Ramblings....when I want cuz I can

I think I am always so worried about my blog being some cohesive thread of thoughts and posts that I only seem to add to it very sporadically.  Not sure if that will change or not based on this declaration...but I am going to just post what I want, ramble from time to time and makes this somewhat of a personal space that happens to be public.

I have been in a funk lately but I am really trying to fight it.  There is not one major think I can point to to blame nor is there one major thing that is my symptom of how I know.  I am just fighting the blues more and truth be told I think I am just really tired from working full time for the past 21 years with all financial responsibility resting solely on my shoulders.  That is how it is being a single parent and I know I am blessed that I have been able to go in an incline of a career path with increased salary and lifestyle.  But...that does not mean I am not still tired and would not love being able to take a bit of a step backwards if I had a spouse that could pick up the slack.  Ok...that is just a bit of where my head is at I guess.

I have been doing some cooking lately which has been nice.  I made a fabulous chicken curry crockpot dish, a good mexican crockpot dish and last night I cooked with a leek for the first time.  Yum!  Saturday morning I went down to the farmers market, for the first time this year believe it or not, and I wound up with some garlic, shallots, leeks, fingerling potatoes and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Some of the garlic is for eating and some is for planting in the garden. 

Last night I steamed the potatoes and cooked the leeks in butter and olive oil.  I also cooked and crumbled some bacon.  I tossed all the ingredients together and let them fry up a bit and it was just lovely.  I am definitely going to plant fingerling potatoes this spring.

I am home sick today and won't go into details.  I can be up and about a bit and am going to work on getting out a few fall decorations.  I am ready for the summer heat to be gone and survey says it will be leaving this week.   

The promise of glorious things to come!!

I cannot expect anyone to understand the joy I feel inside right now with the progress of my garden.  It just makes my soul sing!  I am planning to do a small fall/winter planting this weekend with some lettuce, spinach and carrots.  I have 2 squash plants that are doing very well.  The zucchini plant has at least 4 tiny little barbie size starts on them and the yellow crookneck has 2.  I have just picked my first 3 cherry size tomatoes and am looking forward to having them for dinner tonight.

This past weekend involved filling my 4 raised beds with 2 yards of mushroom soil and spreading 4 yards of dark bark in my front yard.  I have my son Shane and his friend Ian (sp?) to thank for that.  They worked really hard and I am very grateful for their assistance.

I have started saving little containers for seed starting of next years garden and I can hardly wait!!  I bought a great book on canning and preserving and look forward to making some killer relishes and sauces and such.  This is not your grandma's green beans that I am going for here....not that there is anything wrong with that!!  I do not have a house full of people to feed so for me this is more about the gardening itself and getting to explore flavors and smaller batches of unique things.

Here is a picture of the garden beds now full and ready to plant....along with a picture of my 3 little tomatoes that make me smile!!

Slow but sure....

Working on the garden still.....it all takes so much time when you are doing it mostly alone and move as slow as I do these days!

Hoping to have them level and order garden soil next week.  :-)  I have to get on this, I have rhubarb coming soon.  I also have tiny tiny little crookneck and zucchini squashes on the plants seen on the back wall.  Woohoo!

chicken coop...scratch that! (pun intended)

Ok...I have been studying all things chicken coops and urban chicken keeping and I have decided it is not for me.  I have also decided I am not going to be one of those types that blogs daily...it is what it is.

I have moved on to putting in my garden, which I have been thinking about for 2 years now.  It was just time to put my big girl panties on and deal with it.  I am doing a potager garden which is a fancy name for a french kitchen garden.  In order to qualify as a potager it must have vegetables, herbs and flowers and the most traditional styles have 4 boxes or beds with a center area of the garden for a centerpiece or sitting area. 

I have just barely started but thought I would show a picture.  I have 2 of my 4 boxes built, which are 4' x 4' and 12" high.  I am undecided on what I will be doing in the center but I will know it when I know it.

I have missed gardening...I am so looking forward to it!

A coop is the scoop!

My latest obsession...I am getting a chicken coop and 4 - 5 egg laying ladies.  I am so excited!!!  I am working with a local guy who is going to help me build it (my coffee lady hooked me up with him).  I know where I want it in the yard but I am still working out the style of coop that I want.  I love the idea of the freshness and being somewhat self reliant.  I am also going to be working on my raised garden best very soon.  These will not be in growing production until next year but by then they will be completely good to go and fertilized and will be a growing machine.

I want to have a better grip on what I am consuming.  I will never be all fanatical about it but every little bit helps.

I had my third fill today.  I am now at 5.8 cc in a 14 cc band.  This is the first fill where I think I might be feeling just a bit of restriction.  Oh how I hope so!!

Ok...I am off to look at pictures of coops.  I love it!  :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

As I was sitting here having my first cup of coffee before starting the day, I had a lovely little yellow visitor.  You can see him on the left hand side of the feeder, though this pic does not do him justice.  He was very bright yellow and very cheerful looking.  My camera was close at hand so I decided to take a picture.  It made me smile.

My heart is heavy today though because I am definitely still sick and will not be seeing my Mom.  I have a deep chest cough with phlegm and in her condition I think that could be deadly for her.  All I can do is take comfort in knowing that I have other siblings that she will see today and that I will be seeing her very soon.

Today my plan will be to work out in the garage with my son's help.  I am going through boxes and organizing for a community garage sale in my neighborhood on June 4th.  We were out there for several hours yesterday too and it was a good bonding experience for us.  We were finding all kinds of things from his childhood and it was nice to share in his joy as he had been thinking things were gone, when mom had simply put them away for safe keeping.  :-)

I am hoping for a good day again with him.  I really need that right now and I know he does too.

Another really bright spot to my week was the re-surfacing of a dear friend from my school days.  I had not seen her since my Dad's death in 2004 and she finally tracked me down.  We talked and caught up on much of what has transpired in the past several years and it is still so comfortable to chat with her.  She has always held a very special place in my heart and I love her very much.  I was the one who went MIA and I am blessed that she reached out to me again.  I will work harder to be a better friend but I doubt I will ever be as good as her!

Mother's Day...

I have had some bad ones...I had one with a little boy with the worst chicken pox you have ever seen...I have had some non-existent ones...I think it is safe to say this one will top them all, and be my worst one yet.

I have a cold.  I am trying to get rid of it as fast as I can because this Sunday will be my Mom's last Mother's Day.  I really really need to see her on Sunday and I am not sure I will be able to.