I can't believe I didn't post a picture of Dan's chickens!!! Love them fresh eggs!

It's the middle of winter....????

Okay, so by all accounts it's the middle of winter. January 20th. But yet in South Carolina there are already signs of spring all around. A few houses down the road there are a few daffodils in bloom. Here at 205 Westgate Drive the daffodils are poking up but haven't had any blossoms yet. Daffodils are big in this neighborhood. When we first moved here, we noticed all of them around our house (evidently the original owners loved them). I've never been too keen on them and we took a bunch out (but they still came back). But now after a few years I've grown to like them much more. They really are the first sign of spring here. When I saw the first bit of yellow down the street, I was instantly moved to start thinking about the end of winter and the start of spring & summer (here in SC summer starts about Easter and goes well though Columbus Day). Anyway, I hope all of the Yankees who read this aren't too jealous. It's been about 4 years since we've had any snow. I really do miss it, and the pond ice skating and sledding. Just doesn't happen here.
As for the Victory Garden 2008, most of the stuff I've done is on the planning end. I'm awash with seed catalogs and ideas for plantings. I have to temper my enthusiasm for what I want to grow with some reality of what I can grow. Looking back the past few years, I've been most successful with plants that I know will work well. Case in point, I've tried to grow peas every year but each year they fry once that first hot day hits Columbia. As much as we would love fresh peas, it's just not in the cards. Zucchini & other summer squash are quite the opposite. We've had bumper harvests of zukes the past years, so I'm going to expand a bit to some patty pan type summer squash.

I'm going to add another raised bed this year, hopefully for some flowers Kimberly can put in the flower boxes. I also might move some lettuce to wide terracotta planters on the front steps, I want to use more mixed color & shape lettuce types so it should look good as well as taste good.

As far as the winter garden goes..... let's take a look. The cabbages are growing... slowly. We've had only a couple of hard freezes so far but I think once things warm up they're pick up the pace. The garlic I brought home from the Ithaca farmer's market has sprouted up and looks to be growing well. If that is the only successful crop I have I will be ecstatic! We love our garlic! I also moved the herbs from the raised bed to another established bed nearby. The rosemary and oregano are still going strong and I hope they stay perennials here. The cauliflower I planted is going great. A favorite recipe we cook all of the time is cauliflower and cheese soup. I hope we can make some soon with fresh cauliflower.
I could write more (lots to say about work and life) but it's almost 1:30pm and the Patriots play at 3:00pm. I need to get some work done so I can devote all of my attention to another AFC championship.

The Home Budget & Fresh Eggs

I've had a few conversations with a couple of people about finances recently and they seemed intrigued about our family budget. I was inspired by an article call the 60% Solution. After setting up a spreadsheet I realized we weren't that far off. I actually did 2 budgets, one ideal and one reality. While we're not all there yet, having the comparison between the two we're able to see where we need to trim more and where we can save more. For us it's really shown us how much money actually comes into the family each month and that with a few tweaks we should be able to pay all of our bills, save for retirement, save for a rainy day and have some extra for some fun. I would love to hear any comments on your budget solutions.

Here's a few pictures of the Megan family (Dan, Kathy & Paulie). In a couple of months they will expand their family by another! They also have the best eggs in Dedham, MA, fresh from their backyard!