Grand-mom's

          Sorry for not posting. I was at my Grand-mom's waaaayyyyy down in south Texas. 

     I love going down there. It has a sense of nostalgia that I feel every time I go there. Maybe it's because her house is over forty years old, and she's been living there the whole time. I don't know.

     Sweet old Gatsby, he's about eleven years old. Wherever we explore or walk he is right beside us. You can tell he's getting on in years, he lays down any where.

     There is a big field right next to my Grandmother's property. We go and run in it every time we go. We go as far as our legs can carry us.

     Her old barn. My dad said that's where they used to raise their chickens. He raised them and brought them to the county fair, and would sell them for quite a lot of money. Now, the barn is just filled with junk, snakes, and probably rats, too. We never go in. You probably couldn't get in any way it's so jam packed with junk.

         It was a nice trip. We didn't do too much, but all in all it was rather relaxing...except for the part where I wouldn't go to bed until really late and our trips there and back were rather tiring. Other than that it was good.

Bread, Bricks, and Seedlings

   

     A couple of days ago we decided to go ahead and build our square foot frame for the garden. I recently read All New Square Foot Gardens by Mel Bartholomew. That means you grow from on top of the grass instead of in the ground. You even make your own soil mixture. Get the book if you plan on gardening successfully.

     Any way, we made ours from bricks that were leftover from building our house. Okay, just to be clear, we did not build our house, nor were we apart of it. We just rent it. Ahem. Sorry if that was unclear to you.

     Since we used the bricks, we didn't pay a thing for it. Cool, huh? 

Caleb pretending like the shovel is Thor's hammer and he can't pull it up. Boys.

     We actually made two 3'x3' frames and a short strip for our cucumbers. I will have to take pictures of them later.

These are the tomato plants.

     Most of our plants are doing well. The tomato plants are just sprouting like crazy. We are definitely not planting all of them.

Spinach

     I also made, in my opinion, the best bread recipe ever. You should really check it out. Nothing like fresh bread straight out of the oven. 

    

Books, Books, Books

     I am reading two books right now. One is All New Square Foot Gardening. The other is Who Could That Be at This Hour. I absolutely LOVE my gardening book. I am actually starting a garden. My Mom had heard that this particular gardening book was really good, and she decided to get it for me. I am now itching to get my hands in the soil and transplant my tiny plants and seeds into the ground. So, if any of you decide to plant a garden, get this book. I am telling you, that this is THE book to get. Seriously.
     Enough about that book. The next book is written by Lemony Snicket. The reason I tell you the author's name is, because he has such a interesting way of writing that I caution you before you devote your valuable time to read his books. I have read most of his books, but there is a few I have not read but don't really care to read. If you plan on reading his books, expect a ton of questions but not a lot, if any, answers. Other than that he is a very good writer, and he keeps you reading. 
     Yes, I am still on the dog. I know, I know I need to finish it. I promise I will finish it by the next yarn along.

Yarn Over, Pull Through the Loop...

     I know, you are probably sick and tired of seeing the same book and project. To tell you the truth, I am getting sick of it too. Not of the book. Thankfully, I am almost done with the dog. He is only missing two legs. 
     On the Shores of Silver lake is awesome. My nose is constantly buried in its pages. I can't wait til I can read the rest of the series.
     Time to finish my dog and start a new project (probably another animal).

                                                           

Roast Chicken

     I have got to tell you that homemade roast chicken is WAY better than any rotisserie chicken from a grocery store. I have made this chicken several times, and each time it came out amazing. 
     This recipe is Ina Garten's recipe and you can find it in her cookbook.
     So, let's get started.
     

     First, you are going to need a 5-6 lb. chicken. You can use a smaller chicken if you'd rather, but the original recipe calls for a large roasting chicken. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (177 degrees celsius). 

     You're going to need an onion and five to six red potatoes. Really, any potato will do. Cut them up into quarters and throw them into a baking pan. Top them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and set aside. 

     Now, it's always good to wash your chicken before you cook it. After its washed, pat it dry with a paper towel.

     It's time to stuff the chicken, but not with bread stuffing. For some odd reason, it helps to stuff the opening with flavorful herbs, making it taste really good. So go ahead and stuff it with half a lemon (or a whole lemon depending on the size of your chicken), fresh thyme, a couple of whole garlic cloves, 1 T butter, salt and pepper. I squeeze out all the lemon juice, then pop it in the cavity. Note: I have also tried this recipe with fresh basil, and it also came out really good.

     Next, you are going to give it a butter massage. You heard me right, a butter massage. Once you have spread the whole chicken with about 2 to 3 T butter, sprinkle salt and pepper on to it.

     Tie it up with trussing thread and set it on top of your onions and potatoes.

     Cook it for one to one and a half hours depending on the size of your chicken. Note: A good way to tell if your chicken is done, is after its been cooking for maybe an hour or so, cut a slit in the chicken. The juices that run out of should be clear if it's done. If the juices are red, cook it for a little bit longer.

I added carrots later because I forgot them. You can add carrots when you cut your potatoes and onions.

     Carve your chicken, and you are done! 

Roast Chicken

Serves 6

1 five to six lb. chicken

5 to 6 red potatoes

1 onion

1/2 package of baby carrots (optional)

Sprig of fresh thyme 

1/2 to 1 lemon

2 to 3 garlic cloves

3 to 4 T of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

     

Crocheting and Reading

      Yes! I finally finished my book. Then why is it still in the picture you ask? Because I have only finished one of the books in the Little House series. Now I am reading On the Shores of Silver Lake. I think that's what it's called. I can't put it down it's so good.
     I have finished my dog head. Isn't he cute? You can't see his mouth. Right now I am making the body. It's fun making the animals, but I want something more challenging to make. Oh, well. 

Easter Eggs and Gardening Tools

     Wow, I am exhausted from this weekend. For Easter, my mom's brother and sister came for the special event. Even though I am about to crash, I had a lot of fun. Laughing at each other's jokes, an amazing meal, and just being together really made the holiday special. 

     A lot of the weekend was spent at my mamaw's house. My dad plays the guitar. So, he put together an Easter sermon, and we all had church in my mamaw's living room. When we had the Easter egg hunt, obviously, I was too old for that, so I hid the eggs. Really it was more fun to watch the little kids grab the eggs and shove them in their basket. 

     Now what was so awesome about our Easters (hehehe) was that we got to swim! We live in Texas, and our papaw happens to have a pool in his backyard with a heating system. So, he heated up the pool, and we had a blast. Man, I love swimming.

All of our close cousins on my mom's side. Caleb can't really jump in yet so he wasn't in the pic.

     I wasn't the only one that enjoyed the pool. Mamaw's dog, Scout, had fun playing in the waterfalls at the end of the pool. He was barking and was so excited. He doesn't get out much.

     That pretty much sums up my holiday.

     Today I planted my garden. Well, I actually just planted most of my seeds in little pots so I can transplant them later. We are going to plant a square foot garden, which means raised beds. 

The plant that you see is some tomato plants Daddy wanted. 

     I can't wait to see what they look like when they grow up. This is my first garden, and I am anxious to see if it will work.

     All that excitement and hard work's made me thirsty. In Texas, a cold glass of sweet tea is the perfect choice.