Project Gone Wild

Ok...so when Rusty said those words that always send a shiver through my spine, "I've been thinking...", I knew we were in for yet another half completed frustrating project. After rolling my eyes and audibly sighing, I waited for the proverbial "boom" to drop. Imagine my surprise to find out that all he wanted to do was create a few small gardening spaces in the backyard.

It appears that he has been researching through the book "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. Subtitled: "A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work". This book encourages minimally intrusive family sized gardens. (The exact words I needed to hear to support this venture...minimally intrusive)

We now have two different four foot by four foot gardens in our backyard that are actually yielding vegetables.At first it was only four heads of lettuce...and after tallying the soil price, the wood price, trellis cost, etc. - I determined these were the most expensive heads of lettuce in all of Wake County.

Goodness knows I've done my fair share of scoffing at new fangled projects and ideas, and I'm certainly loath to admit when I'm wrong but just a few days after the start of summer...Happy Summer Solistice by the way...I am thrilled we are harvesting herbs and vegetables. I'll be very excited about tomatoes and the late harvest of green tomatoes...for cooking a delectible dish, fried green tomatoes!

So, to Rusty, my apologies for doubting, to friends and fans of the blog...try this gardening technique (for more info. try this website- http://www.squarefootgardening.com/).

Short Update, currently on my iPod:

The Eels "I Need Some Sleep" - Haunting and beautiful, nepenthic in many ways...

Dashboard Confessional "As Lovers Go" - Kinda bubble gum pop, but with a hint of longing!

Kendall Payne "Rollercoaster" and "Scratch" - Kendall Payne is a former Contemporary Christian singer going for the secular folk audience. Much of the album is angst ridden, but these two songs are truly sublime.

UNBELIEVABLE!

A must see...(Thanks Mr. G. for sharing!)

Dad's Day on the Way

With Dad's Day on the horizon, I'd like to bring our long distance friends up to date on the folks. They are living the North Carolina dream on a huge homestead. Dad always wanted a place with a large yard and he certainly got his wish. He now spends many days working in the yard and driving the riding mower. Of course, with his eye sight, it's only a matter of time before a beloved pet or family member loses life or limb. That which does not kill or maim us...only makes us bitter.

As for mom, she sits happily in the backyard, enjoying the fresh air and the varied plant life/fauna in North Carolina. Last January, Billy and I had the privilege of throwing her a 75th Birthday party. Mom's sister (Rodegunda) and her husband flew in from Germany for the affair. The following picture hails from that day.



Billy, the good son and most likely heir to the Lewis family fortune, spends many weekends visiting. I wish I could visit more often but it is difficult working most weekends. Hopefully, once the school year starts (July 10th), I'll have more opportunties for visits.

As for Dad's Day, I have no idea for a gift. I do want to raise a glass to Dad though and add an Irish Toast (no, my family isn't remotely Irish, but most German toasts are only mildly witty and most often dark and forboding).

So to Dad, may you live to be a hundred and an extra day to repent.

'Nepenthean' Defined

Nepenthe is a drug mentioned in the Odyssey as a remedy for grief. The better definition is something that induces forgetfulness of sorrow or eases pain.

i.e. The long, hot, humid nepenthean summer crept over the campsite as the Southern men lakadaisacally lounged by the pool in their sarongs of vibrant colors, forgetting the cares of winter.

There...now it is settled! Feel free to add your own sentence in the comment section.