Looking for a home and reviewing our options

My husband and I have a goal to be in a house before or soon after our new baby comes.  We are currently in an apartment, which is just the right size for our family of 3.  Not the right size at all for a garden.  What is the point of marrying a man who loves to garden if you don't have a big huge yard to plant things in??

We searched for homes before moving in to our apartment, but we couldn't find anything that we liked, or we were outbid by companies wanting to tear down the one house on acreage and build 3 or 4 houses on the land.  We didn't find anything in time for our wedding and we needed somewhere to live, so here we are.  Apartment life is not for us... heck, city life is not for us.

Since we are looking at buying our first home as a couple, we are looking into a lot of different things, such as maintenance.  In the apartment, nothing is really our problem.  If anything breaks or needs repaired, we just call the handy man and he comes and fixes it.  Nothing belongs to us and so it's nothing to worry about.  Water heater goes out? Doesn't cost us a dime.  Window gets stuck? They come and fix it the same day.  Dryer vent clogged?  Not our dirty work.  It's very convenient, but like I said, this life isn't for us. 

Before we met, I owned a condo.  It's long gone by now, but it was similar in a way.  All of the things inside were my problem, but all of the things outside were taken care of by a friendly little old man who lived a few doors down.  Porch light bulb gone bad?  That's on the outside.  Gate to the fence won't shut properly.  Outside.  Window breaks?  They covered that, too.  My gutters were cleaned, my grass was mowed, and the water hose was insulated when the weather got cold.  Again, very convenient, but not for us. 

The problem is that I don't really know how to do those things.  My husband does.  He learned from his dad.  I think it's one of those man to man things.  He has even climbed up on my parents' rooftop and cleaned their gutters.  He has mowed their lawn.  He has insulated their water hose spout.  He's even weeded my moms garden. He's a manly man, and that is great because I am much better at taking care of things inside the home and he is great at taking care of things outside the home... and also large appliances. 

Without him, I don't know what I would do.  I have a whole collection of Bob Villa books back from before their was the internet.  I could read those and learn how to take care of things myself.  That is how I learned to change out a toilet... in theory. I could get one of those Home Warranty set ups.  It's like a program where they take care of your appliances and household things.  I could sign up for to get helpful hints via twitter or Facebook.  I wonder if they have a tickler service.  Like how my car flashes little lights at me when I need an oil change or a tire rotation.  My TV tells me when I need a new bulb.  Maybe there is something like that for houses?

I don't know how the Hubs keeps it all straight in his head about what needs to be done when.  He's not only in charge of the house, he's in charge of the cars, too.  My car's little tickler thing comes on and I have to take it in to get the light turned off and not get any of the services done because he gets them all done early.  It's really nice to not have to worry about things getting taken care of.  I wonder if he feels the same way about dinner?

Does he think, "It's so nice not to have to worry about dinner and just know that when I walk in the door it's going to smell like some  kind of delicious food in there." or "I have no idea how my clothes get from the laundry basket back into the closet, but I am so glad that they do.  I never run out of pants and I always have such a selection!"  I think he probably does.  We make a pretty good team.

Being Energy Efficient

I was watching an episode of Bazaar Foods yesterday that was filmed in Iceland.  I learned that the majority of Iceland's homes are heated using geothermic energy - or heat and energy that comes from the ground.  I first learned about this when I was working at the bank and I opened a business account for a group that did this kind of work.  I found it really interesting!  

Right now I am living in an apartment and looking for a house to buy.  I know that when I finally find a home, one of the first things I will do is have a home energy audit.  We plan on buying an older home - maybe even a fixer-upper.  The newer homes just don't have the kind of yard we are looking for.  My husband and I already have plans for a big beautiful garden and we take a lot of the yard space and layout into consideration whenever we look at a house.  So far, the only things that come close to meeting our needs are older homes.  

I like older homes and I think they have a lot of character, but they can be drains when it comes to energy.  For example, did you know that it's not even legal to use aluminum trim around windows anymore?  True.  A little fact I picked up when the only job I could get was selling windows door to door (terrible job, FYI). The reason builders can't use that anymore is because there is way too much energy that escapes through those old aluminum window trims.  

Most of the houses we have looked at will need the windows replaced if we want to get up to code and save money on heating and cooling. And this is just the info that I have picked up living my every day life.  I truly don't even know the half of it.  But sometimes knowing what you don't know is just as important as knowing what you do know.  I DO know that we will be ready to schedule a home energy audit very soon after moving into our new home - whichever home that may be. 

We are looking for something out in the country-ish, but that is getting really hard to find.  With the suburbs encroaching on  rural boundaries more and more, we are finding that houses on land are selling quickly to developers who demolish the old house and plant a million more on the lot.  They can cram 4 or 5 houses where 1 country farm house used to stand.  We are hoping that as winter approaches, the buying will die down and we will have a better chance at finding something.

Hotel Supply at PeachSuite

While planning my upcoming honeymoon and reading several reviews for hotels and restaurants in our honeymoon location, I found a website called Peach Suite.  This website is a Hotel Supply Online store.  Ever wonder where hotels get their stuff?  Well you can check it out on this website.  It's not only very interesting to see how things are purchased, but the website is so easy to use and upfront that you can see the prices for everything as well. I immediately checked to see how much the  towels were, since I know several people who are notorious for swiping them out of their rooms.  At $116.06 per dozen, I decided I would not be contributing to this crime.  If twelve people do it a day, or even a week, you can see how it can add up.  

Of course I was curious to see if I could get in on this hot towel discount action.  I added the towels to my cart and went to check out.  Yes, you too can be the proud owner of one dozen hotel towels for the low, low price of $116.06, and you can do it honestly.  No more sneaking around with contraband towels in your luggage.  I was also impressed that they boast a pretty speedy delivery time.  As I said before, easy to use, and upfront. 

Oh, oh, oh! And they have some seriously swanky furniture, too!  I was checking out the Hotel Bar Supplies section because I'm in the market for some bar stools.  They also have some pretty fancy items for tending your bar as well, but the bar stools were really impressive.  They were the kind you would find in a fancy hotel lobby, but they also had the kind that you typically find in a suite as well. 

I think they are mostly an Atlanta Hotel Supply company, since that seems to be where they are based, but it looks like they are able to ship all over. I had read an article once that suggested that people looking for furniture go to hotels that were doing remodels and take the old used stuff for cheap or for free.  Fortunately, I am out of the phase in my life where I try to think of new ways to spruce up top ramen, and I'm able to buy most of my furniture new.  So why not get my stuff where the fancy hotels get theirs? 

Handmade Wallpaper

Since I went to visit my family in Mississippi, I have a new appreciation for wallpaper.  I remember when I lived there, every home had either wood paneling, or wallpaper, or both.  The house I lived in had flocked wallpaper, which I always loved.  

Hurricane Katrina destroyed nearly every home I was familiar with and they all had to be rebuilt.  Guess what... they left out the wallpaper.  Wallpaper was always something that I considered necessary to have a Southern home.  In fact, I thought it would make any home look a little more country. 

That was before I stumbled across this on the web: Handmade Wallpaper. Seriously?  Yes. 

I have to say that the first wallpaper style I checked out on their webpage even resembled wood grain.  The best of both worlds!  But as you cruise through the website you'll see that they can make wallpaper (yes, they make it by hand) to suit any taste. 

The collections are absolutely stunning!  They have some tripped out psychedelic styles, some that I am pretty sure are flocked, and they have some truly elegant designs that look very Victorian with filigree and swirls.

I think that the style that I like the most are the more earthy looking designs.  Some of them are reminiscent of leaves and nature - especially the textured wallpaper. 

As I was looking around the website I also saw that they do screen printing on the wallpaper as well.  That means that if you have a business, you could have your logo printed on wallpaper for your office or reception area.  Now that is brilliant!  I never would have thought of that, but it makes so much sense to offer that to businesses!

Just thought I would share my recent web findings!

Backyard Improvements

 Last year my mom wanted to do some improvements on her back yard.  One thing she really wanted was to have a paved path from the patio to the back fence.  There is a gate in the back fence that leads to a field.  The field is low lands used by the farmer that live behind them as drainage for his fields.  Sometimes, about every 3 or 5 years, he grows mint out there, but normally it's just grass that he rolls into hay bales and sells.  He doesn't mind at all that several people in the neighborhood use the land for walking their dogs and jogging.  So when a windstorm took out the old fence and my parents had to rebuild, they arranged to have a gate installed that would lead them directly into the field where they walk the dogs every day.

The gate is located in the middle of the fence line, directly at the end of the deck.  Since my mom has a beautiful and plentiful flower garden along the deck, it makes a lovely path for the walk to the gate.  And since the dogs and my parents walk to the gate every day for their walk, a little path is just what was formed... a little dirt path.  My mom wasn't happy about that at all and she resolved to make a path out of Paving Stone.  She hunted around for which kind to use.  Once, on TV, I had seen some that were just a mold for cement.  You just use them almost cookie cutter like.  They were big pieces of mold that made the path look like it was cut into several smaller pieces.  I thought it was really cool because it was so easy.  You don't have to figure out how to arrange the stones, you just cookie cutter them out.  The problem was that they were all exactly the same and it didn't look natural.

My argument was, who cares?? Some people use Patio Pavers to make entire patios and those don't look natural, but they do look beautiful.  Mom wanted something the looked at least a little natural.  We shopped for a couple of days and one day we found exactly what we wanted.  Some absolutely beautiful paving stones at Lowe's mispriced.  I snapped a photo with my phone and we asked management if they wouldn't mind selling the product at the incorrect price.  My mom said she felt like it was dishonest, or at least unkind, to try to weasel savings out of an honest mistake.  I told her we could just ask, and they would almost certainly feel obligated to say yes, and then we wouldn't be the people who tried to cheat them.

Mom asked for the department manager.  She explained that she knew the item was mislabled and that the price was incorrect.  Then she asked if he wouldn't mind selling it for the incorrect price since that was how it was marked.  He didn't want to say yes, you could tell.  He said that the price was very, very off and it was beyond his ability to approve such a big discount.  He had to call the general manager, who quickly approved the price drop and told them how to apply the discount at the register.  I thought it was a tactful way to go about it.  In the end, mom got enough paving stones to make two paths, not just one.  And they are still here today a year later, making a perfect path to the back and side gates.

Drip Irrigation

 Does anyone out there use a drip irrigation system? My mom uses some drip hoses or soaker hoses to water her flower garden all over the back yard, but does this count as drip irrigation?  My mom has these hoses that she has run all over the yard at the base of her plants.  She turns the water on and the hose gets soaked all long the its length.  The moister is then soaked up by the soil and then of course to the roots of the plants.

The reason she uses this is because

1. It saves water by delivering the moister directly to the root area of the plant
2. It saves the plants from getting burned by having water on their leaves
3. It saves time because she can turn it on and walk away without having to stand there and water the plants herself. 

She has been using the soaker hoses for about two years now and she is really happy with them.  She can move them around if she rearranges her garden and  she uses adapters that allow her to hook up multiple hoses in the front yard an back.  One problem that she has had is that the hoses don't always deliver consistent water their entire length.  The parts of the hose which are closer to the water source get wetter, and the plants at the end of the hose furthest from the water source don't get as much.

So my question is if she gets more permanent drip irrigation supplies will it work better?  It seems like it would.  I'm also wondering if they will be easy to move around.  They surely can't be as easy and flopping a hose to the other side of the garden, but are they permanent?  Also, are their kinds of drip irrigation systems that go underground?  I'm sure those are more permanent, but I was just curious. I also wonder if there is a way to put plant fertilizer directly into the drip irrigation system.  It seems like there should be.

I suppose if you really wanted to get fancy with it, you could set your drip irrigation system up with fertilizer or plant food and then set it on a timer so that you really don't have to worry about it.  Sometimes my mom forgets to turn off her soaker hose.  It hasn't ever drowned any plants, and since it's a soaker hose, it doesn't really use up too much water, which is the reason she got it in the first place.  If you had everything set on an automatic timer though, that would be even easier.

How to Enjoy Your Patio

 The weather has been so nice and warm that we have been spending a lot of time out doors as a family.  We have been grilling at least two times a week and yesterday we all sat outside and drank coffee after dinner, just looking at the sunset.  We talked about how nice it would be if we could do things like this all year round.

My grandma is visiting from Mississippi, just like she does every year.  Soon, she will be joined by my Aunt Pam, who also visits every year.  They like to spend the Summer in our mild weather.  Well, it's mild to them.  On Summer nights in Mississippi if you want to enjoy a drink on your patio, it is probably an iced tea, and if you want to sit out there very long, you need a fan.  Aunt Pam and Uncle Danny have a huge covered back porch that is the size of some people's whole yards.  They have 2 ceiling fans hanging from the cover which they keep on to blow a little bit of the warm humid air around trying to make it a little more tolerable.

In Mississippi, the challenge is trying to keep cool throughout most of the year, but for us in Washington State, that isn't so.  Here in the Pacific Northwest we are challenged with keeping warm.  Most people stay indoors throughout the winter, but not us.  We have an amazing view of Mt. St. Helens AND Mt. Hood from our back yard.  There is nothing like seeing a beautiful mountain lit up all pink and purple and orange in a glorious sunset.  But how do you enjoy your yard when it's freezing out?

We took a cue from our family in Mississippi.  If they can try to cool off their porch, why can't we try to heat ours up?  We also got the idea from a restaurant that we like to go to.  The restaurant is so busy that the door is always opening and closing, and they have trouble keeping the heat in and the cold air out.  The tables near the door can get especially chilly.  One winter we all went for some hot soup for dinner and while we were seated at the door, the management brought over outdoor patio heaters  to help keep us warm!

What an awesome idea!  Mom and dad are looking into getting one of these heaters to use in the winter months so that we can still be outdoors.  I can just imagine it now.  A cool and crisp fall evening with my family, maybe sitting around a fire pit roasting marshmallows as the stars twinkle, and not even having to worry about getting to cold.  It sounds great!

New House

 I am excited to say that I am looking into buying a new house!  Mom and I didn't have time to plant a vegetable garden this year; just flowers.  Flowers are nice and all, but I love being able to eat fresh veggies from the garden.  Fortunately for me, my new Beau also loves vegetable gardening.  So as we are looking for a new house, we are keeping gardening in mind.

It's going to be so nice to live with someone who likes to be outside and work in the yard.  What wonderful weekends we are going to have! As we have been looking at the houses in the neighborhood we are taking note of things that we like about them.  It's amazing how simple things like address plaques and address signs can really spruce up the way a house looks. We also saw some house signs which may have been a little over the top for us.

Most of the houses that we looked at had those community mail boxes that lock up, which is nice for security, but I have always wanted one of those cheeky little mailboxes.  I saw one online today that was a Darth Vader and the flag was a light saber!  How funny!  When I was a kid one of my friend had a mailbox that was a miniature of his house!  Maybe I can get one just for show.

Drink to your health

 I've just started drinking wine.  I don't know anything about it - I only know what I like.  Right now I am IN LOVE with Cupcake Vineyards.  They make not too sweet red wines in tasty flavors like Red Velvet Cake!  YUM!

First Plants

Okay, so it's not as exciting as first fruits, but it is still pretty exciting.  Caleb has our first plant of the season.  He went to the store with my mom and picked the saddest, droopiest tomato plant I have ever seen.  He's 4, so she let him.  It reminds me of when Charlie Brown chose that wilted little Christmas tree.  He loves it!  It is still in a little planter in the window, but he looks at it every day and encourages it to grow.

Next weekend we are going to find a nice place to plant it and then our garden will offically be started!  Somebody tell all that Spring snow that we have been getting to back off!

An extra end table never hurt anybody

Guest post written by Sarah Long

I'm completely convinced that you're never finished decorating a room. There's always a lamp shade or a footstool that you can switch out for another that fits in with the decor just a little better. I think that many people would agree with me in that regard. I'm sure it also helps that I browse online shopping sites all the time too and find things that would be perfect for my home.

A few nights ago I found this amazing end table when I was online browsing for different home goods. I also found the website Sears Home Improvement and after looking through it some, talked myself into some new kitchen cabinets. They're something that are actually practical and not just a little extra something that I want to add to a room because I like it. We really could use some nicer looking kitchen cabinets.

I was so glad once the end table finally got shipped to my home and it fit in exactly how I imagined it would in my living room. Next are the kitchen cabinets.

Almost Time

Well, it's just about that time again.  For me, anyway.  It's usually about the time that the tulips start peeking out from the flower bed floor that I start to think about gardening.  Those first hints of green that seem to just happen overnight get my wheels turning and I think the same thing for the last few years now...

"Wow, last year was really horrible... but I really would like to try again."

And that's how it happens every year since the first year. 
This year I am living with my mother and that should prove to be advantageous for my gardening.  She is a great support when it comes to growing things of all kinds (including plants and children).  Not only will she be available to offer good advise, but she can also keep an eye on my veggies while I am at work and maybe even do a little weeding for me!
Caleb has decided to plant come cucumbers this year because he enjoyed eating them straight from the garden last year.  I would like to try growing some beans again - I failed miserably last year.  And to think the package even said "Absolutely Guaranteed To Grow!" Just like seamonkeys.  If something is absolutely guaranteed to grow... well, I guess it grew a little, but it was nothing near flourishing. 
My boyfriend, Travis, insists that he loves gardening.  So, I guess we are about to find out. He wants to plant the beans so he can pickle them... I should point out that neither of us know how to pick anything except for eggs!  My sister has a friend who is great at pickling things, so we may be paying her a visit this Summer.
Over all, I think this growing season is going to be a good one.

I Want a Pool, Too...

Last September I went to visit my family in Mississippi. I make the 2,500 mile trip at least once a year, but the most recent trip was especially important to me.  This was the first time that my little son was old enough to fly with me.  I was so excited to bring him, even more so after he commented that the sun was "broken" here in the Pacific Northwest.  He was excited to go because my uncle, who we were staying with, had planned a huge pool party to celebrate our arrival!

The pool party was the day after our arrival since we got in to town late in the afternoon.  Party or no party, there was no keeping Caleb out of that pool!  He's been taking swimming lessons in an indoor pool around our home town, so he was feeling pretty confident.  It was so warm out, but there had been a rain recently that cooled down the water in the pool.  That meant that jumping in was cool and refreshing!

The next day was the pool party and we had a blast!  There were kids and dogs and family and friends all over the place!  My uncle had a smoker and 3 BBQs going at once!  There were a ton of pool accessories and toys to mess around with. The coolest one was a huge inflatable slide that you put on the deck edge of the pool! I was able to have peace of mind about all of the kids in the yard because my uncle had just gotten a nice fence from his pool supply company to keep the kids and the dogs out if no one was there to watch them around the water.  We were in and out of the pool all day until well after the sun went down and the kids went to bed!

Reminiscing about all of that makes me want a pool so bad!  Caleb has been asking for one as well.  He had never seen someone with a pool at their house before.  Now that he knows such a thing exists he definitely has it on his wish list.

Become for Home and Garden

 I just learned about this site for home and garden decor and accessories called Become.com  While Become.com has all kinds of great items at discount prices - like computers, jewelry, and clothing - what stands out the most to me are the home items.  You can get such great deals on furniture and decorations!

My grandma comes to visit me every summer and I am counting down the days (15 to go!) until she gets here.  Each year I try to turn my spare room, which is currently an overflow closet/storage space, into a somewhat descent guest room.  I have never had the funds to spiff it up with real furniture, and even if I did it isn't a guest room all year round.  I try to make it as inviting as possible, but I always feel like it is missing something.  When I was checking out Become.com tonight, I saw that they have great deals on air mattress frames!

I don't think I would make grandma sleep on an air mattress, but my Aunt is flying up here with her this year and she is staying with me for about 2 weeks.  An air mattress would be perfect for her!  I can set it up temporarily and then take it down when she heads home and make more space in grandma's room.  Grandma needs a different kind of bed.  Something that is fit for the queen she is!

I don't think the room is quite big enough for a four poster bed, but I did absolutely fall in love LOVE LOVE with this Palm Tree Bedding!  My friend Christy has her guest room decorated in palm trees and it looks so great!  It is cute, but not overly feminine for her male guests.  It has personality, but it is still neutral in color, so she can change her accents around a bit when the seasons change to keep the room up to date.  I think I might copy her tasteful style and decorate the guest room in palm trees as well.

Yup, with only 2 weeks before grandma gets here, I am thinking about putting together a real guest room.  She lives all the way in Mississippi and the trip is about 8 hours of fly time, not including the layovers and such.  There isn't a direct flight on any airline from here to there and that's why my Aunt has to come with her. Soon, she might not be able to fly anymore and I never know which year might be the last year that she gets to spend the Summer with me here. After all grandma has done for me, giving her a comfortable place to stay in my home is the very least that I can do.

Beauty in Everything

 Beauty in Everything

Thanks to Roman May

I can't imagine a day without art. I feel so strongly about seeing the beauty in every part of life, and it's unimaginable to me that some people spend their entire working lives in a cubicle. I'm so glad they do, because I couldn't do it. A lot of my time is spent in my studio creating art where I use all kinds of things to find inspiration. For example, a simple CLICK on my wireless Internet takes me to photos or images that I may want to replicate. Or, if on board with that, I can just walk outside and take a look at all things nature made to find some inspiration. The problem is not that there aren't enough things to inspire me, it's really that there are too many! I love my Outlook on life and seeing things as an artist, so I wouldn't change it for the world. Who cares if people think I'm hippy dippy or a crazy artist living out here in the woods!

The Bright Side of the Gloom

I thought this picture would be self explanatory, but maybe not.



You see, this picture appears to only represent one week's worth of weather. In reality, it's much more than that. This week of solid rain marks the beginning of the rainy season in the Pacific Northwest. A rainy season that last time, lasted until July and even tried to infiltrate August.

I'm not sure how much more of this I can handle before I try to seek out a different climate. It's not just the rain and the gloom, it's the wet socks, the muddy dog prints, and the frizzy hair.

I'm going to have to focus on the bright side. I have a huge covered porch so I can still spend some dry time outside. I can also plant my garden in containers so I don't have to give that up. I have a fireplace to cozy up to, and I cam spend my time knitting and crocheting. Oh! But that's a story for another time!

My Mom's Blog

Hey everyone.  I'm super excited because my mom has started blogging... it seems like only yesterday she was learning to text.  Aww, they grow up so fast. Hehe!

Yes, this is my same mother who feeds and waters birds, squirrels, blue jays, raccoons, cows and coyotes - in that order.  (Timeline of My Mom's Critters)  Her blog is about her garden (of course).  She wrote her second post today and it's about her cactus that she has been trying to grow for 2 years.  This year, it finally started to bloom for her.  She has been nuts about it since it's first flower.

Whenever I see my mom, which is almost everyday, she pesters me non stop about taking pictures of her new favorite plant - it changes almost daily. So, we made a deal.  I would take a picture of any plant, or worm, or compost pile that she wanted, as long as she wrote a blog about it. Looks like she upheld her end of the bargain!

You can check her out here at NanasGardenBlog.blogspot.com.

Perches

On the last sunny day we had (which seems like forever ago) I was enjoying time in my garden (of course). I had Captain the cockatiel outside with me as usual. He was feeling especially needy this day and didn't want to sit in the tree like normal. I took an old piece of a broken plantation shutter and made a little swing for him to sit on.




I think he quite enjoyed it. At first he didn't like the swinging motion. After he got used to it he swung in the sunshine and sang songs to the wild birdies who were at the bird feeder on the other side of the porch.

Captain isn't allowed to play with the feral birds because they might have illnesses or parasites. Plus, he can't fly. So, if a bully bird like a stellar jay comes along, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to defend himself or get away. I don't worry about it too much because he is bigger than most of the birds in the yard, plus, I've got his back.

It wasn't long after I had hung the bird swing under the porch that Chopper the garden eating dog began to feel left out. "Dogs don't perch", I told him. He begged to differ and when I still refused to build him a perch, he commandeered one of his own.




Sammy, my last dog, used to weed my mom's garden. You only needed to point to the weed an tell him to "get it". He would tear it out of the ground, shake off the dirt from the roots, toss it aside and wait for the next one. I think he only ever pulled the wrong plant once. Of course, by the time I get to gardening, I've got a dog who sits in a chair and watches me while I do all the work and he eats all the veggies.

Welcome, September

It is POURING outside right now.  I am at work looking out at the parking lot and watching gigantic raindrops fall on the pavement.  I wonder how my tomatoes are doing at home?  The bell peppers and patio tomatoes are in containers and they are fine, I'm sure.  My beefsteak tomatoes are probably gettin pummled.  They are partially under the eve of the porch and so I am hoping that will help to keep them safe from the weather.

The good thing about being at work today is that I can grab the lettuce and chard seeds out of my locker and get them started.  I currently have nothing to plant them in once they are ready to go outside.  I'm going to plant the seeds anyway and just cross the container bridge when I come to it. 

I am hoping to also get some broccoli and cauliflower for my fall garden.  I will need to pick up some containers for them for sure.  There is no way that I am going to root around in the mud trying to get them in the ground.  I did enough mud gardening this Summer to last me the rest of the year.

Does anyone know if you can plant parsnips in the fall?  No one suggested them.  I hope I didn't miss the boat.  I have never eated a parsnip, but they seem to find themselves into stews frequently and so I thought it might be a cooler weather plant.  Thanks people!

Anniversary Bummer!

I'm super bummed out! Shawn just told me today that he wasn't able to get off of work or our anniversary weekend. I was really looking forward to surprising him with our trip to skibowl.

I told him about what I had planned and he said that it seemed like something he would really enjoy. It was sad because there really isn't another weekend that we will be able to do it. It's about to get cold on the mountain and the adventure park will close down and the ski area will open up. Plus, Oktoberfest is only that one weekend.

Hopefully, we will be able to find another weekend to go away together. I really want it to be soon, but that means it will be more of an autumn/winter get away. I'm sure I will be able to think of something, but I would prefer it to be something Summer. Maybe I am still in Summer mode. Perhaps Shawn would like to go snowboarding this year instead. That would be a pretty good surprise.