garden up close

a b

c d

e f

g h

i j

k l

just to clarify...

a. cucumber

b. cherry tomatoes (most are still green)

c. corn

d. mixed greens

e. tomatillos

f. arugula

g. some baby lettuce

h. don't know, but we eat the purple leaves in our salads

i. can't remember

j. bell pepper (he's also had other peppers, but I don't have pictures)

k. watermelon

l. squash

There are rows of other things that just look like more greens to me, so I didn't take pictures of all of it. For the record though, there are radishes, kale, onions, carrots, garlic and many others things all in there. Last season I kept track of what was what. This season he blew me away with the amount he planted and I gave up.

Disclaimer: No doubt Sean's going to find this post entirely inadequate; left up to him, a closer examination of his garden would have 5 times the photos I have here and entire essays (replete with charts and graphs) on the origins of the seeds, cultivation techniques, and expected produce outcomes. Left up to Sean, a closer examination of his garden would also likely never be shared because he probably won't ever have the time he requires to do the post justice. I figure a little something is better than nothing. But under no circumstances should viewers consider this to be anything other than a very cursory glance at his extensive and extravagant farm.

From Tears to Triumph

After a sleepless night of listening to the wind veritably demolish our brand new gutters with tree branches, I marched off to Lowes this morning with bloodshot eyes, trembling nerves, and nothing short of "DEATH TO THE BRANCHES" screaming in my head.

On his last visit, my dad had suggested that maybe one of the branches was too close to the second story gutter, and that it would scratch it in the wind. Little did we know (until last night) that the wind could lift and drop the branch INTO the gutter, and then as the branch attempted to spring back into place, it would streeeeetch out the key element of our rainwater harvesting system, and then eventually free itself, resulting in a loud THUD as the gutter snapped back to its original form.

With every thud I reached new levels of pained insanity I never dreamed could be caused by gutters. One might suggest that I'm a little too attached to the house/material possessions/etc. Maybe that is the case. But I tell you-- it was SICKENING to listen to the destruction and feel so helpless.

And now, sleep-deprived and yes, a little high on my recent victory over the branches, I am sharing photos. Thankfully, our other main investment into the house, new windows, made the success possible. They are double-hung and the sashes lift out, which means I could reach the branch with my newly purchased pole saw from the window.

BEFORE

AFTER

the tree I have forgiven

The squirrel* who supervised my progress from the chimney top.

*We call him Sammie. I made it our policy to call all the critters around our house Sammie, so that when visitors come over, we can say, "oh there goes Sammie" and they will think we're really one with nature and that we have given all the wildlife individual names and can distinguish one squirrel or lizard from another. (My theory is that rarely would the same guest catch us calling two different animals the same name. I am trusting that any Austinites reading this will not tell other Austinites whom we have yet to impress. Please give us a fair chance to seem cool).

Now on to the projects I was SUPPOSED to be doing today...

garden from a distance

Thanks to some recent rain, the fall garden is coming along nicely. The weeds are doing even better.
Sean's practically skipping as he heads out to the garden each evening to harvest our salad. He's downright gleeful about it (--he probably wouldn't want me saying that. But it's really heartwarming to watch, so I wanted to share it with y'all). Honestly, he's entitled to as much giddiness as his little heart can handle. That is some HARD earned [and tasty] lettuce.
I'll post more pictures of the produce itself soon. And I believe if you click on the photo above, a new window will open with the photo full-size, so you can see things better.

Celebrating Births!

Sean had a birthday this year! He tends to insist on one...
We hit about mid to late June and he starts getting fussy if we don't take time to celebrate him. Went to his parents' house this summer around that time, so here he is opening presents.

My gifts to him were A) FINALLY finishing his chair (those of you in Atlanta can stop berating me)... and B) a hookah pipe. I ordered the prettiest pipe I could find and then made the case at home. I did have slight moral issues with potentially giving my husband cancer for his birthday, but I know Sean pretty well. He's yet to prove wrong my theory that if you give him any toy that requires effort to set up before playing with it, that toy is only engaged maybe once per year. I'd have struggled more with a request for a handheld pipe or cigars.

A note on the chair: The cushions that fit it need to be reupholstered. But I have to wait to do that until we figure out what shades of color our living room is going to be. (In other words, you will probably be hearing next June that I gave him the same chair again).

Sean's mom's birthday is the 10th of October; they came down to Austin to celebrate it....... by taking us out to eat twice, bringing a potato dish for Wilbur, showering the future grandchild with gifts, and bringing me a bag of goodies for MY birthday. Conclusion: The baby, Wilbur, and I all agree that Sean's mom's birthday should be celebrated monthly.

Yours truly turned 28 on the 15th, which was a Wednesday. This happens to be the day that I go to a small group/Bible study thing with a bunch of great girls, so Sean was off the hook (temporarily). I was well pampered by my friends-- Mychel cooked dinner, they harmoniously belted out Happy Birthday, and we devoured some very fine cupcakes that Stacey found at a place called Polkadots (I think?). Not to belittle the Bible part of the evening, but the food alone made it a pretty divine experience. Hooray for such sweet friends!

Sean took me to North for dinner later that week, which was yummy. He also added his own unique twist to my stack of wonderful gifts and the outpouring of Lowes gift cards (which will be used up a in a heartbeat based on how much there is to do around here!). He obliged my request for him to blog, and he did it 100% Sean-style. You can find the link to his blog (which shadows this one) in the sidebar on the left. I enjoyed it immensely.

My parents and younger sister, Janell, came down to visit last weekend in honor of my birthday, and like usual, they were tremendously helpful. We repaired two hose bibs, plugged the front yard with grass, investigated some duct work that needs to be re-routed, and ALMOST put more holes in the wall, but discovered a gas pipe and vent, which temporarily thwarted that plan. I need to devote an entire post to listing things they've done. They're incredible. Every time they visit they bring this unbelievable renovating momentum that'd put all those DIY television shows to shame.

I saved the best births for last...

Moving on to two very recent births that are FAR more exciting to celebrate than all the ones above... We had friends in Atlanta and Austin that shared the same due date and each delivered (100% naturally!) absolutely beautiful babies with full heads of dark hair! We're so excited for both families. They've been the most impacting births for Sean and I, simply because it's such an imminent reality for us now, too.

First came this little princess, Elsa Marie, born on September 7 to our awesome friends Jarrett and Christi in Atlanta. ALL the pictures I've seen of her are totally precious-- every time I see a new photo I get that much more adamant about wanting a baby girl. Unfortunately, my two friends who've had girls have had incredibly cute/pretty ones and have thereby set the bar really high (well out of reach for anything Sean and I could produce!) -- but I accept that fact and I still want one!! Can you blame me?? Look at her!

And THEN September 12 brought this little man to a house just down the street from us-- much to our delight! It's awesome enough to have Jessica and Aaron so close by, just because they're great to hang out with-- and then they go and have Aidan Alan, who's nothing short of enchanting. Not only does he have the coolest hair-do in the world (think electrocuted), he's so alert and independent! He's been sleeping a straight 7-8 hours every night for two weeks already-- and lately it's more like 10. Couple that with super-efficient feeding and the cutest little facial expressions ever, and you definitely have a Prince Charming! We're all in love.

Obviously there's no topping the baby pictures. Even Wilbur stories and photos can't beat those.

(The maternal side of me is going to feel guilty later and post more pictures of Wilbur anyway. I can already tell. There's a little voice in my head defending Wilbur... "He's cute too! He has an electrocuted-style hair-do, too!")

Public Apology.

Alright, so my last post has warranted me new titles such as "homophobic" and "sexist" due to comments about color schemes and clothing styles that I narrow-mindedly deemed appropriate and inappropriate based on gender. (I love my father-in-law. Who told him I was blogging??? This is going to be the end of me!)

Undoubtedly, my "traditionalism" dominated the last post, despite my attempts to express frustration with the deeply engrained stereotypes that are engendered (ha! get it?) by infant clothing. To be clear, what I meant to say, was that when I find a onesie embroidered with a remote control and beer, my mental image looked like THIS:

... and I would definitely dress my child in it, boy or girl, matching booties and hairbows, included. The child will then go frolic in the backyard, playing with non-Barbie dolls in a pastel and mauve-tone fort with accents of camouflage in the draperies.