Lately

Spring seems finally to have sprung with great certainty, according to my backyard. On these warm days (almost 70 degrees the other day!) I can almost believe it is summer. I have tulips, daffodils, lilies, and hyacinths in great abundance in my garden and along the path behind the house. I have brand new screen door (replacement for the one with a giant hole in it, which was there when I moved in) so I can leave the back door open and get lots of fresh air into my apartment without inviting the bugs in.

Matt and I planted potatoes on Sunday afternoon- Yellow Finn, Red Norland, Yukon Gold, and Russian Banana (my favorite). My peas are growing rapidly up the back fence, my onion transplants are growing away, and radishes, pak choy and kale are up and coming along nicely. Under the lights in my living room, my tomato plants are actually looking like tomato plants, and the ones I had to replant (the original soil mix was too dense, so I replanted in a very light mix of potting soil and peat moss) are all up and away.

Tomatoes and marigolds that look like tomatoes and marigolds!

It’s a great feeling to come home every day and find my little sprouts grown bigger and taller, to have my kitchen smell divine from the hyacinths in the vase on the windowsill, to be able to open all the windows and fill the apartment with warm, fresh air. I’m a big believer in the effects of sunshine and fresh air, and I can’t stand to have the shades closed when there is light outside, and to have the windows closed if the air is at all warm.
While enjoying everything spring has to offer outside, I’ve been trying to finish a large pile of sewing projects inside. This has been hampered by my already-in-disrepair sewing machine finally deciding to just up and stop functioning. I actually had a very detailed (and therefore boring) dream the next night about taking it in to be repaired, which I took as a sign. So I finally cashed in and it is currently getting tuned up to the tune of $85. I had been putting off getting it fixed because it costs so much, but my sanity will be the better for having it run smoothly, and Matt offered to chip in in exchange for using it for some mending of his own.

Since buying Nourishing Traditions and reading a variety of other health-related materials, I have been trying to eat more meals that include meat, fish, or foods cooked in chicken stock.
I have been trying to branch out in my cooking, as I have a tendency to fall into a rut of making the same six meals repeatedly.

Matt and I made fried cod with tarragon and scallions, mushroom couscous (ok, that was a Far East boxed one) and sauteed spinach and carrots. Yum!

I made handmade tortillas for the first time in at least a year (how did I ever stop making those- they are SO simple and delicious!) and been trying to work more greens into my diet. So hard this time of year when greens are not in season, but my body thanks me every time I eat some spinach!

From now on I will try to post more regularly, and on more of a variety of subjects! We’ll see how that goes when I am constantly geeking out over my garden….

Flowers, flowers, everywhere!