I got a 10x10 plot in a new organic community garden. I am clearly insane for considering this since I am just now feeling a bit better. But I love being in a garden full of vegetables, I got the smallest plot available, and a neighbor who is willing to help out. So now I have to try and make this work.
First step? Planning! Erm, wait. Research! Erm, research and planning!! Yeah.
So, some very rough thoughts:
-Absolutely nothing perennial or invasive
-I would like to try my hand at successive planting
-I only want to plant things we will actually eat
-I can and will donate any overage
-I know for sure that I want snow peas, snap peas, sweet peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, pumpkins (not sure if I want cooking or mini-decorative), heirloom tomatoes. I would love garlic scapes, leeks, maybe some potatoes if I can figure that out. Do I want flowers??? Maybe some marigolds to help with insects?
-I need to leave room for paths to work from
-Water is on site, but I can not use any sort of sprinkler or drip irrigation
-Any support structure must be temporary and made of untreated materials
-Nothing over 5 feet tall (no giant sunflowers or corn)
-I want the kids to be able to at least sort of enjoy coming with me, so maybe let them have a small section for each of them, or input in the planning?
I am TOTALLY open to suggestions, recommendations, ideas, etc. This is my first go at a plot this large by myself, espcially not being able to plan on growing things over years. Used to blueberry bushes, grapes, that sort of thing, with minimal other stuffs.
This should be fun. And while a different direction for this blog, hopefully an entertaining one.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Small changes
I am a Work in Progress. Maybe I should have a construction sign or something.
In and of itself this is a good thing. Change and evolution can be good. But sometimes it feels a bit like traveling on I-95. Some part is ALWAYS being worked on, you always get caught in traffic, and it never, ever, ever feels finished.
Being the time of year where resolutions are made, and everyone is about big change, I found myself thinking how doomed to failure it all was. Because change starts with the small things. I fear like most extremism any resolutions I make can't possibly stick.
I resolved to make small meaningful changes in my life. Take those big, unrealistic goals and make a tiny dent in each one.
Lose 100llbs = No matter the serving size, always leave a little left on my plate.
Eat healthier = eat 1 piece of fresh fruit a day.
Parent perfectly = Just once a day, when I go to scream, laugh about it instead.
Have a clean house = Each day spend 15 minutes cleaning ONE room.
Get fit = 3 days a week do some sort of healthy movement.
Stop spending any unnecessary money = talk to DH before I spend money on anything.
I was going to keep going with this, adding to it. But that makes it way too unrealistic and turns the whole thing into a Big Change.
What changes are you making in your life right now, big or small?
In and of itself this is a good thing. Change and evolution can be good. But sometimes it feels a bit like traveling on I-95. Some part is ALWAYS being worked on, you always get caught in traffic, and it never, ever, ever feels finished.
Being the time of year where resolutions are made, and everyone is about big change, I found myself thinking how doomed to failure it all was. Because change starts with the small things. I fear like most extremism any resolutions I make can't possibly stick.
I resolved to make small meaningful changes in my life. Take those big, unrealistic goals and make a tiny dent in each one.
Lose 100llbs = No matter the serving size, always leave a little left on my plate.
Eat healthier = eat 1 piece of fresh fruit a day.
Parent perfectly = Just once a day, when I go to scream, laugh about it instead.
Have a clean house = Each day spend 15 minutes cleaning ONE room.
Get fit = 3 days a week do some sort of healthy movement.
Stop spending any unnecessary money = talk to DH before I spend money on anything.
I was going to keep going with this, adding to it. But that makes it way too unrealistic and turns the whole thing into a Big Change.
What changes are you making in your life right now, big or small?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
On Calendars and Keeping Track
Over the years I have used many different systems for trying to keep track. Keep track of appointments, schedules, members of my family, you name it. For a while my favorite was the More Time Moms Calendar
but I never had it with me when I needed it. I had endless pieces of paper with appointment cards mixed in. I was chronically double booked. Then I got my Droid. Oh how I love that thing. Oh how I love that it gives me access to my Google Calendar! Except then I have to remember where I put my phone, or load my calendar on my laptop, or you know, do any sort of work at all, when I want to get a glance as to what we are doing for the day/week/month/year. So I decided to do monthly printouts to give me an overview that I can hang in my kitchen where my old calendars lived.
Sadly this was short lived as I discovered that one of my favorite features of my previous calendar was missing - I used to be able to dedicate a line or color to each person in the house, allowing me to, at a glance, figure out if I needed to actually be DOING something or just shuttling the kids. So my latest incarnation is to have each of the kids have their own Google calendars, which share with MY Google calendar, which then gets said overview printed and hung in the kitchen.
The husband? He is on his own for now. I either drag him with me, or leave him to his own devices.
What do YOU do to keep everyone on time, on track, and on the same page?
but I never had it with me when I needed it. I had endless pieces of paper with appointment cards mixed in. I was chronically double booked. Then I got my Droid. Oh how I love that thing. Oh how I love that it gives me access to my Google Calendar! Except then I have to remember where I put my phone, or load my calendar on my laptop, or you know, do any sort of work at all, when I want to get a glance as to what we are doing for the day/week/month/year. So I decided to do monthly printouts to give me an overview that I can hang in my kitchen where my old calendars lived. Sadly this was short lived as I discovered that one of my favorite features of my previous calendar was missing - I used to be able to dedicate a line or color to each person in the house, allowing me to, at a glance, figure out if I needed to actually be DOING something or just shuttling the kids. So my latest incarnation is to have each of the kids have their own Google calendars, which share with MY Google calendar, which then gets said overview printed and hung in the kitchen.
The husband? He is on his own for now. I either drag him with me, or leave him to his own devices.
What do YOU do to keep everyone on time, on track, and on the same page?
Monday, June 28, 2010
70 days to go.
The kids being home is a struggle to readjust to. More for them than for me, but it is no picnic for me either. They both have work to continue throughout the summer to prevent the dreaded summer slide. We are not talking about a full fledged curriculum. Just a few worksheets, writing in a journal, and reading. But you would think that there were spikes on the pencils and the papers were poisoned. None the less it gets done, even if my throat is sore from arguing and my patience is exhausted.
After this Herculean struggle the little lovelies want to go to the pool. Like none of this has been going on for the last two hours. Meanwhile, I am ready for a nap, not hours of playing lifeguard, swim instructor and pack horse at a pool RIGHT NOW.
Instead I will insist on mommy getting 15 minutes on the computer to decompress, make lunch and head to the pool, with an understanding that we are not staying all day, and that there will be reading to each other later while mommy does indeed catch a cat-nap.
Lordy how I missed them. I may be exhausted but September may come too soon.
After this Herculean struggle the little lovelies want to go to the pool. Like none of this has been going on for the last two hours. Meanwhile, I am ready for a nap, not hours of playing lifeguard, swim instructor and pack horse at a pool RIGHT NOW.
Instead I will insist on mommy getting 15 minutes on the computer to decompress, make lunch and head to the pool, with an understanding that we are not staying all day, and that there will be reading to each other later while mommy does indeed catch a cat-nap.
Lordy how I missed them. I may be exhausted but September may come too soon.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Some days
Some days are harder than others. Today is one of those days.
It was harder to stay asleep last night. By 3:30 I was up and going, and not in a good way.
Getting in the shower was a fight. Why bother getting clean when in a couple of hours just going to ruin it all by exercising.
Getting dressed lately has been hell. I have no interest in any of my clothes. Or rather, how I look in them. Even the pretty ones. Which, regardless, where not going on my chore and exercising doing body.
I pushed and got the kids dressed, fed, and on the bus. I avoided a fight with a neighbor by biting my tongue. That too is not getting any easier.
Some days just walking down the stairs to do laundry is hard. My knees ache and everything is tight. This is one of those days.
Emptying the dishwasher made my hip ache. WTF hip? Knock it off.
Clearly my body is tight, so what the hell, might as well try and exercise to get it loosened up. See, I am full of bright ideas today.
Some days I can't force myself to exercise. Some days I can, and am then filled with dread as I push through it.
Some days I just keep going. Even with the shadow of a migraine, my body betraying me hundred ways, and the intense desire to beg Bear to come home and snuggle with me.
Today was one of those days.
It was harder to stay asleep last night. By 3:30 I was up and going, and not in a good way.
Getting in the shower was a fight. Why bother getting clean when in a couple of hours just going to ruin it all by exercising.
Getting dressed lately has been hell. I have no interest in any of my clothes. Or rather, how I look in them. Even the pretty ones. Which, regardless, where not going on my chore and exercising doing body.
I pushed and got the kids dressed, fed, and on the bus. I avoided a fight with a neighbor by biting my tongue. That too is not getting any easier.
Some days just walking down the stairs to do laundry is hard. My knees ache and everything is tight. This is one of those days.
Emptying the dishwasher made my hip ache. WTF hip? Knock it off.
Clearly my body is tight, so what the hell, might as well try and exercise to get it loosened up. See, I am full of bright ideas today.
Some days I can't force myself to exercise. Some days I can, and am then filled with dread as I push through it.
Some days I just keep going. Even with the shadow of a migraine, my body betraying me hundred ways, and the intense desire to beg Bear to come home and snuggle with me.
Today was one of those days.
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