Shopping at home...

We have less than no money for buying plants, yet are still trying to get a privacy hedge going strong for some covert chicken action someday, so what's a girl to do?  I went shopping in my own yard!  I was lucky in that the kids were back to school on Monday, but hubby had an extra day off for Easter, so we were able to get some real work done.

Two years ago, I was lucky enough to find someone else willing to give me about a dozen Rose of Sharon twigs.  They can be invasive and were coming up all over her property, so she dug a bunch of "sticks" up and gave them to me, as invasive sounded pretty good to me at the time.  We couldn't afford to replace our hurricane damaged fence with more wood panels so we had opted for wire fencing, but had the problem of privacy.  I placed these "sticks" in the ground and within 2 years, I had bushes that were over 5 feet tall after pruning them.  Normally I'm not a fan of Rose of Sharon, but free is free, and they are doing the trick!  Last summer I planted Manhattan Euonymous between them, and by the end of summer they too were tall and bushy.  Now look at the photo below, see the Rose of Sharon "trees"?  They obviously were quickly becoming unnecessary when combined with the fast growing euonymous.

Enter hubby and his mad digging skillz!  He proceeded to dig up 4 of them for me and put them on the other side of the yard that still has no hedging, and other than a hungry husband to cook for, they were free!

Below is with the Rose of Sharon shrubs removed, can barely even tell where they were!  This is going to be a long process filling it all in on the cheap, but we are about halfway there, since the back of the yard portion of the fence is becoming full with naturally occurring Virginia Creeper, invasive here, but beautiful and wild!

He didn't stop there.  I told him that our hammock situation needed help.  We hadn't even had the chance to enjoy it but already couldn't use it since the temps went from highs in the 50's to highs of 90 within a week or so, it's too hot to be pleasant without any shade.

Some of you may remember that the kids had one of those ugly blue above ground pools a couple of years ago, and in an effort to make it nicer to look at, I surrounded it with a thatch "skirt" and old landscape timbers and gravel robbed from the kids' playset.

I know you are laughing now... yes I hate those pools that much!

Well, when the pool went away, I rolled up and kept the thatch, knowing there would be a day when we would need it again.  Hubby took the roll and constructed a little thatch roof for the hammock, and the area was instantly cooled down and lovely for relaxing!  It may be a little redneck, but that's kind of what I like about it at the same time :)

Here's what I see from under it, I get to look at my garden plus smell the huge rosemary shrub that's next to the hammock.

The dogs approved, too!  Black fur and sunshine don't mix well :)

After all that work, I allowed him to kick back and relax for a bit!

Big points for hubby this week so far!

Miscellaneous Fun

Other than our Easter Sunday fun, we had a few other things that went on over the weekend that involved the garden and gardening friends!

The kids have been in serious need of some new toys for the backyard.  They seem to have outgrown the standard pail and shovel for the sandbox, so we decided on a croquet set and a badmiton set!  Here they are helping daddy set it up.  At this point they had no idea how the game worked, so I told them they have to stand there and hold the net while daddy & I play, LOL!

Thought you might get a kick out of hubby's standard lawnmowing outfit.  He's converted his  Middle Eastern headwrap for U.S. use to keep the pollen away!

The azaleas are finally in full bloom in our yard

A local fellow blogger hosted a seed swap party for a gardening group I'm a member of on Saturday evening at her farm, it was a great location and everyone had a great time.

Below, the kids checking out her mobile coop/chicken tractor.  This thing is the bomb...

She has a gravity fed watering system that ensures a steady supply of fresh water, portable electric fencing that is run by solar, all is easy to move about.  I believe she moves them on a weekly schedule, so it's all very efficient!

Definitely a hit with all the kids in attendance, and the grownups too - who doesn't love chickens?!

Her girls are very curious and happy, and will run right up to make sure they are the center of attention :)

The kids are always excited about getting some of "Miss Gina's eggs" - I'm excited because soon she will be selling them at their new farm stand and will be even easier to keep a stash of local, happy eggs in the fridge.

There were more... but we ate 'em!

Her property is right on Back Bay, which is part of a very large watershed and ecosystem here, and wherever you have water, a bridge and rocks you have... boys!  Like a magnet.  The same went for all the husbands, too!

Below is her new farm stand.  They are just finishing the construction, permitting and all that and will be opening for business in June.  They are working so hard in fact, her hubby was working throughout the entire party but did manage to say hello to everyone - with the farms starting to have berries available already, I know they are anxious to finish. They are a botanical farm and I expect to see lots of flowers there as well as her fresh eggs, and I bet produce, too!  I wish them all the best, such a fun adventure and I admit I'm jealous as can be :)

If you want to check out Gina's blog, go to Back Bay Botanicals, they are working hard to create something very special out there and intend to have a bed & breakfast someday,too - and she has some great posts on the coop!  Above is the photo of the group that evening, our lovely host Gina is the one wearing - you guessed it - the John Deere cap of course!  Thanks for having us all over!

I'll leave you with, what else?  Chicken video! Is there any better way to spend a Saturday evening? I think not!

Happy Easter!

Here's our day, in an "eggshell"...

We started off with an Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard for all the boys, below is Loch in the back, and friend "T" who lives next door.  Last year I remember dressing them in winter coats at 6 am, today... shorts - it was 89º today!

Here's the boys with their bounty

There's been a lot of talk amongst my blogger friends this week about their Easter traditions and it made me think, and we don't really have any...

So I made one up - 

Below, prepping for the 1st Annual Peep Shoot!

I know some of you love the Peeps, but we hate 'em!  The only good Peep is a dead Peep as far as I'm concerned, so we set 'em up for a lovely Redneck Easter :)

As Chicken Mama told me earlier today, "that's sick & twisted" LOL - but that's how we roll :) - and I know if she was here she'd shoot Peeps, too!

The boys had a blast!  Above is Loch, always serious...

Below, Finn in his combat pose...  (check his outfit, he dressed himself)

Below, neighbor "T" getting some instruction on BB gun skills from hubby, for his 1st time he was a pretty good shot!

Poor Purple Peep...

  

After a lunch break, it was back out to hit the sprinklers, it was that hot!

Marley was a mess, I wasn't too keen on her getting this dirty, but she is a farm dog forced to live in the suburbs, and was having a huge amount of fun for such an old gal, how could I say no?

No Marley vs. sprinkler day is complete without a few neurotic dog videos (some of you may remember her obsession about hoses), so here you go:

In between all this, hubby and I managed to get a huge amount of work done in the yard.  My energy came back at least for today, and we did a lot of chores that have been on my list for a long time.  The kind that always get kicked to the bottom of the list:  a burn barrel going, cleaning the woodpile, raking up leaves and pinestraw from behind the sheds where no one goes, cleaning up random objects back there like broken patio umbrellas, trellises, PVC pipe... do any of you have these dumping grounds?  Not sure how I'll feel tomorrow, but today was very productive.

We finished it off with low-key burgers on the grill in the backyard with the neighbors, a really nice evening.  The kids played today until they were ragged, and I think they will sleep well.  Good thing, since Spring Break is over today and it's back to school tomorrow, YAY for me!

Below, Finn & T dining al fresco, about 82º at 5 pm, beautiful weather...

On this day we celebrate LIFE, and I hope you all had a great day in church, with family, friends, or just celebrating the life around you that Spring brings. Even though we are apart from extended family, we have hubby/daddy home with us this year and are very thankful for that.  Our thoughts are with those that are deployed and serving our country right now so hubby can take his turn with us!

From Redneck VA - Happy Easter to all y'all!

Where did we go?

To the Middle East!  

(or as hubby thinks of it - "home cookin'"!)

Kebabs,  Naan, Hummus, Iranian Tzatziki, Olives, Basmati Rice & Slata Jida

Funny to think that after cooking most of the day, it was all over in 30 minutes!  I couldn't wait any longer and ended up pouring a home brewed ale before hubby got home.  He then proceeded to point out that there is no beer in the Middle East :) 

The meat substitution turned out great, I used a lean beef tri-tip cut and marinated it in garlic, olive oil, mint and rosemary - hubby said he thought it was lamb, and he's the Persian Gulf food guy so I guess it was a good substitute, and was much cheaper.  

The kids did okay, they loved the meat and "dip", and each ate one spoonful of Slata Jida, which is like a Middle Eastern version of a fresh salsa, they only did that since I promised them dessert if they ate it :)

I can't wait until the garden really gets into high gear since that's when these dishes really take off, there so many of our favorites that I can't even think about making until then.

Where are we going tonight?

A little cool and blustery gray today, so I don't feel too bad about not being outside in the garden (excuses, excuses).  I did decide to cook up a storm today, however.  We've been cooking on and off since about 7 am this morning, and I'm not sure the kids know what they are in for, although they helped with bits and pieces of it :)

First we needed a trip to the market to stock up on a few things I was missing, and it turned into the shock of a lifetime...

I needed tahini... needless to say I did not buy it at the natural foods market - check out the price... $22.69!  What???  I went here to save myself the 15 minute trip to an ethnic store that  keeps several varieties, duh... I ended up going there anyways and buying it for the more normal price of $6.59 which will give me enough to last for months.

Another gem at the natural foods market... I just had to get a picture of this - individually wrapped turnips, has everyone lost their d@mn mind?!

I was able to stock up on a variety of dried beans and whole grains, what a savings over buying canned/prepared stuff.

Luckily all my herbs for tonight came right from the garden: rosemary, parsley & mint.  Also from the garden for tonight is the garlic and peppers.  I also pressed my own olive oil... gotcha!  :)

  

I made pitas first thing this morning, this was my first time making them from scratch and I'm really happy with the way they came out.  Next time I think I'll try whole wheat.

The kids helped me with the marinade by peeling garlic, I hate that job :)

I then decided to sub beef in for lamb due to the ridiculous price of it at the store.  I really need to be raising a few of my own for meat, or at least get an order in locally, but it won't happen in this area.  Ideally, what I'm cooking tonight would have lamb or goat ('chevon' for the trendy folks), neither of which is something sold very much around here.

I'm finally getting this dry bean thing and remembering to soak them! Sooooo much cheaper and healthier.

Finn helped with draining cucumber

  

Here he is cleaning up my mess... what a strange child...

An hour ago, as I prepared the "dip", they couldn't keep their hands off it.  This is due to them not seeing what went into the food processor, and me making up a fake name for it... can you guess what it is?

None of this kitchen flurry means I have any real energy for outside chores, I am stumped by this latest behavior of mine - I seem to be constantly moving inside and am really enjoying cooking again, but the thought of pulling weeds and building garden contraptions instantly has me depressed.  Maybe just a cyclical thing?  At least I am dealing with it by cooking and not gambling some other destructive avoidance technique LOL.  Although I've been having such a good time in the kitchen today I kept looking at the clock wondering if I could yet imbibe in a glass of wine or homebrewed ale...not very mom-like but my favorite time to enjoy an adult beverage is while I'm cooking.  If I would have started at 7 am though my kids would have walked to McDon@lds by now, stepping over me to get to the door.  Hubby is at work now so this is for him:  don't worry, I'm waiting for you!  :)

So who can guess where our dinner table is taking us tonight?

I'll post the dinner and the answer later this evening...

Finally!

SALAD!

It's about d@mn time!  I've been picking a few spinach leaves here and there, just enough for a pizza occasionally, but feared taking too much too soon!  I have one bed with several varieties now and they are big enough for 3-4 of these salads a week now.  I just have to remember to get out there next week and plant more so we can continue to have enough.

I picked Mizuna, Olympia Spinach, Deer Tongue, Mache, and some random spring greens and lettuce mixes, as well as some leeks and scallions.

Of course now we are anxiously awaiting some real tomatoes, peppers, broccoli & peas to top the lettuce instead of relying on cheese and "fake" hothouse tomatoes (ever notice how those store bought "hothouse" heirlooms have lots of color and absolutely NO flavor?!)

Yesterday Finn surprised me by announcing that he wanted to have dirty hands that day.  I took him outside and he helped me plant all the peppers and eggplants.  Here he is putting a "dog catcher" around one of the eggplants.

I didn't get much of anything done outside today.  I admit I have been feeling a bit down lately, not sure why, maybe just overwhelmed.  I would feel bad if it didn't look like at least something happened while hubby was off working hard, so I decided to make my first loaf of bread the real way.  I'm ready to use the bread machine for bb gun practice in the backyard, I hate that thing!  It takes 3 hours to mix a dough and then it's only halfway mixed LOL.

I followed instructions from the book "BREAD" (go figure)

Here's me the first time mixing by hand... I don't even watch hubby when he makes pizza dough so it's all new to me at this point.

I won't show the kneading process since I got so messy and glue-y that I didn't dare start walking around looking for the camera at that point.  I think I added a couple of tbsp too much water since it didn't rise like I had hoped.  The good news is that although it was kind of flat, it tasted good and I finally got that chewy crust I like.  I used the spray bottle of water on the oven walls method.

Here's Finn smelling it... he must have sat there for an hour picking at the hot loaf burning his fingers, waiting impatiently for dinner :)

Below you can see what I mean about the loaf coming out "flat".  But it was much easier that I expected and I think I can fix it for next time and bonus:  no stupid bread machine or kitchen aid to clean up!

Off to go have 'Family Reading Time' and then lounge the rest of the night away, hoping my energy and attitude improves very soon.

Oh! - I also made my first sourdough starter today which promptly overflowed it's container all over a wood cabinet hubby built... ooops!