It was another good day outside. The weather this morning was cold (breezy), grey, and damp but it turned sunny by mid-morning. The breeze never really did go away so it was cool at times but nice and warm in the sun for the most part. My boyfriend came over and finished the last two trellises while I dug a hole for a wooden frame, moved the rhubarb patch (I use the term "patch" loosely as it’s only a few small stalks), and tried to level out a bit of a hollow along the back fence. Now, I need to start gridding the garden and I should stain the trellis frames like the bed frames to protect them from the weather a little.

When I look at the pictures, I’m not really sure why I didn’t put the rhubarb bed closer to the tree and composter.  I think the hollow starts pretty close to where the bed is placed and maybe that’s why. I used the dirt that I dug out of the hole to spread around to the left of the rhubarb bed all the way to the corner by the vegetable beds. The rhubarb frame is made of 4x4’s stacked two high and I’ve buried it to a depth of four inches. I used a mix of all-purpose topsoil (half a bag), sheep and cow manure as well as mushroom compost, and peat moss and vermiculite to fill the hole back in. I also added back in a little of the dirt I’d taken out. I mixed it all up and topped it with more peat moss, vermiculite, and manure/compost mixture. We’ll see how the rhubarb  does in its new home.

I’m sitting here exhausted but in a good way. I have that "worked most of the day in the fresh air" tiredness happening and I love it. Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous and I think I’ll try and do some work in the shade bed that runs along the right-hand side of the back yard between the shed and B’s sandbox. I want to dig into that bed (very heavy and damp soil as it’s nearly always in the shade) and mix in some peat moss, vermiculite, and the compost/manure to lighten it up a little. I should do the same in the flower bed in my front yard too. My boyfriend has also ripped out all the Lily of the Valley which had overtaken his front beds so I should help him with that. He wants to use some of the mix as well.

In non-gardening news, supper tonight was very, very good. I made the Spicy and Tender Crock Pot Pork Chops mentioned yesterday and they were delicious although, despite the name, they weren’t spicy in the least. At first I thought that even though I was using three chops instead of the five to six called for in the recipe there wouldn’t be enough sauce (it was relatively thick and only amounted to just over a cup or so) but combined with the juices from the meat, it made plenty. My chops were pretty thick so I was worried they’d take longer to cook but they didn’t. I turned the pot on low just before 10 this morning and we ate tonight at 6. For about an hour and a half to two hours this afternoon I turned the temperature up to high because I wasn’t sure they’d be cooked in time but I don’t think they needed it. It didn’t hurt though. The chops were boneless and were falling apart as we were trying to dish up. I served mashed potatoes because that is what B wanted and because we had rice last night but the sauce would have been wonderful over rice. The chops also would have made a perfect pulled pork sandwich. The verdict is that it is a recipe I will use again.

Yesterday saw us (my wonderful and boyfriend and I) building two of the four trellises for the raised vegetable beds. We spent the morning gathering up more prices and it was quite interesting the difference between stores. For example, one place had 3′ lengths of rebar for $4.17 while another didn’t have 3′ lengths in stock but had 6′ pieces for $3.47. I ended up not going with the metal trellis I had planned to use and made them out of wood instead. The 10′ lengths of metal electrical conduit were $4.98 each and I would have needed ten at minimum plus elbows (I was going to use PVC ones), the rebar, and the $11.97 a panel metal "mesh" with the 6-inch holes that was the best thing I had found for the plants to climb on. The lumber was $1.88 for 8′ lengths of 2x3 so even picking up 16 pieces only came to $30 as compared to a minimum of $50 for the conduit not including elbows and rebar.

The frame will probably be painted the same baby poop brown as the beds.

I dug out the corners of the garden on the inside and the uprights are sitting on the floor of the bed and screwed in with two screws on each side plus the supports extending to the front and bracing corner pieces. The "mesh" is still metal and a nice heavy-ish gauge. The holes are 2x4. It came on a 3′ x 50′ roll. I can’t remember what the package called it but it reminds me of a dog crate, although the gauge isn’t as heavy as that. This mesh was so much easier than the original stuff I had wanted. Since the roll was 3′ high, all we had to do was put two strips on, one above the other to cover the 6′ trellis. I wouldn’t have minded a slightly taller frame but 6′ is pushing it in terms of how high I can reach to pick things.

I love the trellises and think they will work out great but there are a few things that I didn’t consider. I hadn’t thought of the supports out the front and how they’d interfere with the previously clear access from the sides. I can still reach in and access the garden from the side but it’s a little awkward. I also, oddly enough, hadn’t considered that the trellis would restrict my access from the back of the bed. There is a bit of a gap between the bottom of the screen and the top of the frame so I can reach through there for planting but other than that, I’ll have to stretch across the four feet from the front of the bed or work from the sides.

If the weather changes from rainy to clear as it’s supposed to, we’ll finish the other two beds today. I’m also hoping to finally re-locate the rhubarb bed after a do a bit of filling in at the back of the yard, where I plan to re-plant it, and plant the sunflowers and a few other flowers in the old rhubarb space.

I’m posting this rather late but it is still Monday. I’m just on my way to bed after a long day. This week I’m working night shifts on Saturday and Sunday so B will be at my mom’s and my supper at work will be leftovers.

• Monday: sweet and sour chicken with brown rice
• Tuesday: Spicy and Tender Crock Pot Pork Chops
• Wednesday: Mexican Lentil Lasagna
• Thursday: turkey sloppy joes with mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans
• Friday: pasta with turkey meatballs
• Saturday: leftover sweet and sour chicken with rice
• Sunday: leftover chicken pot pie (from freezer)

A garden-related post is coming tomorrow! In the meantime, head over to I’m An Organizing Junkie for more meal plans.

I was to work a night shift tonight but when I woke up this morning I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I felt, and still feel, terrible. Nothing specific, just generally achy, headachy, off, and ill. I knew something was up when I was at work last night and the headache arrived early in the evening and just kept building. B was blessedly well behaved today, playing outside for extended periods of time off and on and when he was inside, he was mostly cooperative. I dug out the dehydrator and he helped me to prepare cranberries for drying.

Notice the mitten. The cranberries were frozen. Initially he tried using the blue
gardening glove to his right but it was too awkward. I think the mitten was too.

He placed the cranberries on the cutting board one by one for me to cut in half. It was tedious. I am not a has-all-the-time-in-the-world mom (though I would love to be a little more that way) so it was hard for me to deal with that but we did. And then he started putting them on the board a few at a time, which helped much more. The berries had been in the freezer for quite a long time, which was partly my reason for drying them, so some were quite wrinkled and divoted. He sorted them out and we put the ones we didn’t want into the compost bucket, which he later took out and dumped for me. By the time we were done the blue bowl was about half an inch from the top full of halved cranberries. They took up three trays in the dehydrator. I chose not to sweeten them because a) I preferred not to, and b) I wasn’t sure how to do it. The bulk store has dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice concentrate and I imagine that, had I had concentrate in the house, I could have warmed it up, soaked the berries, and then dried them. I dried them plain though and now that they are done and I’ve tasted a few, I don’t find them incredibly sour. They are very, very light in weight though and remind me more of freeze-dried fruit than the dried cranberries you buy in the store. There is a slight crunch to them around the edges as well. I mixed up another batch of granola bars this evening and added in 1/2 cup of the dried berries. I’ve only sampled the edges of the pan but they seem to taste pretty good.

My boyfriend came over and took B to the barber for me. I’d promised B we’d go today and that we’d walk. It’s only five or six blocks away.  They left and I headed for the couch. When they returned they apparently played in the back yard for a half hour or so while I continued my nap. My boyfriend later reported that they had a great time, B listened incredibly well, didn’t run ahead (he has difficulty in waiting at the cross streets), and there were no issues whatsoever. I love to hear that and I love that S got to spend some one-on-one time with B.

I am in the process of switching banks due to my first bank not working for (or with) me, just one step in my New Me financial journey. For the past several months I have been using (and loving!) YNAB as my budgeting program and it has been so helpful in planning and saving and making me more aware of what I have to work with. I am looking forward to continuing that personal and financial growth.

The other day I jumped on the 1001 Day Project bandwagon. One of my goals is to use only cash for groceries (no debit cards) for a period of one month. The hope is that I will learn that it really isn’t so scary after all not having that "cushion" and safety knowing there’s more money in the account if I need it. Additional hopes are that I will finally get started on a price book so I will have a rough idea of what my groceries should be costing me before I get to the checkout, and that with the increased use of cash, there will also be an increase in coins. Actually that cash-coin thing isn’t a hope. It’s pretty much a given. Those coins are going to find themselves all snug and cozy with other coins in a jar. At the end of the 1,001 days, I will counts those coins, faint from excited delirium, and then recover and take them to the bank to deposit straight into my savings (or emergency fund if I haven’t yet reached my goal amount).

Savings coins works for me. I’ve done it in the past on a much smaller scale so I’m very excited about a 2.75-year coin-saving spree. Bring it on! Head over to We Are THAT Family for more tips, ideas, and examples from over 225 other bloggers.

PS: Blogsome ate my previous attempt at this point. It was much more eloquent and flowing and less non-eloquent and choppy but I have a nap calling my name and a clock that keeps reminding me I only have three hours before I have to be sitting at my desk at work for night shift. I can’t re-do eloquent or flowing today.

I remember how much it made sense when I heard that the more you shampoo your hair, the more you need to shampoo it. Even with moisturizing shampoos you are stripping the natural oils so much that your hair works overtime to make up for it, resulting in the "I just washed my hair this morning so why does it feel so gross?" phenomenon. A couple of years ago I decided to try the No ‘Poo method and stop using shampoo altogether. I absolutely loved the results - soft, silky hair that I could run my fingers through at any time of the day or night and never hit a tangle or snag. My hair at the time was around the top of my shoulder blades and, as it has always been except for perming, poker straight and very thick. For some reason that I can’t remember, I quit the no ‘poo method and reverted to shampoo and conditioner. In the past two weeks, however, I’ve jumped on the shampoo-less bandwagon again. My hair is currently very short (think pixie-ish) and still very thick.

Using the No ‘Poo method saves almost a literal ton of money. You probably have baking soda at home as well as apple cider vinegar. And even if you just have regular vinegar (or lemon juice even), you can still do it. How much does a jug of vinegar and a box of baking soda cost? The amount you use each time to wash your hair is going to vary depending on what your hair prefers but I can guarantee that it’s going to be massively cheaper than a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. And it’s far more natural too. 

If you’re new to No ‘Poo, you may want to read this page for an overview as well as tips. The procedure itself is incredibly simple though it will vary from person to person as hair is different from one person to the next. My "tools" consist of a squirt bottle (it used to contain agave nectar) that I fill with water and a tablespoon and a bit of baking soda, a bottle of apple cider vinegar, and a cup  for mixing the water and vinegar. My procedure consists of wetting my hair thoroughly, squirting on my scalp some of the soda/water mixture (shaking the bottle well first; you’ll notice the settling of the soda in the picture above) until I feel like I have enough (very scientific, I know). I then massage my head and hair well. With my short hair, this isn’t difficult at all. When my hair was longer, I used to squirt the soda/water onto my hair instead of my scalp and then use my hair to massage my head. After I’ve even distributed the mix around, I rinse my hair again with plain water before taking the cup, which I’ve filled with about 3/4 of an inch of vinegar topped up with water, and slowly pouring it over my head, gently working it all over with my other hand. I then rinse out the vinegar, dry my hair, and I’m good to go. There is a decent amount of vinegar smell while my hair is wet but once it dries it’s gone. I think. My hair is too short to stick under my nose to check but I’ve had no complaints from either my son or my boyfriend.

I’m hoping to stick this no ‘poo method out. I see no reason to return to shampoo though I do still have 3/4 of a one-litre bottle of Tresemmé in my shower. Maybe I’ll use that as bodywash? Or maybe not. I’m loving my emu oil soap and hoping to make my own (non-emu) soap in the near future.

Give no ‘poo a try. What have you got to lose?

Tonight’s supper as per the meal plan was Sweet Ginger Tofu. I had never tried this recipe before, nor had I ever eaten tofu. I’m not sure what to think. The tofu itself was an unfamiliar texture. Actually, I’m sure it’s the texture of many things I’m familiar with but not of anything that I tend to eat for supper and where I would expect my meat to be. Yes, I’m an omnivore.

It looks appealing enough on the plate but didn’t look so great from the beginning right up until the last five minutes of baking. I didn’t find the smell all that enticing either until it was nearly done. The recipe calls for mirin, which I didn’t have and I didn’t want to go out and buy it knowing that if I ever use it again it will only be rarely. I used agave nectar, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt as a substitute on the recommendation of one of the sites I found during a google search for what to use instead. Overall, I didn’t mind it. B wouldn’t touch it even though he was excited for us to buy tofu and make something with it. I sliced off four half-inch pieces from the tofu brick (what are blocks of tofu called anyway?) and now have two pieces leftover from supper and half a brick left in the fridge. I’ll have to find something to use it in by the end of the month. I served it with leftover hint-of-garlic mashed potatoes, corn, and edamame (another first for me).

I’m just waiting on the oven to finish baking my bread so I can put in a roast pan of stew beef. Once the beef is browned, I’ll put it in the crock pot with the potatoes, carrots, celery, and parsnip that I chopped a little while ago. Stew is on the menu for supper tomorrow. Before I can go to bed, I have to have a shower, pack B’s lunch for tomorrow, and figure out how to use the timer so that I can set my crock pot to turn on around 8 or 9 instead of having to turn it on at 5:45 in the morning when I leave for work. I think 10 hours on low might be a little much.

The house is smelling heavenly right now with the bread nearly done. It won’t be too hard to fall asleep.

It’s week two of meal planning here at the rainberryblue household. This week I’m working one day and three nights (Tuesday through Friday) so only four of these meals will be at home and with B. My suppers on night shift will again be either leftovers, something concocted from leftovers, or something made fresh but simple.

On Thursday of last week I came across a great blog called Weelicious and I very much enjoyed reading back several pages. One of my recipes comes from there and uses tofu, which is something I have never used before. In the past, I’ve added tofu to my shopping cart at the grocery store but it’s always ended up being thrown out due to the length of time it stayed in the fridge. One time I even froze a block of tofu because I read that it changes the texture in a favourable way (if that texture is something you’re looking for) and because I figured it would last longer frozen. That block still ended up getting thrown out, unused. Despite that, I picked up another block several weeks ago, eternally optimistic (or sadly deluded) that this time, I would use it. And now, it’s written down and I have no reason not to. I even plan to pick up a package of silken tofu and try out this recipe.

• Monday: Sweet Gingery Tofu
• Tuesday: beef stew (possibly with pork instead)
• Wednesday (night shift): leftover Mexican Lasagna (in the freezer from a few months ago)
• Thursday (night shift): leftover stew
• Friday (night shift): leftover chicken pot pie from last week (which I froze)
• Saturday: Moroccan-spiced Tomato Chicken with Almonds
• Sunday: Baked Southwestern Tilapia with Lemon-Herb Quinoa

The plan for today was to bake a loaf of bread and mix up some Mel’s Mix to top up my raised garden beds but it’s too windy this morning to do the gardens. It’s threatening to rain and is very breezy; the wind would blow the peat moss and vermiculite all over the place as I tried to stir it up. The bread plan is still a go (no trouble at all since the dry ingredients are already all mixed up) and I also need to head out and pick up a few bulk items like rolled oats, non-instant milk powder, liquid honey, and the like. B also needs more pants so that will be on the list as well; I’m never opposed to hitting up the second-hand stores. It seems like his pants are either too short or have a hole in the knee. I know warmer weather in on its way but he still needs long pants until then.

The granola bars I made last night are very good. I was pleasantly surprised. The reviews of the original recipe were beyond glowing, however I couldn’t help but think, "It’s just a granola bar. They can’t be that amazing." I don’t know if I’d call them the best I’ve ever had (as some reviewers did) but they were very tasty, very simple to make, so easily customizable, and B seemed to like them (he had two for breakfast). I scrounged my cupboards for some dried fruit and came up with four dried apricots and some dried-out prunes, which I chopped very fine (to make the fruit go further). I added in a small amount of milk chocolate chips and some coconut as well. B does like raisins but he’s very particular about what they go into. For the cup of flour, instead of all-purpose I used 1/2 cup of graham flour, 1/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose, and 1/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour. I subbed half the oil (sunflower) with some of the applesauce I made the other day, reduced the honey to 1/4 cup (slightly less since I spilled some) and topped it up with 1/4 cup of agave nectar. I think the brown sugar could stand to be reduced even further (it’s at 1/2 cup, down from the original 3/4 cup). I pressed the mixture into a 7x11 pan and baked it for about 25 minutes. All in all, a very good recipe and one I expect to make again.

The sunflower sprouts as of this morning. Most of them were just peeking
the crook of their neck through (some barely visible) last night.

The sun returned this morning and it is absolutely beautiful outside. The sky is a perfect blue and there is not a cloud in sight. It makes up for the fact that B went to bed around 9 last night (as opposed to his usual 6:30 to 7:00) and  woke up at 6:30 this morning (as opposed to the normal 7:00 to 8:00). It doesn’t help that I always stay up far too late and end up with considerably less than seven hours most night. I’m a girl whose body needs at least 9 or 10 hours on a regular basis to feel awake and energetic but I can’t remember the last time I allowed myself that much sleep. It’s been like that for years, but it does have to change.

We can see the beginnings of five sunflower sprouts! Two in the same pellet. There are 12 peat pellets and each has two seeds. When I woke up this morning and came upstairs, I took a peek and noticed the bent over neck of one barely poking through the surface. I went grocery shopping this morning and on getting home at 12:30, I looked again and saw another tiny bit of white. I also saw what B meant when he told me (some time after I showed him the sprouts) that he saw the root - it looks like he dug the first guy a little bit and pulled him out. It wasn’t pulled out entirely but still quite a bit. I’ve gently fixed it and am hoping there isn’t any damage. We planted them on Thursday and they don’t get much sun or extra warm conditions. They sit in a window that gets a bit of sun for a couple hours in the morning as the sun is rising and Friday afternoon I sat them outside in the sun with their lid on to soak up some warmth. I don’t tend to fuss over my plants (no heating pads or grow lights) because I barely have enough room to set the pellets out to germinate let alone room for extra equipment. Just an hour or so ago I took a look at them again and there are three more tiny indications of a sprout just barely visible in the dirt. I moved them out to sit in one of my raised garden beds so they could soak up some sun from the top and warmth from the bottom and they’re obviously loving it. Hopefully over the next week the rest of the seeds will show their heads.

B asked me to help him build this fort this morning and it’s now sitting smack in the middle of my small living room. The frame is Crazy Forts, which I ordered with some other things from Mastermind Toys last year. We’ve only had it out a few times but when he does use it, he loves it. Hopefully it will occupy him somewhat for the rest of the day. That or his sandbox.

I did a bit of grocery shopping earlier today while B was at Sunday School with grandma. I spent more than I expected but that was because I bought more than what was on my list. Sucanat was on sale for $2 off so I picked up two bags (one pound each) to put in the storage room. I don’t use a lot of it but I do like to have it on hand. It’s also a regular ingredient in Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean recipes, which I sometimes make (and which I need to use more often). I also picked up a bag of unbleached all-purpose flour because it was on sale and because my bin will need to be topped up within the month. I mostly use whole wheat flour but I do use some all-purpose sometimes too. I picked up a little more meat than I had planned as well but that will go in the freezer.

All ready to pop into the oven.

The plan for the rest of the day is to try and find a recipe to make a batch of nut-free granola bars for B’s lunch box. I’ve just taken a batch of cinnamon rolls out of the oven. They’re a quick, easy, no-yeast roll with the perfect amount of butter, sugar, and cinnamon spread inside. I made a recipe and a half because I wanted to use my bigger muffin cups and it worked out perfectly. I accidentally doubled the butter in the filling but it doesn’t seem to have done any harm. An amazingly scented house to go along with a gorgeous spring day? Who wouldn’t want that?

I think I’m going to head outside for a few minutes and play Frisbee with B while the pizza dough finishes thawing for supper.