One Lone Potato - Or in other words "Gardening"

 Last fall I actually cleaned out the entire garden.  I usually just let things die and then leave it until spring.  Then it takes a week or two to clean out all the fall stuff, PLUS the new weeds that have grown waist high.  Last fall after harvest I cleaned out everything...and then put black plastic down over the entire garden, except the strawberry patch and the new raspberry patch.  It was an experiment to see if I could keep the weeds down.

This is my new raspberry patch.  LOVE raspberries!  I transplanted some from a friend and prayed they would grow - and grow they did!  This is the new growth so far this year.

Two years ago I planted a potato crop, which come that fall I believed had failed.  Last year I had a bunch of volunteer potatoes!  I thought I had cleaned them all out last fall, but this lone potato plant, struggling to reach the sun, lived.

When I pulled back the black plastic, a lone potato had grown above ground.  It is small, but seems to be good to eat!  No worm holes or anything.

 
Strawberry plants.  Seems like sort of a small patch, but it really produces a bunch of small berries. Someday I want this whole corner filled.

And voila!  It worked!  I was SO excited to pull the plastic and find nothing but brown dirt ready for planting.  The green you see at the right are the dahlia bulbs David bought me several years ago.  I pulled back the plastic from them earlier this spring so they would grow.

This year I put in forget-me-nots (Sami's favorite flower), sweet williams (my favorite), small pumpkins, melons, cukes, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, broccoli.  We'll see what happens!

Thought for the week:  Don't judge.  Even if you think you know what someone else is going through you don't.  You can't, because you aren't THEM. 

Love!

Poo Patrol

 Our local government (city or county?) decided that all of us living in the Nisqually Watershed Area needed to have our septic checked on a regular basis.  Fair enough...so we decided that instead of paying someone to do the checking, Dan would take the 6 hour class to learn how to do the checking.  He actually learned a lot - and made his own "poo stick".  David and Dan successfully discovered the septic needs to be pumped. Ick.

 Newby thought it would be great to roll around in the grass while the poo patrol was working.   He couldn't get enough of rolling back and forth...crazy dog.

 This flower keeps on coming back.  I tried to transplant it, but it didn't live.  Instead it returned in full glory, bigger than before.

Spring is definitely here.  The rose out front has bloomed and is a beautiful red color. The temperature has been mild and the rain has started to fade.  The dahlias in the garden are coming up, the strawberries and raspberries are growing like crazy.  Love this time of year!

Mother's Day May 11, 2014

Each year about this time I think about getting flowers for the boxes out front.  I don't always manage to - some years I don't have the money, some years I don't have the time.  I didn't last year and was disappointed mid summer when I didn't have pretty flowers to look at.  There is something about digging in the soil that doesn't have rocks that is SO satisfying...Anyway, I decided to get flowers this year. A few weeks ago I saw that Costco had flats of petunias - one of my favorites - for $10 a flat.  By the time I got there on Saturday there wasn't much left - so I grabbed two flats, a purple and a white. I dropped by Home Depot and picked up different colors of petunias and some pansies and then hunted for some type of small bush I could put in the middle of one of the planters.   I almost bought a rose, but wanted a different color so I didn't.  I didn't have time to plant them yesterday, so I lined them all up next to the planters to be planted later.  THEN this morning Dan and David  surprized me with a dwarf lilac bush!  I was so excited because I've always wanted a lilac but didn't think I could have one because of their size, and the aforementioned rocks in the yard (makes it hard to dig a hole deeper than a teaspoon).  This afternoon I planted everything.  I am excited to have these beautiful flowers all season long.  I took a picture of the rose because it has sprouted a whole bunch since the last picture - and we have rosebuds!  I think this is the first time it will bloom since we bought it.

I am also excited for work tomorrow - all due to Sami's thoughtful mother's day gift.  She has seen me day in and day out with the phone tucked between my ear and shoulder trying to type at the same time.  It is hard, and I often end up with a sore neck and back.  This morning I received the holy grail for people like me - a blue tooth for my phone!  I am SO excited to try it! 

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Gifts from our Parents

 

I remember when I was young mom complaining that she had a "brown thumb".  She couldn't keep a cactus alive!  She tried and tried though and didn't give up.  Fast forward to today and she is has the ultimate green thumb.  Everything flourishes under her touch and her gardens are beautiful.  When I was a young mother she would visit and couldn't understand why I didn't even have one plant.  I felt like I didn't have enough time in the day to take care of one, so I didn't bother.  Fast forward to today, and I am loving my green friends.  Yesterday I transplanted some plants I received in a beautiful basket given to me when my grandma graduated to the next life (thank you Mike & Julie).  It was fun and I enjoyed digging in the dirt.  I can't wait to garden this year! Thank you mom, for the gift you gave me of loving seeing things grow.  I hope I will be as good as you someday!

 

 

My dad painted these for me as a young married person.  I love them - he definitely has a gift in the arts.  I don't pretend to have this talent, but I love to craft and make something out of nothing.  I do have plans to try to paint someday and am hopeful I will be able to create beautiful pictures like dad does.  Thank you dad, for this gift of art and creating!

 

 

Now I don't have a picture of this next gift, so you'll just have to bear with me.  I have another parent, my dad Don.  He was brought into my life in my early teens - such a hard time of life for most kids.  He taught me perseverance - to work hard and never give up.  To appreciate what you have and love those around you.  I always felt encouraged and supported by him.  Thank you dad, for giving me my "tigger" attitude!

April Flowers

Last fall I pulled all (well, I thought all) the bulbs out of these boxes.  I intended on planting new ones, but never did.  This spring up came these flowers - it was a nice surprise.  I waited too long to take these pictures so they are wilting, but you get the idea.  The rose is doing nicely - I hope it blooms.  If anyone has any ideas on how to get it to do that, please comment.  There Sami and Jackie - did I do good this week?

April 2014

David in his Sunday best - SO HANDSOME! 

Utah/Idaho Trip

April 9 I flew down to Salt Lake to meet Sami and spend a couple of days with her and then to meet David to drive home.  Sami and I had a good time together.  We attended a class together (and I actually was able to participate!), we went to an art exhibit on campus (google "BYU and Sacred Gifts". Simply amazing.) We ate lots of good food and visited with Sami's cousin David (my birthday buddy). We found Sami a good place to live for the next 8 months.  We really accomplished a lot!  Friday morning we drove to Pocatello to meet David.  He had finished his Sophomore year, packed up all of his things, said goodbye to his friends and drove to meet us.  We spent the night in Pocatello - don't eat at Pizza Pie Cafe there not good - and woke up early on Saturday to drive home.  We said goodbye to Sami and we both drove in separate directions.  It took a good 11.5 hours to get home with very brief stops to get gas and something to eat.  I enjoyed spending time with David, I did not enjoy being in the truck that long.  We survived though!