CSA Week #1

Thursday evening marked our first CSA pick-up. We really had no idea what to expect, and I am happy to report that we are more than impressed. We were expected a light pick-up because previous emails from the farm indicated that pick-ups would be light early in the season and larger towards the end of the season. When we got to our pick-up location, we were surprised to find out the amount of veggies we would get to take home. Every CSA member got a head of lettuce, 1/10 pound of chives (that is a lot of chives), and half a pound of Japanese turnips, then we got six additional picks, which we used to get another head of lettuce, a half pound of spinach, two half pound picks of baby bok choy, and two half pound picks of rhubarb. I would say we made out quite well, and if this is a light week, I am excited to see what is in a heavier week towards the end of the growing season.

Now we are in the process of figuring out how to use all the fresh veggies. 1/10 of a pound of chives goes a long way and we have been adding them to dinners for extra seasoning. The rhubarb was combined with a container of fresh strawberries I purchased from the local grocery store and became pie. The lettuce and spinach will be used for fresh salads for our lunches, and I am going to use some of the baby bok choy in a batch of Asian noodle soup. As for the rest, we will see what Thom and I come up with. The best part? We pick-up more veggies on Thursday!

Featured on Furry Fridays!

I just wanted to thank Stephanie from A Geek in Glasses and Becky from B is for Becky for featuring me and my furbaby clan on their weekly series Furry Fridays!

If you would like to read more about Thom and my four-legged "children" check out the the blog entry!

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C25K- The End of Week Two

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Albeit slightly delayed by a week of rain and a brief heat wave, I am happy to report that I have completed week two of Couch to 5k, aka C25K. For those of you keeping track, that is two weeks down, seven weeks to go. So far, it has been a bit of a battle. Day 1 of weeks on and two left my ankles and calves screaming. Things got a bit easier on Day 2, and by Day 3 it had become a routine. Each week consists of a different running pattern, so it is always a matter of adjusting. For example, week one consisted of one minute of jogging followed by a minute and a half of walking for eight repetitions. Week two consisted of a minute and a half of jogging followed by two minutes of walking for six repetitions. The increase of 30 seconds may not sound like much, but my legs tell me otherwise.

When I used to go running as a teenager, I remember pushing myself while running and then reaching auto-pilot, where I could pretty much keep running for what seemed like forever. These brief runs are not letting me reach that point, although I am sure there is a reason for that. Week three includes two 3 minute runs with each work out, so we will see how that goes. Part of me is excited to move forward, the other is terrified. On the bright side, my legs are already starting to feel more toned and my jeans are getting looser. I also have a great group of cheerleaders supporting me every step of the way, which helps immensely.

CSA Update

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I got an email last week from the farm that we invested in to inform me and Thom that our first pick-up will be tomorrow! (Squeee!) On Monday, we received an email that explained what our available selections would be. The way our CSA (community supported agriculture) works is you pick out a size of share to invest in; small, medium, or large. Each week, everyone gets certain vegetables, then, depending on the size of share you purchased, you get a specified number of picks out of a selection of other vegetables.

Our CSA is a bit different from traditional CSAs in which everyone gets an evenly distributed mystery box. Thom and I can be picky eaters sometimes and we were concerned abut the possibility of getting a box of bell peppers or onions. This way we get a little more say into where our investment goes. We were also looking at a CSA that utilized a debit card system, the way that works is once you purchase your share, a certain amount is loaded into your account to spend at that farm's stand. After a little deliberation, we opted for our current CSA; it sounded like a better value over the course of the season, we do not have to keep track of numbers, and they have pick your own peonies.

Thom and I purchased a medium share. This week we get a head of lettuce plus six additional picks. The choices are rather scant right now because it is very early in the Maine growing season, but the farm promises to make up for everything in August and September. Regardless, I am still excited to have fresh, local, organic lettuce for our lunch wraps, zucchini for our grill, fresh potatoes, and baby bok choy, which will be a new vegetable for me.

Gardening, A Memorial Day Tradition

 For as long as I can remember, Memorial Day has always meant playing in the dirt, preparing the garden beds, and a trip to the garden shop to purchase plants. I look forward to the day Thom and I have a house of our own with a yard and gardens. Right now, we have an apartment, and a small deck. Regardless, tradition must go on, and I have made due with window boxes and flower pots. Despite a week of rain, we were able to get the dirt prepped, plants purchased, and planted. The next two days were rather chilly for plants that had just come out of the greenhouse, but everything is doing surprisingly well with the heat wave we are currently experiencing. The lovely petunia to the right is from my hanging pot right outside my kitchen window, it is full of purple and white petunias. These beauties are big! My hope is that they will vine out over the edge of the pot. So pretty, and you can never go wrong with purple.

Our window boxes are filled with herbs, and a random petunia that would not fit in the hanging pot. This one has parsley, lavender, rosemary, dill, and oregano.

And this one has sage, chives, and thyme; all of which managed to survive the winter. We also added basil, peppermint, and a random petunia. Fresh herbs are crazy easy to grow, and add a nice touch to culinary creations. Thom loves to add a few mint leaves to a glass of ice water, and dill adds a nice splash of flavor to scrambled eggs.

My flower pot is home to a morning glory and moss roses. This picture was taken a week ago, you can no longer see the garden gnome the moss roses have completely taken off. My morning glory is also doing really well, I have four or five new vines popping up that I need to train to the slats surrounding the deck. My hope is to have a wall of morning glories.

My miniature garden is a nice little retreat after a day of work, or for a morning coffee. We have a little bistro table out there and it is just the perfect place to sit. Unfortunately, I nailed the table with the black spray paint when I spray painted the baker's rack for the kitchen, so the whole thing needs to be repainted. The only question is what color?

In other gardening news, our CSA is doing well, and first pick up is going to be this week! So excited!

Telling Our Story

Scrapbooking is one of those hobbies that is just designed for me. I love being crafty and I love taking pictures. It is a no brainer. I started scrapbooking after I graduated college... wow, I feel old just thinking about how long ago that was. I took a bit of a hiatus after a bad break up before Thom and I started dating. About a year ago, I rediscovered my hobby. I wanted to document our story, so I created a scrapbook of our first year together. About a year later, it is finally done. 

The scrapbook has a storybook theme, it begins with "Once upon a time," where I typed up the story of how Thom and I met, and it ends with "and they lived happily ever after," which leads into my current scrapbook about moving to Maine and planning our wedding. In between are pictures and stories of our first year together. It took a fair amount of time, but in the end it was well worth it. Thom and I already enjoy looking at the pictures and reliving our first year together, our engagement, and driving across the country. It will be an actual treasure to our future selves.

The one tiny downside of scrapbooking is that it is never ending. Time goes one, meaning there are always new things to scrapbook. On the bright side, now I am only two and a half years behind. 

Friday's Letters

Dear Rain, please go away. While I will love running in the rain once I'm done C25K, I really do not want to water damage my iPhone. This nonsense of slight mist during the day, while I'm at work, and then down pouring when I get home so that I cannot go running is not cool. NOT COOL!!! Dear Customers, I know it is going to be rainy all weekend long while you are at your expensive summer cottages. Please do not take it out on me, I have no control of the weather. Look at the bright side, if you are at your cottage, it means you are not at work, like this girl. Dear Thom, thank you for being patient with my scrapbooking hobby habit and further for letting me have a girl night last night by watching wedding shows while scrapbooking. You are a keeper. Dear Readers, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and that the weather cooperates with you.