Monday, August 23, 2010

Satisfaction

The weekend completely flew by but I suppose that's how it works when things are good, right?

Had a busy Saturday- going to the farmers market, working on business stuff for a few hours, running errands, cleaning the house, and other things I can't remember right now. Sunday we drove 1/2 hour to find out the garage we were taking both cars to work on was closed. Grr. So we came back and Chris got to work in the driveway on my car while I got part of the garage cleaned up which was in desperate need of de-cluttering. Still have stuff we need to pitch.... like what seems like 10,000 plastic pots from plants, cardboard of varying size that never seems to go away no matter how much we recycle... 2 lawnmowers that don't work (the third one we were sent has been working and fantastic since we got it, yay), a busted vacuum cleaner, and some tools/devices we borrowed for projects here or there... blah. It's coming along, but it's shocking the amount of accumulation that can happen, especially with a house and all those things we now own or temporarily need that we never did before. Didn't realize a house was this much work! Especially establishing a new yard & landscaping. We have spent many a sweaty humid day and mosquito-ridden night working on something outside. Hoping there comes a day when we have more grass than weeds. :(

The garden is happy though, and I need more tomato towers since a few of the plants are so huge and top heavy with lots of green tomatoes :D. Our landscaper didn't put in our raised garden until the end of June so I was a bit behind in getting everything planted. Everything looks plentiful though. The 6 types of garlic I harvested a couple weeks ago are dried and just need to be cleaned! I accidentally pulled an onion out when I was weeding tonight but it looks great too and there are many more still out there. It's fun growing vegetables I haven't grown before! Dill weed is finally coming in, the 3 mint plants are ridiculously huge, and basil, as expected, is enormous too. I finally chopped down the bolting romaine lettuce tonight... I could go on and on even more, haha. Also tonight I mixed my second batch of compost from our kitchen composter into the soil around the herbs and onions.

Anyway, yesterday Mom & Jean showed up around 3 and we had a blast shopping and they bought me some fun new clothes, shoes, a hat, and necklace, yay. I was amused by Jean's observation that Dad had kept track this was their third time going on an out-of-state trip together without him. :/ In 40 years of being best friends. What better excuse for a girl's day out? Chris was being the wonderful car mechanic that he is, so we went and played while he fixed my horrible oil leak AND air conditioning! Wow! I'm so grateful. <3

It was a great visit! They brought tomatoes and eggplant for us, and I sent them home with some spices and teas. Looking forward to having both Mom & Dad for a whole weekend in 5 weeks, but we'll probably need to do something other than just shopping.. :P

Til next time loyal reader(s?)...

Friday, August 20, 2010

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

We started on a new path this past Saturday. A couple months ago Chris got his routine newsletter from Herbal Legacy forum and something about this article clicked. We knew we both needed to try it soon to cleanse and rebuild. We made a lot of excuses to not start, but finally took the plunge last weekend. Definitely was a good idea to start on the weekend, since we had some intense cleansing feelings the first couple days. But boy, has there been a dramatic difference this week. More energy! For example, one morning before work I got up at 6, cleaned the kitchen, and went for a run. It was most difficult the first few days to come up with meal ideas that involve no grain, fruit, tubers, or sweeteners of any kind, but we've ended up being more creative this week than we have in a long time. Also realized how much we eat potatoes and other things when we gave them up. Necessity is the mother or invention.

Planning to promote this cleanse in our herb classes and create a cookbook to go with it. What to eat for 2 1/2 weeks was our biggest stall in us getting started, and knowing many people don't eat a diet like ours, I know that would be the biggest fear for most people. The salad dressing I made for lunch today was a creamy italian made with almonds as the base!

Looking forward to hosting Mom & Jean Sunday evening!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Mosquitos Are The Devil But Summer Is Worth It

Had a great extended weekend, but as usual, it wasn't long enough. Friday we took care of some of those errands that you can only do during business hours. Bryce and Shannon stayed over on their way home to Iowa from a 5 week Adventure with Lincoln. We played Mario Kart & Super Mario Bros, conversed about herbs, food, communes, natural birth, and other hippie stuff. Enjoyed Lincoln's cuteness, sweet demeanor, and strawberry curls I couldn't stop touching.

Midday Saturday I made a breakfast tofu scramble with spinach and onions, and my stand by casserole of hashbrowns, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and a crumbled breakfast patty. They had seconds so it must have gone over well. Kind of cliche to do tofu as we don't even eat it very often, but it was nice to hear Shannon's first and only experience with bad tofu was turned around. Bryce took a picture of his plate of food so it passed the photogenic test too. They watched as we worked on some business stuff in the afternoon, and we showed them the health store we work with. I'm glad to know I have a way to text Bryce now and also another online Mario Kart competitor. :)

I think Shannon really wants the composter we recently got. Chris really didn't want a big bulky tumbler outside, and despite the price, I was thrilled that he found an indoor and extremely easy and accessible solution. I had been cringing at throwing away food lo these last few years since living on my own. It's incredible how much less trash we throw out now. Going to use our first batch of compost this week on some plants outside!

Sunday & Monday Chris and I were amazed at how much more yard work we got done (and realizing there is still quite a bit left to do). We've now made it all the way around the house with our hand built stone edging, weeding, and mulching. Just a few more yards of mulch to finish around the patio. We're also going to pull up some of the mulch we first installed and put down landscape fabric since we already have some weeds poking through the mulch we put down 2 weeks ago. Once we're done with the landscaping, we'll hopefully get rid of the crab grass once and for all so the grass can fill in the rest of the way. And maybe the yard will be done for the summer except mowing and fun things like harvesting crops? Crossing my fingers.

Can't believe how huge the tomato plants are - especially the ones I planted from seed which makes me proud. :D I got a few smaller tomato towers but I need bigger ones for most of them.

We noticed the landscaper must have snuck in over the weekend. They were 2 firebricks short of completing the fire pit last week, and Sunday we saw that it was done and ready for use! So last night we treated ourselves to a job well done with a long overdue burn-in of the fire pit. The mosquitoes were horrendous as they have been many evenings we've been working outside, so it was great when dusk passed to night and they weren't so rampant. And once we got the fire going they were virtually inconsequential. Chris brought out the thurible so we had incense to go along with our christening of the firepit which uplifted the mood even more. It was so peaceful, quiet, and calm that at nearly 10pm we decided to just cook dinner over the fire and stayed out until midnight.

On the horizon.... Wisconsin State Fair with Chris's family this weekend. Looking forward to the Perseid meteor shower coming up next week. Last night I found out my mom will be stopping for a visit in 2 1/2 weeks after a wedding in LaCrosse. We're hosting friends for Labor Day. Mom & Dad are visiting at the end of September, Chris and I are participating in a big Health Expo at the State Fairgrounds in October, followed by family Halloween in KY. Then it's practically winter! Lots of fun stuff coming up. Wonder why I feel like there's never enough time? Loving this long hot summer since I felt cheated last year, but looking forward to the changing seasons (but not the days growing shorter).