Slumber Party in the basement

We had a family slumber party in the basement last night, all four of us.

You see, we still don't own a lawn mower and that little tid bid of information explains why we had a family slumber party in the basement.

Not seeing the connection? Weird.

Yesterday, Frank listed an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to come cut our grass. We weren't any closer to deciding when/where to buy a mower and the lawn was just out of control - something had to be done. A 19 year old college kid quickly responded and agreed to cut the grass (front and back) for $20. Done!

He came over in the afternoon and did a good job. He also mowed over a cord running from our outdoor AC unit to the house. And then the AC stopped working. Strange.

So far, we've paid $20 for the grass cutting, $80 for wire repair, and we still don't have a functioning AC so another repair guy is coming today...cost is tbd.

This lead to two things:

1. we will be purchasing a lawn mower, asap.

2. we had a family slumber party in the basement because it was cooler down there, and throw in an air mattress (read: heat syphoning device) and everyone wins!

Hopefully the AC will be repaired sometime today, fingers crossed!

(**UPDATE** The AC has been fixed! Hooray!)

Landscaping

I've decided that I want to build some flower beds in the back yard. I have decided this for two reasons:

1. My puppy eats flowers that are on his level, so I need something raised and/or protected in which to grow things.

2. I'd like to block off a part of the yard and somehow train/bribe/beg the dogs to use that space for their 'business.'

I saw a picture of some nice looking raised beds, but now I can't find it again so you'll just have to follow me on this. I'm thinking of those oval-ish, long pieces of wood that I could stack on top of one another for the sides. I'm also thinking of two or three flower boxes across the back of the yard.

If this ever comes to fruition, I would most likely try to grow herbs or veggies in one of the boxes while sticking to pretty flowers in the other one or two.

Anyway, it is a dream I have - a dream to have a pretty yard, clear of puppy landmines.

But first, I need a lawn mower and I need it to be less than a million degrees so I can A) mow the lawn without dying and B) take care of the insane weeds that are currently climbing the outer walls of our house (aka, maintain the current landscaping).

Dear Home Depot, any interest in sponsoring my ventures? We could call it "If she can do this, truly anyone can!" I think it would be a big hit for you.

Wordless Wednesday

Herbivore

One of my dogs thinks he is a herbivore. I'll give you some hints:

1) I bought begonias and a hosta before Frank's graduation cookout. That was almost a month ago.

2) My begonias and hosta have been thriving in my lovely "patio garden."

3) Over the past 7 days, something has been waging war on my plants.

4) We got a new puppy 7 days ago.

5) I won't just tell you which one it is, but it starts with "R" and ends with "utledge."

This is what I found last night when I came home from sewing.

I think he actually ate what he could, then possibly climbed in for a nap. The stems are all broken or gnawed off, and it looks like someone flattened everything.

This hosta had at least 8 stems and leaves on it this morning. He had already taken of 4 or 5 in the last couple days, now this is all that is left.

It is adding insult to injury, really, considering that the pot this plant is in was broken by the other dog months ago and I carefully glued it all back together in order to bring it back to life. (The planter was a wedding gift from a wonderful family and I couldn't just let it meet such an early end!)

My Very Own Yard Slave

Hamilton helped me cut the grass the other day.

Don't believe me? Here's the proof:

Green paws and a worn out puppy - proof that he "helped" by running away from the lawn mower for the entire 10 minutes it took to cut the back yard.

Spring Means

1. Baseball - The Webb family celebrates baseball the way that America's Favorite Past Time deserves to be celebrated. We go to games, we watch as many games on TV as we can, sometimes we even plan vacations to include a visit to new (to us) parks. According to MLB.com, there are 7 days until Opening Day - a national holiday if you ask us.

2. Cleaning - (sorry, Mom) but I love spring cleaning. For us it includes shifting our wardrobes, getting rid of things we didn't wear, organizing closets, cleaning floors, opening windows, and a few trips to Goodwill to drop off our excess 'stuff.'

3. Gardening - I have my humble window boxes and soon I'm hoping to have a plan for them. They will either be in a window, on a stand, or possible transferred into straw bales (crazy idea, if it pans out I'll be sure to document it). This year, gardening will also include 'lawn care.' Frank has decided to put some effort into our lawns so that we don't end up with dust and mud like so many others. Lucky for us, Hamilton isn't into digging or running with enough speed to tear up grass. That will make lawn care easier, and worth it.

4. Sunshine - Frank and Hamilton already make good use of our back yard and patio areas. I'm looking forward to spending more time out there in the sunshine. We're hoping to add a grill and maybe even a furniture set so we can dine al fresco when the temperature allows. I also love that we've already done the 'spring forward' bit so the sun stays out longer, making it more fun to have friends over for impromptu back yard happy hours.

5. Celebrations - our anniversary, Easter, and my birthday are all spring time events in our house. Such a treat!


I love spring time! It is such an exciting thing to celebrate, especially following the long, cold winter we had this year.

As the Garden Grows

I have two window boxes that made the trip from the old place to our new place. One of them is full of dead plants and is sitting on the wall by our driveway...the other one is full of beautiful plants (tulips? crocuses?) that are beginning to bloom like crazy!

I also have some new seeds to plant - the favors from Mary Eileen's shower last weekend. I need to get my hands on some new potting soil and give my dead plants the 'heave ho' and get these new seeds in the dirt.

I'm crossing my fingers that we'll make a Home Depot trip this weekend that will end in me having some new gardening gloves, some dirt, and maybe even a trowel!

I also have new drama in my "garden" - something is digging in my plants. Frank thinks it is Hamilton, but it looks like a rodent did it to me. My expertise in this field can be credited to my experience with MC Hamster when I was a child.

You see, MC Hamster was my pet hamster (bet you didn't see that coming) and he had a penchant for escaping from his cage. The good thing was that MC's desire to escape never lead him outside of the screened in porch where he lived, it just led him to escape from his cage, despite the bricks on top, and then scurry into one of the potted plants. He would dig a little hole in the dirt and tunnel down to the roots of the plant.

There he would lay in wait for my mom to realize he had escaped and then shine a flashlight into all of the holes (there were a lot) until she would shine the light into a hole and see a wiggling pink nose at the bottom.

This is why I think there is a rodent in my plants. The hole is similar to the ones I remember seeing after MC's escapes. Also, my dog has HUGE monster paws and I think that if he were to dig in my "garden" my "garden" would no longer exist.

See what I mean?

Two swipes from those suckers and my "garden" is gone!

So, I now have a new mission in life (besides finishing painting, finishing curtains, and getting around to gardening) - and that is to find out what is digging in my plants! And to have Frank dispose of it.