A little organization

A while back I decided to turn the room we use as an office into an office/room for J when he visits. He's been sleeping on the love seat in our room, but as a tall kid, he's getting a bit crowded. And at 3 years old, he needs a place other than the living room where he can spread out his toys.

I'm just doing the room a little bit at a time right now. I've moved a large part of J's toys/books/puzzles into this room, but there are still a few more hanging out in the cabinets of the living room.

Here's what the room looked like after J spent a while at my house. He cleaned up his books and game, but we just kind of put them wherever. Of course wherever includes the kitty cubby. This is the room my old kitty, Callie, used to hang out in all day, sunning and generally keeping to herself. And so the cubby has turned into a hiding place for toys for the time being...



I ran across these at an outlet store last week, and instantly loved them. They were originally priced at $25 for the 2 big ones and $20 for the two smaller ones. The outlet store offered them at $14.99 and $12.99, and then I found them on 50% off (swoon) and got them for $7.50 and $6.50. They are new, and vinyl, and probably made in China, so there's some Green Guilt of course, but they should last me for many years. Not going to beat myself up over every little thing!

And here's the after. I am one who craves organization, and this just makes my soul sing. lol Toys in one, books in another, and games/puzzles in the third. No use for the fourth right now, so it's just stacked with the other.

Oh, and yes I see the outlet that isn't covered. Don't worry--before J spends a night in here, or any amount of time unsupervised, the room will be properly outfitted and safe for him!

Soup du jour

Have you read Mama Pea's blog? She is so funny, and I love to read about her everyday adventures.

I'd been meaning to make her Italian Wedding Soup for a while now. I'd never had the dish before, but I will be having it again....soon!

Thrive diet

Mr. GV is a part-time athlete---biking mostly, along with doing weights and running for exercise. He bought a book by Brendan Brazier called Thrive, and I have been making a few recipes from it.

This one is called Spicy Black eyed Pea Quinoa Pizza, and it was a hit with Mr. GV. Believe it or not, the crust is made up of mainly blackeyed peas, chickpea flour, and quinoa, along with a few other ingredients. The marinara was also from scratch, using sun dried tomatoes.

Toppings included onion, red bell pepper, and grated sweet potato. The recipe also called for beets but I had none at the time.

I will definitely be making this recipe again!

First homegrown lettuce of the year

Last week, Mr. GV went out to our raised beds and picked the first lettuce of the season. Yum! I'm thinking tonight might be a good night for another salad...

Honeysuckle

This is the time of year when the sweet scent of honeysuckle fills the backyard, especially in the evenings. I just love it, so every few days I bring in a few new sprigs for my living room.



If you look in the distance, you can see about half the honeysuckle that's in the backyard, growing over the fence.

A little trim

A few months ago, the FedEx driver, who visits us maybe twice a year, remarked to us that "next year he wouldn't be able to get up the driveway because of the trees." Said with a big smile and followed by a chuckle. *Ahem.* I'm guessing that was a rather large hint to us that we needed to trim the trees lining the driveway. So we finally got around to doing it last week.

The landscaping also needed some trimming, so we took care of that while we were at it.

Just part of the work that needs doing when spring arrives!

Catch up

Quick catch up from the past week or so:

We have had some massive storms blow through here, but have been extremely lucky at the same time. The tornadoes that brought so much devastation to Alabama were the kind of storms the experts had been warning us about, and we were expecting. To say we feel lucky is an understatement of course.

A couple of times we were forced into our safe room, and one time a 40 foot pine fell onto the side of our house. Since it was dead, however, it broke apart when it hit, otherwise I fear our central unit and our home both would have been damaged. We were without electricity for about 12 hours, and absolutely cannot complain about a small inconvenience like that.

In the adjoining county, Mr. GV's mother, father, sister, brother, and brother's fiancee (3 homes) were without electricity, and therefore water, for about 5 days. Brother and his fiancee stayed with us for 3 nights during this time. The whole family was invited but the rest chose to tough it out at home!

Our counties were both hit with many trees down, roads blocked, homes damaged or destroyed, and now we are struggling with flooded roads. Our home is on a hill so we will not have our home flooded thankfully.

Otherwise, life goes on as normal!