A Good Man...

To say I've been overwhelmed lately is a huge understatement.  I haven't done a thing when it comes to weeding or keeping the gardens even remotely pleasant to look at and it's all I can do to harvest and preserve this year with the heat.  I think Sailor/Farmer/Husband could feel a mental breakdown coming on (guess who usually bears the brunt of that fine event?), so he asked what he could do while I was stuck inside doing laundry and computer stuff this weekend?  I responded in typical Type-A fashion, whipping out a dry erase board that has everything listed that needs to be done! 

 He didn't even roll his eyes, he just walked out the back door and disappeared for about 3 hours.  When I took a break to see what, if anything, got accomplished, I was stunned!

I figured I'd find him cleaning out his shed or working on his bicycle :)

You wouldn't believe what the before photos looked like of the fenceline beds before he cleaned them up, but I'm sure you can imagine from all the debris!  I couldn't even find my apple trees thanks to some native 6 ft weeds that had forested around them.  

9 ft tall Mammoth Sunflowers were yanked.  You would have gotten a laugh out of where I planted them this year... they looked awesome... from the neighbors' yard LOL.  Note to self, plant on the other side of the yard next year :)

He tossed the heads on the patio for the birds to pillage whatever's left.

Eggplant, anyone?  I'm done!

After doing all that, he then proceeded to get ready and go ride 20 miles!

and that's why I married a much younger man!

I'm on my own for the center garden tomorrow... if I can find it!  The pathway is getting a little obscured.

Finally, check out what Lochlann is building today, it had like 1200 pieces!

That thing would be torture for me, but he gets so excited when he gets a new one!

Scenes from Sunday...

While the cat's away...

The mouse will work!

No?  That's not how that rhyme goes?  My kitchen says otherwise.

Maybe I should learn how to high pressure aerosol can this stuff LOL... nah, my neighborhood isn't that bad... 

What was the weight limit on glass top ranges again?  I seem to have misplaced that manual, LOL

  

It's a lovely day out there, heat index of 105º, hot breeze blowing.... how 'bout you?  I will need medication to live here much longer!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my hubby & best friend!

(my recent hard drive crash is becoming apparent as a search for a photo of him revealed that this was all I could come up with out of the backup, yikes!)

In spite of my lack of photos, the one I did manage to pull up just shows what a resourceful guy he is...

Wife wants a fish fry at the cabin but all I have here is a kiddie pole?  No problem...

He might be laughing because even though he's getting older, he's still way younger than me, but I ask... who's really laughing?!  :)

Flying solo again!

 Hubby left this afternoon... I had him doing all sorts of chores and even had him get a load of mulch in the trailer and park it next to the garden - and then I realized that he was leaving on a hiking trip, not deployment - so I basically had him do a months worth of chores to prepare me for 4 days of him being gone!  LOL, I don't know any other way...

The computer issue turned out to be an easy fix (macs rule!) I did myself, but it did finally light a fire under me to get my computer backed up.  I've finally purchased backup and have been running it for the past 2 days, should be another 2 days or so and the entire hard drive will be backed up.

 LOTS of stuff getting done the past couple of days.   Temps of 65º yesterday and 76º today has had me outside nonstop, and loving it, I couldn't tear myself away until now!  I did a good job of reminding myself it's only February and not sowing any flower seeds or anything, but I did get lots of planting done!  I checked my calendar, and I sowed peas last year on Feb 10th, it was much colder outside and we had a fantastic crop, so in they went.

Cleaned up all the beds in the small fenced in garden.  The only plants to survive the winter (other than leeks, scallions & garlic) were half of the spinach and the below:

Brussels Sprouts?  LOL, figures they would live through the whole winter... yuck!

Below, felt good to have my caddy along today armed with markers, shims for plant tags and SEEDS!

Below:  back right bed has Oregon Sugar Pod II snap peas, broccoli will go in the front of them when it's time, the back left bed only has brussels sprouts right now, front left bed has another trellis with Cascadia snap peas and carrot seeds, and front right bed contains parsley, scallions, Olympia spinach, Mizuna greens, Mignonette Bronze lettuce, Tango lettuce and mache'.

Signs of spring: pansies planted last fall are coming back to life in some of the beds - I usually plant rows of them between the varieties of onions and garlic.

I was worried that I planted my garlic too late (I did) and that the bulbs would rot before they had time to grow since they are usually about a foot tall going into winter, but here they come, behind the red and yellow pansies.  

Below, all of my artichoke seeds sprouted or are just peeking up, and only took a couple of days - much bettter luck than last year!

Below is hubby's light setup - I laughed when he brought it in and asked him if he thought I was growing  "another kind of plant" since he made the frame so TALL, LOL... good thing I had enough chain to lower the lights and a booster seat for the trays hahaha!  There's only one flat in there now but it will fit 4 flats in it - it's parked in the kids' room, there was nowhere else for it to go!

Here's hubby taking off this afternoon for the annual "Guys Only Winter Hike" on the Appalachian Trail.  The guys come from a 75 mile radius or so, they will all meet after work in Williamsburg and then head out the Blue Ridge Parkway until they get to the trail head and leave the car there and hike in at night tonight.  Although I love hiking, I'm not jealous - I want no part of this nonsense:  you should see what gets packed for the guys only trip!  Survivalist homemade pop can camp stoves, 10 different ways to "make fire", flasks of scotch, cigars, they are probably going to shoot and eat squirrels LOL... whatever... he even used my sewing machine to make himself an ultralight hammock to sleep in.  One of the last things he said was how this nice weather was going to put a damper on the fun hiking in the cold, wet, snowy trail - yes, he's happiest in "survival mode"!  I sent him with my camera so I expect some good photos when he gets back, that is if he doesn't turn it into some kind of snare trap or firestarter.  

Me?  I'm going to light a few candles on the back deck and enjoy a glass or two of wine and the lovely 60º evening we are in for!  I'm hoping for the energy to work on the quilt after the kids go to bed, but after the full work day I've had outside I'm not sure that will pan out!  I'm hoping to get some sweet pea seeds into the ground tomorrow...

Over the edge...

I need an intervention...

  

 What do you think?

  

Yep, that's exactly what it looks like - a wine cozy...help!

Below, more fun with stash wool...

I really needed a break from socks!

Finn is modeling hubby's new hat, this is the first hat I've ever done in the round!  But still afraid of circulars, I did it on double pointed needles which I'm comfortable with.

Today I attempted to make Mama Pea's Almond Cranberry Cake!  This will be going to Thanksgiving Dinner at a friend's house tomorrow.  Mine doesn't look nearly as beautiful as Mama Pea's, go check hers out and you will want to make it too!  Not sure what happened other than I'm a great cook but a horrible baker... I felt like I needed a degree in rocket science to get it out of the pan!  I will try it again, though, since I'm sure it will taste good (I snuck a chunk out of the bottom LOL) - I just need to work on aesthetics!

On to the BEST thing that has happened since we had the kids....

Hubby was promoted!

He has aced the test for this promotion twice a year, for the last several years, BUT... out of all the sailors eligible for promotion, only 1.9% were being advanced each year.  This is no doubt due to the economy, many servicemembers are no longer getting "out" as usual, preferring to all stay in for the full 20 years!  The pipeline thus has been clogged up with personnel that are normally lost through attrition.  I found out late Sunday night that the results had been released, and a very tense 4 hours or so went by until I found out if he made it...he did!  This had been the source of much stress because a couple of more years and he would have had to get out due to high year tenure.  Now that he made it, he will no longer be in danger of this, and will now receive a retirement paycheck after he finishes serving 20 years... I can't tell you how much weight has been lifted off our shoulders with this one!

I am so happy for him, he works so hard and really deserves this!

This is truly a Thanksgiving we will remember even though we are all apart...and  Homecoming + Christmas with family  + this advancement?  The will be the best Christmas EVER for our little family!

One more little Thanksgiving post set to go for tomorrow, but if you don't log on, have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

this just in...

Squadron Photo, USS Truman, somewhere in the Persian Gulf...

Sailor/Farmer/Husband is the 1st white shirt on the left, back row - nope, make that the 2nd guy from the left, back row... I am seeing a guy in white standing to the far left, that's not him LOL

I hope you are able to enlarge it, I am at the whim of whatever file size the ship sends me!

They are lookin' pretty cool considering 3 digit temps working in full gear on a steel deck, dontcha think?!

I am officially asking to be committed to a psych facility!

The past weekend found us with just 5 days left with Sailor/Husband/Father before he deploys to the Middle East. Do you think I decided to relax and enjoy? Nope, in true OCD/Type A fashion, I decided to entertain all weekend! Although I have an ability to step outside the box and see myself as a crazy person, I also admit that I thrive on being busy and my favorite thing to do is entertain, so maybe that is my relaxation in some twisted fashion! I decided to serve basically the same things all weekend, so that made food planning a bit easier. I am fanatical about being able to serve things that I can prepare ahead of time so at least I do get to enjoy any parties that I have. I decided to smoke a pork shoulder Thursday night and do a traditional North Carolina pulled pork BBQ. This sounded easy enough, but I didn't put it in until 8 pm Thursday night so I had to set my alarm all night to check on it! Come 6 am Friday morning, it was ready to be pulled. Let me tell you, the scent of smoked meat is delicious in the evening, but at 6 a.m. it's a different story. By the time I got done pulling it by hand at 7:30 a.m. I didn't think I would ever have the appetite for it again, LOL! This turned out to be a really good project though, out of a 15 lb pork shoulder, I netted 9 lbs of pulled pork and managed to put a good amount of it into the freezer for the kids and I in the future. If there's one thing I would never do for just the kids & I without hubby around, it's smoke a pork shoulder! Homemade mop sauce got put into the freezer too, so we will be able to enjoy a quick yummy meal later that doesn't involve mac & cheese or grilled cheese!

Friday Night was hanging out with the kids' friends and parents, eating and enjoying marshmallows around the campfire:

Finn with his special friend - to say he is very fond of her is an understatement! He wrote I "heart" you on his slide with sidewalk chalk, LOL!

Campfires never get old! We burned the huge rosemary shrub hedge I pulled out and it smelled divine!

Here's some photos of the food created in my tiny kitchen this weekend, I can't believe my little kitchen didn't self-destruct! I decided to go with kind of a patriotic 4th of July type menu for a send-off, BBQ, wings, potato salad, that type of thing since he will miss that holiday (along with every other holiday between now and next spring)!

Some of the 9 lbs of Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches & Vinegar BBQ Sauce

48 Buffalo Wings! (I always use Alton Brown's method, makes yummy wings with a crispy crust, unless they are forced to sit in a steamy crockpot!)

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

(These are peppers harvested from last fall and frozen. Stuffed with sausage, cream cheese, sprinkled with cheddar broiled and crushed fried onions for crunch!)

Potato Salad

(Red Potatoes, Onion, Bacon, Garlic, served chilled and tossed with a vinegar dressing and feta - I also use bleu or goat cheese depending on my mood and supplies!)

Here it is!

My Patriotic Farwell Party Strawberry Trifle...

You should have seen the kids' eyes when they got home from school and saw this - bonus for them that I had to make two of these this weekend, since I needed the dish back to make the second one, they got to have the leftovers for breakfast Saturday morning so I could start all over again!

Not too bad for them I figure, it's fresh fruit with a few frozen blueberries from last season, pound cake, and I use plain whipping cream without sugar. Once in awhile is okay, right? The looks on their faces at breakfast time were worth it!

Pretty soon you will all be enjoying fresh berries if you don't have them already, happy eating!

Don't Forget, Don't Forget, Don't Forget...

That has been my mantra all week...

I didn't forget!

Happy Birthday Sailor/Farmer/Father/Husband!

He turns the big 3-3 today! "Raaawwwwr!" says the wife whose age will NOT begin with the number 3 in a month!

We usually don't do gifts for our birthdays, but I am making an exception this year, and you can see why...!

I know what you're thinking... a gift for him, huh? Well SURE it is! Now I'll be able to send him homemade beef jerky, dried fruit, dried herbs to spice up the horrible ship food, etc! Clever, aren't I ? teeheehee...

Redneck Saturday night...

It didn't start out redneck...

A lovely salad harvest and 3 Strawberries!

...followed by a refined dinner of crabcake sandwiches and salad,

but after dinner things quickly escalated to redneck status:

Sorry it's a bit long, but at the end is my husband (really, LOL?) rollerskating in his overalls from working outside all day, with a beer in his hand and his dog in the other, priceless! And yes, Mama Pea & Chicken Mama, that's WTIP streaming on our radio! I am sitting in a lawn chair sort of redneck style in the driveway knitting and drinking wine, but at least it's not in a plastic cup! Happy May Day Saturday night everyone!

Of Bathrooms: Indoors & Out!

Hubby got home last night and I got my camera back! Here's the new bath!

My new sink rocks! Makes me want to floss more. My husband laughed when I put up the extendable shaving mirror... I have always wanted one of those, don't really know why, they are just cool...

He also returned with some photos on the camera from his "guys only" weekend:

This is where they left my car... you should have seen it when he pulled back in the driveway last night, it's caked with mud.

The cabin they hiked into, 3 hour hike through the snow to get there from where the car was parked. It's owned by the Appalachian Trail Club, who does maintenance on the primitive shelters and trails in the area. Although this had no heat and an outhouse, this is definitely not one of the primitive ones! It had a fireplace and wood cookstove inside to provide a little heat.

Sailor/Father/Husband

I know there are alot of outhouse art fans out there, this one is photogenic! I may enlarge it and frame it for my new bathroom!

View from the outhouse/privvy

Roaring fire, was 20 degrees in the stone house/cabin!

He was wrecked when he got back last night, lasted long enough to strew backpacking gear and dirty laundry around the house and mess up my bathroom, then fell asleep!

So now it's back to catching up on the garden stuff, namely, my next seed sowing! I have been neglecting that the past week with the remodeling but will dive back into it tomorrow morning.