A Clean Room

Scout did some Spring cleaning and donating too! Here he is 'down the mines'...

We took apart his bed and he took everything out of his nightstand and scrubbed everything down. It helps him to see how much 'stuff' there was in his room - he's much more motivated to give it away...

A couple of 'After' shots...

He couldn't part with the stack of boards (yet) he has broken in TKD - they're under the desk...

We gave away 3 bags of clothes - one of shoes - and then there were two trips to the Second Chance with toys and books...
Now - all the books are on the bookshelf and all the Legos are in bins under the bed and you can actually see the floor of the closet - YAY!

Scouting for Food - Update

I just realized that I never posted any Scouting for Food pickup pictures - we had really nice weather - it was mid 50's and the boys didn't think they needed jackets after they got going (I did)...

We got so much food that Mopal's (my car's name - weird I know) trunk was sinking - about 60 bags the scouts counted - just in my car...

Some boxes required 4 hands - by the time we were done - there was food under everyone's feet and in between everyone too...

It was a great day - I hope the food pantry is well stocked for a while now...

Waders

I think this was the first time Scout had tried out the waders that he got for Christmas - here he is slogging through the reeds...

Spring Cleaning

We took advantage of the warmer weather to start some spring cleaning...

We took everything out of the garage - our front lawn was then a mess...

...swept and sprayed and washed all the salt and sand from the winter out of the garage...

It's so nice to have a nice clean garage - have y'all started your spring cleaning? How do you do it - do you take everything out of each room and clean it and put it back - do you air things outside - I was reading Lucy Maude Montgomery's journals and was amazed at the spring cleaning they used to do...

D'you remember those cookies...?

Scout said 'D'you remember those cookies you used to bring to swimming lessons?' - I always take a snack and a drink (usually a warm one) to swimming lessons - so I said 'Which ones?' - 'Those chocolate-chocolate chip ones!' - 'Oh, those'...

These are Isa's Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and if you've not tried them - you really should - they are awesome!

So apparently, I've not made those cookies since last summer - for shame - so Scout and I whipped up a yummy batch of cookies...

Potatoes

I'm going to have to buy potatoes this week for the first time since we harvested our potatoes last year - I think it was the last week of September...

...as you can see - they are in a pretty sad state - but we used them all up and didn't waste any...

My Potato Storage System seemed to work pretty well - I think it just needs to be a little bit cooler - but I can't do anything about that - except maybe make extra sure that the laundry room door stays closed so that no heat gets in there. We'll definitely be growing and storing potatoes again this year - if the garden ever thaws out...

Lakeside

Since we have Lakeside property...
...for a while anyway...

...Scout and a couple of his friends have taken advantage of a sunny day to do some very chilly wading - this water was just ice - but the sun can do miracles - and they don't appear to be in too much pain...

They've Cut the Road

People would say - I heard they 'cut the road' to drain your field...
I'd never heard that expression before - but Scout and I walked up there with Jack and - sure enough - they've cut the road...

...we knew the road was closed because the water from our field had covered the road completely...

...but I had no idea they'd do anything as drastic as cut a big hole in the middle of a good road...
...I'm sure the field will drain quickly now - but we're all wondering what they will do with the big hole in the road - will they install a culvert or a small bridge - because you know the water will remember where it went before if they just try to build the road back there...

Scouting for Food

It's that time of year again (I know it's much later up here than down south)...

...the Boy Scouts took the flyers to their section of town and placed them on all the doors...

...it took about 2 hours to do our section and we'll go back on Saturday and pick up the bags - this year they've asked people to use their own grocery bags instead of furnishing the blue ones - a lot of them blow off the door every year - so this year we just attached a flyer to each door with instructions...

Sleepy Head

The water comes up into the yard quite a way - it's like we have a lake in our backyard...

...we woke up a sleepy goose this morning...

...wake up sleepyhead...

...duck, duck, goose...

It would actually be duck, duck, goose, goose - we have so many birds on the 'lake' beside our house...

Scout has been scouting out their nests - keeping a safe distance from the geese - who are sometimes known to attack...

Red Tailed Hawk

With all this water around we've had some foggy mornings as the earth warms up for spring...

Scout spotted this Red Tailed Hawk on the little olive tree in the middle of the field - another one for the bird book...

Sunrise

After the pretty moonrise the other day - we have a pretty sunrise...

...of course this is looking East over the still flooded field...

...Good Morning Sunshine...

What Freedom Means to Me

Scout was late cooming out of the school this afternoon - I was just about to go in after him - when he came out carrying this letter and the biggest grin I've ever seen...

It seems his essay "What Freedom Means to Me" has made it to the National level...
We couldn't be more proud of him - he is such a diligent little student - I remember him working on the essay and asking his Papa questions and deciding on which of the 'freedoms' were most important to him.
There will be an award ceremony in May and I'll be sure to post updates - YAY Scout!

LWR Quilts #2 and #3

Meet Quilt #2...

...and his lovely twin sister Quilt #3...

...because of the way I cut the quilts - I piece together enough material to cover a twin size bed sheet - I lay that on top of the sheet and cut twelve 21" squares from both pieces of material at once - so I get two quilt tops that way - one is plaid/solid/plaid an the other is solid/plaid/solid - so they are fraternal twins...

Water, Water, Everywhere

We've had some rain and the snow and ice are melting - and filling up the fields beside our house...

This is to the east - we've already seen some Canadians nesting there...

...sort of Southeast - the house sit's up on a little rise - so we should be safe...

and this is north looking out beyond the garden. All of this water will have to go through our field as well - everything will drain to the south and the big lake...

...where it will have to be pumped over the dike...

The Last Snowball

We've had rain and warm temperatures so most of the snow is gone...

...and that's a good thing - Scout is enjoying a 50 degree day and playing in the last of the snow in his shirt sleeves...
...It's so funny that 50 degrees in the fall seems chilly enough for a jacket - but in the spring - everyone is shedding their coats to enjoy the warmer weather...

Living Room Picnic

We used to have indoor picnics more often when Scout was younger...

...I think he still enjoys them - I know I do...

We had some of the Recipe O' Greatness leftover and it makes a pretty good hot dog...

Have I mentioned that we now have Red Box here - I love Red Box - I went online and reserved The Tale of Despereaux (very cute movie) - and just swiped my card and it was 'vended' - so much fun and only $1 - YAY!

Have I also mentioned that it is daylight here past 8:30 at night now - we are enjoying these longer days so much...

Vegan Chocolate Mousse Pie

I made another vegan staple...

The Chocolate Tofu Mousse Pie...
It was so good - I took it to a covered dish supper and it was gone in a flash and no one even suspected that there was tofu in it (I didn't tell)...
I made my own Homemade Chocolate Chips as we still don't have any vegan ones locally - and the crust is just some graham crackers whirled in the food processor with a few dates - it was super yummy and super rich...

Velvet

Most of you probably know what a huge Red Velvet Cake fan I am...

So when Hannah at Bittersweet posted a Natural Red Velvet Cupcake recipe...

...of course I had to try it...

I happened to have all of the ingredients

the Man and Scout were skeptical...

They turned out a lovely red...

we frosted them with Vegan Cream Cheese frosting...
...they were good - they definitely have a lemony/earthy flavor to them - so I think next time I make them I might just skip the chocolate altogether...

Light

Scout carried the 'Light of the World' back into the church Easter morning...

...he is such a sweet PK...

Dress/Shrug FO

I thought I would post a couple of pictures of the Easter ensemble - here is the dress/skirt combo - please ignore the funny hand position - I think I was smoothing the front of the dress when the shutter snapped (I used the delay with the camera sitting on the Man's desk - hence no head either)...

...and the completed Circular Shrug with its Stuff Mart button. I searched through all of the antique stores for the perfect button but couldn't find it - and I was so sure that I would find one that I sort of waited 'til the last minute and then wound up having to rush to Stuff Mart on Saturday to get one - it's OK but I'm still on the lookout for the nice pearly brooch/button that I wanted...

Pattern here:

Meltdown

There is something so satisfying about stepping on spring ice and hearing it crack and seeing if it will bear your weight - it's just plain fun!

Feast

...we decided to make a Thanksgiving-like feast - for Easter

- with Parker House rolls...recipe here - just use the bread machine for the kneading and rising - then shape into Parker House Rolls and brush on some melted Earth Balance...

Here is everything cooking away in the oven - that's the Recipe O' Greatness cooking beside the rolls and Nanny's Sweet Potatoes in the bottom right...

I admit to being the last vegan on earth to try the Seitan O' Greatness - but I read the ingredients and decided that the spices used were just not for me (they seem to belong in a Pumpkin Pie) - but it made a lovely little roast...

My favorite Green Bean Casserole - Scout pronounced this the best part of the meal...

It was all so so good...

Happy Easter

A very Happy Easter to you all!

All the songs have been played - all the sermons have been said and all the eggs have been found - now we have a little feast to prepare...

Spring is almost here...but...

My garden is still under about 3 feet of snow...

...we just happened to have a drift there this year - remember the fence is 4 feet high.
I should have clarified that for last night's moonrise we had on coats, hats and gloves (or I should have had on gloves, but for the camera, my hands were frozen when we came inside)...