A Little of This, A Little of That

We've had INCREDIBLE weather the last few days. Beautiful, warm, very little wind--just how perfect spring days should be!! The last week has found me very busy with the kids and the gardening chores. We have been busy with papers, building projects, homework, fieldtrips, track meets, sleepovers, and youth group. It has also been SO nice that C and I have spent hours on the trampoline and swings, and spent about 1 1/2 hours on the front deck Saturday morning blowing bubbles and listening to the tinkering going on in the shop as well as the songs from the little wrens that have moved in to our trees.

I tried to plant as much as I could last week, but still fell short of being done because of prior engagements with our children! I think that I have said it before, but I am a firm believer in planting by the farmer's almanac. Friday was the last good planting day until this Tuesday. I was able to get the sweet corn and some okra planted in the garden. The cucumbers and watermelon seed started in flats in the greenhouse (I do MUCH better with plants than seeds in my garden). D helped me put zinnia seeds in the new garden bed by the retaining wall built a couple weeks ago. We also transplanted several things into that bed--I hope to get it mulched in and show pictures soon. I wasn't quick enough to get the tomatos and peppers into the ground, so they will go in Tuesday--if the weather forecast changes for the low at the end of the week--they are forecasting 34 as a low here--Might be smarter to wait another week now! Better late than dead? I was able to mulch in mulch of my new flower bed, around the transplants and some flowers I bought at the greenhouse last weekend.

We are enjoying the blooms from the spirea

the yellow iris

the May night salvia

and the blooming pots!

I have been moving things out of the greenhouse--some of the tomato plants came out Saturday--they are all just loaded with fruit. I also decided that I will transplant my greenhouse peppers into the garden this week--they also have small fruits and lots of blooms. We may get to eat tomatos and green peppers ALL summer!! What a great deal! I did a lot of weeding, digging Johnson grass out of my garden (talk about wrecking my good humor), and worked on the waterfall. That is another story all of its own. Long story short--it developed a leak or a run off or something--so the last 2 weeks have been spent deciding where the water was going--which also entailed taking apart one of the falls. Yesterday J helped me by making some new rubber flaps to direct the water over the top of the rock "falls,' and today I put all that rock back onto the creek bed. Hopefully, tomorrow, I will discover that there is no more water run-off problem. If not, I may have it dozed in by next weekend!

So, for a nice, quiet weekend with not a lot of plans--I am BEAT!! Thought that I would leave you all with a new recipe I tried out for the youth group movie night (movie night turned "kick-the-can late at night party) Friday evening. The kids snarfed it right up (when they could get their hands in the bowl around the grown-ups!)

Peanut Butter Popcorn
¾ cup uncooked popcorn, popped
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter

Cook corn syrup and sugar in a saucepan until bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Pour over popped corn and stir, mixing well. Cool and eat. YUM!

Have a great spring week, ya'll!