In the garden. . .

"Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it."
~ Author Unknown

We have an interesting little planting bed on the south side of our house that doesn't really get seen from anywhere inside the house, except that little piece of window you see which is in the breakfast room. And then you only see out that window if you're sitting in Jason's spot (which I never do since I need to be closest to the kitchen -- lucky me).

When we bought our home 11 years ago, the bed was filled entirely of star jasmine and was just plain boring. I let it stay for about a year before ripping it out to plant a perrenial and annual flower garden. I kept it this way for a few more years but it was more work than it was worth since you have to practically go outside and stand right in front of it to appreciate it. So when Sierra was about 5 or 6 years old, we decided to plant a vegetable garden there. A veggie garden (as we refer to it) isn't the prettiest to look at and they require full sun so this south facing bed with no view to speak of from the house was the perfect location. That year, we enjoyed carrots, radishes, squash, bell peppers and tomatoes. Fast forward a year...got pregnant and had Cameron. No more time for a veggie garden while preggers or with a baby in the house. So, we bought some river rock and filled in the dirt bed to keep down the weeds.

Fast forward to this year...Cameron's almost six years old and has shown a passion for gardening ever since he could hold a little shovel (he even has his own gardening gloves). For the past few years, he helps me outside whenever he gets that chance. He loves to dig holes for new plants, water, pull weeds, whatever. He even helped me clear all of the river rocks from the bed so we could prepare the soil for planting. Today, I finally purchased the plants and Cameron and I together put them in the ground. Here are some photos to show you what we did. I'm so looking forward to fresh organic veggies this summer!


Soaking the ground to get it ready for planting.



Cameron's digging a hole for the basil.



Here's the layout of our veggie garden. The brick thingy in the middle is our chimney.

Play Ball!

The Cary Baseball League San Francisco Giants season is underway.

I set my alarm for 6:30 this morning to get up for Cameron's "Opening Ceremonies" for baseball season. Cameron came in at 5:40 (he never wakes up early so this was odd) and said, "It's taking too long for the sun to come up." Even in my sleepy stupor I knew what he meant. He was anxious for his big day to start. I told him the sun would be up soon and to climb in bed with me. Luckily, we fell back to sleep but my alarm came way too soon. I hit the snooze figuring Jason would wake me up at 7:00 when his alarm went off. While dusting yesterday, I must have accidentally activated the alarm clock on my night stand because at 7:00 sharp, I was awaken not by my husband but by the sound of ocean waves and seagulls...VERY LOUD waves and seagulls. Okay, I guess someone's trying to tell me that it's time to get up.

Thursday Poll . . .

1. How has your week been so far? It’s been a good week. Weather-wise, it’s been in the 70’s. I worked in Cameron’s class Wednesday and the kids were pretty well-behaved. Got back on my schedule of planning our family dinner meals and that’s taken some stress off of me (no more standing in front of a full refrigerator wondering what's for dinner). Today, I wore a grey tank, cropped black vest, low rise faded Levi's and black leather flip flops w/ antique silver embellishments, and lots of silver and black jewelry. Curled and teased my hair a bit. Put my bangs out of the way with a little clip. Felt very "sexy/rocker/casual" all day. Then, I went shopping and bought 2 pair of jeans and 1 pair of white (yes, I said "white") capris (and a couple of tops) in a size smaller than I used to wear--yay!

2. Do you have seasonal allergies? I don’t think so. I have “situational” allergies. When I go to someone’s house or other location that has things in it or near it that I’m sensitive to (pet hair, olive trees, etc.) my eyes start drying up and itching like mad.

3. What’s on your nails for St. Patrick’s Day? Just my regular acrylic pink/white French manicure.

4. Have you seen the new line of Tokidoki and Tarina Tarantino makeup at Sephora? Huh?

5. What blow dryer do you use? Hold on a sec. I have to go check…Conair Ion Shine 1875.

6. Are you a fan of corned beef & cabbage? Yes, but not together. I like corned beef but haven’t had it in soooo long. I like cabbage but usually either raw in tacos or cooked in a yummy veg soup I make.

7. What’s for lunch? Shame on me, I skipped lunch today. It’s not like me to skip a meal, but I did make a yummy sandwich for breakfast around 10:00 a.m. (egg beaters, slice of low fat cheese and 3 see-though thin slices of ham on an Oroweat sandwich thin -- yum!).

8. Do you have a favorite hand lotion? Trader Joe’s “A Midsummer Night’s Crème.”

9. Are you related to anyone famous? Yes. Patrick Henry (“Give me liberty or give me death.”)

10. What’s your favorite kitchen gadget? Cork screw! Did you really need to ask?