Tales of a Garden Rookie

So, this is me:  On Google this morning trying to decide which way is up for tomato cages. 

I waited WAY too long to add tomato cages to our garden.  With the glorious rain we've been having lately, the tomato plants have really exploded.  Yesterday afternoon after an extremely blustery day, I took a look at the garden and noticed that the wind had flattened our tomato plants.  In a panic I ran out with a left over craft dowel and some string to upright them until I could get to the garden store.  After dropping Anna off at school, I picked up 3 tomato cages (my 4th plant was mysteriouly sheared off at the base a couple of weeks ago) and brought them home.  With Lauren and Jacob watching through the sliding glass door, I gingerly tucked the cage in around the leaves and stems.  After carefully placing all of the branches it occurred to me that in that position it would just be blown over by the wind and take the plant along with it.  So, I came inside and asked my dear friend google for a bit of help.  I started over and have them in the right way now...or so I think. :)  Maybe I could invent a little tag to sell on cages for novices like myself that would read:  This Way Up! 

Speaking of the garden, Doug's been really getting a kick out of the strawberries.  It's the first plant to actually yield any fruit.  The kids and I come in really excited whenever we have ripe strawberries.  What makes Doug laugh though is that we only have two small plants and the most berries we've had ripe at one time has been three.  Normally, it's the 5 of us cutting one tiny strawberry into fifths so we can each have a sliver.  I keep picturing great things made with strawberries but I think we actually need a bed full of strawberry plants for any of those recipes to occur!  The zephyr squash and lemon cucumbers are chugging along happily as are the bell peppers.  The eggplants apparently have some little pesty that have been working on them.  The leek and cantaloupe plants have seen better days but at this point are still living.  I'm just  amazed that I have anything left alive at this stage.

Lots to share about the past few days:  Doug and I celebrated our 11th anniversary and attended a Brooks & Dunn concert.  I had new teeth put in and Jacob is busy growing a few more of his own.  We've finally found the right fabric for our family room curtains and they're being made as we speak...err..write and read.  I was offered the opportunity to photograph a wedding in Grass Valley (I'm over the moon about this.  It sounds amazing!)  I finally have a craft room although you can't actually walk in it yet, it's still mine and will hopefully someday soon be functional.  Doug told me I could refresh my wardrobe if I cleared some of the old stuff out.  Ever compliant I cleared out my closet and we took 6 XL bags of clothes to Goodwill.  I still had outfits from our honeymoon and Anna's baptism.  It felt good to lighten the clutter but will feel even better to do a little shopping.  YAY! Jacob has been learning to dance and apparently has inherited his Daddy's mad dancing skills.  Video to follow soon.  Lastly, I'm busy planning birthday parties and trying to get gifts ready for Mother's Day.  More to write about but my smallest assistant has toddled up and is busy tugging on my camera strap, trying to get to the keyboard to check his e-mail and periodically head-butting me in the chest.  I guess I'll close for now.  What have you guys been up to this past week??

Feeling a bit worse for wear this morning.  Yesterday we lost my aunt Kathryn to cancer.  Noone even knew she had cancer, including her.  It was fast and unexpected.  Everyone is devastated. 

Kathryn was my mom's oldest sister, only 63.  Thursday morning she was fine.  By Thursday afternoon, two of her fingers on her right hand had started acting a bit funny.  They were numb and tingly and began to "draw" up.  Eventually, the whole hand was starting to contract and it was painful.  That night she went to the ER in Atmore, Alabama and was sent home.  The discharge papers said she had carpal tunnel.  On Friday, her younger sister drove from Pensacola and picked her up to take her for an MRI and further evaluation in Florida.  During the night her whole arm started having spasms which worsened on the trip to Pensacola.  Instead of the doctor's office, they headed on to the ER.  By the time they arrived, she couldn't remember anything.  By the time she was taken back for tests, she could no longer stand up.  It was determined she had a bleeding brain tumor and she was rushed in for surgery.  They removed the mass which was malignant and called the operation successful.  She regained her speech and memory and could once again move her left leg and foot.  She still didn't have use of her arm and hand though.  The doctors conducted a full body scan and found a mass on her lung.  The doctors said she had a long battle ahead of her.  She was doing well enough that she was removed from ICU.  She talked to my mom and told her that she was feeling strong and knew God had a plan for her.  She just wanted to live long enough to see her granddaughter grown.  Yesterday while surrounded by visiting friends, she began to have trouble breathing.  I'm not quite sure what happened at this point but my mother said something about a blood clot and her heart.  The doctors did what they could but it wasn't enough.  She died in the early afternoon. 

Like I said, everyone is shocked and feeling a bit lost.  It was just so fast. So unexpected. 

We love her and will miss her. 

Daddies and their Daughters

Last night was the Daddy Daughter Dance at Anna's school.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  The ladies who put this together did an outstanding job.  They really made a special evening for the girls.  Anna and Doug were both very impressed and Anna said, "This was the best night of my life.  I had a blast!!"  She also said that Daddy let her have whatever she wanted (i.e. cupcakes, brownies, pizza).  She was on a definite sugar high when they came home!  The two of them looked so incredibly sweet together.  Doug bought her a bouquet of roses and she got her little camera out and took a picture of them before they left....gee, I wonder where she gets that from??  After the dance, she cracked me up talking about dancing with Daddy and how he would jump up and say, "Wooh!"  I was lucky enough to get to photograph some of the girls in front of the limo along the red carpet.  I must say I don't think I've ever seen so many beautiful girls and so many proud fathers!

Modern Kiddo

The lovely ladies at Modern Kiddo did the absolute nicest write-up about our circus party.  I love, love, love their blog.  It's full of all things vintage and fun.  I also adore their weekly kiddo section.  Head on over and  and check them out.  You won't be disappointed!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Mommy: Why do you love your Nana?
Lauren (age 5):  Because she be nice to me and she has chickens and I get to hold them.
Anna (age 6):  Because she plays with me and does all kinds of nice things for me.  I love her and she has curly hair and she smells good.  She's cute.

We miss you and hope your birthday was a special one.  We love you, Mom!

Chickens & Bunnies & Eggs, Oh My!

We had our very own little Easter "party" on Saturday with our friends Ryan and Kate.  We invited four other friends as well but they were unable to join us. :(   

I was so inspired by the latest issue of Martha Stewart weddings and the James/Moyle wedding.  No, we're not renewing our vows but I still enjoy wedding magazines.  I loved the wedding parade based on a Tim Walker photo so much that we created our own version.  I used some Martha Stewart templates and actually learned how to use a jigsaw.  I cut the shapes out myself and am proud to say I still have all my fingers intact.  Granted I put the blade in backwards to begin with and cut the chick and rabbit out that way.  When Doug put the blade back in the right way, I found it to be much easier to cut while pushing instead of pulling.  Oops. 

The kids seemed to enjoy them.  They really liked the ribbon wands which were a cinch to make...just 4 strips of ribbon stuck to a dowel with a thumbtack!

I couldn't find a bowtie for Jacob in the right color.  So, I learned how to make my own using a little tie.  It not only made a bowtie but there was enough left over to make a little pocket decoration too.

We had another beautiful cake made by our friend Sarah Sollee. She created the cake for us based on the original made by Erica O'Brien and used here.  The old stereo belonged to Doug's grandfather and still works! 

I fell in love with the girls' dresses.  Unfortunately, they both wanted to wear the same dress (the one Lauren is wearing) and I had to bribe Anna with a chocolate bunny.  Their "necklaces" are actually supposed to look like the collar of the dress but I forgot to attach them and so they turned into necklaces.  I found them at the Sacramento Antique Fair last month and couldn't pass them up.  When I bought them, I didn't have any use for them but they seemed to fit the girls' dresses just right.
   

I found the table and chairs at the flea market last week and fell in love.  They're not too big and not too small. I'm planning to use them in my craft room as a stand for my sewing machine or as an art table for the kids to draw and paint on.

Anna is my flower child and always has a flower or two hidden in her pocket or stuck in a purse.  She loves going to nurseries as she gathers all of the blooms that have fallen onto the ground.  She manages to collect enough for an actual bouquet.  The other day she came home with a beautiful and free bouquet of snapdragons.

Kate and Jacob were so adorable together.  They just stumbled from one spot to the next, usually with either an egg or flower in hand (or in the mouth!).

Last but not least, I wanted to make masks for all of the children but it took me four hours just to put 3 together.   I wish I had more pictures of the kids in their masks but it was the end of the day and everyone was ready to stop taking pictures and start eating cake (which was very yummy, I might add!)

Hope your Easter was a happy one full of friends, happiness, laughter, and lots of eggs!

Happy Easter!

How did Easter get here so fast?

Is it just me or does it seem like Easter is awfully early this year?

Our Vegetable Garden Day #12

Everything is still alive!!  I know, I'm also totally in shock.

 We even have a strawberry that's starting to turn red. 

The herbs are starting to grow a bit more but they're are just so few plants that I don't want to pluck any leaves.

 I just received my Mittleider Gardening Course book in the mail yesterday and have been enjoying flipping through it.  If the gardening is successful this year, then I'd like to try the Mittleider method next year.  Since we have such a small yard, it seems like a fantastic way to grow veggies.  I first heard about this method on the blog "Balancing Everything".  Jessica  and her family were setting up grow boxes and I was amazed at the childhood pictures she posted from her family's garden using Mittleider techniques.  Here are a few of those childhood photos from Jessica's blog.  

Okay, these next two blew me away.

Have you ever seen something so amazing?