My latest artistic attempt

So you might remember my birthday last November. That's right, I turned 30, thanks for reminding me... Anyway, for my b-day, I received some lovely Crate & Barrel place mats, napkins, and a candelabra/centerpiece; featured here:

I love the leafy pattern on the napkins/place mats, and decided that I wanted to paint a picture for the dining room / area that would incorporate that pattern. Well, that's a bigger project than I had in mind yesterday when I said to Pern, "I want to paint a picture." I have been looking at the naked space over the kitchen sink lately and thinking, "Hmm... it needs a little somethin'..." I just wasn't sure what. So I painted a place mat inspired picture to look at while I (really, Pern - he does waaaay more dishes than I do) do the dishes. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Our sink even has "art gallery ambience" with a florescent strip light overhead to illuminate any artwork that might be placed above the sink.  How convenient.  And harsh.  Pern thinks we should contact Clorox, Dawn, Jergens, and the Target Corporation to find out what they typically pay for product placement.

My masterpiece!

One for the road...

This one I'm doing from the goodness of my own heart.

The game is tied 2-2 and going to sudden-death overtime.  I'm going to bed.  Pern is pouting because "they lost the last time you went to bed before overtime."  I'm willing to risk it.  So here's one last post.  The Caps will win and go on to play Pittsburgh in round 2.  You know why?  Because I said so and because I'm blogging.  That's how it really works.  Go Caps!

I'm such an enabler...

Game is tied 2-2 at the start of the 3rd period.  Am caving under pressure to blog.

:: hangs head in shame ::

Yeah.. that one was me

So we're sitting here on the couch.  I've got the laptop in (what else?) my lap and Pern is watching the game.  I'm checking my email, wandering around my regular sites, and the Caps/Flyers game is on.  This is the BIG game.  Game 7.  The last chance game.  It's about 2 minutes in and Pern says to me (jokingly, but quite serious) "OK, you can start blogging at any time."  

? 

Is he really serious?  Yes.  Unfortunately, he is.  

Here's the problem:  My life is not exciting enough to blog my way through 3 more rounds of hockey.  That's a possibility of 21 games.  That's a lot of blogging about nothing.  I'll be the Seinfeld of bloggers.  Who wants to read that?

So anyway... not to add fuel to the fire, but I decided to humor the boy and type a little something.  No sooner had I opened my blog however (my mouse was literally hovering over the "sign in " link) than the Caps scored.  This is not what I needed.  That's right: we now have "proof".

Pern leaps to his feet, claps his hands together with one of those claps that's more of a "CRACK" and yells, "YOU JUST HAD TO GO THERE!!! YOU JUST HAD TO GO THERE!! YOU DIDN'T EVEN BLOG!  YOU JUST HAD TO GO THERE!!!" 

Well, now that I know that, I'm off the hook for the rest of the Cup, right?  No blogging necessary, I just have to go there.   :)

Superstitious Blog

So I'm aiding and abetting one of Pern's Stanley Cup superstitions.  I'm such an enabler.  You see, the Caps won their first game (while I was blogging about the cherry trees in our neighborhood) and they won their fifth game (while I blogging about working in the garden this weekend).  They did not win games 2, 3, or 4.  Not because they weren't playing as well, or because the Flyers were playing better, or because they had crappy luck.  No.  It's because I wasn't blogging.

Never knew I had so much power, did you?  Well, Pern seems to think I do.  I mean, in some whacky looking-for-an-answer kind of way, it does make sense.  About as much sense as Pern wearing his Coca Cola: Keepin' it Real shirt (because it's red) and making sure he shaves on game day.  Oh, and then his friend, Dave, is helping the Caps win by not watching the game.  Because when he watches, they lose, when he doesn't, they win.  

Sigh.  Go Caps!

Come tour my garden!

It may not look like much from this angle, but my garden is up and "running" and ready to grow!  Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Doesn't my vegetable garden look delicious?  Yummy.  Soil.  And seeds.  And baby cucumber plants.  Mmm... I can almost taste it...

Cucumber plant in cucumber jail.  Bad cucumber.  Um, this is a cucumber trellis.  It holds the cucs up and supports the vines so that the fruit can hang down and grow straight (not that there's anything wrong with gay cucumbers!).  The shade from the cucumber plant allows the lettuce to have a cool place to grow.  Lettuce doesn't like the heat.  Maybe Pern was a lettuce in a former life.

My mini container garden.  The garden is mini, not the containers.  They're average to large sized.  I bought the birdbath to attract birds, added the birdhouse (Christmas gift from Mom and Dad) to attract birds, and...

...the birds chose to ignore me.  This is kind of a funny story.  So when we moved in last year (holy cow, has it been a year??) we were excited to have some robins raising their wittle babies under our deck.  So cute.  We watched them for a couple of weeks and when the babies left the nest, we removed it.  I put up the birdhouse (and a feeder, which I didn't get a picture of) to attract more birds to the yard.  Now the same birds are back, with a nest in the exact same place!  When I went outside this morning to work on the garden, I noticed the dad fly away and perch on a neighbors fence, watching me.  I was in and out all morning and he...

...would leave the nest when I was outside...

...and go back when I went in.  I mentioned that I didn't get a picture of the birdfeeder.  I meant to, but forgot.  I decided not to go back outside because I think I've seriously pissed off these birds!  I was in "their" space for a little over four hours, and they were not happy.  If I could speak robin, I think the conversation would have gone something like this:

Me:  Hello Mr. Robin!

Robin: F*** you! 

Me:  Do you like the birdhouse?

Robin:  Get out of my garden!

Me:  I got you a birdfeeder, Mr. Robin.

Robin:  Didn't you hear me?  I said, Get away from my nest!

Me:  Here's a birdbath for you and your little babies.

Robin:  I'm going to poop on your head now.

No, he didn't actually poop on my head.  But I decided not to risk it, hence, no bird feeder picture.  Anyway, back to the tour...

The birdhouse container garden has some salvia (not saliva)...

...Mexican heather...

...a fushia plant...

...hmm...I wonder why Dale and I called them "ballerina flowers" when we were younger...

...fiber optic grass...

...and my favorites, Gerber daisies.

Then, up on the deck, I planted more containers!  I put in some hot pink petunias...

...snapdragons...

...basil and some purple flowers who's name I can't remember...

...oregano...

...and rosemary.

My tomatoes have a long way to go before they'll end up in my tummy.

Last, but not least, a butterfly feeder to attract some pretty pollinators.

So there you have it.  A yard the size of a postage stamp, but I'm having fun.  Keep posted for updates and (of course) more pictures as I continue to work on my green thumb!

Go Caps!

So I'm sitting next to a VERY excited Caps fan, who literally leapt to his feet after the game-winning goal! Yes, the Caps are in the playoffs (in case you didn't hear) and Pern is one happy guy!  I don't know how to describe the game in hockey-lingo, but they weren't doing well, were down by a few points (3?), and came back to win it 5-4.  I was working on the Blue Square blog, while P watched the game.  I'm pretty sure that's what happened.  :)  Not a sports buff, can you tell?

So anyway...

Spring has sprung! Our neighborhood looks like it was invaded by giant marshmallows 'cause the cherry trees are all a-bloom!  Pern took a couple of pictures the other day... ain't they purdy?

Not the most exciting weekend ahead of me, but should be a good one all the same... Nothing on the agenda but a little house cleaning, a little gardening (if the weather cooperates) and a little hockey.  Chili for dinner tomorrow.  Yum.  Leftover Easter ham (don't worry - it's been in the freezer) for dinner on Sunday.  Um.  Yum?  Have a good weekend!