Even though April is a “short” month, we did a lot: went to a Passover seder, hosted a Passover seder, visited our old town and met up with friends, ate ice cream, tried roller blading, enjoyed the Starlight’s Youth Theater production of Matilda Jr., did lots of gardening, earned Daisy petals at Girl Scouts, went to the Carle Museum, started building up our monkey bar calluses (well, one of us), went to a quilt show, and enjoyed Independent Bookstore Day.
It is my considered opinion that every month should include a week of vacation! (Or else, four-day weeks and three-day weekends.) Who’s with me?
What we’ve read
Highlights from a month of reading:
- Jessica Day George (Tuesdays at the Castle through Saturdays at Sea)
- Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones
- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
- Meet Felicity by Valerie Tripp (American Girl series)
Middle grade, YA, and adult:
- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh (middle grade, historical)
- Finally Seen by Kelly Yang (middle grade, contemporary)
- The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Noelle Weir (middle grade, graphic novel)
- Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne (middle grade)
- Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca (middle grade novel in verse)
- Three Thieves series by Scott Chantler (middle grade/YA graphic novels)
- Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner’s Call to Science by Jeannine Atkins (MG/YA historical novel in verse)
- Breathe and Count Back from Ten (YA contemporary)
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (adult)
- Georgie, All Along (adult romance)
- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (adult literary fiction)
- The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley (adult British fiction)
- Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire (adult memoir)
What we’ve made
- Veggie chili
- Potato leek soup
- Gougeres (cheese puffs) (Fanny in France / Alice Waters)
- Whole wheat pull-apart dinner rolls (Pastry Love by Joanne Chang)
- Ramen (Indian-Ish)
- Beet-yogurt dip
- Slow-roasted sweet potatoes (Smitten Kitchen)
- Radish green pesto
- Ciabatta (Pastry Love)
- Flourless Chocolate Wave Cake (Claire Saffitz)
- Oatmeal raisin cookies (Flour by Joanne Chang)
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Snacking Cakes)
- Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies (Good to the Grain)
What we’ve grown
It was a wonderful month for gardening! We started peas from seed (both “sweet peas” and “eat peas”) and they emerged well within the time on the packet, even though the packets were from last year.
The herb planter has sage (from last year), za’atar, rosemary, and something that might by thyme but looks a little odd. Thyme will tell, I guess. Mint is in a separate pot, because it does not play nice with others, and chives are in a separate pot as well – they survived the winter, remarkably.
At Andrews Greenhouse, I picked up a new coral bells (“Paris”), brunnera (“false forget-me-not”), echinacea (purple coneflower), and various colors of creeping phlox. At Wanczyk, I got a mix of high- and low-bush blueberries (and another lowbush at Nasami). Between those, plus the various berry bushes from last year, plus a new cane of raspberry from mom’s garden (via her cousin), plus the crowded strawberry beds, I am really hoping for lots of berries this year! The rhubarb is coming up too – even producing a bizarre-looking flower, which I cut off to encourage more stalks – and so is a lot of garlic.
Last year’s shrubs – honeysuckle, lilacs, puffball hydrangea, lacecap hydrangea, azalea, cinquefoil – are all greening up beautifully. Several bulbs – squill, grape hyacinth, daffodil, tulip – have also emerged; some of those came with the house, others I put in last year when the elementary school did a bulb fundraiser.
Also at Nasami, I picked up a ninebark (for some of that Japanese maple color) and an American plum tree. Ben has taken down three rhododendron bushes and a huge burning bush (not native to MA) and that opened up a lot more space for planting. Garden season is here! As part of “no-mow May,” we’re letting most dandelions and violets do their thing, to help out early pollinators.