daybook july 3, 2011

Outside my window…
gray, cloudy skies. Will it rain? Ah, yes, it is! I ran out and put my outside plants on the driveway to get the rain.

I am thinking…
writing, my family, the summer, and .

I am thankful for…
the bounty of my garden. I put 2 quart bags of green beans and yellow tomatoes, 4 quart bags of broccoli, and 1/2 gallon bag of plum tomatoes in the freezer, not to mention the pound of pickling cucumbers in the fridge. I can’t wait to do my first batch of bread and butter pickles today.

I am pondering…
a wide margin in my life. I can do a great job of packing stuff in, and then it’s too much and there’s much metaphorical kicking and screaming. Focusing on the basics which is a lot with 5 kids and a little more, plus staying out of drama, helps me so much.

Living a green/frugal lifestyle…
A tank of gas is going much farther these days now that I’m not driving to school. If the kids don’t want to go to summer playground, we stay home and I work on my Zero Waste project or do stuff in the garden.

Yesterday, the kids played in the kiddie pool, filling it up high with water. Rather than waste all that water, I took 2 buckets and hauled them around the yard watering everything that I could think of. I probably did 20 trips with the 2 buckets, and it was worth my time and effort.

From the kitchen…
I am still not on top of meal planning, though using Springpad has helped me with staying on top of tasks in the kitchen. I don’t worry as much about forgetting something because I can put the task in Springpad and still see it even if I don’t get to it that day.

After returning something at REI on Friday, I went to Ikea and picked up 4 lock bottles to use for my Kombucha. They were a dollar more per bottle, but they fit in my fridge!

I’m looking at this pantry challenge to help me use up more stuff in the freezer and pantry and set aside money for buying fruit later in the summer.

I am creating…
plans for my week which has changed a bit, and that’s okay.

I am going…
to make my first batch of pickles today – bread and butter. If I feel ambitious, I will also make a batch of relish. Otherwise, I hope to spend time relaxing today.

I am reading…
Martha Grimes – The Blue Last.

Living A Healthy Lifestyle…
This last week has been a bit of a struggle between hurting my knee last weekend and not getting enough sleep during the week. However, my knee is better as is my sleep. This week I will be hitting the hills again, and making sure I eat lots of greens.

I am hoping…
for lots of rain today. We need another good soaking.

I am hearing…
children playing with their new Nerf guns courtesy of Amazon gift certificates from Christmas time.

Around the house…
I am making some progress on my decluttering by using my timer and remembering that I have the entire month of July to do my projects.

I have a tendency to hyper focus when working on a project. Using the timer keeps me on track with the rest of my daily tasks, and reminds me to clean up when I’m finished working on an area.

Around the yard…
The deer are here; the deer are here! They’ve been munching on a few tomato plants, plus beans, all outside the fenced-in main garden. Fortunately, I have lots of extra netting stored away. The plants look a bit funny with the black netting draped over them, and that’s okay because I’m not doing the work to feed my family and have the deer eat the plants.

I pulled the remaining snap peas out and one bed of broccoli. Today, I’ll put in broccoli seeds for a fall crop along with more carrots and beans. If you’d like a tour of my garden, I posted one yesterday as part of .