Summertime. Eat Local.

Memorial Day.  The day that we are supposed to stop and give thanks to those that serve and protect our country, our lives and our families.  I did read several facebook posts and tweets about thanking the brave men and women that risk their lives to keep us safe, most posts were about the shore, bbq’s and a day off.  A great big thank you to all past, present and future military!  Thank you for protecting us so we can continue to live footloose and fancy free!

All across the country Memorial is the “unofficial” start to the summer season.  A time when travel is high, generally to a beach related destination.  Well, this gypsy is not real keen on crowds, so she took the weekend off from traveling and opted to stay home and prepare the gardens for her family to enjoy while she is away all summer.

Oooh, did I peak your interest a little?  Me being away all summer means one thing… Lots of adventures to write about!  And many interesting facts for you to read.  Well, they might not all be true facts, but by the time they get to you, in my head they will be.  I have been known to embellish a story from time to time.  But it is ok.  I come from a long line of embellishers.  My grandfather is the greatest embellisher of them all; he always says, “say it today, believe it tomorrow!” 

Now, back to the original thought process; gardens.  Summer time is a great time to easily eat healthy, fresh and local.  What could be more local than your own back yard?  If you are on the ball you can start planning your garden in February and plant seeds for as cheaply as 99 cents a package and you get a ton of seeds.  But if you are busy and just don’t have the time, toward the middle to end of May you can safely plant outside store bought plants.  I like to plant all organic and heirloom varieties when at all possible.  That way, I know that they are truly chemical free and unaltered.  The organic plants will cost you a little more, but the harvest is much better.  The tomato plants I purchased were about $5.00 each, which will yield tons of fruit.  In the peak time for tomatoes, you can buy them for about $2.50 a pound in the store.  So, planting your own is really quite cost effective.  The same goes for all veggies and herbs.

Here is a list of what I planted so far this year:

• 3 types of tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Green Beans

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• Potatoes
• Acorn Squash
• Red Bell Peppers
• Poblano Peppers
• Basil
• Parsley (actually came back from last year)
• Oregano
• Chocolate Mint
• Spearmint
• Cilantro
• Lemon Thyme
• Thai Basil
• Rosemary
• Lemon Verbena
• Sage
• Chives

I am looking for suggestions on other veggies or herbs to plant.  What do you suggest?  I have a limited amount of space that needs to be utilized most effectively. 

Gardening is also a great activity to get the kids involved in.  It could be a real learning experience and fun for the whole family.  Just think how rewarding it is to actually eat the fruits of your labor. A little too much? 

In other news this week...

•  While digging up the garden I found a GI Joe!  Good Luck omen?  You might not think so, but I beg to differ.. A little later in the day the ice cream truck stopped by and offered me a treat.

• I am embarking on a vegan challenge with a friend.   Wish me luck.  I can do without meat, but cheese!  Oh cheese!  How will I live without you?  I will post yummy recipes when I come across them if y'all are interested.
• I am also taking on a fitness challenge this month.  Check out http://queenmum-queenmum.blogspot.com/ for some inspirational and slightly intimidating awesomeness.

Thanks for stopping by for the gypsy times report. 

This week’s message… Love, Laugh, Grow!

Been There, Done That...

A gypsy is described as a person who has an inclination to move from place to place.  This time the inclination took this gypsy to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  While a very interesting trip, I am sure not likely to return any time in the near or distant future. 

My cousin Carrie joined me on this trip and we loaded up the car on Friday evening and headed north.  Bea, Carrie’s GPS calculated us to arrive at 11:06 PM.  Well, we all know that GPS’s do not take into consideration traffic, road construction, accidents or pit stops.  However, we did make good time until we were forced off of the interstate for a so called accident just minutes from the border.  General courtesy is if you make someone get off of the highway to detour, provide signage on how to get passed why a detour is needed.   Don’t just drop ‘em in some town named Tonawandas and expect ‘em to know where to go.  After a few scary back allies, we were once again headed to the border.

After making it across the border with minimal questioning and to our hotel, we settled in for a good night’s sleep.  Saturday morning we were anxious to get exploring.  But not until we had a somewhat adequate breakfast at the River’s Edge Café, where we were the only guests, so we had the waiter’s undivided attention.  With every sip of water, he was there to refill our glasses.

We headed the five kilometers or so to the falls to start our Niagara Adventure!  Now, some call me cheap while others call me frugal, I call it sensible.  We pulled into the parking lot and it was $20 to park the car.  I had no intention of paying that much to park when we can park at the hotel for free and take the people mover shuttle bus (we just had to get our passes first). 

Our first adventure was the Maid of the Mist.  We put on our blue poncho that turned out to be not so water proof and boarded the boat and headed toward the falls.  It’s a good thing I bought myself a waterproof camera…  We then Journeyed Behind the Falls and experienced Niagara’s Fury.

After our day of adventure, we spent the evening exploring Clifton Hill and Fallsview tourist areas.  And indeed they were.  I can safely say that I never want to witness that again.  To put it into perspective, it is like Seaside Heights, Atlantic City and Ocean City, MD and a little Vegas threw up and it landed at Niagara Falls.

Sunday morning we headed back to the tourist area to find some breakfast.  $40 later we were two very unhappy customers.  The Clifton Hill Family Restaurant has terrible service and the food had zero taste.  Seriously.  There was no flavor to the eggs benedict.  How is that even possible?  It was like we were asking the waitress to commit murder when we had to ask for a glass of water, twice.  We should have stuck with the River’s Edge Café where the water was free flowing and we had undivided attention.

We finished up our Niagara Adventure pass with a White Water Walk were we witnessed class 6 white water rapids.  We thought that they should have launched a kayak every 15 minutes or so, so we could see how dangerous they really are.

After a refreshing ice cream cone we headed northeast to Niagara on the Lake.  This was much more to our liking, a cute little town with unique shops and restaurants.  We had a pleasant dinner on the patio overlooking Lake Ontario at the Niagara on the Lake Golf Club.  After dinner we strolled around the Botanical Gardens until the mosquitoes got the better of us.

As we were settling in for our final evening in Canada we started to hear loud noises.  We decided it was either fireworks or warfare.  We were going for warfare since the bangs were getting louder and closer.  I finally ventured outside to see that it was fireworks, in the back yard of our hotel.  I am not sure if the people setting them off actually knew there was a building there, because, there is no way they should have been that close…

Needless to say the trip to Niagara Falls was an experience; I am not likely to return anytime in the near or distant future.  Been there, done that!