i need help

If I may .... a brief interruption from the European adventures.

Today, I went out into the garden to start sowing seeds. I had decided to wait until after vacation to plant ... just in case there was some drought and we didn't get any rain for 2 weeks. I don't know what I was thinking, it rains all the time here.

Anyways, before I left E and I house sit for a couple of boys. The weekend I put them to work in the garden pitting out a million of these.

Caused by these little devils.

My garden and flower beds full over these = EXTREME FRUSTRATION

After a couple hours the boys and I pulled all of the mini tress out of the garden. 

When I left for our trip the garden looked great. Perfectly ready for planting.

When I returned ... it was full of this!!!!!!!!

and this 

the ground was literally covered!

I spent about an hour today pulling this crap and there is still tons of it.

A lot of the clover patches are so small, that if I got each one I would be be there forever.

And, my even bigger fear is that I will spend the entire summer picking clover patches.

I'm thinking about spaying some type of weed killer and waiting a few days before I sow the seeds.

Does anyone have any advice??

I'm clueless here...

entering the world of unemployment: treasure hunt

Happy Monday bloggers!

Last night I stayed up until 2am reading this book. I just had to stay up and finish it. AMAZING. The plot and character development is fabulous. If you're looking for a good story that will also encourage you in your faith ... then look no further. 

And ... I didn't feel bad about staying up so late. Do you know why? Some of you already do. But, for those of you who don't, I will rub it in a little bit more ... this week started my three weeks of unemployment!!! 

I feel really excited about it because I'm not laid off or anything ... just between jobs. 

I am going to be home for a full week ... and then in Europe for two. Actually, E and I leave one week from today! And, as of last night, all of our b&b's are booked. Europe, here I come!

So today was my first day around the house. It started about amazing. I slept until like 10:00am. Then, I took a shower and used this new solid shampoo from lush. I bought it for our trip, thinking that it would be better to bring this little bar than like three travels bottels of shampoo. The lush lady assured me that with this particular one I wouldn't need to use conditioner. She said that it was a natural detangeler and extra moisturizing. I was super skeptical. I could just see myself getting of own the shower and cussing in my head and I painfully brushed out the knots. But ... she was right! No knots! Not even one. Seriously, you need to get this! Especially for traveling purposes. 

So then, I went and met my amazing friends Jen and Holly for a little lunch. 

After lunch I planned on stopping by the grocery (E and I are having friends over for dinner and grilling salmon ... yummmm), and then heading home to do something productive like clean the baseboards. 

Well ... I got distracted. You see, Lexington has recently opened a peddlers mall. I have been dreaming about going, however,  you never know what you'll get with those places. They can be 1. overpriced ... 2. full of weird crap like dream catchers ... 3. fill of treasures for reasonable prices ... or 4. full of treasures and weird crap. 

Well this one fell into the #4 category. However, the treasures outweighed the weirdness (no offense to those of you who like dream catchers). 

I hit the jackpot ... sorry E! I will refrain myself from going again soon. 

Here are some of the treasures that I found ... 

this lovely little side table

i think it makes the room a little more cozy

I don't really like that lamp, but it's all I have for now. I dressed it up for some clothes pins and pictures from Tahiti ... that made me like it a little but more.

 I also got this little tin. they had a million to choose from. it was so hard to decide. i wanted them all, but I also don't want to be the crazy pat rack.

next I picked up this sweet little stool. For now I will use it in my studio, but eventually I  want to use it as a bar stool when I kitchen is redone ... and has a island that needs a stool.

couldn't pass these up. way to cute. i think i'll put them on our bathroom shelves.

the poison-caution warning on this one reminded me of "It's a Wonderful Life."

the last little treasure I found was this vintage tub. i think I'll use it to hold toilet paper in our upstairs bath.

Although I never got around to cleaning the baseboards ...

I have done a few other productive things.

Like pulling weeds ... lots of them!

And, the lettuce & peas are coming up. 

I can't wait for fresh produce.

the girls have also loved me being home. more time for them to play outside ... and of course ... more time to eat sticks.

All of the bushes and trees are growing in so well. Yay ... no more viewing of the lovely chain linked fence.

Tomorrow I will clean the baseboards...

diggin' in the dirt

I love the Spring. 

One of my favorite parts of the season is working in my garden. 

E and I have been working to get the ground ready, and last Saturday we started planting. I was still a little afraid of frost, so I just stuck to planting lettuce and strawberries.  

Also on the list to plant later in May are: tomatoes. peppers, cucumbers, sugar snap peas. green beans, parsley, basil, cilantro, yellow squash, zuccini, and sweet potatoes. Thankfully, the asparagus and raspberries came back from last year and are doing amazing.

Here's my little garden:

The fence is to keep my crazy dogs out. Addie has already figured out that she can just step over it. 

This hasn't occurred to Stella.

Did I mention that I had a few helpers?

These two did not leave my side. In fact, they never do. A couple of days ago I swept the entire house, and they followed me from room to room. If I'm in the studio ... there they are. If I'm reading on the couch ... there they are. If I'm going to the bathroom ... yes they are there too. Just hanging out.

A few bleeding hearts from the flower beds. I planted these last year and had no idea how huge they would be when the came back.

And the strawberries. I don't think we'll get a lot this year, but the best part about them is that they come back year after year! What a treat.

Eventually my little Stells got tired of helping, and decided to lounge around right in the middle of the flower beds. I like to believe that it's all her fault that my beds are in the shape that they're in. Or maybe she is helping ... maybe she is trying to kill all the weeds by laying on them!

Stella did a little diggin of her own.

I feel like she is grinning ear to ear, so proud of the giant whole she dug.

Happy Spring!

a Christmas thumb

amaryllis planted ... check

zucchini lasagna

This spring I planted my first garden. It has been a great learning experience! I enjoy the feeling of planning and preparing a meal that I have put hard labor into. Another benefit of this agriculture adventure is how perticular scriptures have become real to me. One scripture that has taken on new meaning is

1 Corinthians 3:7
So neither he who plants or he who waters in anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

This verse reminds me that anything good I can contribute is really to God's credit, not mine. This verse is refreshing. When I rest in the assurancece that God is in control, I find peace of mind. We contribute to the process (watering/growing), but nothing could happen if God didn't make things grow. He is in absolute control.

When I began planting the seeds in my garden, I listed to my neighbor what I was hoping would grow. I told her that one of the plants in my garden was zucchini. Her response was "plant zucchini, feed the world." Was she ever right? We are up to our ears in zucchini. I've grilled, sauteed, baked bread, and anything else I could think of.

In an effort to decrease our surplus, E and I invited a couple friends over and served them zucchini lasagna. I was a little nervous, never having made this recipe before. I am here to share because it turned out delicious!

Here are a couple things you will need to make your own zucchini lasagna:

2 1/2 cups zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 2 medium
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, cut up
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon flour

Slice zucchini and chop onion

Cook zucchini in boiling water until tender Fry meat and onions - drain fat
Add next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil - reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes In a small bowl slightly beat egg
Add cottage cheese, half of shredded cheese, & flour
Arrange 1/2 of meat mixture in a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish Top with half of the zucchini & all of the cottage cheese mixture Top with remaining meat and zucchini
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes Sprinkle with remaining cheese & bake 10 minutes longer

Let stand 10 minutes before serving
ENJOY

in bloom

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Straight from the backyard