I honestly did not know what I was going to write about when I sat down to my computer to compose this post. I am tired of the upcoming election and can’t bring myself to write about the struggling Proposition 37. Not a lot has been happening in the garden, not enough to inspire a post. What has stuck with me is the perfect fall afternoon we had and the time I spent with my children in the backyard this afternoon.

It started out with me determined to get something done in the garden. I am feeling really behind, and having a sick family these last two weeks has made it almost impossible to do any significant work out there. So, I did manage to turn the soil and plant shell peas in one bed. My daughter helped out, which she hasn’t done in a while. I have a sneaking suspicion that she realized if she helped I would finish faster and we could get down to the real business of playing with her plastic animals. Continue reading →

When my now four-year old was given her first bite of solid food she scrunched up her face and spit it out. That was the first and last time she did that when new foods were offered to her. She quickly became known as a “good eater,” eating anything and everything placed before her. She went through a period where she ate zucchini by the bowl full. I clearly remember a friend declaring at a party, “Oh, E picked up a piece of raw broccoli from the table, ate it, and then went back for more!” She was 2 1/2 at the time. All those parenting books advising that you might have to offer a new food ten times before your child would eat it did not apply to us.

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