Ruby Sipes

So we really have continued to work. Thanks to a lovely donation from my Mom and Gary we have made real progress on the fence in the backyard. When I say we I really mean Shane he has spent a lot of time on it. We are 2/3's done at this point. Oliver is working hard... The finished product. The fence makes the yard looks bad.

No tomatoes yet but there are plenty of blossoms...

Just so everyone can see the tragedy that is our fence. We are working on getting it finished. My Mom and her husband Gary are coming and helping. Shane is digging the post holes before they get here. One Post is in and another hole has been dug. Shane hard at work each hole is supposed to be 3ft deep.... sooo keep digging Shane. "Why exactly are we still outside?"

We finally had our first real vacation away from the house since May 2010. We went to Lake Quinault for a few days. It was great not needing to think about things...

Well the effort in the home has slowed down. Six months of heavy work has brought a sluggishness to our mindset. I know typically I wouldn't do a theme but it is fun and the entire room is 5ft x 8ft... In case you can't find your way out...

Now that the house is a little more under control I can return to doing some of the things I enjoy and cooking is one of my favorite things. This is a recipe that my Friend Yesim gave me and I made some alterations. This is a tasty little treat even vegans can enjoy. 1 cup red lentils 1/2 cup bulgar 2 cups water 1 lemon 1 medium onion 1/2 bunch green onion 1/3 Italian parsley 1-2 cloves garlic 1 tbs tomato paste or mixture of tomato paste and red pepper paste 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cumin Boil water and lentils together until the water is almost gone. Take off the heat. Add the bulgar and stir. Cover and let it rest. Heat oil and medium onion until onion is soft. Add garlic, salt, cumin, and tomato paste stir and heat for about 2 min. Combine onion mixture with lentil mix let cool (make it cool enough to touch). Add green onion, parsley, and half the lemon. Stir if mixture seems wet let it rest a little longer it firms up. Make palm sized footballs. I make them in my hand, you can also use sp...

So after spending most of the winter using the backyard as a dumping ground, we have started the clean up process. We still need to get new fencing but we got the grass trimmed and moved the planters that were here where the sun will actually shine. Shane planted his blueberries and I planted our tomatoes. Soon we will have a couple more planters and a fruit tree. MMM... Tomatoes...