Garden Update....

This was the square foot garden, newly planted...

And here it is now, 2 1/2 weeks later!

I don't remember it growing this fast last year. Perhaps it's all the rain we've had. Other than pulling a weed here and there, and murdering a couple of squash borers, little has been required from me so far. The zucchini leaves are almost bigger than my hand!

Isn't this the best part of Spring????

Watching the garden grow, is almost as fun as harvesting...but only almost!!!

The Square-Foot Garden for 2012

Last week I planted my garden for this year. Hopefully I've learned a few things about gardening and can put that information to good use. Like having a reasonable number of plants, and some variety. After last year's crop from 18(!) cucumber plants, I decided to tone it down some. Something about growing cucumbers that start to resemble watermelons makes you think the plants are messing with your mind...

Before I started planting this year, I learned a valuable lesson; don't let the dregs of last summer's plants sit all winter long on your deck. By springtime, your deck will look like an abandoned junkyard.

After cleaning up the mess, I decided to do only two 2x8 boxes this year. Frankly that was all I'd ever planned on using last year, till the 26(!) squash plants begged me, day after day, to come up on the deck because I'd purposely inadvertantly planted them in the shadow of the shed last year.

Here are my two garden boxes this year:

I have 8 green bean, 6 cucumber, 5 zucchini, 4 onion, 4 jalapeno, 4 green bell peppers, 4 egg plant, and two cantalope plants. In containers I have two tomato plants and an herb garden containing: oregano, chives and rosemary.

I planted some basil with the tomatoes as I read that it makes the plants stronger and gives better tasting tomatoes!

The view of the deck is so much better now!

Will I have a bountiful harvest, or will it be a dismal failure? I have no idea, but after last year's experience of fighting fungus on the leaves, root rot, squash borers ruining the aggravating squash plants, and cucumbers ready to do a circus act, I doubt my gardening season will be boring! Grow plants, grow!!

This Past Week At My House

This past week I signed up to volunteer at a winery. I was scheduled to work during a wine festival in the Northern Neck of Virginia. It was a long drive to Heathsville, Virginia, but it was nice to get away and do something new and different. The wine festival took place on the grounds of the Historic Rice Hotel/Hughlett's Tavern. This building is the oldest surviving structure in Virginia's Northern Neck.

The wineries set up their cabana's behind the hotel/tavern. The winery I was volunteering with was Vault Field Vineyards.

They are part of the Chesapeake Wine Trail. I have visited all these wineries and love the wines at Vault Field Vineyards. So many wineries age their Chardonnay completely in stainless steel. I'm glad they still age their's in french oak. What a spectacular wine, along with their Conundrum, which is an interesting mix of several whites. Their 2008 reserve red is a wonderful, bold meritage of four different grapes. Vault Field Vineyards is an award winning winery, and it was fun to pour their wines for the day. We soon were very busy!

This past week we bought a new gas/infrared grill. The infrared part is suppose to cook the meats/vegetables more thoroughly than gas alone, while keeping everything moist. Bill had the job of putting it together.

We soon we had a brand-new grill. The first one we've had in over three years.

Our maiden grilling adventure was with lean, pork loin chops. We've never grilled pork before, but my sister Becky does it all the time, so I thought I'd give it a try. From grill to plate, they were hot and juicy!

I paired the chops with potato perogies, brussel sprouts and green beans. Delicious!

Have a great week!

This Past Week At My House....

This past week at my house was actually pretty quiet. Well, quiet for my family. However we did have time together at Julie and Tommy's house after church on Easter Sunday.

All four kids were together for the first time since Christmas.



Miss Cassidy was as cute as ever.



It's always nice when we get to see Susan. She is so busy that months will go by before we will see her again.




No ham dinner for us! We had a half-bushel of delicious crabs.



Susan bought her triplets with her...(you didn't expect complete normalcy did you??) She has been bottle feeding 3 kittens abandoned by the mother cat, since they were three days old. They are now one month old.

Who doesn't love kittens? (Yes, Cassidy changed her outfit).





Kitty wanted to play peek-a-boo with her mommy....



Julie made this cute cake from an idea she found on Pinterest. What is Easter without peeps?



Games were played, kittens were fed and held, and everyone had fun. Even Lily, the golden retriever, had her Easter dinner.



Have a great week!

The RV Went South...And So Did The Vacation...

The winter was over. Bill knew the time had come to take the Big Beast down South. Some nights, just before sleep came, the thought would simultaneously cause both hot sweats and cold chills. However, before he could drag IT down Interstate 95, he had to get IT ready to travel...and that doesn't mean just hitching IT up.

It should be easy enough...just wash IT down after a long winter.



Generally, dewinterizing IT, is not complicated. But IT made it a half-day ordeal when a pipe leaked for no known reason...(IT shuttered with pleasure at Bill's aggravation).



Squirting grease into the wheels made the driveway look like the floor of an ER after a major trauma victim. (IT trembled with glee).



But, the next morning IT was all hitched up and away they went. Just to knock Bill off his game, (or give him hope), IT pulled like a champ. There was no bucking, squealing, smoke, or broken axles. However, Bill knew deep in his heart that IT would require sweat labor before the vacation was over.

However, Bill was thankful It let him live during the drive South, and sleep was sweet that night. The next morning when Bill opened the door he saw the RV of his dreams...



It was his ideal camper...compact, riveted aluminum sides, and only one small window to caulk. Surely something this sweet would let him enjoy his vacations...

Each day Bill toiled away on the menacing, hulking beast that had become his worst nightmare. He knew that even with constant attention IT would still drain his bank account. Past history doesn't lie.....




His chair sat lonely at the beach...



While the little camper beside him smiled and sweetly charmed Bill with her softly curving body, and shiny, clean lines...



Lonely, Bill's chair sought out the company of another lonely chair on the beach.



The week slowly passed, with Bill spending much of his time on the ladder, caulking windows, sealing seams, and hoping that it would be enough to satisfy IT's appetite for Bill's misery...



Finally, it was time to pack up and go home. IT was closed up, double-checked, and triple-checked. As we drove down the highway, IT raced past us, mocking us with it's greased wheels and spanking new caulking.



And just for fun, IT blew the cap off of the freshwater tank...just to drive Bill insane one more time...:)

This Past Week At My House

I woke up everyday this week not knowing what to wear. Capri's with sandles? Jeans and a sweatshirt? Umbrella? Sunscreen......crazy! I even got a weather alert on my cellphone calling for "1-3 inches of snow by the afternoon," but it was a mistake. LOL

It was a good week here at my house. I bought a new porch swing. My last one was disintegrating, board by board. I asked Bill to replace the boards last Spring, and the next thing I knew the whole thing was in a heap in the corner of the yard. Hmmm...I hope to spend many a late afternoon here, reading a good book!



The Big Beast has found out where we live, and has once again taken up residence in our driveway. We will take it down South, soon.



We stopped by our daughter Julie's house this past week and I couldn't believe how beautiful her tables were. She bought them used, and then sanded and stained them. They turned out gorgeous!



She also made me this adorable Spring door wreath. She got the idea for it off of Pinterest.



We had several highlights this week. It was Grandparents Day at Cassidy's school. It was so fun to see her classroom, and she was so excited to see us there!



Grandpa with his favorite little lady!



My baby turned 17 years old. I can't believe how fast time has flown by since he was born.

It's not a great pic, but here he is the day we brought him home from the hospital.



And here he is now...on his head is the blanket I carried him in when we brought him home from the hospital.



Billy having a birthday beer,(root, that is), and getting ready to blow out his 17 candles.



Have a great week!