Living The Porch Life!

Yesterday I was up just after sunrise because I guess my mind was looking forward to the sunny warm day ahead and I couldn't sleep! When I took the dogs out in the morning it was still near zero though, but it warmed up pretty quickly as the sun rose.

Since my monthly shopping day is coming up next week, I thought I'd bring all of my cookbooks outside and start getting some ideas for meals. 

The huskies were out on the snow/lawn all day but every time I looked down, I had a pair of big brown eyes staring at me....

Aha! That's what he wanted!! He wanted to take advantage of the girls being outside so he could hoard the bones lol...Jack's a funny little dog, he has his own version of good living! :)

For dinner I made Chicken Piccata with a nice fresh salad made with Boston lettuce - I love that mild taste of the Boston lettuce so much! Dinner was fabulous!

Remember the burned Cheese Nips??? The company NEVER got back to me after 3 emails, 2 forms filled on their website and a post on their Facebook page. Talk about irresponsible! So I wrote an email, sending pictures to the Canada Food Inspection Agency. The government got back to me within 30 minutes, forwarded the file to the Quebec office and they got back to me yesterday. I just sent the woman the photos and information on the box. She said she will be sending me a form to fill out and once she receives it, she'll make a trip here to pick up the box and the leftover crackers. After that she's heading to the store where I bought them to see if there are other boxes from the same "lot number" for analysis. She said the whole process could take months, but that they take the complaints very seriously, especially when a company ignores the complaints. I guess by the end of the summer I might find out what happened!

I got my sprout seeds in the mail! I'm going to look up how to sprout them using jars and hopefully get that going today. I remember really enjoying alfalfa sprouts when I was younger, I'd eat them right out of the container, they were so fresh and crunchy. I haven't found a grocer that carries fresh sprouts these days so I'm going to try sprouting them myself. I'm hoping this will be something we really enjoy so that we have some salad greens more available all winter.

Alex and I talked about the garden, the crappy food from the grocery stores and how we just want to be less reliant on companies. He mentioned that he loves cucumbers...go figure, we've been together four years and I didn't even know that!!! He said it's one of his favourite veggies in the summer. A cuke and tomato sandwich - fresh from the garden. I didn't buy the seeds because I didn't think I'd find the room, but I want him to enjoy the garden harvest just as much as I will, and I found a bush variety that I can put in a large container. Since I wanted to save on shipping, I decided to go for it again. I got seeds for ground cherries and radish as well. I've never been a radish fan, I find them too spicy. Alex likes them, though they give him heartburn. I found an "Amethyst" variety that apparently has a milder flavour, so we're both up to trying them. We're hoping that our fresh veggies will be easier on our digestion than the ones we have to buy now. Oh, and the ground cherries? Just because. :) This will be an experiment like the pumpkins. 

And you know, after reading about the winter gardening, I wanted to have some seeds on hand for a late summer sowing. I bought leek, mache lettuce, mustard greens and turnips - all cold-hardy veggies that I hope will produce in my pending cold frames this winter! I think that I've invested just about $100.00 on my seed orders so far this year, which may sound like a lot...but if most (hopefully ALL!) of the seeds grow and produce well with my succession gardening plans and lots of motherly doting, we'll save ourselves upset stomachs from chemically sprayed and pretty crappy produce from the grocery store. (Plus money on groceries and gas money.) I think that within 4 months or so of successful harvesting, the seeds will have paid for themselves, I know I spend at least $30 a month on produce. We will still be buying produce until mid-summer I'm sure; and our onions, garlic and potatoes. I can't possibly plant everything I want at this rental, but I think I'm biting off enough this season! This is a very exciting venture for us! :)

We had a thunderstorm yesterday evening. Our poor husky Marlene didn't fare too well...we're still working on that issue. After it was all done though, there was so much fog that we decided to walk by the river. We could actually hear the river and waterfall from our backyard. Monday nights, the village is a ghost town and we really enjoyed the blue foggy quiet evening!

Sunshine and Pizza

I think the last time I posted that the sun was out was last Sunday. It was a long week but I do think (hope) that spring is here. It's sunny and we are lucky that the annoying tourist neighbours chose not to come up this weekend, so no loud noise coming from next door! I'm enjoying the day on the porch! 

Charlie and I are happy again! :) I'm glad Charlie seems to be coming out of her depression, but she's still being extremely picky about her eating. I made her some plain rice this morning and she gobbled it up after not having a bite of anything for a day and a half. She gets like this as the seasons change. We've looked up husky behaviour and also talked to others who have huskies and they also have trouble with their dog's appetites a few times a year, so we're not going to worry too much since she's otherwise healthy as a horse!

Tomorrow it's supposed to go up to about 17 degrees C, so I'm hoping most of this snow will have melted. The huskies have been outside for a few hours with me now, happily taking sun naps in the snow and now and then trying to chase a little brown squirrel that is simply teasing them!

Jack is more of a porch-man. He sticks with me mostly! This is a good view of the backyard porch, it's really tiny but I make the most of it. Last summer I had my porch swing up there and we could barely get in the door, but I was definitely comfy up there! Soon we'll be screening it in. I saw a few flies out this morning! The window to the right of the lilac tree is where I have my window garden, it's getting some much needed sun today too!

If I close my eyes and really pay attention, I can hear the songs of chickadees, crows, pigeons (they live in the belfry of the church), Mourning Doves (my favourite!), grackles, Blue Jays, woodpeckers and red-winged black birds. I love living in the mountains!!

I'm seeing more and more of the yard coming out...this is where most of my veggies will be, right by the house where they get the most sun. I'm now reconsidering containers and thinking more of raised beds...there are way too many roots over in that area to dig up so I thought containers would be best. But now I'm thinking four seasons, and I would like to transform the raised beds into cold frames come autumn.

Last night was pizza night. We always make two and have leftovers for lunch the next day. The first one was apricot jam, prosciutto and Blue cheese...sprinkled with a nice Balsamic vinegar at the end. WOW. The last time we made this we used fig jam, but it was so sweet! We also wanted to try freezing the prosciutto, which is apparently taboo! It freezes fine but we'd only use it for cooking because it gets too chewy. Delicious. The second pizza was four cheese: pizza sauce, Mozz, Parm, Blue and goat. What a great meal! This was all the cheese I'd bought on March 6th, and I still have so much left. This week I'll be planning for my monthly shopping trip which will be April 17th. I might not spend as much as usual, because we have so much food still!

I made more Cracker Jacks too, they are so addictive. We didn't have pecans this time around, they are kind of expensive! So it just became caramel corn I guess. We brought this to bed after dinner and watched Mel Brooks' "Dracula: Dead and Loving It"...we both fell asleep 10 minutes before it ended though!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Last night was more freezer food! This is how I plan the meals...during the first few weeks of my menu cycle, I plan more meals that include fresh produce. Then by the end of the cycle, it's mostly freezer food unless I've had a chance to get back to the market for more fresh stuff. The sauce is one that I love: Basic Tomato Sauce and I use the same Blogger's recipe for Italian Meatballs. I still have another dozen meatballs in the freezer for our next spaghetti dinner. Oh, by the way, my recipe widget may disappear for a while. It's getting very long so I might make it more organized on a separate page. I hope no links are lost in the process!

I just wanted to share this photo because it looks so cool. :) We found a spot for all the trivia games. We do have another shelf right to the left of this for all the other games we have too.

Taking care of business: I spent over three hours yesterday making a more realistic and detailed budget for the next two years. I have a background in accounting so for me, it was a fun thing to do! :) Because I'm on disability, I can predict my income. We can more or less predict Alex's as well based on the last few years, so the revenues are usually pretty accurate. I put every little expense known to man in that budget...being the creature of habit that I am, I don't like surprises. I don't want to say in two years time that I over-dreamed and under-budgeted!!

Our expenses change from time to time, but we live a simple life so they are also easy to predict. I tried to put some emergency car and pet expenses in there too. But if all goes well we should be able to apply for a mortgage in the spring of 2019! For me that is amazing news. That's only two more years of renting, in fact, since we just renewed our lease for 2 years, we could possibly never have to sign another lease again! 

I've been on my own since I was 17 years old, and for me this will be the biggest accomplishment of my life. I'm challenging myself to stick to the budget come hell or high water. Alex is too.

But...as life goes, we also are prepared to rent one more year if we have a big financial emergency that would eat away at our savings. We are fortunate to be able to live anywhere since we don't work outside the home. That leaves the possibilities more extensive and also the prices much lower for what we want. I was having more fun looking through the realtor.ca and viewpoint.ca websites and saw a lot of properties for sale here in Quebec and some in the Maritimes.

They are both fixer-uppers but have most of our requirements. There are HUNDREDS if not thousands of properties like this in Eastern Canada. I'd like to have more acreage and really make sure there are no neighbours in site or sound, it's very hopeful! :) We don't want to be loaded down with a huge mortgage or property tax because we want to live way below our means, pay the mortgage off a.s.a.p.; and still save for our retirement (well, mine will come first!). I have a deep-seated fear of having to go back to work in my 60's and 70's just to pay for food and bills...really I do. I'm the type who faces my fears head on (after some trepidation!) and part of fighting this fear is having a realistic budget, sticking to it and also next week I'll be tackling the annoying task of calling the federal and provincial governments to find out what exactly is offered to Canadian Citizens upon retirement. And also when IS retirement? It used to be age 65, I know it was changed to 67 a few years back...I need to pay more attention to this stuff. 

These next few years will be an educational phase for us as we learn more about home ownership, maintenance and real estate law. I know nothing is written in stone, but as long as we have a plan and prepare, I think we'll manage to reach our dreams of home ownership and a self-sustaining life. 

Any and all tips and suggestions from those who've done it, please share them. :) 

It's still overcast, but the precipitation has stopped! The sun is teasing me a little, coming out now and then...Alex is under the weather, so I'm taking care of him today. We both need some comfort food (more so than usual lol) so tonight is gourmet pizza night! (meaning more fun ingredients than I usually use!). I'll probably make some more Crackerjacks too. 

Window Garden, Fish and Chips Night

I guess I don't need to repeat my angst again...winter winter please go away! The huskies do love it though...

Yesterday we didn't feel like having a proper lunch and I'd forgotten I had a lone bag of tortilla chips in the cupboard that I bought, last month, the month before...???...out of sight, out of mind really does work! Anyway, we made a Mexican Dip and watched a movie in bed. I'm so happy that the chives I bought last July have kept producing all winter long! I'm taking such good care of them so they'll keep growing for a long time! :)

I decided yesterday evening, the heck with waiting...I'm starting my garden! Well, at least my window garden! :) I planted parsley in two pots, I use a lot of that and my old plant died in January.

After reading a little more about cold weather crops, and with a suggestion from my Year Round Vegetable Gardener book...I decided to start some spinach and beets. I only did 6 pots of each with 2 seeds in each pot as a trial. In the book, the author says that these two (of many) crops will withstand frost and cold weather, so I'm going to transplant these outside when they are ready - despite the weather. I'm hoping that I will have something to harvest in late May when I'm starting to plant my summer garden. I'm trying to implement the ideas of the year-round gardening!

The basil is coming up nicely!

And the original lonely lemon is gradually continuing to yellow! I know it needs more sun and so do I!

So with the yellowing lemon, I have five growing! The four small ones all started blooming in February. I never thought I'd get lemons. I always thought of them as a southern crop, but it just goes to show that anything is possible!!!

So this is my window garden. As you can see, I'm being stubborn...I just don't want to toss the rosemary bush out, even though all bets are on that it's done. I'm going to put it outside this summer anyway. It can find it's way back to the earth!

Last night we had the rest of the fish and chips with my Homemade Tartar Sauce. Another Mel Brooks movie under our belt and it was an early night. The wind was howling last night as it poured rain. When I woke up to snow this morning, all I could do was roll my eyes!

New Cutting Board: The Maiden Voyage

I think I stood there looking at my cutting board and the veggies for a good 5 minutes...It's funny when you get something nice and new, you don't want to upset its balance! Alex had to remind me why we bought them so I took the plunge!

Done! Now my new-cutting-board-cold-feet-syndrome is gone! :)  What a pleasure to cut on this board though. I did notice that a new set of knives might be in order, but a good set will be too expensive for us at this point in our lives, so we'll make do! We actually had our knives sharpened last summer but the guy did a horrible job. I remember as a kid, there was a knife-sharpening "guy" who drove around in his truck through the neighbourhood. All the moms would run out wildly with their knives so as not to miss him...funny scene!

This was last night's dinner. I had a spaghetti squash in the fridge and wanted to have something more healthy since we've been eating a lot of melted cheesy food lately! This is my own recipe, Spaghetti Squash Bake. My recipe titles are more functional than creative lol...I do admit though, I didn't use the cutting board to chop the squash in half! I was afraid that I'd rip it in two, these squash can be hard to cut. This was a nice light meal and we finished up the strawberry shortcake for dessert. Alex added some raspberry jam to the whipped cream bowl, the strawberries and the leftover spongecake and it tasted very nearly like the English Trifle I made for Christmas!

We are lucky that the pet store delivers on all orders over $65, so we order dog and cat food monthly - never have to drive all the way there and lug it home! Oh wait...this isn't dog and cat food! We got someone's bird order yesterday instead! This is the first time they've goofed up and luckily we have enough food for another week, so I'm giving them a break. Someone else got our order and had just called before I did. It's a nice feeder though!

It's another miserable day up here in the Laurentians. But at least the ground is back! What you can't see is that it is filled with water. We have a rainfall warning today and tomorrow so we are not going out until probably Saturday when the sun is supposed to come back! I really hope our basement doesn't flood.

I made myself a "coffee-cino" this morning! I'm trying to gussy-up my mornings on really gray days, but I think it might be another day of sitting under the blankets reading my gardening book!

What are you making for dinner? Lazy day = freezer food...I'm thinking fish and chips again.

Strombolis and Strawberry Shortcake

Land ho? Land NO. Eegad, it snowed a lot yesterday and it's raining this morning. I feel like I'm in some kind of apocalyptic winter world...oh wait...according to Hygge, I'm in a cozy winter wonderland and I need to take advantage of this day by cuddling under blankets with Alex right? I think I would be more accepting of that concept if this were January, not April!!! :) We make the best of things! I'll still be happy to cuddle, but I do miss being outside in the sunshine! 

And poor Charlie is depressed again, she won't eat...well, she'll eat her banana pumpkin cookies, but that's about it. She just wants to lie in Alex's office all day on the futon. We know she needs to be outside and we're doing the best we can, but it's never enough for her. Once the snow starts to really melt and we get warmer days, I spend most of my day out on the porch and this summer I'll be in the garden. She's happy as a clam on those days because she's outside a good 12 hours a day. But winters are long for her, we just aren't equipped to let her stay outside all day. When we buy our place in a few years, a large yard, fenced in doggie area will be one of our first priorities! But I think that Charlie and I feel the same way about this long drawn-out winter! :)

Last night I made strombolis, have you ever had one? They are basically a type of calzone. Very delicious! I started with sauté-ing some onions and fresh mushrooms in butter, then added some sliced sirloin for Alex and sliced chicken for me.

I made my usual pizza dough and divided it up in two large rectangles.

The next step is to layer some shredded cheese on to the dough, then your meat filling, roll, seal, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with Parm and bake! I overfilled them and I had to really stretch out the dough to seal them, so they leaked a little...but oh so worth the clean-up for all that yummy filling! :)

Last night was Philly Cheese Steak and Philly Cheese Chicken Strombolis! Usually the Philly style cheese steak has green peppers too, but we can't digest them too well so I omit them. Alex wanted to try half with Cheddar and half with Mozzarella but usually you stick to either Mozz or Provolone. The last time I made a stromboli it had just Mozzarella and ham and it was so delicious! We each had half and have leftovers for lunch today. There is so much you can do with pizza dough and any type of filling!

For dessert I made the strawberry shortcakes! They were really good. Alex had a double-decker. We mixed the leftover strawberries into the whipped cream and we'll definitely be eating that today!

The dogs got lucky and licked the whipped cream off the whippers!

I don't have much going on today...just waiting for the nice weather to come back! I have a list of "shoulds" though...

1. I should wash the curtains...
2. I should dust the shelves and ceiling fans...
3. I should look at recipes for the next meal planning cycle...
4. I should this, I should that...

But I don't feel like it!

So I'll spend the day reading my Year Round Vegetable Gardener book. That's much more pleasing to me. Her book is filled with stuff that I didn't know about and I've been taking notes as I go. It's going to be a lazy day, but not a wasted one because I'll be learning much more about year-round gardening!