HJ Waxing Moon

Saturday I wanted nothing more than to dig in some dirt. After all the snow, wind, rain, and grey of winter, I just needed some sunshine and dirt time. So I spent a little time (only 20 minutes or so) prepping my containers for planting. Surprise surprise, I didn't get any "before" pictures of the cluttered balcony. This is a failing I'm certain we're all going to have to learn to accept.  This is the set-up we're hoping to use for our garden, though the cascading effect of the ones on the left means they may get less sun than if I cascade them out. Unfortunately it also means that would make the herbs less accessible for fast snipping while cooking. I might try working on a shelving mechanism to get maximum light and access.  Once I'd pulled out all the clover, and turned the dirt a bit, some delightful plants came into view. Like these darlings! To the left and right bottom corners you can see tiny springs of oregano that popped in for some reaso...

The Living Room - 0% done -  View from the door View from that hallway doorway  Damage on the door from previous tenant. :( Damage in the carpet from previous tenant :( The nice thing about this living room is that it is BIG. South-facing windows let in a lot of natural light, but also a lot of heat. I will be surprised if we ever have to turn the heat on in here or the kitchen. That doorway you can see on the left of the top picture is the hall that leads to the bedroom and bathroom and closets. The doorway at the right of the bottom picture is toward the kitchen and dining room. To Do: EVERYTHING--This room has all the boxes, and most of the furniture. It will be the last thing finished. But that's OK! The Kitchen/Dining room - 60% done -   Dining room   Kitchen with gross-orange-wood cabinets.  Aren't these liners just to DIE for?   At least the cabinets don't waste any space. All the headsp...

Mr. Moon and I finally got a break, and he had a day off at the same time as we had some decent weather. We got outside under a nice warm sun, got some "before" pictures of this year's garden and yard, and prepped the existing raised beds for spring gardening.  Before the 2013 season: To the right of the front door/front walk: blue bulby flowers (no idea what they're called, but currently they're the grassy stuff); irises that really needed splitting last fall; a volunteer rose bush that we keep cutting out; two hydrangea plants; and a yellow dahlia. TO DO: Rake out wood chips, chop back dahlias, rip out rosebush, split and spread the little blue flowers, and split the irises; maybe bring some lilies from elsewhere in the yard over here to be in with the irises. To the left of the front door: Our container bed. We've had swiss chard in these all winter, there's some geraniums that lasted, and something that we never got the name of in the back...

What We're Eating: Made a nice yogurt parfait for breakfast yesterday. 2 big dollops of plain, full-fat* Greek yogurt homemade granola another dollop of yogurt homemade granola diced peaches  * I haven't found any low-fat/non-fat yogurt or sour cream that's not filled with extra starches. At least the fat is naturally-occurring! I ate this sitting in the backyard on the patio, on a nice warm summer morning right before we attacked the garden. It was nice to take a moment to appreciate the work we've done already, that I could just wake up, head out there and eat my breakfast. Also, fresh and yummy!  Monday was so warm, we just wanted something refreshing for dinner. Enter: Cucumber-Watermelon soup! Cucumber Watermelon Greek yogurt Fresh mint Fresh rosemary Salt & Pepper This is really supposed to be a "savory" soup despite the sweet ingredients, so the pepper is essential. We used the immersion blender, but a regular blender would...