It has been some of the most perfect weather here in the Pacific Northwest lately.   It feels like summer.  70, sun, shorts and flip flops.  Rollerblading around greenlake and patio furniture all set out and sunglasses.  It is amazing how just a little sun can seem to make things better.

I have been feeling immensely overwhelmed lately.  One of those times where I am going through all the motions of my day, responding ‘fine’ when anyone asks me how I am doing, feeling frustrated at  the end of every day that I just could not get it all done, no matter how hard I tried.  I keep making excuses.  Too much good stuff, this project is nearly done, sure I can do that, and that too… I haven’t been sleeping well, maybe I’m getting sick?

Then the other day I finally found a moment to catch up with a friend….we had been rescheduling this lunch date for 2 months.  And after we finished eating, we seemed to get down too….no, how are you really?  No agenda, no time commitment, nothing.  And I found it all come stumbling out.

Sure I am still tired.  But the sun is shining.

And….

last fall we planted some tulip bulbs in the backyard.  100 of them.  The bulbs have been waiting all winter, then growing this spring.  How grand they are when all revealed.

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! To share in the spirit of the season and to lament the fact that we didn’t go back “home” for the season this year, I dug some photos out of the MG archives to share here. Living in New Orleans for 5 years was THE. BEST.

If you’re in the mood, you can get last year’s King Cake recipes here.

What a week this has been! Lots of work, some fun with the girls, and certainly a lot of productivity, but oye, i’m exhausted.

Spotted this hideaway over at House of Turquoise and wish after long weeks I had a mountain meadow hideaway just this charming.

This is going to be a fun weekend full of a celebration of birthdays (both mom and baby), some crafts around the house, and hopefully a good bit of time in front of the fire. Get some rest, friends!

Our backyard garden is doing wonderfully!  It must be all the warm weather and sun we are getting.  YAY!

Here is a look at what the yard looks like today:

Dahlias are in full bloom everywhere.

Tomato plants are huge.  Tons of flowers… still waiting on the actual tomatoes though.

Cukes have lots of flowers and a few small baby ones!

Peas are still doing well… they are nearing the end of production though.

Lettuce is still doing great… and we are eating salads a lot.

We have completely harvested all of our small onions and shallots….

(only like 1/3 of the onions….)

Probably the most exciting thing lately is that we have planted our new fall starts that we bought from Cascade Edible Landscapes…..

When we planted them two weeks ago:

And today:

Pretty cool!

There are ten varieties of plants…including califlower, brussel sprouts, spinach, radicchio, kale, and a few more things….  stay tuned for when we eat them….hopefully!

last night we ate the first lettuce from our garden.

hooray for summer!