Quite Contrary?

A 'new' lavender plant - I'm hoping it will spread (along with some columbine seeds I threw down). It's in the front of the house under a cherry tree. Unfortunately the tree shades it quite a bit but it does get all day sun just the same!

The vegetable garden! Yes, those are peas and potatoes! The potatoes are in flower already and the peas are about a foot high. I know, I need to get some sort of support for them or soon they're just going to fall right over - if the bunnies don't get them first! Darn bunnies...

My lily. Isn't it beautiful??? I absolutely adore the flowers and it takes virtually no work. I put it in the ground and low and behold a week or two later those lovely white flowers popped up. *sigh* If only life were that easy. (By the way, I've left all the plant markers in the ground until the end of the season. I want to see what's going to take and what's not and then I'll make a note of what can be moved/ filled in or gets to stay.)

The shade garden and a NEW Patio set (hidden from view). My yew trees are pretty droopy but I'm hopeful that they'll come back. I've got tons of Lily of the Valley and a few ferns (that aren't going to make it I'm afraid). It truly is becoming a Garden Oasis (the name of the patio set and a nickname for the area -from my friend K. who's enjoyed it once or twice).

A neighbour gave me this Cedar. Thank you Ms. C!! However, if you have someone say to you, "Hey, I have this tree in my yard and you can have it all you have to do is...." WALK AWAY! They're probably going to tack a "dig it up" onto the end of that sentence and let me tell you digging something out of someone else's garden can be nerve wracking. Walk away. Pay $60.00 for a new Cedar from Home Depot and be happy with it. The story has a happy ending - really - I didn't wreck her garden, my archeology degree came in handy and I ever so carefully dug the roots out one, by one, with my fingers and a tiny shovel. Sad, sick and true...

My sad, sad Hostas. I'm also hopeful this will make it. He doesn't look happy does he? Poor thing. He was growing perfectly fine beside my garage and I rudely lifted him up and plopped him in the shade garden, in the corner. If he takes he'll have all the room he needs to grow big and full. If he doesn't I will have one really bare corner in my shade garden.

Who would have thought that I could put seeds in the ground, cover them with dirt and a few weeks later they would actually grow?? Not I, that's for darn sure! But contrary to what I thought and what I expected, the plants are getting bigger. Not all of them, but the majority. And I'm delighted, ecstatic, fascinated and a little in awe. I might just get something out of my garden yet - by something, I mean food and/or pretty flowers - it has already provided me with so much more...

Long Weekends.

Well, depending on what neck of the woods you're in, you're having a long weekend starting today (at 5? 3? now?) but for some of us, the weekend isn't the 'down time' part of the week. Thus, a long weekend often provokes the feeling of dread in stay-at-home moms or maybe it's just me...  

Let me explain, as you know, S is in school full-time and my dear husband is at work full-time (which is usually 8am-6pm) and during the day it's just good ol' E and I and we're used to doing our own things.  He gets free reign of the toys and truly, the house, and me while S is away, and I don't really have anyone to worry about but him.  We talk, go for walks, go adventuring, hang out with friends or just vegg.  We have a great time.  Occasionally, we get a little sick of each other but usually it's around 2pm and then it's time to start picking people up and bringing them home so it's not usually a problem.

Now, when the weekend hits we've got 2 full days of sharing the house with 2 other people and this weekend because it's a long weekend, it means we have to share the house for 3 days - yah, 3!  We get the bickering, the yelling, the teasing and the name calling all at once and don't even get me started on the kids relationship!    The laundry piles up, the dishes take over the counter and I have to cook way more than I do during the week (or get take out, which gets really expensive...).  By the time Tuesday rolls around I'm going to be exhausted!  So, weekends are often my work time and not a vacation.  

Don't get me wrong, I love having A and S home... really, I do.  I love having my family all together - they usually like each other and generally enjoy each others company.  However, this tends to only last a day or two - what are we going to do by day 3?  Such is life... Hope you have a lovely weekend and that the "Vacation Fairy" visits you!

Eww...

This is larger than the actual size of a Deer Tick. I think in reality they wouldn't be much larger than this O.

A magnified view of a vicious and ferocious man eating monster...

My dear friend Stacy (possibly ex-friend, keep reading...) took me to a lovely place called Sharon Woods today. E was with us. Our goal was to tromp 1.7 miles in the bush in hopes of burning off some of the excess' we tend to fill our faces with during the week (the usual stuff: broccoli, carrots, lean meats - you know...). It was a clear, sunny day with just a slight breeze so that one would remain fresh and sweat free. Fabulous, no? Yes, so it would appear! But little did I know Stacy was taking me into "The Trap of Doom" (if you say this with a James Earl Jones like voice is sounds much more menacing)!

You see, in much of this great land of ours (North America - I'm all inclusive) a silent and deadly killer is waiting in the tall trees, grasses, bushes, flowers, heck, they're everywhere. It waits hoping that some unsuspecting victim will fall unsuspectingly into its dreaded grasp. And then, it crawls ever so slowly, little bit, by little bit, passing hair after hair until it has found that oh, so warm spot in a crevice on your body (most likely behind your knee or ear - sicko, I know what you were thinking...). This ferocious, blood sucking vampire is none other than THE DEER TICK! I shudder at the mere thought of it's name. Really, I'm shuddering and scratching like crazy as I'm writing... it's something awful... ick.

Now, I may be a bit of a sissy here because I really haven't found a deer tick on myself since I was 12 or 13 or something like that but I have seen them within the last 5 years and they scare the CRAP out of me! Did you know they burrow their little head under your skin, then suck your blood until they balloon up to the size of well, I don't know but the ones I used to find on my dog were HUGE, like the size of a nickel or something.... totally gross.

So far, I haven't found any from today's excursion but if I do I'm cutting Stacy loose. I just can't handle that kind of adventure. I can cut across the street willy nilly or go swimming after eating, heck, I can even stick my tongue to a cold flag pole in January but I'll be damned if I'm going walking through the bush filled with Deer Ticks. That's just way too dangerous for me - she's a rebel man and I'm not up for that kind of stuff. My mom would be appalled.

Author's Note: I apologize for bringing this subject up. I know it's gross and you know it's gross, especially if you've ever found a deer tick on you. It's Stacy's fault we're having this discussion. I did not know they had them here in this great state of Ohio. Now I think I might have to move. Darn it, I was really starting to like it here and my potatoes are coming up and everything....

Oops, I did it again!

No, I'm not Britany Spears - did you start singing the song? It's much worse than that, I think I may be coming obsessed with this whole gardening thing... First, I had a whole bunch of lilies that needed a new home because I wanted to use the space they were currently in to make a new Herb garden. So, I dug up the area beside the vegetable garden and put them in a tidy little row in hopes that one day they will grow up nice and big and be an oh so beautiful border along the driveway. The sod that I dug up was piled in a cylindrical shape and on top I placed an inherited mosquito breeder (or a bird bath, whatever). And at the end of all of that, some more lilies (different type - though not sure what kind...). By the time I was done I was covered in dirt from the tips of my fingers to half way up my arm - I could have worn gloves but where's the fun in that?

Thus, the Herb garden is officially planted. I love it. Should the plants actually take and fill in I really think it's going to be wonderful - in only the way someone who enjoys plants would find it to be wonderful (Really, I've got the bug bad)! I've planted everything from Basil, Thyme and Sage to Fennel and an assorted variety of peppers (yah, I know those aren't herbs but too bad). There's also 3 different types of strawberries - I'm hoping those will spread over time (would it be too much to ask for them to spread by August) and make enough for a lovely little tart. Wouldn't that be fabulous?

I'm also the proud new owner of a few prizes from neighbours and friends - isn't it great to get 'free' stuff?! The aforementioned lilies (I'm not all together sure what they are but if I luck out they'll be Iris' or something just as wonderful) and bucket full of Lily of the Valley (which I adore) and a beautiful Black Hollyhock (my mother has tried to grow one forever and when I told her I got one she was soooo jealous - not that my life is about making my mom jealous, it was merely an added bonus - love you mom!). Those darn bunnies in the back forty have nibbled some of the leaves off my Black Eyed Susans and so I've moved them to the front of the house and put the Hollyhock there instead. I'm not sure the bunnies are going to live long enough to see my strawberries spread... We have a Black Walnut Tree in the back (it's gorgeous but a little annoying come fall) and when I googled Hollyhocks "they" said that usually Hollyhocks thrive in this environment. We'll see. There's a lot of waiting in this plant game. I'm not a good waiter - luckily I have more than enough little projects to keep me busy (remember the dresser? Yah, not done. How about the desk? Nope. And the arbor? Darn it.).

On my list today is to prune the tree in the front yard and weed. Darn the weeding. I'm hoping my husband will cut the grass as it's starting to find it's way into everything! Ohio seems to be a great place to have that famous English Garden as everything just grows and grows and grows - except Lilacs, hmm.... It would be nice if in the next couple of years I have something resembling an actual garden but I'm no avid gardener and my knowledge is dependant on my friends input and google (Thank God for both). I think that might be a warning for my friends...

A Few Finds.

www.violet.com

http://www.pequitobun.com/


http://www.thespoonsisters.com/

http://www.theurbangarden.co.uk/

http://www.moo.com/

www.fredflare.com

Because I have so much extra time on my hands to just sit around and surf the net and find some wonderful little sites - or because I was told I'm uneasy to buy for... What? Me? Really?(I'm not the only one that has had a week like this. Check out Mommy Needs Five Minutes and tell me you wouldn't want to kick her husband in the ass.) - I have in fact found a couple of interesting sites for you to meander this weekend that have some lovely, if not cheeky, items. I'm not promising greatness here but I did see some things that would have topped an OK magazine in a minute (maybe less) -please, don't ask... You judge for yourself and have a great weekend, no matter what you might be doing or getting.

As an aside: Mrs. R has created her own blog! Hurray, now you can all get to know her like I do - check her out at http://obnoxiousgreendoor.blogspot.com/

Dinner.

I think I'm smitten with Smitten Kitten. Or I'm hungry. Or I'm food obsessed. It's a toss up really... I was on her site today and was looking for a cake recipe but totally missed it and went right to the breakfast page (apparently I get sidetracked easily - hence all the brackets in my writing...). Well anyway, there is a lovely looking recipe for Huevos Rancheros that I'm pretty sure is going to be on my table this evening (Honey, guess what we're having for dinner)! This is a pretty easy recipe and quite frankly, we have it often, but without the egg (we will be eggless this evening as we had an omelet last night for dinner and two nights in a row is pushing it, even for me). Tomatoes with Cumin, Onion, Plain Yogurt, Black beans = yum!

So thank you to Ms. R. for the lovely tortilla recipe (which I will share one day if she gives permission to or if anyone seems interested). I'm going to make the dough now and let it sit and then it will be all ready to roll out and fry on my lovely little skillet. I can hardly wait. If you ever make these I highly, highly, highly recommend buying Mexican cheese. It melts everywhere and just tastes sooo darn yummy with salsa or guac. or black beans.... Mmmmm... I can hardly wait (did I say this already)!

And as a added bonus little E. and I made Pineapple Macadamia Upside Down Cupcakes today! He's been hounding me all morning for cupcakes and since we didn't make a cake on Tuesday I thought I should probably appease him and throw something in the oven. He's quite a good little helper and even knows to level off the flour before putting it in the bowl (of course he does this outside the flour bag but you can't have everything can you?). Handy little man! We aren't going to wait until this evening to taste these that would just be wrong - I'm going to have one in 15 minutes with a cup of Earl Grey. What a divine day it is. Hope yours is too.

Note: E.'s comments when they came out of the oven, "Mmm... sloppy and good". And they are - be sure to run a knife around the outside before you turn them out or you'll have a messy, mess, mess, mess. Not that I know from experience or anything...

Once a Week Wine.

And so here it is... The selection for the day is a lovely little number called Gouguenheim (as you can see from the label - I'm not judging your ability to see/read/understand, I was merely completing a sentence). And I have to give it the big ol' thumbs up 'cause it's really quite good. If you live in the area Housewine sells this one (oh, there's a surprise) and be sure to tell them I sent you - I'm hoping one day Donnie will start giving me a discount (I suppose there's only the 4 readers in Columbus so that's not bound to happen any time soon).

What I like about the wine is that there are no strong flavours that make you squint your face in an odd way (and as I'm getting older it's really better that I try not to squint my face in an odd way or it might stay that way or God for bid, give me wrinkles). I think it would probably taste best with a light fish or a simple chicken dish but I'm no expert and I'm not eating either.... But I have to say it's darn satisfying straight out of a glass while you're watching a Sponge Bob Squarepants repeat (it's sad that I know it's a repeat isn't it?).

I am truly sorry to inform everyone that I haven't been drinking much wine lately (very, very sorry) but I've been busy keeping the Mexican Tequila companies in business. As the weather warms up I feel myself being drawn to those darn Margaritas and any other little "girlie" drinks that might be out there but I'll try my best (I'm always willing to sacrifice myself for my readers) to post about new wines occasionally (perhaps it's time to switch to whites!!!). If you've tried anything good lately let me know (wine or otherwise). I do read the comments section! Until tomorrow...or the next day...

36 or 22... sometimes I get confused....

Did someone say cake? A Hostess Cake from Smitten Kitten - I want to live near/with her (and not for any other reason than she looks like she cooks some yummy, yummy stuff!)

It's my birthday today! I'm officially 36 and on the other side of thirty-five. It feels like I'm fast approaching 40 and I have to say that having a nap this afternoon did not help to alleviate that! I'm not complaining (not necessarily) as I truly believe women do get better with age but sometimes that age thing just sneaks right up on you! Anyway, I'm not going to let it get me down - I'm far 'better' with age (like a fine wine) and I'm pretty sure I pack a punch (like Tequila) and I'm happier than I've been in years. All in all, life is good! Hope yours is too.

Watch out Jolly Green Giant!

This picture is for R - don't laugh, I literally threw some watermelon seeds on the garden about 2 months ago and voila! Watermelons, just like that! Sorry....

Some Lilac saplings that I dug out of the side garden and behind them the Corkscrew Willow... The White Pine was planted at Christmas and seems to be taking. Hurray!

The "Shade" Garden. I took the Hostas from beside my door and replanted them here. I'm hoping they'll take off and fill in the space. I also planted a bunch of different ferns and some Lily of the Valley (understated yet beautiful - it's my birth month flower).

The newly planted Vegetable Garden. Rows upon rows of future salads! I'm even hoping to pull a broccoli or cauliflower out of there... Here's hoping!

I spent the weekend (mostly Saturday) attacking my gardens. It was freakin' fabulous. There was dirt and worms and manure and plants everywhere! Did I say it was freakin' fabulous??!!! I started around 10 am by visiting the amazing Worthington Plant Fest. If you didn't go, you should have (unless you live far, far away then I kinda get it...). The prices on trees was cheap, cheap, cheap and it was great to talk to some knowledgeable individuals - not that I don't get a chuckle out of the 20 year old at Lowe's that reads the labels and tells me exactly what they have written there - and the range of plants was..., well, freakin' fabulous!

Anyway, I had to call my husband and ask him to tote the wagon down for me (we live within walking distance) so I could lug all the trees home. I am the proud new owner of a corkscrew willow (I've always wanted one - did you know they grow like crazy??), a high bush blueberry (called E!) and a lovely, lovely Japanese Maple (*sigh*). I also bought a huge number (lost count and A shook his head repeatedly) of shade plants to put in the 'patio' area outside. They are all planted, fertilized and watered. A job well done if I don't say so myself.

Now, I just have the side area to fill in (possibly with native plants - stuff that drags the butterflies by my house) and some herbs. I can hardly wait! I've got a coupon for Oakland Nurseries... ooh, they are going to love me!!! And who knows, by August it could be a virtual forest out there. I'm dying to get a pear tree for the backyard as well...maybe a cherry tree... hmm.....

Two reasons why I am one of the luckiest women on the planet.

I thank God everyday for my boys. I am truly blessed. They drive me batty on a regular basis but I wouldn't have it any other way. I didn't know what it was to love someone with all your heart and soul until I had S and I never thought it was possible to love another human being as much as I loved him, until E came along. To all you Mother's out there, Happy Mother's Day. It is something very, very special.

Some Moms that I know...

My mom and her sister.

Our Granny with a little S.... many moons ago...

Running moms...

5 women - one of us is currently without children, one is expecting and one will be again.

A new mom. J had her first this year! She's a wonderful woman and an even better mother!

Mom's on my dad's side. My grandma Mary and her 4 daughters.

There are more... I haven't forgotten you...

Christy, Kristi, Kaisa, Julie, Andrea, Jen, Jennifer, Kathy, Linda, Melissa, Kristina, Megan, Emily, Tracy, Tara, Mary-Lou, Annabel, Bonnie, Cheryl, Denise, Holly, Treva, Janet, Janie, Nicole, Krysta, Patti, Martha-Lynn, Sarah, Michelle, Rachel, Dorothy, Sherri, Stacy, Tammy, Rose-Marie, Jan, Martha, Karen, Gail... and the list goes on...

I want. I want. I want.

A simple arbor. Same old. Same old. Still lovely though no? You can find it at http://www.simplyarbors.com/ This is actually the one I envisioned at the start of the garden path (pictures of it are still in my head and awfully hard to transfer to the computer). I'd like to put a climber on the left hand side of it and then the vegetable garden is going to be on the right. I'm hoping it's going to tie the yard into the outdoor sitting area - eventually we'll actually get a patio set so we can sit out there... *sigh*

I like this one. It's simple yet elegant... Okay, I don't really like it but I love the house and I love the beach and I love the water... If I can have all the rest of it then I'll take the arbor too. Just in case you like it, you can buy it at: http://www.newenglandarbors.com/products/arbors.asp

Alright, this is nice. It's plain and made of cedar. I can't find anything wrong with it and nothing I absolutely love about it. I think it would work in my yard and would look lovely with a Clematis growing all over it. Lovely pink flowers everywhere... Find this one here.

When I move to England and live next to the Queens castle in Windsor I'm going to get this arbor. I think it'll work in jolly old England or New Hampshire. I'm pretty sure it won't work in Ohio. When I look like at this one I feel like I should be walking through it to get to a state fair or something. "Come one, come all, see The Amazing Bearded Lady!"

If you're more adventurous (or handy) than either I or my husband (he's very smart...) there's even instructions online (the Internet is so full of surprises) and you could build your own! There's a novel idea. I think that it would be even cooler if you could whip one up from stuff you happen to have laying around. This lady made an arbor out of a kids swing set - now that's handy! If you do make one - post a picture alright? I'd love to see it and I'm always into stealing someone else's ideas!!!!

Food, Food, Food!

There is a whole website devoted to Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. It's amazing - it's indexed and everything. Go there. Get your chuckle on! http://members.shaw.ca/dlazechk02/subjects.html

Let me start off by saying that I need to get some groceries. Now, the thing is, I don't actually want to go to the store and I don't want to spend money. The fact remains, I need groceries - the reason being, I need to have something for my son to take to school for lunch and to feed E during the commercial breaks. Anyhooooo, what I decided to do was to try to make something S and E could eat that was made from the stuff I have around the house. Nothing too weird but it can't be overly identifiable and it has to contain all those nutrients I find invaluable (as do so many people...). And to the Seinfeld book I went...

On page 108 is a recipe for "Buttered" Noodles. She puts yellow squash puree in the recipe (hidden) and apparently, her kids eat it up. Well, I decided to make a sweet potato puree instead (I had half a sweet potato in my fridge that needed to be cooked up). My kids dislike sweet potatoes. I don't know why. But, when you mix it, as a puree, with wagon wheel noodles, apple chicken sausage, cauliflower and Parmesan cheese a miracle happens - they ask for second helpings! I know, it really is a miracle.

Then, on to page 54, Banana Bread. Everyone likes banana bread and if you don't, there's something wrong with you - of this I'm sure... I don't use oil in my baking (I've said this before, somewhere..) instead I use yogurt and Mrs. Seinfeld recommends cauliflower puree in this one - my kids eat cauliflower so I don't have to sneak it by them but again, they won't eat sweet potato... and yet, they did! Another healthy alternative. Voila!

Now for Ms. R... for lunch today Sam packed 3 cream cheese and graham cracker sandwiches, a yogurt, almonds, and cut up strawberries. Tomorrow it will be more yogurt, an apple, and probably 2 slices of the banana bread spread with peanut butter and a rice krispy square (yes, I made those today too - if you make the microwave version it takes all of 5 minutes to whip together and who doesn't like rk squares? oh, probably the same people who don't like banana bread... nutbars).

*SPLAT*

I love Sundays. Usually, it's the pancake day in our house. My husband and I sit around and chat and read the paper and drink coffee while the boys play. Today was pancake day. I drank coffee. But for some reason I'm having a very uninspired day. It could be because the kids are not playing as nicely as they usually do (the oldest has taken to irritating the youngest...*sigh*). It could be because my husband is at a conference and so not here for me to irritate. Or maybe it's just the blahs.

The sun is shining. Perhaps the day will change. Here's hoping.

Update: He's bumped his head!

Pretty sure the old lady won't be able to get of bed in the morning!
This is the tilled up garden bed! Aside from the water... darn water... it's ready for manure and top soil. Next weekend though... I'm too tired now...

Did I mention I don't own a wheelbarrow yet? My husband, God love him, took half of the sod to the back corner and packed it down so I can plant stuff in that corner and/or use it as a compost area. I'm obviously not as adventurous as him as I took one trip and realized that pushing the kids little, plastic, wheelbarrow just wasn't going to work for me. Yes, yes, that's how I got it to the corner - those little wheelbarrows are about 2 feet off the ground. You have to slouch down to push it and it really hurts your back to be bent like that - got the mental picture yet? Great. Now stop laughing. Anyway, I packed some of the sod up and built a little wall. I thought I could toss in some stones and flowers and make a little rock garden at the end of the garden - any opinions on this?

One more pic on the lake and the mound of sod/dirt/worm/mud. I only lost my shoe twice in this and only walked in it barefoot for about 15 or 20 minutes.... I was a mess! But all in all, it was pretty darn fun! The kids even got involved which is saying something.

The Old Man is Snoring...

It's raining. It's pouring. My backyard and my new garden are flooded. Guess I didn't think that through very well - this is a constant with me... darn it. I'm thinking at the end of the garden (the part under the water) I'm going to have to install some water plants. Not water lilies and such but possibly Butterfly Weed, Prairie Blazingstar and Culver's Root. In Central Ohio there's a big initiative to start Rain Gardens to decrease run off and increase clean river/lake water. It seems like a good idea - using native plants to clean the environment. Thumbs up! Perhaps I was thinking, but subconsciously?! Yah, lets run with that....

By the way, not everyone thought the rain was such a bad idea - E was alllllll over the puddles! He was dancing and splashing and having a good old time. Made me giggle.

Have a good weekend. Enjoy the puddles.