what, no post?

ok, so i've been slacking. i've had various ideas of things to post but have dismissed them, but then go back to them.

one of the things i've been thinking about posting (and i guess i'm now going to talk about it) is the fact that a bird family has decided to make a nest in a bucket we keep on our patio. it's up on a high shelf -- well out of the way of laila, but it's kind of strange to think that we now share the patio with a bird family (or soon-to-be family). we, well, I was thinking we should evict them, but that's not very friendly, and so we're keeping them. or rather, letting them stay. so we'll see if we have a baby soon.

we're planting herbs and seeds. i'm planting seeds of thyme because i couldn't find a plant of it. i think that will be a gift to everyone i know, because one little packet of seeds has the potential to make hundreds of plants. we'll see how that goes.

and i'm getting ready for easter. i'm going to cook my famous (or not so famous) scalloped potatoes. and i'm not sure what else we'll have. but i'm sure it will be yummy. i hope you all have a wonderful easter and i'll post again soon. promise!

ps -- also keep an eye out for a post of new designs up on faylas follies. it IS spring ya know!

brief update

because it's been almost a week and i've been on such a roll with posting at least once a week (sometimes twice!), i thought i would give you a brief update.

first, where did the week go? the tulips have all died, but i enjoyed them every day they were alive.

i replaced both toilets in the house! w00t! let me tell you, it was a HUGE "5-minute-project". after multiple calls to my brother-in-law, a few tears and a frantic call to a plumber, they are both fully functional, and i would have to say that they work even better than the old ones. however, that project did consume the majority of my long weekend.

we did get a start on our garden though! on one of the many trips to the hardware store, we bought 4 kinds of peppers (3 of which are seeds), two basil plants, one cilantro plant and some cactus seeds. getting started on the garden!

guess that's it for now. have a lovely rest of the week, and a new more exciting update is in the works -- promise!

gardening: 101

well, to be honest, i'm not going to teach you to garden. i don't even know what i'm doing -- i'm winging it as someone i know (mom? dad?) would say. BUT, we did get our garden turned over. those of you that have read this blog from the beginning, remember my first attempt at a garden. and as fun as that was, i didn't count on the fact that last year would be so rainy and muddy and that the dog would take over the back yard. and in recent months, we have discovered that she can hop the garden fence -- not good if you want to actually grow something in the garden. so we've moved it and enlarged it. now it's on the east side of the house which gets loads of sun, but afternoon shade -- a good thing here in ATX.

we've also plotted out what we're planting and where and i've even put the rosemary in it's spot already. so we're on our way. i'd post a photo, but it's really not that pretty (nothing's planted yet), and it's literally only turned over. we still plan to cover it with the leaves from the yard and then a layer of mulch over that. then come planting time, we'll turn it all over and our veggies will be happy [fingers crossed!].

so what are you planting this year?

garden!

here it is!



it's not perfect. and probably not going to last 30 years, but it'll do for now.

texas in bloom

where to begin? every day i notice something else is blooming!

my daffodils have bloomed and died. but they were just a taste of what has come...

the pear tree has bloomed and now the petals are scattered across the yard as the fruit prepares to emerge.

the iris in the front yard have popped, they will still be blooming when my mom arrives on friday and they look beautiful in the pre-dawn mornings when i head off to work (also in the early evenings when i get home too!). i finally identified a random plant in my front garden yesterday -- it's snap dragons! who knew?! i also just noticed yesterday that the mountain laurel bushes in my backyard are just starting to bloom so those should be beautiful for mom's visit. and last (but of course not least) i saw some blue-bonnets yesterday. hard to believe i know. seems so early, but it is march and things are coming alive again.

i know i owe you all a post of my garden fence. i have the photo taken, i just need to upload it. so look for it later today or this week.