the garden monster….

Now, how could you not love this hound dog?  He loves the car…

Now, look at this floor I am replacing this summer…how retro.

 

I look forward to tearing it up.

and my wonderful kids….getting them to be so good is a miracle

 

my daughter…the weekend…my #$^^*$%^$#@ yard

this is Jena’s last day of school. 

 I didn’t get teary eyed this time.  I cannot believe how time flies.  In this last weekend, I have seen Jena get through her first year of school, go to a wedding for a 50 year old, and bury my husband’s best friend’s dad.  they say God doesn’t give you too much, but come on. thank god we leave for vacation on Saturday.  I hear the fish are biting, the water is warm, and they still haven’t put up a cell tower in town, so no service…yipee.

 On my gardening note, whoever has a garden should know that when a addict, you always buy too many seeds and never get to plant them all.  I have so much to get in the ground in 3 days (& do homework).  The corn is up and doing rather better than planned.  I will end up with 40-50 plants.  My lettuce is not so good.  I have had to totally dig it up where it was and put it on my porch for now.  Too hot.  I have my sprinkler system timed to every day, but it isn’t helping.  Word of advice to everyone, lettuce likes total shade!!!!  I don’t have too much hope, but my sister’s rabbits will love it.  My carrots came up and I am going to give them another good week or so before I thin them out.  The hound dog seems to be thinning things out for me with his digging. 

I did get some swap things and will take pic’s of them tomorrow.  I have 2 to send out and will get them done tomorrow.  I think we will need to get some Starbucks on the way out….

what a week…..

Next time I take 2 classes at the same time, someone shoot me.  After being sick myself this week and school, I have never been so overwhelmed.  I promised my 2 new blog friends pics, but let me tell you…..not even funny…..

And who the hell gets married on Memorial Day weekend?  Weddings should have black out days…Against my will, I am going to the “wedding of the century”.  for the purpose of anomymouty, I will refrain, but if you ever had a person that was considered a Bridezilla, I have a topper that tops any other I have seen on TV.  My sister says to go for the free meal and leave nicely.  So I dragging my adopted daughter.  Sorry Sara, but we go as a team with your brother and sister.   

On a better note, my carrots are starting to sprout….Yippee….let’s see if the rabbits take my other bait I put out and stay away.  My peonies bloomed and th front of the house smells so nice.  What else, oh, I bought some speciality pepper plants online that are hotter than scotch bonnet habaneros.  We make salsa, called Sphincter-burnin’ Sauce, that is so good and hot.  This year I can claim to be organic due to following the regulations followed by certified organic gardeners.   What will come of our sphincter sauce, who knows…Maybe Martha will give me 15.

 I want to say that children are so great at germ passing there should be some sort of spray you douse your kids in when they get home to kill germs.  I have laryngitis.  How fun.  I have been sleeping feet-head with my husband and just about sick of that.  So thanks, Ryan….love you son. 

Next week will be better, and I promise guys, I will get the pic’s on before vacation

kids…..

Yesterday, Ryan woke up with a fever of 101.7.  I don’t know what was his problem, but we were home with a very sick little boy… I felt bad because it was his Field Day @ school, but every time he got up, he was dizzy. I couldn’t give him his normal meds because I was afraid he would throw them up, so we’d played it by ear. And  he slept all day on the couch. And the dog had one of his “coming to Jesus” episodes yesterday.  Each day gets harder with him.  The vet says that he’s okay and if I can live with him, don’t put him down, but it is hard.  Max is recovering from Heartworm disease from the fall.  The side effect of the disease is a collapsed trachea.  The problem is he won’t make it through the anesthetic to fix the trachea so he collapses and looks like he’s in respiratory arrest all the time he drinks water.  I’ll give it to the dog, he makes it though, even when I don’t think he will.  I have done all I can do for the dog, I know and have been told by Dr., so we just give him time and let him enjoy the time left.  He’s okay for a 14 year old Shepard mix….

Since my day was shot, I got some housework done, took a nap, and even gave the kitties some quiet time.  I don’t know what’s up with this weather either. I ended up closing all the windows and lighting our wood-stove.  God, how I love the thing.   It is our primary heat source in the winter and yesterday, it took the chill out of the air.  It is a Dutch West and everyone said not to buy a true wood stove, but a pellet one.  Now, the whole point of the wood stove is for the wood.  The kids love it; putting their feet on the hearth, backing up to it until you have to move because your back end is on fire.  The smell of woodsmoke (my favorite).

I have been researching organic farms in better detail this year. That is what has prompted me to blog for a change.  I like to hear what others are doing and learn from them…  My friend has an organic farm in Durand and gave me this god awful recipe for keeping bugs out of my lettuce this year.   It contains Listerine, cola, tobacco, among the one’s I remember.  Can’t be good for he bug so we’ll see how they do.  I changed our gardens around this year.  Since I didn’t get to plant my clover for my green mulch, I worry about dryness in the soil so I bought soaker hoses for a quick fix in addition to mulching the crap out of them.  I had to stop composting last year because our foster nut lab was digging through it and eating the compost – Yuck….So my friend has some not so hot manure I have to go get.  My husband is just tickled pink about crap in the truck….We decided since we will go into the suburbs this year and sell to do carrots, tomatoes (20 plants), peppers (32 plants) 100 red onions, muskmelon, roly-poly squash (don’t have a lot of faith since grubs are huge in the bed), some gourds, sunflowers, corn, and 2 different pumpkin.  My dilemma is that I ran out of room since my cold-frame takes up one of the raised beds now, so this weekend Ron is building 3 more raised beds to move the pumpkins to so they don’t get mowed over and have room.  This winter was murder on my herbs too.  My thyme is coming back somuch I will have to move some to another herb garden.  I had to replant my sage, but the lavender is okay. I also found Texas Tarragon, which has a beautiful yellow flower and Jena loves it.  So we have chives, sage, basil, cilantro, tarragon, St. John’s Wort, Rosemary,mint, and parsley in the cold frame.  I am sure I will be thinning by July.  I would love to have more, but I can barely keep up with what I have now.  The last few winters have really done their fill on my herbs, but the kids love them.  I asked Ryan to bring in some chives the other day and he snipped some grass. How funny. I told him to rub it and it would smell like onions and then he got it…..He’s gotten pretty good.  We have a diagram in the small shed of what is in each bed…

I have a accounting quiz and a paper due this weekend and 2 BBQ’s to go to in Chicago, but I will post some pic’s of the yard. 

Things that drive me nuts…..

I started this the other day and finally have finished my list

Things about my husband

1. Leaving the roll of paper towels on the counter and not hanging it up and refilling it…..
2. Doesn’t know what is aluminum foil when cooking chicken…grrrrr
3. not soaking the pan when not using aluminum foil
4. not sorting mail and throwing junk away
5. leaving dirty laundry on the floor in the bathroom
6. spilling a few drops of coffee and not wiping them
7. hanging clothes the wrong way – okay this is a bit o.c.
8. snoring on the couch and not going to bed, then complaining he’s tired because he slept on the couch
9. not putting his tools away and then blaming me for losing them or using them and breaking them
10. the fact he loves Nascar and it keeps me from getting his help in the yard or house on Sundays (Damn that Nascar!!!!)

Things about Rockfordians….

1. slow driving
2. way slow comprehension
3. stupid people
4. ignorant people

I just had to add the last bit because my poor husband would think I hate him…..which I don’t, but he thinks I need extra to do since I am home and I have plenty with 2 kids, 5 dogs (including my fosters), 4 fostered cats, and him….Thanks Honey….

it’s offical….

My son’s counselor thinks I have ADD.  How wonderful to be a mom trying to help her son only to have to help herself first…..not funny.  As I learn about blogging, I am finding new and very interesting things among others.  My friend told me about a swap website, which is fascinating for swapping all kinds of things.  I find myself lost being home and not working.  I have customers call me all the time asking when I am starting my practice….not funny…but it’s nice to be missed. 

I signed up for school today for the July classes.  Rockford has no work and I don’t know why I am getting a Master’s in Finance when the jobs are back in Chicago and I will have to move to get a decent job.  My husband is driving some 60 miles one way for work, and I think he doesnt’ mind either.  It’s his, “get away from kids” time….

prioritize….

how do you prioritize what needs to be done?  In the last 6 hours, I have been to the store, the dentist, talked to my mom 6 times and started laundry.  I should be doing homework…..But it’s so so so nice outside and the carrots need to be planted, the planter boxes need to be hung, the hydrangea needs to be moved, and the lettuce needs a new home….I am learning about the blogging world and need  to find a home for me. 

Here are 10 things about me that people may or may not know…

1. I have a fascination with plants and the outdoors.
2. I love strange plants and unique flowers.
3. I have an attraction to insects and lizards.  In fact, I raise praying mantis clutches.
4. I want to move to Savannah, GA and live near the ocean
5. I fell in love with the ocean and the area at a wedding for my brother-in-law who thinks I am a nut.
6. I almost poisoned myself with a giant millipede in Florida the day before the wedding for my brother-in-law and had purple chemical burns from the millipede on my hands for his wedding…and for 2 weeks after that.
7. I love material and long dresses on my daughter.
8. I work in the finance industry and hate it.
9. I would love to become a marine biologist and work for a company doing research on climate affects and marine wildlife.
10. I love CSI, NCIS, HGTV, The Food Channel, Paula Deen, and have been known to tell people something is going on so I can get off the phone and watch them.
11. I have a love for cooking and have been told to start a restaurant.
12. I want to live in a Southern style home, have an old tree in the lawn and have no neighbors. 
13. I love my children and am glad I can spend time with them…..

Okay, so it’s 12 things….who’s going to argue with that….