Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Landscaping

Over the weekend my sister, a friend and I got down to business and laid sod in our front yard and the little patch of land between the sidewalk and the curb. It was HOT and I really hate sweating but overall it was fun and educational. I learned a whole lot more than I ever wanted to know about manure! Here's a few shots of the yard before we got started...







This is how it has looked for the last few weeks. Just dirt and a butt load of leaves that we had to rake (I use the word we loosely cuz our friend that was helping us, Ruth, did most of the raking).


This after Ruth raked and after we manured the lawn and tilled it.

Our first couple rows.

Ruth cutting the curve.



The section out by the street with our little crepe myrtle tree.

The other side of the lawn.

Here, in the front section we are planting native plants and grasses. Since we are in the middle of a drought we thought it wise to plant things that take minimal amounts of water. We also have some rubber mulch to lay in that section. Rubber mulch is a wonderful invention! It's made from recycled tires and since it is rubber you only need to mulch once instead of every year. Plus it won't get moldy or hold in any bacteria which is a blessing for dog owners!

A couple of the plants we're planting. That's about it for the front, at least for now.
In case you were wondering, in the back of the house, my tomatoes are really starting to make me happy!


The one on the bottom is my original tomato plant. It's just now starting to ripen...I can taste the salsa already! The one on top I got from someone on Freecycle. The tomatoes are teeny tiny. I think they're grape tomatoes or something like that. They're smaller than cherry tomatoes. These are all being given away as they ripen because they're not exactly salsa material and neither my sister nor I actually eat tomatoes in any other way other than salsa or pasta sauce.

So, my foray into the world of gardening isn't going as bad as I thought it would even though our grass is already struggling to stay green. All thanks to the help of good friends and one very green thumbed mother.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Scrapbooking

A week ago Saturday (that's how behind I am on my posts) I attended a 12 hour marathon scrap booking event. A friend of ours is a consultant for Creative Memories and she and another gal hosted this shindig at the Azusa Library. It was a fun day filled with chatter and laughter and lots and lots of romantic comedies - there was a movie theme with red carpet and "paparazzi".


It's amazing how little you can get done in 12 hours! I didn't even do a page an hour - I think this is due to the fact that scrap booking is not my first craft of choice. I have this annoying need for symmetry that does not lend itself to successful scrapping. Therefore, I work very hard to arrange things asymmetrical enough to look like I'm not OCD but also in such a way that doesn't have me tearing it apart to rearrange it. That's what takes me so long, I think.

Anyhoo, enough about my neuroses. Here are the seven pages I actually did get done...



The top three are from a visit to New York a couple of years (yes years) ago. We went to Tarrytown where author Washington Irving lived, wrote and is buried. It was very cool, if you're into his work, we went to the Old Dutch Church and the Cemetery there that was his inspiration for the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. We also went to his cottage where they give tours. If you're a history and/or literature buff I recommend it. The bottom four are from my book about, well, me. It's not nearly as narcissistic as it sounds. It's mostly filled with pictures of family and friends, only a very few of me. :) And that's all I got done...in 12 hours! Having movies on in the background really does not help my productivity since I'm addicted to the darn things. It was all about the Chick Flicks...Mamma Mia, Legally Blond, 13 Going on 30, Grease, 27 Dresses, I think that's it. Fun!
Here are some shots of some of the ladies that were there...

All in all, it was a fun, productive day in an air conditioned room away from the summer heat.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

I'm already feeling it!

I think I just did something I might regret later...I deleted my Google Reader. I immediately got a cold sweat and wanted it back as soon as I hit delete! Is there some sort of 12 step program for people like me?

I became so dependent on my reader that I stopped going to the individual blogs themselves consequently not leaving very many comments at all. And aren't the comments a huge part of why we blog? And aren't my lovely comments another huge part some of you continue to blog? :) Ok, maybe not but I figure this is why I'm feeling a little less "connected" than I used to. So, NO MORE READER! Now if I can just bring myself to delete that other thing that takes up all my time and keeps me from visiting other people's blogs...my facebook account!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Restaurant review - Tamarind

My sister and I were searching for someplace to eat tonight and came across this place at the Chino Spectrum...

As the sign says, it's Pakistani and Indian Cuisine, which I am a HUGE fan of.  So, I pull into the parking lot, practically on two tires that's how hungry and excited I was.  And I gotta tell you, it's unfortunate that this little gem is where it is.  It's a bit hidden at the far end of the shopping center between a vitamin shop and a sushi place so it didn't get much traffic when we were there.  In fact, we were the only ones there during our whole meal.

The interior is trendy and comfortable...

And the food....YUM!!!  We shared the Tandoori combo platter, samosas and garlic naan.  With the samosas (which were the only disappointing part of the meal because they were so small) our server brought two sauces.  One was a little bit sweet while the other was not, it was spicy and good enough to drink from the little tiny bowl it was served in.  (Rest assured I did not do this even though I thought about it more than once)  Here's a pic of it after I, uh, I mean we finished with it...


Sorry for all the blurry pics - it's the only kind my little phone knows how to take.  Anyway, I loved this stuff (I have no idea what it's called) so much that I asked our server if it was possible to buy a pint of it to take home.  She was so sweet - she gave us a bunch to take with us without charging us.  

So, if you're ever in the vicinity of the Chino Spectrum you have to go to Tamarind!  Also, if you're lucky enough to be there when the owner is there, well, let's just he's easy on the eyes!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Ireland here I come!

In dealing with bills, bill collectors and an ever-shrinking paycheck due to our sucky economy, I decided I want to join a commune. Or maybe start one, I'm not sure yet. So, like always, I start the necessary research and let me tell you, there are some really freaky people out there. But then I came upon The Village. It's a planned eco-village...in Ireland! I think I could handle that. Here's a list of some of their features...

A thriving community closely integrated with the town of Cloughjordan
130 low energy homes
A solar- and wood- powered community heating system
Pedestrian pathways lined with fruit and nut trees, and a streamside walkway
An enterprise centre and broadband
50 acres of land for allotments, farming and woodland
A centre of education for sustainable living
A hostel for visitors
A nearby train station and local car-sharing scheme

Considering that one of the bills I'm having trouble with is my car payment, that last feature sounds like it's right up my alley.

Anywho, here are some pics from their photo gallery...


The land - who wouldn't want to live here?!


Local pub - very important to know the where abouts of the local establishments!



Store who's name I can not read nor pronounce - anybody want to teach me Gaelic?


Fairymount Farm - I'm thinking this is the acreage they have set aside for members to plant and tend. Doesn't really matter, it's called Fairymount for crying out loud! I'm buying my plane ticket today!


Monday, June 15, 2009

Where did the sun go?

We have been having the strangest weather here! We normally have our daily dose of June Gloom that burns off around noon or late morning then it's bright and sunny and HOT. So far this month there's been 1, one, uno, un, ein, ichi day of sun. That was yesterday and it wasn't hot it was, well, balmy. A bit warm with a breeze, the perfect temperature for me (probably around 75 degrees). But today it's back to this...


GLOOOOOOMY!!

Yoohoo, Sun, where did you go?!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Just an update on the gardening venture...
My Oregano, which I started from seed, is actually starting to show itself

My cilantro, after the initial plant being picked over, started to grow this weirdness. The lower leaves are the normal cilantro type leaves but this stuff on top is just strange.


Mmmmmm...chives! Flourishing - yay!


And rosemary is doing quite well, I think some Gouda and Garlic stuffed rosemary chicken is in order!



My tomato plants (I now have 2) are also doing quite well. Unfortunately I have no current pics but the first plant is about chest height now with lots of flower, just no actual tomatoes yet. My pepper plants are getting taller but are also getting eaten by little buggies. I've been using this spray from Scott's EcoSense line that is called "Insecticidal Soap". It's slowing the bugs down but not actually keeping them away. I'm gonna have to figure something else out for that.
If anybody has any suggestions on how to get rid of the little pests in nontoxic way leave a comment please.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Baby Blanket

I know my last post was a bit, shall we say, melodramatic. I think my problem is/was that I didn't have any of my stuff/stash/craft supplies around me. They were all still packed up after having our floors done. I get alot of inspiration just from looking at all the different fabrics and supplies so since my muse was boxed up so was my creativity.

Anyhoo, a friend of mine had a baby shower this weekend so I whipped this little blankie up for the baby girl that is on her way...






Sasha was my helper all evening...







And here she is showing off the backing of the blankie (such a good little helper!)...



Now if I could just get her to do the dishes...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Reward!

ATTENTION: LOST!

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?


Goes by the name 'Creativity'. Has been missing since approximately the middle of April.


There is a reward for anybody who can provide information that results in the reunion of me and my precious Creativity!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

A give away

The ever fabulous edward and lilly is having a give away. For all you crafty types out there, go check it out but do not, I repeat, DO NOT leave a comment...if you do, my chances of winning go down and, well, I'd like to win. I guess if you must, you must but just know that I won't be happy about it.
I LOVE those fabrics!

Friday, May 22, 2009

flickr favs friday

I used to do this, rembember? I had pretty much forgotten about it until this mom-to-be's post reminded me all about it. So, since I have been struggling to keep my few meager vegetable plants alive, have been fairly obsessing about it, actually, I decided this would be the perfect subject to start this meme up again. So here is a mosaic of some veggie gardens my 1' x 3' plot of dirt aspires to be...



1. spring vegetable garden, 2. Vegetable Garden, 3. Vegetable Garden Overview, 4. THE vegetable garden, 5. 2006 Garden Vegetable Beds, 6. Vegetable Garden Full Grown and producing, 7. Vegetable Garden, 8. winter vegetable garden, 9. Vegetable Garden

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Petra Haden

Have you seen this amazing commercial?



I love it so much that I just had to find out the artist who is singing this version of Let the Love Flow. Her name is Petra Haden. All the "instrumentals" you hear are actually aren't instruments but man made sounds (or woman made actually). She's pretty awesome.

A thumb not so black

Thanks everybody who sent me well wishes and commiserated with my migraine woes. It's nice to know we're not alone on our off days, isn't it?

Anyway, remember my little garden that I told you about? And my apprehension about killing the poor hapless plants? Well, good news...my tomato plant, this tomato plant...

is now this humongous tomato plant...

It's up to my hip, which ain't no small thing being 5'9 and my hip being pretty far off the ground. So my thumb is not quite so black, maybe just a dark shade of gray-green. The other plants are... well, it's about a 50% mortality rate around here and that's ok with me

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I luv ya, tomorrow...

Have you ever had a day when you just wish you could take a break from being you? That's me today. I woke up with a slight headache that is turning into a migraine and I think I broke my chi. Is that possible? I dunno, but it feels broken. Things are off kilter today and I'm just wishing it would hurry up and be tomorrow.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

What is going on?

I am a bad blogger! Yep, you heard it, bad blogger, bad! First, I've only done 6 (6!!) blog posts in the last month. Then, I have gotten sooooo lazy that I've relied strictly on my Google reader which means I've only read 5 blogs or so for the last few months and the ones I have read I've left only a handful of comments. Terrible! And the last offense, the worst offense in my opinion, I've abandoned my camera! I haven't taken a single picture in at least 2 weeks. And today, I'm really regretting it. Today is Mother's Day and I have no pictures of our outing with our lovely mother. Not only am I a bad blogger, I'm a bad daughter! Sheesh!





And it was such a nice outing. Lunch at a local Mediterranean restaurant then a quick trip to Dogwoods a Mediterranean deli and grocery store. I guess there was a bit of a theme. My poor mom doesn't get to eat any type of "different" foods when it's just her and my dad, he's stricly a meat and potatoes kind of guy. So we had a Mediterranean day of it.


Since I didn't get any photos today, I leave you with my favorite of my mom which I've posted before but it's such cute picture I can't resist posting it again...




Happy Mother's Day!

Friday, May 8, 2009

I do not recommend this!



I just finished watching 3 hours of Grey's Anatomy...straight through. Big mistake! I should have known that I'd be ablubbering fool by the end of the first episode, forget about all the way through to the last. I mean really, I cry at everything...why did I think I could watch 3 whole episodes of Grey's?! I'm not gonna give anything away as far as story lines if someone out there hasn't watched the last 3 weeks worth yet but jeez! They really put us through the ringer emotionally. So if you're a cryer like me, do not, I repeat, do not watch more than one episode at a time!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009