Sprouting Seeds and Bad Lighting

Nope, it's not just Nick sprouting at our house this week. Although he is looking taller to me these days, and his face is starting to look less babyish and more kid-like every week. No, the reason for the sprouting is because I re-read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" a couple of weeks ago.  You see, I ordered a bunch of seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange, and they arrived on Saturday. I ordered the stuff that Greg and Nick and I like to eat, including: red pepper, sage, broccoli, yellow and red tomatoes, basil, thyme, rosemary, spinach, green beans, cucumber, and several kinds of squash. I got really ambitious on Sunday. . .

When I read the packages, many of the types of seeds said "start indoors 6-8 weeks before the expected date of last frost." Now, I am no gardening expert, (frankly, I'm just now learning how NOT to kill plants) but I know that I'm in zone 5 and that means May 25th is the earliest date to plant most crops. So I figured that I'd better get cracking. I looked up (on e-how, actually) how to build a seed-starting shelf, printed out the directions, and headed to the Home Depot. Now, I should tell you that putting things together is not my greatest skill. The last shelf I put together fell apart minutes after construction. But lately I've become more determined. I told myself, "Melissa, you have a master's degree. You can build a simple shelf that's listed as "moderately easy" in the directions!" And I did.

I'm rather proud of myself for managing to build this on my own. The shelf was simple enough, but I actually had to hook up the wires to add a plug for the lights. My neighbors must wonder about the lights 16 hours a day in the open window. I swear I'm only growing heirloom vegetables and herbs. Note the pointing baby in the photo; lately he keeps pointing out every window and yelling something that sounds like "outside." It was far too cold for me to take him to play outside today, though. But my seeds were sure warm.

Fluorescent lighting makes everybody's skin look weird, I guess, even a toddler. Nick was eating a tortilla chip when I took this picture. Check out my hyacinths--they've grown at least an inch since I bought them on Sunday. Those weren't from seed (obviously), but I love hyacinths and I figured I'd see how they did with the lights.

I believe I may have planted too much thyme in each slot. I think I might have to move some of it. But it sure sprouted well! I'm not terrific at math, so I am not sure if I planted too many seeds or not enough for a medium sized garden. I'm looking forward to spending more time outside digging.

First Tooth!

It finally popped through today! Nick has his first tooth. It is on the bottom on his right. I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture, but it's definitely there. My baby is growing up!

Greg was actually the one to find it first. Nick bit him. Then I verified by getting bitten myself. There is definitely a white little tooth in there. The other one is still bothering him quite a bit. Teething rings and teething cookies only help a little bit.

Nick spent his day trying to pull up on everything in sight. He can only do it when I'm standing by him and he grabs my hands. But, boy does he try.

Here, you can see him trying to pull up on the side of the stairs. I spent much of my day chasing Nick around and helping him to stand. He promptly starts dancing when I hold his little hands. Maybe I should sign him up for lessons when he gets a little older.

I went to the library today and got another whole bag of books to read. I really love the way I can read a book or two every day in the summer. It's something I miss during the school year. For me, it's not the same thing to read a book in little bits. I want to sit down and finish the whole darned thing, while sipping on a nice cup of tea. During the school year, I sometimes have to read a book over two or even three days. This reading thing has always been an addiction with me. there was point when I used to read at stoplights, but that was years ago. I miss having my own classroom, simply because I could have D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) time every day for 20 or 30 minutes. (I read, too, of course.) When I worked as an administrative assistant some years ago, I'm ashamed to say I read multiple books under my desk while looking busy. In my own defense, though, I type 90+ words per minute, so they didn't give me enough work to do.

Today I read "The Bean Trees," By Barbara Kingsolver. I really enjoyed it. It's about a young woman who decides she doesn't like her life in Kentucky, so she takes off for parts unknown in an old beat-up car with no starter. In a parking lot in Oklahoma, someone hands her a toddler and begs her to take her. I won't ruin the story, but all I will say is that she meets some great people. Actually, it's my favorite novel by her so far, thanks to the likeable characters. I have always enjoyed novels about women who make their own destinies. I find something irresistable about people who actually DO something to effect change in their lives.

Below you can see some video I took today of Nick with his tool bench and hammer. My stepfather was over today working on Nick's bathroom, and he could hear the banging. So Nick decided to do some banging of his own. I thought it was pretty cute. At 8 months, I'm not sure if he was trying to copy his grandpa or not, but it sure seemed like it.

Renovations, Toys, and Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Today Nick's Grandpa was over, putting in our new bathtub. He worked really hard on it. Nick was very excited, as you can see. Just wait until the whole bathroom is done and he can actually take a bath!

I had a very quiet day today, which was nice. I edited some papers for Brainmass and did some laundry, but I also had the chance to read Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible." I would highly recommend it. This novel tells the story of a family of missionaries that go into the Congo and are changed forever. I love how the author changes who is telling the story with each chapter; the characters are very realistic and well-developed, and a little bit about the history of the region is woven into the story. The utter stupidity and disrespect of many white missionaries and the clash of cultures changed all of the characters irrevocably. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction written from multiple perspectives.

I have been spending a little time each day on napervilleyardsales.com, and today I bought Nick 3 new toys. You can see him here playing with his new basketball hoop. Do you think he'll be into sports? Greg was and is into all kinds of sports, but I am most definitely not a sports enthusiast. But I still figured he'd get a kick out of this basketball hoop. And he did! Not a bad deal for $5.

Everytime he shoots a basket (or hits the rim with his hand), it sings and cheers for him. Plus, the balls must be pretty tasty, because he kept chewing on them.

Now I'm going to tell you about a new recipe I tried this week, one for Pumpkin Black Bean Soup. I know, it sounds kind of weird, but trust me on this, it's delicious. I am definitely going to add this one into my repertoire of recipes that I make regularly. This one is reasonably healthy, hearty, and it has a unique flavor. It was really good with a salad and some fresh bread.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup


At least 1 cups each of celery, Vidalia onion, and carrot, cut into tiny pieces, especially the carrot
2 - 15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 15 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
Around 20 ounces of pumpkin puree
1 large box of chicken broth
5 cloves of garlic, pressed
2-3 T of extra virgin olive oil
4 slices of crispy cooked bacon, crumbled
1/3 cup of red wine
1 T of cumin
1 t. of sage
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Whatever other spices you think necessary

Directions:

1. Using medium heat, pour the olive oil into the bottom of the pan and add the celery, onion, garlic, and carrot.
2. Add the spices to the mixture.
3. Saute until the onion is mostly cooked. Keep the heat low enough so that the garlic doesn’t brown.
4. Add everything but the broth, and bring to a simmer.
5. Add the broth, stirring carefully. Bring to a simmer again.
6. Taste the soup, and add whatever spices you think would be good. I added more pepper and cumin at this point.
7. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until the carrots are totally cooked and the soup tastes yummy.

He just wanted to join us for dinner. . .

Nick was super-excited when he saw his daddy tonight. He got home from work earlier than usual, around 5 p.m., and when the garage door opened, Nick got very still. Then, when he heard the door open, he started squealing happily. Then, later, when Greg and I sat down to eat our dinner, Nick decided to start crying. We eat on the couch, largely because the rest of the living/dining room has been taken over by all things baby. Anyhow, Nick grabs the bars of his baby cage and gives us the most pitiful look. "What does he want?," asked Greg. "I think he just wants to sit by us," I replied.

Greg grabbed him a baby cookie, and put the baby between us on the couch. Nick smiled and was perfectly satisfied as soon as he was seated between us. However, he managed to smear cookie all over the couch, my pajamas, and Greg's shorts, but he sure had a good time doing it. He even ate some of my 15 bean soup. Nick just wanted to join us for dinner. :)

The more Nick has been teething, the more he needs baby cookies. Yesterday I bought him something called a biter biscuit, and it seemed to hold together better than some of the other baby cookies. It didn't break into tiny pieces, which is always a plus.

In this picture you can see Nick dipping his baby cookie into Greg's soup. I'm not sure why he decided to do this, but he thought it was hilarious. He ate the cookie anyway, so it must've been a taste sensation. It's kind of funny how when I take a posed picture, Nick will wait until I'm done, and then do something unplanned and cute, like dipping his cookie into the soup.

Last week I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. It's an excellent book, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in gardening, local eating, or cooking. The author set her family up for a challenge: one year of living locally. But she doesn't propose that everyone try to do this. Rather, she gives ways that we can do something to promote local farmers. I liked how she wasn't preachy about the whole subject.