Independence Days- take 2: week 2

What a week it has been.  Things are progressing at the new house, although more slowly than I would like.  I know I was busy all day but I really don't feel like I accomplished anything.  I'm hoping that taking inventory with IDC will help me sort it all out. I know that a lot has been accomplished in the past week, so here goes.

1.  Plant Something- in addition to all my seeds that I started last Sunday, I planted out my tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and tomatillos.  I managed to prep the ground for my fingerling potatoes but didn't manage to get them planted today.  My peas, while in late, are starting to come up and I spotted radish and beet seedlings popping up as well.

2. Harvest something- a few chives and thyme. Oh, and lilacs.

3. Preserve something- I made lilac jelly in my spare time this evening. Phelan posted about lilac jelly and I was curious.  It is wonderful!  In fact, V liked it so much I may try to make a bit more before the lilac blossoms fade.  

4.  Reduce waste- Hmm, not much more than the usual.  I've started a compost pile at the new house.  It needs a bit more work- currently it's just a heap of grass clippings and a few veggie peels from meals.  We're being careful to salvage everything we can during this demolition phase and will be repurposing it or stashing it away for future reference.

5. Prep and storage- I don't think so- except for making the jelly, I'm trying to deplete the stores so we have less to move.  Even though we're only moving about 7 miles, it still seems like there is SO MUCH STUFF!!!  I need to get better organized about taking at least a few boxes out to the new house every time we go out.  But that means that I have to have them packed....

6.  Community food systems-  I missed the farmer's market downtown on Saturday.  There is one at one of the malls tomorrow afternoon. Depending on how things are going, I may try to stop by to get a few things since my garden got in quite late and I'm really wanting some fresh salad greens.

7.  Eat the food- No problem there. I've been better at planning and getting meals on the table than I was the first week or so we were working on the house.  In fact, J14 made it a point to point out that we were eating dinner before 630 this evening. Of course, it helped that I took the crockpot out and made beef stew that I could tend to and add things to all day.  It also made the house smell good- that and the big bunch of lilacs (not to mention the hours of cleaning and demolition) have gone far to eliminate the mousey smell that has been all too common.

In house updates, there is only one wall remaining in the basement to come down and one small section of ceiling.  We didn't get started on backfilling the pit today- the waterproofing mortar/sealer/stuff that V put on the outside of the new foundation blocks wasn't dry enough yet, hopefully by tomorrow it will be ready.  

We did get the new flue liner positioned in the chimney this morning and will put on the chimney cap tomorrow. We also did a patch job on the south side of the house where the birds were getting in to nest in the attic.  It will need more permanent work done on it (much like we did with the fascia on the north/west corner.  I didn't get much done in the garden apart from  prepping the row for my potatoes and making chicken wire cages for around the blueberries and currants.  I also spent a lot of time cleaning in the kitchen and taping around the windows and doors in the living/dining room to get ready for painting.  I was hoping to get started painting this afternoon but I ran out of painter's tape and wasn't going to make a special trip just for that.

In fun  house news, I was sitting on the porch stairs for a breather after dinner and saw a hummingbird flitting around the bushes.  I also noticed that there is a Baltimore Oriole flying in and out of one of the poplar trees.  We have hawthorne trees blooming, discovered that we have black willows (we planted a weeping one), black walnuts and hickories and figured out that J14's tree is a boxelder.  It's fun discovering what all is out there.  We always make sure that we take a walk around outside every day/evening to remember why we are doing all this work. 

Tomorrow will be a garden update, I hope.