we made an Eastern Market run yesterday morning - breakfast at The Farmer's Restaurant (i ate two pancakes the size of my face!!!), vanilla beans from The Spice Miser, strawberries and rhubarb from a local farm, a cat carrier from an antique store for $20. the rest of the weekend has been full of pottering, cleaning, napping, and enjoying (with a dash of freak-out when we had to make an emergency trip to Auto Zone for oil - something told E to check her fluids, and her dipstick was bone dry).

we harvested, and ate, our first peas:

 we weeded the corn and beans:

 

(and the tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and onions. oh, and i pruned basil for the first time! it took a lot of courage to snip the little plants, but it's supposed to make them grow bigger and bushier. fingers crossed!)

we compared and contrasted strawberry rhubarb pie recipes before turning our bounty into dessert (the spiced filling from this one, and the crumb topping - with added pecans - from this one):

Houdini explored her new travel container:

 (i'm very, very excited about this crate. she's only had a cardboard one til now, and she regularly escapes from it in the car, but i'd like to see her get out of this one. this crate is kitty Alcatraz!)

two fifths (well...one and one-half fifths) of vodka (gifted at Christmas and my birthday by my bosses) are on their way to becoming vanilla and peppermint extract:

 (i don't think we'd drink even one fifth in a whole year, even if we had a couple of parties, so this is a great way to use it. when life gives you vodka, make extracts!)

and here's a bonus pic from the last night of Little V's visit - four vintage Little People Sesame Street figures, enjoying their evening at Pizza House! Big Bird, Ernie, The Count, and Mr. Hooper:

(Ernie has a shiner. it's his own fault, he shouldn't have tried to steal my fried ravioli.)