end of summer already?

Summer came and went. Kids have started school this week. Both are going 4 mornings a week, 8:30-12:30. This gives me oodles of time to myself! I havent had this much time to myself (16 hours of daytime!) since something like 2003 (senior year at Brandeis, and then I worked 3 days a week for a year, so I had 4 days off then!). After that, I was in Grad School, and when I wasnt in class, i did have an internship. Then, I worked full time right up until I went into labor with Eliana. Then, it was baby baby baby baby (I think there were 3 months between the time when Eliana started her school program and i gave birth to Josh, but let's be honest- I was so big for that pregnancy, I could barely move, let alone enjoy the time she was in school!).

So, here it is, me + 16 hours a week = pure bliss! My plans? Getting into shape, finally (2001 style (my peak fitness time)). Also, getting my yard to be the way I want it (ie gardening till i drop). The idea of doing errands without dragging the kids along is also quite a nice idea, right?

Maybe next year I'll attempt to find a little part time work, but Matt and I have agreed- this year is for me .... for me to remember what it's like to have a life, be able to do what I want, when I want, and on my own (for 16 hours a week). I'm glad he agrees I need a dependable break (more than him taking the kids for a few hours here and there)! I need consistency!

I deserve this! with a travelling husband, i'm on my own 100% of the time, half the year. So for the first time in a long time, I really feel like I'm getting a break! Plus the kids are learning awesome stuff and getting to play with their friends, and other great benefits!

On another front, I've been at work learning how to preserve various foods. Obviously the bulk of work had to happen before the kids gave me the aformentioned break, so I was only able to do what I could during Josh's dwindling nap time, or during the times I give in and let them watch TV. Pickling zucchini and beans (yummy), dehydrating fruits and veg..... freezing berries...freezing herbs, drying herbs, making tomato sauce, making apple sauce, oven drying tomatoes, and making jam! Ive enjoyed making jam but it does occur to me that no one else in my house actually eats jam. So all that Peach, Peach/Rhubarb, and Cherry jam that I canned with either be eatten by just me, or given as gifts (my mother-in-law will NOT complain about that- she LOVES jam! Merry christmas!).

Much of my garden was a huge FLOP.

~Corn didnt grow (well duh- who grows corn in a 4 inch window box? yeah, I know. Next year I'll put it in the ground).

~ None of my cukes grew. I had some in a deep pot. They were eatten by the ground hog a while back and just never recovered. I planted 6 more plants after that, but they never grew either! What's up with that!

~My watermelons got to the size of softballs, then died. No good (i grew some in a deep box (2 feet deep) and some in the ground (but those were shaded out by squash!).

~From 4 plants, I got two cantelope the size of softballs too. And they couldn't be eatten anyway. AH!

~ My broccoli bolted before it produced any heads (boo!)

~ I have to better learn how to grow carrots. they are OK but not really big enough after all this time.

~ my eggplants didnt start actually producing fruit (mostly flowers that just dried up) until a few weeks ago!

Things that worked:

~Tomatoes- they did well, but I'll get different varieties next year. I wasnt pleased with the Brandywine (they got too big!), the Romas i got didn't work out too well- they turned yellow and then fell off the vines, so i had to ripen them inside, and I had too many cherry tomatoes. Next year I will get sungolds and a slicing/sandwhich tomato variety.

~The pineapple tomatills (or ground cherries) were prolific. They grew in a way i wasnt expecting: all over the place! I will put them in pots next year, so I can keep better control of their size.

~Pole beans- OMG these beans are insane! They grow all over, I have additional strings running from the top of the bean tower to other places in the garden so they can keep growing. I have so many beans I don't know what to do with them (i have been pickling them mostly- they are yummiest that way)

~Winter squash- The vines went everywhere, Luckily I planted them in a place where that is okay. I have about 7-8 of them. Some are small, some are medium and some are large. I'm pleased with them (though I think I'll have to plant them differently next year (running theme here- plant differently next year!).

~The edamame were delicious. I planted a whole seed pack. But the production was only enough for two meals worth for the four of us. Next year, i will plant at least twice as much, closer together, and plant them in two plantings (since they all mature at the same time).

~peas did OK, but next year I will plant them in a different area, and plant at least 4x as many.

~Herbs- all did amazingly well. Some things bolted, but I just planted more from seed (i have a TON of cilantro growing right now!). I'll have enough dried rosemary and thyme for the winter (as I usually do), and I have plenty of basil for pesto, and frozen parsley. I also froze basil leaves whole. I have 10 plants of sage, and never cook with those. Not sure what the best use is, really. They just get bigger and bigger every year. Also, have a ton of frozen scallion and chives. Those will come in handy all winter for omlets, salsa, dressing, and other stuff.

~Celery did okay, but i didnt use it much. ahh well.

~lettuce- I got so sick of salads by June, I havent touched one all summer long. Too many spring salads I guess.

~Zucchini. I had planted 4. Needless to say, I ripped up all but one by mid summer (to make room for the growing winter squash plants). Next year I will plant a few Zucchini plants, but not in my garden. Somewhere else in the yard where I dont care about how big it gets. I don't like zucchini much, so I don't like having it take over in areas I want other stuff to grow.

I've planted two apple trees and a sensation miniature peach tree. I'm working to move around my perennials to make room for two more apple trees and maybe a cherry tree. That is HARD work. I have a lot of perennials that must be split and moved. But i'll be happy when they are somewhere else. I will also have to move my two rhubarb plants to make room for the trees, though i havent figured out where to put those yet. I plan on planting A LOT of asparagus next spring (since I tilled my previous asparagus bed- dummy).

My raspberry and blackberry bushs are doing great in the front yard next to the driveway. My grape vines are doing OK but didnt have a good year this year. My blueberry bushes ( i have four) have never produced any berries. Not sure whats up with that. The bushs look great. I'll have to find a solution for that next year.

In other news, we are getting about 7 eggs a day from our 9 hens. Unfortunately, our rooster attached my neighbor (for the second time), so we had to send him away to a nice farm (i hope) in Westmoreland. Things are a lot quieter around here, but everyone (including my neighbor) misses him :( But we didn't have much of a choice since we couldnt have him just attacking any person walking down the street when he is out (about 100 kids a day walk by the house after lunch from the Waldorf school down the street on their way to the park for playtime). He was just doing his job, protecting his ladies, but still- we can't take any chances! luckily my neighbor doesn't press charges!

All in all, a good summer :)