taking stock of march

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Ah, March has come to a close. And it was a great month for coming out of winter hibernation.

March started with Craig and me in Mexico on the Riviera Maya, getting away on a much-needed holiday. The month started as a lion, and then decided to become a lamb with temperatures that reached 70°F here in Southern New Hampshire. And then, fickle March, decided to go out like a lion once again.

It’s been cold and rainy here for much of the past week. Lots of flooding in our area. I went to pick up our raw milk from our local cow, and I had to maneuver the car with trepidation through high water and flooded roads to get to my destination. Hopefully we will get a chance to dry out over the next few days—it’s supposed to reach 70°F again by Saturday!

March was a great month for cleaning out our little house. We did a thorough Spring cleaning, complete with scrubbing down the insides and outsides of our refrigerator.

This fridge is clean!

I was able to get rid of the condiment clutter that tends to take over our fridge, eliminating multiples of ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, and horseradish that have a tendency to linger far too long.

Seriously? Who holds on to that many empty containers? Oh, us... right.

Bye, bye excess jars of salsa, ketchup, salad dressing, blah blah blah...

Now we have plenty of room for more cooked meals, fresh salsa, vegetables, herbs, pickles, and all the other delights that will come with Spring and Summer!

March was also about getting our yard back into shape. I cleared out the front gardens to make way for Spring flowers. And we spent a ton of time on Sunday picking up sticks, tree limbs, and all the dead stuff that finds its way onto the lawn throughout the winter. Now our wood pile is turning into quite an eye sore.

Break out the fire pit—we've got wood to burn!

March was also filled with family time. We hung out with Craig’s sister a few weeks ago and had a chance to catch up and show her photos from our Mexican adventure.

And we spent last weekend with my cousins staying at our house, here in town for my sister’s babies shower (twins!) It was so much fun to hang out with my extended family, and I truly mean that. My cousin and his wife live in New Jersey and made the trip up. They are new homeowners and also love experimenting with gardening, so it was exciting to swap stories and ideas and get psyched to start our vegetable gardens! I hosted an impromptu dinner on Friday night for us all and invited my sister and her husband to come over. My first homemade lasagna was a big hit.

My sister’s shower the next day was fantantastic, even though I was nursing ridiculous allergies/sinus messiness. I cooked up a storm of food for the shower—crockpot meatballs, crockpot kielbasa, hot artichoke dip, an italian dip with fresh basil and roma tomatoes, etc. My spirits were lifted thinking about the impending arrival of my younger sister’s little ones. She looks amazing for almost 32 weeks. And her babies are still kicking up a storm! I took every opportunity I could to put my hands on her stomach and feel them squirming around. They’ll be here so soon!

Most of all, though, for me March was about renewal. It was a time of reflection on the heaviness of Winter. It was a time for reassessing priorities as Spring approaches. It was about checking off the must-dos (taxes…) and leftovers on the to-do list (clean fridge…) in order to make room for the new projects and prospects that come with the start of the growing season. March was the month to start making new plans as the seasons shifted and the hours began to get longer.

Now the hope of sunlight and flowers and planting returns.

Tags: gardening, gratitude, herbs, housework, raw milk, winter hibernation
Posted in Cooking Adventures, Household Management 101, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Daily Balance, The Growing Season | No Comments »