Settling In after Vacation

Having just come back from vacation there is so much that seems to need to be done around the house. I couldn't get the garden in before we left due to weather and there is always more to be finished as well.

Vacation was absolutely beautiful! We stayed at Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky after my hubby finished the Ironman in Louisville. Yes- I said Ironman- 2 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run. In that order. It scared the living beejesus out of me but he finished and lived to tell about it. Hopefully, I will not be such a freakin' mess if he does another one. I was  really ready for a vacation after that and so was Rob.

Luckily it was quiet at our cabin compared to the day to day noise surrounding us at home and the choas of the Ironman. An added bonus was that cell phone service was intermittent at best thus we had minimal interruptions during our semi-secluded week in the woods. The falls were stunningly beautiful with rainbows glimmering gently in the mist. We spent a good deal of time hiking near the falls. Each day we would pack a lunch and head out to spend the day on the trails.  At times it seemed like we had the entire park to ourselves as we walked through the woods hearing only the sounds of the wildlife with no human interruption. Lovely!

So after a week of relaxation and bliss we came home to reality. The first reality was we needing groceries followed closely by laundry. Though I have to admit Rob did laundry one day while I napped. After all those tri clothes would have stunk by the time we got home. Today has become a day of cleaning and organizing.

I did get the seeds planted in pots for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and a wide variety of herbs. This year I am using a seed starting medium made from coconut fiber. It was discussed in depth on on Garden Web so I ordered 200 of the pellets to get me started. I figured they would last forever and at roughly two plantings a year I could burn through them pretty quickly. I ordered the incorrect size on the pellets and now have to use 2 of them to fill the pots I have on hand. Oh, well if I do it again I will order larger pellets. Until then I'll just use 2 per pot. I realize I can use the soil in my beds to start seeds, however, the issue in FL is that there are lots of harmful pathogens in the soil.  You have to bake it to get rid of all of them. I need to do a lot of little starts thus baking is not an option for me.

The freezer also got defrosted yesterday. Not fun but in this heat it sure did not take long. It also helped me to figure out what we really had in there. I had a stock pot going before the defrost excitement and added to it from the freezer. We ended up with 3 qts of stock and a fully cleaned out freezer. A little more organized but the pantry is still a wreck.

Today will be laundry, putting in lettuce and beans then babysitting one of the grands. Life is good. Tomorrow is back to work- sigh.

Hope everyone enjoys their labor day!!!!