They were right

I guess it pays to listen to our elders. It got cold again. The blackberry's are blooming and it is time to plant seed soon. I hope that I can be part of it.

Foot surgery went well. I get to see my stitches tomorrow. I went back to work on Tuesday. And my left foot can assure you that high schools are bigger than houses. Last night it felt like I had run a marathon and then hit my foot with a big rock. Ouch. Today was better. I will keep you posted.

Waiting

So, no seeds in the ground yet. Mom wants to wait until the ground warms, maybe a couple of weeks. The old timers are talking about another cold snap. Wait and see. I will spend some time planning out the garden I guess. We measured and have a good amount of space. Woohoo!!

Side note: I found my great grandfather's overall's a couple of weeks ago at my mom and dad's. I had asked my mom if I could borrow something to wear to get out of my work clothes. I raided her closet and pulled down these overalls. I immediately thought, "These look like Grandpa Guffey's. No they couldn't be. We didn't get a pair of his overalls." I proceeded to put them on. A great length, a little big around the middle. Pretty much how he wore them. 

Later on Mom told me that her cousin had given them to her. He knew that she had wanted a pair of Grandpa Guffey's overalls. Well, I have them now. It is all that I wanted after he passed away, which was quite a while ago. I found myself teary eyed as I got home, blessed to have a piece of him with me, to garden in them like he did and add my dirt stains to the dirt stains that he deposited on the pant legs. 

I remember him as a gentle man with a love for his family, digging in the soil, and his animals. Not to mention wearing overalls. I seem to have inherited much of him into my being. I remember walking in his garden, feeding the goats and fishing with him. I also remember rocking on the glider on his front porch. He was always in overalls. Maybe that is where my love for them grew from. I will proudly wear his overalls, patch the holes and work in my garden. Maybe I will wear them on harvest days. Anyway, thanks mom for letting me take them. I know that they are special to you too. 

Another Day

Do you ever wonder how my days are filled all day at a high school? I work in special ed, but I can assure you that not all of my students are special. Okay, okay. I know that they are special in the eyes of God. I get that. 

Here is a snippet of my day today. Some things were said by students that made me giggle without any control. I still have a smile on my face thinking about it. Let me share with you...

This morning there was an assembly held for juniors and seniors about making wise decisions and not drinking and driving. The prom is Friday. While talking about this with one of my freshman, in all sincerity he asked, "Are they serving alcohol at prom?" I almost lost it, and could have laughed hard enough to pee my pants. Instead I put my head down on my desk and burst into giggles. If I had had enough sense I would have told him yes and given him empty dreams to look forward to in how ever long it takes him to become a junior. Mean,  I know.

In another classroom, talk of prom was circulating in the air. One of the girls commented, "I can't stand up all night at prom. Are there going to be chairs there?" Wow. These things were truly vocalized. Scary but true.

On to a Garden Report. Here is the field. Plowed and ready to go.

I am going over to Mom and Dad's tomorrow to plant some. We'll try to get the beans, corn, cucumbers and squash in the ground for now. We'll wait for the soil to warm up to plant the okra, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, etc. I am so excited!!

News Flash-I have taken on another garden. A while back I asked my 93 year old neighbor, who is much like a grandmother to me and has known me since I was in my mother's womb, if I could work a spot in her garden. After a few weeks of contemplation and heath issues she told me that I can do what I want, but leave some of her onions and chives. This is great! Not only do I have a place to plant a few things near home, we have a gate between our fence, but she will be able to piddle in the garden patch when she feels up to it. Here come more tomatoes, beans, peppers and squash. She love peppers and tomatoes. Oh, and don't forget the cucumbers. I think this is going to turn out to be a busy summer. I am loving it!

 

I seem to still have a carefree feeling lingering from spring break. I am a little more relaxed, a little more full of cheer. I thought that this picture of a camelia on St. Simon's and me from the driftwood beach say it all. Sweet and refreshing. 

The next week or so hold plenty in store. Dr's appointments, surgery, and work just to name a few. I want to do so much before next Friday. That is when my left foot will be confined to an orthopedic  boot for 3 weeks. Yuck. So until then, wiggle little toes! Remember the feeling of the sand between you! I am going to walk, hike and bicycle all that I can. I will cook clean and grocery shop with ease! 

Hopefully the garden will begin soon. Dad has already plowed the ground, pictures coming soon. Now we wait for the soil to warm. We also need to rake the rows into place and decide if we have enough space for all that we want to grow. Very exciting!!

And my random tidbit of the day, I spent hours online last night looking up Georgia Peach rooibos tea. I had some in Savannah and need some here!!! It was sooo good. I will let you know when I get my hands on some and if it is as good as I remember it. I have started drinking a cup of rooibos at night. So good and relaxing. Now I need the  peach kind!!!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

We are back home. Let me tell you, I loved our time away from home, but I love being home too. When Dave and I walked into our house last night it was fresh and new again. What a great feeling. It also helped that when we pulled into the driveway everything was green and blooming. What a wonderful welcome home!

Our time on Jekyll was great. We biked all over the island. My favorites were the driftwood beach and the marsh. I loved the marsh more than anything else. It felt foreign, like you stepped into a different country. We stuck our toes into the water at the beach. It was too cold for swimming. But the sunsets were beautiful and the beach worth admiring. 

I promised some cooking from the trip. Most meals were unexciting- steak and corn cooked over the fire, curry chicken and veggie kabobs, steak kabobs and mushrooms cooked with onions. Our staples every day were hummus with pita, carrot and celery sticks, grapes, nuts, cucumbers and apples. We love light fare. And hummus hits the spot every time. I think this may become our lunch routine from now on. It is easy to pack. My tip on easy veggie sticks for the kids ( or husband)- I cut them up ahead of time and pack them in water in the fridge. You can pull out as many as you want when you need them. They stay fresh and crisp for a week at least!

Random thoughts after the trip- Who knew that I would love bicycling?!?! I do! It was hard at first but now I love it. Dave and I are going to try to ride regularly now. I have seen a real difference in my legs. They normally swell. This week the swelling has gone down dramatically. I attribute it to the additional exercise and cutting out a lot of sodium in our diet. I will keep you posted on our bicycling adventures around here. 

Also, I love my friends and I love their blogs. It is such a great way to keep up with each other and what is going in our lives. I have been truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. I love you all!! Keep blogging!!!!

The Golden Isles

We made it to the Golden Isles of Georgia! We are camping out on Jekyll Island. We set up camp in the rain on Saturday night. Sunday was quite nice and we biked to the beach. After such an adventure, we needed some nourishment. So, I made some golden chicken curry packets that we cooked over the fire. I made this up in my head. It turned out great. You can easily recreate this at home on the grill or in the oven. I think I will!

I started out cutting up some potatoes, onion, and fresh green beans. I spread these on some aluminum foil doubled over and sprayed with cooking oil. Then I cut up some curry chicken tenders from Trader Joe's and added them to the mix. Last and oh so yummy ingredient-some golden raisins, for the golden isles. I gave them one last spray of oil, wrapped them up tightly, then again in another piece of foil, and on the fire they went. 

They were so yummy!!! The raisins gave just enough sweet to the spicy curry mix. I think that we cooked them about 45 minutes, but they probably were done in 30. It is hard to tell when cooking on the fire. Also of you don't have a Trader Joe's try marinating some chicken tenders in a curry blend. It should work fine. 

 

Try them at home and let me know what you think! 

Family Garden

So the veggie patch in our backyard has grown, not literally yet! But I was talking to my mom about our little veggie patch and she suggested combining forces and having a large garden at my parents house. YES!!! I was so elated that I could hardly contain myself!  This means that we can grow more, grow plants that grow bigger, and include a few things just for fun or that Dave won't eat so I was reluctant to grow(ie. yellow squash). My sister and her family are getting in on this too.

 

So, we are having a family garden. The plan so far is that we will all work in the garden together one day or evening a week. My parents have about 2 acres  with some nice fertile soil. This doesn't change my idea for posting. The garden will just be bigger which menas that the blogging might be also! Dave and I will still have a little raised garden here at the house, mostly herbs. But now the family has to decide how big to make our garden. I will let you know what we decide. 

Also, some of you have said that garden tips are what you want. So, I will answer a few things really quickly. If you are growing in a small space, try choosing compact plants bred for small spaces and/or growing vertically. I am doing both of these things. I have chosen varieties of plants for their compact habit. My thoughts on this are that the plants take up less room, yay! And most compact plants produce the same crop yield as their larger counterparts. I translate this to mean less energy spent on growing leaves and stems, more energy put into making the fruit or vegetable. I like Park Seeds. They have a great variety of seeds and a beautiful catalog. Try looking up square foot gardening for tips on growing vertical. Plants that love to grow up(with the right choice of variety) are cucumbers, pole beans, tomatoes, and try some melons or squash. Anything vining should be willing to grow up.

On to pest control. An easy option is a tad bit of lemon dish soap mixed with water. Spray it on your plants or pour it on. The soap is a surfactant. Bugs don't like it, and it won't harm your plants. You do have to reapply, but this is cheap and effective.  Remember when our parents poured their dishwater on their flower beds when we were little? It had a purpose. I also like a company called Gardens Alive. They have a lot of natural pest control and fertilizer options. Check them out. I also forgot to mention Planting flowers. Some flowers like marigolds, seem to be natural deterrents. Do some research on the plants that you like to grow. Companion planting is fun too. More on that later.