Late Bloomer

I took a closer look at my clematis this week, and noticed that the 3rd one (which hasn't bloomed for the past 8 or 9 years) is actually blooming!

I planted most of my tomatoes out in the garden today, along with several cucumbers.  I'm hoping to plant some more this weekend.

Tonight I took L to the Track & Field Banquet, where she promptly ditched me to hang out with her friends for the next 3 hours.  Gee whiz.

J is at the BIG Drama Cast Party tonight - they get to watch their video of "Mama Mia."

Tomorrow we have guitar and voice lessons, the annual "Sheep and Fiber Fest", and J is going to a birthday party featuring an escape room.

Only 2 more Fridays until school is over for the summer!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Strawberries in the garden - the babies

were just planted on Wed!

Peas in the garden...

These irises from my Grandmother are

taking over this bed - there are also daffodils,

Solomon's Seal, daisies, columbine & salvia

The asparagus bed

Bleeding Hearts in the shade bed

Clematis on the arbor

Blueberries in the garden

Spring Feast

We had a lovely little feast of Springtime treats for dinner this evening

Fresh asparagus from the garden, grilled chicken breasts, and fried morel mushrooms gifted to us!

Mama Mia...Where Has the Time Gone?

We are about to enter the final month of school, and I'm beginning to wonder if there will actually be a time when I have NOTHING TO DO?!

I should have been posting pictures of L running track, but the season has passed me by and her final meet is Saturday.

I should have put up pictures from the AMAZING school musical, "Mama Mia", in which J sang and danced her heart out, but it is long over.

I should have noted that we finished 2 more puzzles, numbers 17 and 18, (the final one of which was in honor of "Mama Mia.")

Norman Rockwell paintings

Sunset over a Greek Island

Maybe I should talk about the long, long drive down to NC over Easter Break, and the wonderful visit that we had with JP's family.  I could note that we stopped at one of our old favorites, Lexington BBQ, where I found this pig.

I could also mention the excellent symphony that we attended last weekend, which featured the soprano, Sierra Boggess (the voice of Disney's "The Little Mermaid"),  and I could make note of the European looking gate into a hidden garden that we discovered in the most unexpected place.

Instead, I will show pictures of what Spring is bringing to Poplar Ridge:

Wind...this sheet has actually blown OFF the clothesline,

 and is stuck in a tree about 10 feet behind it!

Dogwood, Redbud, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Bleeding Heart

I hope that Spring is bringing green, blooms and sunshine to your neck of the woods as well!

Signs of Spring

I feel like I haven't been able to catch my breath lately!

L slid straight from basketball into Track & Field - in fact, they overlapped for a week or so!  Her first meet is tomorrow.

J's spring musical opens next week, so the rehearsals are getting longer and more frequent.  In between times, she has participated in another open mic, as well as continuing her music and dance lessons.

There are many days when I need to be in more than one place at a time!

The weather, however, is becoming milder and milder, and signs of Spring abound.  The hellebore and crocus are blooming.  Besides being covered with buds, my 2 weeping cherry trees are decorated with 17 preying mantis egg sacks between them.

The seeds that we planted a few weeks ago are up.

We completed puzzle number 16:

Snow and Grow

We have woken to a couple of inches of snow several days this week.  This morning was another one of those days, and I have recently returned from taking the girls to school on a 2 hour delay.  I am hoping that we don't end up having any more snow days, or our Spring Break will slowly dwindle away.

Things are looking up, however.  We survived February, and are just about 2 weeks away from Spring.  With that thought in mind, L planted about 90 seeds over the weekend - tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and melons.  It is a couple of weeks later than I usually get my starts going, but better late than never.

Speaking of starting tomatoes, I found this little tomato plant growing inside my tomato this weekend!

With all of the wind (knocked out internet, cell service and power on Sunday and Monday), snow, and forecasted single digit temperatures, it is always a struggle to keep the outdoor animals warm, and with liquid water and access to their food.  Apparently the wild beasties have roamed a bit closer, looking for easy food as well.  I found these prints on the lid to the bucket of kitty food - looks like a raccoon to me!

L has her first Track practice this evening.  She has never done this sport before, but she did great at that 5 K last November.  Of course, she is not completely done with Basketball yet, although her team played their final game on Saturday.  They will have playoffs this weekend - sometimes these end up being VERY long days!

I have spent the winter exercising on the elliptical and occasionally the rowing machine, instead of venturing out of doors to exercise.  (That stress fracture in November convinced me that my running days are over.)  I have one final episode of "Midsomer Murders" to watch while I exercise - I have watched all 19 seasons over the past year!    I have learned a couple of things from watching:  there are an astounding number of murders in tiny English villages, and a large number of medical people with knowledge of medicines that can be used in poisonings seem to be involved.  I'll have to move on to yet another British TV show after this, since I've exhausted the "Call the Midwife", "Midsomer Murders", and "Sherlock" episodes.

I need to close and get my house cleaning done before all craziness erupts this evening- J has an appointment, vocals and choreography, finishing up at 8.  L has Track practice, followed by a parents meeting, and voice lessons.  Whew!

Just a final note to say that I am changing the status of my blog to private at the request of J.  I don't believe that this will affect anyone who actually reads this, but will not let it pop up for viewing for others.  Let me know if there are problems!

Brilliant

This morning I tried a new recipe from America's Test Kitchens, and it was brilliant - ended up being the easiest ever French Toast to make!

Everyday French Toast

3 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 t packed brown sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t table salt
2 T unsalted butter, melted
1 c milk
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread **

1.  Adjust 1 oven rack to lowest position and second rack 5-6 inches from broiler element.  Heat oven to 425*.  Generously spray bottom and sides of 18"x13" rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.  Whisk eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl until sugar is dissolved and no streaks of egg remain.  Whisking constantly, drizzle in melted butter.  Whisk in milk.

2.  Pour egg mixture into prepared sheet.  Arrange bread in single layer in egg mixture, leaving small gaps between slices.  Working quickly, use your fingers to flip slices in same order you placed them in sheet.  Let sit until slices absorb remaining custard, about 1 minute.  Bake on lower rack until bottoms of slices are golden brown, 10-15 min.  Transfer sheet to upper rack and heat broiler.  (Leave sheet in oven while broiler heats.)  Broil until tops of slices are golden brown, watching carefully and rotating sheet if necessary to prevent burning, 1-4 min.
3.  Using thin metal spatula, carefully flip each slice.  Serve.

**  I like to use Pepperidge Farms Cinnamon Swirl Bread for French Toast, and since the slices are fairly small, I fit more slices on the baking sheet.

Besides making break through cooking discoveries, I have stayed incredibly busy trying to keep everyone's schedules straight.  It is not uncommon for both girls to have an activity on opposite sides of town at the same time - its' been logistical nightmare, and I'm looking forward to the end of Basketball season!

Add to the mix that Flu Season is upon us - I was down for the count for 4 days last week, and J succumbed for about the same period of time this week.  So far JP and L have steered clear of the nasty virus.  Between illness and the weather, our schedules were wiped clean for about a week, which was a welcome relief.

While being stuck inside, we managed to finish puzzles number 14 and 15 (puzzles 5-13 were 500 piece ones that we did last year as well.)  We also watched a couple of Oscar contenders:  "Bohemian Rhapsody", and "A Star is Born."

I also tried my first batch of "Sea Glass" in the rock tumbler.  I wasn't sure how small to break the bottles that I used, and apparently I need to go smaller.  Otherwise, I think they look pretty cool!  Now I need to start scavenging at the recycling facility for nice colored glass.

J sang and played guitar with her friend at the Choral Cabaret at school.  L continues to shoot at least one basket per game at her Basketball games.

I hope you all are staying happy, well, and not too busy!