My New Favourite Sandwich!

Well Larry was late getting home tonight (no surprise there) so the meal I had planned didn't pan out. I had breaded the pork for schnitzel earlier in the day, so the meat was good to go. Figured I'd do sandwiches out of it...quick & easy. Turns out I didn't have any buns in the freezer so I used Texas toast garlic bread. I spread a mix of herbed Philly cheese with sharp cheddar on one half of the slices. I fried up mushrooms & onions in a garlic red wine reduction. Mixed mayo & dijon for the condiment and sliced up some roasted red peppers. After frying up the meat and toasting the bread I assembled my creation.

Have to say it looks delicious!! I really have to find my camera, these pictures taken on the phone just don't look great. The toast and pork are not burnt! lol
And it was fabulous! Larry loved it, and I did, too. I think next time I'll add a slice of tomato & greens for freshness and texture.

Our New Chickens

Larry brought home new chickens a couple weeks ago. We have been without for a couple years, our last ladies stopped laying so they became chicken stock. They were Rhode Island Reds and the ones we have now are very different! We have 2 white, 2 zebra, one black and one black/red. Very pretty!! And not as aggressive.

Again, this was taken with a phone so the quality isn't great, but you can see how different they all look. David, our oldest grandson, wants to name one and now he'll be able to tell which one it is. He's coming for a visit this weekend so he'll get the chance to meet them finally. 

I told Larry I didn't want them free-ranging because the last group of ladies demolished my hostas while scratching for food. All that money!! Fortunately they didn't kill the roots, just had a couple years where the plants looked beaten. Have to admit, they are great for keeping the weeds down! Anyway, before he brought them home, he added another large fenced area off the coop for them to roam. We still let them out but only when we are around to keep them out of the woodland garden! You can get an idea of their new playpen from this blurry picture. Jet had to get in there to meet his new neighbours, his kennel is right beside the coop. He wants to play but they'd rather not. hehe

And the cats keep going in too, still very curious about the large birds...I think they are trying to figure out a way to hunt them without getting beat up. :) You can see Pickle on the left checking out the ladies. It is hilarious to watch Pepsy stalk them...course they are not going to let him get close!

It took a couple days before they started laying due to the shock of the move, and they are still very young so the eggs are small, one was the size of a quail egg!! And we get the prettiest colours! But boy, there is nothing like fresh eggs on your plate! 

Here you can see half of their coop with the feeder and nesting boxes. When we got our first ladies, we took an old ice fishing hut and converted it. Put in a door to the screened-in, raised 'porch' with a ladder they walk up, it already had a window and door for us to use and we built the nesting boxes on the existing bench. Recycling at it's finest. :)

I'm joining the ranks

Well, I've done it. Broken down and created a blog. It's been the rage for years, but then I've always been slow to jump on the bandwagon. I don't know how much time this will take, or how often I'll be able to post, especially at this time of year! Work keeps me busy plus trying to keep up with my own gardens, which I'm way behind on right now.

Lately I've been reading so many blogs relating to gardening, succulents, house plants and the like that I figured I could have fun with one, too! So I decided it was time to take pictures of my house plants so I can share them. Couldn't find the camera, had to use my phone and as a result most of the pictures are grainy or blurry. I did manage to get a few good ones, the best one being this aloe picture. Guess I'll have to ask my husband if he knows where it is when he gets home.

I want to share this picture, my orchid is finally blooming again!! Yeah!!! Only one but it has 4 flower stems and lots of buds so I'll be enjoying it again for a long time to come. :)

 This shows my hydrangea from Easter. I'm going to try to keep it going and hopefully have it bloom for next year. Wish me luck!

I planted up my Canada Day planter yesterday. The geraniums are not blooming yet and the Diamond Frost needs to fill in more, but come June I know this planter will be stunning. I always put it at the top of the drive and add a couple small Canadian flags to it. I love the patriotic look. Yes, I AM CANADIAN!!! :)

One of the blurry pictures but not too bad. I love this small cactus garden I planted a couple months ago! The tiger jaws cactus is going to be so much fun watching while it grows. Oh, and see the hoya next to it? Potted up last year and it loves this east facing window. Looking forward to the years ahead with this hoya, they are incredible plants. I can't wait to get these all out to the courtyard for the summer!! 

I've got a few trays of succulent cuttings I'm trying to root. It's the first time I've tried this and I've lost a couple already, but hopefully I'll be able to get most of them growing into tiny plants. Trial & error...I'll get it eventually. :)

I've got a couple of my succulent gardens outside today hardening off, getting ready for the summer in the courtyard. These ones are beside the hardy, year round succulent bed. I love this part of my gardens!

Sticks of Fire...can't wait for the 'fire' to come to this succulent! Stunning when it turns red. 

Ok, the rest of the pictures aren't worth posting. Oh well, not a bad start I think...first time blogging and it really is a lot of fun! 

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