And we're back

After 20 hours without power, everything started humming again. I wasn't here to celebrate; I was at a client's. A client who had power.

Another client meeting this morning, the gym afterward and then I need to really, really, really work on getting organized. Meal planning and decluttering are high on my list. You see, I will soon be employed.

I've worked part-time at a local garden center the last two summers, casually and only one or two days a week. But this year I'll be suiting up and showing up three days a week, doing both production (which I love) and sales (which I will learn to love). I'm excited! I've previously bartered my labor for their plants, but I'm officially on the books this year.

(This decision was a direct result of the raccoon incident. Had I been the bite victim, it would have been a horribly expensive Big Deal for the owners.)

Look what's up. I took a stroll around the garden yesterday and popping up above those winter weeds are two rows of Egyptian onions. It's so cool to see real food growing this early in the season. These onions develop "sets," which then fall over and replant themselves, giving them their other name: the walking onion. Four short rows of garlic also are developing nicely. My hope is to have enough garlic left this year to plant my own, rather than ordering new stock, which I've done for three years. We love our garlic around here.

So what else. Oh! The Blunt amendment was tabled yesterday, no thanks at all to West Virginia's junior senator, who crossed the aisle and voted with the Rethuglicans on this one. He's been called a DINO (Democrat in Name Only) and this vote truly proves it. A side note: a movement is afoot to rally in every state capitol and in DC on April 28, 2012, to protest the War on Women. If you're interested, more information can be found here.

Back to my organizing dilemma: If you have developed a meal-planning strategy that works for you and your family, and don't mind sharing it, I'd love some ideas. Pinterest has been helpful, but your personal experience would be moreso in determining if a plan will work for me. There are two hard parts to my oh-so-lovely days here in the Middle of Nowhere:

1. Figuring out what to have for dinner
2. Answering my husband's daily question: "What's for dinner?"

(He doesn't cook, yet another favor his mother never did for him. I absolutely cannot understand his unwillingness to learn, however, considering how much he loves to eat. I used to worry about his meals when I went out of town without him. Not any more. He's certainly smart enough and old enough to navigate the kitchen; the fact that he refuses to do so is not my problem. So there, honey!)