...look what I did this morning!!! I picked blackberries with my friend and boys. I was born and raised in Oregon and let me tell ya, I can pick me some blackberries! August is THE month around these parts!For those of you who are new to pickin' blackberries, here are some tips:
1. Bring a 2x8 board at least 4 feet long, this allows you to reach the berries at the top of the bush. You lay it down and climb up on it!
2. Wear long sleeves and long pants -even in HOT weather. There are so many thorns on these bushes you will tear your arms and legs apart otherwise.
3. When you see a bunch of berries on a branch, grab the greenest berry and use that to pull the branch to your container. There are no thorns on it and since it's green it won't come off easily and it will give you time to clear out all the black ones off the bunch.
4. Pick your berries into containers that are relatively flat. That way the weight of the berries on top won't crush the bottom ones too badly.
5. Bring a toy of some sort for the youngest to play with. After the novelty of "helping mom" wears off they will get bored and WHINE until you get back to the car.
and last but not least...
6. DON'T put your full berry container on an ANT HILL! Those little buggars are hard to shake off in the middle of nowhere!
Now on to what I should have been doing today!!
Anni-VERVE-sary Sketch Challenges
Julee designed five brand new sketches for this release. Play along by this Friday, August 14 at 6PM Eastern for your chance to win our ENTIRE release! Check out all the sketches and the deets on this thread in our SCS forum.
Diva Giveaways
Throughout the week, the Divas will be posting giveaway threads in our SCS forum. Participate along with them (it might be a challenge, a game, a question or some other activity) and you might win $25 in Verve Bucks, good for anything in the Verve Store. A few Divas are scheduled to post each day Monday - Thursday, so there's 13 chances to win! I will be posting mine tomorrow!!
Sneak Previews
Sneak previews officially start right here on the Verve blog tomorrow. Each day this week, the Divas will be bringing you some Verve-alicious peeks at the sets releasing this weekend! Plus there'll be more chances to win some stamps!
Anni-VERVE-sary Release Party
Last, but not least, our release party will be this Friday night (August 14) at 8PM Eastern. We'll be revealing the 7 new sets and 2 plain jane singles, as well as chatting and announcing all of our release week winners. Be there or be square! Oh, WHERE you ask? Over on the Release Party thread in our forum!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
LOL Michelle - I love your tips on picking Blackberries and can just imagine it!!! :) Unfortunately it's too hot here for blackberries to grow, so no berries for me! :(
ReplyDeleteSecondly - well how cool is all that Verve stuff!!!! Will definitely have to go check it all out - nothing like a good release!!! :)
LOL, thanks for the tips for the berry picking! Especially the bit about the ant hill!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Russia I liked to go at our Summer Garden we were picking berries too! These berries looks almost like rasberries, I remember we were doing the same thing while gathering them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for brinning me some nice memories, Michelle!
Yup, you know how to pick those berries. Only thing we add to the list is a rake - you can use it to bring down those high branches at the top with the bestest berries on them :D
ReplyDeleteWe learned not to put berries down on the ground when there are horses in the area as one of them ate the whole bucket on us and had a purple muzzle for a few weeks because of it LOL :D
Enjoy eating the berries!!
WOW!!! They look so delicious! Thanks for sharing the tips!!! Do you make preserves or jam?
ReplyDeleteSad but true-I've lived in Oregon all my life and have never picked berries! Hmmmmm.................
ReplyDeleteYummmm!!!! I can just taste the pies, jams, crisps, and all the other yummy stuff you will be making with all those berries!!!! I think I need to make a visit to Oregon!!! Thanks, also for all the verve info...sounds like fun!!!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful cards, great soft colors on your first one.
ReplyDeleteYes one ting I miss now that my parents don't like in Hillsboro is the fresh berries each year. Alas... we have to wait for our local farmer to get them brought in...Not the same. Enjoy!
Hi !.
ReplyDeleteYou may , perhaps curious to know how one can reach 2000 per day of income .
There is no initial capital needed You may begin to receive yields with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you thought of all the time
The firm incorporates an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
Its head office is in Panama with affiliates around the world.
Do you want to become an affluent person?
That`s your chance That`s what you really need!
I`m happy and lucky, I started to take up real money with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to select a proper companion who uses your savings in a right way - that`s the AimTrust!.
I make 2G daily, and what I started with was a funny sum of 500 bucks!
It`s easy to get involved , just click this link http://olazociq.s-enterprize.com/ilateg.html
and lucky you`re! Let`s take our chance together to get rid of nastiness of the life