So… things happen around here.

Posted On February 14, 2012

So, it's February, and I am itching for green. Last week I cleaned up this shelf, which has gotten cluttered over the past several months with various things. Seed starting time is almost here, but not quite soon enough for me. A friend and I are starting to experiment with growing microgreens. At the very least, we will grow a few trays here and there for personal use. If I get the hang of it, I'd love to sell some to local places.

Shelf ready for seedling madness.

Massive amount (for me, at least) of seeds. Ready for spring and beyond, I think. Although, we are going to be growing as much as we can, so we'll see how far it will take us. If the microgreen thing pans out at all, I'll be buying lots of seeds in bulk. One of the things I've really been thinking about is just diving into the seed saving endeavor and doing as much as I can. I think it will be good in terms of both savings on my part, but also because I want to know how to save seed and share it with my community. With Monsanto doing it's best to steal every person's right to produce their own food, saving a few seeds is now feeling like a form of activism. 

8 trays of microgreens planted- broccoli, radish, arugula, chard, beet, cilantro, mustard, peas, and cress. (P.S. DAD! That hoe-dag is awesome. I'm already using it to make my soil mixes and it's the perfect tool.)

—

Kitchen renovation is coming along. Jeff built these sweet little shelves the other day. I love them!

—

Weather is perfect for mid-day family walks. Lately Vera is always packed for any trip. Usually this involves a toy or two (pictured here is her backpack and "baby Stella", and usually some kind of a change of "summer clothes". She's making it a routine to strip out of her winter clothes whenever we get to anyone's house and changing directly into something meant for the middle of summer. I'm choosing my battles, and this has been a good compromise. At least we aren't fighting about her going outside like that anymore.

My boys.

Vera, day before her birthday. In the two days leading up to her birthday I can't help but think about my labor. As much an anniversary for me as it is for her, this time of year.

Thought it appropriate to see everything sprouting around her birthday. "Sprout" was her nickname in the womb. 

Life!

—
V got a tortoise from Jeff's brother and family. She named him "Pascale", but has since changed it to "Skipperdee" (which is the name of the turtle in the "Eloise" books). 

He's awesome. He'll live for decades. We plan to make him an outdoor habitat in the summer. It's gonna be great.

—

We had my family over for dinner on Sunday, to celebrate V's bday.

My dad and V. Buddies.

She requested an ice cream cake. We made it with raw cream and real vanilla beans! Success!

My heart swells. I love this kid to my core. A happy birthday to my sweet girl, and a wonderful day to meditate on the day I became a mother. 

—

Last but not least, the newest member of our family. This is Pippin, named after our soon-to-be-relocated orange rooster. We'd been mulling over the idea of getting another dog for about 2 years, and he just kind of fell in our laps. He's exactly what we were looking for-  a rescue, a dog similar to Maya (she's half Shiba Inu, like him, although we weren't expecting a dog to be SO similar!), young- but not a baby (he's 6 months), etc. It just happened. We saw him on the shelter website the first time we'd looked in months, and we had to just go for it. And now here he is! We are happy, and he's spending his first day with us jumping and playing and generally being a sweetie. Maya is adjusting fine, although I think she'd prefer he not try to mount her… otherwise, I think we're going to be one big happy family.

I look at him and think "Oh, that's why it took us close to 2 years to get another dog!"

It's been a good week, all told. Now I'm going to cuddle up with my dogs and my love, eat leftover cake, and relax for the rest of the night. I am a happy girl.