28 Days of Love! Day 7

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

Posting here every day is so much more difficult on the weekends.  It is not like I'm sitting around doing nothing, though.  I got to finalize the garden plan, complete my seed order and my cabbage seeds are sprouting in the windowsill.  I got to spend some time with a good friend who has just moved back to town, spend an afternoon antiquing with another friend and our 4 year old little girls (not for the faint of heart) and I bought a new book.

The new book is Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen.  I had checked out Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions from the library several times and I know there is a lot of love for Sally out there, but this book seemed like the better choice for me.  I honestly really don't like to cook and I couldn't justify buying 2 cookbooks at once.  Forgotten Skills goes through a lot of fun topics like foraging, cooking game and preserving food.  It is a really beautiful book with wonderful photos.  It really appeals to the bibliophile in me!

So anyway, I am cooking Winter Squash Souffle tonight.  Not from the new book, but from here at Nourished Kitchen.  

My love for the day (yes, I am just going to skip yesterday) is kids who love tools!  

My littles love helping out with our jobs around the house and that makes me happy!

Eden, age 2.

28 Days of Love! Day 4 and 5. *blushes*

Yesterday was a fun-filled day with little internet... So, I will post my pics for yesterday and today.  These pics are the 2 really important men in my life  Brandon and my Dad.

28 Days of Love! Day 3.

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

Cleaning up after the kid's painting, I tossed their palette into the sink, ran a little water in it to keep the paint from drying in it and got busy doing something else.  When I came back to finally wash it, this is what I found in the sink.

Rainbows = Love

Even when you find them in the bottom of the sink!

28 Days of Love! Day 2.

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

I am at a season of my life where my world revolves around the 2 little blessings running around the house.  In my opinion, nothing says love like children.  Were it not for extreme love, nobody would do this parenthood thing.  Pregnancy, birth, the disruption of our own agenda, the day to day tedium, the adjustment a couple must make... seriously, I could go on and on.  The converse of this is the part where you get to give them birth, give them nourishment (physical, spiritual, mental), give them an environment in which to thrive, give them, well, yourself!  Over and over you give yourself.

28 Days of Love! Day 1.

My friend Miriam over at My Country Cupboard is doing "28 Days of Love" for February.  I think it is a pretty cute idea, so I am going to copy her! ;)

The rules are simple... post a photo each day in February that says "love" to you.  I was already working on a post today, but I think this could fit nicely with my post!

Some pics of life.

We had a couple of nice (sunny and 50F) days here in Fife this weekend.  It was super to spend some time outside and not be thinking the whole time about how much I want to go inside! 

We do not live in an area that is really known for snow, but this winter, there have been only a few days where we did not have snow on the ground.  The daytime temps have been such that the ground thaws.  The result has been MUD.  Mud is everywhere.  The yard may never recover...  Driving to our parking area has created terrible ruts and the few times we have driven around to the back of the house (usually when we are returning from the grocery store) has made a muddy mess of the side yard.  I won't even begin to describe the yard by the back porch.  Just imagine, 2 dogs, no grass, no gutters on the house and tons of precipitation.  Gross!

In the garden...

There isn't a lot going on in the garden right now.  I have some onions and garlic in the ground and a little bit of lettuce that is struggling along.  We chose to not finish the cold frame, so the lettuce has not been covered all winter.  I'm wondering if it will take off when the days begin warming up...

I have, however, been making some seriously big plans!  I told you about my one-member CSA.  I have made an initial seed order.  I still have 5 beds to dig before I can plant anything, though.  I had to scrap a few of my ideas for the garden (like peanuts and popcorn) because they would occupy space I need for making sure I have produce available for a CSA share.  May 15th (the first share date) is going to be here quickly, and in order to be sure I have something to harvest by then, I have to get things planted at the exact right time.  So, I have been working on my garden calendar.  I have been putting planting and harvest dates in, with the hopes that it will help me stay on track.  I am using this really cool garden planning program to help me, as well.

Here is what my 2011 garden plan includes:
Spinach, peas, cabbage, carrots, onions, lettuce, potatoes, melons, bush beans, pole beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, brussels sprouts, winter squash, summer squash, pumpkins, garlic, radishes, kale, tomatillos and butterbeans.  There will also be herbs: cilantro, sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, parsley, mint, oregano, and dill.

Oh, and I have decided to call my little business Farm Mama!  I was thinking about trying out selling at the Goochland Farmer's Market this summer.  The future of the market is up in the air right now, though, so we will see what happens with that.