Memory Box

I saw a cool idea on Pinterest using a shadow box.
So, when one became available (for free!) I took it :-)

using leftover paint from last years Urn project

I gave the frame a few coats - the frame was raw wood so
after a quick damp cloth and a bit of dry time it was ready to go!

Yes, I was in a hurry and didn't put down a drop cloth so we now have
some black rectangles on the driveway. sigh. oh well!

Once the frame was dry - I gave it a full 24hrs -
I put everything back together and started adding cards,
movie tickets and other memorabilia to the box. 

We will continue to add items as we go until it's too full - I'm thinking that will take years! - then I will add the years across the bottom and start a new one! 

21-day PRIMAL food challenge

I am almost finished with my 21-day food journey and I realized that 1) I have been awful abt taking pictures of the dishes and 2) I haven't shared any of the journey with you! So here are some of the good and the not-so-good of the past week or so.

roasted lamb with mushrooms (lamb was barely done! we ate the ends and I re-cooked the center with another recipe)

and creamed kale - interesting.... not sure I would make it again.

macadamia nut fish w/coconut sauce and steamed radishes w/their greens.
Wasn't sure I was going to like this but it was delish!!

spicy tomato soup with mini-meatballs.
Easier than I thought and super yummy!

pumpkin almond flour muffins. they stick to the muffin wrapper...
but they taste like pumpkin pie and are MUCH better for you!!

green little devils - a twist on a deviled egg using an avocado.
Needs a spice adjustment, but tasty!

There has been so much food on this 21-day challenge that Matt and I have eaten leftovers some nights rather than making another new dish. So even though this technically ends Memorial Day weekend - I will still be trying new recipes and will absolutely share our favorites here!

Run-Away Gravel

There are two areas around the house where gravel makes an appearance: under the front stairs/ front porch and under the back deck. While it does serve it's purpose and we won't be changing it out for something else..... it does tend to run away.....down the driveway, shoveled into the front grass during winter snow storms, making it's way slowly into the grass in the back yard. None of this is good, since in the grass can hurt your feet, be un-friendly to the mower and discourage the grass to grow at all. hello, weeds.
So, I had a theory.....

weeds in the gravel and gravel moving into the grass

My theory was fairly simple. The above black garden edging has worked wonderfully in keeping the garden bed and mulch neat and tidy and out of the lawn. So why not use the edging to corral the gravel?

digging to find the edge

Problem. The driveway is not a clean edge. the gravel makes it look like a clean edge. Which means there is no way for the edging to hold the gravel off the blacktop. Sigh. I shoveled the sliding gravel back up under the porch and will live with it as is. Not the worst thing in the world.

But for this edge! oh, baby! worked like a charm! It did take some work to pull the weeds out of the gravel and the edge of the grass but the fun part was pulling out all the chunks of gravel from the grass - it really traveled in 3 years!

I just have this one section left. I'm going to bring the black edging right up to the back of the green raised flower bed. Behind the raised beds is this weird no-man's-land where grass tries to grow, but it doesn't really work out because it doesn't get enough sun and too wet with the rain line from the roof- so it's just this dirt-weed-grass-type mess back there. I'm going to get more gravel and pull out all the green 'stuff' and top it all off with new gravel. That way we don't have to worry about that section at all! I will share pictures once it's done!