Preludes And Nocturnes

Front yard is done!

We made the planter (holy those blocks are heavy- 20lbs+ each and there are over 30 of them to make the retaining wall thingy/planter). **not to be confused with the mega retaining wall you’ll see pictured. That took nine million blocks -but we didn’t do it - it was done for us.

So today was the day to get it done. Yep. Alrighty then - and … a trip downtown to buy two more blocks.  Okay! …  Another trip down to buy more potting soil.  Still need one more trip tomorrow to get soil for my pots and get my poor impatients and begonias planted, but the bulk is done.  Raked, landscape papered. Raked more. Mulch. Planter. Plants. Perennials and annuals. My arms are so tired I can’t use my right one to tip my glass up to drink.  Seven pots planted, two to go!

And it really looks nice!  It is nighttime right now but I’ve gone ahead and just snapped some shots anyway

Jim got the rock raked back and the new mulch put down along our walkway.

Jim and I both worked at getting the blocks unloaded, the very hard, very rocky, very HARD top section raked, leveled, and ready for coverage.  The planter looks better in, you know, daylight.   The trailer there is on the side of the road and the front of our property ends there. You can see a bit of the neighbour’s parking spot beyond the planter. I want to put in lilac bushes as a border - but that might be next year. I have to look up when and how to transplant some lilacs along there.

 

And the rest of the plants that need attention tomorrow. A bunch of planters are done (small pots I’ll place around on the mulch), but I still have some pretty flowers that have been very anxious to get planted.

Yay!!

Jim and I are watching the original Star Trek right now and it is an episode they had at one point considered using as a spin-off.  Jim knew that when he watched it way back in the olden days.  It got us talking about how we gathered info before the internet.  We agreed that most of it was TV Guide.  I used to LOVE reading TV Guide - especially the section where someone would write in “my husband thinks the gardener in the March episode of Knight Rider was also in a few episodes of Fantasy Island - I said he is confusing him with the second in command on V. Who is right?”

In a way there were so many things to try to figure out back then - and I do like the ease of IMDB and whatnot - but I sometimes feel like I spend way too much of my time looking up random things that, otherwise, I might just muse about for a moment and then carry on with doing something *productive* for the day.

Hmm, this post seems to have channeled my frustration with the internet and non-productivity at the last bit there.  I blame this on too many late night bejeweled games when I could have been reading.

So we head over to hell-mart as they seem to be the only place in town with the puppy-backpack-harness thingy.  Oh yes, I put my child in a harness.  He is getting a little too quick these days and seems to have no issues with The Road or The Cars.  Still crawling, but crawling like a freaken pro!

We walk in and the greeter comments that he must have JUST had a nap since he was so smiley.  Er, he is a smiley kid!  And, in fact, ready for his next nap but still smiling!

Then went we got up to the front with the puppy backpack thingy I had to take it from him as he had been holding it, hugging it, and giving it cuddles throughout the store. The cashier scans it and hands it back with this crazed urgency saying, ” here, before the screaming starts!”  And she was very serious.  Malcolm, on the other hand, was just chillin trying to figure out how to reach the zipper on my purse.

This seems to happen all the time. People comment on how happy he is, how much he smiles, his giggles… conclusion - my kid is awesome.

And for your random pleasure, please go check out this amazon item and the reviews. Sweet jesus, too funny!

Birthday cake (er, non sugar cake, that is. Yes, we’re weirdos)

Presents!

Check out all the crazy awesomeness I got for my birthday!  Above you will see bazzil inks, a new rotary blade, a huge book of bird inspired paper, a beautiful ideas book for my new collages I’m doing, FOUR packs of stamps plus a single, beads, envelopes of all different colours (large), three more packs of paper, and too much excitement for me to explain.  Once I get the yard under control - I am crafting!!

I need to post a real post. There were birthdays, presents, pictures, and the whole she-bang.  My house looks right now like a bomb exploded, Malcolm and I visited a friend today so last night’s dishes are still waving at me from the counters. Little guy got his 1 year vaccinations on tuesday so he’s been a bit weepy and wanting extra attention.  The dishes can wait.  I might take him outside now and we can start putting together the bbq or I might mow the lawn with our new push mower - very exciting stuff!  It is finally nice enough to head outside, so we’re starting to get the gear to manage our new outside space.

Speaking of outside…

So here’s the question du jour. A bunch of friends are all going camping and we three are thinking of attending as well. There is one yurt on site that has a couple beds and it runs for $65/night.
Yurt = http://www.yurtco.com/images/parks/dscn1112.jpg

The campsites aplenty run for $24/night but we’d need to buy a tent.

We’ll be there two nights.

Jim and I have never gone camping together. The closest we’ve come to camping it staying at a B&B where we had to walk down to the courtyard for our freshly prepared breakfast of biscuits and squeezed orange juice. I used to camp a bit, and it is a big draw of this area (tonnes of provincial parks, hiking trails, etc). And given the affordability of sites, we could certainly do this a few times each summer.

If we like it.

So for our first time out, do we rent the yurt for $130 for the two nights just to test things out or do we bite the bullet and buy a $150 tent and pay the $48 for a campsite?

The tent makes sense as this is the route we’d probably go in the future, but if we never go again… not so useful. The yurt would be a bit more of a baby step.

And then, on a side note, any suggestions for tents? I’m searing canadian tire right now and see all sorts of tents from the standard $30 one I used to have (all I needed was a blanket and a bottle of wine!) to the ones with rooms and space for us to set up a playpen for about $150-$250+.

Given we just bought a lawnmower and bbq yesterday, I’m thinking we’d start around the $150 mark.

So it would be me, Jim, and 1 year old Malcolm in the tent. Ideas, suggestions? I honestly think we’ll like camping.

Malcolm from Jen Payson on Vimeo.

Malcolm and I went to Nakusp with my mom on Saturday morning as my great aunt and uncle were having their 50th wedding anniversary, so there were all sorts of family in town.  The three of us had a wonderful time. The car ride, the ferry ride, the hotel room with lots of toilet paper and cabinets!  We had a great dinner, Malcolm crawled all around, we got to visit with family.

We got back home this afternoon, and Jim had mother’s day presents for me from him and Malcolm.  I got Heroes season 1 and 2, a book on House and Philosophy, and an ELLE magazine. Perfect!!!  I then got to take my Mother’s Day nap (I read for 30 min, slept for 2.5hrs), and then got up for a great dinner that Jim made - burgers and homemade fries.  Malcolm headed off to bed and Jim and I watched The Amazing Race with some cake and ice cream.

Oh yes, and Jim had cleaned the house for when I arrived home so I wouldn’t need to.  How amazing!!!  Here are pictures from the trip

Malcolm is getting ready to head out in the car!

Oh the ferry with Grandma!  It is bright and beautiful out there!

Oh, this is the best hotel room ever! Look at all these cabinets!!Mom and grandma are getting ready for the dinner, I’m securing the premise.  We had lots of fun at the party, but mom left her camera behind.

Grandma brought me home when I started to get tired of the big people. We walked along the beach and got some foods. Mom came back after the dinner part of the night, and grandma went to have more visit time. Mom and I played in the room. And, might I add, the toilet paper wasn’t clicked in all the way so I could pull it off. And I sat here for 15 mintues tearing off little tiny pieces. And then more pieces. And then some more!

Here’s my bed set-up. I’m right next to mom’s bed and singing her a song!

And the next morning I woke up in a wonderful mood. Off to great-great aunt Doreen’s for breakfast and then the trip home!

Okay, that is all from the trip - but here are some pics of me with my mom on her first mother’s day!

Okay, I have the next two months off, and then I’ll be teaching full time for July and August.  So there are some things I really want to get done over the next two months.

First off, I need to get to the gym and out for walks and all that.  Really and truly, I can’t handle my size right now. I don’t need much - twelve pounds would make me very happy and take me back to my prepregnancy weight.  Now, when I got pregnant I was already up 10lbs… but we’ll worry about that later. Right now I’m weighing in at 192lbs and I’m just feeling so blah.  I have a perfectly good gym membership, but I don’t like their childcare. Too many kids when I went last time. Now that we’re officially the first Canadian city to close a school due to swine flu, I’m not really feeling the vibe of malcolm mingling anyway.  So Jim is home a few mornings a week and I need to just get up and get in to the gym for an hour. Three times a week at the gym would do wonders. Add in a few walks each morning with Malcolm and I’d be golden.  So I’m going to update here as I need to get crackin.

Next up, crafts.  I want to pump up my shop and my goal is to list three new items a week.  I want to run a series of sales as well.  In May I want to run a blog sale (possibly Facebook as well as I’m not sure how many of you I have here these days) and I want to run and SPCA sale with all proceeds going to them.  I think I’ll make a line of kitty cards for that sale.

Finally, random stuff including website, yard, and curtains.  I want to revamp my theme and have a few new things added to my site including a spot for pictures. Vicki has sent me a form, I need to fill it out. Stat!  We have a fence in the backyard, now we need the front done. I need some flowers and some plants, and to post some pictures for you all. And I’ve been working on lining all our curtains in preparation for hot hot summer months to come.  Malcolm’s room is half done and the curtain is now at black-out status. It is amazing.  When just the one panel is stretched across, there is almost no light at all (just around the edges). Nothing comes through it. I am using this crazy heavy twill and that means I need to buy and install some new rods as the tension ones are crying under the strain.  So I need some inside mount adjustable rods.

Okay… are you all as excited as I am about this?  Hmmm?? Any spring goals you want to share with the rest of us?