The Simple Side of Life

I Behaved.

2010-05-04T14:32:00.003-04:00

Well I didn't go plant crazy this weekend and ended up only buying 2 trees for a total of a whopping 6 bucks. One black walnut and a redbud. Plus I got 2 free red oaks as well. Pictures are here!!! From the top: Tuxie tiptoeing through the daffodils. Deli not paying attention. Dora hamming it up for the camera. Juno on safari. And a strange moment where Achilles actually didn't hiss and throw a fit when Juno came over to him.

Bad Bad April

2010-04-30T17:14:00.003-04:00

It has been so long. 5 Months Now. Bad April. Juno is 7 months. Still evil. Gardening like crazy. Mom says I'm anal. I know I'm anal. Veggie patch keeps expanding nearly 900 square feet. Refrained from buying more flowers and bulbs and seeds this year. Going to use what I already got. (But I think I'm going to secretly buy some plants and stuff at Heart of Virginia Festival this weekend.) Pictures are: ok blogger is having errors and wont let me load a pic. I'll try again on Mon.

Excuses

2009-12-01T12:48:00.003-05:00

Normally I list out all the excuses with detailed explanations on why I haven't posted anything recently. The truth? I am lazy. Period. But anyway........here is what has been going on the past 3 months.

Prinnee ran away again. This time I'm afraid it is for good she has been gone since the second week in September. I have searched and called and put fliers up everywhere but no luck. A few times John and I thought we saw her but now I'm not sure it was even her. There is another cat in our area that looks nearly identical to her except for the face and every time I would call Prinnee he would come up to the house. So you can imagine seeing this cat from behind nearly every day thinking it was Prinnee only to find it wasn't was really tearing me up inside. After crying every day for nearly 2 months, John couldn't take it anymore. He saw a sign down the road for free kittens and stopped by to pick one up. The mother cat had been hit by a car and they were looking for homes for the 4 babies. So yada yada yada we have a new kitten. Proudly introducing Juno the terrorist. When John brought her home she was only 4 days old. We bottle fed her, bathed her, and carried her everywhere. I put her in a big cooler and took her to work everyday so I could feed her every 2 hours. She was so good didn't hardly cry, and was quiet and cute. Keyword here is WAS. Now she is about 2 months old and she is wild, crazy, and torments us 24-7. She chases after us all over the house, bites everything, and is very very sneaky. Sometimes she is still cute and cuddly, but that is when only when she is asleep! At first the dogs ran from her, but now they tolerate her. Dora lets her climb all over her and bite her ears, and Deli will play with her for hours flipping her over and trying to bite each other.

In garden news, some things succeed this year and some things failed miserably, and some things didn't get done at all. Successful plants will have lots of pictures posted soon. I'd rather not post the failures, it's depressing.

Other than that it has been work work work sleep sleep sleep over and over and over again, but at least John and I and all the animals are in good health and happy.

The photos came up in reverse for some reason. The first pic is of african daises and lobelia in the front walkway. Second pic is of a brilliance autumn fern that is in pots on either side of the front door. Third pic is of the terrorist as she is now. Fourth pic is of Juno just beginning to open her eyes. And the fifth pic is of little Juno the day she came home (I don't know why my hand looks so swollen perhaps it is because it is a cell phone pic yeah we'll go with that excuse)

More Pictures Please

2009-09-02T12:52:00.003-04:00

John's new hobby is photography and he is really really good at it. Now he never goes anywhere without the camera.

The first picture is from me and is my dahlia. It said it was a New Dimension Dahlia but looks nothing like the picture on the package at all. I think I need to contact the company and find out what kind of dahlia it is.
Second picture is from John and is of my precious Delilah she is so sweet and this is my most favorite picture of her.
Third picture is of Dora and Delilah together Dora has the most expressive eyebrows she is such a ham.
Fourth picture is of my turtle friend Lucy. I found her under the porch. She is not to pleased about all the attention.
Fifth picture is of a frog John saw a work one day. The little guy just jumped up on the railing and struck a pose.

Happiness!!!!!

2009-08-19T14:02:00.004-04:00

Prinnee came home Sunday morning after being gone a full week. She is skinnier but otherwise healthy as a horse. Thanks to all the neighbors for keeping an eye out for her. Now to other dramas..... #1 So I was supposed to be losing weight for an upcoming wedding. I planned on being 20 pounds lighter so I ordered my bridesmaids dress a size smaller. Eeek. Even though I have been neglecting the whole workout thing I still managed to fit in the dress. I can't really breathe and certainly can't bend over in it but I can walk so I guess it will be ok. Still would like to shave a few more pounds for the wedding though. #2 Garden woes....I have a pest in my garden that is the most horrid vile evil little thing ever. The squash vine borer has killed 3 zucchini, 2 squash, and 2 pumpkins so far. Nothing kills these demons either. I have been trying to have an all organic approach this year, but I was having such a horrible time with these bugs that I resorted to the tough chemicals and they still didn't put a dent into them. Next year I plan on growing these veggies under shade cloth and hand pollinating instead. It will be a LOT of work but it will keep me organic and the veggies safe. And I am still behind schedule with my garden while a lot is blooming like crazy, and most projects are complete I still feel completely scatter brained with all of the maintenance. Ugh I gotta do better next year.

In the pics above ..... lillies at Layla's grave, my morning glory collections climbing the porch, and my caladiums growing under the azalea bushes (Carolyn Whorton and Buck),

Sadness

2009-08-13T08:15:00.004-04:00

Sad doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now. Heart heavy, sunk in stomach, no desire to eat, depression, and total sadness is how I feel. Prinnee is MISSING. She has been gone since Saturday night. I have been to neighbors, called her incessantly, and walked for hours at a time looking for her. She isn't just a cat.......she is my friend, my confidant, my daughter, my cuddle bug, my joy, my happiness, and my comforter. She is exactly like me, I would even say she is me in cat form. Please pray for her safe and swift return.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-07-29T08:36:00.005-04:00

If the title to this post does not explain my absence enough, I have been majorly busy the past few months. Primarily gardening, then gardening, and some more gardening, and I am still completely swamped with gardening. Plus my in laws are here visiting for a month or so and we have been doing things with them on the weekends. Oh lord and I got on a boat. If you don't know I am terrified of water. I didn't used to be this way, I loved the water as a kid, but now it is extremely frightening. My big problem with water is not being able to see the bottom. For years now if I couldn't see the bottom I wasn't going near that water. Well Jessie and her boyfriend Josh actually got me out on Josh's boat in the Rappahannock river right next to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to go on a fishing trip. At first I was a basket case but I warmed up to it after a little while, especially when I started whooping ass catching the fish. The very next day John and I went canoeing at our friends' lake. I can't say that my fear is completly gone......but I have certainly taken steps to overcome it.

Oh and we no longer have our little unholy terror Sammy with us. No he didn't go to that big litter box in the sky, he went to live with John's aunt. Sammy had become increasingly violent to the other animals and quite an alarming rate, but since Sammy had no claws he would always end up injured as the other cats defended themselves. He had made Button and Achilles so on edge that they would attack each other even though they are brothers. Since John's aunt had no animals and wanted a companion we gave her Sammy. While I'm sure he is missing the great outdoor country life, I know he is loving being the only kitty in the house. Still I miss the little asswipe.

The pictures above are from our trip to the Science Museum of Virginia with my inlaws. The first pic is of me and John's mom Pam playing musical stairs. The second pic is of stuff actually found inside sharks. Only one item in the picture wasn't found in a shark....Can you guess which one? The third pic is of a little doodle John did on the sidewalk...awwww. The fourth pic is of me vogueing in the color wheel. The fifth pic is of John and his step dad Vere in the mirror illusion booth.

Need to Vent

2009-04-01T18:34:00.002-04:00

I really just need to vent for a sec. I hate taxes. We owe the government an ungodly amount this year. Then after finding out how much I owe I got into a car accident. Somebody ran up my bumper. Both me and the car are ok despite some scratches and soreness. We are desperate to eliminate our debt but can't seem to get on top of it. Both of our cars are in dire need of repairs (the truck won't run at all). And yeah so life really sucks right now. I got all this garden stuff I want to write about but I'm too stressed. Oh and I forgot Heather's B-Day. Ugh I need a permanent vacation or to win the lottery or both.

Spring is here!!!

2009-03-12T17:14:00.003-04:00

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And I am in big trouble. I went off my rocker and ordered an unbelievable amount of seeds and stuff. And that was my "Revised" order. I chopped a ton of stuff off my list and still would up[ spending too much. Oh well, it's done with now. So here is the status: Gurney's stuff from the previous post all came in. And despite Gurney's lousy reviews everything looks great!!! My gladiolus bulbs are in the fridge, my sunflower seeds are in the seed "pile", my blueberry bush is flowering in an antique pot on the patio, and my 4 something foot tall sugar maple is on the porch waiting to be planted when I get home. From Walmart (surprisingly good stuff here) I got some perennials english daisies, lupine, foxglove, columbine, and delphinium. I also got some organic veggie seeds from Wallie World too corn, peas, zucchini, squash, broccoli, cucumber, watermelon, and pumpkins. And for the crafts I got several pack of birdhouse gourds from Wal-Mart too! I think Joanna and I are going to make them up into pretty painted birdhouses and sell them to raise money in honor of Carolyn at some sort of charity.
Other stuff I bought.....From Stokes Seeds (excellent selection) I got three varieties of flowering crane kale in pinks and whites, a pack of turbo statice mix, and a compost thermometer. From Jung Seed (great deals) I got moonwalker sunflowers, blushing susie variety of the black eyed susan vine, and 8 seed tray packs. From Territorial Seeds(shipping cost was high probably the potatoes) I got moonstruck marigolds in yellow and orange, a lavender grosso plant, 2000 california poppies (for only 3.35), organic lettuce, and organic potatoes. From Southern Exposure Seed Exchange I bought Brandywine organic tomatoes, and organic orange sweet bell peppers (orange tastes the best!). From Katz Kuntry Kuttins I got a bunch of herniaria glabra seeds (great stepping stone plant it withstands both drought and being walked on). And finally from Botanical Interests I bought lima beans, bush green beans, and carrots. All organic of course.

In the pics are my plum tree starting to blossom, my first daffodil ever, leaves forming on the plant with the identity crisis, daylily that shot up nearly overnight, and some baby crocus.

Hellacious Snow

2009-03-03T11:09:00.002-05:00

OH MY LORD!!! They were calling for some snow, then it changed to up to 6 inches of snow, and then they were warning us with snow up to a foot. In the end we ended up with about 14 some inches of snow up to my knees. All my bulbs that were coming up are now buried. We were with out power Sunday at 8:00 pm. We shoveled probably a mile worth of snow and made it down 1/3 of the driveway. John burned our entire wood pile and then burned some furniture when we ran out of wood last night. We have had no water, no way to flush the toilets and no way to get out for supplies. We woke up this morning in 4 degrees and tried to get the truck out to the road. We got about 10 feet and then had to dig. I think I got some frostbite on my toes and fingers. Finally my boss came down with his huge truck and pulled our truck down my neighbors driveway. Now our work crew is plowing our driveway so we can get back to the house. But the real great thing is we now have power. Our neighbor just stopped by here at work and told us that power was on about thirty minutes ago. Hallelujah! I can't wait to take a shower and find some deodorant that I am in desperate need of. Just be thankful you can't smell me.

Itchin For Spring

2009-02-27T16:11:00.003-05:00

Spring is soo close around the corner I can almost taste it. Even though they are calling for snow this weekend I will try and keep my hopes up. It has been in the 60s several times this week. I am already planning my garden and seed orders for the next few weeks. I have gotten about 10 or so catalogs in the mail, and it literally took me a full week to write out all my orders. (John and I have both had the nastiest case of the flu this past week so this is how I occupied my time.) I have determined that I am completely obsessed and am in need of a serious flower/vegetable intervention before I drown myself in garden debt and plans that I can't possibly fufill on my own. John is super supportive of my habit of course, he just tells me to go for it anyway. So far I have place one order from Gurney's about a week ago to take advantage of their $25.00 coupon if you order over $50.00. I ordered a 5Ft Sugar Maple (which I hope will eventually be as beautiful as the one in the picture above), Field Grade Gladiolus Bulbs in a Mix of colors, Redwing Butterfly Gladiolus Bulbs, a Dwarf Northblue Blueberry Bush, and a Packet of Velvet Queen Sunflower seeds. I was a bit nervous about ordering with Gurney's as they don't have a great review on Dave's Garden Watchdog site, but so far so good. I got the sunflower seeds within 3 or 4 days and my bulbs will be delivered on Monday morning.

In other disturbing news my lovely sister decided to call me to tell me that my mom thinks I am getting old and need to hurry up and have babies. Needless to say I immediately bitched her out and then called my mom to do the same. When I got up with my mom she said my sister was just screwing with me to ruin my day. Hmm yep that sounds about right. Especially since the past few years or so up until I got married I would constantly prank my mom about me being pregnant. At family event I would blurt out during the blessing at dinner to "Bless the New Baby Too." Then I would fall on the floor laughing at my family as my mom would cry "I'm not ready to be a Grandma!" Yeah I know I'm evil, but it was hilarious! So anyways mom said everything was ok and I'm not getting old and I can take my time. Good. No babies yet. NOT READY. And my sister is a bitch.

Siberian Princess Strikes A Pose

2009-02-10T18:23:00.004-05:00

My angel. I recently discovered that she isn't Persian at all she is a Siberian! She shows all the traits and personality. I saw a big fold out picture of a cat so nearly identical to her in a Cat Fancy magazine while waiting on the dentist. Her current perch is the corner of the counter as shown above. Her treats are in the drawer just below her so every time I get anywhere close to the counter she runs to her perch in hope that I might give her a treat. (Of course I do! Who could say no to that sweet kitty face?)

In other news, I am getting ready to order seeds and things for my planting season. I am already going way overboard but I don't care I love it. Plus I am going all organic too. I have now made a list of some 200 sunflower varieties to plant this year in the big field in honor of Carolyn. I have put genealogy on a temporary hold for the time being (I am in dire need of a computer and dsl at home.). I haven't worked on my scrapbooks in a year. (Ugh I need to get on that. ) I am Zumba-ing now(It is very fun!). Oh and I came up on a poor young deer that had been hit in our road today. The poor thing was still alive too. I tried to get him to stand up but it looked like his back was broken. The game warden was supposed to come and put him out of his misery, I hope he didn't suffer for long.

Bathroom Kitties

2009-01-30T17:21:00.002-05:00

My bathroom kitties. Prinnee and Button love the bathroom. If I go in there they both come running. Butt likes to drink out of the sink and sit on my lap while I'm on the crapper and head butt the toilet paper. Prinnee loves to watch the water flush down the toilet and waits for me to get out of the shower so she can lick my legs.

Time to get back on the Horse....

2009-01-22T17:58:00.003-05:00

Sorry everyone that this has taken so ridiculously long but I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK! I apologize for my lack of writing and thanks to Heather for threatening me enough to get back to it.

So to make up for the past 3 1/2 months or so I will do a brief summary of the goings on to fill everyone in on everything.

1. Lost My Second Mother
2. Gained a New Perspective On Life Because of Number 1.
3. Had A Root Canal For Halloween (Really Scary)
4. Did The Thanksgiving Thing 3 Weeks Early Cuz Family Was Traveling
5. Had A Pretty Rocking Christmas (Marnie Is Flipping Hilarious, And I Got Cowboy Boots!)
6. Grandpa And Grammy Spoiled Me Rotten
7. Got To See My ZOG Girls Minus One (Amy we expect your presence next year)
8. John Totaled His Car The Monday After Christmas
9. In Less Than A Week We Bought A Truck (Yes I am now officially country)
10. Father In Law Has Been Living With Us (I would prefer not to even go there.....)

Best Friend

2008-10-06T10:18:00.002-04:00

Last night Sunday October 5th at about midnight I lost my best friend. Carolyn Varner Baldwin left us under tragic circumstances that no one could have predicted. Please pray for her family, husband Tom, son Clint, daughter Joanna, grandson Owen, brothers, sisters, her parents, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. She was the most kind caring and beautiful person I have ever met, and she was like a second mother and best friend to me. I love her with all my heart and soul and my life will be forever changed because of her.

A Humiliating Moment

2008-09-05T10:45:00.002-04:00

Ok no pictures just an honest and quite humiliating truth. I AM OVERWEIGHT. Ugh good to get that off my chest. The profile picture is from 3 years ago at my happy 115 lbs. Not anymore. I am ashamed to say that I now weigh 150 lbs. Most of that has been gained in the last 2 years, with the last 10 lbs gained in the last 2 months. I like to eat. I like food. I eat healthy though for the most part, lots of veggies, no fast food, rarely eat red meat, except I do have a weakness for chocolate and coffee. I believe that this weight gain is from not dancing or teaching anymore, and severe lack of exercise. I could exercise at home but I have serious motivational problems there plus we live in an area with no speed limits so walking or riding a bike down the road is a good way to get killed. Well after a comment from my doctor on Tuesday that I needed to shed some pounds I joined the Y. And surprisingly I love it. They have all sorts of classes to take as well as a huge do whatever the hell you want gym. Plus I asked them if they were looking to hire a dance teacher and they said yes! I filled out an application right there on the spot. I took the Abs & Legs class last night. I did some stretching when I first got there and was barely able to move. Not at all like I used to be able to do. But by the end of the class I started seeing my flexibility return with a vengence which made me so incredibily happy. I even got John signed up too. We are going together this afternoon. although I don't think he will be joining me in African dance class today. I giggle just thinking about him in that class.

Slacker

2008-09-02T17:14:00.003-04:00

I have been slacking off.... Sadness..... Here is a few pictures of my garden from I don't know how many weeks ago. All the sunflowers are done and cut down. Most of the corn is as tall as I am. I keep finding mammoth zucchini hidden under stuff. We eat green beans nearly every day. Not impressed with the bell peppers AT ALL. Cucumbers are ok but not great. Watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomatoes still need more time. And after 2 months without rain we finally got a good soaking last week with Hurricane Fay (there is green spots in the middle of the black and brown grass, and don't be fooled by the grass around the garden I just water that a lot). Oh and John and I caught some unexplainable voice in the house saying "GO" in a whispery long drawn out voice when no one was home. Eek!

Mr. Handsome

2008-08-20T09:35:00.002-04:00

Ahahadorable!

Prinnee Wants OUT

2008-08-12T16:27:00.005-04:00

My precious Prinnee Princess Poo Poo Pants wants to go outside. Now Prinnee never goes outside occasionally she seems curious, but always bolts inside the moment a wind blows or the porch creaks slightly. Once we made the huge mistake and took her outside one day while we worked in the yard, she flipped out and hid under the porch crying and peeing all over herself (she has nervous bladder apparently). About a month or two ago the back door was not properly shut one evening and popped open in the middle of the night. John woke up the next morning and said huh Prinnee is outside. I shot out of bed and ran to the door to scoot her in the house. A few nights later John was letting one of the other cats in and Prinnee must have dashed out because the next morning I woke up to find Prinnee looking in at me through the door. Since then these little Prinnee adventures have turned into Prinnee wants out NOW. At first I was letting her out for about twenty minutes or so(Really it was after much coaxing from John and tons of worrysome tears), which turned into all night and the next morning if she wasn't waiting by the door all I had to do was call her and she would come running immediately. Until one night two weeks or so ago Prinnee went out after nagging me to the point of insanity. The next morning NO PRINNEE, I was worried but went to work planning to come home on my lunch break and call her again, but even with the amazing Annabella search and rescue skills NO PRINNEE. After work I came home and took her sister Tuxie with me through the woods to search for her, still NO PRINNEE. Finally it is 9pm and thunderstorms are moving in quick, and it had just gotten dark so I decided to look for her with a flashlight on the back porch. Scanning back and forth across the yard I caught a glimmer of something in the brush/burn pile. I ran(Yes I ran, shocking huh?) across the yard to find Prinnee huddled up next to a tree crying. Poor thing. Now since then I have refused to let her out despite her driving us to the brink of destruction with her incessant and angry meowing. She gets right up in your face as if to say "Hey you let me out NOW DAMMIT!!" and I just shout back NO!! I have been trying to catch this on video, but I think she has caught on to my plan and only does it when the camera is in the other room. In other news, John shaved Tuxie. Yeah shaved. Actually it doesn't look bad, she doesn't shed so much, and the nasty dreadlocks are gone. She even starting licking herself, we are hoping this is a sign of her cleaning herself regularly enough to avoid being shaved again (the process sucked, major screaming fit) though I doubt it.

Veggies Acometh

2008-08-04T17:26:00.003-04:00

Just some quick pictures for today. Of course they are of my current obsession the veggie garden. One week since my last garden post and I have mucho tomatoes, blooming big sunflowers, green glorious peppers, squash out the ying yang (I have another name for this squash though, based on its shape with the flower attached, I assume most will be able to guess this name but I am embarrassed to mention it on here), and my baby watermelon (isn't he cute!!)

Purrrty Flowers

2008-07-31T17:46:00.003-04:00

Just some more pictures of flowers in the garden. The top pic is of some of my morning glories, although they were supposed to be all different colors and they certainly are not. Grr Burpee's Seeds owes me 4 more colors. The last two pics are some of the wild flowers growing underneath the sunflowers, I don't know what the yellow one is called but the white ones are baby's breath. And the 2nd picture is .................................my first tomato!!! And since I have taken this picture about 15 more have started to grow. It is so exciting for me I check them thoroughly every day. Lastly my Grammy had an article written about her in another Virginia magazine. This one is titled "The Orchid Mom." She is probably the top private orchid grower in the state, with well over 500 orchids in literally every room of the house. Green thumbs have always run in the family, my Grandma (on my dad's side) did roses, my Grammy does orchids, my aunt does a variety, my mom does orchids and a variety (she won best yard in the neighborhood too many times to count, and she used to work in a nursery), my sister Jessie has a knack for gardening as well and has worked in several nurseries, my cousin Brie is still young but I'm sure she has it too (she is an exact replica of Jessie in almost every way), and then theres me.......... I have killed every house plant I have ever owned, I have killed tons of stuff outside as well. My previous motto was if it looks dead RIP IT OUT! Oops it wasn't really dead was it! Until now I had really no interest in growing anything or I guess I was kinda turned off of it because of the death touch I had, but luckily for me it seems things are starting to turn around, I just may have that green thumb after all!

Car Surfing

2008-07-30T17:04:00.001-04:00

For those of you unfamiliar with this sport I will fill you on how it is performed by and the pictures demonstrate the creator of car surfing in action. First you need to obtain a Grey half Siamese old kitty who wants attention 24 hours a day. Next you need to be running late for work and dash into your car. Then the cat should climb onto the hood of your vehicle and plant himself firmly. At this point you should roll down the window and look up asking him what the hell is he doing. Now try and startle him off the car by starting and revving the engine. As this causes no response whatsoever slowly begin to back out of the parking space and head down the driveway. You should quickly see that there is still no response from above and instead he seems to enjoy it. At this point the round for the day is complete so promptly exit the car, tell him he is a good boy, give him some love, and remove him from the roof. Drive off down the driveway leaving him to sulk. This process works best when performed every day rain or shine.

The Adventures of Annabella

2008-07-29T17:43:00.004-04:00

I noticed the other day that poor Miss Bella only had 2 little posts where her name was only mentioned. So today's post is all about Annie. Annie was a stray that showed up at a house Heather and I were renting. She would hang outside the house and look through the windows at all of our indoor cats. In no time she was sitting in my lap, touching noses with the other kitties through the screen door, and living in our barn. She moved with me to Cumberland and now enjoys the country life, hunting mice and rabbits all day. She is my little buddy and she follows me around everywhere when I'm outside. Though you can't be fooled by such a sweet face, she still has quite a wild streak in her(aka she bites when pissed off and likes to run across the yard like a crazed maniac). She is pretty small but is built like a tank(beefcake). She has the smallest feet on a cat as I have ever seen but she is the loudest of all our cats, she stomps around the house like an angry gorilla. She doesn't really meow she just squeaks and it is adorable. From a stray barn cat to my little cuddle bug this is my Annie.

In the pictures.... Annie chillin out on the back porch (She was sleeping with her face squished straight down on her nose but the dogs woke her up............ Annie checking out the new gate John built for the dog fence (Yah baby good job, more on this later)..............Annie in action(I have no idea what she was doing though)................And lastly Annie Ear (notice the speck of white near a leaf?) behind the giant sunflowers which should be blooming any day now!!!

Whoa 3 Weeks

2008-07-28T18:19:00.003-04:00

Ok so it has been 3 weeks almost since my last posting and I have been busy busy busy. But I have taken some pictures, ok lots of pictures and will be posting all week. Today though I would like to show you my garden progress. These pictures were taken a week or so apart, the latter being last night but in the exact same spot. I will post more tomorrow but for now I got to buy some doggie food.

G Stuff

2008-07-10T16:32:00.002-04:00

It's all about the G's this week. Gardening, Genealogy, Grandpa, Grammy, and Good Times. For some reason I want to go backwards. This past weekend was full of good times as my Mom and I went to Hampton to visit my grandparents for the day. We went down and had a pizza for lunch and talked about our ancestors and things. Grandpa had gotten a ton of pictures of our family together and it was so cool and my Grammy made copies of the pictures for me! Including the picture that puts me in awe my great grandparents John and Rose Grasso's wedding picture. Grandpa John was so handsome, and Rose is probably the most beautiful lady I have ever seen. I plan on sending them to my extended cousins and posting them in ancestry as well. And lastly I MADE LIFE!!!! Started with little seeds and now I have stuff growing everywhere. I literally get perma-grin every time I look at the garden. The above pictures are as follows: Top (2 of my hanging baskets with spikes and sweet potato vines with Miss Dora playing in the background) 2nd (tomatoes everywhere! I had so many I had to put some in planters on the porch. Incidentally these tomatoes are growing the fastest and taller even though I hardly water them and they get very very little sun.) 3rd (My row of sunflowers, the tallest sunflower now comes up to my hip.) and 4th (the entire vegetable garden from the top corn, green beans, watermelon and cantaloupe, squash and cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes.)

Rainy Dayz with Camera Haze

2008-06-30T16:55:00.003-04:00

Mr. Sammy took some time out on the porch this past Sunday afternoon, to wet for him. Little bugger, an unholy terror to other animals, sweet as he can be to people. He has been after little Butt Butt something awful recently and gnawed on his tail. It is pretty disgusting and Butt won't leave it alone and let it heal, that would be way less gross and easy. Instead he has decided it would be best to rip all the fur off his tail (a bloody mess) while sitting on my pillows and the kitchen counter of all places. Poor thing has it rough if it isn't Sammy beating on him its the mocking birds dive bombing him every chance they get. I don't know why but they only go after him, the other cats they could care less about. But as soon as Butt is outside they swoop down and screech at him. At first he seemed to enjoy it and would try to grab at them, now he seems really ticked off about it and puts his ears back as they follow him around. Oh and there was this amazing rainbow outside yesterday, I tried to take a picture but for reasons unknown I had a bad case of camera haze. Oh and mom, glad to have you and dad back, sucks not being able to talk to you for 2 weeks.....

Slightly Less Random

2008-06-20T12:43:00.002-04:00

First off, no new pictures from the garden or such. My sis came up to see me last weekend and help me in the garden but there was less working and more beer and talking. Oh well I hadn't seen her in forever it seems so it was worth it. My Grandpa sent me some cool family pictures that my Uncle Rich had. The top photo is my Great Great Grandpa Sherman Matte Hobson Sr. with his horse. The next four pictures are more of the "hometown" Superior. The top to pictures are of the Superior I know and love, beautiful open land. The bottom two are of the development that has taken place in the last 14 years. As Katie would say Boosob.

And lastly I have had it with Deadly Nightshade. They grow everywhere in the yard. Primarily around the pool. If I get poked one more time by those thorns I will flip out and take a jackhammer to them. I don't like chemicals in the yard, the more natural the better. But I can't take it anymore I utterly loath them.

Grasso Park

2008-06-12T12:49:00.002-04:00

As you may or may not know, I am really big into family and genealogy. Ok I am obsessed. I am from all different parts German, Polish, Irish, and English primarily. I am closest though to my Grandfather's family the Polish Grasso side. Grasso isn't a Polish name but when we came to America in 1905-1906 we changed it to a more Italian name as no one could pronounce it or spell it. My great great grandfather Frank Grasso came to America in 1905 to make money so the rest of the family could join him. He worked as a coal miner in Marshall, Colorado and eventually the family settled in Superior, Colorado. Once he made enough money he sent for his wife Victoria, his son John, and his best friend Antoni Rusak. They raised their son John (my great grandfather) and he too became a miner and lived nearly his whole life in Superior. John married Rose Hobson and had four boys Johnny, Tom (my grandfather), Rich, and Butch. I was the oldest granddaughter and great granddaughter, and was very close with Great Grandpa John. Soon before my Great Grandpa John died he gave the family land with the original home, barn, chicken coop, and outhouse to the Town of Superior for a historic park. I haven't been out to see the homestead since 1994 and at that time it was a wreck. A few weeks ago though, my Grandfather's brother Butch invited him to come with him to his 50th high school reunion. Much to all of our surprise Superior has changed quite a bit, but the homestead and land have been renovated and dedicated and we all couldn't be more pleased. They stopped by Superior town hall to see some old friends and were told by the secretary that everyone was in a meeting on historic Superior. My grandfather said to her "Well I guess you are going to need some experts in there." and handed her his business card telling her to take it into the meeting. When she did this they said "Where did you get this?" and she replied "He is in the lobby." Needless to say, they all rushed out to meet Grandpa and Uncle Butchie and invited them to the meeting and asked "Do you have a granddaughter named April?" I guess all those calls searching for books and things paid off, I now have a permanent place with the town which means the world to me.

The pictures above are my grandpa and the sign for Grasso Park dedicated to my great great grandfather and grandmother Frank and Victoria Grasso. A plaque with the history of our family and pictures of my great great grandpa Frank in front of the homestead and three of the brother Johnny, Tom (my Grandpa) and Rich. The chicken coop and barn in Grasso Park. Another picture of the dedication sign and landscaping. And the renovated homestead which is now the meeting area for the Town of Superior council. Thank you Superior for taking care to preserve our history it is better than anyone could have imagined.

Weekend News

2008-06-09T17:39:00.002-04:00

What a strange weekend it has been. First all, I took the day off Friday to work in the yard. All the boys (Sam, Chilles *Pronounced Killese*, and Butt) were outside Sammy likes to start fights and chased poor Butt-Butt up a tree. Sweet boy Achilles came to his brothers aid and tried to distract Sam away from Butt, instead though he ended up getting attacked by Sammy until finally I broke the three of them up. Then I am walking around the yard doing my watering and I see what looks like Butt Butt in the far wooded area near the fence. I called to him with no response ( he always responds). But I looked down and Butt Butt was right at my feet with Sammy next to him and Chilles behind me. I looked again and IT WAS A COYOTE! He was just trotting around, kinda looked like a little guy. I hooped and hollered at him and waved my hands around like an idiot but it made him run away. I have since heard him again in the same area at night making those weird noises. Cumberland County has had a terrible time with coyotes the past two years and has put a bounty of $50.00 for every coyote killed. I knew they were in our area, as you can always hear them at night but usually they are way off down in the woods, never so close to the house. I did see one a few years ago run through the yard, but it happened so fast that I didn't get a good look and I hadn't seen one again till now. And lastly I burned my face making fried chicken. I had a momentary brain fart and couldn't understand why the oil wouldn't bubble, so I kept turning up the heat. Then I remembered that I had forgot to put butter in and dropped a spoonful in.....sizzle splash ahhhhhh.......now my face is burned. Not too bad though I jumped out of the way fast, but I caught a hot one below my right eye. John has decided that it is my fried chicken battle scar. Pictures are of the brothers Achilles (the grey) and Button (tiger tabby) showing some love in the bathroom, and my artist rendering of the coyote. Yes I suck at drawing, but it happened way to fast for me to grab my camera so you are just going to have to deal with the illustration.

Better Late Than Never (My Motto)

2008-06-03T17:07:00.004-04:00

This happened last Tuesday night but of course I am a little late posting. John took the twins outside to pee and play their favorite game of laser aka "Get It - Get It" and within a few minutes I hear him laughing and asking Deli if she was ok. I asked him what happened and he said I don't know I heard a big splash and she came back up to the porch all wet. I thought she had probably fallen in the frog infested pool but she was dry on top and only wet underneath. So we took a flashlight out and saw a puddle of water next to their water bucket and figured that she probably knocked it over and somehow knocked it upright again. It wasn't until the morning when I walked up to it that I discovered she had plowed into it full force and annihilated it with a vengeance. Of course as usual she acted as if it was nothing and didn't hurt a bit. If it had been Dora it would have been a completely different situation. Dora has to milk every injury (sounds familiar with someone else I know....oh yeah me!). The other weekend I was working in the yard and left the girls in the house alone to cool off. John came home and ran out the house asking me what was wrong with Dora. Of course I had no clue, but she was yelping and biting at her tail. First reaction was, oh great she broke her tail. Poor thing wouldn't wag it or raise it at all. Within 30 minutes she was wagging the tip and by the next day or two she had it pointing straight up in the air. Me thinks she milked it for Daddy's attention, as she has before, when she tripped up the stairs and screamed and howled and held her leg out to the side for a day before deciding she could walk on it again. They say that dogs take after their owners, but I don't think I'm that bad. Or maybe I am.

Garden Galore

2008-06-02T13:39:00.002-04:00

Just some random photos I thought I would add, no great photography here just stuff I snapped while rushing to get to work. Top picture is of the pots and ferns I put on either side of the front door (Ugh shutters need painting) The second picture is of the veggie garden, which is still unfortunately in the prep stage. I got sick of digging by hand and borrowed a hand tiller from work and tilled up the rest of the area. Now I am going back through by hand to scoop up rocks. The third picture is of my tomatoes, dahlias, and peppers in their seedling trays ready and waiting to be planted. The fourth is a picture of the orange Gerber daises in a pot by the pool (I have red ones too....) . The last picture is of my petunias in pink and purples, morning glory seedlings, and more daises. I don't know why but the purple ones look all stringing and sickly and the pink petunias look great. Perhaps I should cut them back??

Bunny 1....Dusty Miller 0

2008-05-28T18:05:00.002-04:00

I know it has been a week since posting... internet trouble and all. But needless to say I'm back. And I have lots of pictures to post. First up my current obsession, flowers, particularly geraniums. They are just beautiful (Or at least they are when Dora and Deli DON'T hurl themselves recklessly about, and wrestle on top of them, note.. I omitted the geranium victim pictures...too much pain...) But truly my absolute favorite is the ivy geranium in the bottom photo. With the little delicate pink and purple blooms, this thing makes me smile every time I see it. I know this is going to sound weird, but I love the smell of geraniums it reminds me of my grandma. The title of this post pertains to the top photo. Apparently little bunnies love dusty millers and the one above has now been reduced to a stick. (And yes I need to weed that area, but I have had to give all my attention to the vegetable garden project at the moment...Stupid Rocks)

Tribute to Nana (John's Mom) & Old Man (John's Stepdad)

2008-05-19T17:12:00.005-04:00

John's Mom's Rose Bush (It's HUGE! The picture does it no justice.)

Deli(In all her glory)

Beautiful Pink Rose(That never bloomed until John's mom came to visit)

We will miss you guys. We already miss you. I know you had to keep on moving down the road, but the past two weeks have been wonderful. I personally have enjoyed your visit so much that I have been depressed all day knowing you won't be home when I get there. Deli will miss her Nana cuddle bug. She just loved to lean on you on the couch and lick your face. I also hope Bo Bo isn't too heart broken when missing his girls. I know he loves them sooo much. And where would we be without the Old Man?? We would have tall grass, potholes in the driveway, and an non-working lawn mower to mention a few. I really enjoyed working in the yard, playing games, going shopping, getting beautified, and having supper with a side of Wheel, Jeopardy, and 5th Grader. WE LOVE YOU!

Here A Rock There A Rock .....Yeah You Get The Idea

2008-05-15T17:53:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we had a family digging party. Which really involved me "supervising" while everybody else dug in the yard for a vegetable and flower gardens. But really I was sick, hacking up things I'd rather not mention on here. Anyway I invited my rents up to meet John's rents and my sis and her boyfriend and it turned into a digging/pizza party. The digging part though proved to be difficult and you can see why above. ROCKS Lots of them. And I'm am not talking about pebbles but big boulderish rocks. The kind that when you hit your shovel on them you go into a seizure and sparks fly. They are all over the yard. The picture on top is the pile of rocks from the smaller bed to the right. The picture on the bottom is from the vegetable garden on the left(The blue rocks are part of the driveway and don't apply to the story so please ignore). And there are still other piles that I didn't take pictures of(Two pictures of boring rocks seemed like enough). John's mom told us that the whole house is sitting on a gigantic boulder and they had to blast into it to set the foundation. One thing is for sure, I am going to have a kick ass rock garden. Oh and after further examination of the top picture I realize that I can't dig in a straight line. Ok so that is now added to the multitude of things I can't do in a straight line consisting of drawing, walking, cutting, sewing, painting, mowing, driving, swimming, running, and now digging.

Dog Fence Phase 2

2008-05-14T15:15:00.002-04:00

Ok I have a lot of pictures to post so stay tuned more will be coming daily. For today, back to the dog fence. Thanks to John's mom and step dad for helping us out during their visit, we finally have all the wire pulled and boards put up on one side of the fence. Now all we need is the rest of the boards up (once that tax rebate check comes) and a gate. Then the girls will be ready to move in. John has plans to build them a deluxe dog house within the fence. He mentioned two stories, beds, and a porch for this thing. He spoils them rotten, but anything for our babies. Oh and notice the now mowed grass?? Yes, thanks to Vere (John's Step Dad) the lawn mower now moves and no longer spews gas everywhere! And he even mowed all our grass too!! There was one small casualty in the process, the tree nursery that looks very similar to some rampant weeds got annihilated. I haven't had much luck with the tree thing this was my 3rd batch. The first Layla decided that they were her toys and despite the cages around them she managed to pull every last one out and laid the lifeless sticks on the porch for me. The next batch got lost in the mail somehow and showed up in the dead of winter dried up and frozen. And now the last batch mowed. Perhaps this is a sign to buy bigger trees from the get go.

King Butt Butt

2008-05-12T10:15:00.004-04:00

Well I tried to post these earlier but blogspot wasn't working. My little man was gone for three days and then came home to sleep on his perch. He is the king of the castle on this kitty tower and no one else is allowed at the top. He gets so hyper sometimes up there though, he will flip over and swat at anyone who walks by. Tuxie likes the lower perch but knows better than to mess with King Butt Butt.

The Most Amazing Person

2008-05-05T16:31:00.002-04:00

To the most wonderful amazing person, I love you! Just thinking about the truly beautiful things this man has done for me and his family puts me in total awe. His mom was extremely ill this past winter surviving a total of 4 aneurysms. John dropped everything to be at her side and support her. He held her hand through each step, and even got on a plane twice for her. (He hates to fly) Due to the miracle doctors in Dallas, and just luck and prayer she overcame everything and is doing great! This man of mine is incredible!!!! This particular picture fills me with emotion, our beloved Layla with her Daddy.

Shave a Cat?

2008-05-02T10:24:00.003-04:00

There is something wrong with this cat. I have known for a while that she didn't have all her marbles, but it seems to get progressively worse. From the beginning she refused to use a litter box, and now much to my dismay has chosen the guest bathtub as her place of choice(Yes it is disgusting as it sounds). While I am happy there is a drain it is still frustrating. She refuses to play with anything, all the other cats play one way or another, she stares off into space. She constantly is meowing at household objects and appliances like the dishwasher, the TV (when it is off), the laundry room door, a random spot on the wall. I am wondering if she is seeing something we don't or she is just nuts. Now the latest thing is her refusal to clean herself. Prinnee tries to help her out and holds her down to clean her head, but she won't sit still for long. Now she is nappy dreadlock kitty and god forbid if you try to brush her World War III erupts. She screams, scratches, and then throws herself into the crocodile death spin. John's solution? Shave her. So far I have refused, I still have reservations about it not being the "humane" thing to do but really what choice do we have?

OOOOOOOOOOOOO LA LA

2008-04-25T16:32:00.002-04:00

French for look at my pretty new doors!! Thanks to Pete and his sons at Cornerstone Construction for hooking us up! The first picture is the den doors looking out, the second picture is the master bedroom doors looking in. I wish I had a picture of the old doors so you could understand my joy, but simply put they were rotting. Oh and ignore the green pool/frog pond and the dilapidated porch, which are still future projects in the brainstorming phase.

Ebony & Ivory

2008-04-23T18:13:00.003-04:00

Annie loves to cuddle with her Dora!

Dog Fence

2008-04-21T17:37:00.004-04:00

Our current project ....
A new 50 somethingish feet by 60 somethingish feet of dog fence for the more than rambunctious twins. First when they were babies we had a wire and green stake fence which quickly was demolished after they pulled on the wire to the point it was nearly folded in half. Next we switched to an electric fence, which was all good at first(And no it was not painful or abusive we tested them on ourselves). The girls were terrified of it and would back away when it would beep. But of course they figured out that if they ran out of it as fast as they can it would stop shocking after 20 feet or so. Dora is not really the problem and we could just leave her in the yard to roam on her own free will as she doesn't venture far at all. But Delilah is a runner much like our beloved Layla was, and if she gets a whiff of something, anything she takes off, and to make matters worse she gets Dora to be bad too, and they become an unstoppable force. Lucky for us our neighbors are fantastic and treated us oh so kindly putting up with them and me when they ran to the horse barn across the street and tried to attack the horses, pulled trash out of the woods and shredded it everywhere, and most of all to put up with my constant screaming, crying, yelling at the top of my lungs. At this point the girls are tied on 30 foot cables with choke chains. They are miserable, and it makes me so miserable seeing them sad. They can't touch each other because they pull each others collars off. (Smart Dogs) So they sit alone with no shelter in rain, sun, snow (yeah as if we had snow), and spend their time destroying the front field. Hopefully though it won't be long before that all changes. The fence is underway all 31 post holes have been dug. (Ugh by John and my own hands. I will not be sad if I never have to dig another post hole again) Now if it could just stop raining long enough for us to finish it.

Turkey Time

2008-04-18T13:47:00.000-04:00

This is what happens in our house if you try to make a turkey sandwich. *Note - Turn up the volume and you will hear them* Oh, Anna had already bolted outside for the day.

The Feniello Ten

2008-04-18T13:40:00.000-04:00

John happened to be writing out a card to some family earlier this week and he wrote out all of our names. I never realized it but there are ten of us. John, Myself, Our 6 Cats (Sammy, Prinnee, Tuxie, Annabella, Achilles, and Button) and Our 2 dogs twins Dora and Delilah. That is a huge family no wonder I am insane.

First Post

2008-04-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

OK...... so everybody and their mother is blogging. At first I thought blogs what a waste, a place where people can post opinions on unimportant things like Hollywood gossip, politics, etc, etc, etc. It wasn't until after reading an old friends blog that gives us a little glimpse of her world and daily life. Not only that but she is also documenting the lives of her kids, not only for friends and family to see but for her kids too as a sort of diary/baby book/ scrapbook. Pretty cool. So I thought why not me? While I will welcome my friends and family to read, this is more for myself than anyone. A sort of therapy for my trials and tribulations. More to come soon, the adventure of life starts here.