Scattershooting On A Friday Night

1. My garden is coming along nicely, thank you. I have eaten green beans every day this week. One minute there were no pole beans, and the next there they were, 4 inches long and delicious. I am not going to do bush beans in the next round. The poles have been too good to me. 

2. As have the yellow squash. I have lots of that too. The cucumbers will be next. No tomatoes yet, but they are finally flowering. 

3. This is me with the Kindergarten class at the Day School. As Chaplin, I roll in for Morning Prayer. At the end of chapel, the kids read me a book. At their rising up ceremony, they had a special song, (You've Got A Friend In Me) and a big collage of all of them reading to me. The teacher we have for these kids is really good. They all read at a second grade level or higher already. 

4. For Mothers Day the Girl Child and I went to the Houston Dynamo game. It was a lovely evening. 

5. Every Easter, after the lillies in the church start to wilt, they give them away. I have taken the left overs every year and planted them in my side yard. They all began to open this week. 

6. The school year is winding down and my summer is winding up. The last Wednesday meeting was this week. The last Sunday gathering is this weekend. The last Moms is Monday. Then I will have 2 weeks to prep for the Summer of Heroes. 

7. The AC repair man came today. Even though the thermostat is set on 75, the house feels so cool. Everything is relative.   My job tomorrow is washing the coils of the unit outside. According to the expert this will help my electric bill. Consider it done. 

8. Urs scored another goal tonight in soccer, I brought popular snacks, and all is right in the house tonight. Amen. 

Monday Scattershooting

Argh. What a day.

I have a performance review tomorrow. I am not worried about it, but I was supposed to some paperwork and haven't done it yet. Got to get it done early morning.

I had a flat tire yesterday. What a pain. I did call AAA to come and change it though, cause I didn't want to get dirty. I think I am turning into a wimp.

Super day in the kitchen today. I made a great squash rice soup that was really good and really healthy. I also made up a jalapeño mango salsa that I am going to put on everything. I puréed some carrots and strawberries for quick smoothies this week. I have all the meals for the week prepped and ready to go.

My big adventure in cooking this week is going to be lamb. The butcher has lamb ribs on sale and I had to say yes. I am going to try the grill with some indirect heat as were his instructions. I love lamb.

Urs has taken to sleeping in my rooms. I finally had her just set up the air mattered at the foot of my bed and she has slept there every night for a week. She talks in her sleep really loud. Last night she dreamt that she caught a bird and that meant I would let her get a puppy.

I am seriously back on the healthy thing for a month at least. It hit me today I have been slacking a lot and I don't want to go there. So that's why I was in the kitchen prepping. It's so easy to fall back into bad habits when you are in a hurry.

Trader Joes has a shortage of cookie butter. I thought they were kidding when I couldn't find it. How can here be a shortage of cookies? Apparently in the east somewhere there is a huge black market for the stuff and the company can't keep up. Who knew?

I'm out for the night. Long day tomorrow.

First Fruits

And today we celebrate. After some checking it looks like we have a baby harvest! #greenbeansfordinner

This Week's CSA Box

I picked up the veggies again this week. It was mostly what we had been getting, but this week they had Swiss Chard as our green.

Here is what we are having for dinner tonight

Potatoes and Chard with Bacon

Ingredients

3 strips of bacon
1 Tbs butter
1tsp minced garlic
1small onion finely diced
4 red potatoes, sliced thinly and the quartered
10 leaves chard, chiffonade (I used the stems too)
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cook off bacon and set a side. Reserve the rendered fat.
Melt the butter, add back the bacon fat, and then add the potatoes, onion and chard stems. Toss to coat. Cook until the potatoes are aldente.
Add the garlic and chard leaves, and toss them to incorporate.
Pour the stock over everything, stir it around and then let it cook away. When the pan is dry, it should be good! Ursula liked it last night when I had only made it for me. We are having the rest tonight.

Good eatin'!

Garden Update

The garden, she is a growin'!

I have three baby tomatoes.

This bed is doing the best.  Zucchini and sweet peas.

Summer squash and green beans.

Pole beans.

Crooked neck squash.

The cucumbers are not having it this year.  I am not quite sure what is up with that.  I am going to try another round with them and see what I can't do different.

Hopefully we will be harvesting in a few weeks!

Grown Up Food

The GirlChild is gone for the weekend. That means momma is cooking for herself. Onion, bacon, mushroom, potato, red pepper and goat cheese frittata.

Yum.

Scatter Shooting

1. Eight years ago today I closed on my house. One of the reasonsI fell in love with this house was the rose bush that was planted on the side yard. It reminded me of my daddy's roses at the house I grew up in. Today the first rose of the season bloomed on that plant. I like to think it was my dad up in heaven giving me a wink and a smile that all is well.

2. Sunday night/Monday morning I had a really intense night mare. It was a spin off of the nightmare I have had since I was nine, where I am shot. Two nights ago, the same people who usually shoot me instead had a bomb and exploded the building I was in. Then The Boston bomb went off in the morning. I have had this feeling of dread and a black cloud over me since I woke up. I can't seem to shake it.

3. I picked up my CSA veggies today. More of the same. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, onions, carrots, and Swiss chard. I have no idea what I am going to make.

4. My garden is picking up steam with the warmer weather. My bush beans are flowering and my zucchini are climbing.

5. I head into Houston tomorrow to finish up summer planning. The theme is going to be the Summer of Heroes. It should be fun.

6. I am hitting the bed early tonight. I have only been getting about 4 hours of sleep a night for the last 5 nights. That may be why I have the cloud over me. I know it is causing me to loose focus.

Sunday Daybooking

Welcome to my Sunday Daybook. A chance for me to reflect intentionally on what is going on in my world each week. You can check out other daybookers here.

Outside my window...
A warm spring evening.

I am thinking...
How proud and happy I am for my nephew, Evan.  His team played for the World Cup in Muggle Quidditch and won.  Tonight the after party is at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios.  How fun to be 21, with friends and celebrating hard work and determination.  With a butterbeer!

I am thankful...
for my sweet GirlChild and that she is learning to make the right choice even when it is hard.

In the kitchen...
This week is pasta, chicken, turkey chili and breakfast.

I am wearing...
 pj pants, a youth ministry t-shirt and socks

I am creating...
strategy maps for the office and myself

I am going...
to keep up the exercise and get a little bit better.

I am wondering...

just how long I can let the laundry pile up.

I am reading...
It has been blogs and internet news all week.  Not a book even in the kindle.

I am hoping...
for focus and strength to get things done.

I am looking forward to...
a good night's sleep.

I am learning...
That I need some down time.

Around the house...
All is quiet.  Everyone is asleep but me.

I am pondering...
Psalm 42:5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed; within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise my Savior. 

 A favorite quote for today...
"Elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside." Chanel

One of my favorite things...
My blanket, a fan and good news.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
watching my garden grow, getting sleep, scratching off to=do lists.

A peek into my day...