There’s nothing more entertaining than a grown man wearing a pair of Crocs,
a coordinating Mastercraft tool belt,
while using power tools.
He’s a keeper, for sure. :) heh
We’ve been plugging away at the deck each night this week. By the time I pick up Eric from the train station and we have dinner it’s already 7:30-8pm, so we don’t have much time to work during the week. Thank goodness for the long daylight hours in the summer though!
We can work til just past 9pm right now which is great. After we finish up, we often go for a nightly walk around the neighbourhood. I love spending so much time outdoors.
Eric built this ‘bistro’ table-top that overlooks one side of the yard. We want to find some outdoor bistro chairs for this spot, but we’re having a hard time finding any in our price range. It may have to be a stand-up bistro for now!
The table top overlooks our future volleyball/badminton net!
We bought a volleyball set back in May, but we haven’t had a chance to set it up yet. It’s going to be fun for get togethers this summer. Friends can watch the game with their beer and food on the bistro table!
We also decided not to put glass in the two sections of the deck for three reasons:
- Expense- It was going to be about 10 times the price of the regular black rods!
- 2.5 weeks wait time for delivery
- Lots of upkeep/cleaning
It was a nice idea, but not very practical for us. This weekend we’re going to continue with the black rods and finish it up. Finally, the 3 sets of stairs are left! Eric says the stairs are going to be the biggest learning curve of the entire deck.
My veggies continue to thrive despite my best efforts to sabotage them… ;)
I’m not sure what’s going on with the yellowish leaves at the bottom of my kale and spinach…?
I feel like a new mother of sextuplets worrying about her newborn babies! Ok, ok not even close but you know what I mean. Eric always laughs because I check on the plants all the time to look for new growth or ‘danger signs’.
Our conversation goes a little something like this:
Me: ‘WHOA! Look how much the kale/spinach/pepper plants have grown! They are so much bigger today.’
Eric: ‘I don’t think they are any different than yesterday…’
Men!
By the way, here is my rough garden plan if anyone is interested (click to enlarge)
I’ll let you know how it goes at the end of the summer… ;)
Dill, anyone?
Wussy dill plant can’t handle my wrath!
The rest of the herbs are doing well in their new spacious pots. I also planted some basil seeds in the 5th pot. Nothing beats fresh basil!
Oh and the squirrels continue to break into my compost bin! I’m going to have to put some chicken wire around it this weekend I think…
For breakfast this morning, Eric and I enjoyed Blueberry Banana Pie Vegan Overnight Oats! I made a big batch last night, mixed it together, and breakfast was waiting for us when we came downstairs. Eric is hooked on vegan overnight oats lately. It took him a while to get over the strange texture, but now he’s cool with it. Adding crunchy granola and nuts really helps with the texture for him.
[print_this]
Blueberry Banana Pie Vegan Overnight Oats
Inspired by Super Natural Every Day’s Baked Oatmeal.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups non-dairy milk
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 small bananas, peeled & chopped
- 1-1.5 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Homemade Granola sprinkled on top before serving
Directions: Mix in a casserole dish and place in fridge overnight. In the morning, give it a stir and enjoy cold with a sprinkle of granola on top. Keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days.
[/print_this]
This is so insanely delicious! It reminded me a bit like Blueberry Pie. Eric demolished about half of this casserole dish. :)
I have a lot of bakery orders to catch up on today, so I best get cracking. Canada Post also went on strike this week so I have a few shipping issues to sort out. Doh! The weather is cloudy and cool today (clearing in the late afternoon), so best to spend it inside getting things done.
Thankfully we have a fun BBQ gathering to look forward to tonight, so the day isn’t a complete wash.
As for Sunday, I’ll be waiting for the sun and 25C weather forecast.
My hat is ready.
thank you soo much! please do post more recipes related to oats! you have the best ideas for overnight oats. champion.
The deck is looking great!
& another fabulous oat concoction of course :)
Thanks for the Overnight Oats reminder! I am putting them back in my breakfast rotation this week. ^_^
hahaha I totally agree that it’s really funny when grown men wear crocs.
It must be so exciting to grow your own plants and herbs Angela~I guess in a way, life is a lot like gardening. I’m sure there will be lots of wisdom coming out of gardening in the near future.
About your plants…
I have a black thumb as well, and a plant of mine turned yellow. My mom, a genius in the garden, said yellow leaves means that they have too much water. Give the plants a water break for a bit…I’m sure they will be ok.
Your deck is beautiful! And I love your blog!
Interesting, thanks! I guess the downpour rain we had today will not help! haha
Your deck is looking so good. Agree that the glass would be nice, but a pain to keep clean. Got to love a man who is good with tools. I’m finally getting a fence again! I think I will just sit back, watch and admire…
The yellow leaves at the bottom look like cotyledons to me. The cotyledons are a seeds first leaves that grow above the soil. They usually die off as the plant matures. You don’t want to over water your baby plants either, just keep the soil moist like wet coffee grounds all of the time and you should be fine. :) I’ve worked at an organic garden and for several organic farms so I feel like a pretty credible resource on this :)
YUM – I just whipped up a batch of those overnight oats and followed your recipe to a “T” for my husband and my early morning tomorrow…already had a few bites (my favorite part of prepping bfast the night before!) and looking froward to it tomorrow. Thanks!
I can’t believe how great that deck looks! I love that way of building, which is completely different from how houses usually look in Denmark where I live. But I’m hoping that someday I’ll be able to build my own deck like that.
Funny you’d mention the texture of the overnight oats, which is actually the only reason I haven’t tried them yet. Perhaps I just ought to jump at it…
Wow! Impressed, and LOVE the choice in footwear. Especially since I work for them! ;)
Wow! Impressed, and LOVE the choice in footwear. Especially since I work for them! ;)
dang that deck is coming along! and way to go on the garden, you both have my full respect being that i could barely hammer a nail in straight and i’ve got a brown thumb! haha. and way to rock those crocs baby! :)
yor food never fails to amaze me. i love how you prove all the sxeptics wrong about vegan-/vegetarianism.
aww thanks Jess!
Hahaha love the little map you made for your veggies! It seems like they’re really growing huh! :)
You guys are doing such a great job on the deck, it really looks so prof done!
Glad to hear the deck is coming along well. It must be pretty frustrating though. At least your two are having fun with it! ;-)
I really enjoy reading your blog. Great recipes for someone who is lactose intolerant.
I showed my husband the pic of your dill (RIP)…he says it needs full sun and it was over watered. Do those pots have proper drainage? What about trying to plant it in the ground? You should try again.
ohhh thanks!
I have been LOVING your blog and wonderfully good for you, original recipes! I think I like looking at the pictures(almost) as much as making and tasting them. I only “discovered” your site in the last month or so…..but have made ALL of your green monsters and overnight oats, and am creating my own too(thankyou!!)
Also have decided to start training and racing(5-10K) for next spring, so I like hearing your ideas and information on your workouts as well…
Your deck, garden and yard look awesome,,,,
Your deck is looking fantastic! I’m planting my herb containers today! Hope mine thrive too. Have a good rest of the weekend.
Your deck is looking fantastic!!! I also love that you’re going to put a couple of glass panes in as to not block the view to the garden- genius ;-)
Crocs…so disturbingly ugly…yet soooo wonderful! I really do have a love/hate relationship with them- mostly love though :-) Even the bf got a pair now, even though he was making fun of them when I first got them.
Re the kale…I don’t think it’s too much to worry about when the bottom leaves go yellow, I noticed that on mine but had a super harvest of kale. Could be that they got a bit too much water though, or that they maybe need some feeding? I use a home-made nettle or comfrey brew once a week…stinks but works a treat! But I am by no means an expert on growing stuff…still quite a newbie to growing my own veg.
The deck looks great, and I love the bistro table idea. What a fun yard you will have once the v-ball net is up.