gran gran and yard work

It's been a great week - starting and ending with birthday parties. We brought Gran Gran (my mother-in-law) back with us from Savannah last Saturday to spend a few days in the Ville. The Monkey had a swimming party that next afternoon. Her swimming has come a long way - I mean, like from not leaving the steps to swimming on her own - in just a couple weeks. She even got up the courage to jump off the diving board!

My good friend, Deana, was there in the deep end, encouraging her along. She should be charging for her swim lessons! So glad I took some videos so Daddy (and grandparents, aunts and uncles) could see:

 {From left: Maggie, Cole, Hannah, Jane, Kate, Kessler and Carrie}

Happy birthday to Katie! 

This week was super hot, with temps in the 90s by lunchtime. We took Gran Gran with us to the pool one day and the rest we played outside until the heat was unbearable, then we played inside. There was a lot of tractor riding, puzzles, and books. We ran some errands and went out to lunch. The kids got surprises at Walmart one day: Honey picked "Frozen" and Josey picked bubbles and "colors" for the bath. You can imagine how the rest of that day went… 

It's really a shame I didn't take more pictures. One thing I did capture was the kids helping their GG in the yard. To be clear, we do have a lawn service that keeps our yard cut and edged. And we do tell her that she doesn't need to do anything…but, she loves it, and she does it anyway. We happened to talk about this pesky holly bush that has come back from supposedly being taking out last summer (yeah right). She took it as her personal mission to pull that thing up - big roots and all. Well, the kids love to help and stand over her (undoubtedly asking questions the whole time) while she works. 

Notice that border of pine straw with hydrangeas and azaleas? Before I continue our week, let me back up to Memorial Day weekend, when Joe and I did something about the eyesore that is the back of our backyard. It was more than an eyesore. It was a haven for poison ivy and who knows what else behind all the trees in the back of the yard (ticks? snakes?!). We didn't like the kids going back there but the lack of a border made it difficult to establish boundaries. So we created one. Instead of waiting on the church to approve a landscaper to do it and for all that to happen, on Memorial Day weekend we threw the kids in the car and went out and bought some bushes to plant ourselves. Joseph carried plants in the jeep and Hannah carried water in the front-loader. Joe dug holes and I planted. It was a team effort.

Now we can say "Don't go past the bushes!"

Gran Gran cleaned up back there a bit and our yard has never looked so good. Truth be told, I'm just glad we have grass. It took a while to fill in this year - and a lot of water and weed killer! It has also been very dry. GG and I prayed all week for rain and Wednesday afternoon we finally got some for the first time in weeks, I think. I don't know how long it had been, but we were parched in our neck of the woods.

Thursday, Poppy came to take Gran Gran home. We checked out Hannah's new school and lunched at McDonald's before they went back to Savannah. Sadly, this is the one picture I have of GG and her Sandersville grandbabies.

Joe met us for lunch and I realized that my three were all in turquoise. As much as I love coordinating outfits, I did not plan this. Still, I had to take a photo of them. {I was in linen pants and a white tank, so no need to include me in the picture.}

Goodness… I can just stare at this photo and I'm so full of love and gratitude - for them and for the amazing God that gave them to me.

memorial day weekend and joe's first ride

Joe went on his first bike ride since July 17 of last year.

We escorted him to the town square where he met the other cyclists.

We were glad when he got back home, safe and sound and feeling great! How about that spiffy new bike? It features flashing lights, reflectors and sirens. Ok, maybe not, but there are certainly some safety measures we are taking this go-round. He is now carrying his phone - something he's never done before. He has a tracking device where I can follow him on my phone or iPad. No solo riding. {For this first ride he rode with 4 other guys.} And, well yes, flashing lights. That's how he now rolls.

Later on we hit the Dairy Lane (a favorite local establishment) for lunch.

Granddaddy and Mrs. Renee sent the graduate some money to take the family out for ice cream to celebrate. She was excited and even handed the lady the money herself. Such a sweetie.

We picked up some plants at the nursery next door and spent the rest of the long weekend doing quite a bit of work in the yard. On Sunday, we wore red, white and blue to church in honor of Memorial Day.

Meme bought that adorable dress for Hannah. Joseph's outfit is 30 years old and was worn by my brothers. But how perfectly do they go together?! I love it!

There was no one to take a family picture, so this is how we did it.

And then Hannah wanted to take a picture of Momma and Daddy:

It was a nice holiday weekend, spent almost entirely at home. We talked a lot about the meaning of Memorial Day, and answered questions from a perceptive little girl. She is now talking about war and playing "let's kill the bad guys" with her brother. Well, perhaps she's beginning to understand what freedom means.

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!

time to plant and prune

At the end of April we were out in the backyard cleaning things up a bit. We aren't responsible for regular yard maintenance; the church pays a landscaper to do that. However, there is a hole right in the path of a child running to the swing set. Many have tripped and fallen. Joe, with Hannah and Joseph's help, filled it in a bit.

Hannah also helped Daddy plant basil and parsley.

Now, nearly two months later, the basil is doing great. We've already enjoyed plenty of homemade pesto.

The parsley, though it was nice and full at first, is not doing so great:

...Given a little too much lovin' from Joseph. He watered it everyday, filling it up to the top again and again. I've nursed it, and it's coming back. S-l-o-w-l-y.

And then there are the vegetable seeds that Hannah and I planted at the beginning of May. They came in an egg-carton kit my mom gave Hannah. This is what they looked like at one week old:

Please disregard the labels. They are incorrect, thanks to a little helper named Joseph. The carrot and green bean are swapped for sure. I'm not sure what else is off...

When it was time, we planted the seedlings at three weeks old. Because of the sunlight we needed to plant in a certain spot in the backyard. The more appropriate places for a garden would not get enough light, and so we used cheap laundry baskets and filled them with mulch from our compost pile, and lined the baskets along the ivy off the back patio. Keeping them well watered, we have watched them grow:

Today, at six weeks old, they look like this:

 {cucumber on the top left; watermelon on top right and bottom}

 {radish on the top left and bottom (not looking good); cucumber on top right}

 {squash on the top left and right; carrot on the bottom}

{green beans}

While my mother-in-law was in town she correctly identified them. Thanks, Gran Gran.

As for the lemon tree:

It has been moved from the ivy to a temporary home in the patch of dirt (discussed above) where grass doesn't seem to want to grow. But our lemons are growing:

 And new ones just came up in the last week or so!

The main "crop" will be ready a little later in the summer, and I'm not sure about these new ones. The Meyer lemon tree is an interesting thing. The fruit grows big and stays green for a while, looking like - you guessed it - limes. As the lemons mature, and have fully ripened they are bright yellow, almost an orangey-yellow.

I haven't mentioned the fig tree in a while. About five years ago, my mother-in-law took a sapling from our beloved fig tree at our old house in Savannah. We nurtured it and kept it in a pot until we moved to Sandersville, where we planted it in the ground. The placement was the best we could find in the backyard with full afternoon sun. Our fig has not thrived as much as we would like, but it's doing ok.

And today there are 13 little figs growing!

We had lots of yard work done this week. We had to wait a while, but it is beginning to look a lot better. The joys of living in a parsonage include having to go through different people and committees before being able to have anything done. This can be frustrating at times, but it's easier when you have a good trustees committee - and more importantly, a good chair of the trustees. Right now we are fortunate to have a great one. Still, the process is the same: before any exterior - or interior - work can be completed, the trustees have to approve it. And so, as ridiculous as it sounds (and may be), our bushes could not be pruned without permission. And the bushes both in the front- and back-yards were a little out of control. They got a good haircut and now they look like this:

{That's my little girl on the front steps. And talk about resurrecting plants, below are my geraniums from last year that were as good as dead a few months ago...more victims of J5.}

Yes, I realize how unattractive they are, and will be for a little while, but that's ok. I'm just thankful we got to this point. Most of the bushes along the sides of the house and in the back are azaleas, which grow back easily and fill in nicely. These along the front of the house are a variety of the yew family, and might not come back as well. In that case, we'll plant new ones all together.

The main purpose of all the landscaping work was not for looks. That was secondary. The main goal was to make the yard better for our family - as we are out there playing as often as we can be. Herbicide to kill the sticker-weeds (lots of "owwies") and fertilizer to help grass grow in the holes was sprayed all over the yard. Soon we'll be able to run around barefoot in the sprinklers! Pine straw was laid and other bushes trimmed.

In the back of the yard amidst the trees and along the side of the yard, poison ivy is growing rampant.

The landscaper sprayed and is diligent about getting rid of that. {Joe is very allergic, I'm allergic, and we don't know about the kids but assume they are probably allergic.} The ivy off the back porch where Joseph likes to throw and dig for toys was sprayed and will be removed and grass laid in its place. I am so excited about this! The ivy makes me nervous, both because poison ivy has been found growing in there too, and because with ivy always comes a higher risk of snakes. I don't like snakes. And, quite frankly, the ivy is just not attractive.

There are a couple trees (small and large) that need to be removed and I'd like to create a border along the back of the yard (mainly so the kids can't get back there), but also for aesthetics. I'd love hydrangea bushes or something similar and maybe some other flowering plants like lantana or zinnias, shasta daisies or sunflowers (my favorite)...but I am happy with the progress we're making.

On a final note, this year I bought all the fixins and made my own hanging plants for the back porch. I'm told that that is the less-expensive way to go and I like that I have more control over the type of flowers. This first year with having to buy the baskets themselves, it really didn't end up being any cheaper, but it was a good exercise, a little project for the kids to watch, and next year I won't need to buy the baskets. It was my mom's suggestion (a former and knowledgeable florist) and I'm glad I took it. Definitely a skill I'd like to hone. I chose petunias, impatiens and marigolds. They turned out ok.

And, except for the marigolds, are holding up pretty well.

from the kitchen of...

Good grief. It's eleven days into February and no posts. Where have I been? Checked out of the blogosphere to put it simply. Last week was hectic with work being done to the house, both underneath and in. And the usual busyness and sickness of everyday life with small children has set blogging on the back burner.

But, here I am now, and I want to share two recipes I've made recently. My mom delivered a bag full of ripe and wonderfully-smelling Meyer lemons from her tree. I had to do something with them, so I made these for dinner with friends:

 Strawberry Lemon Bars. Delicious. {The photo is beautiful, but not mine.}

And then I made these for a going away party for a girlfriend:

Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars. Heaven on a plate. {You might remember way back when I first blogged about these here.}

I am trying to get in the kitchen more. I've made or assisted with dinner more in the last month than I have in the last year. Not really... But I want to give my husband a night off occasionally. And there are so many dinners and desserts that I've seen in magazines or "pinned" that I want to try. Usually, I just tear out a recipe (or DVR a Food Network show) and put it on the honey-do list. But this year, I'm turning over a new leaf; I want to help my honey - whether he wants me in the kitchen or not!

blooming and growing

Last year, Joe planted all the leftover Easter lilies from the church in our backyard. I was very curious to see how this project of his would go. They were pretty for some time. After a while they turned brown and completely died and withered. As in nothing there at all. This spring, I was simply blown away when all of a sudden they started shooting up from the ground.

This picture was taken April 10. They were growing so fast, we were wondering if there was any way that they would bloom by Easter Sunday.

They did not. Four weeks later, on May 9th, they looked like this:

They were a few weeks late, but it was worth the wait. Today they look like this:

There is something so clean and pure about the lily. It's too bad we can't have them in the house. My allergies just can't take it.

A few other fun things growing in our yard.

Joe bought and planted flowers for me at Easter.

The first fruits making their debut on our 4th anniversary lemon tree.

Hmmmm. We love rosemary.

Our beloved fig tree is growing big - about 3' now, but won't bear fruit for a while. We've nurtured this little guy since Joe's mom brought him to us as a sapling from our big tree at the house we own in Savannah. Joe has made a lot of fig preserves in the 5 1/2 years we've been together. He set aside enough jars to last us over 2 years after we moved. More than the preserves, I miss picking and eating the fresh figs.

We also have basil. Last year we had two plants that grew pretty big. We left them alone through the winter and somehow, after all the freezing nights, a month ago Joe noticed a small sprout of basil at the base of the otherwise dead plant. He re-potted it and now, in just a couple weeks, we have a thriving basil plant. Yay for pesto!

Unfortunately we will not have fresh produce this year as we are moving next month. We will seriously miss our tomatoes. Joe will have to make his tomato pie with the store-bought variety.

So that's that. Not exactly a gardener's dream, but it's fine for us. For now. We are looking forward to planting a garden at our new house in Sandersville.