The TV Matches the Curtains??

I couldn't take the hideous curtains in our living room anymore. They were there when we moved in and made the whole front room dark since they covered the only window at this end of our townhouse. So, I bought this gorgeous paisley-esque fabric plus a little extra in case I should happen to want to use some for a quilt or something... 

Well, then we decided we should reward ourselves for paying off our car (yippeeee!) and finally buy a TV. After 5 years of marriage we have never had a TV. We started out as students and thought a TV would be a huge distraction (the internet was bad enough!). Not to mention we loved it when cable companies would call us up, trying to sell us their services and we would tell them we didn't own a TV. They're stunned replies were delicious! "Oh!"...long silence... hahaha! Well, we didn't go totally entertainmentless. We enjoyed watching movies and we were so ready to enjoy the scrumptiousness of Pride & Prejudice and whatnot bigger than on a 17" computer screen. (Well, that's my opinion of course. My husband prefers The Hunt for Red October and things like that.)

Anyway, we got our new TV recently and not only was it big, our tiny living room made it look gigantic! And the only reasonable place we could put it was right in plain view and the first thing you see when you walk in our front door. That is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I don't want people to think we worship our TV, you know? That big black screen just kept staring at me and staring at me... until I threw a piece of fabric over it. What a relief that was! The fabric happened to be the extra scrap of fabric from the curtains that I was saving for a quilt. Well, my husband liked it so much that he asked if I could make a cover for our TV out of it. WHAT?!?! Sacrifice my quilt fabric for our TV???

Ok.

So, now our TV matches our curtains. And it's actually quite lovely. It's almost a work of art in and of itself.

Almost.

This Year's Garden Plan

Flowers emerging from the leaves.

Mt. Vernon, VA

Spring is in the air, robins are hopping around, and crocuses and daffodils are showing their faces! Hooray! I've tried to ignore the growing itch, but I couldn't. Every spring I get that urge to plant something that is so hard to ignore. But we've got some challenges this year.

1. We rent our townhouse.
2. The yard is slightly sloped.
3. Drainage is not very good.
4. We got attacked by caterpillars last year and I'm afraid for this year!!
5. This year is supposed to be the worst ever for stink bugs. (Where are the natural predators, I ask you?? Are stink bugs invincible?)

So, here's the solution I've come up with:
1. Build 2'x2'x1' planters that can be set on cinder blocks or blocks of wood.
2. Try out the amazing square foot gardening method designed by Mel Bartholemew so I can grow twice as much in a much smaller space.
3. Do not use mulch! (Black walnut wood is poison to tomato plants and I strongly suspect the stuff I got from a large home improvement store, which I will not mention, had that wood in there. My poor tomatoes!)

My plan is to line the bottom with gardening fabric, drill small drainage holes, put down a thin layer of sand, then some top soil and leaf compost. Woo! I am so excited!

Today, my kids and I made a trip to a locally owned plant nursery. They had the best deal on dirt and compost I have ever seen, considering I usually buy the bagged stuff from home improvement stores. Not only that, but I was pleasantly surprised with how helpful, friendly, and informative they were. They even had a pet rabbit my son loved looking at. Just another affirmation of how buying locally can be so much better! They weren't working for some corporation. They were working for themselves and they were locals and knew their stuff. I will definitely be going back there for my other gardening needs later on.

Spring Sunrise

I found this amazing, springy, happy drink on the Progressive Pioneer. It's strawberry grapefruit juice and it is wonderful. I've never been a huge fan of grapefruits, but having it in this form is very nice.

It's a simple recipe too:

1 grapefruit
Ripe strawberries
Sweetener (I used a couple tablespoons of sugar, but you could use honey or something else.)
Ice

Peel and de-seed the grapefruit. Throw it in the blender with a couple handfuls of strawberries. Blend. Add the sweetener and ice and blend for a minute or two until it is smooth. Drink right away! It really does taste like a beautiful spring sunrise!

(If you don't like your drinks really pulpy, I'd recommend juicing the grapefruit instead of throwing the whole thing in the blender.)

"Granola" Bars

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I was down with a really bad cold and then my mother-in-law was in town and we've had birthdays... Whew! It's been a bit crazy, but things are winding down now.

I had an idea for an easy "granola" bar that's a spin-off of rice krispy treats. There is something in a rice krispy treat that satisfies something deep down in my soul. There's just something so delightfully wonderful about that sweet chewiness... MMM!

Lately, I've been using the Arrowhead Mills brand of puffed rice for my rice krispy treats. I love this stuff because it's actually the whole grain of rice you're eating, not rice powder blended into a paste and made into rice-like shapes. So, not only is it whole grain, but it's also brown rice, and when you make rice krispy treats with this stuff it actually tastes like you're eating something other than air and marshmallows! Amazing!

Okay, enough with the slathering of praise. Let's get on to the recipes:
They are essentially the same except for the extra add-ins for the granola bars.

Whole Grain Puffed Rice Marshmallow Treats
(a long name, I know, but it's not really rice krispies unless we use that cereal, is it? lol)

1/4 cup butter (sometimes I use less)
1 pkg. mini marshmallows
1 - 2 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 - 1 pkg. Arrowhead Mills puffed brown rice cereal

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Add the mini marshmallows and stir until mostly melted. Add the peanut butter and stir in until smooth. Remove from heat. Add about half the package of puffed rice. You might need to add more or less depending on the ratio of marshmallow to cereal you like. Stir until the cereal is coated well. While still hot, pour into a greased cake pan. With greased hands, press the mixture until it's flat and even. Wait to eat until cooled... or not!

"Granola" Bars

1/4 cup butter (sometimes I use less)

1 pkg. Mini marshmallows

1 - 2 Tbsp. peanut butter

1 pkg. Arrowhead Mills puffed brown rice cereal

1 cup rolled oats, toasted*

1 cup lightly salted almonds, toasted & chopped

1 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips, optional

*I toasted these in on a dry cookie sheet in a 350º oven for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Add the mini marshmallows and stir until mostly melted. Add the peanut butter and stir in until smooth. Remove from heat. Add the oats, raisins, and almonds and stir in. Add about half the package of puffed rice. You might need to add more or less depending on the ratio of marshmallow to cereal you like. Stir until everything is coated well. While still hot, pour into a greased 13"x9" cake pan. With greased hands, press the mixture until it's flat and even. When cooled, cut into bars and wrap individually or serve as is.

Note: You might want to leave out the peanut butter since I didn't feel it went very well with cranberries. I made mine with raisins and it was okay with the peanut butter taste. You might even want to add in lightly salted peanuts!