First Day In The Garden!

Not so clean and pretty anymore! :) But that's okay, my new gloves got nearly FIVE hours of use this morning!

I was up at 6:30 this morning and did my new usual routine of driving the dogs to the other side of the river for their 45-minute walk.

I don't know what Marlene sees, but this is the second morning where she just parks herself by the lake and stares. Yesterday the other two looked on but today they lost interest. I had to pull her away!

It was a cold morning though, close to zero and the grass was crunchy to walk on. But the sun is really hot and I was able to spend lots of time in the yard. There are two little plots on either side of the stairs that I cleared of most weeds and junk. The plot on the left has some perennial lilies that I will transplant once I can dig a little deeper into the frozen ground. I already have a little fence around one side, and I pulled out some more lattice from our haul last year to prepare making a fence for the second plot - but I want to wait until the flowers are transplanted before I set it all up.

This photo shows a more realistic view of the size of those two plots. They aren't very big, but they'll do for my container veggies! Plus, this is where I will plan my cold frames for the winter gardening. If I need to, I'll put more containers just behind the wheel barrow. But I'm trying to avoid doing that as well because of so many roots and bushes there, I tried last summer but found it impossible to clean up.

There is a terrible root system here and the landlord could care less about it. We've tripped over the roots too many times so this year, I took out the ax and cut a bunch of them out. There are still a few big ones, and I don't want to hurt the trees attached, so I decided to dig up as much as I could and put some patio stones down as a walkway.  At least this way we won't trip over what's left of the tree roots. That was quite a task.

The last thing I did was clean up the bird feeder and surrounding areas. Oh my gosh the amount of sunflower seed shells!!! There is an old flower box that holds the feeder. It was mostly weeds and grass with some wildflowers. I decided this is where I'm going to scatter my butterfly and bird flower mix next month. I read that once you take all the weeds out, layer your bed with top soil, newspaper and cover it and there should be no more weeds when you're ready to plant. Testing this theory!

My strawberry plant from last summer was under the snow and I dug it out and added some potting soil to the top and watered it. It's now hanging in the sun, I hope I get some strawberries coming back this year! Being a "newb", last year I left the strawberry plant out when it was blossoming and the darn chipmunks and squirrels ate all but 3 of my berries...I'll be more careful this year if I get more fruit!

Hmmm...I wrote that I ordered more seeds yesterday...well, I guess I'd forgotten I'd ALREADY ordered more a few weeks ago! Does that mean something??? ;)

I did admit to my obsession, so let's leave it at that. I actually forgot about these! I got my cukes and radishes. And the cherries were on a whim, I have to look up how to grow them.

I planned ahead for my winter cold frame garden. These will all be planted in late summer.

When we went to pick up the mail, we dropped by my neighbour's place. She had to put her 16 year old Yorkie to sleep last month, poor thing had liver problems. But yesterday she got herself a little puppy she named Patch. He was SO ADORABLE and smelled like a little baby! :) I wanted to walk away with him!!! Speaking of dogs...look at these two photos:

I live in a little village in the Laurentians. Just walking to the mailbox, Alex and I saw TWO LOOSE DOGS!!!  There are two parks and a loose dog per park. By the way, the second photo isn't closed in, there is one side (to the left of the photo) that is completely open and leads to the main road of the village. Two loose dogs...and this is above and beyond FOUR of our direct neighbours who leave their dogs untied. I'm so glad we got photo evidence. Alex sent an email to the "canine inspector" (who brushed us off the last few weeks); the person at town hall who is in charge of the inspector's contract; and the mayor. There is no denying that the residents need a reminder to keep their dogs tied. And this is in the village where I now drive through, go figure. I hate people and society sometimes, why can't they just follow the rules? What is the point? I can't wait to move away from people into the woods. I'll be happy to put up a big fence and let our dogs have the run of OUR property while no other dogs can roam inside their sanctuary...Sorry for the rant...it's really a problem here with the residents and it bugs me so much.

So this is my window garden. All of my seedlings and herbs are ready to go and getting sun from the only sunny window in the house! I love this view from my desk.

It's just 5pm...I'm pooped. First day in the garden and my hands are so sore I feel like weeping. Nothing helps...If any blogger pal out there can suggest a home remedy...PLEASE. Kristina maybe? You always have so many ideas and I'd love to hear some of them! I've tried Advil, Tylenol, muscle creams...my knuckles and joints ache when I use my hands a lot and I easily drop stuff because I lose my grip. Doctors gave me generic excuses...anyway, I poured a white wine spritzer, lit a candle and wrote my blog post! Now I'm headed up to bed with Alex to watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie, "Rope" with Jimmy Stewart, then we'll have a nice relaxing dinner together, chicken is on the menu!

Planting More Seeds and Pizza Night

I think that yesterday we narrowly escaped a foot of snow falling because a lot of areas in Canada got pounded with snow while we had rain! But...as you can see, the woods are still covered with a snowy white carpet. I tried to take the dogs in, but I kept sinking into puddles so we didn't get far. We stuck to the road just to be safe. I drove over to the other side of the river again this morning to walk them and we had no issues!

Last night we had pizza for dinner. I tried two new pizzas I'd never made before. Hawaiian (with Mozz, ham and pineapple); and Goat cheese with asparagus. Alex liked the Hawaiian - I'm not big on pineapples. And we both LOVED the Goat cheese with asparagus! It has Mozzarella too. 

I've always been reluctant to "modernize" recipes...I'm a cheese-pizza lover! But I thought...why not try? Asparagus is in season right now and really inexpensive...plus it's the thin asparagus that I just go nutty over...so I went for a modern pizza. Well worth it! I still REFUSE to put lettuce on a pizza though! I'm not THAT modern!!!

Alex put up the extra shelf in my sunny window so I could keep planting! I've added two pots of cilantro, a pot of thyme and a pot of oregano.

I was a little behind in the labeling department, but I finally got my spinach and beets labelled! I decided what the heck, so I made labels for everything I planted this year so far.

I put the date that I planted them on the backs of the coffee sticks to remember when everything was planted. I planted some more seeds in those little seedling pots: green onions, tomatoes and Butter-crunch lettuce. I also planted a cherry tomato plant. My shelves are FULL. I'll take some pictures tomorrow. And...(I can't stop, I need an intervention!) I ordered more seeds...eegad. This time I ordered from a company I'd never tried before Veseys. Kymber from Framboise Manor mentioned that company so I checked them out and because I signed up for their newsletter, I got free shipping! :) 

Alex was watching James Bond today, Goldfinger, and he called me up to see the glass that the ever-so-dashing (swoon) Sean Connery was sipping from. We are kind of cocktail glass fanatics...and I asked what he was drinking. Alex said "Mint Juleps"...so I got the bright idea that I NEEDED to grow mint for mint juleps lol...THUS...the latest seed order. I ordered mint, but I wanted to make the free shipping worth it, so I added some chamomile, rosemary (just in case my dead rosemary plant is actually dead) and some more chives. Okay, I VOW this time to stop ordering seeds....didn't I just say that last month???

Our weather is really warming up quickly. This week I'll be in the yard raking and cleaning up the areas where I want to put my containers. I'm also going to try to build a raised bed or two. In the next few weeks, we have to get my porch all screened in too before the bugs come out. It's going to be a really fun time for me, I just love being outside!

Taco Night and a Rainy Saturday

Last night was taco night! :) Alex made dinner, it was so nice not to have to cook yesterday, I am having some shoulder muscle issues. When we were digging the trench for the muddy driveway last week, I may have overdone, go figure...I always do! And I'm still sore from it. Yesterday it was so damp out and I felt it in my hands and knuckles too so Alex came to the cooking rescue. He makes beef tacos for himself and he makes chicken fajitas for me. We have so many leftovers, I think that might be dinner tomorrow!

Well, I was right, the rainy weather has kept the weekenders at bay. I love how quiet the village is today! I was up at 7am and normally on weekends I don't walk the dogs because there is just too much potential for trouble with cars and quads everywhere and loose dogs to boot. But this morning, before I realized how quiet things were, I decided, the heck with it. I loaded up the car with the dogs, drove the 2 minutes to the other side of the village and walked them anyway.

I'm SO GLAD that I did. I didn't bump into a SOUL on that side of the river. This will be a very good routine. If I can skip walking through the village to the river, I avoid the cars, quads, loose dogs and any other trouble that can happen. I know my dogs will protect me no matter what, but I need to feel comfortable enough to protect them as well. One of my neighbours mentioned a loose pitbull in the village last summer. That scares me. If any of my little ones got hurt, it would be horrible. But this seems to be a good solution, on the other side of the river, there are only a few houses, none of them have loose dogs.

At first I was reluctant to drive to walk the dogs; mostly because of gas expense...but really, 2 minute drive every day? Is it really going to bankrupt me in the gas department? Not likely. And I get to walk nearly an hour on a deserted mountain road. We heard, but didn't see, a bunch of deer this morning. Charlie saw them though! She was fixed, all I heard was a herd galloping in the woods! (I heard a herd)...this was a nice treat today. It's Earth Day and I was hoping to see some forest critters to make the day special, at least I heard them! :)

My fellow Canadian and Blogger friend Dianna, asked me to write something about how I do my Monthly Shopping and Meal Planning, how to get started and some tips etc...at first I was answering her in the comment section, but I realized it deserved its own page, so I wrote that this morning. I also put the link on my side bar in the section "Other Posts and Pages".

For me, this is a life saver. After reading that page, you may find it a little overwhelming, but the whole point of doing a monthly shopping trip and meal planning is to reduce stress by getting it done once (or an added small trip for produce like I do now), being organized so you're not scrambling for dinner ideas, and eating with the seasons and what's on sale - THUS saving money on groceries. Not to mention saving wear and tear on the car, gas money, your time and your sanity! I hope my page helps a little!

Wet Dogs and Dip For Dinner! :)

Alex and I ended up going out yesterday. We discovered a park about a 15 minute drive away and it was deserted! We took a bunch of photos, I'm trying to look like a bird watcher here. :) Just a 15 minute drive south and it's so spring-like; yet we still have lots of snow on the trails where we live.

How quickly I derail from my menu plan lol...after the last few days, neither Alex nor I wanted to be in the kitchen cooking. The stress really gets to us and we both get exhausted fast. So we made a few dips, grabbed the bag of pita bread, the leftover baguette and Brie and watched some Jerry Lewis movies in bed! Talk about cozy on a cold overcast evening!!

This morning is even more overcast...and the rain is really coming down! But I thought...enough is enough. The dogs NEED to be in the woods, and so do I!!! So we ventured through snow and wet leaves for a fun little walk in the woods by our cottage.  The rain falling was all I heard while we were out, it was so nice! I'm hoping the drizzly weather will keep the weekenders away tomorrow! (Fingers crossed!!)

The snow was knee deep in some spots, they didn't care...I kind of had a hard time, but we muddled through! Charlie and Jack always lead the pack. Charlie's eyes are darting everywhere and Jack's nose is usually to the ground, he has to have some scent hound in him. He sounds like a little piglet when he's "tracking"!

The dogs got soaked, especially Marlene. Her coat really holds water! She looks like a bear here!

Just a happy shot of me and Alex! Sometimes life can throw you some challenges, but in the end, all that matters is how happy you are. We're not rich, we get by though. Our pets are all healthy. The car does run (though it's still making a funny noise!). We are surrounded by nature. Things always seem to work out so I'm trying not to worry about it! I hope everyone has a happy weekend! :) 

Back to "Normal" (me? normal?) :))

No matter what mood I'm in, the sun will rise. It doesn't care about my tax bill, my car troubles or my little stressors! :) I REALLY miss the sunrises and sunsets on Prince Edward Island. I lived on the Summerside Harbour and it was just lovely every day - that sky was SO big. We don't get to see this spectacular scene here because we're on the "wrong" side of the mountain, so to speak!

I added some summer to my shopping trip, I got these cute garden gloves :) Shopping went fine, we are now well stocked for another month of meals! And I stayed within my budget! When I got home yesterday Alex did all the work emptying the car. By the way, I think my foot hit the floor when I gunned it backwards into that rainy sloppy muddy mess of a driveway! I made it in though! After unloading, we had a Newcastle beer with some Brie and baguette, our usual shopping day treat, as we put groceries away and updated each other of the goings on of the day. Apparently Jack doesn't leave the couch by the window all day long until he sees the car backing in, awww...my little fella...

Here is my tentative 30-day Meal Plan for anyone who wants some ideas. I'm calling it tentative because we mix and match a lot! You'll notice lots of chicken dishes because chicken was on sale. I never plan breakfast or lunch, because we usually have some kind of leftover or we just have fruit shakes or pancakes. Today I will be organizing, labeling and wrapping. Alex is making dinner tonight, aaaaah...so I can relax!

The snow in the backyard continues to melt! Thanks so much to my Blog friends for all the support and positivity yesterday!! :) It worked! I had a great day yesterday. It was long though, I was up at 5am, at the mechanic at 7am and only left there at 9:30am...the shift cable needed greasing, it will need to be done yearly because the rust from winter and spring hardens it since we don't use the car much. He told me all Dodge Journeys have that issue. He showed me how to remove the air filter and where to grease it if I'm so inclined...I think I may be so inclined! He heard a weird rattle and discovered a part that was too rusty to save, the Pulley Tensioner for the alternator...basically if it breaks, I have no power. So for $25, that got replaced too. All in all, it cost far less than I expected! I love my mechanic and I now feel safe driving!

Reminds me of a Seinfeld joke. One of the characters says "I have no idea what mechanics are talking about...they could tell me 'Your 'johnson rod' needs replacing' and I'd pay for it, who really knows what they mean???" At least my mechanic lets me eavesdrop and he explains things as he goes!

Alex made our dinner last night. I was so tired. We had chicken souvlakis with the leftover chicken from the roast on Easter Sunday. Look! Alfalfa sprouts!!! :))  We just pile chicken, Feta, lettuce, Tzaziki and (now) sprouts onto a pita and roll her up. So yummy!

Grosse-out alert below (don't worry Mama Pea, nothing snake-like!!!):

Ready?

Are you sure?   

THIS is what passes for alfalfa sprouts at the market that I often rave about how fresh their stuff is. I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday and I had to take a picture. Isn't this food poisoning for thought??! I'm a home-sprouter now and forever!!!

I'm the proud mother of parsley! :) It practically sprouted overnight. I have two of them going. Alex is putting up another shelf for me today. He surprised me yesterday by sawing and sanding it. So this weekend I'll have some more herbs and maybe some other seedlings going! :)))

Vet news: I spoke to my vet of 9 years yesterday. She was nearly as rude as the receptionist. Makes me wonder if I somehow offended them lately. She made it clear that she has to follow rules, so do her clients. Of course she cares about the animal, but rules are rules. No further refills will be available without a re-assessment of the cat. I asked "how will you re-asses him if he's doing fine on the pills? Will you expect us to have him stop taking the pills so you can see the pink eyes and pink ears again?" She said she'll have to see during the visit. Wow...that was a shocker. I stopped by a vet in the next village and they were really nice. I briefly and non-emotionally explained our situation and they were super accommodating. They will need to see Oscar of course, but their motto is "don't mess with it if it works". It was quite a disappointing experience with the old vet. I am suspecting that she got too big too fast. They expanded from a small country vet operation to a huge vet hospital within 2 years. Anyway, there are plenty of vets in the sea right? :)

We're all in our happy place again. Because of the spring melt, it was sometimes dangerous to walk the dogs because of ice and too much mud and water out there. Because of the loose dog problem (which by the way, was completely ignored...) I never wanted to walk through the village. But now that I'm up at 6am these days, I can walk them safely through the village, to the deserted roads of the mountains. 

The river is raging. The girls can't wait to go for a swim though. Jack...he'd rather sunbathe on the shore! :)

I found Charlie's weakness....food on the floor! She's still not eating every day...but this morning I dropped a bit of her kibble on the floor and eureka, she ate it...so I put more on the floor...each time she ran out, she looked up at me. So Miss Charlie wants to be "hand fed"...oh my gosh, what will I NOT do for these dogs lol??? She ate the whole bowl...on the floor...though!

There's A Dark Cloud Over Me!

I took this picture from my car last August when I was rushing home to beat severe weather. Well, this is how I felt all day today. You know how things sometimes spin out of control and you fall into self-pity and the "WHY ME?" frame of mind???  (Kristina, this would be an instance where I just couldn't laugh it all off!!! So Kudos to you!) :))

1. I did my taxes this morning and I have a very expensive provincial tax bill to pay. Blah.

2. Then I was told I needed to bring our cat in for an exam if I want his allergy pills renewed. Funny, last spring the vet told me this would be something he took for life and the prescription would be renewable for life...rules have changed apparently. I had to fight to get one last refill so Oscar wouldn't suffer. My blood was boiling a little bit at that point, but then....

3. ...I was supposed to do my monthly grocery shopping this morning as well. When I got to the gas station to fill up, I couldn't put the car in Park, nor in Neutral...I was stuck with my foot on the brake, trying desperately to jiggle with the gear thingy, it wouldn't budge!! Then as my day would have it, some hoo-hah in a big ol' truck behind me started barking with his horn for me to move. I have to say that I panicked slightly...at least I remembered I had the parking brake!

When said hoo-hah had had enough (say it fast five times lol), he got out of his truck, flailing his arms aggressively. He got to my window, saying something derogatory in French, when he saw that I was crying. Poor me :(. He felt bad I suppose and helped me move the car safely to the road while I called my mechanic for help, I couldn't turn the engine off! Mechanic didn't answer, he doesn't have a receptionist early in the morning. So I looked up what the heck to do on my phone. 

See the pink button? I used a tool I had in the car (okay it was a butter knife lol) to jimmy off the cover of the shift box(?) I have no clue what these things are called...and this pink button is the brake or shift gear interlock button or some such thing...I pressed it and was able to at least get the car in Neutral so I could turn it off! I found this quick fix online, thankfully! Problem is, the car will shift everywhere but into Park. I was still sitting outside the gas station at that point, and I felt a wee bit embarrassed for crying (it's my way to relieve stress), so I drove back home and made it through the mud, back into Neutral, parking brake on, engine off. I have no idea what this is going to cost me.

Here's another photo I took last August after the same big storm. I'm TRYING to feel this way! Trying to shake off the dark clouds! I'm turning big negatives into positives...pity party: OVER. I just don't have time for it.

1. Yes, I have to pay the thieves Quebec government $650 for a non-optional yearly prescription plan whether I use it or not. At least they are the most patient of creditors and I can pay them $50 a month for a year with minimal interest and they won't send the file to a collection agency. 

2. The vet....it doesn't hurt to have a pet checked...but Oscar is FINE...but I have no choice. I have enough meds with this last refill for a few months, but after that, I will pay the $78 to renew his prescription, he's all that matters. But...it might be time to switch vets. I don't mind paying for a service, but the rudeness from the receptionist was not appreciated.

3. The car...well, at least the mud is being useful. Since I can't put it in park, and even with the parking brake on, I was worried about it rolling off the driveway. But...that car is IN the mud and that acts like Nature's brake system lol...it'll be fun trying to get out tomorrow in the rain.

I have a good mechanic though, who I finally was able to speak to in person. He told me about the pink button, then said it is likely just a little rust; and he'll fix it for me quick. He is so busy with tires at this time of year, but offered to be at the garage an hour early at 7am tomorrow to help me. Who's that nice??? People like him are rare. I know it's a paid service, but he wanted to help me. I feel like his generosity with his time erased everything bad that happened this morning!

I feel grateful that this whole experience happened before I spent a month's worth of grocery money. I really don't know how much it'll cost tomorrow, but I have to go shopping right after that or I'll miss all the specials this week (flyers change on Thursdays here). I've spent a few hours tonight redoing some of the menu to make more affordable dinners just in case I'm short on money. 

Anxiety is not going away though...sigh...I know everyone has money troubles, but:

Why must they happen all at once? <===== Rhetorical question!!! 

As per usual, I'm trying to make the best of things! It's just after midnight and I'm stressed about the mechanic bill in 7 short hours...I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight. But then I need to go shopping. It's going to be a long night and a long day tomorrow! Send me good energy please!!!

Chicken Dinner and Sprout Success

On Easter Sunday I made an Oven Roasted Chicken Dinner. This is usually my go-to holiday meal for Thanksgiving and Easter. We love it!

It cooks for a total of 2 hours, this is after the first half hour. As long as you brine the chicken and baste it during cooking, it's so darn tender. I put it on a bed of root veggies during cooking and the veggies turn out just as tender and flavourful!

After two hours, the skin is nice and crisp and the veggies melt in your mouth. We had some leftovers for dinner last night. Our favourite rotisserie chicken restaurant is called St-Hubert, I think it's just in Quebec and maybe some parts of New Brunswick. They have the best chicken we've ever tasted. I've been trying to perfect the rub on this chicken for years now and I think I've got it! 

I'm very impressed by the amount of alfalfa sprouts that I got from 1 tbsp of seeds! They are so crunchy and delicious!

I didn't get as much from the same amount of seed with the Spring Salad mix though. I tasted that one, and I think it will be an acquired taste for me, it's very...hmmm...sprouty? Very earthy...I don't know, I know I'll get used to it though! 

Today is my big shopping day and I'm just waiting another half hour to call the vet to renew Oscar the cat's allergy pills, then I'm off!

*** Lemon Update ***

I got a response from the company mycitrustree.com:

"Your lemon will ripen some more off the branch but not as much as you would think.  Know that that lemon is probably good to go and you will definitely enjoy the flavor. Completely sweeter and better than the store bought.  In my opinion.

Hope this helps!"

So I think we'll be tasting it sooner than later!

Fallen

Hmmm...what happens now?