Flowers, but not in the attic

Have I mentioned how I love flowers? Check out the Gardenias I stole from my back yard. The JGs will never know they disappeared, and they look awfuly pretty and smell awfully nice in the house.

In other garden related news, it looks like most of the hosta survived the splitting and transplantting to the front yard. I see new growth on most of them! Yay!! Next year they are going to look great!! Next on the transplant list is day lillies or maybe some stolen hydrangeas. I just need to figure out where to put them.

Pool Party

it is hot

cool it is not

it is hot

you will sweat a lot

unless a pool, you got

it is hot

We remembered how to play in the pool. now i need to wash it out since it is full of dirt, rainwater, and dogwater.

Pretty is as pretty does

Its one of the best times of year. The Gardenias out front and out back are blooming! And they smell all pretty and stuff. I'll be putting some cuttings inside, for-sure!

A few days ago I planted the pentas (or starflowers as i like to call them) by the driveway. They went from looking a little less than happy in their pots to being green and flowery campers in the ground.

Why it is that it took 6 weeks of gardening to get poison ivy, i don't think i want to know. I hope this is the only outbreak for the year.

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend Chez 721.

Friday morning mom (aka puppy grandma) came into town. We had big plans of going to the Botanic Garden... unfortunately, Mother Nature had big plans of raining. We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch followed by a trip to the mall. When in Jackson... utilize the shopping oppertunity. My MP3 Player died last week, and I have discovered that I cannot be a productive member of society without one. Music makes my world turn round.

I've been in MS too long since a trip to the strip mall resulted in running into my friends Alissa and JR. Only in the 'burg.... While we were there, grandma picked up a toy for each of her girls. They really liked them!!

Saturday was spent enjoying a lazy morning, followed by a yard effort prior to the rain. We weeded the bed in front of the patio and the bed under the oak tree out front. I recently discovered there is honeysuckle growing there. Who knew? We also wandered downtown to check out the shops on Washington. Always a fun afternoon.

Sunday morning i got up and worked on another bed, removing all of the leaves and other debris in preparation for turning the bed and planting some pretty flowers. After mom wandered outside we cleaned house. Mom generously offered to do spring cleaning -- dusting my shelves and paintings etc. I swear she offered, I didn't ask.

Later that evening we had a coookout. A bunch of my friends showed up -- in fact, I don't know when I've had so many show up. Apparently mom is more interesting than me! One of our star guests was little Virginia. She was a tad afraid of the big bad dogs, but grew less scared with each step outside. I got to hold Amariah, who was not in the mood to hang out with anyone but mom and dad. Big thanks to everyone who came -- it was a fabulously fun time!!

Monday we finished the weekend off with some picture hanging. Apparently people think it is weird that I don't have much hanging on the wall. However, I've worked so hard to repair the walls and paint them -- they were so gross and had so many holes in them from the previous people -- I do enjoy the plain walls. What can I say? Check out the new 'artwork' from Big Lots. $20 -- It looks like it was made for the room!

It was sad to see mom go -- I would have enjoyed a few more days to hang out -- or to work on the yard and continue to get free slave labor out of her :)

Dog days of summer

Dog got shaved today... It was just in time since we had a 90 degree sort of day.

She is hanging out in my office before we go home to mow the lawn. There are lots of interesting smells in here. That is a little disturbing.

A River Runs Through It

Yesterday was Walking Wednesday.

Check out the river. We can barely walk down by the river.

Seriously, the Exit behind the floodwall is blocked off.

It's called mulch people

Its been a LONG and fun afternoon Chez Sarah. This morning was raining.. and beautiful. Eventually mr. sunshine decided to come out and celebrate the fact that it wasn't 90 degrees. Thus, the JGs and I decided to head out to work on the yard, our permanent past time lately.

Yesterday while Miss Morgan played with the JGs on another play date I did some planting, primarily potting of some goodies I bought from the nursery (I skipped the depot in favor of the locally owned nursery where they have tons more options. We've got some impatiens in baskets on the front porch as well as some trailing petunias. Out back I've got a gerbra daisy (my favorites!) and some hot pink geraniums in pots. that was fun and successful.

The rain from last night and this morning made for good conditions for weeding. So I went at it. I pulled out the holly from the bed in the front yard. seriously -- who puts holly in a bed in Mississippi? Holly is for Christmas, not for the summer in Mississippi. I've wanted to get rid of that stuff since the day I moved in. Now, just under two years later it is gone. Let me tell you, it was a bit of work -- apparently holly has large roots. I got 95% of the roots out, so hopefully we'll just have a few to pull next year, and the won't be huge and large. now ther are some big holes in the ground cover. I guess I need to fill them up :)

I pulled out the rest of the weeds and leaves that were filling up that bed. I also cleaned up some of the perennials that are starting to come back. Next thing I knew I was pulling out the monkey grass that had been spreading in that bed. Suddenly a brilliant idea hit me. Next thing I knew I was pulling monkey grass from out front to transplant out back around the patio. I'm hoping it will hold up to the puppy wear and tear out there. This project is started.. but there is lots more monkey grass to pull from that bed and lots more patio to keep edging. I think this ought to be a sucessful project in the long run. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile as a part of the transplanting process the brilliant ideas just kept comming. The previous owners had some 'interesting' ideas on gardening. When we closed they let me know that before I had looked at the hosue they had planted some stuff out in front of the house in the beds under the trees. Last summer there was nothing but weeds there. Imagine that. Well, last summer and all this year I've been collecting yard debris and mulching around the trees with leaves, sticks, and pine needles. This summer a couple of hasta magically popped up. It's called mulch people. If you put it out there the plants will come up... unlike if you just put the plants out there in the clayey soil and let it be. So... brilliant idea number two... take the three hasta that were out back where I want to put the monkey grass and split them and put them under the tree. So... i weeded the bed and transplanted the hastas. hopefully we'll get a 75% sucess rate and they'll start going to town. Maybe in a couple of years the ground will be nicely covered.

Throughout this prcoess the JGs hung out in the yard. We are making process. Daisy Dogg ran around and sniffed in the beds and explored around the house while staying within her boundaries. Eventually Ms. Madison came out. For the longest time she sat on the couch and came to stick her head out when Daisy gave her the cue that something was going on outside. Eventually she came out and took up her spot in front of the door. She actually laid out and looked comfy for quite a while rather than just sitting there looking like she wanted me to let her back in. They did a great job!! I'm really proud of my girls. We had lots of people walk by, and several dogs. They just did their barky bark thing but didn't head off to hit the road. They might take a few steps, but when I callled their names they stopped. I'm really happy to see this progress.

In the middle of the afternoon my friend Seth was walkiing around the lake with his adoreable daughters and his dog. We stopped to talk for a few minutes. First I have to compliment Daisy for comming up... getting zapped when she didn't listen to me... but just backing up 10 ft away instead of running to the door. You could tell she really wanted to play with Lumbda. Also.. I have to thank Seth... He was complimenting me on the yard and garden and telling me you could really tell I had been putting a lot of work into it. I have to say that was great! I know what I've been doing so I can tell the difference. However, i didn't know if anyone could tell that there were changes being made - from the grass growing and the clover being mowed to cleaning up the beds to putting out hanging baskets.

So for all my complaints, I really do enjoy working in the yard. I just don't enjoy it in July/August when its 100+ degrees Now the dogs are passed out and snoring. Big Time Snoring. I guess it was an exciting weekend.

Rainy Sundays...

We love them around our house!!!
We tend to have trouble with motivation.

I've streamed many an episode of Lost on ABC on a rainy sunday. I am wondering how i'm going deal with withrdrawl post-final season next year (note the new countdown to lost app). In the meantime I found that CBS streams a bunch of old shows! They include Family Ties, Beverly Hills 90210, and Twin Peaks. i love it! Oh Alex P. Keaton. It isn't as good as Hulu showing Arrested Development, but it is something.

Rainy Sundays are also a good day for grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Kudos Amanda...

First: Thanks for lending me the ULTIMATE Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I was reading one of my favorite blogs when a HHG reference came up. I totally picked it up! Amanda, you ARE a totally hoopy frood.

Second: Blackened Tuna. All you my friend. Amanda gave me her advice for blackened tuna. I went for it tonight after the JG's and I walked around the lake. a) totally easy, b) totally yummy, c) totally healthy (yay omega-3 fatty acids). This is the second time i've done the tuna steak thing -- the blackened turned out better than the ginger soy.

Shoes.... sweet shoes

I Heart Shoes.

You may already know that about me.

I spent part of my Mother's Day working on cleaning up and re-orgainzing my shoe/ pant/ skirt/ suit/ dress/ luggage closet. Pants are hung by size, with pant type within size (dressy, khaki, cordouroy). Yes, I'm that retardedly anal. It will also be completely out of order in two weeks.

All thats left is shoes.

I've been pretty good about keeping myself in check lately. However, there are still plenty in there.

Here is your oppertunity to get all interactive. How many pairs will I log? Closest without going over gets to laugh the loudest at me. Other oppertunities include guessing how the age on the oldest pair and, in honor of the imminent summer heat, the number of pairs of flip flops.

Maybe I'll share pictures if I'm not uber-ashamed with the disgusting amount of shoe waste. I most prove I'm an organized person, after all.

Puppy Madness

The JG's had a rough weekend -- and its only Saturday night. As I type they are sitting next to me passed out. At Ocho De Mayo they got to have fun with Dixie and Pascal. tons of running around fun. This afternoon we had our 2nd puppy play date in less than 24 hours. Unfortunately our friend Marie took out her knee on Thursday night. While the good news is that she should be getting into the ortho tomorrow. The bad news is that she has a puppy who really wants to play! This afternoon we had Morgan over to run around in our back yard and give Marie some peace. Daisy, Madison, and Morgan had some fun times!

A sure sign of a good puppy date.

Ocho de Mayo

Friday night we celbrated Cinqo de Mayo with an Ocho de Mayo dinner! Beef Fajitas and Chicken Enchillada Casserole were on tap. However, we dound out that the chicken enchillada casserole was really better as a dip with chips..

Chips you say? How about specially engineered tortilla chips

The back of the bag reads:

Are you a power dipper? here's the Scoop!

Consider this:

In one hand, a jar of incredibly fresh tasting green mountain Gringo Salsa... In the other, a triumph of achievement -- THE STRIP

Not to be compared to any other 'dipping utensil", the Strip was invented to go beyond sturdy and reliable to reach a whole new level of taste satisfaction. This is the first chip worthy of oru delectiable Green Mountain Gringo Salsa.

A Solid Rectangle of pure leverage makes it stable enough for the most aggressive of dippers. Either end features an ergonomic handle allowing even the 'power dipper' an enjoyable experience. Sturdyy and dependable, they won't break short of your expectations. Made from 100% Masa Harina corn flour, cooked in all natural canola oil, and topped with a pinch of saltl. you'll be glad we took the time to get it right.

SERIOUSLY! They can't write add copy better than that!

Breakfast can be fun too

Undocumented studies have shown that the food network is one of the leading causes of obesity in single women between the ages of 25 adn 35. As a result, I don't watch it the way I used to. However, this afternoon in an effort to procrastinate mowing the lawn I was watching one of my faves, the Barefoot Contessa. After she finished her bread special (pannetone bread pudding, mmm), Food network Challenge came on. I usually don't watch the Challenge, but I got sucked in -- Cereal bridges!!!! how could I not?
I got in touch with my inner nerd watcing them bild the golden gate, brooklyn, and tower bridges out of puffed rice, marshmallows, and other random cereal mixes. It was awesome!! Alas, google images is not helping me.