Independence Days- week 8

Whew!  What a week.  Things have been a bit crazy around here.  Monday was a holiday but was probably busier than it would have been if I had been at work.  A co-worker left on vacation for a week and a half so I have been covering for her as well as doing my own work.  Today ended up being very strange.  I had planned to take the boys to get hair cuts but was distracted by our friend Jim calling in a crisis.  He ended up coming over for a few hours which sabotaged all plans for the afternoon.  He had gone out last night and thinks someone slipped something into his drink.  He only vaguely remembers being literally dumped on his doorstep and is covered in bruises and scrapes.  He is gay and thinks that some guys at the bar where he went last night roughed him up.  He was quite upset and still really confused but unwilling to go to the ER or  call the police.  So we calmed him down and as he said, let him spend time with "people who care a s**t" about him.  That was rather emotionally draining.

Today is my usual day to post on the independence days challenge.  I'm actually on time this week.  So here goes:

1. Plant something-  No.  But did get my seed orders in for the year.  I still have a few things to pick up locally but not much.

2. Harvest something- YES!!  We had lovely salads last night with some lettuce from the planter box in the basement.  

3. Preserve something-  No

4. Store something- Got unbleached flour to restock.  Made waffles for the freezer for the week for breakfasts.

5. Manage reserves- We're working our way through a banana squash from my Mom.  Used little end bits of chocolate chip packages to make chocolate chip waffles.  Used some of the last of the tomato sauce from the freezer.

6. Cook something new-  Used our dutch oven (actually a camp oven) to make pot roast and veggies for dinner-  YUM

7. Prep something- No

8. Reduce waste- Recycled, reused, composted and used cloth bags at the grocery as usual.  V salvaged a wooden drying rack out of a dumpster.

9. Learn a new skill- No- didn't get out the knitting at all this week.  Did re-read the manual for my ice cream maker that V's Mom got me for Christmas (it's an attachment for my KitchenAid mixer) since we hope to make sherbet soon.

10.  Work on community food security- Talked to another co-worker who asked me if we really got a side of beef after reading V's article in the paper.

11. Regenerate what is lost- was supportive to neighbor's family at funeral services for her last night.  I've been contemplating if I want to try to organize a neighborhood get together this spring.

12.  Behavior change- procrastinating:  I actually placed my seed orders this week and finally got around to cleaning and organizing my cookbook shelf.  Next project- the bathroom cabinet.  Maybe when I'm off Tuesday for I11's oral surgery.

I really do need to settle down with a calendar and set planting dates for seedlings.  I talked to Roger about bringing over the pick up in the spring to move compost to the garden.  It's another busy week and I'm scheduled to work on Saturday. Oh, Boy!!