* Things have been busy around here this last week. So much so that I never got a chance to sit down and write anything. The weather is warming up pretty fast. Got up to 90* on Sunday. I’m anxious to start harvesting things in the garden, but there is nothing to pick or dig up.

* A week ago, we went out to Whole Foods with Stephanie’s parents. Somehow I left with a Vitamix blender. I must say, this thing is AMAZING. If you can’t think it, this thing to make. Healthy cheese topping (that is extremely HOT) for some macaroni? Done. Ice Cream? Done. Grind wheat berries into flour? Done. Blend up some turkey into baby food? Done. I’ll have to get some pictures soon.

* While at Whole Foods, we picked up a whole chicken. Stephanie had never cooked a whole chicken before, but I figured it couldn’t be that hard since its just a smaller turkey. After we ate the meat from it, everything in the pan got put in a crock pot and Stephanie made some pretty great smelling stock.

Showing off her handy work!

Fresh ingredients from the garden. Sage, rosemary, basil, oregano.

* Grilling. I finally got a new grill. The last one, which we’ve had since we moved into our house in 2007, finally bit the dust. It cost the same to buy parts as it did to just buy a new one. So to save some hassle…

* About a month or so ago, I promised Zoe that we would set up the pool when it got warmer and gave a round time estimate of 4 weeks. Unfortunately, the kid is pretty smart and continually asked how many weeks were left. Since it was a decent weekend, I went ahead and set the pool up last Friday night. We finally got in the pool Saturday afternoon. I must say, my baby maker was pretty close to falling off. It was pretty cold. Sunday was much better as the water had warmed substantially.

I’m pretty sure I’ll have Zoe doing some sort of swimming by the end of the summer. She is almost a foot taller than last year. She really wants to go under water, but still doesn’t get the concept of having to hold her breath and her attempts resulted in choking on water multiple times.

Grayson obviously had to test the water temperature. Still pretty cold for him come in.

* I fixed the toilet yesterday. The flush handle had finally come completely off and pulling the tank cover to raise the flapper so it was flush was a bit to white trash for me, so I broke down and spent the 8 bucks on a replacement. Lets not forget, a new cushy seat. All these new things make it feel I’m using another persons restroom.

* Made homemade strawberry jelly last night. Got 2 batches (12 half pints) done. I think we still have another 2 batches left to make. We did this last year and have not purchased store bought jelly since.

* This week? It’s already starting out busy at work. I want to show you the progress on two tomato plants that I put in the newly harvested compost (nutrients do miracles). Electrical project? Wednesday I’ll be over at Sprout.

//Grab a shovel. I’ll see you in the backyard.