In The Garden - Week 15

Drum roll please...

Look at all the garden goodness!!  Even Sam thinks it looks tasty.  I'm in need of good ideas for basil.  I made a huge batch of pesto last week when I picked an arm-load.  This week, I think I'll bring a bunch in to work and hope people want it.

The rest of the garden is growing like crazy too.  You like how the cucumber decided to make it's own trellis out of the fence?  It must have been feeling a little crowded.

Notes for next year - more garden space!  I don't have nearly enough room for everything I planted.  Oops! I'm making improvements here and there trying to get things to fit a little better.  I added a little trellis for my newest vines.  Hopefully, they stay small enough that this is all the help they'll need, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm also rotating out the things that are done producing.  My cilantro went to seed and my potatoes are nearing the end of their life.  I'm thinking of moving my pepper plants into the empty space as soon as the potatoes are done for good.

The next few weeks should be interesting.  We got about 13 inches of rain Friday and Saturday (yes, you read that correctly), so everything has more than enough water to last it for a while.  All that rain made this plant happy for the first time since we planted it in December.  Guess I need to water it a little more often.

The rain, coupled with the heat forecast for next week, should make everything grow even more... just what I needed.

We discovered some fun visitors in our yard last week.

Momma bird thought the trailing petunias hanging over our back porch were the perfect place for her nest.  Dad comes to visit frequently.  From what I can tell, they are a pair House Finches.  This week, the little babies hatched.  Super-ugly.

That's all from the garden this week.  If you want to see what the garden looked like two weeks ago, read In The Garden - Week 13.

Counting

November 14, 2012 was a big day for us, but it passed by quietly, unnoticed.  Just another Wednesday in a long line of Wednesdays.  Chris went to work and I unpacked boxes and washed clothes.  But, it was day 309;  a big day.  309 days of being together in the same place, in the same state, in the same country.  309 days of no 6-week training courses in Ohio, no weeks spent in a tent in Florida, no deployments to far away places.  309 days together.  The most we had managed to string together in our five and a half year marriage.

March 19th, 2013 was another big day for us, and it too slipped by without notice or fanfare.  But it was day 457; a big day.  457 days since Chris returned to our little island from his deployment to Afghanistan.  457 days of being in the same country, on the same continent.  457 nights of not worrying or wondering about all the what-ifs that creep in while laying in bed alone.  457 days since I started breathing again after seven long months.  457 days together.  The longest we had ever made it between deployments in our nearly six year marriage.  

Today, May 19, 2013, we are celebrating day 518!  We are also celebrating day 2,192.  2,192 days of friends and family, of friends-turned-family.  2,192 days of moves, new houses, and new jobs.  2,192 days of exploring a new cites, new countries together.  2,192 days since we stood in the front of a church and promised to love each other forever.  To stand by each other through everything life was about to throw our way.

"Here's to all the places we went.  And here's to all the places we'll go.  And here's to me, whispering again and again and again and again: I love you." - John Green

In The Garden - Week 13

I just looked at my last garden post and had to laugh a little bit at how big and fast I thought everything was growing.  What a different three weeks makes!

My tomato plants grew so much while we were on vacation last week (more on that later) that I had to trim them back to give my poor pepper plants and acorn squash a fighting chance.  Don't worry, the acorn squash are still coming along nicely, as are the peppers.

I planted a row of onions and a row of garlic right before we left.  A week later, I have nice rows of baby onions.  The garlic is moving a little more slowly, but since I pulled it directly out of the pantry and stuck it in the ground, I can't really complain.

I am most excited this week about the state of my experimental celery plant.  Check out those beautiful dark green leaves!

Celery used to be one of my favorite things to buy from the organic market in Lajes because you could use the entire plant, leaves and all, and it had such amazing flavor.  It's looking like this celery is going to be just as wonderful!

If you want to see what the garden looked like three weeks ago, read In The Garden - Week 10.

Viva Fiesta - NIOSA

A few weeks ago, I wrote about our first experience with the San Antonio tradition of Fiesta.  During the last weekend in April, we decided to try our luck again at an event called Night In Old San Antonio.  We were told to expect one food and drink booth after another with a bit of live music thrown in for good measure.

Friday after work, Chris and I, along with one of Chris's co-workers, boarded the downtown shuttle and hoped for the best.  We were not disappointed.

There were, of course, lots of people (this picture was taken around 5:30 pm, by 8 pm you could hardly walk down the street it was so crowded)...

good food from around the world (German food belongs at Fiesta, right?)...

Texans with big hats and bigger belt buckles...

Cascarones for smashing (confetti-filled eggs that I am convinced are on sale here year round)...

and general ridiculousness!

It really doesn't get any better than that!

I AM Ironman

Today is the first day of May, and I am happy to report that I successfully completed my Ironman April challenge yesterday.  Here's a picture of me crossing the finish line on the treadmill.

Three super-exhausted cheers for me!  Also, don't judge my time... this was my second run for the day, so it was really more like a fast walk toward the end.  It turns out I got a little behind on the running and had to do some catching up on the last day.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself at the gym now that this challenge is over.  Maybe I'll go back to Zumba class and weight lifting.  All I know is that I won't be stepping foot on the treadmill for a long, long, long time!!