I love olives, especially those giant olives with the pimiento peppers stuffed in the middle. And I love olive oils, it’s great for salads and soap making. So when I came across this olive tree at the shopping center parking lot I had to take a closer look.

These purple olives were very bitter! They are inedible fresh, either green or ripe. And must be cured (just like soap) to become the tasty little fruits we all love. I found a post on how to cure ripe olives over at “Mama’s Tavern“.

“Put fresh, ripe olives in a pillowcase with an equal weight of salt. Hang outside. Shake up every day or two. When edible, rinse and pack in oil. It’s as easy as that.” - Mama’s Tavern

The instructions are very easy to follow. Of course I haven’t wanted to attempt this as I would need to collect tons of tiny ripe olives to make it worth it!

This is what happens when you squeeze them. I had to tip toe my way towards the tree (so not to dirty my shoes) to get a closer look. The fruits were so ripe they would fall off the branches just by touching them.

Many parts of California have olive trees literally growing almost everywhere. From sides of the road and along public streets. They are refer to as “Mission Olives”,probably left behind by the Spanish missionaries. Even in my childhood I remember climbing an olive tree for fun. The tree wasn’t too big and it had lots of twisting branches. The boys would use the green olives as ammunition. And when I briefly lived in southern California, there was an apartment building named “The Olive Pit” and there were dozens of olive trees all around.

Smithsonian announced the 2012 Photo Contest 50 finalists on March 4, 2013. Now it’s your time to vote for the Readers’ Choice Award winner. Voting will be open until March 29th at 2PM EST.

I really like this one - tiny yet strong ants holding on to the fruits and each other. And the eyes and those mandibles… yikes. Photo by Eko Adiyanto (Bekasi, Indonesia). Photographed in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia.

For a better look at more neat photos, visit Smithsonian.com and cast your vote!

The 11th annual contest is now open until November 29, 2013 at 2:00 PM EST. On a weekly basis beginning April 2, Smithsonian judges will post the best of the incoming entries to Smithsonian Retina. Finalists will be announced on March 3, 2014.

Smithsonian also notes, “This year we are also looking forward to highlighting the best photographs taken with mobile devices. Let us know that it was taken with your phone or tablet reader and show us the wonders of this new generation of photography.” So that means folks with smart phones and tablets can enter to win too.

Here’s what the judges look for in a winning photo:

“Technical quality, clarity and composition are all important, but so too is a flair for the unexpected and the ability to capture a picture-perfect moment.”

Photo Contest Prize Details

Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories. Smithsonian will notify the 50 finalists by February 28, 2014. Finalists’ entries will be published on the magazine’s Web site on March 4, 2014. At that time, readers can vote online for one readers’ choice winner. The Smithsonian will award eight prizes, as follows:

Grand Prize: $2,500

Category Winners:
The winners of each of the five categories will receive $500

Readers’ Choice:
The winner of the online Readers’ Choice award will receive $500

Mobile:
The best photo in any of the five categories that was taken with a mobile device will receive $500.

One cash prize per person; winners may receive additional noncash prizes. Winners must sign a release and license, declaration of eligibility, and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on a prize.

Photo from Smithsonian.

This is the first vest I knitted following a pattern provided by Debbie Stroller. Debbie is known for many popular knitting books and her website has lots of cute patterns. Check it out here!

Once you get the pattern going, the cables and balls are actually fun to knit.  I didn’t use Debbie’s yarn, but substituted with Lion Brand wool-ease.

It only took 2.5 balls of yarn and a few weeks to knit.  I ended up tweaking this pattern a bit.   As for the pattern inside the diamond cable, it was not done with seed stitch but instead has ribbing. And for the stitching the shoulder, I used Kitchener Stitch because it comes out looking seamless.

I am thinking of making another one in navy or cream color.  And also try knitting the vest in the round so there is less to weave or sew together.

The vest is a size medium and fits me just right.I was hoping this vest would be wearable in the spring, but so far it’s been too warm. Guess it will come in handy for next autumn and winter.

Photo of “Study Hall Vest” by Stitch Nation designed by Vladimira Cmorej for Debbie Stroller.

This gray speckled soap is one of my latest handmade soap made with Dead Sea mud and salt.

Ingredients: Organic extra virgin coconut oil, palm oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, water, sodium hydroxide, Dead sea mud & salt, Neroli essential oil.

It’s one of the newest soap I’ve been wanting to make and try for the longest time. Because of the Dead Sea mud and salt, this bar would be great for those with skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema or acne. Great as a facial or body bar.

It still requires a few more weeks to cure, but still OK to use at only 2 weeks. It’s a nice hard bar with tiny bubbles. Unfortunately the Neroli essential oil scent disappeared after a few days of curing. So it doesn’t have much of a scent. But the best part is that it leaves skin super soft and clean.

I only made a small batch and with many of my handmade soaps, they all seem to last a long time.

Spring is only a week away and to celebrate it’s arrival I’ve found these inspiring garden ideas. These ideas are mainly for folks that have limited garden space or just want to try something different.

How about using a hanging fruit basket as a hanging lettuce and herb garden? It’s especially great for keeping them safe from furry lettuce loving garden critters. I can also imagine strawberries would do well hanging from this basket. Photo from UK Telegraph.

Growing a garden in a pallet seem to be getting popular idea these days. Maybe it’s because we are downsizing more. I think it’s a great way to recycle old pallets and also very inexpensive. Imagine making a few of these and fill them with fast growing ivy and it could easily become a garden privacy screen. Photo from Fern Richardson who is the author of “Life on the Balcony”. Just because you have a balcony doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a garden.

Make the most of the sidings with a gutter garden. According to Gardenhacker.com, the idea is to use rain gutters in rows along the wood siding on the sunny side of the house. Photo by Suzanne Forsling.

Still low on space? How about a hanging gutter garden? Photo from Nest In Style. Check out their website for easy instructions.

Happy gardening and happy spring!