Sunny Saturday and the Front Garden in March

Saturday's Harvest

I picked more lettuce and snow pea pods from the garden on Saturday!

It was a sunny day with clear blue skies and an afternoon high of 73F!  It was warmer outside than it was inside, so, I spent the morning and part of the afternoon outside!  It was pleasant to listen to the birdsongs and watch the butterflies and the lizards, while I had my morning cup of tea and said my morning prayers.  I watched a pair of hummingbirds drink nectar from the crocosmia flowers, but, they flew away when I tried to take a photo.  I also did two loads of laundry and changed the dust sheets on the family room sofas.

Later in the afternoon, I sewed a bit on the quilt I am repairing and watched a couple of videos while I did so.  Still later, I watched news and some TV programs and knitted.  

Time for the monthly photos of the front garden:

The Front Garden in March

Looking Straight Down Along the Sidewalk

The Succulents Bed Along the Sidewall/Fence 

The Aloe Plants are Done Flowering

New Growth on the Euphorbia Tirucalli

New Leaves on the Pomegranate Tree

Flower Buds on the Jasmine Plant

The front garden is sort of in a transition phase right now.  The lantana bushes have suffered some frost damage from those nights when the temperature dipped down to 35F and are not looking their best.  The succulents beds need some tidying up, too.  But, the plants are all doing well and there's more rain in the forecast, so, they will get plenty of water, again!  

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Another sunny and warm day
- More garden produce to harvest
- Working appliances
- Phone calls with family and friends
- The car started without any problem

Saturday's joyful activities included sitting outside listening to birdsong and enjoying the sunshine.

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

Sunnier on Friday

Friday's Harvest

We had a sunnier day, today!  The house felt cold when I woke up (I had turned the heater off before I went to bed), but, it was warmer outside (63F)!  So, I opened the doors and windows and went outside for a bit.  Walked around the garden, did a bit of weeding, and then, walked up and down the driveway for 15 minutes.  

I did a little tidying and sorted through some papers in the afternoon and replied to blog comments. Watched some videos and later, watched the news.  

M was here in the evening to tend to the garden and I shared some soup and salad with him before he left.  He fertilized the nectarine tree and the Fuyu persimmon tree which is just starting to form leaf buds:

Leaf Buds on the Fuyu Persimmon Tree

The lantana and plumbago hedge is behind it.   There is a little strip of ground between the persimmon tree and the hedge and I had planted a couple of potatoes that had shriveled up and a sweet potato top.  Both potato and sweet potato vines had died back and I had M dig them up to see if we had anything.  There were four tiny potatoes (shown in the first photo at the top) and one skinny little sweet potato!  I put the sweet potato back in water to see if I can get it to sprout, as it was not worth cooking it.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- A sunnier and warmer day
- Having the garden to walk in
- Chatting with family and friends
- M helping with the garden
- Today's harvest!

Today's joyful activity was walking in the garden. 

I don't have any specific plans for the weekend.  It's supposed to be sunny and warmer (a high of 68F) on Saturday and cloudy and cooler (a high of 57F) on Sunday.  

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?  

A Stroll in the Back Yard

The Peaches Are Forming

Thursday was another cloudy day, with some rain in the early morning.  The rain had ceased by the time I woke up, however.  I walked around the back yard, today, and as you can see, the garden is doing well with all the rain.

The peach tree has set fruit, but, according to M, some of the fruit are showing frost damage and, of course, we will have to thin out the fruit in the weeks to come.  

Peaches Close Up

The plum tree is full of flowers and I am hoping that I'll get some fruit, later on:

Plum Flowers

The nectarine tree is still thinking about it:

Nectarine Tree

The orange tree is full of buds - the garden will smell so sweet when they start to flower:

Orange Flower Buds

Nearby, a clump of purple osteospermum is flowering :

Purple Osteospermum

The self-seeded broccoli plants are growing well, too.  No signs, yet, of any broccoli forming, but, I'll be happy with just the leaves!  

Broccoli Plants

The lettuces are ready to be harvested!  They are sharing a bed with some of the snow peas.

Salad, Anyone?

The rest of the snow peas are sharing the planting bed with the broccoli:

The Rest of the Snow Peas

I picked a few more snow pea pods, this afternoon, and added them to the ones I picked on Wednesday; they were sauteed and eaten with rice and chicken for dinner.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Having a back yard
- Rain to water the garden
- The fruit trees seem to have survived the winter
- Being able to harvest lettuce and snow peas
- The promise of fruit to come

Today's joyful activity was strolling in the back yard and picking snow pea pods for dinner!
 

Mid-March

Today's Garden Harvest: Lettuce and Snow Pea Pods!

I picked some lettuce and the first of the snow pea pods from the garden, today!  Some of the lettuces are starting to bolt!  I picked three more snow pea pods after I took this photo - I'll be having them in a stir-fry, tomorrow.  

Last night, after I posted, I baked the second tray of chicken thighs:

Baked Chicken Thighs

There were 12 thighs in this package.  I seasoned them with some salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ginger, and a little soy sauce.  After they cooled, I packaged them, three thighs per package, and froze them for future meals.  

Then, while the oven was on to bake the chicken, I mixed up some pastry dough and made some patties with the leftover ground beef and dhal curry I mixed together.  There was just enough of the mixture for 10 patties.  I added some freshly grated cheese to the leftover pastry, along with a little garlic salt and paprika, and baked some cheese crackers for a snack.  

Patties and Cheese Crackers

I had some of the patties for my dinner, last night, and for brunch, today.

It was a cool and cloudy day, today, but, the rain ceased and M was able to check on the garage roof and do a few more repairs.  He wasn't very pleased with his efforts, but, he's a perfectionist; I told him that as long as the repairs hold out until I can get a roofer to check on things, it's good enough for me.  M also checked on the peach tree and noticed that some of the baby peaches that are forming are showing signs of frost damage.  We will have to thin out quite a few fruits, in another week or so.  

I called and wished one of my cousins for her birthday, sewed a few more patches on my quilt in the afternoon, watched a walking tour of the Tower of London, and watched news.  Later, I cleaned the litter box.  Dinner was more of the soup and cheese crackers followed by grapes.  Grapes are selling for $2.99/lb. this week, so I am glad I bought some when they were on sale, last week.   

Today, I am grateful for:

- M's help with the garden and roof repairs
- A well-watered garden
- Today's garden harvest
- Working appliances
- A relaxed day

Today's joyful activity was picking the first pea pods from the garden.

Plans for tomorrow include some kitchen cleaning and more quilt repairs.  

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

 

More Rain on Tuesday

The Garden Plants are Loving the Rain
(Those tiny plants are osteospermum seedlings)

Monday was a mostly sunny day and "warm" with a high of 65F.  I must be getting used to the cooler temperatures we've been having because I didn't need to switch the heater on until quite late at night.  Of course, I was wearing a pair of leggings under my jeans and three sweaters plus a scarf, so, I was well insulated!  LOL.  But, it's only 55F, today (Tuesday), and rainy; I'm  wearing the same number of layers, plus a knitted poncho and a scarf AND my fingerless mitts, but, I had to switch the heater on as I felt cold (thermostat was set at 65F, but I was still cold and I've since raised it to 70F).  Now we know why I have so many clothes in the closet!  I wear multiples of them in the winter to keep warm!  LOL!  

On Monday, I paid my gas bill of $337.74 (for the billing period 1/20/23 - 2/17/23).  I had used fewer therms of gas (104) than during the same billing period in 2022 (136), but, the cost of gas and associated fees and taxes have gone up, so, the amount of the bill ($337.74) had increased, too (last year's bill was $277.46).  I used 32 fewer therms and paid $60 more!  Sigh.  The next meter reading will take place 3/20/23; the current estimate of that bill is $263.22.

I also cleaned the litter box, took the trash cans to the end of the driveway, took the kitchen scraps to the compost pile, and checked on the garden, a bit.  The blueberry bushes are in planters set under the cover of the patio overhang and they don't get much of the rain, so I watered them.  The rest of the garden is getting rained on, today, and there's more rain in the forecast for tomorrow, as well!  

In the evening, I cooked one of the trays of chicken thighs I had bought on Sunday.  There were 10 thighs in the tray.  I sauteed them with some onions and two of the Roma tomatoes I had bought, earlier in the month.  There was a tiny bit of teriyaki sauce that my daughter had made when she was here and kept in the fridge for me, so I added that to the chicken, too, along with some salt and pepper.  Once they were cooked, I decided to have one for my dinner (although that was not in my meal plan!) with the leftover rice I had in the fridge, and I stir fried some carrots and broccoli to go with it.  

Monday Night's Dinner

I froze some of the cooked chicken in meal sized portions and kept the remaining couple of pieces in the fridge, along with the leftover stir fried vegetables, for later in the week.  I will cook the remaining tray of chicken thighs, tonight, and freeze them, too.  Having cooked chicken in the freezer helps; they are easy to thaw and reheat in the microwave.    

Today, I brought the trash cans in and I kept the lids on the green yard waste bin and the blue recycling bin open, in order to catch any rainwater I could in the bins.  I can leave off adding yard waste and recycling material to the bins for another week or two and then, we'll use whatever water gets collected in the bins first.  

Monday's brunch was two of the drop biscuits with cream cheese and dinner was what is pictured above.  Afterwards, for dessert, I had some yogurt with a spoonful of strawberry jam stirred into it and some cereal sprinkled on top.  I should mix up a batch of granola as that would be just perfect as a topping for the yogurt.

Today, I had a bowl of the ham and split pea soup followed by the last two drop biscuits with butter and golden syrup for brunch.  Dinner will be some of the patties I am planning to make after tea (which is brewing as I type this).  I am thinking that I might just bake the chicken thighs in the oven, along with the patties.  Having the oven on will help warm up the house, as well!

I am grateful for:

- More rain for the garden
- Weekly trash collection services
- Working appliances
- M's roof repairs seem to be holding up
- Delivery services - I ordered some kitty litter and one box was delivered yesterday and the other is expected to be delivered today.

Joyful activities have included being in the garden and knitting.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, too.  If it does, then M will not be able to do any garden work.  

How is your week coming along?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

March Meal Plans: Week 2 Review and Week 3

This was the plan for Week 2:

Breakfasts/Brunches:  Bagels and cream cheese✔, cinnamon rolls✔, leftover noodles from the cup noodles with some leftover shredded turkey added to it (Monday)✔,  scrambled eggs with toast or fried potatoes, lasagna✔, biscuits and cream cheese, cereal and milk (imagine that! Can't remember the last time I had cereal and milk for breakfast!)

Dinners:

- Leftover macaroni and cheese with the last of the shredded sauteed turkey, salad (Monday)✔
- Leftover macaroni and cheese with chicken curry✔
- Rice, chicken curry, dhal, cucumber slices✔
- Ham and split pea soup✔ drop biscuits✔
- Ground beef with mashed potatoes, broccoli rice and dhal curry✔
- Leftovers✔

There was, also, yogurt for dessert.

I start off Week 3 with leftover ham and split pea soup, leftover biscuits, a small serving of leftover rice, and leftover ground beef mixture (to which, I added the leftover dhal curry).  Plus an almost full dish of yogurt.  

Breakfasts/Brunches: Scrambled egg and toast or fried potatoes; ham & split pea soup with biscuits(on a day when I want more of a lunch than a breakfast), yogurt with cereal and fruit preserves, 

Dinners: Ham & split pea soup (on a day when I don't have it for brunch), patties with ground beef filling and salad, smoked sausage stir-fry with vegetables and rice, leftovers.  Or...I might have something quite different!  It'll depend on how much I feel like cooking, or not!  

Did you make a meal plan, last week?  Did you keep to it?  Will you be making a meal plan for this week?   

March Grocery Shopping - Part 2

I picked up my groceries today (Sunday).  As mentioned before, this was a stock up grocery order, to take advantage of sales and current prices before they increased!  

I bought:

Chicken thighs, 2 family packs, 6.58 lbs. @ $0.99/lb. (reg. price $2.49/lb.) = $6.51

Grapes, 3 lb. container, reg. price $7.99, on sale with digital coupon  = $4.99 ($1.66/lb.)

Pancake mix, 1 box, 32 oz., store brand = $3.29 ($0.10 price increase since I bought it last in November 2022)

Rice, 10 lb. long grain, white, store brand = $7.49
($2 price increase since I bought a 10 lb. bag in March, 2022; in July 2022, 10lb. and 5lb. bags of rice were not available for pick up - delivery only, according to the website - and I bought 3x 2 lb. bags for a higher price per lb.; the 2 lb. bags of rice have increased in price to $1.99 now)

Condensed milk, 6 cans, 14 oz.@, store brand @ $2.49 = $14.94 (price increased by $0.10/can since I last purchased in October 2022)

Milk, 1/2 gal. store brand with digital coupon = $1.99 ($0.40 price reduction with coupon)

Flour, 5 lb., store brand, unbleached = $3.19 (same price as when I bought in January 2023)

Sugar, 10 lb., white, store brand = $6.99 (same price as when I bought in December 2022)

Ground coffee, 12 oz., daughter's favorite brand, $6.99@ (reg. price $14.99 per receipt!) = $13.98 (it's been quite some time since I last bought coffee, but, it was on sale for $5.99 back then).

Total spent today = $63.37

March grocery budget = $100.00
Spent to date = $36.42 (on March 4) + $63.37 = $99.79
Balance left = $0.21

I had $63.58 left in my March grocery budget after my shopping on March 4; I think I planned out this week's shopping almost down to the penny!  LOL.

I am not planning to buy more groceries this month.  I have plenty of fruit and vegetables in the fridge and freezer, plus there's lettuce ready to be picked in the garden and I noticed that the first snow pea pods are just about ready to be picked!

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping and grocery budget?  How do these prices compare with what you are seeing in your grocery stores?