Delicious Nutritious

It is one of my highest priorities to serve nutritious food to these grands of mine. They eat many of their meals here, so there are definitely tons of opportunities for me to amp up the nutrition in what is served to them. They are mostly good eaters, especially good vegetable and fruit eaters, so this is a fairly easy task for me. 

A few weeks ago I was watching a replay of a Periscope presentation about healthier meal planning strategies. One of the four or five points made was to offer a veggie tray every day. That one struck me as such a simple way to have snacks, an appetizer, or even a side to your meal. Usually we only make up veggie trays or cruditè for special occasions. Why not make every day a veggie tray day? So one morning last week, I dug out the sectioned server that has a lid, and spent a few minutes cleaning and cutting up several kinds of vegetables. I had to go to work that evening, but made sure Greg and Jess knew the veg tray was in the frig for them. 

It was decimated when I got home. 

They'd had a busy evening with a parent meeting at school and wrestling practice, both at supper time, so the kids snacked on it beforehand and the grown-ups after. 

On Sunday I was getting food from the frig, and Brad asked, "Are you getting out the veggie tray? I love the veggie tray!" I didn't have one prepared, but quickly pulled out a few containers and he made his own. 

This morning it took only five minutes to pull this one together. There is the requisite broccoli and carrots, cauliflower, green bell peppers, orange and red baby peppers, cucumber, and celery sticks. Black olives fill the center spot.

I'd prefer a bit more color, but we ate up all of the "flavor bomb" cherry tomatoes (those were SO GOOD - from Sam's Club - I hope they still have them next time I go). They will inhale those black olives and the broccoli. Last week we had pea pods from our Bountiful Basket, but they didn't care so much for them. These trays are good for at least a few days, maybe a week, though the cucumbers won't last that long.

If they want, they can have some homemade Ranch or bleu cheese dressing to dip the veggies in, but lately they've been eating them plain. I would prefer they eat the veg with the dip than not eat them at all. 

With Bountiful Baskets and garden season coming up, I look forward to putting together a veggie tray each week for snacks and to serve with meals for as long as they enjoy it. I'm thinking this will be a great way to introduce new or very seasonal vegetables to try. What are your favorite veggie tray components? I'd love to hear if you have a dip suggestion or what your family enjoys for crudite. 

Just Last Week…

Another week in review post. We’ve had so many rainy days, and in this part of the country, we never eschew the rain. By mid-summer, we’ll be wishing for it again. It does make gardening difficult, but Greg was able to get out with the boys last Sunday and do some planting. They put in carrot seeds, lettuces, and radishes. There is an onion growing that was leftover from last year. See the peonies in the background? They’re ready to burst open and I can’t wait.

It is a rarity to get a photo of all three grands at the same time, even moreso a pic with their mother. Since it was Mother’s Day, I snuck out the camera while they were all gathered round.

Layla turned 4 months old, so Jess started her on cereal. She was so THRILLED with it and scarfed it right down. In this past week she has slept through the night, and Jess is getting more sleep than she knows what to do with. Layla also rolled over from her back to her tummy, but Silas was the only one to see it happen. He was as excited as can be!

We’ve been using the veggies from our Bountiful Basket every day. One night we roasted the colorful carrots with some olive oil and a spice blend called “Sunny Paris” from Penzey’s. We’d not had the different colors of carrots before, but expected them to taste like the usual orange ones. The purple seemed sweeter, the pale orange like regular carrots, but the white ones were a little bitter.

We celebrated Greg’s birthday a couple of days early with the grandkids. Cheese enchiladas and German chocolate cake with homemade caramel pecan frosting, his favorite.

Over a couple of evenings, Greg and I managed to get peppers, tomatoes, basil, and a squash planted. They’re being watered in well, thanks to Mother Nature. We have a few more things to put out there, and I think this next week will be a good chance to get that done.

We’ve had all manner of illness in the house this past week, and while the kids are recovered, all of the grownups have lingering ailments that have slowed us down considerably. Fingers crossed we’ll all be back to normal this week.

This Week in Photos (again)

I don’t feel like I accomplished much this past week beyond making the bed every day and keeping up with dishes. I did do a massive amount of laundry mid-week. The boys were out of underwear, so…

Last Sunday was a gorgeous day and I spent part of the afternoon working on the east side of the garage. Years ago I made a small flower bed there, but it’s been sadly neglected. The mulberry tree was cut down last fall, so now I can get in there and put in some new color with flowers. The bleeding heart at the far end is just lovely, and there is lily of the valley all over in there. Also, lots of little trees that are the bane of my existence.  Anyway, this bed is where I’ll be using empty wine bottles. You’ll just have to stay tuned for that!

The boys just cannot keep away from their baby sister, and she loves the attention. Well, most of the time. Silas asked me to snap a pic while he snuggled Layla.

On Monday evening I went outside to grab the stroller and bring it in, and this is what I found on the front porch. I think my heart is going to explode, these boys fill it up so full. Yes, they duct-taped dandelions to the house. They know Grammy likes flowers by the front door.

  

Bradley and Layla are checking out the baby TV channel together. Yes, for a few minutes each morning, she gets to watch TV. Grammy has things to do.

Whenever the boys are here for supper on Tuesdays, we have Mexican food and call it “Taco Tuesday” (thank you, Lego Movie). I asked Silas what we should have this week and he asked for “regleear” (regular) tacos, salad, worms, and butterflies. I did not bat an eye, and he got what he asked for. For the worms, we made “zoodles” using a zucchini and a little gadget I have that looks like a vegetable peeler, but makes long shreds instead. I did a quick sauté with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and we had our worms. (I made everyone take some. Grampy buried his one zoodle in the bottom of his taco.) For the butterflies, we took some sugar cookie dough from the freezer and Silas made butterfly-shaped cookies for dessert.

 

The weather was perfect all week long, and Jess took the kids to the park each afternoon when she got home from work. Miss Layla has graduated from being strapped in her car sea on the stroller, to sitting in the seat. She loves walking to the park now that she can see all the cool stuff around her!

When I could, I worked on this project. I spent most of Wednesday afternoon cutting out all the little pieces, and now have begun to sew. More on that project as it nears completion. That is my mom’s sewing machine, so I’ve had it 18 years. I have no idea how old it was when I got it, but suffice to say, it has lived a good long life and is about to be retired.

            

So there you go - a small slice of life here on the prairie. Complete with duct taped flowers and worms for supper.

 

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

It’s so GLOOMY here with the gray leaden sky and heavy humidity making it unpleasant to open windows, yet not hot enough for the a/c to run. It’s misting/sprinkling off and on but I’ve sent the boys outside to play anyway. They’re not so sweet they’ll melt in a little rain. (Do I sound like my mom?)

There are a few spots of brightness out there with the flowers that are profusely growing and adding a little sunshine to my life. Remember last month when we mulched and set up the galvanized tubs and the wagon? Here’s what’s going on out there today:

The screen door got a grapevine wreath hung with a strip of burlap. I love the textures and simplicity.

The baker’s rack drawer is planted and a few things on the shelf for fun. The old colander is from a garage sale and the clay angel bust is many years old. It’s always just rested on the deck rail. Down below is the chicken feeder I’ve had for years. I always thought I’d plant that with hens and chicks, and still might, but it looks good with all the colorful annuals.

This tub has lavender that is just thriving. The corner is going to be a troublesome spot because the cat likes to utilize the mulch in a less-than-desirable way, shall we say. Oh, and the tree poking it’s pesky branches out from under the deck. Just keep trimming, trimming, trimming…

The wagon looks just as fun with flowers as I remembered. In front is that hardy coleus-kind-of plant. I’ll have to look next time I visit the nursery and see what that’s called. Argh. Middle-age does not treat my memory kindly. LOL.

Under the magnolia tree I planted three nice-sized clay pots. In the biggest one is a pineapple sage that smells amazing. I love the look of the pots under the tree.

There is still a lot I want to do out here. I have several more neat things to use for planters and decoration, and I’d love to put some perennials in there eventually. It’s all clay soil, so that will take some work. Not to rush the season, but I can’t wait to fill things up with mums and pumpkins!

 

Gardening Work Day

It’s been a few years since I’ve tried to do much for landscaping in the beds that run along the front of the house. Last year we lost the huge bleeding heart plant that was in the corner between the deck and the house, which left it pretty much barren except for the weeds. It was annoying and embarrassing, but I didn’t have the energy or inclination to worry about it. That’s the way it was for all my gardening by mid-summer. I just couldn’t do it, and it was frustrating. Turns out, there was a medical reason I felt so bad, but that’s dealt with and I feel great now. I feel like the fun is back in gardening this year and I’m excited about it!

Jessica was without children on Saturday, and since she’s not working right now, she agreed to come help me with a big project inside the house. I thought I’d have her help me with a small outside project first, which turned into just doing the entire front over the course of the day. I don’t have any before or during pics. Just imagine dirt, weeds, and general boredom.

Three or four years ago I dug out Nick’s old red wagon and planted it with flowers. I’d forgotten how fun it is to have it filled with colorful blooms. In a few weeks you’ll see what I mean when these small bedding plants fill out.

There are some yellow violets and dark purple violets, then lots of blue lobelia which I love. The plant in front of the wagon is three or four years old and I cannot for the life of me remember what it is. It’s a brave and hearty soul, though, as it comes back every year even after I pretty much ignore it and the boys tramp on it during their play. On the left of the plant is a bowling ball covered in rocks, and on the right are some of my rocks from Colorado.

Here’s a shot of that whole side of the front deck:

The tree is a white magnolia, whatever variety is hardy up here in the North. It was given to me as a birthday gift about 16 years ago. It was a stick in a pot, and we weren’t sure if it would survive the first winter, but it’s obviously thrived. It blooms in the very early spring and the blooms usually always get frozen and/or beaten to death by the wind, but for a day or two it shines with hope that winter will indeed end and Spring is on the horizon. There are columbines to the left of the high chair and a nice hosta to the right. You can see some more of my decorated bowling balls up on the deck in that corner. We cleaned up the sucker branches on the tree and got new mulch down.

Now the other side is a whole lot of real estate that needs some sprucing up:

Jess pulled all the weeds, which weren’t too many yet, and she dug up some trees from the corner that made her release some frustrations before they came out. We planted a new pink magnolia tree that Silas pick it out about a month ago when it had huge pink blossoms.

We brought over the galvanized tubs from the back porch, and I moved the baker’s rack from the patio. All of it was mulched it looks so much better.

We don’t have much sidewalk out front, but it’s wide and smooth, so that’s where the boys ride their bikes and other vehicles most of the time. Those bikes are always all over the front yard and sidewalk. Now they have a parking area: I can’t tell you where the “Visitors Parking” sign came from, just that Jess has had it since high school (ahem) and it’s been tucked into a corner of our garage. I think it’s perfect for this spot for now.

Moving on down, there is a galvanized tub and the new magnolia, then the baker’s rack. I have plans for the baker’s rack that will make it much prettier. More on that maybe next week.

The tub is filled with annuals: a lavender, a geranium, some alyssum, and more lobelia. My galvanized tubs are old, snagged at garage sales a long long time ago for $1 each. They are heavy and sturdy and have held up to dirt and plants since I brought them home.

This last spot is a favorite new one of mine and came out just the way I saw it in my mind:

The screen door is very old and missing the bottom edge. It was a gift and I love it! It needs a climber planted at the bottom, and I’m thinking some blue Morning Glories. The rocking chair, too, is very old and was also a gift. The seat is missing so I just tucked a small enamel bowl in that spot. More lobelia, alyssum, and geraniums prettify all of it. Oh, and more Colorado rocks as well. (Colorado holds a special place in my heart since I was born in Denver and some of my favorite cousins live near there.)  

I had only planned to get a start on this outside project yesterday, and was so very happy to actually get it done. No more weeds and embarrassment. Now I can play with it and build a pretty front area for our home. I have lots more fun planned out here. Stay tuned…

 

 

Spring has Sprung

It took a good long while, but we finally got some Springtime. Trees and flowers have bloomed, birds are nesting, and gardens are being planted.

My own garden work is going slowly – I have the boys here most mornings, and watching to make sure Silas doesn’t escape the backyard and run into the street takes most of my time and concentration.  I hesitate to start any garden project that is very involved while they’re here. There are some very early mornings in my future so I can get the garden work done before the boys arrive, then we can concentrate on playing. I do let them “help” when I can – I want them to enjoy the garden and take some ownership in growing the vegetables.

This is rather a dismal view of the backyard garden, taken a couple of days ago. It actually looks better now. We had to add quite a bit of dirt to the raised beds this year, and the perennial herbs were cut back pretty hard. I pulled both thyme plants out completely and will replace just one. I didn’t really use the lemon thyme that much, so won’t miss it. That cattle panel arch has been moved to the far south bed, making a “tunnel”, as Brad calls it. Most of the bedding plants have been purchased and I’ll plant over the weekend.

We’ve enjoyed several different birds, including these Orioles, who loved the blossoms on this ornamental cherry tree. The blooms are gone now, and the tree is leafing out. A couple of days ago, the wind was blowing petals off the tree, and it was like flower snow on the boys as they played.

The bunny garden survived being filled with ice and snow, and there are new blooms on the pansies. With the heat we’re having those pansies won’t last much longer, but we’re enjoying them right now. I suggested that we retire the bunny garden and do something else with this pot, but that was vetoed long and loud by Bradley. He loves his bunny garden and we’ll keep it as long as we can.

The Easter kites finally got opened and the boys and I enjoyed some kite-flying the other morning. As a kid, I couldn’t get a kite up in the wind to save my life. When our kids were little, Greg taught me how to fly their Easter kites and it was so much fun! Brad seems to have inherited Grampy’s mad skillz, because he can fly kites all on his own already. This one is an inflatable TMNT he’s flying. It went up pretty easily, but never got very high, which is okay. It was easier for Brad to manage that way.

Silas has been enjoying all the trucks we see going by all morning long. Of course he has to drive his trucks up and down the sidewalks as well. I’m okay with that since it keeps him close, though if he sees a bird, he must chase it! Never have I wanted a fenced-in yard more than I do this summer!

Finally, one of my most favorite events of Spring – the blooming of the lilacs! I don’t have any of my own anymore, but there are a few across the alley and I help myself to those. The boys loved that we brought in flowers from the outside and decorated the dining table. The dining room smelled lovely all day long. The succulents in the old silver are doing great. I planted those mid-April when a friend and I attended a seminar to learn about growing them. They’ll be moved outside before long, but for now I love how this display looks.

Lots of grand plans and projects, both inside and outside that I look forward to completing this summer. Check back and see what we’re up to – it’s gonna be fun!