conquering gardening 101

I'm back again. I really hope to get back to blogging regularly once my energy returns. It's still hiding from me.

Speaking of lacking energy, the little culprit behind it is growing and growing. Baby is already proving to be stubborn, not wanting to cooperate with the ultrasound technicians - I guess baby is like momma and doesn't like being at the doctor's office either. However, our turkey baby is already helping momma get over a long time phobia of doctor visits. I guess everyone was right who told me I'd get over it when I have children. (I didn't believe them!) We've nearly completed the first trimester - we're at 12 weeks and 4 days!

Matt and I have taken it easy lately, trying to get over colds and allergies. That hasn't stopped us from our usual antics (it just gives us a better excuse to be lazy). The big parking lot sale I mentioned in my last post didn't lead to any interesting buys for us. It was still fun to see Matt wake up that early in the morning. He never knew that 8 o'clock came around twice in one day.

There are things I'd like to blog about, but I don't feel like it today. I know my last post was about our garden, but I want to share some pictures again from our garden that I just took a few minutes ago. I hadn't checked on the plants in a few days, and I was so excited to see a pepper growing!

We don't have a clue about gardening, and really, I was expecting most of it to die, much less to actually GROW! The funny part is, we planted tons of banana peppers and several tomato plants, and we don't even care much for either of these. How's that for intelligence? Next year, we'll try to plant more of what we actually like!

Behold our bell pepper:



Isn't it just glorious? Now, can someone who actually knows what they are doing tell me how to know when this thing is ready to pick? Can I expect it to get about as big as ones you buy in the store?

Here are some more growing!



Tomatoes are showing now too.



I was late getting to a couple of the strawberries - overripe and a bird beat me to one of them.



Well, I guess if I can grow a baby, I can grow a garden too!

'Tis the gift to be simple

Greetings!

I promise I'm still alive, though my blog would make you think otherwise. Pregnancy sickness picked up a couple of weeks ago (with, oddly enough, a two-day break for my birthday weekend!), so blogging has been the last thing on my mind.

Regardless, Matt and I have been continuing our adventures in newlywed life. (Are we still newlyweds after over six months?) Most of our adventures have been rather uneventful, I guess to most people, but we truly have fun with just the simple things in life. Happiness is something money can't buy, and if it's just sitting outside on the patio on a cool evening or strolling, hand in hand, around the neighborhood, we love the precious time we have together. Life gets too hectic at times, and I'm sure ours will get more hectic in a few months, but right now, I just want to enjoy the gift of being simple.

Since my last post, we've been busy gardening and bird watching - wow, it makes me feel old to say that. We've added some new feeders and now have three regular feeders and two hummingbird feeders. A hummingbird actually came to the feeder, within two or three feet of me, while we were sitting out on the patio. Awesome stuff!

Our garden plants have been growing insanely! It blows my mind how quickly they grow. My spinach leaves should have been cut a couple of weeks ago. They're HUGE now! We really need to take a picture of everything. Our two strawberry plants have already given us several delicious strawberries.



Our first picks:



More strawberries on the way!



A male gold finch at one of our feeders. The cats love to quietly watch them from their window seat.



So that's a little bit of our simple pleasures in life right now.

Tomorrow, there is a massive parking lot sale hosted by the newspaper Matt works for, so we're going to hit it up to see if we can find any bargains, particularly for baby Richards. It's difficult to buy much at this time, as it will be 7 more weeks until we find out the gender of our little turkey. We were able to see baby again this week, and every time, it's just sooooo wonderful. It warms my heart in ways I cannot express. I love the little one more and more every time I see its little blobby image. We can't wait to meet him/her! I am so thankful with each passing day to carry this precious one inside of me.

We're also excited about the farmers' market in Cramerton starting up in a couple more weeks. We're definitely having a good time exploring things around Gastonia.

a walk in the park - a memorial park, that is.

I don't usually make it a habit of going to cemeteries to take photos - I promise.

Matt and I may be a little strange (or a lot), but a couple of weeks ago, we stopped by Gaston Memorial Park.

Yes, a cemetery.

Thankfully, our time there wasn't to honor the passing of a friend. I suggested we drive through because there were some beautiful dogwoods in bloom, and I was curious to see the grounds of this massive memorial park that first opened in 1946.

When out and about in Gastonia, we frequently pass by this cemetery, and even still, it overwhelms me every time I look over at its magnitude. I can't imagine how many people must be buried there. And nearly every time we pass by, there is at least one, usually more, green funeral tents set up for a recent death. I get a little sad each time I see this, though I have come to expect it. I guess it makes the reality of people dying every day more real to me.

Ok, my point with this post isn't to be depressing, so I'll move on.

Matt and I have both always been interested in looking at grave markers and seeing what you can learn about a complete stranger. We like looking at the age differences between husbands and wives to see who "robbed the cradle" and such things. And it's always heartwarming to see couples who live to their 80s and pass away close together. You know that their love must have been so strong that they couldn't take being apart after spending such long lives together. We always say we want to be one of those couples some day.

We like finding interesting names and groups of families all together in their final resting places. It's neat to see a picture of something, like a fisherman or pet, on a tombstone - you know what that person's biggest interests were. Or bible verses, quotes, and other special writing. (One grave marker said, "How YOU doin'?" for a gentleman who passed away at a young age. We knew right then that he had a sense of humor.

At Gaston Memorial Park, the majority of graves appear to have silk flowers accompanying them. When walking through, I was curious to know if family members do this for their loved ones, or if the grounds workers there take on this task. I felt sad for the ones we saw who had no flowers and whose grave markers were covered in dirt. Had they been forgotten by loved ones? Maybe all of their loved ones had passed and there was no one left to remember them.

Anyway, it was an interesting learning experience on a warm, breezy April afternoon. It was very quiet and peaceful. We managed not to fall into the lake in the middle of the grounds there while talking with the geese. We also saw two mallards mating there. Wow. That was interesting. Thought I stepped into an episode on the Discovery Channel for a minute.

This was some of the wisteria at the memorial park.



Does Matt still qualify as a child?

there's a first time for everything

It's April Fool's Day, but I won't try to fool you because I've never been able to pull off any good April Fool's Day jokes.

Instead I'll just tell you some highlights from the week so far.

We've taken advantage of the beautiful sunny weather the past few days and have been busy doing some fun stuff, which is why I haven't blogged in a few days.

We purchased our first home last year, and I'm all about the outdoor flowers this spring. I've always loved the idea of having your very own flowers and plants in your very own yard. Now, that's a reality for us, so of course I wanted to run out and buy flowers. My mom has always had good luck with impatiens [side note: I've always thought these were called impatients, but according to the faithful Internet, that's just an incorrect spelling. Lesson learned for the day.], so I've been waiting impatiently (no pun intended) for the stores to get them in stock.

Matt and I checked out this cool nursery/florist/gardening/everything place in downtown Gastonia called Ford's Seeds. It was awesome, especially because they had impatiens! A flat of flowers was $10.99 (nice price!), so we bought salmon and hot pink colored impatiens and marigolds (had to let Matt pick out something). We also bought a few more vegetables for our garden.

Matt is my official carrier when shopping, so he kindly carried the flowers to the car.



When we got home, we planted our new vegetables. (The flowers waited until the next day.) Matt loves when I put him to work. He's very cooperative as long as he gets to sit down on the job. Here he is looking mighty busy (cough cough). Hey, at least he's still smiling at this point.




I had to fulfill my wifely duties and lay down the law with my shovel when he wanted a break. This is a break-free zone, Matt! Back to work!



Just kidding! I'm not THAT hard on him.

This week, we also checked out Martha Rivers Park. I asked Matt, "Hey, doesn't Martha Rivers make flour?" He said, "No, that's Martha White." Guess I can't keep my Marthas straight. This park is huge with a walking trail, several ball fields, a picnic area, and a big fort area where children can play. Matt planned to push a small boy to the side and take over the fort castle, but I stopped him from entering the play area before all the mommies had a chance to start glaring at him. (Ok, I may be getting a little far-fetched now.)

Anyway, we started walking around the trail when I noticed a large patch of clover. I mentioned how there must be some four-leaf clovers in an area of that much clover. Matt said he had never seen (in person) or found a four-leaf clover.

WHAT?

Everyone must have this experience at least once in their life (and this is a good excuse to be lazy at this moment). We stopped walking, plopped down on the ground, and started our search. I found two or three first and showed him but told him he'd have to find one on his own for it to be official.

Sure enough, he found one.



Conquering the world. One four-leaf clover at a time.



Something else I learned on our little outing: these things are gum balls from a sweet gum tree. Matt, of course, was my source of information on this (as always). He's the true human encyclopedia.



The weather is going to continue being gorgeous for the next several days. Makes me so excited. Bring on the vitamin D!

like a good neighbor, their dog is there

What a day it's been so far! It feels like it should be dark already because Matt and I have been up since a little before 9 a.m. That's a rare thing for us!

And there's only one good reason to ever wake up early: FOOD!

We woke up at the crack of dawn (or something like that) for some tasty pancakes and sausage at Applebee's to support a fundraiser for the children's department at New Hope Baptist Church where we've been attending. It was lots of fun with good food and good people!

After our bellies were ready to explode, we headed over to Wal-Mart to pick up the smallest Smithfield ham we could find for our little Easter dinner next week. My family and I always eat with our extended family at my grandmother's house on Easter, and this will be the first year I'll miss that. Man, there's nothing like my grandmother's potato salad! Matt won't touch most things with the word "salad" in the name, except for an actual salad, so I don't ever make anything like that.

That's the negative thing about living away from your family - holidays are no longer the same. Our families both live four to five hours away from us but in opposite directions. It would be cool to have a private jet and easily travel whenever we'd like, but a jet isn't exactly in our budget right now (maybe next year).

Anyway, so when we got back home, Matt was really dreading the work I had planned out for him in our garden-to-be. I guess Matt's getting a taste of what a "honey-do list" really is! Like I said in a previous post, the poor guy doesn't like physical labor. When my parents were in town, I dug up the dirt in a section of the backyard for the future garden. The ground was still wet, so my dad said to let everything dry out before we broke up the chunks of dirt. That was of course music to Matt's musical ears.

Matt's been singing his excuse song ("The dirt needs to dry out more") all week, but through the huffs and puffs and sighs, he finally agreed to get started! He got the mattock out and was working so hard! For five minutes. Then I felt sorry for his worn out looking face and took over for a bit. We took turns until all the big chunks of clay mud were busted up. We added some garden soil with the help of the neighbor's dog (thanks for the extra fertilizer, buddy).

Now it's ready for plants and seeds. We'll see what happens. If all else fails, I'll turn it into a flower bed.

Here's Matt in action:



And here's me adding some Tennessee flare to it (barefoot style!):



Can you believe I got two blisters on my hand from that? I don't know how real gardeners do this stuff! Notice the neighbor's grass behind me. So pretty and green. We're trying to grow anything - green or not in the backyard. That's what all the hay is for.

This was taken after we added all the bags of garden soil. Matt's holding the rake, but I did all the raking. Hey, I have to make him look good, right?



Like I said, the neighbor's dog helped too.



And she apparently couldn't remember where she lived when we were finished.



And now my hard working husband's work at home is done. He's probably relieved to now be at his desk job. I tease him a lot on this blog, but he really is a good helpmate! Life wouldn't be so awesome without him. I am totally blessed!

Don't tell Matt, but I'm relieved the digging is over with too!

home sweet home

Time for some before and after photos from the results of the yard work. The green thumb is going strong, but that's always the case with new plants. Ask me in a few months, and things may have gone from green to brown.

Unless you're willing to pay extra for "upgraded" landscaping, everyone knows there's one word that best describes the landscaping done by your builder: LAME. (In all caps, just like that.)

Combine that with soggy red clay mud (wow, it's actually worse here than in Tennessee!) and you have epic LAME! The test of time will tell us how well our new (and old) plants will hold up in these horrific soil conditions.

Nevertheless, here are the before shots. Oh, and I finally figured out how to change the picture size so that it won't get cut off by the margin. Don't I feel dumb!



I added the pansies as soon as Spring fever overcame me. Don't you just love brown bushes that are supposed to be evergreen? Oops, guess that's what happens when they're dead. There was some dark green ground cover that looked like big clumps of grass in the front area. When it dies back during winter, it looks like half the flowerbed is empty.

Water puddled all the time by the gutter drain which made this flowerbed even more of a water wasteland. When we removed some of the bushes, water was puddled below them. Note to the average Joe homeowner: clay soil retains water worse than a baby diaper! Pampers should seriously do some research on using clay in their product.




I didn't like how the four bushes in the back didn't line up with the windows. I guess they're in line with the holly tree on the end, but that tree matches the one on the other end of the house. And of course there's more half dead or completely dead evergreen things in the front.

Oh, and I must say, I loathe pine needles! Everyone around here has them, but they are so annoying! They'll poke you so much you'll think you're at the doctor's office, and they're not easy to shift around when you're working in the flowerbeds.

Here's what it looks like after all the work:



Mulch! Bye bye pine straw!! Took care of the drainage problem with a big plastic black tube thing (how's that for technical?). Saved the three evergreen bushes that looked half way alive and kept all of the holly bushes. Added two bushes in the back that are supposed to get huge (we'll have to cut them back). Sorry I can't remember what they're called. Matt keeps up with that part. Added some euonymous, nandina, and the yellowish-green things that looks like bushy hair.

Matt put together the bistro set that we got at Lowes on sale for $70. Not bad. The ferns we added make me think of home in Tennessee. Mom always has ferns.


Realigned the holly bushes in the back. Not sure about the spacing with the two in the middle close together, but eventually, they should look like one big bush. A big white pipe for the sewer limited us some what on where we could place them. We added more of the same bushes from the other side except we also added another type of small holly bush. Since the other hollies have done well, we figured it might be good to try some more since they don't seem to mind the bad soil.

Here's the overall look. Much more homey now!

ready for retirement

No, I'm not referring to my parents (though they're getting closer to retirement) ... I'm referring to Matt and me. Ever since I have known Matt, he has called himself "Old Man Richards" (and that was back when he was 25). He feels even older now. I'm starting to really believe he's old.

Though I think he just doesn't like physical labor.

Then again, neither do I. I guess that's why Matt and I were like two broken down old mules working outside of our house this past week. I have muscles sore in my body that I didn't even know I had. The ironic part is that my parents did 90% of the yard work and are about 25-30 years older than us.

Here we are in the prime of our lives - aching, stiff, and sore from a little bit of labor. My dad used to sing a little song to my great-grandmother to tease her. The song went:

The old gray mare,
She ain't what she used to be
Ain't what she used to be,
Ain't what she used to be
The old gray mare,
She ain't what she used to be
Many long years ago.

I think this song fits Matt and I very well, minus the fact that we're not gray (yet) and not mares. We sure ain't what we used to be. Then again ... neither of us have been known for our awesome abilities at labor. Ok, I guess that song doesn't really fit us after all, but this blog post made me think of it.

Fortunately for Matt, he had to work (at his desk job) and missed out on the majority of the work outside (which my dad made sure to make note of). He loves teasing Matt (well, everyone else too). I didn't really have a good excuse, but I did get our little garden started. We ran out of time, so it'll have to be finished at a later date. (Pictures to follow later).

So our physical labor experience made me realize we need to stick to desk jobs or retire early. Since our 401K's probably couldn't keep us up for the next 40+ years ... desk jobs it is. (Maybe they'll lower the starting age for Social Security to 35?!).

Oh well. Nevertheless, here are a few pictures from our adventure. (You can click on the photo to see the entire photo if the side margin cuts it off.)

My dad supervising at the moment:



I think when I took this picture, mom was saying, "It'll be obvious who did the work when you're not in any of the pictures." Don't listen to her though (or the photo evidence) ... I really did help!




This last little jewel is for our friends Gailen and Melanie. I think you'll find multiple parts of the photo humorous:



In all seriousness, I am blessed with two great, supportive parents who would do anything for me or my brother. I don't give them credit nearly often enough for their kind hearts and willingless to always lend a hand over and over again. If you know them, you know what I mean. They have sacrificed and done so much to give me a better life than I deserve. I thank God for them and know that wonderful parents is a true gift that not every one is fortunate enough to have. Matt and I are very thankful to both have awesome parents. His parents fit exactly what I said about my parents.

Ok, enough of the mushy stuff. Can't decide what to blog about next. Think it will be food related though. Stay tuned!

This aint no walk in the park

I realized two things yesterday. (Yes, only two ... I already know most everything else, obviously.)

#1 - If I sit down next to daffodils, sneezing is definite.

#2 - Cat fur will always find its way to someone's face.

Matt and I journeyed across town to Lineberger Park yesterday to stroll around and enjoy the warm weather. The park was pretty busy, and I thought Matt would have to leave me lying part way up a rather steep hill as we headed up it. So much for the gym!

I love parks because they are fun and free [(insert "Sound of Music" song) these are a few of my favorite things (/song)]. There's nothing quite like holding the hand of the one you love as you breathe in the Spring-like scenery together - especially when that Spring-like scenery causes epic sneezes that not only drown you and your significant other in a rain of allergies but also leave you with a germy hand to place in his. Ah, germs. So great to share!

I snapped this photo of Matt while hanging out in the daffodils:



Any time Matt hears or sees a group of odd words, he always follows it up by saying, "I want to be in a band called [whatever the odd words are]." For instance, he saw a menorah on sale at Ross Dress for Less after Christmas, and he said, "I want to be in a band called 'Half-price Menorah.'" He's also mentioned before being in a band called "Cardboard Cheese Alliance." Anyway, I think this picture would be a good one for the cover of his first album for his weird band name.

And some daffodils:



Mmm, breathe in that pollen goodness. I like to think of them as yellow Gonzos (think Muppet Babies - or as I said in childhood "Muffet Babies"). I can hardly wait until my car magically turns from red to yellow overnight. Nothing like a fresh coat of pollen to start your day.

Though I must admit, the allergies that accompany Spring are well worth the beauty we get to experience every year at this time. It's the time I want to be outdoors the most because I sweat like a greasy cheeseburger at Krystal's during the summer months.

I like to refer to myself as being naturally insulated, and well, I can't exactly shed my skin when it warms up. Oddly enough, my cats must think I need MORE insulation since they kindly grace me with their leftover fur. They have such a spirit of giving. (Did I mention the hairball one of my sweet furballs left behind for me in the bathroom yesterday?) I haven't pinpointed the source just yet of how I can't ever seem to remove all of the fur from my face when it finds its way there, but I think I've got it figured out.

Here's the low down: On a few occasions, I caught the kitties looking up at me wide-eyed in the midst of my crafting supplies. Those sneaky fur machines must have taken glue from my craft stash and added it to those little wisps of fur they donate to me. How else could it stick to me constantly?

And now you know. And with that, I have one more park picture to leave you with. Ever wonder what happens to the Olympic rings when the Olympics are over? They send them to Matt for safe keeping, of course!



OOPS! He lost the black ring! DOH!!!

It's not easy being green.

Kermit the frog was right. It truly isn't easy being green.

Except for that time I stuck my hands in the lime jello mix while preparing it, I've never had a green thumb. Don't get me wrong - I don't kill plants every time I breathe on them. I'm just simply "average" when it comes to plant care. As for yard care, well, I wouldn't know where to begin.

My fifth sneeze today reminded me that Spring is here unofficially and nearly here officially. Ok, I'll admit it ... it wasn't only the sneezing that clued me in. Seeing neighbors who already have perfectly green lawns makes me turn green (everywhere except my thumbs, oddly enough) with envy.

I put on my best neighbor-stalking disguise and drove by one of the particular yards I'm referring to for a picture. There was a shadow on most of the yard, but you can still see how green it is. How does it look so great in March?



With St. Patrick's Day approaching (if anyone knows green, it's St. Patty!), I'm hoping the luck of the Irish (or rather, my parents) will find their way to our yard and flower beds. Oh wait, my parents are mostly German. Anyway, they'll be heading our way this week to visit and help with mulching flower beds and seeding grass. As a side note, they'll also be delivering a large canvas print Matt and I ordered of a wedding photo taken by Hope Photography. We're pretty excited to see it.

I don't think it involves your yard and plants when you "go green," but hopefully we'll be green all over this year for more than just March 17th. If not, there's always next year!