This time of year there is so much to do!  Last weekend my project was painting the front porch furniture. Now it’s bright white and inviting, and yet there’s too much gardening to do to just sit and enjoy the view from the front porch.  I’ve been busy moving perennials and planting new ones, digging, organizing, putting in some new stepping stones, weeding, and more.  Hopefully soon there will be fewer chores and more time to sit and smell the roses.

The really special thing about the DCCM, though, is its second “C,” which stands for community.  The market exists to benefit our community in many ways: not only by providing access to local products, but also income for the local citizens who are its vendors and the nonprofit organizations which are its beneficiaries.  Each customer of the market must register as a “member” (there’s no cost to join), and each member designates one of the market’s registered nonprofit organizations to receive a portion of each purchase.  Organizations such as the Council for Older Adults and the Arts Castle can receive monetary donations with each sale!  So the customer gets great products, creating income for local residents, and charities benefit as well – it’s a win-win-WIN situation.

The DCCM’s grand opening is scheduled for this weekend. Make sure to check them out!

So anyway, art.com is having a great sale this week on their art prints (read: posters).  I want two pieces for my dining room where I currently have these cool but way too small vintage French ads.  So now I have a deadline… the thrifty (read: very cheap) shopper inside me wants to order before the sale ends this Friday.  But quick decisions are not my forte.  For 3+ years I have been toying with paint color choices for my living room.   My friend Karen says that, when it comes to choosing a paint color, I have “paralysis by analysis.”  Probably true. 

PHOTOSHOP TO THE RESCUE!

Thank God for technology.  Here are the new prints I selected, placed in my dining room via the wonders of digital decorating.  (If you want to try this to satisfy your own sick obsession with decorating or gardening, simply bring in your background image, add a blank layer, place your new element and resize it accordingly, and add a drop shadow to make it look realistic.)  Et voila!   Decision accomplished.  I’m buying the prints tonight!

Here’s my digital dining room…

Digital Dining Room 1

Digital Dining Room 2

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

Since I can’t really do much outside at this point, I’m doing some “virtual gardening…” trying to make plans for different areas of the beds.  Here is a plan I came up with for the area on the north side of the house that I call my Irish garden. 

I have always wanted a little spot in the garden to mark Tom’s Irish heritage.  A couple of the plants in this garden have Irish names (like Bells of Ireland, the tall, green, spiky annual in the back, as well as some Irish moss in the right front corner).  Others, like the snowdrop anemones, grow wild in Ireland.  (I’d love to find a maidenhair fern at one of the local nurseries, since that also grows wild in Ireland.)  I’ll include some shamrocks as well, though I’ll pot them as I think they can take over the lawn if not contained. Mainly I just wanted lots of lush green foliage and some blue and purple flowers to set it off. 

There’s lots of work to do in this garden in springtime, but at least there’s a plan now!  Right now this only exists in Photoshop, but I’ll post pictures when it becomes a reality.

Ingreeds:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen)
16-oz jar of your favorite salsa (I used medium heat)
15-oz can black beans, drained
cayenne pepper (to taste)
nonstick cooking spray
8-10 large flour tortillas
can of enchilada sauce (red or green – your favorite)
shredded cheese with taco seasoning
low fat sour cream, sliced scallions, other toppings as desired

Instrux:

In the morning before work, put the frozen chicken breasts and jar of salsa into the Crock Pot. Cook all day on low heat. When you come home, break up the chicken with a fork so it shreds. Stir in the drained black beans and season to taste with cayenne pepper.

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 13×9 dish. Lay a flour tortilla in the dish and, using a slotted spoon, put two spoonfuls of the chicken and bean filling in a line down the center. Roll the tortilla as you push it to the end of the dish. Repeat with 7 more tortillas or until your dish is full. (You may have extra filling – it freezes great and is good on rice another night!) Pour the enchilada sauce over and sprinkle with taco cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the dish is bubbly. Makes great leftovers!