2010 June | Dimes2Vines

Fruit is Setting!

As we work in the vineyard, it is so exciting to see the grapes forming daily! Here are some pictures taken within the last week so you can see the progression of the formation of the actual fruit.

First, you can see the blooms. If you look closely, you should be able to see the little round green nodule behind the bloom that will eventually be grapes.

Here is another picture showing the fruit on the left (after the blooms are spent) and a full cluster of blooms, although a bit fuzzy, on the lower right.

These pictures were taken early last week and the grapes have already gotten even larger!

ShabbyApple.com Coupon Code!

Have you ever needed a stylish yet feminine dress, only to come home from shopping, frustrated and empty-handed?

The problem: Finding a dress both feminine and stylish which also covers enough skin for you to truly feel comfortable.

You are not alone! ShabbyApple.com owners, Emily and CK, had the same experience and even went to trade shows, markets and design studios. Their discovery – it was not that stores just weren’t stocking the right dresses. The designers were not designing the right dresses! Thus, ShabbyApple.com was born.

I found their styles to be refreshingly modern and modest (no need to wear a tank top or cardigan to cover what the dress does not!). I received the Helena for review in bubble gum pink, jersey knit. I admit, I needed to exchange the first dress for a larger size and this was accomplished very easily. The customer service was friendly and helpful. The stitching on the ruched bodice is secure and evenly spaced which can be a problem with jersy knits. The fabric is soft and since it is knit, I do not have to worry about wrinkles. I am looking forward to wearing it throughout the summer!

Shabby Apple also carries maternity, baby, bridesmaid, plus sizes and swim wear. Unfortuanletly, they do not have a “brick and mortar” store location but they do offer free shipping on items for exchange!

I am pleased to offer my readers a 10% discount code on any order from ShabbyApple.com. At checkout use code: dimes5253. This code is good until July 3, 2010.

I received a dress for review but no other compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own. A special thanks to the Shabby Apple for this opportunity.

I Just Won 31 Swagbucks!

Hurry and join in as Swagbucks kicks off their Summer of Swag this week. They are awarding “Big” bucks this week with each day featuring a different denomination.

Today, the 31 SB bill which will be awarded to every 7th search winner – and I just won it!

Come on, sign up if you haven’t already and use the code: SUMMEROFSWAG for 20 bonus bucks to get your account off to a great start! This code is good through midnight on June 11, 2010

If you have already signed up – get to searching!

Summer of Swag!

Don’t forget – this week Swagbucks is kicking off the “Summer of Swag”! Yesterday, they gave out more than 5 different swagcodes! But, it is not too late to join the fun!

A different bill will be highlighted every day this week at Swagbucks! As an added bonus, the featured bill will be awarded to every 7th win on Swagbucks! Yesterday it was the 25 Swag Buck bill!

For even more incentive to sign up, go to Swagbucks and use the code SUMMEROFSWAG when signing up and receive an extra 20 Swag Bucks to get your account off with a bang! The code is good until the midnight on Friday, June 11th.

If you are not familar with Swagbucks, it is a search engine that randomly awards you to search the internet as you normally do. These Swagbucks can then be redeemed at the Swagstore for merchandise from electronics, t-shirts, gift cards and much more.

If you have not signed up already, now is a great time to join the fun!

“Summer of Swag” – Swagbucks Promotion!

Swagbucks is kicking off the “Summer of Swag” starting this coming Monday, June 7 with at least 5 different swagcodes! That’s right – throughout the day, all day Monday, at least 5 swagcodes will be given out! Those are swagbucks in addition to the ones you could win doing your normal internet searches!

In fact, all next week is going to be a special week at Swagbucks. In addition to going code crazy on Monday, a different bill will be highlighted every day – BIG bills, too. As an added bonus, every day the featured bill will be awarded to every 7th win on Swagbucks! On Monday, that bill will be the 25 Swag Buck bill!

For even more incentive to sign up, you go to Swagbucks and use the code SUMMEROFSWAG when signing up for an extra 20 Swag Bucks to get your account off with a bang! The code is good until the midnight on Friday, June 11th.

If you have not signed up already, now is a great time to join the fun!

“What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life”

This Giveaway is Now Closed.

Congratulations: #38, Rachel and #34 Haidy :)

What does your closet say about you?

Each woman’s closet is a room of her own and it does not matter the size. Side by side hang the special occasions and the everyday, the successes and failures, the precious memories to savor and those we wish to forget.

In “What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life”, Kim Johnson Gross shares candidly her personal journey as well as humorous stories from many women she interviewed across the country. Kim has been a fashion editor for over thirty years, is a former Ford model, fashion editor at Town & County and Esquire, and columnist for More and InStyle, has appeared on the Today show, CNN’s Headline News and the CBS Early Show.

I found her advise to be practical as she shares how to choose flattering clothes that fit any shape and size. Kim gives great advice on “closet classics” – those basic pieces that you feel good in and that form the basis for many outfits. She covers all aspects of the phases of a woman’s life, from wife to mother, from empty-nester to globe-trotting adventurer – whatever phase you are in, she helps guide you in expressing your inner beauty.

You May Purchase It! “What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life” is available at local bookstores and online for $24.99.

You May Win It! I am pleased to offer two Dimes2Vines readers a copy of “What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life”. This giveaway will end on June 19, 2010 at 11:59pm CST and is open to all US residents. The winner will be selected by random.org, posted here and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hrs to respond or another winner will be selected. Please be sure to leave contact information.

***Please remember to leave a comment for each of the following entries.

***If you already follow Dimes2Vines via RSS, Email, Twitter and/or Facebook - Leave a comment letting me know as your entry.

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment letting me know what you consider a “closet classic” in your closet.

Extra Entries:

**Follow Dimes2Vines via RSS feed or email.

**Follow Dimes2Vines on Twitter.

**Tweet about this Giveaway and leave a link.

**Follow Dimes2Vines on Facebook.

**Mention this Giveaway on Facebook.

**Sign up for Swagbucks as my friend. You will earn 30 Bonus Swagbucks just for signing up!

** Enter my other giveaway.

**Comment on a non-giveaway post and leave a comment here telling which one.

The prize will be shipped direct from the sponsor of the giveaway. Dimes2Vines is not responsible for shipping or lost/damaged prizes.

I received a copy of the book for review but no other compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own. A special thanks to the Product Review Place for this opportunity.

Vineyard Overview

John climbed on top of our filter station barn to take the following pictures. The filter station building protects the pressure gauges and exposed pipes for our in-ground, drip irrigation system from the wind and weather.

Here is the 2009 planting of Roussanne. As mentioned “Pruning and Training in the Vineyard”, we did not train these vines at all last year. The plants were delayed in their growth because of warm weather in January and February which cause the vines to bud prematurely. This was followed by freezes which killed the primary and secondary buds. Because the vines expended so much energy to produce a third or tertiary bud, the growth was delayed.

We are just beginning to select one of the shoots from each plant, tape it to the bamboo which is for vertical support until the vine reaches the horizontal cordon wire. Once the best shoot is selected, the remainder of the shoots are then cut off so all the plant’s energy can go to the main stem.

Here you can see the 2008 Aglianica which produced a small harvest last year. We are periodically walking through and taping the new growth to the cordon wire. It is loaded with fruit and, Lord willing, will produce a good harvest in the fall.

Thankfully, everything is growing with gusto this year! In fact, we are hustling just to keep up with all the work!

What Happened?

As you can see, the pots are empty – Why? Because all of my tomato seedlings died – it was so sad. They all died within a week! I posted previously about “Gardening From Seeds” and wanted to let you know that despite how well the seedlings were looking, it was short lived. When posting “The Garden is Planted”, the tomato plants used were bought from a nursery. Unfortunately, those also, all died. We are now on our third set of plants and they seem to being doing fine.

After investigating online and with our grape consultant (who did post grad work with tomatoes), it seems I made a common mistake in not using sterile potting soil. It would have been so easy to cover my trays with plastic and set them in the sun. That would be all it took to sterilize the soil before planting the seeds! Since I did not, the moisture in the soil from watering the seeds allowed a virus which was already in the soil to thrive. It is also called “damping-off”. But, I did not know – live and learn – right?

So, why did the second set of plants die? Perhaps, they had the virus too! The eggplants which I also bought from the same nursery died very quickly. Many times, plants bought from a nursery which are small or have a purple tint to their leaves and stem are infected. These are the most common signs and this may occur at a local feed store or a reputable nursery.

It was a hard lesson. Not only did I lose the money spent on the seeds, but also the anticipation of the fabulous varieties of tomatoes we planted. I will try again next year to start plants from seeds. Hopefully, we will have our greenhouse together and the plants will have more protection from the wind, as well as, airborne diseases. And, I will definitely sterilize my soil before planting!

Scribe SEO

SEO = Search Engine Optimization. If you are a blogger, then you have probably at one time or another wondered, investigated or worried over the best way to have your written content at its best. I am speaking in terms of how it is viewed by the search engines.

Scribe SEO accomplishes this with great ease! Now, without worry or long hours, you can tweak your content effortlessly.

Scribe Web allows you to optimize content no matter what the eventual publishing platform. The Scribe version for WordPress is a plugin and works with WordPress if you’re able to fill in a custom title tag and meta description for the post or page. Scribe SEO was originally developed for the Thesis Theme for WordPress but also works with the free All in One SEO plugin, the Hybrid theme, and the Headway theme. I have the All in One SEO plugin here at Dimes2Vines.
When you try the FREE introductory offer, you are given an API key which is then plugged in and allows you to utilize the service right from your WordPress interface. You are given step-by-step instructions on how to install and activate it – it really is simple!

Here is what Scribe SEO does:

Analyzes what you’ve already written.
Tells you what search engines will think you’re writing about.
Tells you what changes to make to better reflect the language searchers are using.
Helps you tweak remaining content elements based on SEO best practices.

So, after I write a post and fill in the Meta Description and Title Tag, I hit the analyze button. Scribe analyzes what I have written and gives me an SEO score. I then check my keyword analysis to see how my keywords match what people are looking for. If I have not done well, I check Scribe’s suggestions on how to refocus primary keywords. Since Google takes into account not only the keywords but also the synonyms, Scribe also gives this information. The SERP (Search Engine Results Page) tab lets me see how my description will look on the search page. It also gives SEO’s best practices for each analysis.

I have been very pleased with the Scribe SEO plugin and encourage you to give it a try. You can try it FREE for 30 days to see what you think! If you decide it is for you, subscriptions start as low as $17/mth. You are free to cancel before the 30 days FREE trial ends with no further obligation.