After all the digging and seeding and planting and weeding and watering and weeding and fencing and weeding, it sure is nice to see some fruits of my labor. That’s right, I got some actual vegetables growing in my garden. And last night, I ATE one!

To be truthful, this little cherry tomato was slightly green, but it tasted oh SOOOO good, just because I nurtured it!

I can’t wait for more!

Now it’s been two weeks since I planted my seeds in my indoor light box, and I am pretty darn impressed with me! Check out these sprouts!

This is a close-up look at a cucumber sprout, it blows my mind how much progress these sprouts make in a day. Look at how these tiny little guys can carry a load of dirt with them as they push out of the ground. I am mystified!

I am still waiting for the green peppers to sprout, but they are supposed to be on a bit longer schedule. Importantly, we have jalepeño sprouts, which will keep my hubby happy. The outdoor garden is prepped for transplanting, so some of these plants may be moving outside tomorrow. I’ve already planted some carrots and lettuce outside, and I refilled the bird feeder with some small hope that it will distract the birds and squirrels from my garden. Ha!

Looking forward to hearing your gardening stories here or on Twitter!

ALSO SEE: How will my garden grow? • Germination!

I’m happy to report that after one week, we have germination of both cucumber and tomato seeds!

The tomatoes are sure to be carried away by my squirrel friends if I plant them all outside, but my husband has suggested that we try growing them indoor all summer. If this experiment continues to work well, I may try growing them both indoors and out.

I’ll keep you posted!

ALSO SEE: How will my garden grow?

I’ve skipped growing vegetables for a couple of years for no good reason *lazy* and last year I got some rather loud complaints that our fresh jalapeños were missing. Many of the tomatoes and cucumbers went missing even in the years I maintained a garden, thanks to the squirrels. But the jalapeños are safe from the woodland critters, because our Northern Virginia critters apparently do not like the spicy food we do.

So, here I go again. We need jalapeños! I found a great book at a holiday book sale this year — The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book by Barbara Ellis — and I’ve been reading it through all our snowstorms to keep me thinking spring. In addition, I’ve been catching up on a great TV show, Weeds, which inspired me to get started on seedlings with an indoor light box.

The photo is of my indoor seedling starter setup. I’m starting cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, peppers and cucumbers in the light box. More to come when I move the seedlings outside after the frost. I invested about $15 in seeds from Whole Foods and $3 in some topsoil, which I mixed with some leftover soil I had in the pots you see here. The frame is an old aquarium, which is providing both the primary light and the timer, not to mention protection from my cats during the day. Wish me luck!

Are you planting this spring?

It’s been nearly a week of snow, snow and more snow. The Washington, D.C. area set records for snowfall and for consecutive days of the Federal government and the D.C. government being closed. My husband and I set records for consecutive days of talking to no one else except each other. How did we survive? Well, the Internet helped a lot. And my husband’s unbelievably huge DVD collection. And the fact that we only lost power for two and a half hours. But there were some other key things that I was really very glad we had with us, and I’d like to make a note to keep this stuff on hand, just in case disaster strikes.

• iPhone – I did not have to worry about whether we had power or not to check Twitter, e-mail and news websites thanks to my iPhone. Oh, and I could post photos of our deep snow to Facebook easily, too. It charges fast and keeps its charge. I’ve got a solar charger, too.
• Battery-operated radio - The radio offers updated information and music. In a power outage, sometimes you just need some tunes to keep you sane. Be sure to keep batteries on hand.
• Dry goods and canned foods - Fresh veggies are the best when you can get them, but when you can’t get out, it is a huge relief to have a good stash of things that are easy to make by just adding water, or by just heating them up. Stuff like ramen noodles, instant soup, canned soup and vegetables, as well as pasta and rice all keep well without refrigeration for long periods.
• LED nightlights that convert to flashlights when the power goes out or a circuit breaker trips. These are very low-energy and we keep one in every room, so when the power went out, these went on. They’re not super powerful, but they are enough to help you find what you need, like the other members of your family.
• Heavy-duty flashlight or camping lantern – It’s useful to have something like this to light up an entire room that isn’t a candle. Because candles are, well, flammable, and dangerous, especially around pets and children.
• Long-burning fireplace logs – If you have a fireplace — which I definitely recommend if you are going to experience a power outage in the cold — stashing a six-pack of these long-burning logs in your basement won’t keep your house toasty, but it will give you some light and comfort with much less work and ash than a wood fire.
• Water filter – Rather than a case of bottled water, which has an expiration date and creates plastic waste, we have chosen a large filter for our refrigerator. This works just fine for two or three people. Larger family groups may want to consider an extra filter or storing one or two large bottles of water for emergencies.
• Candles – Rather than candlesticks, if you have pillar candles or tall votives, these will be much easier to move around your house and safer to leave burning for a length of time. Be sure that you don’t leave any candle burning near drapes or on a tablecloth: use heat-resistant plates to catch any drippings. And never leave a flame unattended.
• Gas stove – This is a long-term decision, along with having a fireplace. Those of us with gas stovetops were able to warm up soup or make pancakes for breakfast even when the electricity went out.
• Matches – Most of our gas stoves have electric lighters now. So without matches or a lighter on hand, our gas stoves, fireplaces and candles would all be useless. Matches are much less popular these days as smoking is being phased out, so be sure you have a handy box of kitchen matches on hand, as well as a long barbeque lighter for those hard-to-get-at places.

P.S. Here’s a great recipe that is a tasty way to use your canned beans. Black & White Bean Primavera Salad

Got some other ideas? Please comment to share the wealth!

It’s the beginning of 2010, and I’ve gotta set my goals! Last year I gave up buying plastic water bottles, and it worked! I recommend it to everyone. We saved lots of money, and got attached to our water bottles and filtering system. It works just fine, and now we’ve got more room in the refrigerator for BEER! ☺

So here are the resolutions:

• More writing: journal every day, on paper. Some stuff didn’t get recorded last year because I didn’t want to share it with the world. So I need to organize my thoughts on paper first.
• More exercise: get in that gym, at least twice a week.
• More travel: including within DC. There are some great exhibits and museums that I need to see. Concerts and shows, too!
• Home improvement: continue to green my lifestyle, purge the junk and organize the good stuff.
• Taco night on Mondays: to simplify menu planning and because we like tacos. ☺

Wish me luck, and I wish you luck with your resolutions… if you’ve made them? If you haven’t yet, I hereby give you til the end of January to come up with some. We’ve got 11 months to go, folks. That’s a lot of time to pick something to improve on or have fun with.

Most importantly,

★  ♪ ♫   Happy New Year! ♪ ♫ ♪ ★

So we finally find a great townhome, reasonable condo fee, nice neighbors, and my question is:

Do we really want to be Home Owners?”

I mean, what is the big deal about owning anyway? It’s a lot of hassle and paperwork, and it chains you down. If you want to upgrade, you have to sell, and that’s only getting harder to do. Ugh! Plus, if we do buy, my fall vacation is surely canceled. Totally unfair. Am I being short sighted? I think not. Especially not in this market.

Renting means we can afford to live in a nicer neighborhood and someone else deals with the big headaches like the roof and the furnace and the property tax. Plus, I get to go on a fall vacation. So we’re taking a break from house shopping. And planning a vacation instead.