I think our house is cursed buy a refrigerator demon. I mean, that's the only possible explanation, right? Also, I don't understand why it takes so long to get a technician to come and fix it. We are basically doing a pantry challenge, because the fridge in the basement is small, and is barely big enough to hold all the condiments and salad dressings, let alone fresh foods that need to be cool. AND because the fridge and freezer broke, this whole week has consisted of me cooking all the perishable items. I ended up making 8 quarts of beef stew, 8 quarts of taco soup, 20 pints of chili, and I can't even remember the rest. It's just been real exciting in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Thaddeus got to go back to work finally. He was so mad at the doctor when they took his stitches out. He was on the schedule to work THAT DAY, but after the doctor realized he was a LIFEGUARD, which is a job where you get wet, he shut that down. Just because stitches are out doesn't mean the would is healed. So that was exciting.
We also had an Eagle project pow-wow thing with the boys in our troop and their parents. My boys are going to have quite a busy summer, because they will definitely be Eagle scouts come autumn. The best little tidbit I learned was that there is not an hourly requirement! I remember helping my friends get their Eagle, because they had to meticulously count everybody's hours, and it was a HUGE time suck. Not anymore! Hooray!
Also, we had our first lawn mow of the season. And I've been busy prepping the garden spaces. Our asparagus looks so cute. And the grapes that I propagated look amazing. They totally rooted and are ready to go in the ground. I also discovered cherry BUSHES. I guess technically, they're dwarf trees, but the point is, Troy has wanted cherry trees, but I don't have room for two more big trees, unless he's willing to let me turn some of the grassy area into an orchard. SO. I got two cherry bushes, a Romeo variety, and a Juliet. And I planted two boysenberry bushes, and pruned the blackberry vines. AND I thought that my blueberry bushes from last year were a total bust, BUT! There seems to be little baby branches popping out of the ground, so I'm going to cross my fingers, and hope that we get a fun blueberry surprise later this summer.
Tomorrow, we're going to be planting the lettuce and spinach beds, along with some flowers, and onions, and herbs. I just love being in the garden, and it is so incredible to be able to grow our own food. Even with the fridge mishap, when I started making the chili and soup and all that, every ingredient came from my garden. I used so many jars of tomatoes and tomato paste, and peppers, and tomatillos... I was annoyed and happy at the same time.
Another fun thing happening tomorrow is my apple tree grafting class! In my yard right now, I have three apple trees, and I have a spot for a fourth. The three trees I have now ripen early, mid, and late. This is amazing, because I cannot have big ole apple trees ripening at once. I just don't have enough time to do all those apples at once! I'll be very interested in what varieties are available at the class. I would LIKE to get a green or golden apple, but I want to learn about what varieties work best for what, and I need to be able to gauge the size. One of my apple trees, the Gravenstein, is going to be a BEAST of a tree, at 20-30' high and wide. The other trees, which are twisted around each other and oh so cute, are Gala and Braeburn, and they only grow to be 12-15' high. So I'm definitely in the market for another fifteen footer.
GAH! Can you tell how much I love working in the dirt? It really is my happy place.
I'm also thinking that we will get our summer day camps going here in Utah. It'll give the kids something to do, and honestly, we have a pretty good set-up for hosting hordes of grade-schoolers. Of course, I have to discuss with the kids first, because while I am happy to supervise and such, it really is a team effort. And I have to look at all the schedules, because teenagers are stinking busy! Work, scout camp, girls camp, zion camp, band camp.... it's enough to drive a person crazy!
We're also sort of car shopping. After Troy's mom passed away, we bought her car, because the transmission went out on our Yukon. And while it's been nice to have a car, it's a little bit cramped for 6 full grown people. And now that Troy's dad has remarried, he would like to buy it back for his wife to use. Which is fine by me! Anywho, I would prefer a VAN because they are a little more MS friendly than a SUV, not to mention the very big price difference. I just can't jump up in to a car like I used to. Actually, I think we might go looking at cars this weekend, after all the yard work stuff is done. JUST LOOKING though.
Meanwhile, Thaddeus got to go back to work finally. He was so mad at the doctor when they took his stitches out. He was on the schedule to work THAT DAY, but after the doctor realized he was a LIFEGUARD, which is a job where you get wet, he shut that down. Just because stitches are out doesn't mean the would is healed. So that was exciting.
We also had an Eagle project pow-wow thing with the boys in our troop and their parents. My boys are going to have quite a busy summer, because they will definitely be Eagle scouts come autumn. The best little tidbit I learned was that there is not an hourly requirement! I remember helping my friends get their Eagle, because they had to meticulously count everybody's hours, and it was a HUGE time suck. Not anymore! Hooray!
Also, we had our first lawn mow of the season. And I've been busy prepping the garden spaces. Our asparagus looks so cute. And the grapes that I propagated look amazing. They totally rooted and are ready to go in the ground. I also discovered cherry BUSHES. I guess technically, they're dwarf trees, but the point is, Troy has wanted cherry trees, but I don't have room for two more big trees, unless he's willing to let me turn some of the grassy area into an orchard. SO. I got two cherry bushes, a Romeo variety, and a Juliet. And I planted two boysenberry bushes, and pruned the blackberry vines. AND I thought that my blueberry bushes from last year were a total bust, BUT! There seems to be little baby branches popping out of the ground, so I'm going to cross my fingers, and hope that we get a fun blueberry surprise later this summer.
Tomorrow, we're going to be planting the lettuce and spinach beds, along with some flowers, and onions, and herbs. I just love being in the garden, and it is so incredible to be able to grow our own food. Even with the fridge mishap, when I started making the chili and soup and all that, every ingredient came from my garden. I used so many jars of tomatoes and tomato paste, and peppers, and tomatillos... I was annoyed and happy at the same time.
Another fun thing happening tomorrow is my apple tree grafting class! In my yard right now, I have three apple trees, and I have a spot for a fourth. The three trees I have now ripen early, mid, and late. This is amazing, because I cannot have big ole apple trees ripening at once. I just don't have enough time to do all those apples at once! I'll be very interested in what varieties are available at the class. I would LIKE to get a green or golden apple, but I want to learn about what varieties work best for what, and I need to be able to gauge the size. One of my apple trees, the Gravenstein, is going to be a BEAST of a tree, at 20-30' high and wide. The other trees, which are twisted around each other and oh so cute, are Gala and Braeburn, and they only grow to be 12-15' high. So I'm definitely in the market for another fifteen footer.
GAH! Can you tell how much I love working in the dirt? It really is my happy place.
I'm also thinking that we will get our summer day camps going here in Utah. It'll give the kids something to do, and honestly, we have a pretty good set-up for hosting hordes of grade-schoolers. Of course, I have to discuss with the kids first, because while I am happy to supervise and such, it really is a team effort. And I have to look at all the schedules, because teenagers are stinking busy! Work, scout camp, girls camp, zion camp, band camp.... it's enough to drive a person crazy!
We're also sort of car shopping. After Troy's mom passed away, we bought her car, because the transmission went out on our Yukon. And while it's been nice to have a car, it's a little bit cramped for 6 full grown people. And now that Troy's dad has remarried, he would like to buy it back for his wife to use. Which is fine by me! Anywho, I would prefer a VAN because they are a little more MS friendly than a SUV, not to mention the very big price difference. I just can't jump up in to a car like I used to. Actually, I think we might go looking at cars this weekend, after all the yard work stuff is done. JUST LOOKING though.
