Filed under: gardening
Okay, that was totally lame! Sorry.
Anyway, continuing from yesterday, I have completed the beds and planted nearly everything. I’m still missing 2 types of tomato plants and cumin. Yes! My mom found cumin. We’re not sure if it will be plants or seeds, we’ll see.
I also forgot to mention one other thing I had planned on planting. Sunflowers. I had mild success at growing one before for a class project, but I think we beat the poor thing to death, even though it was growing okay before we moved it. I think I can say it was a success because it did grow, we just never got it to flower, because we accidentally killed it. No biggie.
I will get pictures of my containers, but I did get a picture of the garden. I figured out that the garden is 104 square feet of growing space, even though it probably looks bigger than that. It’s because it’s spread out. This photo was taken at 8:00 this morning, as the sun was coming out from behind the trees behind our house. These boxes will get sun from 8:00 to about 6-7, depending on when the sun goes behind the trees in front of our house. I’m sure the sunlight will last longer as the summer wears on, but most are full sun plants, so they should be fine!
Planting beds
You may have missed this, but in case you are wondering why they are planted in such a strange way, it’s because the far end of the boxes are facing directly north. That short diagonal of fence is the north “corner” of our yard exactly. I arranged them to take up the least amount of yard space and take advantage of the most sun. The stump is a poor dogwood that didn’t make it through two rather windy days last year. (Including Ike’s descent on Ohio.) As much as it was pretty in spring, I’m glad it’s gone, because I can use the sunny corner for a garden. (Hey, at least I’m planting something, instead of just leaving the space empty! I’m being ec0-friendly!)
The box off to the right side is a higher box for carrots and potatoes. Pretty much everything will be growing “above” the ground, except maybe the onions which seem to want to grow a little deeper than I originally planted them. As you can faintly see, there are a few things already growing, but most seeds were planted yesterday and today.
As far as the containers go, we have 3 tomato, lots of strawberry transplants (want one? I’m giving them to any good home!), 3 flowers and 2 herb containers, plus a large planter with three strawberry plants (we really love strawberries!). I also bought more mint for the front yard, because I annihilated the stuff I had growing in a container for two years. (oops.) I’m really getting into this!
Filed under: gardening
Well, I’m mostly finished getting my garden ready, but I’ve got a little more work to do. As soon as I finish planting everything, I will be taking some pics. I think that I might have killed a few seeds, though, but anyway, I can always buy more.
Here’s a list of what I’m growing:
- Yellow and Green Squash/Zucchini
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Alaska Peas
- Basil
- Chammomile
- Parsley
- Cumin (if I can find seeds)
- Lemon Verbena
- Lettuce (may be too late for this???)
- Tomatoes: Big, Roma, Cherry and Grape (So far I’ve already got 6 plants and am going to get 4 more, can we say “Salsa?”)
- Cilantro
- Chile Peppers
- Banana Peppers
- Eggplant
- Green Beans
- Red Onions
- White Onions
- Cucumbers
- Chives
- Dill
- Oregano
- Broccoli
- Sweet Corn
- Bell Peppers (Green and variety colors)
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Sugar Pumpkins
- Strawberries
- Carrots
- White Potatoes
Sounds like a lot of stuff? Well, it is. But I’m growing it in a space that takes less than half of a regular garden, and several things are growing in two places, boxes and small containers.
Nour is going to have a few plants of her own to tend, some strawberries in a planter, Basil, parsley, cilantro and chives in an herb container, and I’m going to let her tend one of the tomato plants. Of course, I’ll have to keep an eye on her, but I want her to help with watering and harvesting.
Alex, on the other hand, cannot be trusted. He is now notorious for eating dirt. I had to bathe him twice yesterday because of this, so he is not allowed near the garden. And here, I was thinking about getting some sand and making a sandbox. May have to re-think that idea.
If all (or any) goes well with the growth, we will be sharing quite a bit of our harvest with others. Getting started has been a lot of work, and kind of costly, but the satisfaction of growing your own food is probably worth the sweat.
Filed under: knitting
(ETA: disclaimer: This post should not read “knitters are mean.” It’s sarcasm, (okay?) but it’s true stuff that real people find annoying. Knitting is a respectable hobby, and not just something a monkey could do. Hand-knitting is something we knitters love, and if you compare our stuff to something done by a machine, you will get an unpleasant jab with a pointy thing.)
I am reading through a hilarious thread at ravelry.com about the rules of knitting, or things you should never say or do to a person who knits, especially if you would like them to knit something for YOU in the future.
It’s pretty funny, but let’s just paraphrase a few of the “rules”: (These are just a few of the gripes knitters have. I haven’t found that many of these apply yet in my brief knitting life.)
1. If I knit you something, a thank you is appreciated, and a note is even better. It takes time and effort to knit something, and even though it’s not rocket science, it’s not like eating cake. Appreciation goes a long way.
2. If you give me yarn as a present in the hopes that I will make you something, that’s not a real present. You are welcome to give me yarn, but I will probably make something for someone else with it. No offense.
3. Don’t ever say “I could never do that” when you see me knitting. Say something like “that’s a really cool hobby” or something else that doesn’t make it sound like you are a complete idiot. Learning to knit is NOT hard. Really. I taught myself in a day. No, not everyone could do that, but if you wanted to at least give it a try, someone could probably teach you in the course of a week or two. I wouldn’t be offended if you tried and failed, but don’t say you couldn’t if you haven’t tried.
4. Never give away something I knit for you or your child. That is just an insult.
5. Hand-knitted items cost more than you know. I get a lot of my yarn on sale, but I made a simple bag today that would have cost nearly $3.00 if I’d paid full price for the yarn. Sure, it looks like a cheap bag, but if I weren’t giving it as a gift, I’d charge you at least $10 for it. Why? Because it took me more than 5 minutes to crochet. And I think that’s pretty generous. Don’t complain if you want to purchase an item from me and I tell you it’s going to cost a pretty penny.
6. If I am knitting in public, and I have stopped to count, please don’t start talking to me. If I’m not knitting right that second I’m concentrating. I’ll be really annoyed if you make me start counting over again.
7. Lavish praise for ANY knitted item you see on me or my kid is welcome and appreciated. Complete strangers at Crew Stadium absolutely made my day when they gave me lots of love for my son’s “Crew” pants.
8. Never tell me that I’m wasting time or I could be doing something better with my time than knitting. Do you have any idea how much free time there is? I don’t just knit sitting in my bedroom all alone. Knitting can be done anywhere (except in church, that’s kind of rude). Besides, is THIS (blogging) a better use of free time than knitting socks for a baby?
If you can abide by these rules (and many more), then you may ask nicely (ONCE) if I could knit you something. Without a deadline or concern over cost (if you are nice enough to consider paying me for it). I will knit for children free of cost unless it is something elaborate.
And finally, a story:
One day, I was sharing with Sam that I wanted to finish one knit item and start making another. I was making a small tea cozy for one of Nour’s toy teapots. Superfluous, sure, but cute and fun, and she knows how to appreciate my knits. He got annoyed that I was starting some other “silly” project that I fired back. He said I was wasting time knitting (a big no-no), and I decided to point out a few of the things he “wasted time” on. After leaving to let him steam (I went into a store after my snarky reply), he apologized upon my return. It may not have been a very kind conversation prior to my storming away, but he got the message that you don’t mess with someone else’s hobby. Even if YOU don’t get why they like it so much.
Filed under: deep thoughts
This is more of a musing than the other things I’ve written lately, but I thought it was worth sharing.
I have always felt that making a choice to do one thing over another was a bit of a disappointment. Why can’t we have it both ways? But, alas, we can’t. So when a person chooses marriage over celibacy, they are making a choice to live that way, rather than the other.
In Christianity, these choices are even more pronounced, because how you choose to live determines many of your other choices, particularly where you will serve. For example, a single man or woman is able to choose to pursue many areas of Christian service, and is free to travel easily, without worrying about commitments to family or most other obligations. Of course, a married couple without children can often do the same thing, but some of their time is also taken up by being a couple. After all, a healthy marriage requires some intimate alone time. And a couple with children (or a single, for that matter) has the least amount of free time to pursue special interests. Of course, children may be a special interest, and are certainly a special ministry in themselves.
But at times I find myself envious of single friends because of their ability to pursue God without any hinderances on their time. And I find myself frustrated at times with childless couples who take their “freedom” for granted. This is not to minimize the suffering of infertile couples, but I think sometimes they miss the opportunities for service that God is giving them. Pursue having children in the meantime, but enjoy your childless ministry, because there won’t be as much time for at least the next 18 years.
And this is, I think what Paul stressed when he told people not to get married if they could handle it. Paul was free to go all over the Roman world spreading the gospel. If he had a family in tow, this would have been far more restricted. But we also mustn’t get caught up in wishing our lives were different once we’ve made our choice. Because there are still opportunities for service. There are just different opportunities. And this is part of the fun, finding out what we can do to serve God.
This is all to say that I personally feel that we should try to help our children understand how important their choices are. I think that when we make rash decisions that affect our whole lives, we can be disappointed or left wondering “what if?” But if we are given the chance to stop and consider, we may still make the same choice, but we’ll be happier with it in the long run. (I think I’ve made the right choices, in case you were wondering, but we all have moments!)
I was kind of beaten to this subject, but felt like sharing my own thoughts here, anyway.
I read chapter 16 in Purpose-Driven Life last night, and the subject, obviously, was love. It got me thinking, how many times does a form of the word “love” appear in the Bible.
By my own search estimates, the word or a form of it appears over 840 times in the Bible. That sounds like a pretty darn important word. I’m convinced more and more that Christianity has succumbed to the secular views of love, and that we have lost the meaning of the word.
Personally, I know that I’m bad at love. I think we all can agree that we have a lot of self-love, but we all have a very hard time giving our love to others. I think that one of the products of sin is selfishness with our love, in that we were given the capacity to love others, but we cannot do so because we feel that we are deserving of the love of others more than they are deserving of our love.
I heard a unique reading of 1 Corinthians 13 a few years ago at a wedding, and had a revelation about what we are supposed to do, and how love ought to look. Of course, we’ve all heard it read dozens of times, and sometimes “love” is replaced with “God.” But this pastor replaced the word “love” with the names of the bride and groom, in order to give an example of what our relationships with each other ought to look like.
It’s a lot to live up to. But are you doing any of it?
“Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.”
Later in the chapter, Paul says this: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” I would like to paraphrase based on what I think Paul’s message really was.
When I was a sinner, I talked like a sinner, I thought like a sinner, I reasoned like a sinner. When I became a Christian, I put the sinful behavior behind me.
I can’t honestly say that there aren’t times when I act just like the sinner I was, but putting it this way makes me think that I really need to work on thinking like a Christian a lot more than I need to think about behaving like a Christian. I am an adult, I don’t act like a child any longer. I’m mature, and I have learned to control many of my childish impulses. But there are times when those childish impulses rise up in me and I struggle to fight against them. Sometimes they come out, and afterwards I feel foolish. I feel like I have not grown up at all, and I need to work harder at controlling the “inner child.” We all have an “inner sinner” (I know, cheesy rhyme!), and if we allow that sinner to rule, then the love of Christ can never come out, and we will be no better than the sinners in this world. Christ redeemed us. We are no longer slaves to sin. We need to “put off the old man and put on Christ.” What does this mean? Well, in essence, stop acting like you are the most important thing in the world. Treat others better and be nicer to your family, the one living in your home, and the one that you see every week at church.
I don’t want to have to do this every time, but since it’s been two months since my last post. I posted a new chapter yesterday, and hopefully I’ll try to be a little more consistent, because at this rate, the final post will be in 2012!
The link is in my sidebar. You are welcome to read my thoughts, even if you have nothing to add
Filed under: gardening
So I have about half of my garden planted, I haven’t bought all the other supplies I need yet. Some of the seeds are starting to sprout, particularly the corn, which is going to be a lot of fun when it’s out there growing. My only concern with the corn is the birds, but I think I’m just going to have to buy some birdseed to entice them away.
The one thing I’ve noticed is that I apparently misjudged how much soil I would need for each box, because I have way too little. I also should have put a thicker layer of paper underneath, because a couple are already sprouting weeks, which I just don’t want to deal with, but it looks like I’m going to have to suffer the consequences of my own misjudgment. I guess what I am thinking about the soil is that where I need a thicker layer, I’ll just bulk up, and add more for next year.
Nour helped me plant some of the onions, which was fun, and Alex realized how much he likes to eat dirt when I was planting the other half. That was pretty entertaining, especially because he liked putting it in his mouth, but didn’t like the way it tasted. My onions are growing nicely, but I’m not sure if I can use the stalks while they are still growing, or if I need to wait until the onions get a little more secure. I love green onions!
Alex was born almost a year ago. In fact, it was on a Friday that I started having contractions that slowly turned into labor pains. You can read all about it in my birth story in the pages to the right.
Having a boy is so much different than having a girl. When it comes to the “baby” stage, Nour and Alex were very different, but not in a boy/girl sort of way, just a personality sort of way. Now that he is growing into the toddler stage, I can clearly see what everyone means by “such a boy.” He does things that are hilariously masculine, like preferring trucks to dolls, barking at dogs being walked down the street, and, of course, playing with himself. (why do boys do this so much more than girls?!!)
There is also a sense of gentleness in a little girl with babies, whereas boys tend to need to learn gentleness, and it comes much harder. Nour and Lils are so sweet and gentle with Bella, but Alex comes at her like a Mack truck. Huge difference. I am beginning to understand that while girls need a daddy, boys need a mommy just as much to help them understand how to treat a woman, learn gentleness and also just learn how to love unashamed.
This year has been especially challenging in a few ways, particularly where money comes in. Being on really only one paycheck has few advantages, and many headaches. The biggest struggle I’ve come to see is resisting temptation to purchase things we simply don’t need. We have to prioritize, and Sam and I both struggle with materialism. We’ve gotten better, but there are times when we slip.
Having two kids has also been a big adjustment, especially having a baby. It is like you forget how much attention a small one needs until you are dealing with it again, and my housekeeping has been seriously lacking! It’s a lot like working a full-time job, then coming home only to have a few hours before having to go to bed and do it all over again. Juggling children and housework is even harder for a stay-at-home parent than a working one, (hear me out!) because when you work, every moment with your children is precious, and you don’t feel as guilty about neglecting the housework a few times, but when you are at home, you feel as if you should be cleaning, when spending time with the kids is still vastly more important. And of course, children’s needs should come before that strong urge to scrub every inch of the kitchen floor. I’ve often fluctuated between feelings of frustration and resentment because of the expectations that a stay-at-home mom should have a glistening clean house, when this just isn’t the case. I’m not a terrible housekeeper, I’ve just got no motivation! I’m still trying to learn how to put the kids first and the guilt over housework last.
I’d really like to see my blog more, because there are times when I think, wow, I could really share this on my blog, but I can never seem to find the time, and I’m learning to accept that. I’ve been reading my Bible steadily for the last month and a half, and I’m gaining a new appreciation for focused study, rather than reading a chapter a day and not really paying attention to it. I’ve gained a much better understanding of God’s holiness, and I am beginning to desire more time. I suppose this is God’s way of training and disciplining me and helping me to get on a schedule. I’m beginning to understand that this is what is missing in the times that I feel like a dry well. Chaos really leads to spiritual emptiness, but order and routine frees up a lot of time to spend learning God’s word.
