Picture-heavy post ahead.

Been to some of the garden centers to start getting some of my herbs to plant. I only use pots so I don't get too many...besides, I don't do "well" with plants. Not a green thumb at all. But the majority of the herbs that I got last year did okay so I am attempting to have more. I planted 3 basil plants (why yes, I do like basil, why do you ask?), sage, apple mint (smells divine),and curly leaf parsley. Some of the basil is ready to pick so dinner tonight is pasta with fresh 5 minute basil and tomato sauce from La Dolce Vegan. I got some lovely tomatoes on the vine and they are just ready to eat.

At one of the garden centers (Varnau) they have animals so here are some of the fun shots.

Chickens! They were busy studying the cell phone.

These are their 2 emus, Charles and Camilla. I don't know which is which and I thought it was rude to ask them...teehee.

The goat was quite cute...but wanted to eat the cell phone. Sure did like having his/her head scratched.

You can barely see the goat on the hut but he sure looked unpleasant.

Peacocks both male and female. The male was really trying to impress the lady who couldn't seem to care less.

I think he's attractive but since I'm not a bird, what do I know?

He was one proud rooster.

Another male trying his best.

Here are my toasted coconut cupcakes with coffee "buttercream" frosting. Sooooooo good. Unfortunately I only have one more. Guess I'll have to make some more.




This is a barley "risotto" with mushrooms and kale and beans. Just fabulous.

Been knitting up a storm and will have photos of that next time.

I can't believe that it's been since the 14th that I've posted. I don't know what I've been doing. Well, I haven't been online much so I suppose that will do it.

I did some lawn mowing this morning since we are supposed to have days of rain so time to get a jump on all the dandelions! Had to buy a new mower last week because the self-propelling part stopped propelling. It made more sense to buy a new mower for about $100.00 more than repairing a 5 year old one that was going to be at least $150.00. This one does a nice job so it can stay.

Did some baking today. These are Toasted Almond cupcakes with a coffee ''buttercream" frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and they are FANTASTIC!!! The frosting tastes like buttercream and just melts in your mouth. A definated make again!

Went down to Coffee Emporium to stock up on some tea and here is their patio. It's hard to see in this picture but the whole trellis top is covered with wisteria and it's just stunning. It was a great day for a drive and went "the long way" home. Which is just a fancy way of saying that we took all the back streets and didn't take a direct route home.

Here is a shot of one of the homes on the same street.

I don't have any knitting pictures to show but I have completed a pair of socks for Amanda and am working on a pair for mom right now. Also I did finish the sampler socks and they are very comfortable. I'm getting ready to knit a shawl and a vest for myself but am trying to get a few small things done first.

Ahhhh. I love when the weather is just warm enough to have the windows and back door open. I just like to sit in the family room by the back door and just feel the sun warming my back and a little breeze whispering through every so often. If I just had the computer facing the door I'd be set. It's so lovely and green out and the lawn is freshly mown so that's out of the way for several days. Which is good since the mower just stopped self-propelling and had to go out and get a new one. *sigh* Well, you know what they say. "If it's not one thing, it's your mother." Hahahaha. Oops silly me.

Here's what I'm knitting right now. It's a sampler sock from "The Big Book of Socks" and I'm almost half finished with the second one. I thought the yarn would show the patterns better than they do but still it's a fun knit and it does look good. The yarn is "Walk Away" sock yarn by Yarn Bee from Hobby Lobby and was a good buy at $9.95 for over 400 yds. I know I probably should have used a solid yarn but until just recently I didn't have but one skein stashed away. I know....crazy, right? But I got some lovely Opal solids from www.littleknits.com and will pick out a good textured pattern to show off.
Here's my latest "try" in cooking. It's a ''quiche" from The Urban Vegan cookbook and definately a winner. I sauteed greens, mushrooms, and onions and topped with sliced tomatoes and panko. I love panko as topping on just about anything. It's a good cheese substitute sprinkled on pasta. And I really like the crunch.

I made some great "pesto" out of spinach with pecans and basil and some with arugula and walnuts. Yum. I keep it in the freezer and just made a great pasta dish with some yesterday. So good.

Since it's starting to warm up now I've been craving more salads and spreads for sandwiches. Yesterday I made a wonderful potato bread but gave the loaf to Amanda because I figured I would make another loaf today. I suppose I will have to make one tomorrow since today seemed full of trying to find a lawn mower that didn't cost more than the car...teehee.

Well, I'm off to get another cuppa and have some dinner before sitting down with my knitting and watching the final "Ugly Betty". I really like that show and hopefully I can find some of the seasons for less than $45.00!

Enjoy the lovely day all!

It's spring looking up into my tree! Busy scraping and painting and generally cleaning around. Will be back in a day or two.

Spring has sprung at Whole Foods! This is their display of heather and lavender. Not only beautiful to see but the smell is fabulous! I really like lavender. It makes a great tea if you have a headache. And such a pretty purple color. My favorite "perfume" that I wear (well, besides Obsession, when I can get a squirt of it!) is patchouli or a blend of patchouli and lavender...or as I call it--patchinder. Amanda likes to just call it smelling like dirt but at least she can tell when I'm around....teehee. Been busily knitting away. Finished my Cuffed socks from "Color by Kristin" book and LOVE them. Learned a few new things from them, including better colorwork handling. So thumbs up for me. I also really like the yarn. It's Full 'o Sheep Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller. The colors are screamingly bright and really get a nice amount of wool for the money. The only drawback is that JoAnn's is the only distributer so far. But they take competitors' coupons so that's a plus.


Cooking has ensued here also. These are mac and "cheese" bites from a blog that I read. I have loved everything that I've made from it ...except for these. I wasn't thrilled with the "cheese" that I used, which could account for the lack of enthusiasum on my part. I can't find the Daiya cheese anywhere that everyone is raving about lately so I think that could definately make a difference. Would I make them again? Probably not.



But some of the other dishes are fabulous.

Wheatberry salad and seitan spread sandwich are a great hit!

This is a soy-mirin glazed tofu with a peanut sauce and snow peas over wild rice from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. An excellent dish and one that I will most definately make again.