2012 Review ~ Garden, Food and Pups!

OMG has it been almost a year since I sat down to blog???  We didn't do to much in the garden this year, why you might ask, I'm thinking it's cause I've been feeling better and have been hitting the gym since March.  This means I'm tired, TIRED all the time....I was hoping it would get better but I'm still tired.  Overall I feel much better, but the waking at 5am is kicking my butt by 8pm, LOL.

Here is the 2012 Spring Garden.  We added irrigation this year.

Sugar Snap Peas May 2012

Onions and Radishes May 2012

Squash May 2012

Sugar Snap Peas on right

Squash

Overgrown garden

For some reason I have been all about cooking this year!  We have had some scrumptious meals!  Here's a few samples.....

rockfish and crab cakes

stuffed shells

rockfish, crab cakes and periogies

stir fry steak and peppers

sliders

spinach and tomato omelet

chicken and peppers with mom's southwestern mac and cheese

bean soup with kielbasa

pork and peppers

steak and sweet potatoes

oven fried chicken and scalloped potatoes

Let's see, what else have I gotten into this year...oh yeah The Egg Place attended a local event for folks selling locally grown/made products.  Here's our table at the Currituck Grown Event

The Egg Place

basket of herbs and fresh cut iris's

chicken and flower photos with fresh lavender sachets for sale, we grew the lavender!  
I love the chicken table cloth!

It got hot this June!  whew....

We did get in some fishing this summer at Avalon Pier

Pixie waiting on Ronnie to come off the pier

Sunrise fishing OBX style - Avalon Pier

Where is he?

Max went fishing too!

Beautiful sunset on the Currituck Sound

Also sold some flowers this summer....

My homemade vases

Zinnias, Black-eyed Susans, Butterfly Bush,
and some greens

Zinnias and Sage

Max (radishes on the right)

Tink hanging by the radishes and garlic

We planted a fall garden and had some help...

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the things we've been up to this year.  Tell me all about your summer!!

Max sportin' his new sweater!

A Day In The Life....

A Day In The Life!  Of our dogs on a lazy beautiful Saturday in January....

Sleep in 

Head out in the yard for a quick run about

Jump in the car and stop at Micky D's for a sausage biscuit

On to the store parking lot so our people could pick up a few things

Stop at the thrift store and saw a cute little doggie in the parking lot

Barked our heads off at the cute little doggie in the parking lot

Back home for some yard time

Play some ball and laze in the sunshine

Chase chickens

Pass out on the couch

Ahhhh the good life!

Red Bird

I did not take this picture, I 'borrowed' it off the web

I will always think of the cardinal as the Red Bird, this is what Ronnie's grandma called them...

It has finally gotten cold enough to put out bird seed.  This is one of my favorite things to do in the winter...well maybe not putting out the birdseed, but seeing the birds flock to the feeders is awesome!  I saw a cardinal yesterday, how beautiful sitting on a branch with greenery behind it.  


Note to self:  gotta get Ronnie that new camera, oh how he loves to take pictures...

Whew....

No wonder it takes women so long to get ready!  I recently bought the Clinque skin care line and it is a 6 step process...TWICE a day....this just boggles my mind and got me thinking about all the 'things' we women do.

Things like make up, teeth whiteing, shower gel, lotions, powder, hair coloring, waxing, shaving, pedicures, manicures, hair products, OMG it's CRAZY...I'm sure I've left something out.  Do I do all this? NO WAY!

Well, back to the skin care line, I am trying super hard to be disciplined and use these products and so far its been good.

Food!

For some reason I just felt like talking about food.  Not that I'm hungry, its just the opposite, I've been sick since Christmas (almost the whole time),and haven't felt liking eating much.

January 1, 2012:
First day of the new year we had Ham and Bean Soup with Corn Muffins.  I have been dying to make this ever since I brought home the ham bone from Christmas dinner at the farm.  Thanks Mavis!

It was delicious!!  Oh My, look at all that butter, hopefully I gave that corn muffin to Ronnie.  : )

January 3, 2012:
Next up was Chicken and Pasta with Fresh Spinach.  I've never cooked fresh spinach and was just guessing  at this receipe, hoping it was edible, since I had no back up in mind.

I generally don't like shell pasta except in this one mexican receipe, Fiesta Cassarole, oh what a yummy dish that is, but that's another story.  All we had was shell pasta so that is what I used.  I added the spinach at the end and cooked it just enough to wilt it.  This was delicious!!

January 6, 2012:
Okay, this is the third meal I've taken a picture of and Ronnie is now laughing say 'you are so funny'....
oops, I took a bite before remembering to take a picture....

Tonight we had Stuffed Shells and Salad, thanks mom!  Mom had made the stuffed shells and froze them for us.  I defrosted them, spooned some of our favorite sauce over them, Classico.  Covered them and popped 'em in the oven on low for 45 minutes.  Fantastic!!

Flowers, Chickens and Dogs!

Happy New Year!  What a beautiful start to what I know is going to be a fantastic year!  We were able to play outside today since it was 65 degrees and sunny.  We planted a ton of tulip bulbs, can't wait for them to bloom.  The cutting gardens are cleaned out, now we just need to add the new ones.  I had so much fun with the flowers sales this year.  Really excited about offering different flowers and veggies this year.  Here are a few of the arrangements we put together this year....

Coleus and Sage

Zinnias

Mums

Clara Curtis Daisy and Zinnias

We recently added 18 chicks hatched by two different groups and returned to the coop.  It was kinda late to start incubating eggs but we just can't say no to the school kids who love this project AND we get chicks yippie!!

November hatch about 4 weeks old

November hatch about 4 weeks old

Look at them grow

This hen has been mothering the chicks, its soooo cute!

And last but not least our 6 pack, as you know we LOVE our dogs!  We have a new addition, little Tink came home at Thanksgiving and has fit right in....

Tink

Tink