Thrilling discovery, sprouting things everywhere!

I kind of forget how with the emergence of spring all of a sudden there are numerous exciting things happening around here.  I can hardly keep up, especially since I don't make it gracefully through most days yet without an afternoon nap.  Alida didn't even put too much fuss up today about hers, which (just ask her grandma) is mighty unusual.  I think she was tuckered out from the emotional energy expended this morning at her four year old check-up at the doctor (she passed all measures with flying colors and didn't even need a shot so she admitted it was not nearly as bad as she was anticipating).  She also knew that I was bound and determined for her to be well rested leading into the weekend's adventures.  Her birthday present from Aunt Emily and Uncle Jonas was a two night sleepover (they really could just count it as the 2015 birthday presents for the Myers-Benners as I'm not sure which child or adult was most anticipating the weekend!).  So, as you can see in the picture here, they are off!!

After they pulled out, I took a little meander around the yard just to see what was blooming and sprouting. It seems like my last two days spent in the office were big ones here at home - solar panels installed on the roof and onions planted in the ground, to mention the two biggest items.  Right now there is no sun shining and we aren't hooked up until our electric company switches out our panel, but we are enjoying a lovely rain on the newly planted seeds and seedlings!  There was much to see as I walked around the yard. Here's a few of those sights.

Kali and Jason planting 1600 plus onions!  Again a picture Dad took and the other credit for this progress is that Grandma was keeping the littlest one occupied - or Alida was keeping her occupied...

Solar panels being installed.  Photo credit: Grandpa Myers (thanks to his help this week also, I am now sitting in our living room with excellent internet connection to write this blog post!)

Peas sprouting!  Just used our last hull peas at lunch today so that should give us plenty of time to work up a hearty appetite for enjoying fresh ones in May!

Michael and Durwood in their new housing in the garden - mating season has not been pleasant for the drakes as they seem to be fighting with each other about 24/7.  Duckie being the youngest male coming into the ranks seems to have disrupted whatever hierarchy existed with the other two last year.  It has been much more peaceful with Duckie with the ladies and the other two males in their new quarters.

Spinach sprouting!  Jason and I are about to enjoy a large spinach salad for supper! We should not have to skimp on our salads for the foreseeable future as the wintered-over spinach is taking off.

Dreaming of breakfast tomorrow: the first nettle eggs of the season!  It used to be really easy to figure out things for Jason and I to eat while the girls were gone (I always tried to pick things that I knew they didn't like that we did).  They, especially Kali, are starting to like so many more things that we sometimes just have to eat things they like in their absence. There will be more nettle eggs for Alida to enjoy with us!

I was about to head back in when the peeping from the red coop drew my attention.  I saw a little chick riding around on its mama's back - who can resist taking a closer look at that?  As soon as I got near with the camera she started calling them to her. So they are mostly under her feathers but if you look at the far left there are a few brave (or disobedient) ones in the picture...

So before I end with the "thrilling discovery" alluded to in the tile, it would not be an update without a brief note about the bathroom progress.  THE TILE IS IN!!!  I even got a picture of Jason putting in the last minuscule piece of tile - on one of the geese in the V.  It is, no doubt, a work of art!  I was also happy to be informed this week (and I want to get it in writing just in case there are any memory lapses around here), that Jason fully expected in making a shower as complicated as this one that he was signing himself up to be the one that cleans it.  Okay by me!  Today was "clean out the bathroom" day from weeks of collecting random assortments of tiles and tools.  He was hoping to wash the floor and get into grouting.  I didn't have any set expectations for the day but as it wore on I was kind of assuming today would just include cleaning out and washing up.  I pretty much attempt to stay out of his hair during construction projects and so I hadn't really taken a close look at things. But I heard him washing and saw him coming and going with pans of water.  So I had adjusted to the idea of today not including any grouting.  This seldom happens to me, but it wasn't until Kali inquired on the smell in the bathroom that I realized that he was washing the floor, but only after applying grout in the joints!  So as I type the entire floor is grouted and he is out getting wet collecting eggs.  Which also means it is time for me to finish up dinner and get off this computer, so on to the thrilling discovery!

I have a lemon juice substitute that we can grow in abundance!  I'm making excellent headway in cleaning out my freezer but I've been a little stumped by a few things. The most recent being the bags of rhubarb.  It's so easy to grow and so easy to freeze.  But how do we use it when we are attempting to eliminate sugar from our diet?  I know rhubarb jam, rhubarb sauce, rhubarb pie, and rhubarb crisp. So what did I do?  Yes, I googled how to use rhubarb in savory dishes.  Who knew you could make all kinds of curry dishes with rhubarb?  So I tried one a week or two back.  It was good - not delectable, but way better than I expected.  And I didn't mince on the rhubarb - I had thrown a whole quart bag full of it into a lentil, potato, pea curry. It maybe tasted like someone had gone a tad overboard on the lemon juice but otherwise good.

So today I decided to make a recipe we all love that calls for lemon juice.  I pulled out our last bag of peas and a bunch of ground venison and whipped up an Indian dish that has wonderful spicing.  I threw a quart bag of rhubarb in with the sauteed meat and spices and let it simmer until you couldn't see the rhubarb anymore.  Then finished off and we savored it over rice for lunch.  I'd give it 5 stars and say it was even better than the lemon juice version.  The girls and Jason approved as well. We have a winner!  So I'm now dreaming of cooking down rhubarb and freezing it in ice cube trays to pull out a cube when a recipe calls for lemon juice.  Or canning it in small jelly jars to have in the fridge as needed.  Yep, I'm excited!  But now to our spinach salad and broiled polenta with rosemary and garlic.  And I'll throw the pumpkin cranberry pecan chocolate coconut bars into the oven for us to enjoy later with decaf coffee.  Let the sleepovers begin!!