Growing Vegetables in the Winter.....

My best laid plans of doing bookwork and baking cookies quickly got curbed to researching how to grow my own vegetables in the winter.  Why did this project fall onto my plate all of a sudden?  Well, a trip to the grocery store triggered it.  My husband went out to pick up a few groceries.  On my meal plan for tonight is Pork Roast and Baked Potatoes so I thought "lettuce and cream" would go great with that, what a treat it would be.  When hubby returned from the grocery store he had a sad looking shrivelled poor excuse for a bundle of leaf lettuce and it cost $3.  Seriously I can hold this bit of lettuce in the palm of my hand - for $3!!??  It looks like it was dragged behind the delivery truck from whatever country it was grown in.  That's it, my plan is to build a cold frame and grow my own lettuce and whatever else I can.  We already have the frame, the pigs threw it around in my garden all fall but I'm pretty sure it's still sturdy.  We will have to modify it a lot and hubby may just want to start from scratch, I am in search of a building plan.  Wish me luck!  Here's proof I can do it, this lady only lives about 45 minutes from our homestead and she says it's really easy to do.  Yay!  She shows her cold frame plan and it includes recycled materials which is even better!!  Right now it's raining here so maybe it will be warm enough to build our frame and start growing some lettuce soon.  Oh how exciting.  Now to talk to hubby which isn't a worry, he's fantastically accommodating and willing to lend a hand.........

http://eastcoastliving.ca/2011/11/gardening-winter11/

Taking Time To Chill......

As I sip my second cup of hot chocolate this morning, taking a moment to relax before I start my days home work, I find myself on Pinterest searching for different recipes from my boards.  Since I started meal planning we are eating less BBQ steak and more variety. I would, however, like to try some new recipes but find it challenging to select ones everyone will like.  My husband and Son are not fans of vegetables.  My Son loves stew, he likes his vegetables with flavour.  We are also eating way less take out.  Any time I don't prepare a monthly meal plan we slip back into the take out trap.  That happened to us last month, with preparations for Christmas added to our already busy life exhaustion sucked us in and we ended up eating too much take out.  Our pocket book and my waist line have both suffered.  So, this month I am making sure I have a solid meal plan in place and exercise to get rid of my extended waist line.

I also reflect on what I have to do today, my first day off this week.  I have cookie dough in the fridge waiting to be made into yummy cookies, I have a file of paperwork to my right waiting to be entered into Simply Accounting, I have my workout area calling my name......right now I am ignoring it all, taking the time to chill.

'til next time... take care, have fun and play.  Life's too short to work it away.....

Welcome to the Library!

I got my first ever public library card this week.  I want to read, I have enjoyed reading in the past, I enjoy reading to my Son but this way if I don't read a whole book, lose interest and return it I don't have to feel guilty.  No money was spent/lost in the fail of intent.

The library is at the local recreation centre where I go walking so it's convenient for picking up and returning books.  It's nice and very convenient to be able to search for and reserve books online for pick up.  The new library was seen as "a waste of money" by many with the new age of e-books but I prefer reading a real book made of paper, I stare at a computer screen most of my day.  Also, studies are showing a real book is much better for your sleep.  If you read at night an e-book emits blue light which interferes with your natural sleep.  The same blue light may also cause cataracts, not only emitted from e-books but computer screens and smart phones as well.  I'll take a paperback book any day.

'til next time.  Have fun, find time to play, life is too short to work your life away.