Sunday, May 31, 2009

Turtle Baby

While Steve was working in the garden today, he discovered a little turtle wandering among the tomatoes. I think he’s a box turtle. I picked him up and he stuck his neck out of his shell as far as he could, flailing all four legs. He was so cute. It made me want to go get an aquarium and keep him. But I know he’d be better off living as he was intended to live.
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After I took the pictures, Steve let him go at the edge of the woods behind the garage. He’ll probably be back in the garden tomorrow! The neighbors across the street had a turtle in their garden last year and he took a bite out of every cantaloupe!

Speaking of the garden, it’s been a month since we planted everything. May has been a really crummy month for growing things. It seems like all it has done is rain, and its been cloudy a lot. Most of the tomato plants developed a fungus on their leaves and we had to spray them with a fungicide. All the neighbors’ tomatoes had the same problem. But today was hot and sunny, so hopefully the tomato plants will bounce back. We found two little green tomatoes on one plant this morning. Mom’s yellow tomato plant on the patio has a nice tomato on it.
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Steve planted a LOT of different varieties of tomatoes. He is going to decide what kind to plant next year depending on the success of this year’s crop.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Fairy Visit

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We have a precious little visitor who is going to be living with us.  This weekend I received a box from www.imaginechildhood.com.  I was the lucky winner in their giveaway and won a kit to make my own fairy garden!

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Max insisted on helping me open the box.

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Max and I can’t wait to remove the lid.

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Inside there’s a bag of potting soil, some flagstone pieces, an arbor (the gates actually swing open and closed), a bench, a birdhouse, and… some magical fairy dust.

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Sarah even added this adorable little fairy to make the garden complete.  Guess what her name is going to be – Sarah, of course!

Mom and I have already started designing our miniature garden.  I’ll be sure to post some pictures when we get it planted.

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Max, Ling and Bella enjoyed the box and packing.  Taji was off napping somewhere.

If you are looking for some imaginative, creative toys or activities for your family, check out their website – www.imaginechildhood.com.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Tennessee Wedding

This past weekend we travelled to Tennessee for the wedding of my cousin’s son.  My cousin and her husband graciously put up the out-of-town family at a nice resort condo in Pigeon Forge.   It was wonderful to see so many members of my family…we rarely get together since we have spread out geographically.  Friday night after the rehearsal we got lost trying to follow a caravan of vehicles in the dark, in the rain, on I-40 in Knoxville.  Saturday morning we got up early and bought a GPS before the wedding. Those are fantastic little gadgets.  Previously, I’d privately scoffed at the idea of purchasing one – I couldn’t imagine why we would need one.  But now I know better.P1000894
After I got ready for the wedding, Steve put on his new slacks and decided they were too long.  So while he was turning up the hems and ironing them, I ran up to a convenience store and bought some duct tape.  He deftly applied the tape and he was good to go.  The duct tape lasted just fine.  He is so sweet.  When Mallory and Jonathan started to exchange their vows, he took my hand and held it.  I teared up, of course.  He later said he was thinking about our vows. P1000952a P1010062a The next morning, a bunch of us met at the Apple Barn for breakfast.  There were nine of us, with one spare gal.  We kept teasing her, asking why she hadn’t she found a man yet.  When we were leaving, the men went to retrieve the cars (in the rain) and all the women were standing under a covered porch, hugging and saying goodbye.  A couple who were leaving were trying to get through our little crowd and one of the girls turned around and told them she thought they were with us.  They smiled and continued to the parking lot.  I called out after the guy and said that he’d almost gotten himself hugged.  He turned around, grinning and said, “I heard that one of you was looking for a man”.  His wife just kept walking.  I don’t think she was amused.P1010075a Four generations – my Dad’s sister, her daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter.