Child Proof

I'm a Sidewalk Surfer

Aren't these shoes cute? I've wanted them for a couple of years now, and tonight the Des Crew headed out to go spend a gift card. Imagine my surprise when I found the last pair of these babies...one size too big. I took them to the customer service guy and he looked them up for me. He determined that there might be one pair left in Berkeley, California, but I would have to have the customer service desk call and confirm.
I took my little slip to the front desk and she called California. I admit, I was concerned that some California girl was already wearing my shoes, but I remained hopeful.
The call took over ten minutes during which we (yes, "we." I bonded with that CSR tonight!) got put on hold and transferred three times and I got sent back to the shoe department to grab the pair that was too big, and then the computer froze up, and everybody panicked because the store closed ten minutes ago, but in the end, the Berkeley store is sending my new shoes to Roseville early next week. I got the very last pair in the entire company. The whole country. Maybe even the whole world.

The Grand Pickle

In my opinion, cucumbers are the lemmings of vegetables. The guys that no one really notices and take on the flavor of whoever they're hanging out with. If the onions want to jump off a cliff, so will the cucumbers. I guess it's safe to say that God created cucumbers to take on strong flavors in order to make them actually enjoyable.
That being said: I think it is important to confess that I will eat just about anything if you put enough vinegar on it (insert joke here).
Also, I have hated plain cucumbers my entire life.
So...when I lost my marbles and planted two cucumber plants in the garden this spring, it became necessary for me to figure out to do with all these cukes.
Obviously, the answer is to pickle whatever cukes I can pry out of my husband's greedy little fingers. I found a recipe for Spicy Refrigerator Dills on allrecipes.com and knew they were the pickles for me!

Everything I need...Chop!

Stir!

Let sit at room temperature for two hours.

Fill jars.Cute, huh?
Label and refrigerate for ten days.

Garden Update: For Real

I am finally able to post an update on our garden! I am so proud of it...I couldn't narrow down the photos. Please indulge me while I share.

First, for posterity, here is a picture of the front of our house. The Snap Dragons haven't really filled in like I had imagined...and they are not variegated like I thought they would be, but they look pretty cute!The garden! I just can't believe how it has taken off! I took these pictures five days ago, and even now, the cucumbers have continued to grow and the tomatoes are bigger than ever.Early Girls.
Strawberries.Bell peppers.
Heirloom: Lemon Boys.

Beautiful basil.

Beets for pickling.

Jalapeno.

Heirloom: Cherokee Purple.

"Beefy support" for my aggressive killer cucumbers.

This guy is currently being pickled.

These guys were turned into cucumber salad.

Pretty!

Richard's garden stone. Shirley made one, too, but surprisingly, it can not support the weight of a mommy stepping on it. Or maybe it's not surprising.

Romas.

Better Boys.

Will there come a time when I can't remember what we did or didn't do with a specific vegetable? I hope not! The day after I took these pictures, the tomatoes sustained a lot of wind damage. They drooped over and got completely tangled. They are looking better, but I was pretty worried for a couple of days. The truth is, this is just a TINY fraction of the tomatoes we're going to have and if some don't survive I'll still have tomatoes coming out my ears.

I just can't imagine what it must have been like to have to grow food for your family and depend on the family garden for a whole year's worth of food! I think about pioneer women, and women like my great-grandmothers who tended gardens every year in order to feed their families. I am so thankful that if this doesn't work out I can still go to the grocery store for fresh, healthy food!

New Computer

Richard: You should take the plastic off the cover.
Erin: No!
R: Are you gonna take the stickers off?
E: No!
R: Can I open the battery?
E: No!
R: Why?
E: Then it's not new anymore!
R: You're crazy.
E: Why don't you just sneeze on it and break it in.

I'm a heavy.

Sometimes when one of us has a headache, it feels really good to have the other lift straight up on our heads to relieve some of the strain in the neck. I'm sure we are a chiropractic nightmare, but, hey. It helps. Last night, I asked Richard to do this for me.
Richard, lifting: Grunt, strain, grunt.
Erin: The human head is heavy, isn't it?
Richard: Well, actually, I think it's all the other stuff attached to the head that makes it heavy.
Erin: Are you calling me fat?
Richard: I, uh...um, wait. Ah. Um. Oh, I uh... What?

Garden update...sort of.

I am unable to upload pictures of my garden lately, so you'll just have to trust me when I say that it is OUT. OF. CON. TROL.
Getting pretty excited around here.
Gotta go look up pickling recipes.
HOPEFULLY, pictures coming soon!

What Harry Potter Means to Me

So...I went at midnight last night to see the last ever Harry Potter movie.
It was funny: as the movie drew to a close, I couldn't help but feel sad. Harry and I have been friends for a long time. Longer than I've known my husband. Longer than I was in high school. Or college. Longer than I've been a parent. Or known who I want to be when I grow up. We have a history.
Say what you want about the Harry Potter books, but something much bigger is going on here for me. Something bigger than the story on paper. His story has become a part of mine, simply because he's been here all this time. There are other characters that are a part of me--Kinsey Millhone, Anne Shirley, Emily of New Moon, Nancy Drew, Jose and Ursula from *One Hundred Years of Solitude*, and Clay from *Memoirs of a Demon.* I know they aren't real, but I carry them with me and always will.
As an adult, the books that have made a lasting impression on me are fewer and far between than when I was a child. A book that lives and breathes and grows with you is a rare and cherished thing.
I have felt for a long time that God shows his abounding love for me in fictional literature. He created me this way--to read and write and enjoy. I am so thankful for his intricate planning and love for me that I can find such joy in the written word and turn my face to him while doing it.
Anyway, Harry, I'll miss you. It's been a good run.

There's a parenting analogy here somewhere.

Here's why gardening is so satisfying:
You put the plants where you want them.
You can cage many of them, and tie others to stakes to ensure proper growth.
It's approximately a one-hour-per-day commitment.
Water daily.
Feed weekly.
Allow time to grow.
Shelter from cold.
Protect from pests.
Produce fruits.
Take the winter off.

Deck!

What's this? ANOTHER home improvement project? You got that right. We are on a roll.
Our deck formerly had an incredibly ugly privacy "screen" on two of its corners, protecting us from the prying eyes of our neighbors. Here's the thing, though: there's nothing to see but an ugly privacy screen. Our house sits so far back from the street and other houses that we are fairly secluded and have no need for the ugly thing.

Once again, I forgot to take a real "before" picture, but looking at this, you can probably get the idea.

Finished tearing down.
Pedro's checking out Richard's work.

Tear down from a different angle.

Helping Daddy build!

Two sides finished. Third railing almost fabricated.

The Richards.

Finished!

Next weekend's project will be to paint the deck all the same color as the fence, and then I think we may be--dare I say it?--finished with our big projects for the summer.

More Projects

Our neighbor gave me a flat of Snapdragons last week and said, "I think these would look great in front of your house."
Subtle, right?
Not one to look a gift dragon in the mouth, however, I got to work.

First, I had a hosta to plant.
Before:

After.

Before the Snapdragons:

After.
They will grow to be 18-36 inches high and be very colorful in front of the house. I can't wait to see them in full bloom!

Updates to follow!

Satisfaction!

Little else has given us as much satisfaction on this project as what we accomplished today:

We finally got rid of the pile of sand and the pile of busted up concrete today. In 100 degree weather, no less. YEAH! Also, you would not BELIEVE the creatures we found living in our pile of concrete. It's been less than a week! I should charge Toad Rent.

Little else has given us as much satisfaction as getting rid of the sand and concrete... Except maybe this:
These are my sunflowers. They are literally tripled in size from this time yesterday. This is so exciting!

Urban Experiment: Raised Garden Edition

When we moved in to our house, there was a hot tub in the back yard. We kept it for about a year and then sold the stupid thing. What a pain in the rear. After that, though, we ended up with an empty cement slab threatening the safety of our family and friends. Richard and I have been talking about what to do with it for a long time, and this spring we finally decided to tear it out and build a vegetable garden.
Here is a photo journal of each step of the back-breaking project. I don't really feel like they convey the amount of work that went into each step, but aside from being able to make YOU lift a shovel, I guess I won't be satisfied that you truly understand.
I only wish we had thought to take a picture of the slab in its original state, but I forgot until it was too late.

This is what was left underneath the slab off concrete.

Here is the pile of concrete...anybody need clean-ish fill?
Under the cement slab we found a startling amount of sand and rock. In order to reuse the landscaping rock we had to build a rock sifter and sift out the sand into the wheelbarow. The day pictured here was the day after it had rained, so every. single. shovelful was very heavy.
We tore out the wooden walkway leading to the gate. We will use the sifted rock to make a path to the gate with decorative pavers. More photos of that project to follow.
The neighbor graciously gave us left over black dirt from his order. It was so nice of him!
It saved us a lot of time and money. I paid him back with baked goods. Once we have produce, I will be sure to share with him!It was enough to fill our garden half way!
What a mess!

You can see the rock sifter leaning against the AC unit.

Garden Girl is sitting on the newest wall of the garden. She is an accomplished rock-picker.

DIRT! We were so relieved when this was in. What an accomplished feeling!Shirley and I planted three flats of marigolds to keep away the rabbits! I'm not working this hard to offer snacks to the neighborhood rodents.
Planting the marigolds was sweet and bitter because it brought back memories of my Gram. She always planted marigolds around her garden. I think she would be excited about our effort.
I have also been thinking a lot about my grandpa in Nebraska. His garden always had tomatoes and corn. I have wished several times that I could call him up and ask his advice. I never realized how much growing things would make me think about my loved ones. I can't help but feel like we are connected through the earth in this way. God loves me so much to bless me like this.
Finished marigolds. Green, yellow, red bell peppers and jalapenos.
In the top left corner, I planted carrot, parsnip and beet seeds. The towel is for my poor knees.
Along the top of the photo, to the right of the seeds are four rows of onions. In the top right corner of the garden are two watermelon plalnts. Below those are two cucumber plants. Gross. I'll be planning to give most of these away...unless maybe I decide to make pickles. Maybe I can wear rubber gloves so I don't smell like a cucumber all summer.
In the bottom of the photo here, you can see the beginnings of Tomato Alley. From left to right we have Heirlooms, Grapes, Romas, Early Girls and Better Boys.
Finished planting!
In the center of the garden you can see cilantro, rosemary, basil and Greek oregano. To the top-right of the oregano, marked by a rock are green beans.
Along the deck-edge of the garden, I planted sunflowers. I hope they will grow to be about four feet tall and make a natural barrier between the deck and the garden to keep the four-legged family members out. Caged and fenced.

I know it sounds silly, but I just can't believe food will come from this toil--especially the seeeds! We prayed over our garden that God would be honored in our hard work, and after the enormity of the project I honestly feel like we can take on any project!
We are planning to finally get rid of the sand and cement today or tomorrow, and then we can rake the landscaping rocks into place and have a nice walkway from the deck to the gate. I want to add a few more touches to the garden, and I will post pictures of our progress over the summer. We are all very excited about this change to our back yard.