everything was going my way

yesterday morning.  I don't know what it was, but everything was just working out.  That wasn't the case this morning.  I was ready for a redo before 9:00.  I think the garbage disposal might've crapped out on me.  It was humming and not grinding, then it wasn't even humming, and then it started stinking.  I went ahead and got a new one today in case the other needs to be replaced... the other one that isn't very old.  I don't know what it is with me and garbage disposals.  I guess it's better than head gaskets.

One thing that wasn't a bummer this morning was the seed progress.  Looky here.

Yesterday morning compared to this morning.

And don't forget about the tomatoes.

Then the zucchini in the pot.

And guess who else decided to come out and party?  The zucchini in the flower bed!

My small containers should be here today.  I can't wait to move some of this stuff.

Oh well, it's the baby's nap time but the guys could show up at any time to mow.  I'm really hoping "later today" is around 4:30 or 5:00.  That would be ideal.  I guess I'll go sit and chill.

I'll try not to post any garden updates later, but I'm not making any promises.

I have one thing to

say... wow.  This was what the zucchini looked like this morning.

Here it is next to yesterday's picture.

So, of course I'm obsessed and I had to check on them later in the day.

Look at the change from this morning to this afternoon.

After taking the afternoon pic and zooming in, I noticed two little nubs sticking out on the tomato side.  Here they are later in the afternoon, more than nubs and actual little things.  Sprouts?

What if this turns out to be my calling?  That's wild.  It also might not take much to amuse me when it comes to something I know nothing about.  I'll just keep learning as I go.  I ordered some bigger containers today, but that wasn't easy.  I had to find something that was food safe and BPA free.  I'm turning into one of those people.  ugh... I figured though, why go through all the trouble growing my own stuff if it's contaminated with some funk from plastic?  Anyway, I found some containers and they're supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  Want to know why I need them ASAP?  Because the roots are busting through the bottom of the egg carton.

So that's the latest in my adventures of gardening.  I did have a bit of panic this evening though.  What will I do when spring comes around and caterpillars are everywhere?  I've come up with a couple of options and am hoping I might have it figured out.  More to come on that.

All the vegetable excitement yesterday had me wanting to cook.  (There hasn't been much of that lately.)  I bought tomatoes the other day to try something I saw and we ended up liking it.  I don't remember the actual name, but you roast little tomatoes and smash them.  Cook some chopped shallots in olive oil, then add the tomatoes and some garlic with a few capers and a TBS or so of water.  Mix all that up with angel hair pasta and also toss in some basil (which I had growing outside, thank you) and fresh, torn up mozzarella.  (And I don't get the fresh mozzarella thing.  Isn't most mozzarella fresh if you plan on eating it?)  Whatever the dish is technically called, this is it.

It was good.  I also warmed up some french bread and found a copycat recipe for Carrabba's herb oil dip.

That's it for now.  It's almost my bedtime so I need to go research gardening stuff before I fall asleep.  And don't fret, I should have another plant pic tomorrow.

There are

big little things happening around here!  To make a long story short, I'm on my way to being a gardener.

Look at the zucchini seeds I planted on Saturday.

And here are the ones I put in a pot.  (Yes, those are packing peanuts popping through.  I wanted something down there to help it drain and not waste so much soil.)

The ones in the ground still haven't done anything, just like the tomato seeds.  I'm not giving up.  While I'm waiting on the tomatoes though, I really need to research and find out what I'm supposed to do next with these seeds that are sprouting.  Wish me luck.

Things are happening

and I'm excited.  Five years ago, the neighborhood ACC approved an extension to our patio and walkway to go through the single gate we were about to add.  We added the single gate, but never got around to the patio.  The patio is coming... fingers crossed.  I say fingers crossed because they started digging on Monday and on Friday when they were waiting on the cement truck, it started raining.  They said they'd be back tomorrow to pour.  Guess what.  There's 80% chance of rain tomorrow.  I have already scheduled to take the dogs back to the vet for boarding tomorrow too.

Anyway, here's where they removed our pavers and will pour the walkway.

Doesn't that just make sense to have that gate right there?  And with a walkway?  I don't like getting my feet dirty and everything about this makes me happy.  And before we had the fence replaced, the only gate on that side was the double gate way in the middle.  Ahh...

So, here's where the extension to the patio will be.  Come through the gate and walk straight to the patio, no more booby traps from the dogs to deal with.  Also, now people can easily come straight to the back yard whenever we have stuff going on back there.  No more listening for the doorbell and all that jazz.  Gathering in the backyard?  No problem, come on back.

Here's another reason I wanted that concrete there so badly.

Look how dirty the brick is where the dogs would dig. Yuck. 

And here's the other side of the patio.

I'm going to add potted plants to hide the sleep aid window unit.  I need to find new storage for the water hose too.  That metal thing isn't going to stake into concrete.  I also already have plans for the stacks of stepping stones and pavers.

Before they cleared this area out, I didn't really think that would add much.  Once it was cleared, that spot looks a lot bigger than I'd imagined.  I can't wait.

Speaking of those pavers and stepping stones, there's one more thing happening.  I'm going to make a small platform to put in the yard.  Looking at that last picture, it'll be up against that fence but down to the left.  On that platform will be containers.  Containers of what, you ask?

I ordered a few seeds and I'm going to see how they take off.  Once (if) they start growing, I'll transfer them to containers and that will be the beginning of my container garden.

I read that roma tomatoes and zucchini are good for starting in July in this zone, so that's what I have.  The 5 egg holes on the right are roma tomato seeds and all the other holes are zucchini.  I also have zucchini in a little pot by my herbs (that'll mainly get shade) and I put some seeds in the flower bed too.

*not chives

Those will mainly get sun.  I'm hoping with the different areas, something will work.  By the time they're ready for a bigger container, I'm counting on the platform being ready.  My building skills aren't near as good as my gardening skills... and my gardening skills aren't good.  It sounds like the theme for July is high hopes.  Like needing a walkway for a gathering when gatherings are pretty much outlawed.  Oh well, I'll be ready when it's time.

So that's a few of the things keeping me busy and excited.  Once all this is done, I'll get back to trying to keep the dogs in the yard.  Did I mention they dug another hole and Archer went out along the back?  Yeah, that happened, right after I'd been bragging about how smart he is by not doing that again.  Whatever, I'm focusing on my concrete and plants right now.

the pandemic and tp

shortage has me thinking about things I need to stock up on. I wouldn't say I'm a prepper or anything, but in a sense, maybe? Okay, I'm not a doomsday prepper, just a hurricane/pandemic worrier. I don't know. I just started looking on Pinterest and saw things that preppers are doing and wondered if maybe I should be doing a little something... 

Like ordering a bag that can hold up to 100 gallons of water in the bathtub. I've lived in hurricane territory all my life and I've never wished I had or needed a bathtub full of water. During Harvey we had both tubs filled, but we didn't need it. But you know what? Why not? I didn't expect the great tp shortage of 2020 but there it was. By the way, there appears to be a topic on Pinterest. I had to google SHTF situations. Then I ordered a 100 gallon bladder for if SHTF. 

I have one word for

this morning. Frazzled. We have some men working in the backyard and I'm babysitting while trying to keep the dogs on leashes to go out for bathroom breaks. And because they know there's something going on back there, they whimper and whine a lot. I had to take action. With the baby here, I loaded up both dogs and got them to the vet. That was a lot. 

Yes, Archer. We're at the vet. 

He wasn't happy and jumped over the seat, hiding and trying to escape. 

Long story short, I'm home and hoping for a calmer afternoon with equally calm days to follow.  For now though, I'm tired and I need rest time like you wouldn't believe.  It's coming up. I'm making a quick lunch for us, then it's rest time. 

zzzzzzz...

the sinus pressure has been

for real lately.  I don't think my Zyrtec D is working anymore.  I used Afrin with Benadryl the other day and that helped.  The only problem is, Afrin can't be used for more than three days and Benadryl can't be used when I need to stay awake... so most days.  Right now I'm experimenting.  I might need to make another trip to the store for Flonase.  My last bottle fell and busted on the bathroom floor so right now I'm using the herbal stuff from HEB (have I talked about that here?) and eucalyptus oil on my face.  I'm trying to lay off the peppermint oil because I don't think Cosme can take it anymore.

I had a CBD gummie that Mom gave me the other day.  I'd been keeping the bag in my "dirty hippie" box.  After that, it took on the taste of the smell of the dirty hippie box.  I like that smell, but it doesn't taste the best.

For anyone not knowing, I store my frequently used oils in this box.  It now smells like what I call "dirty hippie".  I like that smell and will sometimes come take a whiff.  If someone made this scent into a dirty hippie candle, I'd buy it.

I had to pour more concrete today.  Maggie's been getting out at the back fence.  There is some good news out of that though. 1.Archer is still traumatized from his accident and won't follow her.  2. By the time I realize she's out, she's usually back at the house and goes back in easily.  3. She already did most of the digging for me.

I started this post two days ago and I've walked away from it twice this morning.  I'm hitting publish now before the neglect starts again.  I'm trying to get a routine going here so that's that.

Oh, but also since starting this post, I'm on day two of Flonase.  Yesterday was okay.  I took Ibuprofen twice and had to put a hot towel on my nose and cheeks for a while. I think I'm about to take my first dose of ibuprofen.  I figured it would be a rough start on Flonase since is not really a quick fix, but I'm giving it a shot.  I'm accepting good wishes, prayers, crossed fingers, and anything else you find that works.

Every once in a while

I get this urge to shop for healthy food.  I'll stock up on vegetables, bags of salad, and all the ingredients it takes for healthy meals.  Then there was last Saturday.  I don't know what came over me.  I'd already put the Oreos away, but here's some of the other stuff.

Oh, Specs is also doing curbside.

I'd been wanting to try an Aperol Spritz.  Cosme said I'd probably like it, but then again "it's probably not strong enough".  It was good, but not something I'd have all the time.  Next time I'll more than likely just stick with bourbon and Coke.

We've been having some fun with the sidewalk chalk.  I decided I'd start taking pictures since the weather eventually washes it all away.

My version of a cat.

Cosme's cats always have piles of poop drawn behind them.  The baby likes to point that out. 

I've gone with a food theme the last few days.

 

Cosme thought my plate with a burger and fries was a hat.  You can see the baby's abstract marks over there too.  She hasn't really tried to draw anything specific yet.

I drew the wonky slice of cake yesterday afternoon and ended up with a couple of burns on the palm of my hand from the driveway.  The things we do for art...

We got the Purple bed frame for our mattress a couple of days ago and got it set up last night.  I love it.  It's a little higher than our last frame and low profile box springs, but those box springs weren't doing much for our Purple mattress.  It's back to being amazing now.  And once again, I don't think I moved all night and slept SO HARD while Cosme now has to get used to it all over again.

I'm off now.  I'm alone today so I'm doing grocery pickups and cleaning... and a blog post.