Simple Gardening

After my father helped us build 2 raised garden beds, David decided to expand the beds to a total of 5. We put down biodegradable weed barrier that we can mix into the soil at the end of the season. And (my favorite part!) David dug a trench in our yard, laid down pipe and then (with the use of spider irrigation) ran individual emitters to each plant. We won't need to worry about dragging a hose around the yard to keep the plants hydrated! And, since we've already experienced temperatures in the 90's, our plants need lots of water so they don't die.


We're growing tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, string beans, basil and corn. I'm looking forward to all the fresh vegetables and fruit that we're going to have this summer!

Sometimes She Acts Like a Kitten

If Sophie had her way, she would have David or me play with her for 90% of her waking hours. Since that is not a possibility, it is nice that she has learned how to keep herself entertained. It means that dog toys are strewn all over the house, but I've gotten used to watching where I walk.

The other day she got a new toy that had a bell inside it, and I had an hour to read my book in peace while she chased the toy around the living room. I got the camera out so that I could show David how much she was enjoying her toy (since he was still at work). Notice how she paws at the toy, nudges it with her nose and purrs?/growls? at it. Sometimes our Boxer reminds us of a playful kitten!

A Day at the Lake House

In January David and I had rented a cabin in the Pocono's through homeaway.com. We had so much fun that we decided to rent another cabin, this time in the Finger Lakes area of NY.

Last Friday afternoon we picked up my nephews, Aiden and Seth, and they stayed with us at the cabin that night. However, as soon as we arrived the boys announced "it not look like a cabin" and they decided to call it the Lake House instead.


Dawn on Saturday morning was beautiful and since I was wide awake (due to one particular nephew who was calling my name at 6am) I slipped outside to get some pictures of Seneca Lake in the early morning. Shortly afterwards both boys were hungry for breakfast and excited to explore their outside surroundings.


Later in the morning company arrived - the rest of the Loucks family and our friends, the Brackmans (Carla, husband Jeff, children Trey and Roman, and dog Marley). That's when the real fun began! We spent the rest of the day eating good food...


walking on the train tracks and collecting train spikes...

tossing the horseshoes...


relaxing in the lawn chairs...
skipping rocks across the lake (and teaching the youngest boys how to find good skipping stones)... going for rides on the pedal boat...
having s'mores at our lakeside campfire...

enjoying the beautiful weather...

and, most of all, enjoying being together!
Did you notice Sophie in a few of these pictures? One of the main reasons why we've started using the Homeaway website is due to the many homes that permit dogs. Sophie loves to travel and she seems to enjoy the adventure of a new location! But on this trip there were other neighborhood dogs running around, so Sophie met 4 new dogs, in addition to hanging out with her boyfriend, Marley, for a second weekend. It seemed like the other owners were comfortable with their dogs roaming the beachside, and I attribute that to the off-season (since I'm sure more renters in the area would mean more imposed rules!) Because Marley is very good at obeying when he's called, we can trust Sophie too, since she generally stays as close to Marley as possible. (In this picture you can see two other friendly dogs with Sophie and Marley.)

After hours of playing, Sophie was exhausted. And apparently, lack of sleep causes puppies to forget the rules and climb up on the furniture! It was so cute that our strict principles flew out the window, and we let her stay on the couch for the rest of the evening.This weekend nourished my soul, and I'm so thankful that I have a husband who is willing to use his vacation time for mini-get-aways with my family/friends.

I am also thankful for these women... two wonderful friends... one a sister by blood, one a sister by choice. I am very blessed that the three of us have remained close friends for over 20 years!

Garden Beds

Dad and Gene came to visit us this past weekend. It was nice weather outside so Dad and David worked outside building garden beds for the vegetable garden that we're going to have this summer. The guys accomplished a lot in two afternoons, and we really appreciate Dad's help!

By Sunday evening one garden bed was complete, and the other one (next to the garage) only needs a kneeling board added to the top. Now we just need to wait another month before we can start planting.

Another Vegetarian Meal

I tried a new recipe tonight called Creole Stuffed Eggplant. It was a leap of faith for me to spend a good amount of time preparing a dish that I wasn't guaranteed we'd like! It wasn't a difficult recipe, but it did involve a lot of vegetable chopping. We'll definitely try this again!

Back to Work

It's been almost a year since David and I started our construction sabbatical. At least, that's what I'm calling the months of ignoring all that work that could have / should have been done. But that hiatus came to a halt this morning.

David launched into finishing the laundry room and starting some work in the kitchen. (With old homes it seems like one project will always lead into another project. In our case, in order to finish the laundry room project it required demolition in the kitchen so that my pantry could be made.) David took out our door between the kitchen and laundry room, and then started to tear out the wall where my pantry is going to be.

Some might hate the mess (I know it grates on my nerves), but I still find a thrill in a new construction project. Watching a house transform due to your (or your husbands) hard work, is something to be proud of!

David tore the panelling from the wall.

I removed the lath.

Sophie did her share by guarding the worksite.

Trying New Things

I know a few vegetarians, but I've never asked them how they became vegetarians. Did they go "cold turkey" when they stopped eating meat, or was it a gradual shift in their food habits?

I'm not sure if David and I will ever be vegetarians (let's face it... I think bacon is way too yummy to give up!), but I've decided to try to incorporate some vegetarian meals into our regular menu. And thankfully David is willing to go along with this and try anything that I make. (Yes, I know I'm blessed with his easygoing nature!)

We had our first vegetarian meal tonight, Brown Butter Tortelli. It was... interesting. I found the recipe on a blog called 101 Cookbooks and tweaked it only slightly by using tortellini instead of tortelli. Neither David nor I like balsamic vinegar, and I honestly don't know if I've ever tried arugula before, so attempting this recipe definitely got me out of my comfort zone! The arugula was much more bitter than I anticipated, but one good quality of bitter greens is that they help mute balsamic vinegar. All in all, it was different, but decent. I don't think I'll put it on the menu every month, but I definitely think we'll have it again.

Now I've just got to figure out what to do with the remainder of the arugula!

Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins

Do you remember that scene in Little Women, when the four sisters are gathered together on Christmas night to read from "their paper" together? The following dialogue occured...
Meg: Gentlemen of the press, hear, hear! I call to your attention our Mr. Tupman's The History of a Squash.
Beth: Oh, don't read mine.
Amy: Beth, this isn't a story. It's a recipe.
Beth: Oh, dear, I never know what to write.

I was reminded of this scene because I baked some delicious muffins tonight, and I definitely wanted to share the recipe with everyone... yum!

1 cup unbleached white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1 cup (8 oz.) vanilla low-fat yogurt

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup low-fat milk

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flours, oats, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl and stir together.

In another mixing bowl, combine the beaten egg, yogurt, brown sugar, and milk in another mixing bowl and stir together until well blended.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet mixture. Stir together vigorously until completely combined. The batter should be medium-thick. If it seems too stiff or dry, add a small amount of additional milk.

Divide the batter evenly among 12 paper-lined muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one tests clean. When the muffins are cool enough to handle, transfer them to a plate or rack to cool.

Calories: 143

Total fat: 3 g

Protein: 5 g

Cholesterol: 19 g

Sodium: 28 mg

Enjoy!

Bookshelf

I started a project of cleaning out the attic yesterday, and (thankfully) David helped me... it would've been a pretty daunting task by myself. We unburied this Amish-made shelf that I bought in 2003, which hasn't been used since 2005. To the top of it I added some of my favorite hard-cover books, along with an antique iron and my grandfathers lunch-bucket. (My father's father was born in 1887, so I estimate that it was sometime around 1895 when he used this!)

I was so delighted that David hung this on the wall in our living room!

Back Again!

Autumn ended, winter began... and somehow life's happenings didn't seem worth the effort to blog. But here I am, almost 6 months later, starting to blog again. I think maybe I'll try to write about the everyday activities, instead of focusing on the new and exciting things. After all, they say life is made up of everyday moments! Welcome back!