Showing posts with label in the garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in the garden. Show all posts
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
gardening blues...
Oh my, but what an odd gardening year it is. Late spring and early summer were SO DARN RAINY, and while it's not quite as bad now, we're still getting more rain than is normal here. It's taken it's toll, that's for sure. All the heavy rain washed away or drowned so many seeds and seedlings. We're going to have pathetic harvests of some of the things we've never had the slightest trouble growing before. Like kohlrabi--we're usually inundated with it, but this year the rain inundated them. We're only looking at getting maybe half a dozen (if nothing else goes wrong). Same with carrots. The cucumbers didn't come up at all, but we've since replanted them and they seem to be growing strong now. Only about a quarter of the onion seedlings survived, and an even smaller fraction of the cauliflower and broccoli.
But the worst, worst, worst thing of all is the tomatoes. Last year, I canned about 60 quarts of tomatoes, not to mention about 30 pints of salsa. This year, I'm going to be surprised if I can any. :( At this point, we've got lots of green tomatoes, but the plants themselves look utterly pathetic. We're babying the hell out of them, hoping they'll hang on...but honestly, I don't think either of us is too hopeful.
On the bright side, as Chris mentioned last week, the abundance of rain seems to be making the peppers happy. We've got loads of jalapenos and cayennes growing, and loads more flowering. Hopefully some of which are sweet green peppers. (We got all my pepper seedlings mixed up when planting them, so we're not sure what is where. :P )
As I said, our second planting of cucumbers seems to be doing well. And I'm tickled to death about how the cabbage is doing, especially as it's something completely new for us. And the zucchini--well, you know zucchini, it's going gangbusters. I've been baking away, and freezing some as well.
The lettuce is still feeding us abundantly.
The celery (another new-to-us crop) seems to be doing well, looking a little more celery-like all the time. And though we got our green beans in the ground a little late this year, they seem to be doing well too.
So yeah, it seems to be a year of ups and downs in the garden. We're trying hard not to be too disappointed in the "downs." After all, every bite of fresh-grown deliciousness we get is an "up" worthy of celebration!
I'm not sure if Chris is going to have a chance to get up a Saturday Farmers Market post today, but be sure to check over there for more garden goodness!
But the worst, worst, worst thing of all is the tomatoes. Last year, I canned about 60 quarts of tomatoes, not to mention about 30 pints of salsa. This year, I'm going to be surprised if I can any. :( At this point, we've got lots of green tomatoes, but the plants themselves look utterly pathetic. We're babying the hell out of them, hoping they'll hang on...but honestly, I don't think either of us is too hopeful.
On the bright side, as Chris mentioned last week, the abundance of rain seems to be making the peppers happy. We've got loads of jalapenos and cayennes growing, and loads more flowering. Hopefully some of which are sweet green peppers. (We got all my pepper seedlings mixed up when planting them, so we're not sure what is where. :P )
As I said, our second planting of cucumbers seems to be doing well. And I'm tickled to death about how the cabbage is doing, especially as it's something completely new for us. And the zucchini--well, you know zucchini, it's going gangbusters. I've been baking away, and freezing some as well.
The lettuce is still feeding us abundantly.
The celery (another new-to-us crop) seems to be doing well, looking a little more celery-like all the time. And though we got our green beans in the ground a little late this year, they seem to be doing well too.
So yeah, it seems to be a year of ups and downs in the garden. We're trying hard not to be too disappointed in the "downs." After all, every bite of fresh-grown deliciousness we get is an "up" worthy of celebration!
I'm not sure if Chris is going to have a chance to get up a Saturday Farmers Market post today, but be sure to check over there for more garden goodness!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
let the preserving begin...
Plan was to get some strawberries in June...but well, plans fall through. I knew we wouldn't yet have enough strawberries of our own to preserve, but I'd planned to buy some local organic berries. But yeah, it just didn't happen, and we're stretching the limits of the season now. I'm not going to shed any tears over it...we've got more than enough strawberry jam left from the last time I made it and even have enough sliced frozen ones left from last summer for a few batches of muffins through the coming year.
So my first preservation feat (feat--ha! like there's anything hard about it :P ) of the season was radishes. Rich and I love radishes, but even we couldn't munch our way through this year's harvest. We always tend to overplant them.
(Gray likes to harvest them, but doesn't like to eat them.)
And you know, I've no idea why I never thought about freezing them before. But when we just couldn't keep up with the eating, I decided to look into it. Turns out they're as easy to freeze as kohlrabi.
Wash, slice, blanch 2 minutes, then into the ice water.
And now we've got 4 lovely bags of radishes for future stir frys. Supposedly they stay nice and crisp. The kohlrabi I froze last summer did, so I've got hope for these babies too. :)
Apparently you can also freeze the radish greens, but I've never eaten them before. Have you? Suggestions for using them?
(Gray likes to harvest them, but doesn't like to eat them.)
Apparently you can also freeze the radish greens, but I've never eaten them before. Have you? Suggestions for using them?
Saturday, June 1, 2013
and it's Saturday again...
As far as the things planted in the main garden, I'm not really sure how much of it is doing. We're trying quite a few things for the first time, and I just don't know if they're looking as they should or not. :P Like this cabbage:
Oooh, and the celery. Another new one for us. Looks good to me, but again, what the hell do I know?!! Of course, if it does do well and we end up with as much as I planted, I'm probably going to have to learn to like eating it. *shudders*
(And yes, I totally need to weed again.)
And hooray for those early bursts of deliciousness! Won't be too long until we're eating radishes. (Yep, they need to be thinned--badly.)
For more (and better) fresh food and gardening posts, be sure to head over to Chris's Saturday Market post and round-up!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
it's Saturday already...
...and thus time for Saturday Farmers Market again! And once again, I feel like I don't really have much to report. Our farmers markets don't start until the beginning of June, and we've done no outside planting yet. But we're getting closer on a couple of fronts.
Last week that tray on the bottom right had newly planted seeds...this week we've got loads of pepper seedlings and broccoli and cauliflower seedlings too. From the looks of things, I do believe I missed planting an entire row though. Oops. :P And on the top of the plant light, newly planted tomato seeds--three cherry tomato and 45 Bonny Bests (love those for canning, and for fresh eating). Plus parsley, cilantro, basil, oregano, and marjoram.
And...Rich started getting our soon-to-be strawberry patch ready:
This thing here that Rich is dismantling was part of a playground unit left here by the previous owners of this house. But the thing was totally rotting out. In fact, Rich was a bit nervous sitting up there, afraid he was going to fall through. But he got the top railings removed, and in this picture is starting to take off the floor. When he got enough of the floor off to make it not quite so heavy, he and the boys tipped it over. Then he measured the posts and sawed them off at the height of the wire garden fencing. Yep, we're upcycling the bottom portion of the thing to become the fencing for our strawberry patch. Here it is moved into position in the yard (though it still needs leveled out):
We had hoped to get the soil prepared this weekend and get the strawberry plants that Chris so generously sent us planted and get the fencing put up around it (necessary because of all the bunnies and groundhogs), but it's looking like that's not going to happen. Weather is not cooperating. In fact, it's snowing like crazy right now, and is supposed to turn to rain for a bit before stopping. But maybe we'll be able to tackle that soil later today, or tomorrow. :)
Last week that tray on the bottom right had newly planted seeds...this week we've got loads of pepper seedlings and broccoli and cauliflower seedlings too. From the looks of things, I do believe I missed planting an entire row though. Oops. :P And on the top of the plant light, newly planted tomato seeds--three cherry tomato and 45 Bonny Bests (love those for canning, and for fresh eating). Plus parsley, cilantro, basil, oregano, and marjoram.
And...Rich started getting our soon-to-be strawberry patch ready:
This thing here that Rich is dismantling was part of a playground unit left here by the previous owners of this house. But the thing was totally rotting out. In fact, Rich was a bit nervous sitting up there, afraid he was going to fall through. But he got the top railings removed, and in this picture is starting to take off the floor. When he got enough of the floor off to make it not quite so heavy, he and the boys tipped it over. Then he measured the posts and sawed them off at the height of the wire garden fencing. Yep, we're upcycling the bottom portion of the thing to become the fencing for our strawberry patch. Here it is moved into position in the yard (though it still needs leveled out):
We had hoped to get the soil prepared this weekend and get the strawberry plants that Chris so generously sent us planted and get the fencing put up around it (necessary because of all the bunnies and groundhogs), but it's looking like that's not going to happen. Weather is not cooperating. In fact, it's snowing like crazy right now, and is supposed to turn to rain for a bit before stopping. But maybe we'll be able to tackle that soil later today, or tomorrow. :)
Saturday, April 13, 2013
dreaming of gardens...
I cannot quite believe it's Saturday again already. But it is, and thus it's again time for Saturday Farmers Market. Admittedly I feel a little silly making a post for it, as I've nothing all that interesting to share. But hey, just living up to my blog's name. :) My track record for keeping up these meme-ish sort of things is pretty poor (okay--horrendous), but I'm determined to try because I so love Chris and Heather.
This is where our garden currently stands:
Yep, the beginnings of this year's garden are currently housed in the dining room. Under the light, are our early seedlings that I talked about last week (cabbage, spinach, celery, and onions).
The tray on top of the plant light contains the seeds I planted this week--four kinds of peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. I've no idea why, but I'm nervous about the broccoli and cauliflower--they're new additions to our gardening efforts and I just have this awful feeling that we'll fail. (If anyone has any tips for success, I'd love to hear them.) As for the peppers, I started cayenne, green peppers, serrano tampiquenos, and jalapenos. Lots of jalapenos--as many of them as all the other peppers combined. We love them fresh, but I need a lot for making/canning salsa and for chopping/freezing to use throughout the year in spaghetti sauce and chili and the like.
On top of that seed tray, I've got my seed packets, to-be-planted as well as already planted. Included in the to-be-planted pile are loads of tomatoes, which I really need to get going. But first I want to buy another one of these planting trays. My gardening journal sits atop there too. Though calling it a gardening journal seems a bit overly generous. :P It is not one of those gardening journals with beautiful sketches and even more beautiful descriptions. Nope, mine is purely utilitarian (aka ugly). Just recording the facts--planting dates, successes, failures, ideas to try, blah blah blah. Here is my decidedly unprofessional sketch of my dreams for this year's garden:
See, not beautiful. But useful. Though we've already made some revisions. As in the shed we desperately need to buy won't be going there after all, but more likely behind the house. (Our garden is in the side yard.)
So as you can see, still not a lot of physical gardening going on here...but there is a lot of mental gardening afoot. :)
This is where our garden currently stands:
Yep, the beginnings of this year's garden are currently housed in the dining room. Under the light, are our early seedlings that I talked about last week (cabbage, spinach, celery, and onions).
The tray on top of the plant light contains the seeds I planted this week--four kinds of peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. I've no idea why, but I'm nervous about the broccoli and cauliflower--they're new additions to our gardening efforts and I just have this awful feeling that we'll fail. (If anyone has any tips for success, I'd love to hear them.) As for the peppers, I started cayenne, green peppers, serrano tampiquenos, and jalapenos. Lots of jalapenos--as many of them as all the other peppers combined. We love them fresh, but I need a lot for making/canning salsa and for chopping/freezing to use throughout the year in spaghetti sauce and chili and the like.
On top of that seed tray, I've got my seed packets, to-be-planted as well as already planted. Included in the to-be-planted pile are loads of tomatoes, which I really need to get going. But first I want to buy another one of these planting trays. My gardening journal sits atop there too. Though calling it a gardening journal seems a bit overly generous. :P It is not one of those gardening journals with beautiful sketches and even more beautiful descriptions. Nope, mine is purely utilitarian (aka ugly). Just recording the facts--planting dates, successes, failures, ideas to try, blah blah blah. Here is my decidedly unprofessional sketch of my dreams for this year's garden:
See, not beautiful. But useful. Though we've already made some revisions. As in the shed we desperately need to buy won't be going there after all, but more likely behind the house. (Our garden is in the side yard.)
So as you can see, still not a lot of physical gardening going on here...but there is a lot of mental gardening afoot. :)
Saturday, September 29, 2012
this past week...
...celebrating ten awesome years on Earth with this guy
...feeling the temperatures starting to occasionally dip into the 30s at night, and having the furnace starting to kick on from time to time even though we keep it set at 62 degrees
...getting a bit fatigued with all the canning, yet still keeping my fingers crossed that we can eek out a couple more weeks of produce before the weather calls an end to things
...finishing one crochet project (for Gray's birthday), abandoning another (just decided it wasn't the look I wanted), and starting a brand new one (which I have very high hopes for)
...staying immersed in the 1960s through both books and films with Annie's history class
...reviewing quickly all things fractional, slogging through the U.S. Constitution, diving into discussions of Something Wicked This Way Comes, tackling human reproduction, among many other things with Gray's homeschooling
...practicing patience with an internet connection that is out more often than it's in and an operating system that's "too old"
...giving Rich a few extra "my hero" points for fixing my glasses...as I couldn't see well enough to fix them myself, a fact that is somewhat disconcerting as I never even had to wear glasses until a few years ago
...spending far too much time stressing out over the ugliness of politics, and strongly considering simply deleting all emails without reading them from extended family members until after the election
...getting ridiculously excited about the return of "Christmas prep" weekends, one for each of the remaining months of the year...thank you so much for putting a dose of giddy in my outlook Chris :)
...swirling in a whole whopping pile of mixed emotions, including a nice share of happy, about Dewey's Read-a-Thon
...washing loads of fabric for upcoming sewing projects
...refusing to feel overwhelmed by google reader...sort of...well, okay, I'm trying
...being so very inspired by my dear friend Kara's journey towards balance and simplicity and happiness, and knowing I *need* to start down that road myself
...relishing the changing of the seasons, and feeling incredibly blessed this first autumn in our new home
...feeling the temperatures starting to occasionally dip into the 30s at night, and having the furnace starting to kick on from time to time even though we keep it set at 62 degrees
...getting a bit fatigued with all the canning, yet still keeping my fingers crossed that we can eek out a couple more weeks of produce before the weather calls an end to things
...finishing one crochet project (for Gray's birthday), abandoning another (just decided it wasn't the look I wanted), and starting a brand new one (which I have very high hopes for)
...staying immersed in the 1960s through both books and films with Annie's history class
...reviewing quickly all things fractional, slogging through the U.S. Constitution, diving into discussions of Something Wicked This Way Comes, tackling human reproduction, among many other things with Gray's homeschooling
...practicing patience with an internet connection that is out more often than it's in and an operating system that's "too old"
...giving Rich a few extra "my hero" points for fixing my glasses...as I couldn't see well enough to fix them myself, a fact that is somewhat disconcerting as I never even had to wear glasses until a few years ago
...spending far too much time stressing out over the ugliness of politics, and strongly considering simply deleting all emails without reading them from extended family members until after the election
...getting ridiculously excited about the return of "Christmas prep" weekends, one for each of the remaining months of the year...thank you so much for putting a dose of giddy in my outlook Chris :)
...swirling in a whole whopping pile of mixed emotions, including a nice share of happy, about Dewey's Read-a-Thon
...washing loads of fabric for upcoming sewing projects
...refusing to feel overwhelmed by google reader...sort of...well, okay, I'm trying
...being so very inspired by my dear friend Kara's journey towards balance and simplicity and happiness, and knowing I *need* to start down that road myself
...relishing the changing of the seasons, and feeling incredibly blessed this first autumn in our new home
Monday, September 10, 2012
babblings...
*It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I'm not participating, because, well, I'm not a book blogger. :P But that doesn't change the fact that I appreciate book bloggers very much!!! In fact, "appreciate" doesn't seem nearly a big enough word. Many of my dearest, closest friends are book bloggers. Seriously, like the pour-my-heart-and-soul-out sort of friends. And the be-silly-without-being-slightest-bit-embarrassed sort of friends. And the can-I-ask-your-honest-advice sort of friends. But I also appreciate book bloggers that I hardly even know...because holy crap, has my reading life blossomed and expanded since I started reading book blogs! And honestly, not just my reading life.
*So I've already added about 15 new book blogs to my reader this morning. But I really shouldn't have. Because tears will eventually flow. Yes, I literally cry sometimes when I look at my reader. This world is full of so much awesomeness, but days are only so long, so it's impossible to read and comment on everything one wants to. I know I'm not alone in feeling that. But it makes me so very, very sad...because I want to have the time to thank everyone for every incredible post they write. Know what I mean? Of course you do.
*I started making Halloween cards this morning. Well, if you count pulling a few odds and ends out of bins and making a list of people to send the hopefully one day completed cards to, that is. I think it's the cool temperatures that have me inspired...we even had to close the windows last night. And Max and I could see our breath at the bus stop this morning. :)
*I'm getting a bit tired of tomatoes. Okay, not really. But our garden is starting to wear me out with all the canning now. And yes, this is a good thing, of course.
*After today, we will have our first week of school under our belts. One massive meltdown. (Not me.) Otherwise pretty darn good. Might just bore you with a quick little look at our first week of homeschooling for the year tomorrow...or maybe I'll be kind and skip it. ;)
*Tomorrow is the start of the best library book sale in the county! And we now live very close-by. We don't really need any more books...we will, however, come home with many. It's a given.
*So I've already added about 15 new book blogs to my reader this morning. But I really shouldn't have. Because tears will eventually flow. Yes, I literally cry sometimes when I look at my reader. This world is full of so much awesomeness, but days are only so long, so it's impossible to read and comment on everything one wants to. I know I'm not alone in feeling that. But it makes me so very, very sad...because I want to have the time to thank everyone for every incredible post they write. Know what I mean? Of course you do.
*I started making Halloween cards this morning. Well, if you count pulling a few odds and ends out of bins and making a list of people to send the hopefully one day completed cards to, that is. I think it's the cool temperatures that have me inspired...we even had to close the windows last night. And Max and I could see our breath at the bus stop this morning. :)
*I'm getting a bit tired of tomatoes. Okay, not really. But our garden is starting to wear me out with all the canning now. And yes, this is a good thing, of course.
*After today, we will have our first week of school under our belts. One massive meltdown. (Not me.) Otherwise pretty darn good. Might just bore you with a quick little look at our first week of homeschooling for the year tomorrow...or maybe I'll be kind and skip it. ;)
*Tomorrow is the start of the best library book sale in the county! And we now live very close-by. We don't really need any more books...we will, however, come home with many. It's a given.
Monday, July 30, 2012
good stuff again...
Life is good. It really truly is. So why do I feel this funk coming on? I'm fretting too much over the fact that summer is flying by and I'm not getting nearly as much school prep done as I need to. I've fumbled the ball yet again in not keeping up with blog reading and had to do the old "mark all as read" thing. (I told myself last month that blogging would have to go if I let it become stressful again, so I'd better shape up on this front--I really don't want to give up blogging.) I am sick to frickin' death of feeling so scatterbrained and unable to concentrate, sick to frickin' death of hurting physically (though I'd take that any day over mentally/emotionally hurting), sick to frickin' death of being so. damn. tired. all. the. time.
So yes, to remind myself how good life is, it's time to indulge in a little funk-busting and put together another list of good stuff. It seriously ought to be a weekly requirement for me as it does my mind a lot of good.
*Reading a couple chapters of A Hero for Wondla with Max this morning. God, I love reading with that kid.
*Having my *favorite* summertime supper last night--baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad made with greens fresh from the garden, and slices of watermelon.
*Getting closer and closer to having our reading room in a usable state. Might even have pictures to show later this week.
*Even though we weren't able to get everything planted in the garden that we wanted to this year, what we did get planted seems to be doing well. *knocks on wood*
The radishes have come and gone now. They were huge and delicious. We're eating lettuce greens like crazy at the moment. This is a good thing.
Looks like we'll be eating our first kohlrabi by week's end. Can't even express how happy this makes me.
We've got carrots that are looking big and bushy, but I've no earthly clue when we should pick them as this is the first year we've ever grown them. :P And we've got buttloads of tomatoes growing now...in a few weeks I suspect I'll be canning, canning, canning. Still no blossoms on the beans or peppers though, both of which got in the ground a little later than planned.
*Gray had a friend sleep over last night, and they have been amazingly non-rambunctious. *knocks on wood again*
*We went and ordered new appliances (stove, fridge, and chest freezer) over the weekend. Nothing fancy. Just appliances that will actually work (or so we hope anyway :P ). We had set money aside from selling our house for this and other expenses of the move, but it is fast disappearing. In a sense, that's a good thing, because it means we're getting some things done around here.
*Our butterfly bush. It's not that I think it's the most gorgeous plant alive or anything, but gosh golly, it sure lives up to its name! I wish I'd kept a list, but I'd say we're probably in the neighborhood of about ten different species (butterflies and moths) seen on it. This hummingbird moth is one of my favorites.
*The fact that so many of you are kind enough to share the good stuff in your life. I feel such a wonderful boost of happy when I read about the good things in other people's lives. So, if you're willing...pretty please...
So yes, to remind myself how good life is, it's time to indulge in a little funk-busting and put together another list of good stuff. It seriously ought to be a weekly requirement for me as it does my mind a lot of good.
*Reading a couple chapters of A Hero for Wondla with Max this morning. God, I love reading with that kid.
*Having my *favorite* summertime supper last night--baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad made with greens fresh from the garden, and slices of watermelon.
*Getting closer and closer to having our reading room in a usable state. Might even have pictures to show later this week.
*Even though we weren't able to get everything planted in the garden that we wanted to this year, what we did get planted seems to be doing well. *knocks on wood*
The radishes have come and gone now. They were huge and delicious. We're eating lettuce greens like crazy at the moment. This is a good thing.
Looks like we'll be eating our first kohlrabi by week's end. Can't even express how happy this makes me.
We've got carrots that are looking big and bushy, but I've no earthly clue when we should pick them as this is the first year we've ever grown them. :P And we've got buttloads of tomatoes growing now...in a few weeks I suspect I'll be canning, canning, canning. Still no blossoms on the beans or peppers though, both of which got in the ground a little later than planned.
*Gray had a friend sleep over last night, and they have been amazingly non-rambunctious. *knocks on wood again*
*We went and ordered new appliances (stove, fridge, and chest freezer) over the weekend. Nothing fancy. Just appliances that will actually work (or so we hope anyway :P ). We had set money aside from selling our house for this and other expenses of the move, but it is fast disappearing. In a sense, that's a good thing, because it means we're getting some things done around here.
*Our butterfly bush. It's not that I think it's the most gorgeous plant alive or anything, but gosh golly, it sure lives up to its name! I wish I'd kept a list, but I'd say we're probably in the neighborhood of about ten different species (butterflies and moths) seen on it. This hummingbird moth is one of my favorites.
*The fact that so many of you are kind enough to share the good stuff in your life. I feel such a wonderful boost of happy when I read about the good things in other people's lives. So, if you're willing...pretty please...
Saturday, May 26, 2012
today will see...
...this area a few steps down the road to becoming our garden:
...this area become our new compost area:
...this area have the greenery cut down (yes, I know I should wait a bit but I'm overly eager), the cement painted, and sunflower seeds planted:
...the first chapter of this book read:
...and this shipping pallet that we found out in the yard at least one step closer to being a fence for hiding our gargage can:
...this area become our new compost area:
...this area have the greenery cut down (yes, I know I should wait a bit but I'm overly eager), the cement painted, and sunflower seeds planted:
...the first chapter of this book read:
...and this shipping pallet that we found out in the yard at least one step closer to being a fence for hiding our gargage can:
Monday, May 7, 2012
just some start of week babbling...
*I have been forced to lower my expectations for the day. In the first 20 minutes of semi-awakedness, I cleaned up a nasty pile of dog vomit, stubbed my toe, and poured coffee in my lap. Just has that feel of one of those days that will be filled with minor annoyances. That's okay though--it also feels like one of those days where I'll be able to laugh at them all, instead of one of those days where they'll turn me into one cranky, pissy human being.
*Despite how much we get done around this house, it always seems like there's so much more to do. You know, kinda like life in general. :P But this weekend we did finally manage to get the family room put together. Including, much to the delight of the young lads, setting up the wii. (Though it was such a gloriously beautiful weekend, that thankfully they spent it playing outside instead. Just the knowledge that they *could* play the wii if they wanted to made them happy.) Like all the other rooms in the house, I have many, many plans for redecorating in the future. In fact, I've been having a good time redoing my Home Projects page and dreaming of how things will look once all the projects are complete. You know, ten years from now. :P
*Sigh. I am off to a pathetic start in Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge. Zero done so far. Yep, nada. BUT...I did buy yarn this weekend to start one project.
Okay, technically I bought the yarn to make an afghan for the family room, but first I'm going to steal a little of it to make a Christmas gift for Annie.
*I'm increasingly happy that I finished The Hobbit last week, as it's beginning to seem as if it will be the only book I finish this month. :P And it's not that I haven't been doing any reading. As usual, I guess I just have too many books going at once to feel like I'm making progress in any of them. After being "misplaced" for a many weeks, I finally found The Search for Wondla, so Max and I have been imbibing nearly nightly now for the past week...we *are* making progress, but it's a long book. Reading Polio: An American Story for Annie's history class...it's really good, but despite the amount of time I've spent reading it, I just don't seem to be moving along very quickly. Also reading The Fifties for Annie's history class, but have set that aside until I finish the polio book. Reading Life in Cold Blood for Gray's science unit on herps. And just for me, I'm reading Fables 9: Sons of Empire. But obviously I need to go to bed earlier--you know you're dog-tired when you can only manage to stay awake for a couple of pages in Fables!
*Rich told me this morning that the rascally little rabbits seem to be nibbling on our blackberry plants. I so hope they don't kill them before they have a chance to grow. :(
*I'm doing a damn fine job of procrastinating getting started on school stuff for the day. I suppose I should put an end to that...
*Wishing you all have a fun-filled, joyous, and productive week!!!! (The "productive" part is optional.)
*Despite how much we get done around this house, it always seems like there's so much more to do. You know, kinda like life in general. :P But this weekend we did finally manage to get the family room put together. Including, much to the delight of the young lads, setting up the wii. (Though it was such a gloriously beautiful weekend, that thankfully they spent it playing outside instead. Just the knowledge that they *could* play the wii if they wanted to made them happy.) Like all the other rooms in the house, I have many, many plans for redecorating in the future. In fact, I've been having a good time redoing my Home Projects page and dreaming of how things will look once all the projects are complete. You know, ten years from now. :P
*Sigh. I am off to a pathetic start in Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge. Zero done so far. Yep, nada. BUT...I did buy yarn this weekend to start one project.
*I'm increasingly happy that I finished The Hobbit last week, as it's beginning to seem as if it will be the only book I finish this month. :P And it's not that I haven't been doing any reading. As usual, I guess I just have too many books going at once to feel like I'm making progress in any of them. After being "misplaced" for a many weeks, I finally found The Search for Wondla, so Max and I have been imbibing nearly nightly now for the past week...we *are* making progress, but it's a long book. Reading Polio: An American Story for Annie's history class...it's really good, but despite the amount of time I've spent reading it, I just don't seem to be moving along very quickly. Also reading The Fifties for Annie's history class, but have set that aside until I finish the polio book. Reading Life in Cold Blood for Gray's science unit on herps. And just for me, I'm reading Fables 9: Sons of Empire. But obviously I need to go to bed earlier--you know you're dog-tired when you can only manage to stay awake for a couple of pages in Fables!
*Rich told me this morning that the rascally little rabbits seem to be nibbling on our blackberry plants. I so hope they don't kill them before they have a chance to grow. :(
*I'm doing a damn fine job of procrastinating getting started on school stuff for the day. I suppose I should put an end to that...
*Wishing you all have a fun-filled, joyous, and productive week!!!! (The "productive" part is optional.)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
more good stuff...
Because I need to remember there *is* good stuff. Because being on the lookout for it somehow seems to help. Because it's better than bad stuff.
*sigh* I am so not in a good place right now. But I'm working on it. I know things will get better. I do. But in the meantime, I think I need to use this place to help me focus on the good stuff. Because it really is there, even when it overwhelmingly feels like it isn't. So anyway, for the next little while, that may be all that gets posted here.
*Today was library day. As in the day that Annie volunteers at the library, and I get to hang out there for two hours. We load up our bags to make the most efficient use of our time while there, but it's not as productive for me as it used to be since Gray is now present to provide a healthy dose of interruptions. :) Still, this is one of my favorite parts of our school week. You know, because LIBRARIES = AWESOME!
*Fresh picked garden goodness.
And we didn't even plant cucumbers--just a rogue plant from our compost.
*Chris's apple butter! Mmmmm...
*I read three short, incredibly fun, graphic novels over the weekend while we were off "sort of" camping.
Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things
Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics
Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom
Annie had picked up these books at a used bookstore many moons ago...and when RIP rolled around, she put them in my pile and told me that I *had* to read them. Thank you, Annie! According to whomever decides these things, these are middle grade books. But they are by no means entirely tame. There's delicious darkness within the pages. And I enjoyed every minute of my time with them, more and more so as I read further along. Enough so that I'm really hoping I can come across the next volume more sooner than later.
*Also while pseudo-camping, I finally finished a farmers market bag for us. You know, just as farmers market season is nearing its close for the year. :P (Thanks for modeling for me, Annie.)
*sigh* I am so not in a good place right now. But I'm working on it. I know things will get better. I do. But in the meantime, I think I need to use this place to help me focus on the good stuff. Because it really is there, even when it overwhelmingly feels like it isn't. So anyway, for the next little while, that may be all that gets posted here.
*Today was library day. As in the day that Annie volunteers at the library, and I get to hang out there for two hours. We load up our bags to make the most efficient use of our time while there, but it's not as productive for me as it used to be since Gray is now present to provide a healthy dose of interruptions. :) Still, this is one of my favorite parts of our school week. You know, because LIBRARIES = AWESOME!
*Fresh picked garden goodness.
*Chris's apple butter! Mmmmm...
*I read three short, incredibly fun, graphic novels over the weekend while we were off "sort of" camping.
Annie had picked up these books at a used bookstore many moons ago...and when RIP rolled around, she put them in my pile and told me that I *had* to read them. Thank you, Annie! According to whomever decides these things, these are middle grade books. But they are by no means entirely tame. There's delicious darkness within the pages. And I enjoyed every minute of my time with them, more and more so as I read further along. Enough so that I'm really hoping I can come across the next volume more sooner than later.
*Also while pseudo-camping, I finally finished a farmers market bag for us. You know, just as farmers market season is nearing its close for the year. :P (Thanks for modeling for me, Annie.)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
and a second first day of school...
So today was the start of new school year for Max. I can't even quite explain how heartbreaking it was sending him off on that bus this morning. I mean, he's my baby! And yes, he's 8-years-old and starting 4th grade so it's not like this is the first time sending him off. But somehow, having him the only one heading off to public school this year just made it hurt all the more. And it didn't help that he really didn't want to go. At all. See for yourself:
These were the absolute best I could do. Thing is, he doesn't want to be homeschooled, so feeling guilty about that is useless. He's not one of those kiddos who absolutely loves school...but he doesn't hate it nearly as much as he sometimes pretends to. I really think the low spirits this morning had more to do with the end of summer than with an absolute dreading of school. There was no fighting, no tantrums, nothing like I became accustomed to with Gray. It was just plain old sadness.
The good news though--he came home happy and even admitted that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. (Though he wasn't thrilled to get both math and reading homework on the first night. :P )
And it was not only Gray's first day of school, but it was his first day of homeschooling ever. Obvious from these first-day-of-school photos, he was not nearly as upset as his little brother:
To be perfectly honest, as happy and excited as I was to be starting this journey with him, I was also more than a bit apprehensive. Gray can be...well, how shall I put this...obstinate...and argumentative...and horrendously pessimistic. But I needn't have worried, as we had absolutely the best day imaginable! He was upbeat and hard-working and fun to be around. (Having one's beagle and one's blanket surely doesn't hurt.)
I'm not silly enough to think every day will go this well, but it was wonderful to get off on the right foot!
*****
And in other news...Gray got his stitches removed today. One would think this would be good news, but I'm sorry to say Gray came out of there feeling worse about his leg than he has in days. :( His doc told him that it was nowhere near healed yet and that he was going to have to remain on alert taking great care not to have anything hit that spot or it would burst right open as if it had never been stitched to start with. He glued it and put on some steri-strips, hoping that will get him another four or five days worth of healing in. I understand that he wanted to make sure that Gray was careful, but oh my. The poor kid is practically back to being as upset about it as he was when he first got home from the hospital.
*****
Also managed to turn this lovely goodness from our garden (with the addition of an onion, some cilantro, and limes)
...into two pints of canned salsa plus a nice size bowl to eat fresh.
So all in all, a busy productive day. And overall, a pretty good one.
These were the absolute best I could do. Thing is, he doesn't want to be homeschooled, so feeling guilty about that is useless. He's not one of those kiddos who absolutely loves school...but he doesn't hate it nearly as much as he sometimes pretends to. I really think the low spirits this morning had more to do with the end of summer than with an absolute dreading of school. There was no fighting, no tantrums, nothing like I became accustomed to with Gray. It was just plain old sadness.
The good news though--he came home happy and even admitted that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. (Though he wasn't thrilled to get both math and reading homework on the first night. :P )
And it was not only Gray's first day of school, but it was his first day of homeschooling ever. Obvious from these first-day-of-school photos, he was not nearly as upset as his little brother:
To be perfectly honest, as happy and excited as I was to be starting this journey with him, I was also more than a bit apprehensive. Gray can be...well, how shall I put this...obstinate...and argumentative...and horrendously pessimistic. But I needn't have worried, as we had absolutely the best day imaginable! He was upbeat and hard-working and fun to be around. (Having one's beagle and one's blanket surely doesn't hurt.)
I'm not silly enough to think every day will go this well, but it was wonderful to get off on the right foot!
*****
And in other news...Gray got his stitches removed today. One would think this would be good news, but I'm sorry to say Gray came out of there feeling worse about his leg than he has in days. :( His doc told him that it was nowhere near healed yet and that he was going to have to remain on alert taking great care not to have anything hit that spot or it would burst right open as if it had never been stitched to start with. He glued it and put on some steri-strips, hoping that will get him another four or five days worth of healing in. I understand that he wanted to make sure that Gray was careful, but oh my. The poor kid is practically back to being as upset about it as he was when he first got home from the hospital.
*****
Also managed to turn this lovely goodness from our garden (with the addition of an onion, some cilantro, and limes)
...into two pints of canned salsa plus a nice size bowl to eat fresh.
So all in all, a busy productive day. And overall, a pretty good one.
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