5 Things Friday

  1. The goal for tomorrow is to move the chickens outside!  They have been in training all week. First Lily sat their cage near (1-2 feet) from the chicken run. Next she moved the cage to beside the chicken run and finally inside the chicken run. They spent over 4 hours in a small cage in the chicken run today. Tomorow we open the door! After doing some research this is a full 2 weeks later than when we moved out the original chickens.
  2. We did determine that before we leave the new chickens we must create a barrier at the bottom of the chicken run. It would be possible one of the small chickens to fit through the wire and escape. The plan is to use cable ties and cardboard as a solution until the chickens are bigger.
  3. I have now purchased 4 gallons of strawberries from a farm in Mocksville. They have been the sweetest and best tasting strawberries we have eaten. I do have 2 bags frozen I am hoping to add another 2 bags to get us through the winter.
  4. Lily’s community college graduation was yesterday!  It was so neat. Check out yesterday’s post for pictures.
  5. We need to install the cardboard on the chicken run, install a new radio in Lily’s car and work on our new rain barrel tomorrow.  Sounds really busy!  I also have an awesome garden update to share!

Monday Menu Planning

This is the week that we have something almost every night!  With lots of driving and lots of new stuff!  I just want to survive this week!

Breakfast- Saturday- pancakes with strawberry syrup. Sunday-Bagels and sausage balls.   Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk,waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets, sausage mcmuffins and sausage egg and cheese mcmuffins in the freezer.

Lunch- Saturday- creative left-overs Sunday Panda Panda , Monday-
salad  Tuesday- salad Wednesday- ??  Thursday- Lily’s lunch choice .  Friday- out to eat.

Dinner- Saturday-Meatloaf cups and French toast uncrustable.   Sunday-more left-overs  Monday-Burger King Tuesday- Meatball casserole
Wednesday- Corn dogs and French Fries   Thursday- ?? Not sure maybe steak bites in Air Fryer and twice baked potatoes. Friday-Grilled chicken salad.

Garden Update

This will be a picture heavy post. I wanted to make sure that I documented the garden this year.  I know in my mind that gardening is a slow process but days like today I want to make sure that I look back and confirm just to give it time.

I planted seeds 8 days ago, but none of those seed have germinated, probably because this past week has been extremely cool. I need to allow an extra week for most of these plants to germinate.  We have not lost any of the transplants so that I am going to count as a success.

Both of the GreenStalks (vertical planter) are full of plants! I am waiting for the Basil to germinate. I had absolutely no luck last year. I have another 2 packets of seeds. My theory is that I need to keep using the seeds until I have no more. If they don’t germinate, I can always purchase a start even in June. The bottom row of one of these contains 4 bell pepper plants. I ended up purchasing 3 plants to get started.

These are the current plant located behind the greenhouse. I am debating on if I need to go ahead and purchase some tomato start and fill the empty 6 buckets?

This is the bed in front of the office window. I have 8 zucchini plants seeds and 3 Cherokee tomato plants along with the sugar snap peas that are climbing. I will be replacing any zucchini that don’t germinate because I have none in the freezer!  Again not sure about any more tomato plants.

This bed contains 5 squash plants that I purchased. I thought I killed one when transplanting but it appears to have survived!

Tiny tomato plants. We currently have 21 plants in the tomato beds along with 8 marigolds. I am ready for these to take off and fill the entire bed!

No new cucumbers have germinated but so far these 5 plants have survived well!

14 additional green pepper plants they have survived but are struggling.

No signs of life in the green bean beds. I have planted 2 entire seed packs… Waiting is not easy for me.

Last ditch effort to grow either cantaloupe or watermelon. I used all the seeds so I may purchase a couple of starts the last week of May.

We have already watered twice since planting a year ago. Tonight we discovered that our front water barrels  has a huge crack. This is not something that requires an immediate fix but we will work on upgrading to a water tote sometime this fall.

 

Five Things Friday

  1. Countdown to Summer!
    5 weeks till Lily’s High School Graduation!
    5 weeks of school for the kids and 5 weeks and 3 days until my Summer Break!
    60 days till we go to the beach!
  2. We are all ready for the newest chickens to move outside. Last weekend, Lucky the rooster escaped!  This evening they have knocked over the water so much that the cardboard box is mushy and the floor is wet!  They should move outside full-time next week!
  3. I am starting to organize and prepare for canning this summer. I have been slowly purchasing jars since October. I have been lucky enough to find on sale at Walmart, Target and Tractor Supply for around $1 a jar including rings and lids.  I was hoping to pick up some jars used but they are at least $2 a jar so today on Walmart, I found an ordered 3 dozen pint jars and 3 dozen quart jars.  One of my goals for tomorrow (Saturday) is to get the canning closet organized and cleaned!
  4. This weekend is probably the least busiest one in a long time. We do have several small projects to complete but the goal is to rest and prepare for the busiest week of the school year!
  5. We tried one of the new recipes that I was hoping to use to stock the freezer this summer and it was a bust. No flavor!

Thursday Thoughts- Goals

The summer is fast approaching, and I am counting down the days!  I want to make a list of the things I want to accomplish during the summer break.   This way I will also have more accountability this summer as well.

  1. Gardening- My goal is to grow and preserve as much from the garden as possible. I am hopeful to restock the freezer. This goal may also include purchasing some items to make my life easier in the fall.
  2. Prepared Meals- I would like to get 100 dinner meals in the freezer. I will also work on adding convenient breakfasts as well. I also want to freeze at least 10 pizza crust and maybe even some pie crust as well.  The dinner meals can include both crockpot meals and casserole.  I actually need to get started on test meal during the rest of May to help determine what things we like and what is worth making again and again.
  3. Exercise-  I am going to set a goal of 3 times a week this summer. This can include walking in the pool and hopefully at least 1 trip a week to the Y to work out.
  4. Restock- I want to spend time organizing and restocking both the pantry and the freezers. I had actually thought about adding a goal for shopping at least one day a week.
  5. Store and organize all the pictures. I need to clean off my phone but am really afraid that I am going to lose pictures.  I also need to make and order several books from Shutterfly.
  6. VIew and Decide on at least one additional video course for our Sunday school class.
  7. Earn at least one $50 gift card using apps. This is free money but also something that I don’t always make a priority.
  8. Organize/sort and Print a new passwords list for home.
  9. Review, revisit and revise as needed our household budget.  I am hopeful that things will have settled down so that I can put together a realistic budget for paying off medical bills and reducing our overall debt.
  10. Enjoy at least one day a week either reading or just relaxing by the pool. OR at least one day a week on  a special adventure with the kids!

The overall goal for the summer is to get everything back organized and ready for the school year.

Monday Menu Planning

In the department of food/groceries, I am currently in survival mode. I need to survive the insane next two weeks followed by four additional weeks until Summer break starts.  I know that grocery spending will be high this summer as my goal is to restock the freezers so that I can stay in survival mood for the entire school year!  This week we have only two ball games!  I am also continuing to try and use food in the freezers in order to organize and make additional space as needed.

 

Breakfast- Saturday- eggs,grits, sausage, bacon and toast.
Sunday-Left-overs   Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal,
omelets cereal and milk,waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets, sausage mcmuffins and sausage egg and cheese mcmuffins in the freezer. I may attempt homemade bagels to use up greek yogurt but we shall see.

Lunch- Saturday-left-overs Sunday East Coast Wings , Monday-
turkey roll ups  Tuesday- taco soup Wednesday- salad  Thursday-  left-overs of some form.  Friday- out to eat.

Dinner- Saturday-Left-overs   Sunday-more left-overs  Monday-tomato soup and grilled cheese Sandwiches Tuesday- Tortellini Alfredo and garlic bread.
Wednesday- Corn dogs and French Fries  Thursday- salisbury steak with mashed potatoes. Friday-Cheese quesadillas and mexican rice