Long, but fun day on the road.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I spent a lot of time behind the wheel today. It sure was enjoyable though, there is nothing like a drive through the Tennessee countryside on a lovely day. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures. I drove first to Smithville, then on to Sparta and Mcminnville. After finishing up everything I needed to do I headed to Monteagle. I helped my dad cut grass at the cottage and then we went over to Tracy City to buy an old military trailer. The guy had a pretty interesting setup. We had dinner at Jessie’s Grill in Monteagle. The hamburger was pretty good. I left the cottage around eight and got back home at ten. The back roads plus the darkness plus the trailer made for slower going.

Building a wall in the hot sun.

Posted on by David Maxwell

The sun was shining brightly and heating up the land today. The area around the deck started off fairly muddy this morning, but was mostly dry by the afternoon. I started the day by going to Great Clips and Home Depot, started the retaining wall, then returned to Home Depot. Once I finally had everything I needed I was able to make good progress. Until I ran out of railroad ties. The ties weren’t as heavy as I remembered from my youth, and of course having the tractor helped. I couldn’t find my little chainsaw to cut them with, so they aren’t as staggered as I would have liked. Oh well. They aren’t that level either. But hopefully the wall will be solid and do what it’s supposed to.

I didn’t cook anything in the slow cooker today as the refrigerator is pretty much full. I’m sure it is grateful for the break. This evening I’m working some more on my vegetable seed list. Now instead of adding to it I’m subtracting, due to space considerations.

Little man’s first Easter.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Luke was born on the day after Easter last year. Fortunately today was a beautiful, sunny day. I made an early run to Wal-Mart to stock up on some staples and had a surprisingly pleasant experience there due to the dearth of fellow shoppers. Upon returning I prepared the first of two slow cooker dishes for the day – white bean, quinoa, tomato, and kale soup. It was pretty easy. Luke took a nap and Liz and I listened to an Easter sermon online. After that we went on a walk along the greenway. Or maybe before. I don’t remember. We ate a delicious lunch and then I prepared another slow cooker meal. It was one that I prepared a couple of days ago but used regular potatoes this time instead of sweet. My parents and sister came over this afternoon. We hung out and then ate dinner on the deck. It was so lovely outside. Luke was in a good mood.

A rainy and nasty Good Friday.

Posted on by David Maxwell

We learned yesterday that today was a holiday for Liz, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately the weather was not at all nice. There wasn’t an opportunity to go on a walk. I was actually the only one who went out – to Kroger. Mainly stocked up on the staples; nothing too fun made it into the cart. I prepared two more crock pot dishes today. The first was our dinner – Lentil curry of some sort, served over Jasmine rice. It turned out okay but I did forget to add coconut milk at the end. Oh well. I will probably make it again. Now the chickpea dish is cooking. I will probably try to make a couple more tomorrow, but that might require another trip to the grocery store. Maybe Wal-Mart this time, as the local Kroger isn’t that great. Although I’m not crazy about the idea of Wal-Mart on a Saturday.

Luke was crawling all over the place today. He loves playing with his toys on the floor. Equally fun is chasing Lily the cat. It is nice to see her on the receiving end of harassment for a change.

I am continuing to plan out the garden. Doing lots of reading and research and making my seed list. I’ve cut a number of things in order to simplify and do a better job on the core things we want to grow. We have just barely managed to keep a child alive for a year, don’t want to push our luck with a bunch of plants. The picture below is of the seed spreadsheet.