Mulling Things Over

Things around here have been pretty low key.Rick's meds continue to mess with him a bit. Saturday he went to his Asst Scoutmaster training,and the only down side was that it was in a small room with no windows. Rick has a hard time in rooms like that,but he made it through A-OK. He was wiped out when he got home,though,and he took a nap. 

Sunday,the Menfolk,Zach,and our next door neighbor Kelly decided to go up the road to Shaw Pond (no relation!)to do some ice fishing.We actually have enough ice now on most lakes and ponds to walk on them,but there are still some areas where the ice is not thick enough yet. Fortunately, Shaw Pond has a good 4" or so of ice,so they were good to go. They tried to talk me into going,but I  declined. I am not an outdoor winter person. I used to be in my youth,I loved sledding and being in the snow. Now, not so much. I prefer being warm in my house. The males were gone for at least four hours and had a great time!

Zach,Brother B,and Rick setting up traps

                                                                     Pulling up a fish                                  
 

                                                                        Pickerel!

They used Kelly's equipment,but Zach enjoyed it so much that Rick bought a couple of traps for he and Zach so they don't have to keep using Kelly's.

Also on Sunday,like any good New Englander,we watched the Patriots and the Ravens,holding our breath until the very end when the Raven's missed the field goal. Now we look forward to beating the Giants in the Super Bowl (sorry,New York fans)!

As for me,my project of late was making  some pot holders..

My potholders are in very sad shape. They are to the point where even washing them doesn't get them clean anymore. So instead of buying a pair,I made them. While I knitted,Rick and I started to mull over our plan for our garden this year. We need to order some new seeds-we have had some for three years now and it's time to get fresh ones. Instead of buying two types of lettuce,etc,we are only going to grow one kind. While we are going to cut back on variety,we are not going to cut back on quantity. We may forgo peas this year,too-to be honest,I am not a fan of fresh peas...maybe it's because I grew up with canned ones my whole life. I do love fresh green beans,though. I also need to be more on top of staggered planting this year. I hope that it doesn't take so long for the garden area to dry out this Spring.Last year we couldn't prep the area until late May.It was like a bog out back. Seeing such little snow this year,however,I assume that this spring will not be quite as wet. We also discussed whether or not we are going to make syrup this year,and we decided that we will give it shot yet again. We now  know that we need to boil the syrup a bit longer, to get it a bit more full flavored,and it needs to be canned,otherwise it doesn't last that long and gets moldy.Lessons learned,my friends!

Have a Fabulous Day on this Fabulous Planet!!!