#perennials FTW

[winteryqueen]

my year old honeyberries have flowers. I'm so excited to see how many berries we get 💖

[etraytin]

Quarantine, Day 194

September 21

So I didn't get done anything that involved leaving the house today, which is not great. It was just kind of a failure to launch day, I guess. I did get stuff done inside the house though; folded the laundry, made an enormous pot of spaghetti and meatballs, dewormed the kittens, etc. I will definitely have to leave the house tomorrow because when the kiddo realized tomorrow is going to be gorgeous all day, he was sad until I told him we could try doing school outside by hotspotting off my phone. (unlimited data on the family plan ftw!) He has now come up with an elaborate plan that also involves snacks and drinks, so I may have to get up a bit earlier than usual to set stuff up. I'm nobody's Pinterest Mom, but it's nice to do something a little different and fun sometimes. 

I realized I've been falling a little behind on watering my garden because I got so used to the rain, so I gave everything a good drink and perked it up today. I also harvested some more lemongrass and some ginger leaves and made a very nice tea from them. I learned today that lemongrass is perennial, so there is a possibility it might live through the winter and come back next year. It's not certain because I planted it in the most ridiculous possible spot, one of the side pockets in a strawberry pot, but it apparently liked it there well enough to grow like crazy all through the late summer. It and the lavender both survived, the cilantro grew and flowered and died, and the dill apparently didn't like being there. I did not put any strawberries in the strawberry pot this year because the plants I bought were too big. I think we may have explored this topic in the early early days of this journal but that was a thousand years ago and I do not remember. The ginger leaves just came from some ginger root that I forgot to use and stuck in an unused pot of dirt when it got all wrinkly. It grew beautifully! (Here's the strawberry pot early this summer on its trip to North Carolina. I got it in Laredo and it is one of my favorite things.)

I explained to the kiddo that today was the autumnal equinox, the day of the year where day and night are balanced, just before the nights start getting longer. He sighed and wished it was the other way around, so I also explained the vernal equinox. He was not impressed. He spent more time outdoors today and also a lot of time in with the kittens. They are at an extremely fun age right now, though apparently Audiva nearly got him chat banned on his minecraft server for typing gibberish. I can empathize, Sebell nearly installed the Harris Teeter app on my phone this evening by sitting on it. The biggest problem with the kiddo's current kitten preoccupation is definitely his allergies, poor kid. At least we have allergy meds for him. I also gave the kittens their second dewormer this evening, to take care of any nasty little roundworms. It's only Pyrantel though, so they'll probably need Drontal as well to take care of any tapeworms. Any kitten who has had fleas might have tapeworms, yucky. Better to take care of it while they are young and in foster! 

I keep telling myself that it is almost the end of the month, but it really is not. I can put off shopping for a few more days, but not ten full days till payday. The good news is I did get paid for some mystery shops I did a few weeks ago, so that's 70 dollars in pay any reimbursement that can go towards groceries. I already told my shopping people that I'm not doing any more restaurant shops this month because I'm out of money. They understand, they don't exactly have glamorous high-paying jobs themselves. I may, I suppose, do a couple of grocery store shops because I have to get groceries anyway, may as well take the edge off by getting a little bit paid for, right? If only it weren't the most expensive grocery stores hiring mystery shoppers! I have an extensive list by now that just keeps growing and growing, but the only thing I bought today was another pack of 50 disposable masks. They're cheap on Amazon if you don't mind waiting a month for them to ship, so I have just been ordering a new pack (about six dollars) every few weeks and assuming I will be ready for them by the time they arrive. 

In the meantime, I made a huge pot of spaghetti tonight so that we will have several meals worth of leftovers. I also pulled a ham out of the freezer (buy your ham after the ham holidays, so cheap!) and by the time the spaghetti is gone, the ham should be ready to cook. My husband doesn't like ham by itself much, but ham is incredibly versatile and can go into a million things. Plus ham salad is one of my favorite lunch foods ever. Anyway, I chopped up an onion and cooked it in a little butter till it was just starting to go a little golden, then threw in garlic and a pound of ground beef and a bunch of Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle. I used my Dutch oven because I wanted to make _lots._ When the meat was cooked I sponged off some of the grease with paper towels, then added an undrained can of diced tomatoes, a couple spoonsful of sugar, some salt and pepper, and three cans of the cheapest brand of spaghetti sauce. You really can't beat the convenience and volume of just oomphing up the kind of sauce that's 88 cents for a 20 ounce can. I threw in a bunch of frozen meatballs and simmered it for twenty minutes, then added a few big handfuls of mozzarella cheese and served it over angel hair. Very popular, and so many leftovers! I am the best at dinner. 

This day’s entry is already getting long, but I really ought to remember the Punching Mattress for posterity as well. The kiddo is now happy in his new bed on his new mattress, which means the old bed is kaput. I sold the twin frame in less than a day on Facebook Marketplace for 25 dollars. I paid 90 for it in 2013, so it was a good deal for both parties.  The mattress is only about a year old, but the kiddo has had a few destructive-feelings days and kind of severely messed up the fabric on one end. So it's not likely we're going to be able to do anything with that mattress and for now it is leaning against the wall in our entrance hallway like we're expecting a human cannonball over for dinner. I don't even remember who started it now, but it has become a good place to let off some excess energy by pretending you are a superhero or a championship martial artist. Yelling "punch, punch, punch!" while punching the mattress is optional but encouraged unless somebody is in a Zoom class. It's good exercise, and cathartic, too! I'm kind of melancholy about the idea of getting rid of it already.   

[papofglencoe]

I have a very important question.... Joniss or fem!peeta x katniss???

This is one tough ass question, my friend, because the Katniss/Johanna sparks are undeniable. I think they would make, in every universe, awesome enemies-to-lovers. It would be a fun read with lots of snark and witty banter. I��m totally in for that.

...But I’m ride-or-die Everlark, and regardless of Peeta’s sex, gender, and/or sexual orientation, Katniss tells us that only Peeta can give her what she needs. As much as I like to joke that a well-endowed dick has (a big) something to do with that, it’s actually about the balance he brings to her world. I think that whatever Johanna’s got, Katniss already has plenty in spades. At the end of the day, Katniss doesn’t want to be hostile and angry and resentful. She wants to have hope and to forgive and to know mercy. She wants a new beginning and to hold onto life, to believe that life can be good and that things will be okay. That’s not how she’s hard-wired to think, though, and that’s what she really needs Peeta for- that’s why he’s so infinitely right for her. In canon, Katniss shows a great appreciation for Peeta’s body, but the things she appreciates about it are tied to his virtues and strengths- his inner world and point of view and brilliant mind and massive, open heart. She loves him for his incorruptible, perennial goodness. I think she’d fall in love with Peeta regardless of what package Peeta came in... it was always going to happen for them. So fem!Peeta FTW. In a spectacular landslide. 

[untoadoption]

What to Read for Summer

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What to Read for Summer

In the margins of our summer adventuring and backyard science lessons, we’re actively logging reading hours to redeem at our local library. Does your library host a Summer Reading Program? 

library parade

big Little Man riding the library elevator solo

library concert

post-library drives are always the most peaceful

In the same vein as their recent Charlie & Lola Day, the almost-first-graders enjoyed a simple Harold & the Purple Crayon activity…

click pic for link

moose & porcupine enjoying some pie [rice krispie treats]

We watched Wonder again, this time outdoors with our church congregation– we heartily recommend the book for all ages.

learning about new zealand, the maori, & kiwi birds

mentos & diet coke ftw

geology: gemstone excavation

backyard pudding slime

Et pour moi:

Kevin Kwan, I can’t quit you. Presently on book 3 of his best-selling trilogy and (as with the prior two installments) can scarcely put it down. super stoked for the movie in August. (click pic for link)

to the delight of my inner 90’s Lisa Frank sticker collecting perennial pen pal, the PO is now selling scratch & sniff stamps!

The Best Books for Kids

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Our favorite books for kids

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Click here to see a complete list of our What to Read Wednesday book topics. This is a great resource for planning themed unit studies or for encouraging your child’s current interests!