Planted

Here is a photo of my mostly planted garden.

Everything I am growing from seed was planted on May 11th.

So far I have planted:

Garlic (I know it is best planted in the fall - a bulb like a tulip, but they say you can also plan in the spring, you just might not get as big a bulb of garlic.

Yellow Onions

Green Onions (1/2 row only so far)

Lettuce (1/2 row only so far)

Spinach (1/2 row only so far)

Green Beans

Beets

Carrots (2 kinds)

Peas

Still to come - tomatoes and strawberries.

My Little Prince(ss)

Do you have a little boy that does this?

I have spoken with as many people as I know that have a boy who has an older sister, and everyone has admited their little boys dressed up as a princess more than a few times.

The funny part, is he is actually really good at walking in those heals.

When I was little, I had (and still do) an older brother, I hated dresses, did not like dolls, but instead wanted to play with trucks and cars -  I guess we all just want to copy the older sibling.

Garden Construction

There is one small problem when you suddenly decide you want to plant a garden. 

You actually need a garden!

This is where my wonderful husband comes in very handy.

I marked out where I wanted the garden to go (7 ½ feet X 13 feet), he then pulled up all the sod – transplanted it to a spot where we needed to plant some grass.

This was a ton of work, and I am so thankful he did it without complaining.

Once he was done though he did say “Those better be some super delicious vegetables!”

I told him not to worry, the chicken wing and cheesecake plants have been planted and we should have some by early July.

The Black Thumb of Death

If you have ever been to my house, you know that none of my plants are living, there is occasionally some fresh cut flowers, but that is where it ends.

I learned a long time ago I indeed have two black thumbs of death.  I have been given plants, being told there is no way you can kill this one, they can last a long time without water – but what happens when you water them too much?

Hubby and I have tried, we like the look of plants, we once bought a beautiful big plant to fill a corner in our house and ‘green’ it up a bit while we were trying to sell it.

A month later we see a few bugs – and instantly that plant was outside.  Both of us have absolutely no patience for bugs.

There is one thing I was able to do – once I planted basil by seed and got a beautiful pot full of fresh basil, but at some point in time it died (probably because I ate it all and I have no idea how to use enough to keep it still growing, but not all of it to kill it).

So when a friend, a fellow black thumb of deather, told me she was planting a vegetable garden this year and I should too, I started thinking, hmmm, maybe I could change to a green thumb, not all green – maybe just a dark green.

I will be blogging my whole gardening experience, if you remember this post, I commented on how much I hated my parent’s garden while growing up.  This whole experience has been a little scary; I am turning into my parents more and more.

Here are a few before pictures of our yard.

TV

I grew up without a TV in our house.

I know, shocking!  Who does that?

As weird as it sounds, I don't look back and think I missed much, yes I don't have childhood memories of certain TV shows, but I know even if we did have a TV, my parents would never have let us watch much anyway.

But now, no TV?  I would go insane.  I love my TV, Hubby loves his TV and I know our kids do too.

When I was home with the kids on mat leave, I watched a lot of TV.

Okay, that is an understatement, I watched TV all the time.  If I was home, the TV was on.

I was not always sitting on the couch watching TV (rarely actually), but it was on in the background.

I learned to love Regis & Kelly, The View, Ellen and loved watching old drama show re-runs during the day.

So now it is funny because I would prefer the TV off.

We do allow certain times the kids can watch TV, on a week day, they can watch TV in the morning but only if they are dressed (otherwise they would stay in their jammies all day).

On the weekend, they get to watch TV in their jammies when they wake up (trust me - they love this).

At night time, once they are in their jammies, they get to watch 1 or 2 shows (time dependant on when they get into their jammies) and have a snack.

(of course, there are always exceptions to that - and summer = less TV than winter.

What are your TV restrictions?

Mushroom Farro

Mushroom Farro

6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups farro
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 pound cremini mushrooms or wild mushrooms (or a mixture of the two), cleaned, trimmed and sliced
2 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt if needed

Place the farro in a bowl, and pour on enough hot water to cover by an inch. Let soak while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Drain.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften and sweat. Add salt to taste, the garlic and rosemary. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender, about five minutes. Add the farro, cook, stirring, until the grains of farro are separate and beginning to crackle, about two minutes. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring until the wine has been absorbed. Add all but about 1 cup of the stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 50 minutes or until the farro is tender; some of the grains will be beginning to splay. Remove the lid, and stir vigorously from time to time. Taste and adjust seasoning. There should be some liquid remaining in the pot but not too much. If the farro is submerged in stock, raise the heat and cook until there is just enough to moisten the grains, like a sauce. If there is not, stir in the remaining stock. If not serving right away, cover and let stand. Just before serving, bring back to a simmer, add the Parmesan, parsley and pepper, and stir together. Remove from the heat and serve.

Yield: Serves six.
Source: Modified from New York Times online

Note on Farro: if you live in Calgary, the only place I have found it is Lina's Italian Market on Centre Street North.  If anyone knows somewhere else they sell Farro, I would love to hear about it.

On My Nightstand - Catching Fire

Catching Fire - By Suzanne Collins (391 pages)

On the back cover:
Against all odds, Katniss has on the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
Much to her shock, Katniss has fuelled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. Was time draws hear for Katniss and Peeta to visit the district on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.
In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before ... and surprising readers at every turn.

My thoughts:
I loved, loved, loved The Hunger Games (first book in this trillogy), so I could not wait to read this book.
When I finally bought it and started reading it, I devoured it in 2 days.
I think Suzanne Collins is a great author, she has a wonderful imagination and so great at painting a picture for us about a world so different than what we know.

I would recommend this book, but you have to read the first one, otherwise you will be completly lost.

My rating: 4 1/2 out of 5.