Yard cleanup with Uncle

The coming of spring also means it's yard cleanup time. And that includes moving all those branches that came down the last few months before the mowing starts up again.

J wanted to go outside and help Mr. GV with the cleanup.


After moving the branches to the woods, they went down the hill to get the mail. Here you see the race back up the hill.

J was determined to get the (soggy--from being dropped) mail back to me before Mr. GV got there, so he cut through the yard instead of coming up the driveway.

See the determination in that mouth? He's coming up the steps, trying to get that mail to me as soon as he can!

You don't know jack(s)

While J was visiting us, he had to have a quick trip to the urgent care clinic due to his eye swelling closed. He had a couple spots of infection under his eyelid, but with application of eye ointment, much screaming and squirming (him), and swearing (us, inside our heads), he got better. As a prize, he was able to pick out a toy at the clinc, and he chose jacks.

Now my mom used to play jacks when she was a child, but it wasn't something that my sisters or I had ever really done, although I remember mom trying to show me.

Mom is still pretty good at it.

J doesn't exactly get it yet.

But he kinda tried.

And his mom, K, gave it a shot too.

Me, I had played a bit before mom got there, but I am no good either. I much prefer to spin the jacks around and see how many I can keep going at one time. Ha!

Of course there had to be some reading via the NaNa after a session of jacks....

Work day/Play day

Taking advantage of our early spring weather, we had a work day/play day at my mom's house in March.

Decorative grasses were trimmed and the dead bits hauled off to the woods. It was truly a family activity, as even the little one helped out.


The horses enjoyed some fresh green grass.

There was plenty of play time too. Here J is pretending the Mule is his ice cream truck.

Oh and we had a masked bandit who insisted on shearing a dog. lol Actually K was just trying to keep the fur out of her mouth and nose while giving Sparky a haircut.

Mom's tulips were blooming.

Lizzy from next door came over and played for a while. The scream you can practically hear in this picture is one of joy at being chased, I assure you!

And then it rained. We even flew kite #2 (replacement for the one tangled in the guide wire at the park) in the rain a bit. J took off like a mad man, running around in the pouring rain.

He wasn't interested in coming back, so his mom had to run around after him.

It was a great day outside!

Family Day of Remembrance

Mid-March, most of our immediate family was able to gather together for the day. It was a beautiful, sunny and windy day, and we spent a lot of time outside.



Us Southern gals know---you gotta wear a hat outside when it's sunny! No sense inviting wrinkles but even more important, no sense inviting skin cancer, especially with a family history of melanoma.

Bubbles were important of course.

And we brought the kite out.

We played with sticks.

And flew the kite some more.

The kitties lounged around, soaking up the sunshine.

We spent some time at the park.

And tried flying the kite some more. And now it lives at the park permanently---or at least until the electric company comes to free it.

We planted a tree in memory of my dad, as it was the 1st anniversary of his passing, and the real reason we had come together.

Mom and I in front of Daddy's tree, a Japanese maple.

Reusables

I've always known that you could bring in your reusable containers to Whole Foods and reuse them. In the past I used plastic bags and brought them back over and over. An OK choice but certainly not the best. Quite a while ago I bought several string bags and use them when necessary for produce and dry goods such as beans. Of course rice and flour don't work in those bags. And I simply never thought about bringing in mason and other glass jars, which is what I use to store beans, grains, and other items in my pantry at home. Until one day I noticed a sign at Whole Foods that said we could do just that---bring in our glass jars, have them weighed, and fill them up.


Such an easy thing to do. I only need to take them to the service desk one time. The weight is marked on top with a permanent marker. I then stuck a Whole Foods tag on the side, where I wrote the name and item number. I will be buying most of the same staples over and over again, so no need to change out the tag.


Here you see my reusable produce bags, which I love! I only use them when I have multiple loose items such as potatoes and apples. For one pepper or big items like collards, there is no sense in a bag. I know some people worry about putting their produce directly into the bottom of the shopping cart, but my thought is this: there are so many chances for contamination along the way--animals getting into the fields, hand pickers, machinery, cleaning mechanisms, warehouses, loaders, loading containers, transport trucks, unloaders, the people that put the produce on display, other customers, and more. I'm going to wash the produce before I eat it, some of it will be cooked, some will be peeled, etc. I am not the least bit concerned about having my produce directly touch my shopping cart.

I am always looking for more reusables to implement in my life!

In my yard lately

The irises have bloomed,

The Japanese maple is glorious,

The burning bushes

hide the rain barrel,

the daylilies will be blooming soon,

and the thrift/phlox is spreading

and soon will overtake the sidewalk.

And of course, amidst the beauty of spring has to come a little not-so-nice.

We have an area known as "the dead zone" in our front flower bed. Nothing we plant will grow in this particular spot, just weeds. We've been fighting the battle for years, but no more. This year we will be installing a bird bath in this particular spot, along with a hummingbird feeder.

Today at my house

I had a lot of things to do in the kitchen today, including

making bottled tea for Mr. GV.

Making Three Sisters Stew from Vegan on the Cheap.

Cooking up a pot of pinto beans--some for the stew and the rest in the fridge for making chili.

Taking these (cumin seeds)

putting them in here,

and making this---fresh cumin powder.

Taking a bag of frozen vegetable scraps--stems from greens, onion ends, mushroom stems, and bits of leftover herbs,

adding some bay and peppercorns,

and making vegetable broth.

There were other things done today, but not photographed, including:

*cooking rice

*cooking udon noodles (for leftover peanut sauce and steamed veggies)

*cutting up a browned banana and aging mango, to be put into the freezer for smoothies

*scraping off the 3rd side of stained, white caulk from around the kitchen sink and replacing it with clear silicone caulk

*culling a whole bunch of magazines

*laundry

*vacuuming

Today was a chilly, overcast day, and it was a good day to stay inside and do some homemaking!