>A few weeks ago, my garden was just a deep brown color, waiting for seeds and seedlings. Now it has little hints of green here and there.
Peas and beans! The peas already look healthier than they did a year ago.
Cauliflower and (maybe) broccoli emerge, seeking sun and water.
But the bunny food section? I must get those maple tree seeds out of this area. It’s a lettuce bed, not a helicopter pad!
>When a movie comes out based on a book, I don’t buy a ticket. I buy the book. I found The Horse Whisperer that way. I read and reread it, and then continued buying anything Nicholas Evans wrote after that. I was hooked. Eventually, I watched the movie. The book was much, much better.
So it was with Marley and Me. I didn’t go to the movie, but I picked up the book. I was glad I did. John Grogan wrote a fun book about a fun dog, captured the craziness of loving a far-from-perfect pet, and included enough life anecdotes to make this true story read like part memoir, part novel.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the actually a minor scene in the family’s move to Pennsylvania so that John could take a job at Organic Gardening Magazine. To live by his word, he and his wife, Jenny, start an organic garden in the yard and decide to raise chickens. Why chickens? Well, chickens are inexpensive, low-maintenance, provide eggs, forage by eating bugs and other nasties, and they’re cute. Yes, cute is important. Marley takes to the chickens not as food, but as friends.
Marley, however, is anything but cute. He is huge, ungainly, klutzy, destructive, moody, and despite (or maybe because of) all these traits, completely and totally lovable. Marley never meets a screen door he doesn’t love – as a hoop through which to jump. He mimics a snowstorm in Florida – by destroying couch cushions. He fails obedience school dramatically, getting kicked out after one disastrous class session. In other words, he’s a disaster, and the best kind. He’s the kind of pet that creates stories for a lifetime.
I keep a stack of books that have nothing to do with school or professional development. I call it my Pleasure Reading pile. It’s like a To Be Read pile, but it’s totally for relaxation and fun. Marley and Me fit perfectly.
It helped that I felt a connection as soon as I realized that we have Marley’s rabbit cousin living with us. Buttercup and Me, perhaps? Call the agent, I’m ready to write!
This is not a paid review. I picked up Marley and Me on Paperbackswap.com. Now that I’m done, it’s posted again. Now that summer is here, I’ll read a lot more. More reviews in store? Maybe! I just need to shuffle the pile and decide what to read next.
>Ah, gardening geekdom. Simple pleasures, such as getting water to the plants, can be so much fun. The process starts here at the rain barrel, with a short (10′) hose attached.
This hose feeds through the chicken wire fence (that’s the overflow hose in the background).
Feeding it through rather than draping it over the fence allow gravity to help provide pressure and bring the water where it’s needed.
The connection from 10′ hose to soaker hose wasn’t quite secure at first, letting a little too much water leak into the lettuce bed. I fixed it. This might not matter with a standard faucet, but with a barrel, the system can’t afford to lose any of its meager pressure and still expect to get the water where it needs to go.
I connected the two hoses securely, and then the water was ready to reach its goal: the soil around the plants. These tomatoes sure look like they need it. 
>I like rice dishes, and the family does, too. We keep a few rice mixes (Rice-a-Roni and Zatarain’s) in the pantry, but I’d really like to cook more from scratch. Lately I’ve been experimenting with Spanish Rice as a side dish to go with refried beans as a side for tacos & burritos & fajitas. All are simple suppers, and rice is a simple side dish. Right? Well, maybe.
I tried cooking the rice in water flavored with taco seasoning. The results were okay, but not stellar.
Cooking the rice in beef or chicken broth worked a little better. A teaspoon of chili powder and/or red pepper flakes helped, too. Diced onion and green & red peppers made a nice addition to the flavor as well.
But I still feel like this version of what I call Arroz Mexicano (and serve most often in combination with Frijoles, refried beans) needs something more.
Ideas, anyone? What are your favorite ways to spice up rice?
>