Our Coming Home Fiasco And Getting Ready To Work

Let me tell you about our coming home story this winter and then we can get to the fun stuff for 2013.  That would be all the crazy things Mike and I get involved in:):)

Mike and I went to Florida for a couple of months this winter.  We left in the beginning of December and traveled all around Florida for December and most of January then we got home sick.  It was time to go home but now we had to watch the bad weather back home.

We miss the kids.  Funny story about that.  Our 8 year old granddaughter called us in FL on December 19.  She was worried about the end of the world on the 21st.  Don't worry her end of the world just meant no electric and less food for awhile.  Anyway she wanted to know about any codes and cameras for our property.  She wanted to pack up, take her dogs and walk to our house.  She knew she would have electric and food at our house, lol.  Smart kid:)  I'm happy to say none of that was necessary:)  I went along with her and told her she needed to pack the dog's things and make sure they do their share of the work.  I told her to get some pillowcases and fill them with dog food and then attach them to the dogs.  I'm sure her mom loved me for that, lol.

OK....now the coming home story:eek:

On Tuesday Mike and I backtracked to New Port Richey FL for our dentist appointments.  After two hours we finally headed north and out of Florida.  We drove until about 9pm and made it to a campground in SC.  It was dark and we never even saw the campground.  We hooked up the electric for heat and left the next morning at 5:30.  On the road again.  We gradually watched the temps dropping and when we hit the mountains we saw a lot of snow:shocked:.  Not good.  By the time we made it to our road it was about 20 degrees out...but the sun was shining.  Yay......then on to our right of way.  It was all ice.  This is not good.  The entrance to our right of way also has 10 foot tall solid fence on both sides so there is no room for error when we pull in.  I was a nervous wreck and told Mike we should walk up top and see how the house is.  He said we have to get the motorhome out of the road.  OK..go for it.  So he tried to pull us into the entrance to the ROW.  We slid.  He backed up and tried again...and we slid again:eek:.  OK...now there is no way we can get into our entrance with all the ice.  Mike says...we have to walk to the top and get the tractor to pull us into the entrance and into our property.  So I wrapped Niki in lots of towels, told her to stay and Mike and I walked up to the house....which I was in  no shape for.  Mike did better than me and I was lagging behind.  He said “what’s the matter?”  I said....I’m overweight and out of shape...I’’ll meet you at the top.":rolleyes:  I don't want to have a heart attack.  We have enough to worry about, lol.  

Yay...we make it to the top.  First things first we go down to check on the house and start the fire.  On the way down we notice our trailer is missing.  Oops...somehow it rolled across the back parking area and down the walkway and then off the side of the drive and into the fence.  We must have had some wind here.  Well at least the fence caught it before it rolled down the hill.  We got inside and Mike started the fire.

Now for the work.  Mike tried to open the locks on our buildings and they were all frozen.  I went back down to the house and grabbed the torch.  Mike heated up the locks and we got in.  He got out the battery charger and extension cord.  Then to the back building, torched the lock and got the generator out.  Thankfully the generator started but the tractor was dead.  Mike went to get the Jeep to give it a jump start and the Jeep was dead.  OK...next we try the 4-wheeler....yup...that’s dead too:smack:.  While Mike tried to recharge the batteries, I grabbed the shovel and took it back out to the drive.  We have a sheet of ice right at the top side of the driveway for about 25 feet.  I start picking and scraping at that while Mike works on the equipment.  After awhile Mike comes to help me with the 4-wheeler and plow.:)  Next Mike gets the Jeep running and he is trying to jump start the tractor.  He needs my help to rev up the Jeep to get more juice to the tractor. Yay...we finally get the tractor started.  Ok time to get back down the hill with the Jeep, tractor and chains.  We make it as far as the barn and the tractor stalls and dies:eek:.  OK...no problem we brought the jumper cables.  But this time it’s too much for the Jeep and the Jeep dies.  Ok....Mike says...”I will walk back up top again and get the 4-wheeler”  “you walk out to the road and check on Niki.”  So off we go.  Niki is fine and I walk back to the tractor and Jeep.  Mike is able to get everything started again.  We both get on the tractor and go down to the van.  I wait while Mike does some scraping and clearing.  While he is doing that the mail lady stops to talk with me and tells me we have a bunch of mail.  I said I’ll pick it up next week..we are a little busy now, lol.

Yay....Mike is ready for me to drive the motorhome in while he pulls me on the ice with the tractor.  Uh....really.  Now I am really nervous but I don’t tell Mike.  One slip up and I will hit the fence and then we have a big headache with the motorhome.  I very calmly listen to his directions and to what he tells me to do.  He pulls and I give the van a little gas and steer....yay...past the opening and the first bad patch of ice.  He unhooks the chain and drives in front while I follow him up to the barn.  Yay....finally we are on the pavement.  Mike takes over and drives up to the house while I follow in the Jeep.  Then we go down to pick up the 4-wheeler and then the tractor.

Finally we are all at the top...after only 3 hours....ugh!!  Mike works on getting the house hooked up.  He has a lot to do with filling our underground water tank, turning the propane back on, getting the water on to the house, turning the solar panels back on, checking the system and basically getting our house functioning and operational.

While Mike does all of that I start to unload the van.  I take Niki and her bed down to the house first.  Somehow in all the excitement she has re hurt herself.  There is nothing I can do but give her some doggie aspirin and tell her to lay down.

On one of my trip back up to the van, Mike says he needs help.  He has a chain hooked to the trailer, which is off the side of the drive on the fence, and he wants me to hook the other end around the tractor bucket.  Really....you think you can get this out without it rolling/flipping down the mountain?  Mike says...oh yeah...just hook me up.  Uh huh.:think:  I wrap the chain around the tractor bucket and get the heck out of the way.  Way to go.  Mike gets the trailer out and back on the driveway and we only have minimal damage to the fence.:ok:

Finally we are in the house and ready to collapse.  Then we get a phone message from the post office.  They came “back” and put all of our mail in our box.  What a super sweet thing to do for us but what rotten timing, lol.  That's another reason I like living in a small town.  Mike and I take the Jeep down to get the mail. 

Back in the house.  We have a mess everywhere, lol.  It will take us days to get back on track and organized.  Our water pump is also running too much so Mike is going to have to check that but for the first night it is too cold and we shut off the water in the house until morning.  We are also going to have to take care of the Jeep.  It’s either time for a new battery or replace the bad terminals.  Hopefully it is just the terminals.   Either way that will have to wait until Thursday:)

Thursday morning....brrr.....it is freezing out.  Thankfully we got back home yesterday.  We took a slower morning.  I made a loaf of homemade bread, we had breakfast, and we both had nice hot showers:):)  Then it was off the the Farm Supply to pick up the terminals for the Jeep battery and also the check valve for the water pump.  They had neither.  Thankfully there is a new auto repair close by and he was able to sell Mike a couple of terminals.  We got back home and Mike worked on the Jeep.  Hopefully that will do the trick.  It is not fun worrying about the reliability of your car.

So we have a lot more to do but we are back safe and sound.  As Mike says.....Mike and Lisa know how to Get R’ Done;):):)

Now we are home and we can get back to working.  On Monday I will tell you about our new pool table and installation...oh boy, lol.

Assorted Cookie Trays For People And Dogs And My New Apron

It is a cold morning here...winter is back so I thought I would share with you my Christmas Cookie Trays and also homemade dog treats.  We can;t forget about our pets during the Holidays.

Yum...cookies.  Everyone likes some kind of cookie.  I had to make my Christmas Cookie trays early this year as Mike and I went south for the early part of winter.  This year I also got to use my new apron that a friend of mine made.  She lets you choose your fabric and off to her sewing machine she goes:)

Here is the pattern I chose because I am just a bit old fashioned:)

My new apron:

You can visit my friends page here:
Aprons and Bags By Dogmom Diva


Now for some cookies:


Not Too Thin Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have a problem with my chocolate chip cookies coming out too thin so I have adjusted my normal recipe.

Getting my ingredients ready:

Mixing the butter and sugars together.

Adding the eggs and Vanilla to the wet bowl.  Getting ready to add the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Mixed it up and added the chips.

I like to put it in a smaller bowl and bake a tray a day.  This way they are always fresh.  I will also wrap the dough and put it in the freezer.

Ah...finally not to thin:)

Ingredients

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
5. 3/4 cup granulated sugar
6. 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 2 large eggs
9. 2 cups chocolate chips...I like Ghiradelli

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

My Cookie Trays:

I made a mixture of favorites:

Snickerdoodles
Chocolate Chip
Molasses
Mounds Bars
Mini Pecan Pie muffins
Oatmeal and Cranberry with White Chips
Chocolate Crinkles
Pretzel Turtles
Rolo Pretzels
Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Raspberry Thumprints




And of course we can't forget our fur babies.  Here is a tray for some friends dogs.

Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits...recipe to follow

Healthy Peanut Butter Dog Treats

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup skim milk
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 Tbl. baking powder


Mix together.  It will be a stiff dough.  Knead a few times and roll out to about 1/4" thick.  Put on cookie sheet and bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

They can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer if not eaten within a few days.



I hope you enjoyed seeing my cookie trays.  Next year I want to add some candy.  It seems I always have at least 10 more recipes than I can make, lol.  So many recipes so little time:)

Chapter 135...New Log Splitter And Apple Picking

Hello everyone.  I'm so glad you stopped in.  I will be writing a story a few times a week for you to check out.  Please subscribe so you don't miss anything:)

Fall in the mountains is a wonderful time.  There is so much to do and enjoy outside.  As you know Mike and I love being outside.  So let me tell you about some of our new toys and the fun we had with them.

We finally decided to buy a log splitter.  With all the wood we have down around our property we should have enough for quite a few winters.  The hardest part is the logs being too thick to fit into the wood stove and Mike and I are just not up to using an axe for that much wood, lol.

OK...now for our new toy.  We ordered from Lowe's and picked it up using the trailer.  We bought a Troy Built Log Splitter. Our Log Splitter

Here we go:)  We have a bunch of cut logs ready to go.  This is how it works.  You put one piece of wood into the holder and keep your hands out of the way.

Then you turn on the switch and the machine starts to push the blade.  It starts to cut through the center of the log.

And it is split.  Wow that is so much easier.

Our work station up top.  I think Mike likes his new toy although I have to admit it is pretty cool.  I do have a fascination with machinery:)

Now we have to get the logs down to the wood pile in front of the house.  We also have some logs to split so Mike loads up the split logs, his new toy, and he is ready to ride:)

Using the log splitter and stacking new logs.

We spent the rest of the day and the next few days cutting and splitting wood.

Now for another one if Mike's new toys.  He loves to use the binoculars to find the wild animals on our property.  The ones we had weren't very strong so we researched them online to find a better pair for him.  I think this should do it, lol.  They are made by Celestial.

We have also had a lot of fun apple picking.  We have about 100 apple trees on our property growing wild.  That is one good thing about the cows.  They eat the apples, digest them and bam...new seeds and a new tree if it doesn't get crushed before it grows to maturity:)  

We have had a great time with my stepdaughter and the grandkids picking apples.  Apple picking in the mountains is not like apple picking in a nice flat field.  If they fall out of the tree, the apples will roll, and roll, and roll down the mountain.   Ugh!!!

Here is Mike using the apple picker  to grab some high apples while my stepdaughter and her daughter hand pick the closer ones.  An apple picker, aka fruit picker, is a head with small claws and a small basket attached to a pole.  You reach up into the tree with the pole. use the claws to grab the fruit and pull until it falls into the padded basket.  Fruit Picker Head

The next weekend our grandson joined us for the fun.  We now have a new game.  One person uses the apple picker to knock apples out of the tree and the rest of us play catcher:)

Both my stepdaughter and I got enough apples to make a bunch of apple butter, applesauce, and apple pie filling.  Today I am still using the canned apples from last Fall.  The first batch I had to borrow my stepdaughter's apple peeler.  After that I decided to buy my own.  We will have so many apples each year that it seemed worthwhile.  I got mine from the local Farm Supply but my stepdaughter has this one.  Apple Peeler .  Let me tell you, if you have a lot of apples to peel get one of these.  It makes life so much easier. 

After we picked apples, Mike took our granddaughter for a ride on the tractor.  Then he dropped her off next to us and he got a fire started on our fire pile.

He sure does like to play with the fire piles and his tractor:)

The kids and I walked back up and around the back of the house.  What a beautiful day.

After two weekends of apple picking my stepdaughter had enough apples but I didn't want to waste any so one morning I grabbed my bucket and apple picker and started down the hill.  I spotted a tree from the side of the driveway and it looked like it had some good apples.  It was an easy tree to get to so that was a nice break.  I was able to get a 5 gallon bucket full of apples.  Ugh...now it's time for the trek back "up" to the house.  On my way back up through the property I came across the bull.  Uh oh.  He saw the bucket in my hand and thought it was feed.  Not good.  I had to keep throwing apples at him until I made to our gate.  I guess I should be thankful I had food in the bucket, lol.

A few days after that Mike and I took a walk in the woods.  We like doing that.

And guess who we ran into, lol.

We have some really big trees down.  Now we just have to figure out how to get them closer to the house.  Our land is very steep in a lot of areas.  It's hard enough just to walk it.  I can't even think about pulling trees and then getting logs out.

Walked the border of our property that day.  It was sad to see our border line had no new tree growth but our bordering neighbors all have new trees growing.  The difference is they don't have any cows on their land so the new trees have a chance to grow.

And coming back around the front of the house.  Ah...home sweet home:)

After that I noticed Niki hurt herself.  Her back legs would collapse on her and I was very worried.  I took her to our Vet and he told me she had a herniated disc.  He said we have two choices.  One try bed rest and let her move as little as possible or take her to a specialist and she could have surgery.  Mike and I opted for bed rest and we would see how she progresses. 

I bought her a new bed that is made of a foam like egg crate.  It is supposed to be supportive for her body.  I think she likes it:)

Well that pretty much wrapped up our Fall.  After that we went to Florida for a few months and as you know, we are now back and ready to work.  

I hope you all enjoyed this story and I will post again on Saturday about our coming home fiasco.  Then each Monday I will write about our working adventures in the Mike and Lisa World.


Have a wonderful day:)

The Virginia Creeper Trail..Very Nice Day Trip

It's amazing how you can live someplace for so long and still not see the sights your area has to offer.  That is how it was for me for a rail trail called the Virginia Creeper Trail in southwestern Va. that runs from Abingdon to Whitetop.  It is a 34.3 mile trail which has a halfway point in Damascus Va.  The trail is an old railway trail that used to be used by Virginia-Carolina Railway.  The current Virginia Creeper Trail was completed in 1984 for many to enjoy it.

Damascus is where Mike and I, with a couple we know, rented bikes for the trail.  The town of Damascus is full of bike rental shops.  We went into a shop, picked out our bikes and they were loaded onto a trailer.  Then we all got into a van and we were driven with our bikes "up" to Whitetop Station.  That is where we started our trip down.  The trail s all down hill and anyone can ride it.  They even rent three wheel bikes for people who feel more comfortable on those.

The trip that day was only half the trail, 17 miles.  We road through the woods on a combination of hard gravel and wooden bridges.  It is truly a beautiful ride and a great thing to do on a hot summer day.  It is nice and cool in the woods.

Here is Mike on one of the bridges.

Some of the views along the way.

Another one of the many bridges.

Bridges and water views.

There are a couple of stops on the trail itself.  About 3 miles in there is an old depot that you can check out.  It has some authentic things from the times, some snacks and souvenirs.  There is also a place you can eat about halfway down the trail.  You can stop as much as you want to enjoy the views or even have a picnic like we did.

Here is Mike and I taking a break.

.

Some more pictures along the way.

Once we got to the bottom we were back in the town of Damsacus.  We all stopped at an ice cream shop where they gave "huge" scoops of really good ice cream.  I didn't even need dinner after that.



It was a wonderful trail and bike ride.  I can't wait to do it again on a hot summer day.  Here are a link if you are ever in the area:)
VA Creeper Trail


Take a look around to see what your area offers.  Get out there and try something new.  You never know what you might find:)

A Canning Lesson...And Black Bean Chili

It's time for Tasty Thursday with a lesson on canning and also a recipe for Black Bean Chili.

Let me start out by saying I am from NY and I never had a garden and never even heard of canning food on your own.  Since moving to TN I have met many people who can and they have been canning food for generations.  I thought this was so cool to be able to can your own food and eat your bounty all year long.  I also have an online friend, thank you J, who cans and told me I could do it.  Well I wasn't so sure about that.  Frankly, canning with a pressure canner really scared me.  I figured I would most likely blow myself up if I tried.  It took me a few years of talking with my friends and also taking a canning class to finally feel confidant enough to try canning on my own.

For those of you like me who are apprehensive about canning, call your local Extension Office and see if they offer canning classes.  It really made a big difference for me.  Also the pressure canners of today are much safer than they were many years ago.

Here is a link for you to see where your local extension office is:
Find Your Local Office

There are two types of canning, water bath canning and pressure canning.  Water bath canning is easier for beginners.  It is used for canning fruits, pickles, jams, jellies, and tomatoes.  You need to use a pressure canner to can low-acid foods like meat, vegetables other than tomatoes, and beans.

The best book for canners is the Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving.  It is my canning Bible and I never can without checking it.  You can buy the book here: Ball Blue Book.


Today I will be sharing a recipe for Black Bean Chili which requires a Pressure Canner.  I bought a Presto 23 Quart Pressure Canner for my canning needs.  It seems to work well for me.  My canner will hold 12 half pints, 10 pints, or 7 quarts.  My Presto Canner.

Each year I bring my pressure canner to my extension office.  They do an inspection on my dial gauge for me and make sure it is working properly.  This is just an extra safety measure I like to do.



Ok...now for today's recipe.  I did a combination of recipes to come up with this.  I don't care for chopped meat and I love black beans.  So:

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients
2 medium onions chopped
6 Tb. chili Powder
2 Tb. salt
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 ts. black pepper
1/2-1 ts. cumin
Dash or two of hot sauce
2 pints of chopped tomatoes (since it is winter I used 2 28oz. cans of diced tomatoes)
2 lbs. dry black beans
5 cups water

Directions:
Soak beans overnight.  Drain and rinse the next day.  Add beans to a big pot.  Cover with the 5 cups of water and boil for 15 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to boil uncovered for another 15 minutes.

Prepare you jars, fill hot jars, getting all air bubbles out and leaving 1 inch of headspace.  Process 10 pints for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure(this will vary depending on your elevation and your gauge)



Now for the picture lesson:

Here are all of the ingredients:

The night before you will need to soak your beans.  I use two bowls and divide the beans in each bowl.  Then I cover them by a few inches with water.  This will allow for any expansion.

The next morning I am ready to go.

I drain the beans and add them to the big pot, I use my water bath canner, with the water.  At the same time I add water to my pressure canner according to the directions and get that water heated up to boiling.

Next I chop the onions and I use this cool little gadget for scooping the onions off my cutting board.
Food Scraper  I don't know how I cooked for 40 years without one.  My stepdaughter bought if for me and it is fantastic for scooping up your chopped vegetables.  This is one of the most useful gifts I have ever received.  I use it almost daily.

After 15 minutes of boiling the beans and water I add the rest of the ingredients.


I have also sterilized my jars.  I don't have a dishwasher so I clean my jars with hot soapy water, and then I let them sit in hot bleach water.  Wash and rinse again.  After that I place the jars on a cookie sheet lined with a kitchen towel.

I put them in the oven and turn it on to 250°.  This will get my jars hot.  You want to make sure you have hot jars when you fill them with hot food.  This way you will avoid breaking any jars.

Now my chili is ready to be canned:

I get my work station set up and I am ready to go.  You can see my canning utensil kit....it really makes things easy.  Utensil Kit

I fill each jar and inch from the top, take out any air bubbles, wipe the rim, and place the lid from the boiling water on top and screw on the ring.  

Then I place the jar into the pressure canner.

All ten jars in the canner.

I follow the direction from my canning book and process the jars for 75 minutes.  After they are done I set the jars on a towel on the counter to cool for 24 hours.  Soon you will hear the pings:) from your jars.  This means they have sealed and that is what you want.

My finished jars waiting to cool.

Okay....so beans don't look so pretty, lol.  The fruits and vegetables of summer are so much prettier to look at:)

After 24 hours wipe down your jars and take the rings off.  If any of your jars have not pinged you can refrigerate and eat right away or you can re-can them.  Store the jars on a shelf and don't stack them on top of one another.  This enables you to know of the seal stays good.  If the middle of the lid has any give the food inside is not safe to eat.

I hope I was able to teach you a little about canning.  It is a great way to store your food when you have extra.  It is also a great way to preserve all of those wonderful summertime crops:)

Chapter 134....Gardening for 2012

Hello everyone.  I am caught up on old stories.  Now I will start new ones each week.  I will write a new story on Monday and on Thursdays I will write a "Tasty Thursday" story which will be something about food.  If Mike and I get really busy I will add more stories:) Please subscribe to our blog so you don't miss any updates:)


Now for today's story which is a recap of my square foot garden for last year.  This year I have big plans for my garden and I will also be planting fruit trees and blueberry bushes.  I am very excited about producing more food:)

I originally chose to do a square foot garden for the ease of it.  With our ever changing life and projects I thought this would be a good idea. It is very easy for a beginner gardener, your soil quality doesn't matter because you mix your own, and it doesn't require much weeding.

April 14

Geting ready to add more compost.  I really need to start my own compost pile.

My new raised bed for the strawberry plants I ordered from the 4-H.

April 23
My new plants:).  Since my house is off grid and I have so few windows I can't start my own tomatoes and peppers.  Their seeds can't be planted directly into the ground so I need those plants.  Each year my stepdaughter and I go to the local High School where they sell plants for a very good price.  This year we were so excited to go to the High School but when we got there they changed the way they have been doing things for years.  They were only selling larger plants at twice the price.  Since we have more than a month before we can plant them in the garden this would not work.  We were very disappointed but we did go to the local Garden store and found our plants there:)

This is the first year I planted lettuce and spinach.  It is an early crop so I was happy not to have to wait.

May 6
My little spinach coming up.

I also planted some peas and used tomato cages to help them stay supported.

My strawberry plants.

May 18
The weather has been warm so I added my tomato plants and also added string for my green(pole) beans to grow on.

Some extra plants.  Once again I bought to many.  I just can't seem to resist,  Mike says I would turn the whole back yard onto a garden if I could.  So...what's wrong with that, lol.

The peas are blooming.

May 26

I think I have every available square filled:)

And then some.  It seems I ran out of room so I went into our building to look for some scrap lumber.  I found some boards, grabbed the drill and screws and added on to my garden, lol.  Mike says I'm nuts.

Look at that beautiful lettuce:)

June 26

My pole beans are doing well.  I am training them to climb up the string.  I am never happy with my pole bean trellises.  Some day I have to come up with the perfect solution.  Any ideas????

The yellow squash, zucchini and peas are doing well.

June 28

This is the first time I tried to train my cucumbers to grow vertically.  They are pretty heavy so you have to make sure they are tied to the string until they are long enough to wrap around themselves.  This worked well.

Uh oh....I hate when the cows are behind my garden.

Oh and you can see the Japanese Beetle bag in the above picture.  Here is where you can find them, Link.  They really do help on the amount of Japanese Beetles that used to eat my pole bean leaves.  I will have another one this year although they are pretty gross to empty.



July 5

My cucumbers are doing great:):)

The squash is really coming along.

At some point right after these pictures the cows reached over the back fence and pulled out all of my pole beans.  I was not happy with the cows that day to say the least.


Even so I had a lot of food from my garden.  I made a lot of zucchini bread and even canned yellow squash relish and zucchini relish for the first time.  My friends loved the zucchini relish.  I really liked the yellow squash relish especially on hot dogs:)  This year I plan to have more food and get more food canned up.




Yesterday was actually the first day for 2013 that I got to play in my garden.  I turned it all up and got it ready for new plants and seeds.  I will be planting some lettuce and spinach this week.

Mike and I have also started working around the property during the good weather breaks.  Soon we will be working full force and we can't wait:):)


Have a wonderful week and I will write again on Thursday and next Monday.