My Garden

This is the view from the patio. Those two containers in front were an attempt at some extra tomatoes. I've had great luck with tomatoes in containers before but this time I messed it up. I used plain soil in there so it's all compacted now, and the container is too small. The plants are still the same size as this picture but at least they are sprouting some tomatoes now. Oh, and on the left side of the table is another tomato plant. Also in a small containter but that one is a mix of dirt and compost so it's growing much better (no tomatoes yet though).

In the back is the main square foot garden and to the left, the square foot garden box for the carrots we tried to grow last year. Carrots never work for me.




A close up shot. Those are trellises for the cukes and beans. The beans look like they're not going to give us anything. I think I started them too late. These cukes don't have any fruit yet, but they do have flowers.

To the left is tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes. Go ahead and guess what my favorite veggie is ;-)






This small box was the carrot attempt last year. Over the winter I put some compost in this one and the other one. This one ended up sprouting a very robust and happy cucumber and a tomato plant that is also doing really well. In the front on the left is some parsley that is wilting.



That's a little ceramic mushroom I made with my friend Christine on a mom's day out a year ago (more?). Those are crazy big cucumber leaves over it. I thought that plant was a pumpkin for awhile!




One more view of the garden with the trellises. The one on the right Robert made last year copying one I saw online. The ones on the left he made this year. A lot easier to make, take up less space and just as effective.


The garden does get full sun but only for about 4 hours a day (I think? I need to time it). Other than cutting down some trees (joking!) we're not getting more where it is now. If I put a garden in the middle of the yard it might get more but then, well, it will be in the middle of the yard. It's pretty lush looking right now, just that the beans aren't producing, melons never grow, carrots fail miserably and peppers are a total crap shoot.

But tomatoes and cucumbers I can do :-) Well, except for last year when the cukes came out really, REALLY bitter for no apparent reason. But this year I'm happy so far.

I'm now the mom of *two* swimmers!

Owen has been swimming with a floaty suit for years. Recently we realized he had sized out of them. He got two runs in his suit at the hotel pool in May and the suit was getting a little small anyway so he and Robert went out to buy a new one. That's when they found that they only go up to the size he's in.

So the other day I asked if he'd like to try swimming without a float suit and he said sure. We figured if he hated it we'd just squeeze him back into the floaty.

We went today and oh my - within about 10 minutes, he was swimming, really swimming. He's not a strong doggy paddler (but can do it!) but by the time we left he was able to swim from one end of the pool to the other on his back. He *loves* swimming underwater too. We played a game where he pretended he fell off a boat and I would throw him in the air and he'd go under then come up and swim to the side. The boy had an awesome time.

I did make sure to tell them both that you still need supervision when swimming. I told them that the only person I know who drowned was an adult who was a strong swimmer (he was swimming in the ocean after hours) so yeah, no one should swim alone.

But while watching him today I was thinking how swimming is like reading. No lessons, just let the kid play in the water for years and then, one day, he's ready. Owen is not like Bridget and doesn't mind teaching so yeah, we did give him some pointers and instruction, but seriously, 10 minutes and he was doing it. It wasn't us, it was him. Basically, he was ready and it clicked ;-)

I'm so stoked :-D

Because I don't have enough hobbies already . . .

I took my first yoga class today.

Ok, before anyone thinks I'm a little loose with the money, I feel compelled to mention that all of these classes are free with Y membership. I can sign up for every single one and not pay anything over what we already pay for the family membership. And even if we just went to the pool like we've been doing, the family membership would definitely be worth the price so having all these classes offered for free is just gravy.

So today I took the kids swimming and while there I happened to check out the free class schedule. I hadn't realized there was a yoga class tonight. And it was a perfect time for my schedule - 6-7. So I made dinner for the peeps and then ran out without eating to give it a try.

Holy crap! Yoga in a class is nothing like at home. I figured that out when I stopped briefly to wipe the sweat off the back of my neck and put my hair up. It was really fun. I couldn't do everything right (though from what I could see, no one else could either) but I did enough that I had fun and will be back next friday.

And, um, I think I'm going to add in the other yoga class on wednesday after meditation (different teacher). So that means I'll be at the Y four days in a row. I'm doing it all now because #1 Robert is not teaching right now so I have time (and someone to watch the kids) and #2 Summer is my season baby! I feel great lately. All perky and energetic and ready to go, go, go! :-)

Now I just gotta work on my plan to get to sleep earlier. I read something somewhere (TCM?) about how getting to sleep by 10 is important for, um, adrenals? Or thyroid? All I can remember is that it seemed to fit me when I read it. I'm not really a follower of TCM but I did try that suggestion and whadyaknow - I actually slept less and felt more rested when I got up. But of course, after a few weeks, I slipped back into my night owl(ish) habits. Yeah. Here I am at 10 at night writing this. Guess I'm not going to be asleep by 10 tonight, huh? ;-)