Early Spring? Independence Days Challenge

Early Spring? 

The weather has warmed up a bit, 42 today and poured rain all day long. The forecast is for the 50's this next week, with 57 by Saturday!!! Too warm, too soon. I saw some shoots coming up in the front yard as well. Hopefully this is temporary, otherwise bodes badly for fire season. We'll out away our winter decor next week, no snow on the horizon! Bye bye snowmen and pine cones...

Independence Days Challenge-

Here's what we've been up to....

1. Plant Something- Too early for out in the garden, but the flowers are doing great! They just keep blooming!

 2. Harvest Something- Nope. I miss having our own eggs, we'll get chicks in the spring...

 3. Preserve/Store Something- Got some great local artisan loaves of bread, froze them.

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Stocked up on supplements at Costco. Got my headlights re-coated at the dealer, bright again and much cheaper than new lamp covers. 

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- We've been working on our amazing home canned organic peaches! They are so good! I made this recipe a few years ago, usually for the holidays, also great for a rainy day. I used whole wheat pastry flour for a little healthier version Cranberry Cornmeal Torte -

I hadn't made an Italian meatloaf in a while either so tried this new recipe Delicious Italian Meatloaf I added more seasoning, extra garlic, etc. Recipe seemed too bland to me, came out great after I tweaked it! Served with homemade pesto on whole grain Italian bread, pesto potatoes and green salad-

Made a homemade Chinese New Year dinner, Orange Chicken (Trader Joe's) fresh pea pods, Kim Chee, noodles with sesame. Add a big pot of Jasmine Green tea, perfect-

Used my new Ikea tea cups, love the patterns and four for $10.00!

For a quick dessert- Tart lemon sticky pudding with a little cream from a local health food store, microwave (shudder the thought) for 1 minute and all done. Don't hate me, I was too busy to bake!

6. Build Community Food Systems- Not right now.

7. Recycle/Re-Use- A few years ago a I bought the sweater below on eBay. It's an Eddie Bauer Legends vintage wool sweater. They made them for both men and women in wool, with gorgeous classic designs. I always get compliments when I wear it!  

Last week I found another on eBay! Only $12.00 and gorgeous basket weave. A little too big, but that's okay. It was a little stinky when it arrived, so for $4.00 I took it to the dry cleaners, all better. Great sweaters, if you want to love the Legends, eBay does have them off and on.

Also from eBay, a Columbia purse, $8.00, to replace my old one I've had for years. They have a pretty water proof lining, great for rain and snow days. Not too big, washable. 

From Goodwill, $4.00, large metal basket lined with moss, flowers, perfect for Spring! I really like the flowers color combo-

I also got a like-new Puma long sleeve light base layer top for under the wool sweaters, new kitty toy and food bowl for Anya.

Dave got a free, heavy steel bookcase when his boss was purging old stuff out of their office. Great fit for the bedroom with Grand kids toys. When the weather warms up I will take outside and give it a fresh coat of paint. Works great otherwise! He also got a 4 drawer steel file cabinet. We'll probably use it for small paint storage in the garage.

8. Skill Up-

I'm really excited to have started beginning Tai Chi classes thru our local Parks and Rec Dept. I took two classes so far and it great. It's really affordable thru Parks and Rec. Stretches, strengthens, improves balance and it's so relaxing! I go twice a week after work, and can see sticking with this long term. The instructor does Intermediate classes and beyond, we will see how it goes. Dave learning how to make some new styles of birdhouses with recycled materials. Photos coming soon. 

 9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-

Will re-paint my snow man before I put him away from winter. It's taken a beating, was thrifted, and I will keep it looking good!