Posts
A while back, I made the decision (aka: stupid mistake) to poke around online at houses. This became a hobby, but a rather pointless one since we cannot buy for a while. As a new independent contractor, my income does not get calculated into our overall income until I've had this income steadily for a while. So, our calculated income for a mortgage then becomes what B makes. This dramatically lowers our purchasing power.
This is very frustrating.
It is even more frustrating when you find the perfect house. It's in a good neighborhood that would only go up in value. It's drivable in bad weather. It has good parking. It's near major roads, but not near enough that you'd hear them or have to worry about them. It has a half acre. Secluded. It's near grocery stores. It has a Craftsman interior and unique exterior. It has enough room that someday, when we have kidlets, we won't have to move because of space. It has a woodstove and a big kitchen. It has a view. It's oriented in a way where the heat would do good things in the winter and it would stay cooler in the summer. It is not a fixer (we don't want a dramatic fixer), but there are a couple of cosmetic things that we could do eventually. It has wood floors, and it's right by our favorite park. We could bike to our works.
It's a pretty damn nifty house.
It gets even niftier and more frustrating when it remains on the market. And then, late last week, the asking price drops by $20k. And, the photos online are clearly staged, meaning no owners currently living there, thus increasing the likelihood of them NEEDING to sell the home.
Drat drat drat.
Even if my income WAS counted, we still would be hesitant. My job is not protected, meaning that if something bad happens, I wouldn't receive unemployment to help me until the next job is obtained. And the job economy isn't great. We need a bit more of a cushion and income security before we obtain a mortgage that would suck up that much of our income.
This makes me want to freeze time. I don't want anyone to buy that house. And, I don't want interest rates to go up. Just freeze both. Wait for us.
Initially, the plan was to wait a few years, gather up a big downpayment, and giving me the time to find and keep a salaried, non-independent contractor, job. But now, with interest rates so low (nearing record levels), we're willing to hurry up the plan, meaning that the thing holding us up is my job.
Dang it.
I hate that feeling. I'm torn. I don't want to hurry up and take just any old job. I want to be happy and make my next move truly permanent. But, I also want to hurry up and FIND ONE because of the housing situation right now. BUT, our current home is perfectly lovely. We don't want to move right away. And as much as we love the for sale house, we *should* know that if the perfect one exists now, another perfect one will exist later. Let's ignore that this is the only house for sale in the neighborhood. No joke.
Drat.
This is what I get for looking at things I cannot have.....
Chooo choo goes the pity party train.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Take off your shoes and wiggle your toes...in our new grass!
I love Craigslist. Well, most of the time. Yesterday was one of those good times. Ad:
"200 square feet of grass. $20." Yes, please. That's about a 70% savings.
Let me note that I did NOT feel like moving grass. I've been very sore recently from hard outdoor garden things. I had wanted to take an easy evening yesterday and build up my potato box. BUT, I could not pass up that deal.
So, I went and picked up the grass, putting the rolls into bags and distributing them around my car so I wouldn't bust my car's suspension.
I unloaded those and went to the lawn store and bought some turf supplement. Hey, it worked last time, I figured-- why mess with a good thing. I then cleared the area of tall weeds. Or, rather, wacked down the tall weeds. I put down other dirt to help do this-- about 2 inches deep of dirt all around. Or about 10 wheelbarrow loads. Then I added the 2 wheelbarrow loads of turf dirt. Then I rolled out the lawn.
I knew I wasn't going to have enough, but at least the final chunk is prepped for us to put the final stretch in next week. And really, our lawn will end up costing us about $40. TOTAL. It should have cost right at $200. So I'm very much ok with $40.
Sore and tired and worn today, I am proud that this is the result of my efforts yesterday:
No, not the huge chunk missing. This is part of the new grass purchased yesterday. Yes, it goes all the way to our back deck steps.
In this photo (below), you can begin to see where the other new grass strips are.
And there is the rest of the grass. Eventually (we hope), it will look exactly like the grass we got a few weeks ago, which is thriving.
I was a bit stumped over what to do with this little ravine-type area in between the sod and the rocks (see photo below). It dips down a good 4-6". I thought I'd make a little pathway, but B wants to sod it. I can see that too, though we'd have to make the sudden incline not so sudden. More of a slope. That's doable. He's right in that it would look less funky than a sudden path.
The view back towards the deck. Everything in the non-mulched parts of the yard is going crazy. The rain has put the weeds on steroids. This entire grassy area had it's weedy bits, so to have it all covered in nice sod is definitely a nice relief. We need to trim the planter (in the photo below) badly. The butterfly bush has gone crazy, as have the suckers of that tree. There are a lot of weeks in the back by the daylilies too. But, my weedwacker should arrive next week. Then it's time to have destructive fun.
The last section of grass has done pretty darn well. Here's hoping the new grass does too. I really need to mow. I think I may carefully weed wack next week. My neighbor has a mower, but I'd prefer to not constantly borrow.
See what I mean? Overgrown. To definitely be tackled soon.
In good news, the forecast says it should be SUNNY for at least the next 10 days. The number of people whom have mentioned this in the past day is pretty darn hilarious. We're like a bunch of hopeful kids the night before a birthday. We're ok with the rain most of the year, but don't mess with summer!
"200 square feet of grass. $20." Yes, please. That's about a 70% savings.
Let me note that I did NOT feel like moving grass. I've been very sore recently from hard outdoor garden things. I had wanted to take an easy evening yesterday and build up my potato box. BUT, I could not pass up that deal.
So, I went and picked up the grass, putting the rolls into bags and distributing them around my car so I wouldn't bust my car's suspension.
I unloaded those and went to the lawn store and bought some turf supplement. Hey, it worked last time, I figured-- why mess with a good thing. I then cleared the area of tall weeds. Or, rather, wacked down the tall weeds. I put down other dirt to help do this-- about 2 inches deep of dirt all around. Or about 10 wheelbarrow loads. Then I added the 2 wheelbarrow loads of turf dirt. Then I rolled out the lawn.
I knew I wasn't going to have enough, but at least the final chunk is prepped for us to put the final stretch in next week. And really, our lawn will end up costing us about $40. TOTAL. It should have cost right at $200. So I'm very much ok with $40.
Sore and tired and worn today, I am proud that this is the result of my efforts yesterday:
No, not the huge chunk missing. This is part of the new grass purchased yesterday. Yes, it goes all the way to our back deck steps.In this photo (below), you can begin to see where the other new grass strips are.
And there is the rest of the grass. Eventually (we hope), it will look exactly like the grass we got a few weeks ago, which is thriving.
I was a bit stumped over what to do with this little ravine-type area in between the sod and the rocks (see photo below). It dips down a good 4-6". I thought I'd make a little pathway, but B wants to sod it. I can see that too, though we'd have to make the sudden incline not so sudden. More of a slope. That's doable. He's right in that it would look less funky than a sudden path.
The view back towards the deck. Everything in the non-mulched parts of the yard is going crazy. The rain has put the weeds on steroids. This entire grassy area had it's weedy bits, so to have it all covered in nice sod is definitely a nice relief. We need to trim the planter (in the photo below) badly. The butterfly bush has gone crazy, as have the suckers of that tree. There are a lot of weeks in the back by the daylilies too. But, my weedwacker should arrive next week. Then it's time to have destructive fun.
The last section of grass has done pretty darn well. Here's hoping the new grass does too. I really need to mow. I think I may carefully weed wack next week. My neighbor has a mower, but I'd prefer to not constantly borrow.
See what I mean? Overgrown. To definitely be tackled soon.
In good news, the forecast says it should be SUNNY for at least the next 10 days. The number of people whom have mentioned this in the past day is pretty darn hilarious. We're like a bunch of hopeful kids the night before a birthday. We're ok with the rain most of the year, but don't mess with summer!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
San Diego Trip
Finally, at long last, here are some of our photos from our trip down to San Diego. We left on Wednesday after work, drove 3 miles, stayed in a hotel. Then woke up at 3am, drove to Sacramento, had coffee with a great friend and saw her adorable daughter. Then drove down to San Diego, where my folks are. Thanks to LA traffic, we ended up arriving around 7:30pm.
Maddie was a trooper and never wined. No accidents, and she was calm the whole ride down (and back up). We wanted to take her so that she could visit my grandmother. My grandmother really can't travel much anymore, so the dog needed to come to her! I'll post photos of them together soon.
You never can predict things. Of all the things I thought Maddie would do at my folks, I never considered that she'd be patrolling the patio for hummingbirds. My folks have a long patio with three hummingbird feeders along the edge. Maddie went back and forth (repeat x1000) between the feeders whenever she saw a bird there. She even wore a path into the iceplant (which is good because my mom wanted to trim there anyway!).
Heh heh heh, those birdies better watch out for me!
After B and I visited my grandmother on Friday morning, we headed off to the beach, leaving Maddie with her granddogparents.
Our first stop was La Jolla shores. Here is the walkway on what was/used to be/should have been the Children's Pool. It's been taken over by sea lions.
Yup, see, sea lions.
Lots of sea lions. It was supposed to be enclosed into a kid-area/calm water area, but the sea lions discovered it, took over, and now there's a huge debate on how to continue. I don't blame the sea lions. I'd want a nice little lagoon area too.
While in La Jolla, I bought a ridiculously huge hat. I love it. The saleswoman kept commenting on my skin. Um, yes. I'm from the Pacific Northwest and it's been a VERY rainy spring. "It's porcelain!" Um, not it's not, sales lady, but thank you for the compliment? Not the best shot of me, but I do love that hat.
B overlooking La Jolla Cove. I remember snorkeling here as a kid and exploring the cave on the far side. I remember thinking "wow, I'm like the first kid to ever do this." No, I was probably preceded by thousands, but I still felt darn nifty.
We next headed through downtown San Diego and up and over the Coronado Bridge to... Coronado. We headed to the Hotel Del Coronado, because it's always pretty there. We walked along the beach and had a fancy drink at the hotel bar, overlooking the ocean. Yup, pretty darn nice. It was a little windy (always is there), hence my hat/wind hair. But, it was such a clear day that you could even see the Islas Cornados in the distance. Usually, you can't due to cloud cover.
The next day, again after visiting my grandmother, we went to Balboa Park. Here is the atrium and the botanical gardens. I love this building. I think it's amusing that in other places, the botanical gardens are completely enclosed, with light and warm air pumped in. San Diego? It just looks like a building, but actually, there is no glass between those slats. Open air.
Yes, I wore the hat again. B had forgotten his sunglasses, so he had to borrow my mom's old clipons, but it all worked out.
The reflecting pool in Balboa Park. Home of a few FAT koi.
Lilies. I think if I have a pond someday, it will be for the water lilies.
The second part of this sign really gets me.
The pool was also home of quite a sight. Look at this guy's feet. Yes, he's walking two rabbits on leashes. ON LEASHES! RABBITS! And he's pretty hunky. The whole thing cracked me up. As did watching people do double takes as they looked at him.
The rabbits though, seemed perfectly content.
Back at home, Maddie continued to attempt to destroy her giraffe (gift from my folks).
The final full day, B and I went wandering around North County, stopping at a few towns and at a few wineries. We'll enjoy the purchases from that afternoon for quite some time. No photos though.... the camera was acting up.
And then, on Memorial Day, it was time to head home. My grandmother and parents both tried to keep Maddie, but in the end, she decided to stick with us.
This is how she slept for a good hour or so. Completely boneless dog, sunk in into my skirt.
Oh yes, and her behind on my arm.
When she woke up, she had this deliriously happy look on her face.
In the Central Valley, the sun was quite bright.
But again, combine the bright sun with happy dog, and you get this drugged happy doggie look.
I gave her sunglasses to wear for a while, and she seemed pretty happy with them. It was also pretty funny to watch us drive by truckers and have them do a double glance at the sunglass puppy beaming up at them.
For some reason, this pose totally reminds me of Mick Jagger.
But, when not sleeping and not druggied dog (no, we did not give her anything, she just looked happy), she was alert. You know, in case any hummingbirds happened to fly into our car, I guess.
There are many things to look at in the Central Valley, but unfortunately, they tend to be the same things over and over and over and over, so after about 30 minutes, you're ready to be out. Unfortunately, it takes about 8 hours. Here is the California aqueduct.
There's ALWAYS some issue with water. Here are some trees that supposedly have had to be let go because of water shortages and other issues.
But, soon enough, we were back in Oregon. Much greener. Maddie also served as a book rest during part of the trip. Really, that's the main reason we brought her along. Book rest. That and the fluffy bottom.
We're quite sure that one of her joys in life is to stick her nose in AC vents. Pretty darn certain.
And that was our short and sweet trip. We put over 2200 miles on the car in just over 5 days. But, the drive wasn't too bad. And we had a lot of fun. It was nice to play tourist without most of the tourist expenses. Since we see my folks pretty regularly, they were ok with us not hanging around at home. We had a darn good time. So did Maddie.
Maddie was a trooper and never wined. No accidents, and she was calm the whole ride down (and back up). We wanted to take her so that she could visit my grandmother. My grandmother really can't travel much anymore, so the dog needed to come to her! I'll post photos of them together soon.
You never can predict things. Of all the things I thought Maddie would do at my folks, I never considered that she'd be patrolling the patio for hummingbirds. My folks have a long patio with three hummingbird feeders along the edge. Maddie went back and forth (repeat x1000) between the feeders whenever she saw a bird there. She even wore a path into the iceplant (which is good because my mom wanted to trim there anyway!).
Heh heh heh, those birdies better watch out for me!
After B and I visited my grandmother on Friday morning, we headed off to the beach, leaving Maddie with her granddogparents.
Our first stop was La Jolla shores. Here is the walkway on what was/used to be/should have been the Children's Pool. It's been taken over by sea lions.
Yup, see, sea lions.
Lots of sea lions. It was supposed to be enclosed into a kid-area/calm water area, but the sea lions discovered it, took over, and now there's a huge debate on how to continue. I don't blame the sea lions. I'd want a nice little lagoon area too.
While in La Jolla, I bought a ridiculously huge hat. I love it. The saleswoman kept commenting on my skin. Um, yes. I'm from the Pacific Northwest and it's been a VERY rainy spring. "It's porcelain!" Um, not it's not, sales lady, but thank you for the compliment? Not the best shot of me, but I do love that hat.
B overlooking La Jolla Cove. I remember snorkeling here as a kid and exploring the cave on the far side. I remember thinking "wow, I'm like the first kid to ever do this." No, I was probably preceded by thousands, but I still felt darn nifty.
We next headed through downtown San Diego and up and over the Coronado Bridge to... Coronado. We headed to the Hotel Del Coronado, because it's always pretty there. We walked along the beach and had a fancy drink at the hotel bar, overlooking the ocean. Yup, pretty darn nice. It was a little windy (always is there), hence my hat/wind hair. But, it was such a clear day that you could even see the Islas Cornados in the distance. Usually, you can't due to cloud cover.
The next day, again after visiting my grandmother, we went to Balboa Park. Here is the atrium and the botanical gardens. I love this building. I think it's amusing that in other places, the botanical gardens are completely enclosed, with light and warm air pumped in. San Diego? It just looks like a building, but actually, there is no glass between those slats. Open air.
Yes, I wore the hat again. B had forgotten his sunglasses, so he had to borrow my mom's old clipons, but it all worked out.
The reflecting pool in Balboa Park. Home of a few FAT koi.
Lilies. I think if I have a pond someday, it will be for the water lilies.
The second part of this sign really gets me.
The pool was also home of quite a sight. Look at this guy's feet. Yes, he's walking two rabbits on leashes. ON LEASHES! RABBITS! And he's pretty hunky. The whole thing cracked me up. As did watching people do double takes as they looked at him.
The rabbits though, seemed perfectly content.
Back at home, Maddie continued to attempt to destroy her giraffe (gift from my folks).
The final full day, B and I went wandering around North County, stopping at a few towns and at a few wineries. We'll enjoy the purchases from that afternoon for quite some time. No photos though.... the camera was acting up.
And then, on Memorial Day, it was time to head home. My grandmother and parents both tried to keep Maddie, but in the end, she decided to stick with us.
This is how she slept for a good hour or so. Completely boneless dog, sunk in into my skirt.
Oh yes, and her behind on my arm.
When she woke up, she had this deliriously happy look on her face.
In the Central Valley, the sun was quite bright.
But again, combine the bright sun with happy dog, and you get this drugged happy doggie look.
I gave her sunglasses to wear for a while, and she seemed pretty happy with them. It was also pretty funny to watch us drive by truckers and have them do a double glance at the sunglass puppy beaming up at them.
For some reason, this pose totally reminds me of Mick Jagger.
But, when not sleeping and not druggied dog (no, we did not give her anything, she just looked happy), she was alert. You know, in case any hummingbirds happened to fly into our car, I guess.
There are many things to look at in the Central Valley, but unfortunately, they tend to be the same things over and over and over and over, so after about 30 minutes, you're ready to be out. Unfortunately, it takes about 8 hours. Here is the California aqueduct.
There's ALWAYS some issue with water. Here are some trees that supposedly have had to be let go because of water shortages and other issues.
But, soon enough, we were back in Oregon. Much greener. Maddie also served as a book rest during part of the trip. Really, that's the main reason we brought her along. Book rest. That and the fluffy bottom.
We're quite sure that one of her joys in life is to stick her nose in AC vents. Pretty darn certain.
And that was our short and sweet trip. We put over 2200 miles on the car in just over 5 days. But, the drive wasn't too bad. And we had a lot of fun. It was nice to play tourist without most of the tourist expenses. Since we see my folks pretty regularly, they were ok with us not hanging around at home. We had a darn good time. So did Maddie.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
ABCs
I have this urge to buy this set, color everything in bright colors, and then frame them on the wall in nice rows.
Set is by SODAbyAmy on Etsy.
I think they are simply adorable. Yes, a little elementary, but I think there are days when we all need to be surrounded by simplicity.
Set is by SODAbyAmy on Etsy.I think they are simply adorable. Yes, a little elementary, but I think there are days when we all need to be surrounded by simplicity.
New tree and organization plans
On Monday, I spotted this ad in our local Craigslist: Free weeping pussy willow tree.
Oh my gosh.
Yes, it said "you dig," but I was ripe for the challenge. I've wanted one of these for a long while, but the $45-$55 price tag at Home Depot for a teeny baby tree was prohibitive.
This ad was not for a teeny baby tree. It was for a full-grown, 10-year old tree. About 10-12' tall. Gorgeous flowing branches.
So I went. And I dug. And dug. And found a pipe (which luckily, I didn't break. Cautious digging and very surprised owner who didn't know that SEWAGE pipe was there). Out came that tree. I was about ready to look all Dr. Seuss ridiculous with this ploomy tree attached to my car, when the guy across the street (who had a truck) offered to take it home for me.
Um. Yes, Please! Hooray for the kindness of strangers. It was only about 2 miles.
When we got home, I immediately dismantled an old HUGE planter box that I had decided not to use... well, B had decided we weren't using it when he planted a few trees where it was going to go. I made a 3'x3' box that was 16" high. Plopped the tree in there after filling up about 5' of the box, and then filled up the rest of the box around it. I screwed on two supports to tie the tree to on either side, and then a third support which goes from the tree to the pergola. Happily, tying it to the pergola is perfect; it really supports the tree if any wind gusts (we always get our breezes from the northwest).
And there you have it. A beautiful weeping pussy willow tree. In the spring, it will look like this (much fuller, of course, since our tree is much bigger).
I love how it looks like a victorian parasol. It's completely umbrella-like inside. You could hide under there.
See? All the branches flow out the top and then hang over.
Once it settles in, and the box is painted, I think it may just be a great home for a garden gnome (at the base of the tree)!
I'm keeping a close eye on the tree. The supposed rule of thumb on transplanting is that you want as much green as you have roots. Right now, I have more greenery than roots, but I'd REALLY prefer to not hack away at the tree. So, I'm keeping an eye on how it's doing. If it starts to suffer, I'll prune.
But I love it. I truly do.
In other news....
B and I sat down last night and made a pretty thorough list of organization plans. We've had a pretty chaotic last few years:
He moved in August 08
I move in August 08
He moved in December 08
I moved in January 09
He moved in February 09
He moved in April 09
We moved from two places into one place in July 09
We moved (in a rush rush rush) in December 09.
All of this moving and chaos has resulted in some things that have worked, some things with which we are "making due" and some things which are just not working.
So, we're going to rehaul our lives. Get rid of clutter. Organize what we choose to keep. Revamp what is not working. I'll try to document things as they go....
Oh my gosh.
Yes, it said "you dig," but I was ripe for the challenge. I've wanted one of these for a long while, but the $45-$55 price tag at Home Depot for a teeny baby tree was prohibitive.
This ad was not for a teeny baby tree. It was for a full-grown, 10-year old tree. About 10-12' tall. Gorgeous flowing branches.
So I went. And I dug. And dug. And found a pipe (which luckily, I didn't break. Cautious digging and very surprised owner who didn't know that SEWAGE pipe was there). Out came that tree. I was about ready to look all Dr. Seuss ridiculous with this ploomy tree attached to my car, when the guy across the street (who had a truck) offered to take it home for me.
Um. Yes, Please! Hooray for the kindness of strangers. It was only about 2 miles.
When we got home, I immediately dismantled an old HUGE planter box that I had decided not to use... well, B had decided we weren't using it when he planted a few trees where it was going to go. I made a 3'x3' box that was 16" high. Plopped the tree in there after filling up about 5' of the box, and then filled up the rest of the box around it. I screwed on two supports to tie the tree to on either side, and then a third support which goes from the tree to the pergola. Happily, tying it to the pergola is perfect; it really supports the tree if any wind gusts (we always get our breezes from the northwest).
And there you have it. A beautiful weeping pussy willow tree. In the spring, it will look like this (much fuller, of course, since our tree is much bigger).
I love how it looks like a victorian parasol. It's completely umbrella-like inside. You could hide under there.
See? All the branches flow out the top and then hang over.
Once it settles in, and the box is painted, I think it may just be a great home for a garden gnome (at the base of the tree)!
I'm keeping a close eye on the tree. The supposed rule of thumb on transplanting is that you want as much green as you have roots. Right now, I have more greenery than roots, but I'd REALLY prefer to not hack away at the tree. So, I'm keeping an eye on how it's doing. If it starts to suffer, I'll prune.
But I love it. I truly do.
In other news....
B and I sat down last night and made a pretty thorough list of organization plans. We've had a pretty chaotic last few years:
He moved in August 08
I move in August 08
He moved in December 08
I moved in January 09
He moved in February 09
He moved in April 09
We moved from two places into one place in July 09
We moved (in a rush rush rush) in December 09.
All of this moving and chaos has resulted in some things that have worked, some things with which we are "making due" and some things which are just not working.
So, we're going to rehaul our lives. Get rid of clutter. Organize what we choose to keep. Revamp what is not working. I'll try to document things as they go....
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
EGG!! EGG!!! EGG!!!!
Eggs!!!!! Today, I let my hens out of the coop, and I saw it: AN EGG! A BABY EGG!! This means one thing: My red girls are laying!!!!
The egg is very small, and the shell is more like a membrane than a shell. There was evidence of another egg having been laid, but I think that one was lacking a shell altogether. As they lay more eggs, the eggs will get bigger and stronger.
But for now, it's a baby egg:
Yes, I know, it has coffee chaff and straw on it. Meh! Adds character.
See, the shell is so week that I can even dent the top of the egg (it will pop back into place).
It's a little small compared to the other eggs (don't worry, I wash the coffee chaff off before using the eggs). It has a long way to go.
This is all pretty darn good news. My girls are 4 months and 1.5 weeks old. Their type of chicken starts to lay eggs between 4-6 months old. I was really hoping they'd start earlier rather than later. And wow! They did!
The egg is very small, and the shell is more like a membrane than a shell. There was evidence of another egg having been laid, but I think that one was lacking a shell altogether. As they lay more eggs, the eggs will get bigger and stronger.
But for now, it's a baby egg:
Yes, I know, it has coffee chaff and straw on it. Meh! Adds character.
See, the shell is so week that I can even dent the top of the egg (it will pop back into place).
It's a little small compared to the other eggs (don't worry, I wash the coffee chaff off before using the eggs). It has a long way to go.
This is all pretty darn good news. My girls are 4 months and 1.5 weeks old. Their type of chicken starts to lay eggs between 4-6 months old. I was really hoping they'd start earlier rather than later. And wow! They did!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Weekend of no sogginess!
We had a semi-sunny, semi-cloudy, strangely humid, and only a few sprinkles of rain weekend! It honestly felt like a cloudy day in Hawaii. Poor B's allergies flared up horribly, as did my neighbor's. But, it was a nice weekend, which means: Things got done!
We went to Saturday market on Saturday and I got a few seedlings. With the weather, I've not been able to start certain plants. Luckily, the market as VERY well-priced seedlings.
Here are two of my pumpkins (specifically the type that is good in pies):
Then, on Sunday, I saw a Craigslist ad for someone giving away some of their tomatillo and tomato seedlings. I jumped at the chance, and walked away with 15 plants. Here are the 7-8 tomato seedlings (black prince and roma -- good for sauces!):
My bigger hens' pen was MUCKY and it smelled. So, I took some thin branches I had and covered the mud in them. This is really letting the mud dry better, as the hens aren't traipsing through the muck. AND, they are staying much drier. I also cleaned out their coop and put a lot of straw in there (no coffee chaff available until Monday, and it needed to be cleaned). They have been playing in the straw very happily. But, I still faced the SMELL. A mucky chicken pen does not smell great, even if you have tried very hard to keep their area clean. SO, I took a spray bottle of apple cider vinegar. It does not hurt the hens, AND it totally cut the smell!
On Sunday, I went to go check out a craigslist ad for a nice patio set. While we had the fallback plan of the wooden chairs, metal patio sets just hold up more nicely. AND, we found a set that was a very nice set, but for a bargain price-- I could not do the wood chair project for this much. It's a six-chair set, and the chairs have nice high-end cushions (which I've removed and put on the deck). We will need to scrub and paint the chairs (yay rustoleum!), but it will look SO nice when we are done. Here are two of the chairs, stacked:
And, the HUGE nice table. We had to get a Home Depot truck to transport all of it, but it was well worth the effort (and the value for our buck!). This will all go under the pergola.
Saturday, I weeded around my onion, lettuce, basil, and spinach beds. It needed it, badly. Then, I went and got a few tubs of free mulch from the city, which I spread around the beds. Hopefully, the weeds will not come back with a vengeance. That's the thing about this weather; the plants like it. That's great for the plants I want to grow, and, unfortunately, great for the plants I don't want to grow also....
My mesclun mix lettuce has really taken off, and it's getting to the point where I need to pick the big leaves tonight!
My spinach has also grown, to the point where I need to harvest another bucket of the stuff, blanch it, and freeze it. Don't worry, I've been eating it raw too.
I also mounded up my broccoli. The plants were a little spindly at their bases, and this was solved by adding dirt to support the plants. Some plants even got dirt built up a bit around their bases. Not only does this add new nutrients to the bed, but it also helps support the plants.
I planted a few more of my other Saturday market plants. Here are my two eggplants. They were put over by my peas.
And, my eight tomatillos and two lemon cucumber plants. The left-hand row (5 plants) has purple tomatillos, the middle row (3 plants) has green tomatillos, and the right row (2 plants) has the two lemon cucumbers. The cucumbers will have a trellis up and over to the next bed. I will need a few more cucumber plants. The tomatillos were free! THank goodness, because my seedlings have languished in the weather we've had.
This weekend, I was also SO EXCITED to see PEAS!! Do you see it there, in the middle of the photo? All my peas (all 3 types) are blooming, which means I'm gradually seeing baby peas. It is very difficult to not just eat them, as peas are edible from the moment they show up. But, the bigger they get, the better. YUMM (I did eat one...).
On Saturday, I also took away most of the weeds from the soon-to-be tomato bed area. On Friday, I got 7 cubic yards of aged manure delivered. Aged manure is ok for your plants since it's been aged (fresh manure can be caustic to your plants). We decided to go for it since the manure for the tomatoes will be mixed with some old dirt from the previous tenant's garden (which is why this area is so lumpy). That soil needed replenishing, so the manure will help. I began to spread it out here, but then other projects called me away.
Meanwhile, in the far backyard, the other hens are getting big. I'm pondering various introduction schemes to get them and the red birds to live harmoniously. I REALLY only want 2-3 birds back here, for space and raccoon reasons. I spotted a raccoon mama and two babies this weekend nearby, and I don't want the hens to be a raccoon snack. Yes, the coop is secure, but raccoons are mean, nasty suckers. IF something bad does happen, I'd prefer there only be a few hens back here.
The big project on Friday was the back field. It doesnt' look too big, but it's actually about 25'x40'. I weeded the area and then put black plastic on the weeds around the perimeter. That will help for weed control. Then, on the interior side of the black plastic, I plan on digging holes for some straight branches (we're using them as posts), which will then have wire or netting attached to them. That way, the area will be enclosed.
After the fencing, the next step is to add to the soil. The soil back here is not too shabby, but we're going to add in some of the manure. No raised beds back here. We'll add the manure in rows, that way we can immediately plant. This area will be used by my neighbor and me for our sprawling winter squashes and melons. Those types of plants need to go in asap, so hopefully, this project will get finished this week. It has to, since I NEED to work on my tomato beds (and get the 7 yards of soil off of my front driveway).
I just took this shot to show what overwhelming weeds we have in the back lot. This is the path to the backyard little hens. Those weeds are 5-6' tall. SUPPOSEDLY the landlord will send someone out with a weed wacker. We're hoping. It's kind of frustrating. We don't want to buy special tools like a lawnmower or weedwacker when we may not need said tools at our next house... but we also hate the weeds, and it really limits how much we can use this area. Hm. It also gives cats a place to hide. I'm really thinking about investing in a weed wacker.
Here are the backyard hens. You can see exactly where their coop has been; look where all the grass is nice and short!
In other news, I added some coffee to my raspberries about 2 weeks back. This is the coffee side....
And this side had no coffee added. Can you see a difference? Maybe I'm just imagining it.
For the time being, it will be much of the same thing. Get rid of weeds. Add mulch. Put in plants, protect the area from cats. But, the yard looks so nice. I really cannot wait to start eating the produce as it comes in. Just please, Oregon, more sun!
We went to Saturday market on Saturday and I got a few seedlings. With the weather, I've not been able to start certain plants. Luckily, the market as VERY well-priced seedlings.
Here are two of my pumpkins (specifically the type that is good in pies):
Then, on Sunday, I saw a Craigslist ad for someone giving away some of their tomatillo and tomato seedlings. I jumped at the chance, and walked away with 15 plants. Here are the 7-8 tomato seedlings (black prince and roma -- good for sauces!):
My bigger hens' pen was MUCKY and it smelled. So, I took some thin branches I had and covered the mud in them. This is really letting the mud dry better, as the hens aren't traipsing through the muck. AND, they are staying much drier. I also cleaned out their coop and put a lot of straw in there (no coffee chaff available until Monday, and it needed to be cleaned). They have been playing in the straw very happily. But, I still faced the SMELL. A mucky chicken pen does not smell great, even if you have tried very hard to keep their area clean. SO, I took a spray bottle of apple cider vinegar. It does not hurt the hens, AND it totally cut the smell!
On Sunday, I went to go check out a craigslist ad for a nice patio set. While we had the fallback plan of the wooden chairs, metal patio sets just hold up more nicely. AND, we found a set that was a very nice set, but for a bargain price-- I could not do the wood chair project for this much. It's a six-chair set, and the chairs have nice high-end cushions (which I've removed and put on the deck). We will need to scrub and paint the chairs (yay rustoleum!), but it will look SO nice when we are done. Here are two of the chairs, stacked:
And, the HUGE nice table. We had to get a Home Depot truck to transport all of it, but it was well worth the effort (and the value for our buck!). This will all go under the pergola.
Saturday, I weeded around my onion, lettuce, basil, and spinach beds. It needed it, badly. Then, I went and got a few tubs of free mulch from the city, which I spread around the beds. Hopefully, the weeds will not come back with a vengeance. That's the thing about this weather; the plants like it. That's great for the plants I want to grow, and, unfortunately, great for the plants I don't want to grow also....
My mesclun mix lettuce has really taken off, and it's getting to the point where I need to pick the big leaves tonight!
My spinach has also grown, to the point where I need to harvest another bucket of the stuff, blanch it, and freeze it. Don't worry, I've been eating it raw too.
I also mounded up my broccoli. The plants were a little spindly at their bases, and this was solved by adding dirt to support the plants. Some plants even got dirt built up a bit around their bases. Not only does this add new nutrients to the bed, but it also helps support the plants.
I planted a few more of my other Saturday market plants. Here are my two eggplants. They were put over by my peas.
And, my eight tomatillos and two lemon cucumber plants. The left-hand row (5 plants) has purple tomatillos, the middle row (3 plants) has green tomatillos, and the right row (2 plants) has the two lemon cucumbers. The cucumbers will have a trellis up and over to the next bed. I will need a few more cucumber plants. The tomatillos were free! THank goodness, because my seedlings have languished in the weather we've had.
This weekend, I was also SO EXCITED to see PEAS!! Do you see it there, in the middle of the photo? All my peas (all 3 types) are blooming, which means I'm gradually seeing baby peas. It is very difficult to not just eat them, as peas are edible from the moment they show up. But, the bigger they get, the better. YUMM (I did eat one...).
On Saturday, I also took away most of the weeds from the soon-to-be tomato bed area. On Friday, I got 7 cubic yards of aged manure delivered. Aged manure is ok for your plants since it's been aged (fresh manure can be caustic to your plants). We decided to go for it since the manure for the tomatoes will be mixed with some old dirt from the previous tenant's garden (which is why this area is so lumpy). That soil needed replenishing, so the manure will help. I began to spread it out here, but then other projects called me away.
Meanwhile, in the far backyard, the other hens are getting big. I'm pondering various introduction schemes to get them and the red birds to live harmoniously. I REALLY only want 2-3 birds back here, for space and raccoon reasons. I spotted a raccoon mama and two babies this weekend nearby, and I don't want the hens to be a raccoon snack. Yes, the coop is secure, but raccoons are mean, nasty suckers. IF something bad does happen, I'd prefer there only be a few hens back here.
The big project on Friday was the back field. It doesnt' look too big, but it's actually about 25'x40'. I weeded the area and then put black plastic on the weeds around the perimeter. That will help for weed control. Then, on the interior side of the black plastic, I plan on digging holes for some straight branches (we're using them as posts), which will then have wire or netting attached to them. That way, the area will be enclosed.
After the fencing, the next step is to add to the soil. The soil back here is not too shabby, but we're going to add in some of the manure. No raised beds back here. We'll add the manure in rows, that way we can immediately plant. This area will be used by my neighbor and me for our sprawling winter squashes and melons. Those types of plants need to go in asap, so hopefully, this project will get finished this week. It has to, since I NEED to work on my tomato beds (and get the 7 yards of soil off of my front driveway).
I just took this shot to show what overwhelming weeds we have in the back lot. This is the path to the backyard little hens. Those weeds are 5-6' tall. SUPPOSEDLY the landlord will send someone out with a weed wacker. We're hoping. It's kind of frustrating. We don't want to buy special tools like a lawnmower or weedwacker when we may not need said tools at our next house... but we also hate the weeds, and it really limits how much we can use this area. Hm. It also gives cats a place to hide. I'm really thinking about investing in a weed wacker.
Here are the backyard hens. You can see exactly where their coop has been; look where all the grass is nice and short!
In other news, I added some coffee to my raspberries about 2 weeks back. This is the coffee side....
And this side had no coffee added. Can you see a difference? Maybe I'm just imagining it.
For the time being, it will be much of the same thing. Get rid of weeds. Add mulch. Put in plants, protect the area from cats. But, the yard looks so nice. I really cannot wait to start eating the produce as it comes in. Just please, Oregon, more sun!
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