Deck Rehab

Our deck is - well- not as nice as we'd like it to be.
It looks like quite a disaster in the photos below.

There are several elements of the back yard that just don't go real well together. For example, there is this nice play house/jungle gym, but you couldn't see it from the deck because the privacy fence, which is inside a cyclone fence??

I think one owner built the deck and had a hot tub. The next owner installed the playset and the cyclone fence, but kept the broken hot tub. We got rid of the broken hot tub the first week we moved in. Now that Aidan is big enough to use the playset, we wanted to make it more accessable. There is also a story about the deck stairs and Byron the Whippet breaking his leg but I'll save that for another time.

Brandon was able to demo part of the provacy fence. It's so much more open now. We're palnning on pwer washing the deck and repainting/staining it - not barn red. Nice on barns - Bad on decks.

See the bench in the back with spray paint stains? The bench made a little more sense when the hot tub was sitting right next to it. It's always nice to have seating outside, so I planning on keeping it there - just need to be rehabbed.

Wouldn't a flowering climbing plant look nice growing up the back of this lattice?



These cute chairs were saved from the garbage and spray painted by yours truly. They were on the front porch but fit better back here.

Baby Steps to a better back yard.

Pasta Alla Norma with Homegrown Eggplant

Have you ever seen eggplant growing? See the little baby guy...
They remind me of tomatoes and squash on the plant.

I wasn't exactly sure when it was ready to be picked. These three looked big enough, so I cut them off the plant. Next to the eggplant are some leggy broccoli spears. The head are very small but more delicate and easy to chew they the very dense broccoli.

In order to use this great produce, I decided to make Pasta Alla Norma from America's Test Kitchen. It's a very quick recipe. Basically, start boiling some pasta. Then in a skillet with a little of hot oil, brown the eggplant (peeled, cut into chunks), when the eggplant seems to have browned, add some garlic and red pepper flakes to taste. I like to go heavy on the garlic but light on the pepper so Aidan won't mind the heat. Turn the heat down add one can of diced tomatoes, juice and all, simmer for 5 minutes. When pasta is done, serve sauce on top, with your favorite Italian cheese like Parmesan.

Aidan did eat this dish. He tried the eggplant but spit it out. It can take 20 exposures to a new food before a kiddo will accept it. We'll serve it to him again soon because more eggplant will be ready to pick soon!

Master Bath and Bedroom Rehab

I started this project this past Spring...



I have painted the cabinet, but stopped there. This weekend paint will be on sale at Home Depot. I'm gonna get a gallon of that nice paint and primer in one, in a Sherwin Williams color - Rainwashed. It's a grayish-blue-aqua color.

Before I can paint we'll need to rip out those silly towel rods that are cemented into the wall and repair the dry wall. The light fixture also needs to come out. Wonder if we'll attempt either of these tasks this weekend, or just buy the paint while it's on sale?

Square Foot Gardens

This past Spring I decided that I really wanted to try the Square Foot Gardening method for a new home garden. I had had luck with container gardening when we lived downtown. I figured this was a good progression. We have a rather shady and damp yard, so we were totally certain where the bast place would be to have the gardens. We decided the South side of the house was great for the light, not quite as damp as the back yard, and rather flat.

I under estimated the cost of the mixing the soil correctly, it ended up being at least $100 to gather the ingredients and then more for materials for the structure. This summer our veggies won't be very cheap - but the cost spreads out over years - hopefully.

I've also started composting in a garbage can. The plan is to add my new compost into the garden soil to replenish and add nutrients to the soil. I'll probably also buy more commercially made composted manure etc.

Garden Memorial Day Weekend. Next year I'd like to the garden planted about a 4-6 weeks earlier. I should probably note that on my calendar now...

Looks how everything has grown! I think I'm going to start cutting the cabbage heads for cole slaw. I've already eaten all of the radishes, picked several eggplant, and a couple pickling cucumbers. Green beans are ready to be picked too - should probably do that today. I have pumpkins, broccoli, onions, variety of peppers, sunflowers, and beets all growing.

I really like eggplant and I'm pleased with how easy it is to grow. It's a nightshade plant and looks similar to a tomato plant but mine did not need to be staked. I'm harvesting veggies as I need them, one at a time, so they keep growing.

Here's my attempt at building a trellis for the green beans. I bought varieties of green bean and cucumber that are bush habit vs vine habit. Turns out I should've put the trellis over the cucumbers- they are much more climbing then the green beans.

Brandon's likes the gardens too, he suggested we add 3 more boxes next year! Theoretically that's enough to feed about 20 people. He wants more hot peppers to can and make sauces out of. I wouldn't mind 3 more boxes. They have been very easy to tend, picking out a weed or two. We bought a rain barrel and I've almost exclusively used the rain water we've collected to water the veggie garden and my flower beds in the front of the house. Again, a bit of an investment in equipment, but it should pay off after a year or 2 of use. We're also hoping it keeps the crawl space a little more dry.

Rain Barrel

Best of all Aidan enjoys the garden! We walk over to it and he pokes around at the plants, smells the flowers and giggles. He even ate broccoli straight off the plant.

I'll keep you posted on our harvest!

Blog style

Look Different??? I'm playing around with my blog format. I'm in love with aqua lately so I changed from brown to aqua. I want to change my header photo, and mess with the layout too. Figure out how to do some of the fancy thing like have a signature add buttons etc. If you have any good sources I should check out to learn how to do format stuff, let me know know!

Easy Dinner with No Cooking

Looking for an easy, nutritious dinner during this heat wave? We enjoy antipasto night. On a big plate or platter, we gather up cold meats, veggies, cheese crackers and just eat. It's good, and it's quick. Below we have procuitto wrapped melon, black olives, canned tuna, sliced cucmbers, cheddar cheese, green olives, and blanched green beans. We also had some crusty bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pepper. I had wine too. Yum.

I must disclose that the darling two year old, pictured above, didn't eat anything pictures here. He did try foods though. He tried the green beans, tuna, and cheddar cheese. All were spit out and given a "No Mumma," negative review. At least he tried. He ended up eating plain bread with plain melon, and water. Not the most complete meal, but he'll make up for it at other meals.

Safety Bear

Saturday night we met Grandma and Grandpa for dinner. Right before we left the house, Aidan found his bike helmet and decided this was the best thing to wear at the moment. It was easier to leave him to it, rather then make him leave the helmet at home. Bonus - toddler with (voluntary) helmet is funnier than toddler without helmet.



And here he is in the car - with the helmet. He kept it on for about 30 minutes.

After dinner, we needed to run to Target. Aidan was allowed to pick out a little toy. He and Daddy always shop the toy section. Daddy also found some clearance jeans, and I found red peep-toe clearance shoes. Fun for all! Aidan picked out a Cars toy (big surprise). Lighting McQueen, AKA "Bebe" sat with Aidan the whole car ride home. Bebe was also his little friend all day Sunday.

Bienvenue Chez Hoffman, Have a Seat

Oh la la! It ez my 'new' door! (say with silly French accent)
So much more bright and cheery.
Check out my refinished cafe table and chairs too.
While I was painting the door, I also painted the little pedestal-thingy. It was a garage sale find.

Door After:



Door Before:


You may remember, I picked these chairs and table up from my neighbor's garbage sitting at the curb. I've since had another neighbor tell me that she almost snagged the items but didn't really feel like doing the work to clean them up. Now that she sees them finished - she wished she had grabbed them! Oh well!

Right off the curb shot (the before, before):

The almost finished product:

Finally Done!

Thanks to my Father-in-Law for cutting the wood backing for the seats. We don't have those fancy tools, or even know how to use them for that matter.

I also like how the pink, purple and green colors of the Coleus plant (big red pot to the right) tie together the palette. Coleus is great, grows easily on my porch, and had so many varieties and colors to choose from. I believe it's related to basil and mint. The overall shape of the plant looks very similar to those two plants. You may not know that branches of coleus can be snipped off and stuck in the dirt where they will root and grow. I actually just trimmed the plants on my porch before taking this photo. I cut off one or two stems that where getting very tall, and stuck them back into the dirt of that same pot - to help fill it up. I did this last year too and the plants kept growing until Fall. I've heard of people admiring a version of coleus in a park, snipping a branch and growing it at home - although I'm not condoning plant piracy.

I asked my husband what he thought of the door - he said -"It's green"- with a sly smile. Choosing paint colors has been a no-win discussion for us. I always pick something much brighter then he would, which leads me to say silly things like, "Why do you not like how I decorate?" It's like the "does this make me look fat question?" He now knows that no answer is the right one. Lately, I've been trying to abstain from asking him which color he likes, even though I do want his input, sorta.

I'm linking up to "Show Me How" at BlogLand.

Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods: Family Camping Handbook NOW FOR SALE!

Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods: Family Camping Handbook NOW FOR SALE!

Check out the eBook! I helped with the editing :)

'New' Front Door

I'm finishing painting our front door a new color to match my 'new' table and chairs. I've been consulting friends on a color because I've been thinking about painting the door for a year now. I knew I wanted something bright and cheerful, but still matching the rest of house. The doorway is recessed and faces west, so it is rather dark. The sunset shines on the front of the house, so that is the only time of day the the door and front porch are well lit. While considering, reds, oranges, aquas and greens, I decided on a bright limey-green. I'll post finished photos when I'm done later this week.