Blessings!

So, yesterday was Family Day. What a good day it was for me. For Dan it was just an extra long day of Sunday evening blues but for me, I enjoyed every minute of it.

We woke up fairly early (for a day off) and left right away for mom and dad W's. Dan wanted a paved driveway to work on his truck. I wanted a working washer and dryer. It was so beautiful out. If it was April I probably wouldn't say this since it was still 0 degree's out but the sun was shining and we had a day of zero plans. Chloe spent the day sniffing out voles in Caleb's snowmobile and laying on the remaining piles of snow. Between Dan, Dad and Caleb, the truck sounds significantly better and doesn't smell like exhaust anymore.

Mom came home from work early and we just sat around drinking coffee, doing crossword puzzles and online scrabble. Eventually, we decided to go into town so Dan could clean the truck and we could all go and visit Oma and Opa. Dad still has to send those pictures to me. We all crammed into the exteneded cab Ford Ranger and drove to O & O's. It was really funny and cute. Mom giggled the whole way .... kinda like how Caleb did when he first sat in the back on the pullout seats in that truck. :)

And here's where my day starts to get REALLY good. Oma and Opa are trying to give away their stuff. They are downsizing and planning on moving out soon so their years of collecting and building and making things that work for their hobbies have to be given away now. I don't really like this and could write a whole other blog on this issue but that's not the point of this post. Opa and I both LOVE gardening and so.....

I GOT HIS SEED STARTING STUFF!! This might look like a pile of junk to some people but to me, this is GOLD. I woke up this morning with the same feeling of excitement that everyone has (come on, admit it) just before we remember that it's Christmas today or your birthday. My parents have tried to convince me that it's really a waste of money to try to start your seeds indoor. It takes a bit to put together your operation with lights, tables, soil, containers etc. And then you have to pay to keep those lights going for 16 hours everyday..... blah blah blah. Well, I haven't done it before but this year I thought I would start. I was talking about this when Opa mentioned that "boy, do I have the thing for you!" He gave me a table top, the lights, trays, soil, and even (if you look hard it's on the trays) a timer for the lights to automatically turn on and off with!!! Isn't that awesome?! Dan is bringing home some chain for me tonight so I can hang the lights. I have some seeds saved from my beautiful garden 2 years ago that probably aren't even viable anymore but who cares! Both mom and I are working on our seed orders from our different seed companies. I have a "poop calender" (you know, those dutch birthday calenders) that I don't use that I think I'm going to turn into a gardening calender where I can write last frost dates, seeding dates and maybe even harvesting dates. These lights and stuff really is gold to me. I don't even have a compost pile let alone a garden or even back yard yet. To dream about spring and planting just injects life into me again. Not that this winter has been bad.... in fact it's been a really good winter. I'm just excited to look forward to something... even if its temporary or even just a dream that won't happen. I'm going get a good box that I can mix my dirt in. I'm going to get some plastic from Larissa and James' to drape over the lights and keep the warmth in. I remember mom and dad starting their seeds down in the dirt basement at home with the exact same set up. I remember we weren't really allowed to go near it because the heat had to stay in but I CLEARLY remember the smell of warm dirt when you snuck a peak under the lights. mmmm.... I can't wait.

When we got home, I transplanted some indoor houseplants and spent the next 3-4 hours trying to replicate Oma's bami goreng recipe. mmm ... It's actually pretty good this time. I doubt it's close to right but it sure tastes good. I can't wait for lunch.

So, I spent Family Day hanging around with family, dreaming, planting and cooking.... can you see why this was such a good day for me?!