Jacuzzis and foot massages and polish oh my!

At the beginning of June, my mom and I each had our first ever pedicures! It was so wonderful. We will definately be doing it again.

Big cook

Recently I had to spend a few days away from home. I still wanted my husband to have good, nutritious food while I was away, so I decided to do a "big cook."




First on the list was mushroom-barley soup. This is from a recipe I picked up a few years back from "Mother Earth News." My husband loves this dish!

I cut up a bunch of veggies. The squash was local, the zucchini was regional, and the rest were just plain ol' organic. We do the best we can!

This is a pan of kale being sauteed in garlic powder and vegetable broth. We simply cannot locate kale in our hometown, much less organic. But thankfully this year I decided to grow some. And, in the hottest part of the summer, it continues to grow. I am very surprised by that.

I took part of the raw veggies I mentioned before and steamed them. Those were combined with brown rice for a quick stir fry. The raw veggies were eaten with hummus.

This is the brown rice he ate with the veggies. Whenever I need rice, I make a full batch in my rice cooker (8 cups) and freeze it after cooling. It it so convenient whenever we want some rice to just pull out a hunk and defrost.

This is another of my hubby's favorites. It's a wonderful recipe called African Peanut Stew, taken from "Vegan Planet." Serve over whole wheat couscous and sprinkle some chopped peanuts on top (and a sprig of cilantro if you like an herbal garnish) and you have a yummy and filling dish.

It's not the best picture, but here is the result of the big cook:

-Four pint jars of mushroom-barley soup (after hubby had pilfered a bowlful-lol.) We store them that way because they seem to keep longer in the fridge that way. I think it has to do with the fact that they cool faster individually than when it's in a big bowl. Also, my husband reheats them at work and they don't spill out of the jars like they do in a bowl.

-A bowl (for then) and 2 bags of kale to be frozen and eaten later this year.

-A bowl of steamed veggies

-Big bowl of raw veggies

-Large bag of brown rice, frozen, to be used as needed

-A few days worth of Peanut Stew.

I was happy not to have the guilt of leaving my hubby with frozen pad thai and spaghetti while I was gone!

The J man cometh

J came to stay with his Nana for almost 3 weeks in June. Mr GV and I picked him up halfway between my mom's house and his mom's house. The ride home was eventful as we had a few errands to attend to. It was also stifling hot. And when he got sleepy he wanted maaaaamaaaaa. But we did have some fun times along the way:




J loves to drink out of a big water bottle.

Here he is on Uncle's head, in the frozen food section of Whole Foods.

And here is his treat---chocolate gelato!

Orange beauties

Every spring, these beauties make their appearance. We were given these lilies a few years ago by a lady who just wanted to get rid of her excess, and they have really flourished. I made a bed in this spot beside the driveway mainly because it was awkward to turn the lawnmower around there, but they have really added a touch of beauty to this part of our yard.

Nice rack(s)

When I run out of space on the clotheslines, I pull out the ol' racks. I am so thankful to have 4 of them. I also use them if I get a load of clothes done late and don't want to walk out in the dark backyard. We have the occasional snake.....

Happy Independence Day!

Today is July 4th, and here in the USA we are celebrating Independence Day with lots of food, fun, and fireworks. I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

50 years and counting

My husband's parents are celebrating 50 years of marriage today! To honor them, we had a party on June 27th.

Here is the couple with their cake:

My father-in-law with his brothers and sisters, who all came from out of state just for the occasion!

My mother-in-law and her sister and one of her brothers. Unfortunately two of her brothers weren't able to make it.

They received several nice gifts.

Here's the immediate family: husband's brother, brother's girlfriend, nephew, father-in-law, mother-in-law, Mr. GreenVeggie, and myself.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was fun but a lot of work, and I think most of us are glad it's over now!