Break

I suddenly realized yesterday that blogging is pretty much a narcissistic waste of time. So, I am going to give a rest for a while.

Athletic Babe and Fresh Produce

As of today, I have been married to a hot athletic babe for 8 years. But enough of that, let's talk about produce! The top picture is the first haul we made from our CSA farmer co-op program. It contained mangoes, peaches, bananas, lettuces, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, oranges, cucumbers, an avocado and an onion...not too shabby. We just ate giant salads which were so fresh and so good. The other picture is of my own first little harvested goods. Tomato=good; lettuce=bitter/nasty; onion=good. 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

Breakfast

I love me some breakfast. A huge delicious breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, eggs, toast, cinnamon toast, waffles, pancakes, french toast, sausage, bacon, cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits, juice, milk, muffins, donuts (yeah I said it), kolaches, cinnamon rolls, danishes, omelets, hash browns......COFFEE!

Tired

Got off work at 2200, went to bed at 2240, woke up at 0520, started work day at 0600, got off at 2200, went to bed at 2240, woke up at 0520, started work day at 0600, got off at 2200, went to bed at 2240, got up at 0630, packed the car, drove to the country, fixed up my mother-in-laws house, slept decent, ate good food, strung some barbed wire, killed a 5 foot snake, slept better, packed up the car, drove back to the city. I'm tired.

The First of Many

I dug down in the moist dirt and pulled up these two little guys last night and mixed them up with the store boughts into a batch of mashed potatoes, which, due to their presence, was extra delicious. There is just nothing like eating food you created, nourished, plucked and prepared with your own two hands. Although these small potatoes were taken before there time, I am really looking forward to digging up there big brothers in a month or two.

Speaking of fresh food, we joined a local organic farmer's co-op program, which provides a big box filled with fresh, local, organic, in-season fruits and vegetables every two weeks. The fee is less than what we spend at the local market and the food is far fresher. We are big believers in small local business practices. I mean who doesn't prefer the personal touch of a small local restaurant or market over and above the sterile unfriendly environment of big corporation operations. It is always so great when we walk into our local produce/plant market and we are greeted with unmatched enthusiasm. Let's just say my daughter is a local celebrity. Every place we go she is the center of attention....seriously, I'm waiting on the paparazzi to start following her.

There are tons of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs in almost every major city and surrounding areas. Why not try it out? After all, isn't it nice to trace the origin of your food farther than the shelf of the grocery store? We actually found out about ours through one of my wife's friends but you can probably find yours at http://www.localharvest.org/! Go fresh. Go local.

Going Cheap is Not Always Best

Our family plague has been eradicated and its back to business time. I spent yesterday morning mowing...and I'm talking about serious mowing, son. Two and half tanks of gas worth of mowing. I prefer to use my little reel mower as often as I can, but yesterday's job called for a little more power. So I broke out the mulching push mower. The grass growing on the back of the property was over knee-deep and out of control. It took 3-4 passes over every patch of grass to knock that junk down. It was like mowing over a small forest of trees filled with sticky vines. Rough.

A significant amount of time was also spent weeding my stupid raised beds. And by stupid I mean me not the beds. In an effort for frugality, I decided not to buy weed cloth to lay in the bottom of my beds before filling them with dirt a couple of months ago. Instead, like a ridiculous Dr. Seuss book I said,

"Oh, these leaves laid thick
------------------will do the trick!"
They did not, not at all!
-----Those weeds grew thick! Those weeds grew tall!

So, I pulled up a million weeds yesterday just so I can water it all and watch them grow right back in a few days at a rate 20x faster than the plants whose space they are invading. The never ending battle. In the fall, I will dig it all up and remedy the problem.

The good news is there are a ton of little and a couple of big green tomatoes plumping up on the vines. The beans are starting to put on little baby bean buds, and all of the squash, zucchini, cucumbers and watermelon I planted last week have sprouted. The corn is slow going but is still green and growing. Now I just keep weeding, watering and waiting.

Sickly

Sickly. I am sickly. I am a zombie. I am a sickly zombie. My daughter caught a cold somewhere (most likely from those no-good hoodlums that have been hugging on her at Stroller Strides just so they can play with her new hot wheels car) and she brought it home to share with the whole family. Let me just say, we are the nastiest sounding quartet of coughing, loogie-hocking, snot-dripping people you have ever heard. This house is a den of death and despair. I, in all my brilliance, slowly suited up in all my armor and, despite the cold-induced vertigo, made my way to the truck and subsequently the voyage all the way to work. The Gray Donkey (the affectionate name I call my truck) and I made it to work with no mishaps. I hoped against all odds for an easy day but found out we were slammed busy. They rushed me out to my beat to thwart a large scale "event" from occurring. Basically, I sat in a car for three and a half hours and thought I was going to die...not from an outside threat but death by mucus. I couldn't even see straight. Some crime fighter I was going to be for the city. Needless to say, I went home. Now, I am on drugs (let it be known I am usually totally granola when it comes to colds...water, water, flushing water...no drugs to suppress my body's natural crime-fighting abilities), but this cold is kicking my ass. I feel sleep sloshing its way in.

work...work...work........

A 14 hour and 45 minute work day is too much.