Where have I been?

It's been a while since my last post and I wanted to get you caught up.  Since the Earth Day- The Aftermath post, our family has had two more viruses, a child with a broken foot, a case of pleurisy and mounds of school work to make up right before finals hit.  I'm too smart to comment "What else could go wrong?"   It's not that I'm superstitious, I just don't want to take it for granted that it's smooth sailing.  After all, I've been burned before.

Besides all the medical, technological (numerous broken appliances) and educational drama that has taken place in our household, there have been some Green bright spots. 

• The Pizza garden we planted during Spring Break has been growing like gangbusters and has actually yielded it's first fruits.  We will be having a side-by-side garden vs grocery store tomato taste-off this weekend.  I'll keep you posted on the results.  The BIG NEWS:  one or more of my children commented about how much more open to vegetables they are since we planted our garden.  They are now lobbying to add potatoes to our garden and maybe even spinach!  Miracles never cease!
• The rain barrel I got for my birthday has been installed and filled with rain.  It's amazing how quickly a barrel fills up and how quickly it empties when you water your garden.  I can see how more rain barrels would make the system work more effectively.   If we find the barrel to be helpful, I'd like to add more to our other downspouts to increase our rain harvest.
• The new appliances we've bought have been much more efficient that our old ones and have also made life easier and a lot quieter in my house.  I can hardly tell when the dishwasher or washing machine is running and, in a cozy house like ours, that's saying something.
• I'm still working on setting up a clothes line and getting back into composting.  Now that summer is here, I'll be able to focus more on those little projects.

Overall, it's been a challenging 2012 so far.  However, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to take a deep breath this summer and enjoy time together.  We've all earned it.  Speaking of summer. . .

Next Post:  Summer Reading Recommendations

Blessings,
Laura