Spring Rains

Is there anything better than waking up to the sound of rain knowing that you planted seeds the day before?  Well, probably, but that is up there on my list of pleasures. We've got the zucchini, the swiss chard, the kale and the zinnias all in.  We have to finish up (well actually we still need to start) the new raised beds to get the other things in.

Right now I'm watching the boys create D-Day in Lego and I'm trying to will Ernie into the kitchen to make biscuits.  We'll see if that works.

I haven't posted in a day or two (gasp).  Let's recap.  We had a wonderful time going to Artists Against Aids with Heather and Steve and we are now the proud owners of another Joe Miller painting and a couple of other things.  Why we think we can afford to spend this money I don't know but I don't regret it.  Friday morning we went out to breakfast and then hit a couple of place trying to decide on what wood to buy for the raised beds.  Things were going o.k. until Ernie pulled the second piece of wood off the shelf in Menard's and onto our cart and managed to impale one of his fingers on a piece of wood that had splintered off.  We both just stared at it hanging from his finger and I stood there kind of frozen saying, "pull it out."  With admirable restraint, given that he was trying to keep a 8 foot piece of wood from falling from his other hand, he said, "help me."  So I leaped into action and ripped the piece of wood out (later he commented quite ummm....volubly...on my lack of delicacy but I stand by my position that if I had a piece of wood hanging out of me I'd want it out FAST).  I scrambled around in my pockets and found some old kleenex to put over his finger to keep the blood from dripping and we stared at the bloody piece of wood on the floor.  Then I said, "come on, let's go, we can just leave this here" and I took my baby home and made him get it ALL clean and we bandaged him up.  Shudder, shudder, shudder.... 

 
We took that as a sign to stop doing further work so we went to our standard Friday lunch (I know, breakfast and lunch out in one day....we're WILD PEOPLE), picked up the boys from school in the rain and then curled up on the couch and watched the Townes Van Zant video we've had from Netflix for a good three months.  Yes, three months.  I am just a total failure at Netflix....they must pray for people like me....

Here are some petals on the playground at school:

 
Saturday morning we headed out to Prairie Fruits Farm and picked up some cheese as well as the most gorgeous purple asparagus I have ever seen in my life.  Last night I roasted some chicken breasts (500 degrees is so good for roasting----thank you Barbara Kafka!), sauteed the asparagus just a bit in some olive oil and then drizzled a tiny bit of sesame oil on top.  Then I made some basmati rice with chopped kale and I swear to God it was on of the best meals I have ever made.  The rice and kale was good, nothing extraordinary, but good.  The asparagus was the best I have ever had (Blue Moon Farms by the way).  I can't even think of a way to describe it.  All I can come up with is something flowery sounding like "it was like eating spring rain" so I give up and will just tell you it was AMAZING.  And the chicken, for whatever reason, came out absolutely perfect....just salt and pepper and high heat.....  I don't think I've made a meal that good in ages....

We watched Ratatouille for awhile before I begged off and went upstairs to 'read.'  I guess that's why I woke up at 6:30 this morning....