Spring Garden Planning

I'm gearing up for spring here.  Yesterday it was so warm and wonderful outside that I actually did some weeding in the garden and even planted some Tom Thumb peas.  Yes, it's early; they are supposed to be planted about 4 weeks before our last frost date, and our last frost date is about 6 weeks away, but I wanted to try it.  Peas are supposed to be pretty hardy to cold, but they don't tolerate heat well, and you never know how fast it will heat up here.  The Tom Thumb peas I have in a pot in the playroom are doing quite well:

Peas are really such pretty plants, too.  

My seedlings in the playroom look great.  We have sprouts for cauliflower, red cabbage, broccoli (2 types), brussel sprouts, and a couple of onions.  In pots, radishes, arugula, peas, swiss chard, carrots (3 types), and strawberries have all sprouted.  The herbs in pots (rosemary & mint) are doing very well, and we have used them in cooking as needed.  Actually, my two thyme plants out front are still growing despite being buried under snow a few times.  I use them as needed, too.  I need to get a few more big pots, for more carrots and such.  We've had great luck with carrots in pots but not so much in our clay-packed ground.  I've been trying to figure out where all of these seedlings and all of the ones I haven't started yet will go.  I'm expanding the newest garden, and I plan on building a simple bean trellis soon.  I also want to weed out most if not all of the lemon balm and use that area for plants, but I'm avoiding it right now because it had some poison ivy in it last year, and until the leaves are on, I can't tell if there is any trying to come back or not.  Nathaniel pulled most if not all of it out last fall, but I can't be sure if there is any still there yet.  I certainly don't want to touch any dormant poison ivy; that's the kind I've had the most horrible reactions to in the past. 

Book Review - A Sweet Misfortune by Maggie Brendan

A Sweet Misfortune is a Western historical romance.  Main character Rachel is dancing in a saloon when cattle baron John literally drags her away and deposits her in his ranch house with his charming grandmother, Estelle.  This story deals with pride, forgiveness, faith and family.  Brendan evokes the romantic lore of the Old West consistently throughout this book.  Fans of western literature will enjoy finding saloons, cowboys, gold mining, and challenging weather included in the tale.  Rachel is spunky and likable, but I felt like her character was missing some depth.  John's transformation from relying solely on himself and his wealth to being outrageously generous was a bit fanciful.  I liked the change, of course, but everything seemed to tie up a bit too neatly.  I loved the grandmother, Estelle, and her place in the story was very welcome.  I also found secondary character Molly intriguing, but her role is a small one.  Overall, I found this a pleasant but predictable read.

I received this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.  

This and That

The weather has warmed up quite a bit, so the kids enjoyed playing outside yesterday.  I took advantage of the nice weather and boiled some sap.

These are quart jars, so we got quite a bit on our first boiling day.  The syrup tastes amazing!  We hope to get more sap for another boiling day, but the weather needs to be freezing at night and warmer (40s/50s) during the day for the sap to run well.  So I guess we'll see.

This little man got a hair cut.  I tried to get a picture of him, but that proved to be very difficult.

Book Review - Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy

I started reading this book earlier in the month.  I usually read quickly, and a mere 200 pages doesn't take long for me to consume, but this book was different.  I savored this book.  I lingered over the pages, rereading many.  I read passages aloud to my husband,  both to share with him but also just to hear the words aloud.  The author writes so lyrically, and her story is both deeply personal and universal.  She deftly combines the ordinary with the divine in a way that is both inspiring and profound.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

In structure, the book is set up in the four seasons, beginning with autumn.  That may seem like a strange place to begin the seasons, but it really is fitting, and not just because that was the season the author and her family moved into Maplehurst.  Each chapter is grounded in a month and a bible verse.  The sacred and the mundane weave together to form a tapestry, and the writer leaves the reader with a beautiful scene of heaven and earth.  If someone were to read all of the reviews I've written and pick only one book to read, this is the one.

I received this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Arrow of Light

Malachi has been working towards his arrow of light in cub scouts for the past year and a half.  He's been eagerly anticipating receiving one.  Now, he has officially earned his Arrow of Light:

Malachi and I decorated his award.  He picked where to put the badges, and I hot glued them into place.  He and Nathaniel then went to the Blue and Gold Banquet, where he received the plaque to go with it:

Here he is telling me that he's an Apache warrior.  I'm not sure how much he knows about actual Apache warriors.

So now he is a Boy Scout.  He has his first meeting tomorrow.  He has grown way too fast.

Another Snow Day

These two looked really cute for church on Valentine's Day.  I'm sure my family will recognize Lydia's dress; it was mine.  Gyunay is wearing the newest shirt I made him, but with a black undershirt because Sunday was so cold.

Today, however, was much warmer.  We played outside for an hour this morning.

It was around 34 degrees, so it felt great, and the snow was very easy to work with.

The finished "snow creature".  This is by far the biggest snowman we've ever made.  Elijah did a lot of it himself, with help from me and Malachi.  Lydia supplied the stick arms, and Gyunay tried to pat extra snow around the bottom at the end.   He and Lydia had been too busy playing in the snow to actually try to help make the snowman, but they came over for the end.  Plus, I wanted all 4 in the picture!

Valentine Chefs

My little chefs were happy to make a Valentine surprise while Nathaniel and Elijah were at a chess tourney.  I had pinned this recipe for brownie hearts with raspberry buttercream, and it seemed like a perfect dessert for Nathaniel and also one everyone would enjoy.
I taught them how to measure chocolate with my little scale, and how to melt it in a double boiler.  They did most of the work themselves.  Here is Lydia cutting out the brownies into hearts:

Making the raspberry buttercream was a hit as well.  Malachi declared it "as good" as his favorite lemon icing.

Note that he is wearing both of his chicken aprons.  Goofy boy.

Here they are icing the brownies:

The treats were a hit with everyone.  Luckily, Elijah has started eating soft foods, so he devoured some, too.  He got braces on Wednesday.