Long time no post!

I really really keep intending to pop in and post. Sadly though, I haven't taken any recent pictures of the garden, but lots of good things are going on.
Things are growing! The tomatoes, which didn't change size for about a month, have finally starting growing! The potatoes are HUGE (I didn't know they got that big). The first planting of carrots have sprouted. I did a second planting but they haven't sprouted yet).
We have actually eaten some lettuce from our garden! And it tasted fabulous!! Next year - I need to plant more lettuce and start it sooner. I also need to do the first carrot planting sooner and plant some carrots more often.
Today I used fresh herbs from the garden too which was awesome!! =)

Speaking of, I got sort of creative with dinner tonight! I REALLY wanted meatloaf for dinner tonight. Our house was already 82 degrees when I wanted to cook - I had all the doors and windows open (our air isn't set to turn on until 84 degrees) and I didn't want to get the house hotter and keep the air off or shut the house up and let the air run. [Sorry, I'm rambling and I don't mean too!]. So, I "baked" my meatloaf on the grill. We have a propane grill - I don't know if it's any better or not than the oven, heating the house, and turning the air on. But it worked. It tasted delicious. It cooked faster than in the oven. And my house didn't heat up! =) Yeah!

(my meatloaf and potatoes right before I pulled them out to eat!)

I've also been making jam lately and have done my very first hot water bath canning! It has been fun. Although it's making me tired - I do it all in the evening when the outside air has cooled the house off a lot. Because, jam making, created a lot of heat I think. Two burners are on on my stove and it takes time.

(yeah, yeah, some jam is on the stove I know LOL!)
I've done too batches - at two different times. Next time I need to try to do them back to back so that I only need to fill the pans up once. Because it also takes a lot of water.
The first night, I kept the water and used it to water some plants the next day. Tonight, I took the very hot water and poured it into my sink, added soap, waited for it to cool, and used it to wash the non-dishwasher dishes! So, I'm trying to at least find other ways to use the water instead of just dumping it down the drain. But really, the jam tastes sooooo yummy!!!

A batch of strawberry kiwi jam - which I might add, tastes an awful lot like plain old strawberry jam with just a hint of something in there and it's delicious!!!

Anyway, I'm hoping I can come back Sunday with some garden pics to share - and also, pictures of our very first composter!!! Yeah!!!