Spring Fever and Preparing for Planting

Today has been beautiful and we have spent as much time outside as possible. It feels great to be almost completely recovered from our colds. Everyone is feeling much better, though we still have a few runny noses.

Since 1/2 of our stuff, primarily the stuff from the garage and attic, isn't here yet, we don't have our yard toys. Today the gardeners recommended by the landladies came and did trimming, mowing, and general clean up of the front and back yards. Generally, they put down some kind of fertilizer and weed killer. I asked them to not do this since we have little people and beagles. They also took down an old dead pine tree. Now we have wood seasoning for use in the fireplace next winter.

It is amazing how much better the yard looks! Joshua had a great time running around in it and exploring new areas. Anyway, now that the tree is down I can see how much sun per day that portion of the yard is going to get. I am excited to plant a small vegetable and herb garden in that area, as well as putting up some retractable laundry lines in the same vicinity. (Note: it's amazing how quickly stuff dries when the air isn't humid).

I remember last year my brother-in-law, William, reminded us of Square Foot Gardening (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) and I am excited to try it here. The beds are raised so I won't be having to dig up and till dirt or add stuff to it to make it the right mix. Plus, I have no idea what has been put on the yard in the past and I am going to be growing stuff organically. I may also do some things in containers.

here's a picture from the Square Foot Gardening website of what I am aiming for:


This configuration gives you 16 different square foot growing spaces. Depending on what you are growing, you will have 1, 4, 9 or 12 plants in each square foot (I think that's what I read).

Colds, Ginger Honey Tea and the Beagles

The last few days have been busy with colds, laundry, cooking, and general house stuff. I made my first herbal remedy this past week. It seems to be working and is pretty tasty. I took fresh garlic and sliced it thinly and covered it with honey. I covered the dish and put in the fridge overnight. I then grated some fresh ginger and made a tea to which I added the garlic honey and some fresh lemon slices. It is supposed to help fight colds and flu. It is a sweet, spicy "tea". I have also made some garlic/ginger honey and, after straining, add that to whatever tea we are drinking. Joshua likes the cooked tea mixture in his sippy cup. I add a couple tablespoons to a full sippy cup of water and he drinks it all down.

Needless to say, our house and each of us currently smells like garlic.


Here is a picture of Joshua from today with his sunglasses on. This is the first time he has kept his sunglasses on when we put them on him. Right now he is running around the backyard with his sunglasses on playing with sticks and dirt and grass and such. I am blogging from the backyard where table where I can see him and play with him and, of course, wipe his nose as necessary.

The life of a dog at our house is pretty easy as you can see from the below picture.

This is the beagles sleeping on our pillows on the bed. They enjoy spending time either on our bed, lying in the sun in the backyard, chasing squirrels along the fence in the backyard, and sleeping on the sofa.


Here is a pic of the large mac 'n' cheese I made this week. We ate a small part of it for dinner one night with salads and then I put the rest up using the FoodSaver. I put one day's lunch in the fridge and put the rest in individual portions in the freezer for lunches. This mac 'n' cheese had a surprise ingredient. I baked a butternut squash and put the butternut squash meat into the cheese sauce before mixing with the mac. It was pretty good but I think next time I will use 1/2 butternut squash and 1/2 cauliflower. The butternut squash has a somewhat sweet flavor that can overpower the cheese.

Well, it's almost time for nap and to fold clothes that have dried on the line. More later. :)