Just another garden update!

If you're thinking: "Is the only exciting thing in Kylie and Garrett's life their garden???" then you would be correct! Just kidding-but sometimes it sure does seem like it! I actually picked these carrots last week. One of the carrots didn't look very "carroty" at all (as you will see from the pictures). In fact, it looked downright strange. I finally got enough courage to eat it, and it didn't even taste very carroty. It didn't taste bad, but just not like a carrot. More like a carrot crossed with a turnip or something like that. The other carrots looked and tasted like carrots though, just in case you were worried.

Right now, it is raining very steadily outside (as it has been all day), and I find myself grateful for the moisture that our corner of the desert has so desperately needed! The little garden out back is definitely getting all the water it needs!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

After a busy holiday season, things are winding down and I decided to take a few minutes to write an update letter and to write a blog post. 

First is an updated picture of our garden. The carrots are almost ready to eat; everyday there are 2 or so pods of peas ready to eat, and we've been snacking on lettuce occasionally (as you know from a previous post). The broccoli and onions still have a few more weeks before they will be ready to eat.

I also thought I would include a picture of our little Christmas tree...complete with Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate underneath it!!! My parents brought the hot chocolate down from Canada with them. I LOVE Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate! If any of the people reading this blog ever go to Canada, take my advice and eat at a Tim Horton's! I really like their donuts (in my opinion, donuts from Tim Horton's taste much better than any of the donuts I have eaten in the U.S.A.) and their hot chocolate. 

The bottom picture is of Garrett and I at a church Christmas dance in December for young married couples. It felt nice to get dressed up! It was the first time Garrett and I danced since our wedding reception. Needless to say, we both have to work on our dancing skills. In spite of that, we had a good time.

The Garden is Growing

Now for another exciting update on our square foot garden!!! It has been growing very well. There are a few pea pods growing, and we had to add to the pea trellis because the peas outgrew the original trellis Garrett constructed for them. We even had a salad tonight made entirely from our garden lettuce, and it was delicious! 

Thanksgiving!

This year, Garrett and I went to my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving. We had a great time. The food was delicious, and the company of my cousins and uncle (who have very witty senses of humor) was lively and pleasant. We arrived around noon to find my uncle putting up the last of the Christmas lights on his house. I was surprised to see that he had a blue print for his house, complete with a guide to where each particular string of Christmas lights would go (labeled A, B, C, D, etc.) I have never seen anyone be so organized about putting up lights!!! He had already picked up the turkey that morning-completely cooked and ready to go whenever the rest of the meal was done. And the turkey tasted fantastic! My uncle was telling me that a local Scout troop does a fundraiser every Thanksgiving that consists of cooking people's turkeys overnight & underground in a sort of "pit roaster". So every year for the past several years, my aunt buys a turkey, and my uncle takes it the night before Thanksgiving to the property where the turkeys are cooked and drops it off, then picks it up the next morning after it's been cooked. The turkey fell off the bones, and was very juicy and moist. But the highlight of the meal was this chocolate cake that my aunt made-Buttermilk Chocolate Cake (nicknamed "Trenchbull Cake" by my cousins--remember the book "Matilda" by Roald Dahl?) It's four layers thick with rich, creamy icing that melts if it isn't kept in the fridge due to its high chocolate content. Oh yes, I've found a new favorite dessert! (You will see me pictured with my aunt beside the famous "Trenchbull Cake" in one of the pictures included with this blog). 

Besides participating in the Thanksgiving festivities at my aunt and uncle's house, Garrett and I also enjoyed remembering our blessings and being reminded of the counsel that we are to give thanks in ALL things (even challenges and trials).  Garrett showed me this YouTube video produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that helped me get in the true spirit of Thanksgiving. I highly recommend watching it. The video is called: "In the Spirit of Thanksgiving"

http://www.youtube.com/MormonMessages

I know from my own experience that when I am willing to give thanks in all things that I am given strength to endure well whatever trial or trouble I am going through. 

Our Friend's Baptism

Garrett and I had the privilege of attending (and speaking at) the baptism of our friend, Otto. He lives very near to us and we started having him over for Family Home Evening a little over a month ago. He took the missionary discussions in our home to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and committed to be baptized yesterday (Nov. 7th). Our Bishop baptized Otto, and today, Garrett performed the ordinance of confirmation for Otto to be confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and bestowed the gift of the Holy Ghost. It has been a sweet and wonderful experience to be with Otto as he learned the truths of the gospel and gained a testimony for himself that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. We have become very good friends with Otto, he feels like a long lost brother who we finally got to meet! A piece to the puzzle that we didn't even know was missing in our lives! In addition, he knows some delicious Cuban recipes, and he has already cooked a Cuban-style dinner for us. 

I also attended my first Scout O Rama activity yesterday. What fun! I wish Garrett could have come with me, because he would have loved all the physics in action! All the troops from the cities in the area had set up booths to make and do different things. Some of the booths could help the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts pass of requirements for badges. Other booths were just for fun. Our troop set up an Obstacle Course booth, for example. Perhaps that could pass of a physical fitness requirement...but overall, it was just meant to be fun. There were rocket making/launching booths, a marshmallow gun making booth, a chess playing booth, a science booth (with dead animals preserved in jars of formaldehyde) to name a few. And my favorite...the FREE ICE CREAM booth! Well, that booth was actually operated by a sponsor of the event (Blue Bell Ice Cream), and not a Scout troop. I really like being a Cub Scout leader and being involved with the Scouting program. It really is a neat program!

News from the Square-foot Garden

It's Growing! We kid you not! Today when Kylie went out to water the garden, she saw about 8 tiny sprouts. Hooray!

Square Foot Gardens and Nose Picker Pliers

Garrett and I set a goal a long time ago to establish a square foot garden. We finally accomplished that goal this past week. With help from some birthday money, we purchased the needed supplies. Garrett built the garden box a couple of days later, and then I finally planted the seeds on 10/13/09. Here are some pictures of the building of the square foot garden box. You will notice a picture of me holding a long, black extension cord. It took me about 10 minutes to get it untangled. I tried to be helpful, but honestly, I was mostly underfoot! We planted some carrots, peas, lettuce, scallions, yellow onions, and broccoli. If all goes well, most of the seeds should sprout late next week. A number of families in our ward at church also have gardens, so at their suggestion, I put a nylon bird barrier over the garden so the birds wouldn't try to eat the seeds I had planted. So far, so good. 

The second part of this post is based on (you guess it) another experience I had at Cub Scouts. The Assistant Den Leader and myself set out a number of different tools on a table and told the Cubs the name of each tool and what it is used for. Among the tools we told them about was a pair of needle nose pliers. After a while, we covered the tools with a towel and had the Cubs recall as many of the tools as they could. They did very well. They remembered there was a pair of pliers, but none of them could recall the specific type of pliers they were. After a few seconds of hard thinking, one of the boys said, "Nose picker pliers?" (in all seriousness). Needless to say, we all had a good laugh, and I explained that the pliers were known as needle nose pliers. But if a person ever wanted to use a tool to pick his nose, I must say that the needle nose pliers (also known as Nose Picker Pliers by my Wolf Cub den) would probably be the best choice!