Author Archives: cathyboettner

Sorry that I haven’t posted anything in a while. My laptop crashed and it took several days to fix it. I will try to catch you up on what has been going on around here. It’s Spring, so of course, we have had a zillion projects around the yard and gardens. We are usually completelyContinue reading “A Tidy Shed and Another Thing That Cleaning It Inspired”

The only permanent lighting that we have under the deck is the light fixture next to the passage door into the garage. We also do not have any outdoor lights on the corners of the house which I have always thought was kind of strange. So the area under the deck where we typically grillContinue reading “Spring Fever–Party Lights!”

Last year we bought several stock tanks to use as raised beds for our vegetables. We made the concrete on the south side of the shed large enough to accommodate them. We added planting mix to the three tanks that currently don’t have anything growing in them. We have had kale and lettuce growing inContinue reading “Spring Fever–Raised Beds”

We finally finished dividing the strawberry plants that we have been growing in this area since we bought the house. We gave hundreds of plants away because they were so crowded. First we dug everything up, amended the soil with planting mix, and replanted them about 12″ apart. We mulched them with pine straw toContinue reading “Spring Fever–the South Side of the house”

I took a chance and sprinkled cosmos, lunaria, larkspur, and zinnia seeds in the cutting garden. We have lots of baby plants coming up. They are a little hard to see, but they are there! These are some of the lunaria (money plant) that I grew from seed last year. Lunaria are perennials, so IContinue reading “Spring Fever–the Cutting Garden”

It takes a while for our garden on the North side of the house to wake up. With the unseasonably warm weather we had early this past week, things really started to pop up. I transplanted these Lenten Rose last year and they are starting to take off after a slow start. I planted 3Continue reading “Spring Fever–Update on the Perennial Bed on the North side of the house”

As you might remember, we prepped a bunch of holes along our neighbor’s retaining wall so that we could plant forsythias about 3 feet apart to create a thick green screen to block their view of our messy back yard (where all the trailers are.) What I didn’t report, is that when Jack and IContinue reading “Green Screen Update–Forsythias”

You will need a resistance band for this workout. I used a medium weight one. 10 Lateral Steps to each side with band at ankles 10 Lateral Steps to each side with band at ankles 12 Goblet Squats with 12 lb weight 12 Goblet Squats with 12 lb weight 20 Plank Jacks with band atContinue reading “Pandemic Physical Fitness–“I’m with the Band””

My family loves Philly Steak Sandwiches, and so do I. I started making these as a lighter alternative to the traditional beef version. It is super simple to do–and I usually make ahead for a quick weeknight meal. (I’m calling it meatless, but this recipe is not vegetarian.) 3 tbsp butter 2 large onions 2Continue reading “Meatless Monday–Philly Mushroom Sandwiches”

20 Front to lateral raise with 3 lb weights 15 Shoulder Press with 8 lb weights 15 Upright Row with 8 lb weights 15 Jumping Jacks 10 Torso Twists to each side with 8 lb weight 15 Side Bends to each side with 20 lb kettlebell 10 Wood Chops to each side with 8 lbContinue reading “Pandemic Physical Fitness–30 minute total body workout”