that they will thrive even more. My living room looked like a right mess but nothing that couldn't be rectified with a little bit of elbow grease Can't wait until I finally get to put them on my balcony as I'm kind of running out of space to keep them indoors. My flower plants still need to be repotted which I might do in a week or so. To be continued...

On top back: cucumber  -  in front of cucumbers: marigolds - left front: tomatoes  -  right front: pantsy & forget-me-not  -  bottom back: sweet peppers  -  bottom front: lavender.

This worm indicates how wet the soil is by changing its color...had to have it :-)

Pepper plants.

Cucumber plants doing best so far.

There are a few more pics here.

Thanks to my wonderful and lovely husband I've picked up on drawing again He's giving me the luxury of time and therefore, giving me the muse to do what I started early on in my childhood. Unfortunately, way too often adulthood caught up with me and my most favorite hobby had to take a back seat. So, about two weeks ago I got myself the basics such as pencils and colored pencils (they aren't the best quality, but they'll have to do for now as all my drawing stuff is still in Germany) and so forth to get back into it. So, below are the latest projects I've been working on. I've enjoyed drawing them very much, but I still feel a bit rusty...it's been a while so it's bit like riding a bicycle...you get better with practice So, in reality this post is more about how much I appreciate my husband and how much I love him for the person he is than about my drawings...thanks honey

Drawing not enhanced with GIMP

Drawing color enhanced with GIMP

Drawing not enhanced with GIMP

Drawing white balance enhanced with GIMP

There a few more of my older drawings here.