One project completed!

Gosh, I think summer has arrived! It's HOT! It's only mid-day and in the 70s with possible record-breaking temps forecast for today. Jim and I worked our butts off yesterday making the frame for the raised garden bed and then hauling dirt by the wheelbarrow load to fill it. It could still use some more dirt but for the most part, we're done. I added several buckets of potting soil mix, too, so the dirt will be more loose and productive. I think I'll buy a couple of bags of Miracle Grow soil to add to it, too, or just use the liquid when I water. It's 4 feet by just over 9 feet and about 1 foot deep. The important thing when making one is to make it narrow enough you can reach the middle comfortably from either side. We just used wood we had and it's not cedar so it won't last forever but it didn't cost us anything but time. I looked at Menard's ad yesterday and using cedar to make one 4x8x1 would have cost almost $50! (Edited to add I did get some top soil, compost, and manure and mixed it into the soil. I was also able to plant radishes, peas, onions, and lettuce before it got dark tonight. Let the growing begin!)

Here's a project I found on the internet and did 2 years ago. It's held up well even though it's been outside for 2 winters. You take an inexpensive tomato support and wire thin, straight green branches to it, leaving the support posts at the bottom bare so you can stick them into the ground. It's just to add interest to your garden. You could also trim them even at the top and sit a flower pot saucer on it to make a birdbath. What do you think? I like making things like this and I've also made a few trellises out of branches.

Win a "What's For Dinner" gift basket

Do you stuggle trying to fix quick, easy meals for your family? Well, Romano's Macaroni Grill has a new product to try and help you. They've developed a line of boxed dinners that come in four classic Italian varieties. All you have to add is a pound of chicken or some other protein like shrimp or Italian sausage. The meals include Garlic and Herb Chicken, Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken and Pasta, Chicken Alfredo with Linguine and Chicken Marsala with Linguine. From start to finish the meal is ready to eat in about 20 minutes. You can try and win a sample of the Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken Pasta dinner plus extra coupons, a colander, a serving spoon, and a cheese grater at Jersey Bites. Enter here. Contest ends Tuesday, April 28th at 11:59pm. Good luck!

Spring Cleaning

Jim and I worked outside most of today cleaning brush out of the fence line, mowing, clearing flower beds, etc. The temperature wasn't too bad - in the low sixties - and I got by wearing a long-sleeved tee. (Supposed to be 80 later this week!) What made it feel chilly a lot of the time was the very gusty wind that blew all day long. I trimmed small mulberry trees, wild grape vines, and some bush with terrible thorns out of the fence on the far side of the garage. Only one tree was big enough Jim had to use the chain saw. I want the fence to come out, too, since the posts are rotting off and then we could mow easier but then what do we do with the old woven fencing? I already have some coiled up that just lays by the old shed. I know recycling and garbage pickup is the way to go but they don't take many things and you have to admit it was a lot easier when you could just dump junk in a ditch in the far pasture. We do have garbage pickup here in the country but not recycling. We could separate things and take them about 10 miles to the collection bins but we don't. That's a terrible thing to admit on Earth Day, huh? I do recycle household items and clothes all the time, either donating them, giving them away, or selling them and I would recycle the plastics, cans, and papers if Waste Management Recycling picked up in the country.

There are lots of other places where brush needs cleared but the next project I want to do is make a couple of raised garden beds. I mean the type with wood walls not just hilled-up dirt. Hardly any place on our acreage is flat and when it rains hard, the water has washed out my gardens in the past. I want to contain the dirt so it won't do that and I can also control the weeds better. I hate weeding as anyone can tell if they look at my flower beds. One of my favorite flowers is the iris but they're also one of the hardest to weed. My beds all need dug up and replanted, then Preen used on them. It's just such a labor-intensive job and Jim does not garden. He will sometimes run the tiller but that's about the extent of his gardening. He's happier just mowing things off. He prefers the jobs that use power tools not elbow grease.

Win a copy of Mother's Day Murder

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away another good book. This time it's an ARC of Mother's Day Murder by Leslie Meier. This is a Lucy Stone mystery but you don't have to read the series to understand the story. Make sure you check out her site and enter the giveaway here. Winners will NOT be notified by email. The winner will be posted on her site on May 30, 2009. If you don’t want to miss the announcement post, subscribe to the blog.

Wins This Week

I got notice of a fun win today. I was the winner of the Monday Giveaway at J'Adore These Stores. The prize is a purple Snake Hardcase from The Limited . I have personal cards with my contact info on them and the case will be great for those.

I was also an alternate winner for a book which is nice. I won The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson from Rhapsody in Books. I'm looking forward to reading it.

I know it's only Tuesday so I'm hoping to post more wins later this week.