Tag Archives: lists

The Gardener’s Reading List

Is it too early to call myself a gardener? Probably. But I’ve been researching like it’s my job. Well, really, research is my job. It’s my day job… or my night job. I’m technically the evening librarian. Whatever works.

I recently took the Myers-Briggs personality test for work and it said that I’m a sensor which can mean that I like to give too much details and ramble. I need to control that. So without further ado, here’s what I’ve been reading in preparation for warm weather!

Growing Veggies

514EATQNkWL._SX258_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible gets great reviews on Amazon and was written with beginning gardeners as the intended audience. That’s me. And it claims to be the bible for vegetable gardener’s so I’m relying on this one heavily for a beginner’s reference guide.

 

 

 

The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast51E7ayNJ7IL._SX258_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_
I’m still very much the novice gardener, but I know that growing veggies in the Southeast will be very different than growing veggies elsewhere. This guide should help me with regionally specific information based on weather and climate.

 

 

 

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening51Me-evQWIL
What interested me about this book is how plants can naturally benefit from each other. Symbiosis is so exciting!

 

 

 

 

 

Grow Cook Eat: A Food Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening including 50 recipes, plus harvesting and storage tips 51YcjpN6V4L._SX258_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_

Grow Cook Eat has an ambitious scope; it covers gardening, recipes and storage of vegetables. I love ambition and I love that this book takes readers through the entire process of growing and eating your own food.

 

 

 

Preserving Veggies
I’m just as excited about growing veggies as I am about preserving them!

Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving A17ENc0DoGL._SY450_
Many of my beautiful readers recommended this book as the go-to guide to canning staples. As much as I love my library books, I think I’ll end up purchasing this one for reference.

 

 

 

 

51JZjm2LTsL._SX258_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_

Canning For a New Generation
Canning for a New Generation is an absolutely gorgeous book. The pictures alone make my mouth water! Something that isn’t always the case with canned food. The Ball book is more for classic canning recipes and I’m hoping this one provides something a little more exotic!

 

 

 

Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round51nywEGQJoL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_
I would love to can 20 pounds of pickles, but that just won’t work with my small space. I also love that this book emphasizes year-round canning. The author even explains how to can nut butters! I hope this book will carry my enthusiasm for canning through even the winter months!

 

 

 

 

 

I want to thank everyone for their kind gardening tips and book recommendations. I’m off to read and dream about spring!

love,
melanie

The Current To-Do List

To do list

Lately I feel like we’ve been living in the jungle in the middle of the rainy season. We’ve had a record amount of rainfall in our area this summer and it has put a literal damper on our situation. I’m hope, hope, hoping that we get a little relief from the rain over the holiday weekend, so we can complete the Airstream.

Do you see our to-do list up there? It’s still long and it mostly involves stuff that we can’t do when it is raining. Did you hear that, rain? You need to go away! Sorry, ya’ll, being cooped up indoors has done something to my brain…

I also haven’t been able to take many pictures for ye ol’ blog because it has been too cloudy. How do my blogger friends from the Pacific North West do it? Natural light has been scarce ’round these parts.

Do ya’ll have big plans for the long weekend? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Airstream: The Done List

done list

In the beginning stages of the airstream renovation process, the thought of making a “To-Do” list overwhelmed me. I couldn’t bring myself to do it because there was just so damn much to do! But since we’re almost to the end of our renovation journey, I decided to make a “Done” list. Sometimes making a list of things I’ve (we’ve) accomplished makes me feel better about the tasks I have left.

I’ve recently discovered the joy that is Wunderlist. You can see my “Done” list above. We probably had a million other tiny things we did that I forgot about, but this was the big stuff. I feel goooooood.

Have you ever made a “done” list? Tell me about it in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

27 Before 28: Birthday Goals List

270001

280001As promised, here is my birthday goals list. I was going to rewrite it, but hoping to turn over my “worry less” new leaf, I just scanned it in, straight from my journal. Keep me accountable, ya’ll!

love the (almost) birthday girl,

melanie

27 before 27: Birthday Goals Update

Last year, I posted my 26 27 before 27 goals. And it’s almost my birthday, ya’ll.  I thought it’d be fun to see how well I did. Admittedly, I lost the original paper these goals were written on, so I haven’t looked at them in a while. Luckily, I saved it here and shared it with you lovely folks! Here’s the update:

26 27 before 27

  1. Travel to a new city: New Orleans and Philadelphia
  2. Try a new cuisine: Israeli
  3. Read a “classic” novel: I re-read the Great Gatsby. It counts!
  4. Make a new friend: Amber
  5. Learn to make a vintage cocktail: Tom Collins… gross
  6. Implement “do nothing” Sundays: I don’t think this will ever happen.
  7. Sleep under the stars: At Drew & Jordan’s wedding
  8. Print out old pictures: Noooope.
  9. Buy a new pair of jeans: I hate jean shopping.
  10. Go on an unplanned adventure: My whole life is an unplanned adventure at this point!
  11. Send a letter: Sent it with a package. It counts, right?
  12. Connect with an old friend: Lauren
  13. Throw a party: Doing this (again) on Monday!
  14. Take a night-time stroll: Do this all the time with George, of course!
  15. Live without regret: Done.
  16. Forgive often: Working on it, always.
  17. Visit the farmers’ market: I visited the one in Raleigh. It counts.
  18. Bake for a friend: Easter
  19. Play in the ocean: I touched the ocean last time I was at the beach. The water is still super cold here!
  20. Visit the antique store in Williamston: Never open.
  21. See a movie alone: Not at the theatre, but I have watched a few alone.
  22. Speak up for myself: On many occasions, still needs work.
  23. Learn to shoot a handgun: Just need to take the class now.
  24. Get a massage: Bah, I never make time to schedule these!
  25. Hug George daily: My welcome home hugs are the best!
  26. Laugh often
  27. Worry less!: Work in progress!!!

Tomorrow I’ll share my new birthday goals.

Do you make birthday goals? What do they include?

love,
melanie

How to Deal with Disappointment

Remember that job I told you all about? Well, I didn’t get it. Recovering from the disappointment and starting a new school semester has been difficult. In fact, I haven’t been blogging much lately because I’ve been both amazingly busy with the rush of students and I’ve been busy moping.

I’m not afraid to admit to you all that I cried when I found out that I lost the job to another applicant. I’m also not afraid to admit that I ate way too much and maybe drank a little too much that evening in the hopes that it would make me feel better. I didn’t feel better. I just felt bloated.

To cheer myself up on this rainy Monday morning, I made a quick list of things that I am happy about. I forced myself to write 20 items. It was difficult to write at first, because I love to be a pessimist. It’s just my nature of self-improvement, I suppose. But after the first couple of list items, it became much easier to think of things I am happy and thankful for. I have a wonderful life.

There will be more job opportunities in the future. In fact, I applied for one over the weekend. I can’t—I won’t let this get me down.

How do you fight disappointment in life? Let me know in the comments.

love,
melanie