A Lot for a Single Post

June 5, 20122 Comments

We made it on a four mile hike, but ended up killing Joe’s neck. He can hardly move it today. The hike was fun, we went to Laurel Ridge around Lake Lanier and down by the Chattahoochee. The Chattahoochee part resulted in watching this. It took over four hours, but that included a stop for lunch and lots of exploring. Great weather. I miss hiking, but I think it’s not going to happen for many years. It’s not the most toddler friendly to go on hikes much longer than a mile. Peter still had a lot of fun.

There is almost too much fun things to do around here. The pool for our complex opened last week and it’s lots of fun to be able to walk over and go swimming whenever we want. I’m always finding new parks to go visit: there seems to be an unlimited number of parks 20 minutes from our house. At one park we visited three different playgrounds in it on the same visit and there were still more!

I have really awesome kids. I was thinking about terrible twos and tantrums, and Peter is far more enjoyable than terrible. Curtis has been sleeping through the night for a while and has started smiling more.

Sometimes to get Peter off the computer I will take whatever he is doing and move it from the screen to real life. He was watching a clip about a dump truck over and over. I couldn’t think of a good replacement for dirt, but I did need to cook dinner. We cut veggies and used the dump truck to transport them to the dish. A sink full of soap and toys is also quite a bit of fun, although he’s not too interested when I actually need to clean some. We also made simple but cute paper bag puppets that don’t decapitate the animal when used.

We had a great time visiting my sister-in-law over memorial day weekend. Peter was running around with huge smiles on; he loved playing with his cousins. The good photos in the set are from Becki, she’s an excellent photographer and one of the best parts of visiting her is the photos we come home with.

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Underutilized Smells and Space

May 31, 2012

I went to a friend’s house to look at her garden and she had nice tomatoes growing. I haven’t grown any tomatoes due to lack of sunlight on my balcony, and a newborn right at planting time. I didn’t realize what I’d been missing out of until I put out my hand to touch the plants and got a whiff of one of the most beautiful smells in the world. I adore the smell of tomato vines, and currently I can’t think of smell I enjoy more. I might plant one as a fragrance plant, even if it’s a little late and shady to actually get tomatoes. I know that ‘tomato vine’ isn’t necessarily categorized as a pleasing smell, but its one of those smells that is richly associated with good memories for me. What smells in the garden or elsewhere are like that for you?

I saw this nursery while visiting some family in Huntsville, Alabama. It’s off the side of a highway underneath some high tension power lines. It’s strange shape is only about 30 feet wide, but a half-mile long. I didn’t get a chance to visit, but snapped some pictures while driving by. I think that it is a great use of space that can’t be used for much else. It reminds me of research I’ve heard of that grows biofuel crops on highway right-of-ways. Location is a part of sustainable agriculture, and both example show how agriculture can fit into places that are frequently wasted.

Definitely not Perfect

May 23, 20122 Comments

Here’s some pictures that show how photo shoots don’t always go as planned.

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My last attempt at Charles Dickens: I got to the word epoch which is in the first sentence. I realized I didn’t know what it meant. I have a Kindle now, so instead of just blowing over the word because it doesn’t affect the understanding of the overall story (what I normally do), I looked up the definition. Then I realized I didn’t know how to say it. So I looked up that too. And then I got off on the pronunciation manual. Several clips resulted in much laughing. Oh wait. I was reading a book…made it another few paragraphs and found another word I didn’t know. I gave up before I finished the first page.

One more thought: in this life the journey to perfection is far more important that actually being perfect.

Friday Randomness

May 18, 2012Leave a comment

I’m nearing the end of another week, haven’t done a post, and still don’t have anything specific to write about. My boys are awesome, and cute. So I’m sure everyone wants pictures first. The camping ones are from fathers and sons.

I love Atlanta. There is tons to do around here, and lately the weather has been perfect. Today we went to the Southeastern Train Museum. It’s super close to our house: I actually found out about it from driving by on the way to get groceries. I checked the prices online…wasn’t sure I wanted to go. Then I found out that our library has free passes to check out. Sweetness. I had a great time, so did Peter. He loved the model trains and Thomas set in the gift shop. I liked imangining what it would be like to ride in a cramped sleeping car. I also learned more about sorting mail on trains while Peter stared at the model train far longer than I was interested in it. Who knew that old, run-down trains could be so interesting?

The weather is awesome. The boys and I go to parks a lot. Tuesday we went down to the park on the Chattahoochee. The playground was fun, and the river was beautiful. Peter fed ducks and geese goldfish. (You really aren’t supposed to feed the fowls. It’s bad for them. I know that. But it’s also making childhood memories.) It reminded me a lot of going down to the duck park as a preschooler. We fed the ducks bread, and had picnics, and I was still called Elizabeth, not Liz. I remember my dad giving me under-doggies on the swings, and I was scared at how high I was going, but asked for more too. Some of my best first memories are at that park. I’m hoping I’m giving my kids memories that will stick too.

One last funny from Peter. I try to avoid sugary cereals. We were at the store getting a movie and donuts and I decided to go ahead and get a box of fruit loops. Peter was so excited that cheerios came in different colors. “Look cheerios mommy, red, blue, green!” I had to inform him that they weren’t actually cheerios but fruit loops. He kept calling them hoop-da-loops. They are his favorite now, so I decided to bake half the box into a lemon square dessert. (I was combining two recipes and it didn’t turn out. Edible, but nothing like I was expecting.)

The New American Landscape

May 15, 20121 Comment

While at the library, I saw this book sitting in a display on gardening. I had been eyeing the book for a while and immediately took it out of display and checked it out. (I’ve always wondered if this is proper library etiquette. Should one keep the display intact, or is the display made to get the books checked out?) This book is now added to my increasingly long list of books I’ve checked out from the library and read but now want to actually own. I’d love to add some notes and mark it up a bit. In the meanwhile, a short book review will at least capture some of the information in this book.

The book is a collection of essays from various experts and authors. The different viewpoints contributed to an arching theme of sustainability. The editor writes this about sustainability:

The accepted definition of sustainability is to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Applied to gardening, this means using methods, technologies, and materials that don’t deplete naturals resources or cause lasting harm to natural systems. (pg. 9)

Within the collection of voices, the interpretation of sustainability in the garden was varied, although there are several principle that hold true throughout. Some principles that I found include:

Reduced resource use, including chemicals, fertilizer and water
Planting adapted plants
Working with, not against, nature
Using more natives
Contributing to soil health
Creating landscapes that are productive
Planting a larger variety of plants

I actually wrote a senior paper for my horticulture degree that was in the same topic as this book. I’ve always liked the idea of making our landscapes more a part of nature, rather than a doorstep from inside to wherever else we are going. This book is a great intro and in-depth look at sustainable gardens, including information on sustainable solutions, meadows, natives, wildlife, climate change, edibles, green roofs, waterwise gardens, and soil health. I gained a better grasp on water gardens and permaculture, two concepts that I head a lot about but had yet to understand how to go about.

Most of the authors avoided being too doomsday sounding or preachy, instead presenting tangible benefits of gardening sustainably, and using scientific references. (One essay did make be cringe a bit. I would rather be persuaded to do something, not guilted into it.) This is a great read if you are at all interested in sustainable gardening.

Amicalola Falls

May 9, 20121 Comment

We went and hiked Amicalola Falls on Saturday. It’s the first time I felt I really got a cardio workout in since I’ve had Curtis, and it felt great. We saw mountains too, I’ve kinda missed them. (Very different from the Rockies, but still mountains.) The hike itself was a lot of stairs and a wheelchair accessible path. There’s actually lots more hiking trails in the park, but the stairs and path were enough for our group.

We went with these wonderful friends, which made it lots more fun. The waterfall and surrounding area were beautiful. We even made it to a bird show, at least until Curtis got fussy and I left to take care of him. Hiking with two kids is fun. I packed Curtis and Joe persuaded Peter up the stairs or on his shoulders. I felt like we had so much stuff for just a few-hour hike, both Joe and I had a bag, but we needed almost all of it.

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Blossoms Tour Part 2

May 8, 2012

Continuation of previous post

When I visited the third house, I noticed this formal planting on the drive:

Much of the garden close to the house was formal in nature, but there was a more naturalistic gully as well.

I loved this potting bench, although I would love to see it covered in potting soil and not made up for the tour.

The outdoor living space, complete with pool, fireplace, grill, good company and much appreciated water.

My first impression of the last garden was that it was bland, and the front yard was. But the back yard resembled a flower show. The highlight was not necessarily a functional garden, but rather various garden-themed scenes spread throughout the garden, beautifully decorated for the tour.

There’s a chandelier off the gazebo…very cool.

I loved the colors on the umbrella, echoed down into the place setting.

They were even playing French music to go along with this French cafe scene.

Adorable bird feeder…or squirrel feeder based on the statue.

Interesting Kids

May 4, 20124 Comments

Today wad Curtis’s two month check-up. The plan was to leave Peter at home with Dad and just take the baby, but then Joe’s work schedule was switched around so I took both. I managed to make it to the appointment on time, with mascara on even, in spite of two kids who were persistently crying at me. Things calmed down at the doctor’s office. The kids both cheered up and we were actually having a pretty fun time.

Curtis is doing quite well. He’s over the growth chart (99 percentile) for weight and height. At 17 lbs and nearly 26 inches he’s gained a pound a week since birth. He’s starting to outgrow his six month clothes. Mommy’s milk is doing its job. He’s got a little cold right now (courtesy of big brother), but is doing okay with it. Curtis does have a tendency to sometimes be fussy and have a hard time sleeping in the day. But it’s not every day, and he’s pretty good at sleeping at night. He’s started to smile, coo and interact more which is a lot of fun.

This is a strange story, so pay attention. Curtis was getting the first of a bunch of immunizations, and Peter was complaining/crying and wandering around the room. The crying seemed like normal two-year old I’m-not-getting-my-way crying. He’d been playing with the door and hit his foot a little, didn’t seem like a huge deal. I glanced over and noticed that he was bleeding a little. Went back to baby, then looked again, and realized he was bleeding A LOT. So I alerted the nurse, who immediately acted all nurse-like and got Peter to sit down and started to get the bleeding stopped. I just watched and held Curtis. He had tracked blood all over the floor of our room. We switched rooms, checked Peter in, and had the cut looked out. It actually wasn’t that big of a cut, no stitches or anything, but it did bleed quite a bit.

The best place to have a kid get a cut is in the doctor’s office. I didn’t have to clean any blood up or deal with the cut. It was promptly looked at by a doctor. And it was kinda funny.

This is not a great picture, but it’s the best I have of baby smiles:

Blossoms Garden Tour

May 3, 2012

On Saturday, I went to a free garden tour in Norcross featuring four residences and a plant sale. It was a bright sunny day, and I was beginning to feel the heat of summer. Luckily, I still managed to get some good pictures even with intense noon-day sunlight. The gardens were wonderful, and beautifully made-up for the tour. One common feature throughout all four that helped them stand out above other gardens was the use of embellishment and detail. Colorful pots, unique hardscape, statues, fountains and fun whimsical elements helped light up the gardens. The plants weren’t that bad either.

First up was a corner lot. The outdoor living space and most of the garden, including a large vegetable garden, were located in the front and side yard which I loved. It used the space well, and I enjoyed the more open and public feel.

The front yard, an effortless transition from outdoors in.

Welcoming front patio.

Side patio flanked by vegetable gardens .

Love this rustic outdoor chandelier.

The second garden had a lovely southern woodland feel. All the trees had been limbed up to allow for filtered rather than dense shade.

Looking from the back of the garden looking toward the house.

Side path with beautiful mass plantings.

Taken from behind the shed shown in the picture above. I love the attention to every out-of-the-way spaces.

This is enough for one post: more will be coming!

Spring Break

April 18, 20123 Comments

I had a spring break vacation this year, even though nobody in my family had spring break. But my little brother did and he and my parents came out and we had lots of fun. On Saturday, after picking them up at the airport, we had an easter egg hunt and dyed eggs. The eggs all looked horrible, but Peter had fun.

Sunday we blessed Curtis and had a nice dinner, complete with sweet potato Souffle. Monday we went to the Aquarium. Joe took the day off and came too. He took the pictures, so I’m actually in a bunch of them.

We stopped by Waffle House on the way home for a quick lunch. (You shouldn’t visit the south without visiting Waffle House. Oh, I just googled it and found out it is headquartered in our county, not too far from where we live.) Tuesday was a more relaxing day. Disc golf in the morning, and the kids and I stayed home to nap while my parents and brother went to the MLK historic site.

Wednesday we went to the Zoo and saw pandas. This was cool mostly because my sister is obsessed with pandas. She wasn’t actually here…but her enthusiasum about pandas has apparently worn off on me a bit.

We went to all you can eat pizza that night. While we were at pizza and nobody at home, someone signed for a package I was waiting for. I still need to locate it, I’m hoping the apartment office might have it. I dislike mail. After pizza, I had a fun date with Joe. We actually had no idea what we wanted to do, so just got in the car and drove and talked. We ended up at the lake up north, looked around, and drove back. Sounds boring…but it was wonderful.

Thursday was my favorite day. We went out to Stone Mountain and stayed there from 10 to almost 5 and had a blast. I re-discovered my nerves about heights, Peter had a blast at the barn, and we ate really good food. We went on the skyride to the top of the mountain, and then my parents walked down and I took the skyride with the kids. We met at the car, at the same time. (There’s a mile walk back after you get off the mountain too. So either my family was booking it (and knowing them they were fast) or the skyride is pretty slow when you have to wait (which we did)). The best thing is my parents ended up buying Joe and I season passes, so we can go back whenever.