Oregano
 |
| photo taken on iphone 4S |
Showing posts with label in the garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in the garden. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
From my Garden [Wordless Wednesday]
Another weekly blog meme I've been wanting to do for so long. But.. but.. WORDLESS Wednesday? That's going to be soooo hard not to type anything. See? I've messed up already. ;)
For more wordless wednesday posts, visit here.
Friday, September 14, 2012
My July & August Adventures {in books!}
I fell a little behind with my monthly adventure posts over the summer. I think being away the week July turned into August did me in. I am going to keep the adventures brief because I've already highlighted the most important parts anyway with my vacation and cycling posts. I'll focus on what I read over the summer instead--especially since some people complained that I don't blog about books enough anymore. You know who you are .... this post's for you. ; )
In books:
JULY:
Total books read: 6
Young Adult ....... 1
Romance .............. 5
1. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
2. The Witness by Nora Roberts
3. Danger's Kiss by Sarah McKerrigan
4. Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins
5. Hearts of Fire by Kira Brady [novella]
6. Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady
It seems like ages since I read this books, not two months ago! I really enjoyed reading one of Nora Robert's regular romantic suspense novels as opposed to her crime fiction books she writes under J.D. Robb. The Witness was a perfect blend of romance and suspense, with very realistic and likable characters. In the end, I'd have to say I would have liked a little more depth or elaboration to the romance, but overall I really liked it and would definitely read more of her books. Good thing I've got a mess of them on my shelves!
I'm a big fan of Kristan Higgins' contemporary romances. The stories are chock full of quirky characters, charming characters, humor, misunderstandings, relationship blunders, family drama we can all relate to, and a sweet romance. Somebody to Love features Parker Welles, a young single mom, whose filthy rich father is suddenly broke and in prison, even after having spent Parker's trust money. All she has to her name is a decrepit little house in Maine that she inherited from her aunt. Parker heads up to Maine to turn the house around and get some cash into her banking account and who shows up to help her out but her father's young lawyer and right hand man, James Cahill. Of course they fight their love practically every step of the way, but what fun would it be if they didn't, right? While not my favorite Higgins' book, this one didn't disappoint! Good stuff.
Hearts of Fire, the prequel novella to the new Deadglass trilogy by debut author Kira Brady, and the first full length novel in the series, Hearts of Darkness were the last two books I read in July. Well written, fascinating setting, characters and series premise, Hearts of Darkness is a very creative and suspenseful story. If you like romance or urban fantasy do not miss this one!
AUGUST:
Total books read: 9
1. Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb
2. Deeper by Megan Hart
3. Gold by Chris Cleave
4. Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan
5. Before the Moon Rises by Catherine Bybee
6. Embracing the Moon by Catherine Bybee
7. No Rest For the Wicked by Kresley Cole [re-read]
8. Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole [re-read]
9. Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole [re-read]
It's always a good reading month when you've read a Megan Hart book. Entertaining, sexy and always thought provoking, Hart is always on the top of her game. I read Deeper in August, which was the perfect summer read from Hart's back list because it takes place in a beach town, but really, read it any time of the year.
Gold by Chris Cleave is a newer release book that captured the competitive spirit of Olympic athletes in training with a strong dose of women's fiction as the two main characters are friends, sometimes enemies and always competitors for the podium in women's track cycling. This book was at times uplifting and at other times, very heart breaking and frustrating. Not frustrating in the writing or story telling, but frustrating in that I wanted things to work out just so and they don't. Which is good actually, because you want a realistic story and real characters, flaws, mistakes and maliciousness and all. Because that's what life is like. Anyway, I highly recommend it.
I downloaded a few quick ebook reads that caught my eye on goodreads and twitter and I wasn't disappointed. Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan and two werewolf romances by Catherine Bybee--Before the Moon Rises and Embracing the Moon. Nothing earth shattering awesome or anything, but seriously fun and sexy reads.
Then as you can see, I indulged in a re-read of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. I read the first five full length books back in 2007-2008 as the books came out, but then I failed to keep up with new releases after that. Back in April, I decided it was time to catch up, so I picked up where I left off, which was the 7th book--Kiss of a Demon King. I got maybe thirty pages into the story when I realized I could use a refresher. The details about the other characters, the world, and all the little subplots were very fuzzy. I probably could have forged on through and done just fine, but since I really love "getting" all the little inside jokes and nuances between characters who know each other through past books, I knew I'd be a lot happier reading books 7 through 12 if I re-familiarized myself with this series. And what better way to do that than to go back to the beginning and re-read the first six books? So that's what I did. I put Kiss of a Demon King down and went back to the beginning, starting with the prequel novella that I never read, The Warlord Wants Forever, which is Myst the Coveted and Nikolai Wroth's story. I had a lot of fun re-reading these stories and have to say reading them in a row one after the other is very cool because these stories all overlap the same timeline so I'm remembering where people are going and what they're doing in other books as it's all mentioned again in subsequent books. It's been really fun!
Do you read the Immortals After Dark series?
Which book is your favorite so far?
In photography:
I had fun participating in a photo-a-day challenge hosted by the Fat Mum Slim blog, or @fatmumslim on twitter. I kept up for all of June, July and August. The fun daily prompts helped me stay on track taking a picture every day and the best part? I made some new friends on Instagram! I decided not to continue with that particular challenge through the fall and instead go back to just doing my own thing for my daily photo. I'm still determined to complete my Project 365! It's been almost 9 1/2 months now. I think I'm going to make it this time!
As always, you can follow my photography challenges on http://web.stagram.com/n/thehappilyeverafter
In the garden:
My five tomato plants are doing pretty well considering I planted so late. I've been picking red or yellow cherry tomatoes almost every day in the last several weeks. Finally! I still haven't picked a ripe slicing tomato--they're all still green and growing. To encourage the plants to put their energy to fattening up and ripening their fruit instead of generating new plant growth, maybe two weeks ago I pinched off all the growing ends of the plants and any flowers that had not yet set fruit. I think it helped because now the green tomatoes have gotten bigger and just this week, two of the tomatoes have started turning red. I was beginning to think it wasn't going to happen and I'd be stuck eating nothing but fried green tomatoes from my garden! This is what happens when you wait until the 4th of July to get your tomato plants in the ground! Remind me next year to do it in May..
Thanks for reading about my July & August adventures.
Here's wishing you an stupendous September! Even if it is half over already. ;)
In books:
JULY:
Total books read: 6
Young Adult ....... 1
Romance .............. 5
1. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
2. The Witness by Nora Roberts
3. Danger's Kiss by Sarah McKerrigan
4. Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins
5. Hearts of Fire by Kira Brady [novella]
6. Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady
It seems like ages since I read this books, not two months ago! I really enjoyed reading one of Nora Robert's regular romantic suspense novels as opposed to her crime fiction books she writes under J.D. Robb. The Witness was a perfect blend of romance and suspense, with very realistic and likable characters. In the end, I'd have to say I would have liked a little more depth or elaboration to the romance, but overall I really liked it and would definitely read more of her books. Good thing I've got a mess of them on my shelves!
I'm a big fan of Kristan Higgins' contemporary romances. The stories are chock full of quirky characters, charming characters, humor, misunderstandings, relationship blunders, family drama we can all relate to, and a sweet romance. Somebody to Love features Parker Welles, a young single mom, whose filthy rich father is suddenly broke and in prison, even after having spent Parker's trust money. All she has to her name is a decrepit little house in Maine that she inherited from her aunt. Parker heads up to Maine to turn the house around and get some cash into her banking account and who shows up to help her out but her father's young lawyer and right hand man, James Cahill. Of course they fight their love practically every step of the way, but what fun would it be if they didn't, right? While not my favorite Higgins' book, this one didn't disappoint! Good stuff.
Hearts of Fire, the prequel novella to the new Deadglass trilogy by debut author Kira Brady, and the first full length novel in the series, Hearts of Darkness were the last two books I read in July. Well written, fascinating setting, characters and series premise, Hearts of Darkness is a very creative and suspenseful story. If you like romance or urban fantasy do not miss this one!
AUGUST:
Total books read: 9
1. Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb
2. Deeper by Megan Hart
3. Gold by Chris Cleave
4. Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan
5. Before the Moon Rises by Catherine Bybee
6. Embracing the Moon by Catherine Bybee
7. No Rest For the Wicked by Kresley Cole [re-read]
8. Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole [re-read]
9. Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole [re-read]
 |
| My favorite part of the day... relaxing with a great book. Deeper by Megan Hart August 2012 |
Gold by Chris Cleave is a newer release book that captured the competitive spirit of Olympic athletes in training with a strong dose of women's fiction as the two main characters are friends, sometimes enemies and always competitors for the podium in women's track cycling. This book was at times uplifting and at other times, very heart breaking and frustrating. Not frustrating in the writing or story telling, but frustrating in that I wanted things to work out just so and they don't. Which is good actually, because you want a realistic story and real characters, flaws, mistakes and maliciousness and all. Because that's what life is like. Anyway, I highly recommend it.
I downloaded a few quick ebook reads that caught my eye on goodreads and twitter and I wasn't disappointed. Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan and two werewolf romances by Catherine Bybee--Before the Moon Rises and Embracing the Moon. Nothing earth shattering awesome or anything, but seriously fun and sexy reads.
Then as you can see, I indulged in a re-read of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. I read the first five full length books back in 2007-2008 as the books came out, but then I failed to keep up with new releases after that. Back in April, I decided it was time to catch up, so I picked up where I left off, which was the 7th book--Kiss of a Demon King. I got maybe thirty pages into the story when I realized I could use a refresher. The details about the other characters, the world, and all the little subplots were very fuzzy. I probably could have forged on through and done just fine, but since I really love "getting" all the little inside jokes and nuances between characters who know each other through past books, I knew I'd be a lot happier reading books 7 through 12 if I re-familiarized myself with this series. And what better way to do that than to go back to the beginning and re-read the first six books? So that's what I did. I put Kiss of a Demon King down and went back to the beginning, starting with the prequel novella that I never read, The Warlord Wants Forever, which is Myst the Coveted and Nikolai Wroth's story. I had a lot of fun re-reading these stories and have to say reading them in a row one after the other is very cool because these stories all overlap the same timeline so I'm remembering where people are going and what they're doing in other books as it's all mentioned again in subsequent books. It's been really fun!
Do you read the Immortals After Dark series?
Which book is your favorite so far?
In photography:
 |
| Butterfly in my garden. July 2012 |
As always, you can follow my photography challenges on http://web.stagram.com/n/thehappilyeverafter
In the garden:
My five tomato plants are doing pretty well considering I planted so late. I've been picking red or yellow cherry tomatoes almost every day in the last several weeks. Finally! I still haven't picked a ripe slicing tomato--they're all still green and growing. To encourage the plants to put their energy to fattening up and ripening their fruit instead of generating new plant growth, maybe two weeks ago I pinched off all the growing ends of the plants and any flowers that had not yet set fruit. I think it helped because now the green tomatoes have gotten bigger and just this week, two of the tomatoes have started turning red. I was beginning to think it wasn't going to happen and I'd be stuck eating nothing but fried green tomatoes from my garden! This is what happens when you wait until the 4th of July to get your tomato plants in the ground! Remind me next year to do it in May..
Thanks for reading about my July & August adventures.
Here's wishing you an stupendous September! Even if it is half over already. ;)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Hello July! ..What Happened in June?!
Holy smokes it's July 4th already! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and the fireworks were spectacular by you.. whether you saw them at the park or made some of your own at home. ; )
Well, I sure am starting to sound like a broken record, but dang it.. life has been busy, leaving me too few minutes in the day to read or blog and blog hop as much as I'd like. I thought the school year was never going to end there for a while, but it finally did on June 20. I swear we were the last schools in session in the whole country by then. Both girls brought home awesome report cards. My youngest ended 7th grade with all A's and a few B's.. honors in several of her classes, high honors in Language Arts. That's my girl! My oldest finished 11th grade--her junior year with a stellar report card. Also A's and a scarce B, most of her courses being honors and honors AP courses. She did so well, she boosted her overall GPA a smidgen and now has over a 4.0 GPA! YES! My girls are some smart cookies! So proud. ^_^
I imagined summer break was going to be lazy, easy, breezy, but alas it's been quite hectic. All good things, but my time management skills are forever a work in progress so I'm not very methodical about getting stuff done. Everything always seems half finished and I can't seem to carve out a decent block of time for myself to read or blog. I always think I'll get to it in the evening after dinner, but I don't know what happens. Well, I do know. I end up being too tired to be on the computer, so I decide to read instead, which ends up being pitiful anyway because I fall asleep after just a few pages. It's a vicious cycle.
My youngest is away at sleep away camp for the first time ever this week. We were busy getting ready for that last week, including packing, shopping for some supplies and getting a physical, etc. No phone calls to or from camp are allowed unless it's an emergency. It drives me batty not being in touch with my kid, but I'm trying not to worry about the little things and trying instead to picture her having a great time, making new friends, trying new things and basically having a really positive experience. I admit I'm looking forward to picking her up on Saturday.. seeing her face, hugging her and hearing all about her adventures.
My oldest landed a nice nanny/babysitting job three days a week for a family with three young girls... ages 10, 8 and 4, I believe. Even though it's a lot of work caring for and playing with the girls, taking them to the pool and activities, I'm not sure who's having more fun here... the little girls or my teen! She loves it. She's also in Volleyball training three nights a week and on her days off from babysitting she's out and about with her friends or her boyfriend. Never a dull moment.
Before I forget, here's a quick look at what I was up to in June. My memory's already getting fuzzy. :/
In fitness & health:
My workout schedule has been pretty similar each week lately. Strength training, a weekly kickbox class, running and biking. I've spent most of my workout time on the bike, having ridden 274.6 miles in June! My longest single ride was 70.4 miles which was nearly five hours of cycling. Boy, was I tired that day!
I finished June with 133+ fitness challenge miles where 1 fitness mile = 1 mile run = 15 minutes of other cardio or strength training.
I have also been participating in the weekly Reader's Workout Meme hosted by Joy. Check it out over at her blog if you're interested in joining in. It's a low-key, casual thing.. and very welcoming. In the Reader's Workout Meme, some of the participants are tracking their exercise in total minutes spent exercising. I clocked in with 1884 minutes in June or 31 hours and 24 minutes! That averages to about 63 minutes a day. Not bad!
I recently recommitted myself [again, I know] to losing 20-25 lbs. between now and Thanksgiving. I'm working on a few aspects of my diet plus I want to add more strength training to my weekly workout plan. I'll keep you posted.
What did you do to keep moving last month?
In books:
I read only five books in June.. I guess it's indicative of how busy I was with other things last month. Still, the five books I read were pretty darned good so I'm not complaining!
Romance .............. 4
Historical .... 3
Paranormal...1
Children's Lit........1
1. The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley
2. Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley
3. Odd And The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
4. Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh
5. Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty
My favorites are The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie and Tangle of Need--both books get five stars from me.
What noteworthy books did you read in June?
In photography:
I had fun participating in a photo-a-day challenge hosted by the Fat Mum Slim blog, or @fatmumslim on twitter. The fun daily prompts helped me stay on track taking a picture every day and the best part? I made some new friends on Instagram! Yay! :) I've decided to do the #photoadayJuly challenge too. As well as a fun daily picture challenge for book-mided people hosted by Cassandra at Indie Reader Houston. You can follow this challenge on twitter or instagram using the #dailybookpic hash tag.
Come back later for my favorite photos from my Project 366.. [I'll post them in the morning.]
As always, you can follow my photography challenges on http://web.stagram.com/n/thehappilyeverafter .
In the garden:
I finally finished the new vegetable garden. For the most part, anyway. You're never going to believe this.. but I'm not so crazy with this location anymore. I think I might be re-re-establishing my vegetable garden to the backyard next year. So indecisive, I know. In the meantime, at least I have some tomato plants in the ground and growing! Finally! I'll edit pictures into this post tomorrow.. I want to post this now before I delay it another day. And it's time for me to get my beauty sleep. Zzzzz...
Thanks for reading about my June adventures. Here's wishing you a jubilant July! ^_^
Well, I sure am starting to sound like a broken record, but dang it.. life has been busy, leaving me too few minutes in the day to read or blog and blog hop as much as I'd like. I thought the school year was never going to end there for a while, but it finally did on June 20. I swear we were the last schools in session in the whole country by then. Both girls brought home awesome report cards. My youngest ended 7th grade with all A's and a few B's.. honors in several of her classes, high honors in Language Arts. That's my girl! My oldest finished 11th grade--her junior year with a stellar report card. Also A's and a scarce B, most of her courses being honors and honors AP courses. She did so well, she boosted her overall GPA a smidgen and now has over a 4.0 GPA! YES! My girls are some smart cookies! So proud. ^_^
I imagined summer break was going to be lazy, easy, breezy, but alas it's been quite hectic. All good things, but my time management skills are forever a work in progress so I'm not very methodical about getting stuff done. Everything always seems half finished and I can't seem to carve out a decent block of time for myself to read or blog. I always think I'll get to it in the evening after dinner, but I don't know what happens. Well, I do know. I end up being too tired to be on the computer, so I decide to read instead, which ends up being pitiful anyway because I fall asleep after just a few pages. It's a vicious cycle.
My youngest is away at sleep away camp for the first time ever this week. We were busy getting ready for that last week, including packing, shopping for some supplies and getting a physical, etc. No phone calls to or from camp are allowed unless it's an emergency. It drives me batty not being in touch with my kid, but I'm trying not to worry about the little things and trying instead to picture her having a great time, making new friends, trying new things and basically having a really positive experience. I admit I'm looking forward to picking her up on Saturday.. seeing her face, hugging her and hearing all about her adventures.
My oldest landed a nice nanny/babysitting job three days a week for a family with three young girls... ages 10, 8 and 4, I believe. Even though it's a lot of work caring for and playing with the girls, taking them to the pool and activities, I'm not sure who's having more fun here... the little girls or my teen! She loves it. She's also in Volleyball training three nights a week and on her days off from babysitting she's out and about with her friends or her boyfriend. Never a dull moment.
Before I forget, here's a quick look at what I was up to in June. My memory's already getting fuzzy. :/
In fitness & health:
My workout schedule has been pretty similar each week lately. Strength training, a weekly kickbox class, running and biking. I've spent most of my workout time on the bike, having ridden 274.6 miles in June! My longest single ride was 70.4 miles which was nearly five hours of cycling. Boy, was I tired that day!
I finished June with 133+ fitness challenge miles where 1 fitness mile = 1 mile run = 15 minutes of other cardio or strength training.
I have also been participating in the weekly Reader's Workout Meme hosted by Joy. Check it out over at her blog if you're interested in joining in. It's a low-key, casual thing.. and very welcoming. In the Reader's Workout Meme, some of the participants are tracking their exercise in total minutes spent exercising. I clocked in with 1884 minutes in June or 31 hours and 24 minutes! That averages to about 63 minutes a day. Not bad!
I recently recommitted myself [again, I know] to losing 20-25 lbs. between now and Thanksgiving. I'm working on a few aspects of my diet plus I want to add more strength training to my weekly workout plan. I'll keep you posted.
What did you do to keep moving last month?
In books:
I read only five books in June.. I guess it's indicative of how busy I was with other things last month. Still, the five books I read were pretty darned good so I'm not complaining!
Romance .............. 4
Historical .... 3
Paranormal...1
Children's Lit........1
1. The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley
2. Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley
3. Odd And The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
4. Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh
5. Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty
My favorites are The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie and Tangle of Need--both books get five stars from me.
What noteworthy books did you read in June?
In photography:
I had fun participating in a photo-a-day challenge hosted by the Fat Mum Slim blog, or @fatmumslim on twitter. The fun daily prompts helped me stay on track taking a picture every day and the best part? I made some new friends on Instagram! Yay! :) I've decided to do the #photoadayJuly challenge too. As well as a fun daily picture challenge for book-mided people hosted by Cassandra at Indie Reader Houston. You can follow this challenge on twitter or instagram using the #dailybookpic hash tag.
Come back later for my favorite photos from my Project 366.. [I'll post them in the morning.]
As always, you can follow my photography challenges on http://web.stagram.com/n/thehappilyeverafter .
In the garden:
I finally finished the new vegetable garden. For the most part, anyway. You're never going to believe this.. but I'm not so crazy with this location anymore. I think I might be re-re-establishing my vegetable garden to the backyard next year. So indecisive, I know. In the meantime, at least I have some tomato plants in the ground and growing! Finally! I'll edit pictures into this post tomorrow.. I want to post this now before I delay it another day. And it's time for me to get my beauty sleep. Zzzzz...
Thanks for reading about my June adventures. Here's wishing you a jubilant July! ^_^
Friday, June 15, 2012
My Kitchen Garden Wish List
I still haven't been blogging or blog hopping very much lately and I miss it! I have been using some 'me time' to read and play around on twitter and Instagram, but it doesn't have the same level of engagement as blogging. I know I keep saying this, but I hope to catch up with all of you very soon. In the meantime, please tell me what's new and what's been keeping YOU busy lately?
My plan was to have a post uplast month last week this week about my newly established, finished vegetable garden but alas, I'm still not finished! ArGh! I'm easily two months behind schedule, but that's okay. At least I'm finally getting somewhere with it and I will be growing things in there very soon. Hopefully I'll be able to harvest tomatoes before the fall frost. Ha ha I'm kidding. It shouldn't be that late. ; )
I'm going to save a lot of my thoughts and ideas about establishing a new vegetable garden for its own post when my garden is finished and I can post before, after and in between photos. In the meantime, I'll talk about my kitchen garden wish list. I'm not going to be able to plant all of my wish list this year and maybe not even ever if I don't have the space, but I've been thinking about what I'd like to grow. In the years that I had a vegetable garden [in the space which our four year old home addition now occupies], I learned a lot about what I can and can't grow easily, if it's worth it to grown my own of certain items, and so on. I've also been thinking lately about what we like to eat in my family that we do not get often enough in our organic co-op. Why work hard to grow stuff I already get from local farmers. Better to focus my efforts on the things I want more of for my family. Makes sense, right?
My kitchen garden wish list:
sugar snap peas
asparagus
rhubarb
strawberries
spinach
beets [ever since I discovered how lovely raw beets are in salad!]
herbs [especially basil and cilantro]
tomatoes [heirlooms]
cucumbers
zucchini [for baby squash with blossoms attached]
raspberries
I already have a rhubarb plant in a pot that I bought years ago and never planted in a permanent spot. It's truly amazing the plant is still alive. I can't wait to see how it responds when I finally plant it in a happy spot. I also have some perennial herbs growing in various places in my landscaping that I'd like to replant into the new kitchen garden area so everything is more accessible. I have mint, chocolate mint, oregano, chives, garlic chives [also called Chinese chives, I think], thyme and the tiniest potted French tarragon plant that really needs its own spot in the soil to thrive.
Asparagus takes a lot of space and time to get established and you need a lot to provide a respectable harvest for a family of five, so I don't know if it's practical for a small garden. Same goes for strawberries. I tried blueberry bushes many years ago, but it was a major battle with the birds for a small handful of berries. It just so happens that deer and rabbits like to eat the tender branches in the winter and one year they pruned my little bushes down to the ground. That didn't turn out so well. Perhaps raspberry bushes are less appealing to them and I can give them a try.
What edibles are on your kitchen garden wish list?
In other vegetable news, the local growing season is taking off around here and it shows in my latest co-op box:
Look at all those greens! Two HUGE bunches of Red Russian kale, garlic scapes**, two bunches of arugula, red leaf lettuce, broccoli and dill. We also got Yukon gold potatoes and from CA-- oranges, carrots, and nectarines; a tomato, bananas and NJ blueberries!
**garlic scapes are the flowering stalk tops of hardneck garlic plants. They are cut off during the growing period just before this 'flower' starts to develop into seeds or tiny bulbs. This helps force the plant to put its energy into growing plump garlic bulb in the soil.
In what ways would you eat and or cook this organic goodness? I'm especially looking for inspiration with the arugula and garlic scapes.
The weather this weekend is going to be divine here in my neighborhood and I've got lots of healthy plans on my calendar: A 35 mile bike ride Saturday morning, a visit to a local farmer's market right after with my cycling partner, juicing some of these glorious vegetables at another friend's house later and then finishing up my new kitchen garden the rest of the weekend. I'll be sure to squeeze in some time with the family, watch a bit of Euro 2012 football and probably a midday nap in there somewhere, too! (I love those)... ^_^
What are some of your plans this weekend? Whatever you're up to... hope it's fabulous. xo
Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun!
Note: your post does not have to be posted on the weekend, but do visit Beth's blog over the weekend to link up your post.
My plan was to have a post up
I'm going to save a lot of my thoughts and ideas about establishing a new vegetable garden for its own post when my garden is finished and I can post before, after and in between photos. In the meantime, I'll talk about my kitchen garden wish list. I'm not going to be able to plant all of my wish list this year and maybe not even ever if I don't have the space, but I've been thinking about what I'd like to grow. In the years that I had a vegetable garden [in the space which our four year old home addition now occupies], I learned a lot about what I can and can't grow easily, if it's worth it to grown my own of certain items, and so on. I've also been thinking lately about what we like to eat in my family that we do not get often enough in our organic co-op. Why work hard to grow stuff I already get from local farmers. Better to focus my efforts on the things I want more of for my family. Makes sense, right?
My kitchen garden wish list:
sugar snap peas
asparagus
rhubarb
strawberries
spinach
beets [ever since I discovered how lovely raw beets are in salad!]
herbs [especially basil and cilantro]
tomatoes [heirlooms]
cucumbers
zucchini [for baby squash with blossoms attached]
raspberries
I already have a rhubarb plant in a pot that I bought years ago and never planted in a permanent spot. It's truly amazing the plant is still alive. I can't wait to see how it responds when I finally plant it in a happy spot. I also have some perennial herbs growing in various places in my landscaping that I'd like to replant into the new kitchen garden area so everything is more accessible. I have mint, chocolate mint, oregano, chives, garlic chives [also called Chinese chives, I think], thyme and the tiniest potted French tarragon plant that really needs its own spot in the soil to thrive.
Asparagus takes a lot of space and time to get established and you need a lot to provide a respectable harvest for a family of five, so I don't know if it's practical for a small garden. Same goes for strawberries. I tried blueberry bushes many years ago, but it was a major battle with the birds for a small handful of berries. It just so happens that deer and rabbits like to eat the tender branches in the winter and one year they pruned my little bushes down to the ground. That didn't turn out so well. Perhaps raspberry bushes are less appealing to them and I can give them a try.
What edibles are on your kitchen garden wish list?
In other vegetable news, the local growing season is taking off around here and it shows in my latest co-op box:
 |
| Organic goodness in yesterday's co-op box |
**garlic scapes are the flowering stalk tops of hardneck garlic plants. They are cut off during the growing period just before this 'flower' starts to develop into seeds or tiny bulbs. This helps force the plant to put its energy into growing plump garlic bulb in the soil.
In what ways would you eat and or cook this organic goodness? I'm especially looking for inspiration with the arugula and garlic scapes.
The weather this weekend is going to be divine here in my neighborhood and I've got lots of healthy plans on my calendar: A 35 mile bike ride Saturday morning, a visit to a local farmer's market right after with my cycling partner, juicing some of these glorious vegetables at another friend's house later and then finishing up my new kitchen garden the rest of the weekend. I'll be sure to squeeze in some time with the family, watch a bit of Euro 2012 football and probably a midday nap in there somewhere, too! (I love those)... ^_^
What are some of your plans this weekend? Whatever you're up to... hope it's fabulous. xo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun! Note: your post does not have to be posted on the weekend, but do visit Beth's blog over the weekend to link up your post.
Monday, June 4, 2012
My May Adventures
If you stopped by looking for my Neverwhere Read Along discussion, I'll be posting that tomorrow.
It's June! June! Three more weeks of school and then summer! This is such a busy time of year around here. I'm sure it's the same for all of you as well.
I posted earlier this month about my youngest daughter's dance recital--such fun! She's also been busy with girl scouts as her Cadette troop is working towards their Silver Award. I am starting to feel tapped out as a leader, so I'll be glad to have a bit of a break from it over the summer.
My oldest has been busy, too. Mostly with schoolwork and a very busy social life. Last week we attended a small Academic Awards ceremony at the high school at which she received an award from Brandeis University for outstanding academic achievement and civic service. She also recently completed a wonderful project for her high school orchestra for which she filmed, photographed and edited a video about the impact of water on our community that accompanied the orchestra's performance of a beautiful piece by Philip Glass. The video was projected on a large screen behind the orchestra. It was quite moving.. especially given the devastating effects Hurricane Irene had on our community last August.
Lots of proud moments in May! While I couldn't possibly top the accomplishments of my kids, I may as well tell you what I've been up to last month. ; )
In fitness:
I easily met my 100 fitness mile goal for May with a total of 120 miles. Interestingly, I took quite a few rest days this month, but apparently I made up for it on the days that I did workout, especially in cycling. Most of my rides these days are 30-40 miles which is at least 2 hours on the bike. On Memorial Day, my cycling partner and I clocked just under 4 hours to bike 59.4 miles---my new longest distance in a single ride.
I mentioned last month [in April] that I wanted to increase strength training and aside from my Monday powercuts class and maybe 15 minutes of abs, light weights at the end of kickbox class and a bonus TRX class, I haven't been doing any other strength training. I need to work on increasing that. Here's a look at what I did in May:
Run 23.07 miles : ~241 minutes
Bike 170.54 miles : ~705 minutes
Kickbox & Abs : 300 minutes
Spin & Abs : 150 minutes
Strength training: 240 minutes
TOTAL: 1636 minutes or 27 hours 16 minutes
What did you do to keep moving last month?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In books: I read eight books in May and from quite a few different genres, too. I'm pretty happy about that.
Non-fiction ...... 1
[Health & fitness]
Romance .............. 2
[Historical]
Crime fiction ....... 1
Young Adult ....;;.. 1
Fiction .................. 1
Fantasy ................ 2
1. Creation in Death by J.D. Robb
2. The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
3. Saving Grace by Julie Garwood
4. If I Die by Rachel Vincent
5. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
6. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
7. Cold Magic by Kate Elliot
8. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
I have to say that I loved all of these books and would recommend each and every one. If I HAD to pick favorites? Hmm... The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan is a wonderful novella and the first in a new series. I have a review partially written that I hope to finish, but know that I did love it. It's Kindle lendable, too, so let me know if you're interested in borrowing it. I think I can lend it out at least twice.
Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. A timeless medieval romance and a favorite among so many romance readers. You can read my review HERE.
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is a really solid, engaging read, too. A lot of readers classify it as romance, but it's not exactly. It's more general fiction with romantic elements. Not quite chick-lit either because most of the book is really about the male protagonist, so it's really more dude-lit which is a brand new sub-genre coined by Brie from Romance Around the Corner. You heard it first from her, folks. Remember that when dude-lit goes rampant. ;o)
 |
| Gigi likes Cold Magic by Kate Elliot! |
What interesting books did you read in May?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 |
| A bouquet of African Roses |
My Project 366 is now a Project 362. Yes, I missed another TWO days in May. Ugh. Oh well. I decided to have a little bit of fun this month by participating in the photo a day challenge hosted by blogger fatmumslim who blogs at Fat Mum Slim. There's a daily prompt every day for the month and users post their photos on instagram, twitter, facebook, a blog, flickr or pinterest using the hash tag #photoadayJune. Fun!
As always, you can follow my photography challenges on http://web.stagram.com/n/thehappilyeverafter.
Are you on instagram? Friend me!
In the garden:
The deer are in my yard almost every night munching on anything and everything green. I know what they're all saying..
"Hey, have you been to that organic salad bar down the street yet? It's amazing! They've got a wide variety of plants to choose from, loaded with tender shoots, plump flower buds, and lush leaves. Not only is it 100% organic but it's all you can eat AND open 24/7!"Nice. I woke up one day last week to discover they ate most of the tops off my budding purple coneflower plants last week. This means my coneflowers will be blooming late and won't be so lush this year. Again. I know they have to eat, too, but sheesh, I sure wish they knew how to show a bit of restraint so I could enjoy a few flowers. I have an inkling that the day lilies are on this week's menu. I haven't seen a day lily flower bloom in my yard for a couple of years now. But really, what are you going to do? They're only doing what they're supposed to do, right?
I started converting that section of my perennial flower bed into a new vegetable garden, but I haven't yet finished. In fact, that's on my to-do list for this week. A friend of mine gave me several pots of tomato seedlings that sprouted up in her garden from the seeds of last year's dropped fruit and I've got to get them in the ground soon. I'm already a couple of weeks late. A few of them even have flowers already. Oh how I love the promise of homegrown tomatoes! I'm not sure what else I want to try to grow this year. At this point, I'll be happy just to have a nice harvest of herbs and tomatoes.
Are you growing an edibles in your yard?
Thanks for reading about my month! Wishing you a joyous June! xo
Monday, April 2, 2012
My March Adventures
Time sure does fly, doesn't it? March was a good month, busy as usual, but aren't we all? The biggest adventure around here last month was having my baby turn 13 years old! A teenager! Now husband and I are the parents of two teenage girls. Wow. Talk about adventures! :D
In health & fitness:
Have you noticed the Crazy Sexy Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It! Diet book by Kris Carr on my sidebar that I've been reading for the last couple of weeks? I read most of it last month and just finished this morning. It's a fabulously inspirational and instructional book on revamping your lifestyle choices for optimal health, happiness and overall vitality. I have to admit that my focus on healthy eating has slipped in the past several weeks after having completed that WholeLiving action plan back in February. Crazy Sexy Diet has helped (re-)inspire me to get back on track. Today I did a 24 green juice fast as prescribed by Kris Carr in her book and starting tomorrow I am back to 'Crazy Sexy - Whole Living' eating. I'm not doing the 21 Adventure Day Cleanse in Kris' book. I'm just not ready for another cleanse after having done the WholeLiving one in January. But I am going to use it as a guide to keep myself in check. I know I've said this often, but this time I mean it. :o)
March was a good workout month for me. I stepped up the running quite a bit and was kept extra motivated by my husband who has been joining me once or twice a week. We came up with a 5 km loop from our house, so that's the minimum distance we do now. I'm still biking and can't believe that I biked all winter long. I'm looking forward to the earlier sunrises so we can get out on the road nice and early on the weekends, ride 40-50 miles [64-80 km] and be home by lunchtime. Here's a rundown of what I did in March to keep my body moving:
Bike 80.78 miles | 22 fitness miles | 5.5 hours
Run 30.57 miles | 30.57 fitness miles | ~5.5 hours
Kickbox . . . . . . . . 14 fitness miles | 3.5 hours
Spin . . . . . . . . . . . 16 fitness miles | 4 hours
Powercuts . . . . . . . 16 fitness miles | 4 hours
Cardio Interval . . . . 4 fitness miles | 1 hour
Total fitness challenge 'miles'* = 102.57 miles
Which is approximately 23.5 hours of biking running kicking spinning lifting and cardio blasting. Yeah, baby!
*[My monthly goal is 100 miles where 1 fitness challenge mile = 15 min of cardio or strength training = 1 mile run.]
What did you do in March to keep moving?
In reading adventures:
I read 13 books in March! Hooray! This puts me on schedule to reach my goal of 101 books this year. Assuming I keep this pace, of course. And the year is young, so really.. it doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot. Of the 13 books, 3 were novellas and 4 were graphic novels.. but the other 6 books were full length novels, including the 500+ page book Eona by Alison Goodman which is the second book I vowed to read for this year's Big Book Challenge. Which means... ta da!!! I completed my 2012 Big Book Challenge! One down ... um.. a lot more to go?
Here's a look at which books I read last month:
1. Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin
2. Eona by Alison Goodman
3. Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione
4. Eternity Embraced by Larissa Ione
5. Sin Undone by Larissa Ione
6. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
7. A Lot Like Love by Julie James
8. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
9. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
10. The Good Neighbors Book One: Kin by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
[RE-READ]
11. The Good Neighbors Book Two: Kith by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
12. The Good Neighbors Book Three: Kind by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
13. Eternity in Death by J.D. Robb
My favorite books this month are: Eona by Alison Goodman, Sin Undone by Larissa Ione, Where She Went by Gayle Forman and Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.
I couldn't narrow down to just one! Interestingly, they're all SO different. I like that.
What great books did you read in March?
Other projects and adventures:
Behind the lens:
I'm still plugging along with my iPhone instagram Project 366. Well sort of. I had a Project 366 fail when I forgot to take a photo on March 16. Ugh. I'm really bummed about this. I decided to give myself a get out of jail free card just this once because it's leap year. Lame excuse, I know, but if I still take a picture every day until the end of the year I will have completed a Project 365. I know it's not the same as going 365 days STRAIGHT but it is what it is. :/ The following is my favorite photo from March..
In the garden:
I'm still hoping to finally re-establish a vegetable garden this year before it's too late. I had a backyard vegetable garden for years but our home addition a few years ago took over where the garden was. I don't really get enough sunlight anywhere else in the yard except my flower garden between the house and the driveway, which is kind of a weird place for a vegetable garden since it would be visible from the street. I think I can still make it pretty. Well, until I have to put netting around it all to keep the deer out. Hopefully I'll carve some time this week and next to start transplanting the flowers to other areas of the yard to make room for neat rows of vegetables. I can't wait! :)
Do you have a vegetable garden?
So that's about it for my March adventures. Thanks for reading all about it and I wish you an Amazing April! xo
In health & fitness:
Have you noticed the Crazy Sexy Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It! Diet book by Kris Carr on my sidebar that I've been reading for the last couple of weeks? I read most of it last month and just finished this morning. It's a fabulously inspirational and instructional book on revamping your lifestyle choices for optimal health, happiness and overall vitality. I have to admit that my focus on healthy eating has slipped in the past several weeks after having completed that WholeLiving action plan back in February. Crazy Sexy Diet has helped (re-)inspire me to get back on track. Today I did a 24 green juice fast as prescribed by Kris Carr in her book and starting tomorrow I am back to 'Crazy Sexy - Whole Living' eating. I'm not doing the 21 Adventure Day Cleanse in Kris' book. I'm just not ready for another cleanse after having done the WholeLiving one in January. But I am going to use it as a guide to keep myself in check. I know I've said this often, but this time I mean it. :o)
March was a good workout month for me. I stepped up the running quite a bit and was kept extra motivated by my husband who has been joining me once or twice a week. We came up with a 5 km loop from our house, so that's the minimum distance we do now. I'm still biking and can't believe that I biked all winter long. I'm looking forward to the earlier sunrises so we can get out on the road nice and early on the weekends, ride 40-50 miles [64-80 km] and be home by lunchtime. Here's a rundown of what I did in March to keep my body moving:
Bike 80.78 miles | 22 fitness miles | 5.5 hours
Run 30.57 miles | 30.57 fitness miles | ~5.5 hours
Kickbox . . . . . . . . 14 fitness miles | 3.5 hours
Spin . . . . . . . . . . . 16 fitness miles | 4 hours
Powercuts . . . . . . . 16 fitness miles | 4 hours
Cardio Interval . . . . 4 fitness miles | 1 hour
Total fitness challenge 'miles'* = 102.57 miles
Which is approximately 23.5 hours of biking running kicking spinning lifting and cardio blasting. Yeah, baby!
*[My monthly goal is 100 miles where 1 fitness challenge mile = 15 min of cardio or strength training = 1 mile run.]
What did you do in March to keep moving?
In reading adventures:
I read 13 books in March! Hooray! This puts me on schedule to reach my goal of 101 books this year. Assuming I keep this pace, of course. And the year is young, so really.. it doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot. Of the 13 books, 3 were novellas and 4 were graphic novels.. but the other 6 books were full length novels, including the 500+ page book Eona by Alison Goodman which is the second book I vowed to read for this year's Big Book Challenge. Which means... ta da!!! I completed my 2012 Big Book Challenge! One down ... um.. a lot more to go?
Here's a look at which books I read last month:
1. Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin
2. Eona by Alison Goodman
3. Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione
4. Eternity Embraced by Larissa Ione
5. Sin Undone by Larissa Ione
6. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
7. A Lot Like Love by Julie James
8. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
9. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
10. The Good Neighbors Book One: Kin by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
[RE-READ]
11. The Good Neighbors Book Two: Kith by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
12. The Good Neighbors Book Three: Kind by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
13. Eternity in Death by J.D. Robb
My favorite books this month are: Eona by Alison Goodman, Sin Undone by Larissa Ione, Where She Went by Gayle Forman and Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.
I couldn't narrow down to just one! Interestingly, they're all SO different. I like that.
What great books did you read in March?
Other projects and adventures:
Behind the lens:
I'm still plugging along with my iPhone instagram Project 366. Well sort of. I had a Project 366 fail when I forgot to take a photo on March 16. Ugh. I'm really bummed about this. I decided to give myself a get out of jail free card just this once because it's leap year. Lame excuse, I know, but if I still take a picture every day until the end of the year I will have completed a Project 365. I know it's not the same as going 365 days STRAIGHT but it is what it is. :/ The following is my favorite photo from March..
 |
| The view at the park on one of my March runs. Camera: iPhone 4S |
I'm still hoping to finally re-establish a vegetable garden this year before it's too late. I had a backyard vegetable garden for years but our home addition a few years ago took over where the garden was. I don't really get enough sunlight anywhere else in the yard except my flower garden between the house and the driveway, which is kind of a weird place for a vegetable garden since it would be visible from the street. I think I can still make it pretty. Well, until I have to put netting around it all to keep the deer out. Hopefully I'll carve some time this week and next to start transplanting the flowers to other areas of the yard to make room for neat rows of vegetables. I can't wait! :)
Do you have a vegetable garden?
So that's about it for my March adventures. Thanks for reading all about it and I wish you an Amazing April! xo
Friday, April 22, 2011
Happy Earth Day and Whatever happened to that Sunchips bag in my compost pile?
Last year on Earth Day, I posted about my compostable Sunchips bag experiment. I'm sure most of you heard that Sunchips invented the world's first 100% compostable chip bag in 2010. I put the bag to the test in my backyard compost pile on Earth Day last year {April 17, 2010} and guess what? It worked!
According to Sunchips, the bag is fully composted in a municipal compost bin in as little as 14 weeks. In my little backyard compost pile, the bag has been decomposing for a full year now {52 weeks} and while there is still some small identifiable remnants of the Sunchips bag, it's almost gone! Keep in mind that I put the bag into my compost pile whole. If I had cut or torn the bag into pieces on the first day, it would likely be full composted by now. But I let nature do all the work on this one. Another reason why the bag is taking a long time to decompose in my backyard pile is largely due to the fact that my backyard compost pile is sometimes too small-- even smaller than the recommended minimum size for an active pile. That means that it's often not hot enough to be actively composting. The process slows down dramatically when the pile is too small. Large scale municipal compost setups are much more productive.
Here are some photos documenting the decomposition of the Sunchips bag in my backyard compost pile:
Autumn came along and I dumped a whole lot of fallen leaves onto the compost pile....
I had to dig through the pile to look for those pieces of the bag still lingering. Perhaps another six months it will be completely gone.
All the while my chip bag was decomposing in my backyard, the scientists at Sunchips were busy redesigning their compostable chip bag to be quieter. Do you remember how noisy it was? Well, now you can cheat on your diet again without everyone in the house knowing. ;)
If you have even a small parcel of land to claim as yours where you live, why not start a compost pile? It's so easy and actually really fun to take all the dried leaves that fall in your yard and the fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen, pile it up in a corner, mix it up now and then and watch it turn into nutrient rich compost for your garden. Composting reduces the volume of trash in landfills and essentially provides you with free fertilizer for your yard that the earthworms and other micro-organisms are more than happy to make for you. Spread finished compost in your vegetable and flower beds, around shrubs and trees and even sprinkle it in your lawn.
The world's perfect fertilizer... the way Nature intended.
For more information on home composting:
http://www.composting101.com/
http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html
For more information on Sunchips' --quieter-- compostable chip bag:
http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml?s=content_compostable_packaging
Happy Earth Day. :)
According to Sunchips, the bag is fully composted in a municipal compost bin in as little as 14 weeks. In my little backyard compost pile, the bag has been decomposing for a full year now {52 weeks} and while there is still some small identifiable remnants of the Sunchips bag, it's almost gone! Keep in mind that I put the bag into my compost pile whole. If I had cut or torn the bag into pieces on the first day, it would likely be full composted by now. But I let nature do all the work on this one. Another reason why the bag is taking a long time to decompose in my backyard pile is largely due to the fact that my backyard compost pile is sometimes too small-- even smaller than the recommended minimum size for an active pile. That means that it's often not hot enough to be actively composting. The process slows down dramatically when the pile is too small. Large scale municipal compost setups are much more productive.
Here are some photos documenting the decomposition of the Sunchips bag in my backyard compost pile:
Day 1
April 22, 2010
Day 27
May 19, 2010
Day 41
June 2, 2010
Day 60
June 21, 2010
Day 71
July 2, 2010
Day 175
October 14, 2010
Then winter came along and Mother Nature dumped a whole lot of snow on me. And dumped and dumped and dumped... making it enough of a chore to trek through all that snow to dump my under-the-kitchen-sink compost bucket out there without having to carry my camera, too! So no winter compost pile photos.
Then the snow melted and spring ever so slowly came along. Still working on that, actually. And voilá! My compostable Sunchips bag {nearly} one year later:
Day 360
April 17, 2011
All the while my chip bag was decomposing in my backyard, the scientists at Sunchips were busy redesigning their compostable chip bag to be quieter. Do you remember how noisy it was? Well, now you can cheat on your diet again without everyone in the house knowing. ;)
If you have even a small parcel of land to claim as yours where you live, why not start a compost pile? It's so easy and actually really fun to take all the dried leaves that fall in your yard and the fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen, pile it up in a corner, mix it up now and then and watch it turn into nutrient rich compost for your garden. Composting reduces the volume of trash in landfills and essentially provides you with free fertilizer for your yard that the earthworms and other micro-organisms are more than happy to make for you. Spread finished compost in your vegetable and flower beds, around shrubs and trees and even sprinkle it in your lawn.
The world's perfect fertilizer... the way Nature intended.
For more information on home composting:
http://www.composting101.com/
http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html
For more information on Sunchips' --quieter-- compostable chip bag:
http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml?s=content_compostable_packaging
Happy Earth Day. :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
First Day of Autumn and First... Tomato Flower?
Autumn officially begins today at 11:09 pm here in North America and look what I have...
It's the very first cluster of flowers on the only tomato plant in my garden!!!
I know the growing season is practically over in my zone 6 garden and most of my neighbors are already pulling up spent vegetable plants. Yet here I am with my first tomato flowers of the season. I confess that I am generally a last minute kind of gal, but this is a little ridiculous, don't you think?
I'm thinking that if the weather continues for a few more weeks any where near as warm and sunny as it's been lately, there is a strong possibility that this little fighter might just provide me with four or five of this year's first homegrown cherry tomatoes before it snows! :O)
It's the very first cluster of flowers on the only tomato plant in my garden!!!
I know the growing season is practically over in my zone 6 garden and most of my neighbors are already pulling up spent vegetable plants. Yet here I am with my first tomato flowers of the season. I confess that I am generally a last minute kind of gal, but this is a little ridiculous, don't you think?
This little sprawling tomato plant is a fighter!
My friend gave me eight tomato plant seedlings back in May that had sprouted in her vegetable garden from last year's fallen fruit. I intended to re-establish my vegetable garden in the backyard this year, but I never got around to it. These little seedlings took up residence on the cement landing by my side door and were trying to so hard grow in their little containers. I tried to keep them alive until I decided where to plant them, but those little containers dry out so quickly and once the days got hot, the plants quickly turned brown and died--or so I thought. I kicked them over the edge of the sidewalk and into the flower bed there, thinking I'd put them into my compost pile when I had the chance. Well, out of sight, out of mind, because one day probably weeks later, I see these tomato leaves poking through the mint and I think, "Oh yeah... those tomato seedlings." And here I am today with a thriving cherry tomato plant with flowers on the first day of autumn. Such a fighter.
I'm thinking that if the weather continues for a few more weeks any where near as warm and sunny as it's been lately, there is a strong possibility that this little fighter might just provide me with four or five of this year's first homegrown cherry tomatoes before it snows! :O)
Did you have a vegetable garden this past summer? How was your harvest?
If you live in the southern hemisphere, are you planning your vegetable garden for this summer already? What are you planning to grow?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Look who's all grown up!
Sounds like a segue to some photos of my daughters, but it's not! Sorry to disappoint, although I am hoping to get some first day of school photos next week. It'll be a miracle if they cooperate.
The one I'm talking about being all grown up is the baby deer that spent the day in the flowerbed between my driveway and house, about five feet from my side door earlier in the spring. Do you remember that? I posted about the fawn back on May 4. Oh my goodness it was so small that day... like the size of a cat, but with a long neck and big ears and spots on its back.
This afternoon, I spotted this young deer in my yard munching on the liriope (monkey grass) that is blooming with dainty little lavender colored flowers right now in my front yard landscape:
I think it is one of the two fawns I saw that early morning with the doe and quite possibly the fawn who spent several hours in the shade of the ornamental grasses in my perennial garden.
Although I didn't get to everything on my to do list this weekend, I actually had quite a productive weekend. I can't usually claim that. LOL.
The one I'm talking about being all grown up is the baby deer that spent the day in the flowerbed between my driveway and house, about five feet from my side door earlier in the spring. Do you remember that? I posted about the fawn back on May 4. Oh my goodness it was so small that day... like the size of a cat, but with a long neck and big ears and spots on its back.
Turns out a friend who had been jogging down the street past my house early that day, saw the baby deer run with wobbly legs across the street into my yard. We all wondered if it had been reunited with its mother. Several weeks after that day, I spotted a mother deer with not one, but two baby deer in our neighborhood very early one morning. I liked to think one of those babies was the fawn that had been in our yard back in May. Since then, we've seen a whole lot of evidence that these deer were thriving... coming to the gourmet organic buffet in the form of MY YARD!
This afternoon, I spotted this young deer in my yard munching on the liriope (monkey grass) that is blooming with dainty little lavender colored flowers right now in my front yard landscape:
I think it is one of the two fawns I saw that early morning with the doe and quite possibly the fawn who spent several hours in the shade of the ornamental grasses in my perennial garden.
What do you think?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Although I didn't get to everything on my to do list this weekend, I actually had quite a productive weekend. I can't usually claim that. LOL.
I went out riding [bike] both Saturday and today. My husband and I usually ride together on Saturdays, but he wasn't feeling so great, so I rode by myself then. Sunday I usually go to spin class, but there are no classes at my gym from today through Labor Day, so I met up with two friends from the gym who are experienced riders and you know what? I was able to keep up with them just fine. It's not like we were competing or training or anything like that, but still, it was nice to be at comparable skill levels. We'll be riding together again over the next ten days or so until classes start up again--including tomorrow morning. : )
Saturday night I was up to my elbows in basil and garlic as I turned five big bunches of organic basil that I special ordered through my co-op into several jars of pesto! I plan on sharing my recipe for pesto this week.
Today I took my youngest shopping and then cleaned and organized her room and closets. Both daunting tasks to take on in one day. I think I deserve a medal. LOL. I actually got a lot of hugs and even a few kisses out of her, which trust me... is HUGE coming from her these days. We managed to get her two new pairs of sneakers (one for her gym locker and one to wear whenever), jeggings (jean leggings... all the rage this year), and four shirts. You'd think we would have come home with a full wardrobe for the time we spent shopping, but the clothes out there were so ... "meh" and she's pretty picky on top of that.
We also shopped for a new comforter set for her bed. She's been in her "new" room since we moved back in the house after the addition over a year ago and we never updated her bedding. In fact, she's been using a hand-me-down set from her sister for years, so it was about time she got her very own stuff. Finding the right set was near impossible. Again, she's very picky. And to make matters worse, we found the perfect comforter set for my teen about a month ago and of course, my youngest wants the same set. Her sister said no go, so I felt I should honor that and insist that the younger one pick out something different. So after a few hours, she found something and we got it set up on her bed and to help make it stick... I helped her clean and organize her room from top to bottom. Okay, well I cleaned and organized her room and she laid on her "new" bed and watched me. For an hour and then she went downstairs to watch TV. LOL. We also went through all of her clothes and hand me downs from my teen... picking out what still fits her and making piles of the rest to give away to my college friend who has three girls younger than my youngest. What a task, but we did it! I feel so accomplished.
What I didn't get around to doing this weekend was to make peach jam and a peach kuchen with the dozen or more peaches I have from my co-op, save the seeds of some flowering annuals in my yard before I yank them up--they're looking pretty weedy AND read this month's In Death book for the challenge. I think I read 30 pages or so yesterday, and nothing today. I can't believe there's only two more days left of August!
What were you up to this weekend?
Saturday night I was up to my elbows in basil and garlic as I turned five big bunches of organic basil that I special ordered through my co-op into several jars of pesto! I plan on sharing my recipe for pesto this week.
Today I took my youngest shopping and then cleaned and organized her room and closets. Both daunting tasks to take on in one day. I think I deserve a medal. LOL. I actually got a lot of hugs and even a few kisses out of her, which trust me... is HUGE coming from her these days. We managed to get her two new pairs of sneakers (one for her gym locker and one to wear whenever), jeggings (jean leggings... all the rage this year), and four shirts. You'd think we would have come home with a full wardrobe for the time we spent shopping, but the clothes out there were so ... "meh" and she's pretty picky on top of that.
We also shopped for a new comforter set for her bed. She's been in her "new" room since we moved back in the house after the addition over a year ago and we never updated her bedding. In fact, she's been using a hand-me-down set from her sister for years, so it was about time she got her very own stuff. Finding the right set was near impossible. Again, she's very picky. And to make matters worse, we found the perfect comforter set for my teen about a month ago and of course, my youngest wants the same set. Her sister said no go, so I felt I should honor that and insist that the younger one pick out something different. So after a few hours, she found something and we got it set up on her bed and to help make it stick... I helped her clean and organize her room from top to bottom. Okay, well I cleaned and organized her room and she laid on her "new" bed and watched me. For an hour and then she went downstairs to watch TV. LOL. We also went through all of her clothes and hand me downs from my teen... picking out what still fits her and making piles of the rest to give away to my college friend who has three girls younger than my youngest. What a task, but we did it! I feel so accomplished.
What I didn't get around to doing this weekend was to make peach jam and a peach kuchen with the dozen or more peaches I have from my co-op, save the seeds of some flowering annuals in my yard before I yank them up--they're looking pretty weedy AND read this month's In Death book for the challenge. I think I read 30 pages or so yesterday, and nothing today. I can't believe there's only two more days left of August!
What were you up to this weekend?
I hope you were having fun and had time to relax and enjoy these last few lazy days of summer.
Cheers!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Library Loot XX
Library Loot is a weekly blog event that encourages bloggers to share what books they borrowed from the library that week. To participate, simply make your Library Loot post on your blog and link it using the Mr. Linky link at Marg's blog Reading Adventures or Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. This week's link up is at Marg's.
Things have been quite busy around here the last several days. Mostly due to end of the school year activities for my daughters. My youngest "graduated" 5th grade yesterday and is off to middle school in September. I'm so proud of her! I'm also happy-- and a bit relieved-- that she's looking forward to the changes that middle school will bring. She's usually my worrier, but I think she's got this one under control. Hopefully she'll still feel this way when the new school year rolls around. For me, I'm feeling a little sad (and old) that after a decade I won't have at least one kid in elementary school ever again. Three. Two. One. Okay, I'm over it. :D
My eldest daughter finished her freshman year in high school. I still can't believe she's actually in high school, let alone a sophomore come September. How did that happen? Her freshman year was an academically challenging one with all honors courses which produced a ton of homework and papers and lab reports that at times had me feeling sorry for her. Other times I was grateful that all that homework prevented her from texting and facebooking the whole night. Instead, she just did those things for half the night. :/
My days have been pretty full lately, too. I've been working out nearly every day, getting up at 5:20 am to exercise before everyone goes off to school and work. This shift in my workout schedule from 9 am to 6 am was brought on initially because we can't leave my father-in-law home alone, and me not wanting to hire a sitter for him every day. So I started to workout early a couple of days a week and then all of a sudden I was doing it every day. As difficult as it is to get up so early, I have to say it feels good to get moving and energized and still have a full day ahead of me when I'm done. The downfall is that by 10 pm I am practically falling over in exhaustion ... all just to do it all over again the next day. Which is fine... but it has been cutting into my reading time. I used to do the majority of my reading between 9 pm and 1 am. These days I'm barely reading for an hour before I drift... no, not drift... collapse into deep sleep. This hasn't stopped me, however, from visiting the library three times in the last week to pick up some loot that I've been waiting on... plus a few unplanned picks. Hopefully, now that school is out for the summer, things wind down a bit during the days and I'll make some progress into my huge reading pile that has accumulated.
Last night my youngest daughter and I joined the summer reading program at the library. She joined the one in the children's department and I joined a brand new summer reading program for adults! How cool is that? I just need to fill out this little index card with the title and author for each book I read plus a few sentence book review and drop it in a box near the front desk. Each book I read and report is an entry into a weekly drawing for some neat prizes like certificates to local coffee shops, restaurants and gourmet food stores. The grand prize at the end of the summer is a $100 gift card to an upscale local restaurant. If I want to improve my chances of winning that, I'd better get reading!
Here is my latest library loot:
In Adult fiction:
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield
I saw this author mentioned I think on Carolyn Crane's blog a while ago and something about the title and cover called to me, plus I wholeheartedly trust Carolyn's recommendations--she's so passionate about the books and authors she admires. Anyway, this book is crime fiction and it sounds really interesting. The main character, Stella Hardesty runs her own sewing shop in rural Missouri while helping women deal with their abusive husbands and boyfriends like she dealt with her husband years ago. She ends up getting involved in solving some crime while helping a woman and I believe there may be a little love interest going between Stella and the local sheriff, too.
Fantasy Medley edited by Yanni Kuznia
I came across this little anthology of short stories while browsing the new fiction shelves in search of any book with the name of a body of water in the title. No kidding. Anyway, it caught my eye since I've heard of all four authors, but have never read any of their work. I thought this might be a fun, quick read to help me see if I want to pick up more by any of the authors. The four authors who have stories in this book are Robinn Hobb, Kelley Armstrong, C.E. Murphy and Kate Elliot.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In Young Adult fiction:
Looking for Alaska by John Green
I have heard great things about this book and about the author John Green, in general, and became determined to read this one upon reading a recommendation by my BookSmugglers.
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.Every review I read for this debut novel has been excellent. I've been loving the fey stories lately. I can't wait to read this.
The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth KephartI read Nothing But Ghosts by this author a month or two ago and really enjoyed it. The writing flowed nicely and the lessons the story told were honest and insightful. I'm imagining the same will hold true for this one. Let's hope so.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Complete Chile Pepper Book by Dave DeWitt & Paul W. BoslandA Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking.
That title and subtitle pretty much sums up what this book is about. I love the complexity, heat and spice that chile peppers bring to a lot of different dishes, plus I love to grow my own specialty produce when I can so this book was right up my alley for an all in one chile book. I have been tossing around the idea of making my own jalapeno pepper jelly later this summer, and I may just try the recipe in this book for that project. While it is too late for me to plant my own chile pepper plants in my garden for this season, the farmer's markets are usually loaded with these hot babies come August and September. I'll be ready!
Slim & Scrumptious by Joy BauerThis is a cookbook with more than 75 healthy recipes for healthy, low calorie eating. I already thumbed through the cookbook and see a handful of recipes I'd like to try--including the recipe for that gorgeous red tropical sangria on the cover (see photo in the upper left hand corner).
The English Roses by David AustinClassic Favorites & New Selections
I just love roses in a garden and have lived in my home for thirteen years without a single rose bush in my yard. I've been thinking a lot lately about my grandmother's home and the time I spent there as a kid. I loved the fragrance of the roses she grew in her small rose garden in her side yard. I remember sniffing each rose variety with my eyes closed trying to decide which one I liked best. I don't think I ever made up my mind! My grandmother had maybe half a dozen rose bushes and I'm hoping this book will inspire me to choose some fragrant roses for my own yard.
And that's my library loot for this week! I can't wait to get reading!
Does your library have a summer reading program for adults?
What are you reading this week?
Thursday, June 3, 2010
In Strawberry Fields
I was in strawberry fields this morning as I went strawberry picking at a small farm about 40 minutes south of where we live. I've been to this farm for strawberry picking several years now, but didn't make it last year, so I was doubly looking forward to picking this year.
This year it was just me and a friend.
No kids.
No husbands.
On one hand, it was kind of nice. We were the only ones in the fields for a while and we chatted away the quiet hour --or was it two? --as we picked.
On the other hand, it was so quiet! And I found myself missing my girls and my husband. I missed their "help," my husband documenting our adventure in photos, and most of all, I missed their company.
Even though I brought my camera with me, I barely took any photos. Too busy picking. :) Plus, the subject matter wasn't as much fun without my family in the shots. ;)
I came home with 11 pounds (5 kg) of luscious strawberries and 2 pounds (just less than 1 kg) of sugar snap peas that we couldn't resist picking as well. The sugar snap peas will be gone in a snap. ;) My youngest and I will eat them raw as a snack and if there's any left by dinner time tomorrow, they'll be tossed in a stir fry.
As for the strawberries... There's so much one can do with 11 pounds of strawberries, don't you think? Aside from eating them out of hand or in a bowl of cereal.
Over the next few days, there will be some serious strawberry goings on around here. I will definitely be making homemade strawberry jam. I'll set aside a good chunk of time over the weekend to mess up the kitchen with that task. Hopefully I'll process enough so that I have several jars to give as gifts for Christmas. In the meantime, I'm thinking of something quick and easy like chocolate covered strawberries for dessert tonight. I'd also love to make strawberry shortcake or perhaps a fresh strawberry tart with almond cream filling tomorrow. Oh! I also have some rhubarb from my organic co-op, so maybe I'll make a strawberry rhubarb sauce for ice cream. Speaking of ice cream, how could I not make homemade strawberry ice cream, too? I'll freeze any remaining berries for smoothies.
Do you ever go strawberry picking?
What's your favorite way to eat strawberries?
I've always thought of "U pick your own" on a farm as such a family event. Me picking as much as I can of whatever it is so I have enough for eating out of hand, making jams and pies, as well as some for freezing for the winter. My daughters picking enthusiastically for the first 15 minutes, then losing interest as they pick wild flowers, inspect bugs or animal prints in the soil, or just plain look for a shady spot to sit and wait for me to finish. Then my husband, our family photographer, dutifully following us wherever we go taking a hundred photos or more of our adventure.
This year it was just me and a friend.
No kids.
No husbands.
On one hand, it was kind of nice. We were the only ones in the fields for a while and we chatted away the quiet hour --or was it two? --as we picked.
On the other hand, it was so quiet! And I found myself missing my girls and my husband. I missed their "help," my husband documenting our adventure in photos, and most of all, I missed their company.
Even though I brought my camera with me, I barely took any photos. Too busy picking. :) Plus, the subject matter wasn't as much fun without my family in the shots. ;)
I came home with 11 pounds (5 kg) of luscious strawberries and 2 pounds (just less than 1 kg) of sugar snap peas that we couldn't resist picking as well. The sugar snap peas will be gone in a snap. ;) My youngest and I will eat them raw as a snack and if there's any left by dinner time tomorrow, they'll be tossed in a stir fry.
As for the strawberries... There's so much one can do with 11 pounds of strawberries, don't you think? Aside from eating them out of hand or in a bowl of cereal.
Over the next few days, there will be some serious strawberry goings on around here. I will definitely be making homemade strawberry jam. I'll set aside a good chunk of time over the weekend to mess up the kitchen with that task. Hopefully I'll process enough so that I have several jars to give as gifts for Christmas. In the meantime, I'm thinking of something quick and easy like chocolate covered strawberries for dessert tonight. I'd also love to make strawberry shortcake or perhaps a fresh strawberry tart with almond cream filling tomorrow. Oh! I also have some rhubarb from my organic co-op, so maybe I'll make a strawberry rhubarb sauce for ice cream. Speaking of ice cream, how could I not make homemade strawberry ice cream, too? I'll freeze any remaining berries for smoothies.
As if there would be any remaining berries ...
So sweet and fragrant. Can't you just taste it?
So sweet and fragrant. Can't you just taste it? Do you ever go strawberry picking?
What's your favorite way to eat strawberries?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Library Loot XIX
Library Loot is a weekly blog event that encourages bloggers to share what books they borrowed from the library that week. To participate, simply make your Library Loot post on your blog and link it using the Mr. Linky link at Marg's blog Reading Adventures or Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. This week's link up is at Eva's.
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
I only checked out one fiction novel from the library this week and it's even a re-loot. I had this one checked out a while ago but had run out of renewals so had to return it a week or so ago. Last night I went back and borrowed it again. I actually started reading it the day before it was due, but didn't get more than 50 pages in or so. I'm promising myself to read it in it's entirety this month.
In non fiction, I'm getting inspired for the bountiful growing season that has just started up in my Zone 6 area. I love the abundance of seasonal fruits and vegetables that late spring and summer provide whether it be from my organic co-op, farmers markets, local farms or my own backyard garden. These three books will give me food preparation and gardening inspiration for the next several weeks for sure.
Well Preserved by Mary Anne Dragan
The first book is actually another re-loot, but I had to have it again because tomorrow I'm going strawberry picking with my friend (the one who borrowed Lover Mine from her library for me last week)! ... and you know what that means? Strawberry Jam!
Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison
I have at least two of Deborah Madison's cookbooks on my shelf, so I know the recipes will give reliable results, be healthy and taste fresh and delicious. As per the author's style, the recipes are familiar yet with special and unique twists and presentations. I just love summer fruit desserts-- I can't wait to try some of these recipes. Don't those raspberry tarts look mouthwatering? Mmmm!
What's your favorite summer fruit dessert?
Mine is probably strawberry shortcake early in the season and any kind of berry tarts mid and late season. And my Oma's peach küchen for which I have no recipe, so it's just a favorite by memory alone.
What's your favorite summer vegetable to get fresh either in your backyard garden or at the farmer's market?
Nothing beats home or local grown tomatoes. I love the big, full flavored beefsteak tomatoes... cut in thick slices and sprinkled with kosher salt and all kinds and colors of grape and cherry tomatoes on salads or sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Sungold cherry tomatoes are one of my favorite varieties. I also love really good local corn on the cob. And lots and lots of basil.
I only checked out one fiction novel from the library this week and it's even a re-loot. I had this one checked out a while ago but had run out of renewals so had to return it a week or so ago. Last night I went back and borrowed it again. I actually started reading it the day before it was due, but didn't get more than 50 pages in or so. I'm promising myself to read it in it's entirety this month.
In non fiction, I'm getting inspired for the bountiful growing season that has just started up in my Zone 6 area. I love the abundance of seasonal fruits and vegetables that late spring and summer provide whether it be from my organic co-op, farmers markets, local farms or my own backyard garden. These three books will give me food preparation and gardening inspiration for the next several weeks for sure.
Well Preserved by Mary Anne Dragan
The first book is actually another re-loot, but I had to have it again because tomorrow I'm going strawberry picking with my friend (the one who borrowed Lover Mine from her library for me last week)! ... and you know what that means? Strawberry Jam!
Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison
I have at least two of Deborah Madison's cookbooks on my shelf, so I know the recipes will give reliable results, be healthy and taste fresh and delicious. As per the author's style, the recipes are familiar yet with special and unique twists and presentations. I just love summer fruit desserts-- I can't wait to try some of these recipes. Don't those raspberry tarts look mouthwatering? Mmmm!
The Kitchen Garden by Alan Burkingham
I merely had to flip through this informative book to know that I needed to bring it home and study it. It has loads of beautiful, clear, and helpful photos throughout and is formatted month by month and details what to do for your garden at that time from sowing by seed, harvesting information, pest and disease identification, and so much more. I'm already a good two weeks late planting a few key summer vegetables, but I'm still going to tackle a vegetable garden this year. Although I can already say the deer are going to be a huge problem.
What's your favorite summer fruit dessert?
Mine is probably strawberry shortcake early in the season and any kind of berry tarts mid and late season. And my Oma's peach küchen for which I have no recipe, so it's just a favorite by memory alone.
What's your favorite summer vegetable to get fresh either in your backyard garden or at the farmer's market?
Nothing beats home or local grown tomatoes. I love the big, full flavored beefsteak tomatoes... cut in thick slices and sprinkled with kosher salt and all kinds and colors of grape and cherry tomatoes on salads or sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Sungold cherry tomatoes are one of my favorite varieties. I also love really good local corn on the cob. And lots and lots of basil.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
This and That + 2 Winners
Can you believe it's May already? The days and seasons are just flying by. I don't know where the time goes and I sure could use some more time in my days, that's for sure.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I'm going to try to be brief on this topic, because Lord knows I can go on and on and on about diet and exercise these days. Back in the beginning of April, I blogged about starting a calorie counting program to help me lose weight using the Lose It app on my iPhone. I started on April 1 and am happy to report that I've lost 8 lbs. as of May 1! All I can say is thank goodness I got some great results right away, because I was pretty miserable--hungry and cranky--for the first week or two. Don't get me wrong, it's still not easy, but it's definitely easier than those first two weeks.
April was a great month in exercise for me. I've been working out 5-6 days a week now as opposed to the 4-5 days a week previously, which has been awesome. Not just because I'm burning more calories, but my body simply craves the daily exercise now, too. When a day off comes along, I get kind of restless and my body keeps whispering, "go, go, go!" but my brain says, "wait! ice, ice, ice baby before you get hurt!" I battle myself the whole day.
My friend Maureen, who is also my running class instructor from the gym, started up a mixed level bootcamp class on Friday mornings at 5:45 am and of course, I signed up for it. Last Friday was our first class and while the drills were intense, because it was the first class, there was also some downtime for her to explain things, so it wasn't brutal. During one drill she said we would probably have muscle soreness over the weekend, and I nearly tuned her out thinking that didn't really apply to me. I workout six days a week and even cross train! Well, I've got one word to describe how I felt over the weekend: OUCH! I winced and maybe even groaned out loud every time I sat or had to go up or down the stairs. I'm thinking this class will be good for me.
I only went running four times in April, but I made the most of those runs and worked on my pace. One of my fitness goals for 2010 is to run at a 10:30 minute mile pace and this morning I ran 2 miles in 21:05-- the first mile at 10:33 and the second mile at 10:32. Totally made my day.
My husband and I also went out on our first cycling rides of the season in April. I think all the running I've been doing since last fall has improved my cardiovascular fitness level because I only needed to stop once on two of the most challenging hills of my favorite route through the wildlife reservation. Last fall, I had to stop twice on each of those hills. I'm hoping to do the entire loop without stopping at all by the end of the summer.
COOKING
I've got a handful of recipes that I want to share and will hopefully get them up soon. Most are main dish recipes, but I also want to try my hand at making Angel Food Cake and biscotti that is less than 100 calories per piece. I love biscotti.
GARDENING
I really wanted to re-establish my vegetable garden this spring as I haven't had one in three years because of the addition we did on the house, but it's nearly time to plant summer crops here in Zone 6, and I'm no where near ready. I wanted to get a fence put up in the yard first because the garden will back up to it and I haven't even called anyone in for an estimate yet. So I was thinking for this year, to maybe plant some vegetables in with the flowers that are in my side yard perennial garden. It's a small garden between the house and the driveway, but it gets enough sun and I'll see it every time I go out, so I'll probably be more likely to weed and water it anyway. I just wondered if it would be too accessible to the deer, but then decided no. The deer would have to walk up my driveway, go between my car and the house that is only maybe 6 feet wide and the only way out is the way they came in because the steps into the house are right there. Well, clearly, what do I know. Look what I spotted in that space this past Sunday:
Isn't that the cutest thing! It was so small, I wondered if it was born there early that morning or the night before. A couple of hours later it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere in my yard. I wonder if it wandered away alone or if the mother came back for it. I kind of hope I'll see it again so I'll know it's okay, but it'll probably be back in a month or two eating my garden! I wonder if I'll think it's a sweet little thing then.
2 KIDS AND A DOG GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
Finally, I used the list randomizer at random.org to select two lucky winners of the 2 Kids and a Dog Calendar giveaway! And the winners are ....
Congratulations! Please email me at krauscakes[at]verizon[dot]net with your mailing address so the lovely Alexia from 2 Kids and a Dog can get your calendar out to you in the mail. I hope you get some smiles out of their calendar like I do! Thanks for playing! :o)
List Randomizer
There were 6 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
Brandy
doodlegirl
Dru
orannia
Lover of Romance
nath
Timestamp: 2010-05-03 02:30:32 UTC
HEALTH & FITNESS
I'm going to try to be brief on this topic, because Lord knows I can go on and on and on about diet and exercise these days. Back in the beginning of April, I blogged about starting a calorie counting program to help me lose weight using the Lose It app on my iPhone. I started on April 1 and am happy to report that I've lost 8 lbs. as of May 1! All I can say is thank goodness I got some great results right away, because I was pretty miserable--hungry and cranky--for the first week or two. Don't get me wrong, it's still not easy, but it's definitely easier than those first two weeks.
April was a great month in exercise for me. I've been working out 5-6 days a week now as opposed to the 4-5 days a week previously, which has been awesome. Not just because I'm burning more calories, but my body simply craves the daily exercise now, too. When a day off comes along, I get kind of restless and my body keeps whispering, "go, go, go!" but my brain says, "wait! ice, ice, ice baby before you get hurt!" I battle myself the whole day.
My friend Maureen, who is also my running class instructor from the gym, started up a mixed level bootcamp class on Friday mornings at 5:45 am and of course, I signed up for it. Last Friday was our first class and while the drills were intense, because it was the first class, there was also some downtime for her to explain things, so it wasn't brutal. During one drill she said we would probably have muscle soreness over the weekend, and I nearly tuned her out thinking that didn't really apply to me. I workout six days a week and even cross train! Well, I've got one word to describe how I felt over the weekend: OUCH! I winced and maybe even groaned out loud every time I sat or had to go up or down the stairs. I'm thinking this class will be good for me.
I only went running four times in April, but I made the most of those runs and worked on my pace. One of my fitness goals for 2010 is to run at a 10:30 minute mile pace and this morning I ran 2 miles in 21:05-- the first mile at 10:33 and the second mile at 10:32. Totally made my day.
My husband and I also went out on our first cycling rides of the season in April. I think all the running I've been doing since last fall has improved my cardiovascular fitness level because I only needed to stop once on two of the most challenging hills of my favorite route through the wildlife reservation. Last fall, I had to stop twice on each of those hills. I'm hoping to do the entire loop without stopping at all by the end of the summer.
COOKING
I've got a handful of recipes that I want to share and will hopefully get them up soon. Most are main dish recipes, but I also want to try my hand at making Angel Food Cake and biscotti that is less than 100 calories per piece. I love biscotti.
GARDENING
I really wanted to re-establish my vegetable garden this spring as I haven't had one in three years because of the addition we did on the house, but it's nearly time to plant summer crops here in Zone 6, and I'm no where near ready. I wanted to get a fence put up in the yard first because the garden will back up to it and I haven't even called anyone in for an estimate yet. So I was thinking for this year, to maybe plant some vegetables in with the flowers that are in my side yard perennial garden. It's a small garden between the house and the driveway, but it gets enough sun and I'll see it every time I go out, so I'll probably be more likely to weed and water it anyway. I just wondered if it would be too accessible to the deer, but then decided no. The deer would have to walk up my driveway, go between my car and the house that is only maybe 6 feet wide and the only way out is the way they came in because the steps into the house are right there. Well, clearly, what do I know. Look what I spotted in that space this past Sunday:
Isn't that the cutest thing! It was so small, I wondered if it was born there early that morning or the night before. A couple of hours later it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere in my yard. I wonder if it wandered away alone or if the mother came back for it. I kind of hope I'll see it again so I'll know it's okay, but it'll probably be back in a month or two eating my garden! I wonder if I'll think it's a sweet little thing then.
2 KIDS AND A DOG GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
Finally, I used the list randomizer at random.org to select two lucky winners of the 2 Kids and a Dog Calendar giveaway! And the winners are ....
BRANDY and DOODLEGIRL !!!
Congratulations! Please email me at krauscakes[at]verizon[dot]net with your mailing address so the lovely Alexia from 2 Kids and a Dog can get your calendar out to you in the mail. I hope you get some smiles out of their calendar like I do! Thanks for playing! :o)
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
I want to know what's going on in your world lately... do you have anything to share?
Do you have a garden? Do you container garden? What vegetables, herbs or flowers do you like to grow every year?
List Randomizer
There were 6 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
Brandy
doodlegirl
Dru
orannia
Lover of Romance
nath
Timestamp: 2010-05-03 02:30:32 UTC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)