I love visiting Gary & Elaine

Ever since I met Gary and Elaine I haven't stopped laughing...I know you will enjoy them as much as I do...Gary & Elaine from Catalog Living.

good day L.A.

Recently Sky and decided to go on an adventure to L.A.  This adventure has begun a new work in our hearts.  We found an amazing church to attend and spend the rest of the day talking and eating and wandering--it feels so European.  Here are some photos from our day.

smiley.

silly.

a heart from the cute boys at intelligentsia, ty.

rad logo.

Sky, street.

thoughts on a run.....

1. oh dear....is that a shin splint?  shoot...I guess it's been a while, but seriously?! f.
2. oh good for them...kettle bells...hmmm I wonder what those actually work, I feel like if you used them wrong you could throw your back out.....
3.  oh yeah! down hill...
4.  smiled a "hi" at older woman
5. doot-da-doot-da-do....ahhh!/eww! (bug in eye-ball)
6. just remembered why I wear sun-glasses when I run...what a stupid bug...
7. okay, stretching time...that's a lot of ants...I wonder if those ants are getting drunk from that broken beer bottle?...I wonder what ants do when they are drunk...I wonder what would be worse: sober ants or drunk ants?
8. yes, 4 mile run it is ....
9. (looking over Jamboree bridge) I wish I had someone with me to share this with--so fricking beautiful! Wow, I live here?! 
10. hey, that girl looks like Kathleen's sister...what was her name?...what was her name?--I should know her name....I can see her face...I totally forgot.
11. yes!  this feels okay--way to catch up legs!
12. ugh, a hill...I hate hills....you can do it...little bit further....if she can do it, you can totally do it....yea! made it, home stretch.

Look how her garden grows!

It's been a while my friends, but while I've been busy at work my little garden has been flourishing.  Due to my garden consultant, Carrie Dunn, it has been properly pruned and maintained.  I have been able to harvest radishes, strawberries, basil, and soon lettuce and string beans! Below you will see some highlights from this week.

In order to grow in my gardening skills I began attending edible gardening classes at Roger's Garden and have been learning all sorts of interesting things...ie. there are no organic pesticides to kill grasshoppers...great...and that I will have to "breed"/"mate" my corn crop (good thing I have two!--don't want to have incestuous corn).

  

string beans

corn

lettuce

     radish about to be picked

                                                  

harvested radish

tomatoes--waiting patiently for them to turn yellow

(yellow pear tomatoes)

I'm currently taking suggestions and requests for fall and winter growth.

Weeks later....

Okay kids, it's been a while, but well worth the wait.  After some some serious encouragement by my gardening mentor, we set out to make and plant the raised garden bed.  Much to Simon's surprise we did successfully build the raised garden box by ourselves (please see picture No.1, followed by picture No.2).  


After some sweat, a lot of hard dirt, bugs and battling the monstrosity that is the lavender bush, we managed  to plant a beautiful little garden.  We did purchase two strawberry plants, a basil plant, rosemary, and a sweat pea plant that impersonated a cantaloupe plant (ahem, I didn't realize that some plants are liars...or maybe he is like the duck that thought he was a chicken in the movie "Babe"....the sweat pea plant that wanted to be a cantaloupe plant....I digress.  Anyways, everything you see and will continue to see sprouting is grown from seed.  Also, on either side of my raised box are tomato plants along with corn growing along the fence.


I truly could not have done this without my dear gardening expert and extraordinaire, Carrie Dunn.  I promised you my first cantaloupe, but seeing as it is a sweat pea--you get those, not as exciting I know...I owe you!  Thank you soooooooooooo much! 


I am so excited to see these little guys grow!

Photo No. 1: Birthday gift from the Dunns!!!

Photo No. 2: Before

Photo No. 3: After

Photo No. 4: Aerial view of garden bed

Photo No. 5: Carrie Dunn, Garden Extraordinaire

Photo No. 6: dirt encrusted hands

Seeds Planted (5.23.10):

carrots

radishes

romaine lettuce

baby lettuce

peas

onions

quote of the day

process

God has been taking me through a huge growing process in the last seven or eight months.  It's as though He just flipped a switch in me and changed my heart again, made a little space in there that He was going to move into in a big way.  I'm sharing this to share my excitement and a little apprehension for what I know is coming.  I have been experiencing the freedom He wants me to have in His Son.  The longings and yearning of my heart have been changing and I won't say that it's been easy, but the Lord has been there every step of the way, revealing Himself and His steadfast love for me through everything.

Garden Update: week 2

So this last weekend, I got motivated to rip out some more weeds--this was no easy task...after 2 hours bent over pulling out weeds, my back and knees were hating me. But I did clear almost a 2' by 2' foot area (there were a lot of weeds okay).  Much more weeding to come...and garden re-shaping.  See pictures below...

Also, garden questions:

1. Are "rolly pollies" (pill bugs) good for a garden, because there are a ton of these in mine.

2. In picture number 3 below you might notice a grasshopper taunting me by sitting on my tomato plant--how can I get him to leave?!

3. Carrie, I will totally need your expertise with getting rid of bugs (ants, spiders, pincher bugs) there are a lot of these in the dirt.  I did come across 1, yes only 1, worm--they are good right?!  Also, I have bees--bees are good. 

1. Yard, before picture.

2. Weed clearing--doesn't look very impressive. (Also, please note the plastic 

pot I threw at the grasshopper that flew onto my tomato plant--I will win!).

3. Grasshopper.