New Record!

Longest time without posting since I started this here blog!

Not exactly the sort of record I like...

What's Been Going On Since You've Been Gone
Not too far in the past, St. Louis received snow. A lot of it! So Porkchop and I invested in a snow shovel, and she graciously shoveled. Here she is hard at work in the backyard during the early morn' (please don't dwell on the jankiness of our garage - thanks):


Most recently, as in this weekend, Porkchop has been sick! And dogsitting her brother's chihuahua, so she spent most of her time like this:


Poor thing! Of course, she is refusing to go to the urgent care clinic to get real meds, so I can't feel too badly for her. The deal is that if she isn't better by the end of the week, she HAS to go because her sickness can't ruin our upcoming vacation. Yes! Porkchop wore down my resistance yet again and I have reluctantly agreed to a trip to Crazy World. I mean Disney World. Much as I dislike the place (why go to a fake place when you could go to a real place???), I am looking forward to a trip to ANYWHERE outside of the Midwest.

So, anyway, while Porkchop sniffled on the couch with the dog, I made cupcakes:

(P.S. I wasn't so feeling so hot on Saturday, either, but not as bad as Porkchop.)

They are yummy lemon cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting. Go here for the recipe.

Over the weekend, I also made a curry chicken dish with raisins and almonds; this sweet potato, corn, and jalapeno bisque; honey whole wheat bread; and this smashed chickpea salad. All of the linked recipes are pure tastiness!

On another note, a couple of weekends ago, Porkchop and I picked up a compost bin and seed starting supplies...all from Worm's Way. I'm loving the compost bin:


In addition to being a tumbler, it collects compost tea in the base!

We also picked up seed starting trays, heat mats, and a grow light. I am serious about this seed starting stuff this year! Yesterday, we started with pepper and basil seeds. It's a little bit early for starting inside by around a week. But if nothing happens with these seeds, I'll know to try again.

Pepper seeds can be hard to start because they need to be kept in soil at 80 degrees F. The heat mat seems to be doing well, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed still.

Anyway, I've also done a bit of my knitting on miscellaneous projects - my log cabin blanket and a random baby hat.

That's all!

Oh, wait, I meant to mention...

The Chocolate that has Changed My Life
I love good dark chocolate.

The 70% Madagascar Sambirano Valley chocolate bar that I received through Fair Shares makes my heart light and happy. This bar from Patric Chocolate blows everything else I've ever had out of the water. I can't wait to try everything else from this small shop in Columbia, MO!