Distraction and The Joy of Promoting Life

No matter how hard I've tried lately, I have not been able to write a good post. I've got 3-4 started posts that I just haven't been able to finish.

Today has been wonderful. Mind you, it is way hotter than it should be (~90 degrees), but things are really coming together. We even put in the air conditioner:
To keep the water that drips off the air conditioner from ruining the deck, *B* threw a plant under there. Now, originally, that plant was slated to die. But judging by the lovely purple flowers, it doesn't mind sitting, bare-rooted, in an old kitty litter box. We'll see how that one does.

Wednesday, we got a new refrigerator. Our old one wreaked of rotting meat. I could deal with that (with some baking soda) but it turns out that the automatic defrost was not working correctly, so every few days, a deluge of water would flood the refrigerated compartment. Besides that, it was older than I am, very loud, and not very efficient. We found a great deal, and decided it was in our best interest. It's a lovely Frigidaire, with much more storage in the refrigerated section.

We did notice, however, the freezer was much smaller. I have been begging for a separate freezer for months now. Given the deal we got on the fridge, and that it would be a good investment, we went out and bought a freezer Thursday night. It showed up yesterday, and it is gorgeous. I'm now able to buy meats on sale and store them for future use. I can (and did!) make pizza dough for quick meals. I'm very excited :o)

Friday, *B* made a fence for us:
Hailey, though we love her, was destroying my plants. So we portioned off the back half of the yard for gardening only. Believe it or not, it makes the yard feel a little bigger. I keep waiting to take a picture of the backyard until the hose is reeled in, but that will never happen, so here you go:
Today, I have a chicken roasting in my oven. My parents and brother are coming over for a Sunday dinner reminiscent of Thanksgiving. We're having the most magnificent roast chicken, which I once chronicled here. The gravy that comes from that chicken is amazing, so we'll have mashed potatoes, peas, and cranberry sauce. My mom's bringing dessert, but I don't know what it is.

This morning, I worked really hard on the garden. I put in the ever-bearing strawberries, and all we have left to plant are sunflowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds:

Maybe I'll get to them later today. Check out the progress on the garden front:

We're finally starting to produce produce :o) Our strawberries out front are all bearing fruit, green though they may be:

The lettuce is almost ready to be harvested. I finally got my garlic and onions planted alongside my shallots:We have one stalk of asparagus! That's great because they are apparently hard to get started.

We've finally gotten a meal plan made for our week, and we're going to stick to it. Our dinners will be:

Sunday
Roast Chicken
Potatoes
Peas
Cranberry Sauce

Monday
Chicken Fried Steak
Yams
Spinach
Corn Bread

Tuesday
Pineapple Chicken Curry (from Ready.Set.Plan)
Rice
Mixed Veggies
Mango Smoothies

Wednesday
Tacos
Baked Apples

Thursday
Beef Stir Fry
Rice
Mandarin Oranges

Friday
Pizza
Salad
Applesauce

Saturday
Cheeseburgers
Baked Potato
Baked Beans
Grilled Peaches