Building a Garden

One of the big projects we tackled recently was building a raised garden bed for vegetables.

We drafted and redrafted plans for it, figuring out how tall and how wide and how deep, and we wound up with a very tall planter - out of the reach of the little bunnies and just high enough to make gardening very easy on my back.

It was the work of a very long day, but we built, installed, filled with dirt, and planted our seedlings last Sunday.

That poor red-stemed dogwood never stood a chance.  The plan next year is to build an identical planter that will nestle directly to the right of this one, and sooner or later bean trellises along the back to give a bit more (green) privacy to the fence.

Progress isn't always Pretty

As promised we've really knuckled down for the last few days of spring break and here we are at the weekend already.  After demolishing the large cabinet (sledgehammers are fun, but boy do my shoulders ache) Richard popped up all the terrible tiles and I came along after scooping them up.  The glue removal promises to take a couple days so we'll hopefully have the floor fully prepped for painting by next weekend.

Before:

Currently:

One section of basement tile down, three more to go!

Because the weather promises to turn stormy later today and tomorrow we're going to spend as much time  today outside.  We're taking a break from the basement and garage work to run to the building supply store to pick up lumber and dirt for my raised vegetable garden.  Here's hoping we get the bed built and filled before the rains come

Spring Break 2012

 

We did have a really wonderful trip.  Wicket met her cousin Diego, and we're pretty sure she didn't even tease him about his lack of hair.  We visited everyone's favorite restaurants to enjoy good food and conversation, went on a walk through the Arboretum, and even hit up a few Goodwill Thrifts.  It's a little sad to know that Bob and Tim will be leaving Kentucky soon, but we hope they like their new home in New England and can't wait to schedule a time to visit them out there. Wicket did fairly well on her first long car trip, but she had to check up on us from the back seat every so often just to be sure Richard was doing a good job of driving.

And so we've returned from our little jaunt down to Lexington to visit Uncle Bob and Uncle Tim and have a relaxing beginning to our spring break but now that we're back we're diving straight into work.  Today while I was taking my charges on walks through their new neighborhood park and playing a game of Monopoly Richard tackled the task of demolishing more of the basement in what should soon be a store room.

After dinner we were able to spend a couple hours around the fire pit in the yard to burn the wood scraps that resulted from said basement demolition, but we have plenty to last us through a summer of bon fires.  While we enjoyed chatting around the fire I was able to knock down more of the still unidentified shrub that stands in the way of my vegetable garden and cut it into burnable/compostable pieces.  There's still a lot of work yet to do in the yard before the garden goes in and hopefully the weather complies over the next couple days.

Happy Birthday Jennie!

Today is the birthday of one of my very best friends.

Since she's moved across the state I'm only able to see her a couple times a year, but I look forward to those visits all year long.  I cannot wait to see her a month from now, and meet the new little baby girl who came into her family this year.

Happy Birthday Jennie, I love you with all my heart!

Dreary Spring Days and Garden Plans

Today was a dreary and rainy sort of spring day, so despite not having to work or run errands I didn't get out in the yard as I had planned.  I did make a dent in the chaos that we call the office and the usual household chores, but I can't wait to get back into that yard and get working on the garden.

Tomorrow I judge my last Forensics tournament of the 2012 season and I'm sorry to see the season end so soon.  But I do look forward to knowing that (for the most part) my Saturdays will be mine again.

Richard has put a seed tray to start seedlings in his window at school where they will receive lots of sun to get them ready for the vegetable garden and the front flower beds.  The photo is from last week and while I haven't seen any more progress Richard promises that a few of them already need transplanting.  I'll start some of the herbs soon and send them over for the same care.

While we were in the yard yesterday Wicket discovered that sticks are for both fetching and chewing.  She proceeded to bring that exact stick into the breezeway each time we returned from playing fetch in the yard, and that's where is resides even now.  There is no doubt she has claimed that stick as her own.

Speaking of spring, one of the perks of Richard's teaching job is looking forward to spring break.  We're taking just a few days to visit family out-of-state before returning for what is sure to be more yard work, basement work, and just work in general.  It'll be Wicket's first real road trip as the furthest she's been before was to Madison and Oshkosh.  She's a trouper though, and we can't wait to see her meet Diego, her canine cousin of the Mexican hairless variety.  Does anyone else look forward to spring break as much as we do?  Or is that a feeling reserved for students and those that teach?  Either way, I hope everyone's gearing up for what looks to be a beautiful spring.

Spring Day

Sunday was a really georgous day weather wise.  Everything is in bloom and the sun was shining and it was just cool enough to wear a light jacket to protect my arms while I pruned the roses.  It was so nice that we spent the better part of the day working in the yard.  There are a lot of things I need to learn how to care for in our little outdoor space, like the blackberry bushes and the peonies.

We're taking out two trees (dead from rot) and three unidentified red bushes that take up more space than necessary and are in the way of my future vegetable garden.  We're still trying to find a way to transplant the apple tree from the back garden to my parents' home because its trying to get into our foundation where it is now.

We installed one of our rain barrels last week and the recent spring rains had it filled to the brim.  Richard came home with a second rain barrel on Saturday night from the German Immersion Foundation dinner and silent auction.  It's blue and covered in red and white handprints from the kids who painted it.

The night ended cooler than expected as we gathered with Richard's parents and grandfather around a fire fed by old cabinet pieces.  It didn't take long before we retired indoors for some hot cocoa before everyone went home.

Weekly Goals Updated

Despite no longer posting my weekly goals on the blog I have been able to keep up with them.  Which I think is saying something since we're already into March and I'm still going strong.

One of the things I've gotten back to doing is keeping all my lists in one place.  Not only do I make one primary list of the big things I hope to accomplish that week but everyday I have a list of all the little things I need to accomplish for the day.  I don't use any fancy planners or anything, just a small notebook (this one if you're curious) that's easy to tote around so I can write things down whenever I think of them.

I've found it really helps me to write down even the littlest chore for each day as a simple reminder that there are things to be done.  And putting a box at the beginning of each task to check off when I'm done not only helps me keep track of what's left to do but keeps me motivated to keep checking off the tasks.

Lovely Days and Last Minute Plans

Today was just a lovely day.  Wicket and I took a nice stroll through the neighborhood enjoying the sun and the ever so slight warmth.  Later I met up with my father for lunch and after we were done I walked over to the Apple store to say hello to our old neighbor Tom before going home.  I had the fortune to walk in just before he started his lunch break so I got to spend a whole hour chatting with him before he had to go back to work and I had to come home.

It's just so nice when a really nice day comes out of last minute plans and sunny mornings.

Snow Day

The snow really piled up last night, so Wicket and I ventured into the yard for some snow adventures.

There was some searching for bunnies...

and some bouncing around...

and then there was this.  Whatever this is.

Making new Meals

It has been very easy with all the moving and kitchen renovation to get into the habit of making quick and easy meals.  We frequently find ourselves falling back on meals that don't have to be thought about much and that we're practiced in making, but at least I haven't used a packet of ramen for any recipe in years.

Now that things are (mostly) settled and the kitchen is (mostly) done we're attempting to branch out.  In the last few weeks we've been making the effort to try making new, albeit relatively easy, meals that build off what we already have and what we already know. We've already tried Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Mongolian Beef, and both of those dishes were big hits.

Today I'm making Slow Cooker Cranberry BBQ Chicken and attempting to use the Kitchen Aid tip for shredding the chicken.  And later this week we're trying Slow Cooker Sweet & Spicy Pot Roast from Mel's Kitchen Cafe using some of Richard's venison roasts.

Now if I'd just convince myself to invest in a food processor my olive tapenade would come out looking as delicious as it tastes, but one step at a time I suppose.

Puppy Love and Basement Updates

The last couple weeks have been rather hectic.  While my parents were out of town we took care of their dog Daisy, and the first couple days of her and Wicket adjusting to one another's company were a bit tense, but they're better friends now.

With the extra puppy around time has been tight, and schedule has been packed, but we've been working on the basement. Richard removed a lot of the tiles from the floor and then removed the glue from that strip so that he and his dad could frame the new wall on Saturday while I was away judging a Forensics tournament.  Photo is pre wall building.

Sometimes it feels a bit congested trying to schedule home improvement projects with the regular every day chores of the household.  But there's always that sense of accomplishment when a big project is finally done, and this basement is one really big project.  Thankfully we've broken it down into four smaller "chunks" so we can finish one before moving onto the next, plus we've had lots of puppy love to see us through.

Vitacost.com Free $10 coupon from referral

I've gotta admit I really love freebies.  I was perusing some of my favorite freebie blogs this morning while I'm in bed sick and there's not much else to do, and I managed to come across a real gem.

I'm trying out Vitacost.com which offers lots of health care items at discounted prices (including my favorites from Burt's Bees) with standard shipping starting at $4.99.  If you spend more than $49 the shipping is free.

Right now (though April 6th) if you sign up through my referral link not only do you get a free $10 coupon to use on the site, but I get one too.  So take a look, and see if its something you would use and if it is please consider signing up through my link.