Today’s Garden Bounty

July 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

OK as I said I can’t seem to grow melons but the rest of my garden is doing well. Check out today’s bounty.

Kale, Swiss Chard, tomatoes, on cucumber and a few “baby” carrots. The carrots weren’t ready to be pulled but they came out when I was weeding. They are still pretty tasty. The Kale is dying off in the heat, but besides the watermelon and honeydew I can’t seem to grow, everything else seems to be doing well. I was worried about the cucumbers but they are starting to produce. I have a ton of tomatoes. The three corn stalks I planted as a test even seem to be growing.  At some point I’m going to have to cut my melon losses rip them up and use the space to replant radishes and sugarsnap peas. As much as I hate weeding I love gardening. Someday I want a greenhouse to extend my growing season.  Clearly that won’t be in our current home.

Update – left out the supper yummy scallions.

Filed Under: Garden

My semi green thumb

July 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I should probably post a picture but my garden is messy with weeds. I have decided I have a semi-green thumb. My roses look fantastic. The hydrangea is gorgeous. My radishes grew well.  Carrots seem to be coming along. Kale did very well before it got too hot. Swiss Chard did well. Tomatoes seem to be growing.

But I can’t grow melons type plants. I can’t even blame the clay soil this year since I built raised garden beds.  My watermelon and honey-due melon plants just aren’t producing fruit.  Even my cucumbers are finally starting to grow, but nothing on the melons. I don’t get it. The have long vines and flowers, but no fruit. If there are any sage gardners out there who want to give me adice, I’m happy to listen, otherwise this is the last year I plant melons.

Filed Under: Garden

Second update re: recent downturn with depression and anxiety

May 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

Sorry for the delayed post today but I’m on work travel. Which actually leads me to my update on anxiety and depression. As I mentioned in my last post I really started feeling better at my friend Stephanie’s family band show on Sunday. Again not sure if it was the show, the Wellbutrin, but I suspect both. I am feeling even better today but I have to admit I am still not in the happy state I was before the downturn. Interesting though my anxiety is lower. To back up, I love to fly even post 9/11 I have never been an anxious flyer.  Ever since having kids that has changed. I have never been afraid to die. I wasn’t suicidal but I just didn’t care. Having kids changed all that.  I wasn’t afraid of dying for me, but the thought of not being there for my wife and most especially my kids, terrified me. My job does require me to travel semi often.  Yes this is my fourth visit to Ithica in the last year.  So now every time I travel I get very anxious. Maybe my plane will crash or I’ll get into some accident driving in the middle of nowhere North Dakota in the winter.  But not this time, I had absolutely no anxiety about this trip.  The only time anything remotely entered my mind was when Melissa insisted on me showing her exactly where I planted everything. And I did say, what you have some bad intuition about my trip? She was like no, I just want to know so when you forget in two weeks I can tell you.  But seriously this is the first trip I have taken since Josh was born that I have had no anxiety.  So my anxiety seems more managed but I’m still not as happy as I had been, and now that I have experienced that, I desperately want to get back there.  As I also mentioned in my last post I promised Stepanie’s daughter I would write a story where Red has a daughter, and this kid is just too adorable to refuse.  My mood has improved enough that I was able to write a good chunk of one.  I still haven’t written an Egret story yet and I need to get on it since I promised one for Josh tomorrow night. As long as my plane doesn’t get severely delayed I’ll be home for bedtime so I better get cracking on an Egret story tonight! I apologize if there are even more typos than usual this post was written entirely on my iPad.

Filed Under: Depression, Anxiety & ADHD, Garden, Health, iPad, Kids

Little kids and worms

March 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Behold Joshua’s latest masterpiece.  OK I say masterpiece with the eye of a parent, but the objective reality remains at 5, he draws better than I do. When I walked in the door from work last night, the first thing he did was show it to me. He was beaming with pride, as was I. He was so excited to tell me he drew a picture of me, him and Elijah working in the garden this weekend. Then he walked me through who was whom. I’m the tallest (not a sentence I say often). I love this picture for so many reasons, not the least of which is the happiness it conveys. I love gardening (though I am not terrible good at it yet), and as the boys are getting older, its a beautiful project we can work on together. They really are getting pretty good at “helping”. And when I say helping for the most part I mean not destroying what I have planted. Ok there may have been about a 1/2 dozen daffodils (on the verge of blooming) that suffered friendly fire at the hands of Elijah.  But he was trying to help!

I am not sure when I will get around to posting this, but as I’m writing it, the boys are still sleeping. They look so innocent on the video monitor, and I can’t tell you how relaxing it is to hear the sound of their breathing. Its the picture of innocence, kind of like the art work above.  But will someone please explain this to me! And I ask this as a former little boy, who seems to have lost the sacred knowledge, what’s up with little kids and worms. I mean I love how he drew the three of us, in a yellow happy color with smiles, but check out the worm. It is clearly the star of this scene. When we were digging, you would not believe the squeals of joy every time we found a worm. Both boys are completely engrossed by them, of course I just think they are gross. Anyone care to explain what I am missing?

Filed Under: Garden, Home, Kids, Parenting

My first Radish

October 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Garden

25 random things about me

January 26, 2009 by 5 Comments

I was tagged and completed one of those “25 random things about me” and true to #25 I decided to repost to my blog.

1. Someday I will finish and publish a novel.

2. I have finished many shorts stories over the years and have never attempted to have any of them published.

3. I have an irrational fear of birds.

4. That said very few things in this world truly frighten me. I have driven a buck twenty bumper to bumper on a tortuous road, gone bungee jumping, cliff diving, skydiving and countless other youthful indiscretions.

5. And that said I have been terrified on a couple of occasions. The first was a month before Josh was born and we were driving to Holly Cross to do a tour of the maternity ward. We were stopped in traffic on 495 near magical kingdom AKA the Mormon Temple. Melissa stated screaming as a SVU plowed into us at highway speeds. The accident put her into early labor and it was hours before they were able to stop the labor and give us any assurance that she and the baby would be OK. The second time in recent memory was when I held my son for the first time.

6. Even though I am pro-science and highly critical of religious dogma, I am surprisingly religious. I have never doubted in G-d, only humanity’s ability to understand.

7. Most of my life I preferred to read what Academics call literature and now I prefer speculative fiction. I can even admit to truly loving some urban/dark fantasy that could just as easily be housed in the romance isle.

8. I am a terrible insomniac and Lunesta has changed my life.

9. I have been contemplating giving up meat on moral grounds but am not sure I have the will power to make it happen.

10. I’m a Mac, and a PC and a LINUX

11. As a kid I used to take things apart to to figure out how they worked, I still do.

12. I used to build PCs before it was considered easy.

12. I am very mechanically inclined but have never changed my own oil, mostly because I don’t like getting dirty.

13. I love to garden. I know that sounds contradictory but I don’t mind dirt dirt. It is the greasy and/or sticky things I don’t love.

14. I have studied Christianity more in depth than Judaism.

15. I hated being Jewish as a child but happily identify with Judaism as an adult.

16. My favorite game is Gin provided I am playing with my wife. She is a knocker!

17. My mind works best when I am multitasking.

18. I can listen to an audio book or watch TV while reading and follow both. I know this makes me a little odd but I was a multitasker before modern communication necessitated it.

19. My wife never ceases to amaze me.

20. On any given day Lifeguarding was my favorite job. Bar-tending was the most fun, and Teaching the most rewarding.

21. Even though I don’t LOVE it I am very good at HR an assume I will keep doing it forever unless I do #1 more than once and really really really well.

22. I am terrible with names.

23. Having a child (soon to be children) has changed my life in unbelievable and indescribable ways.

24. Yes I do get asked about the other Corey Feldman all to often and how funny is it that my best friend’s name is Tony Orlando.

25. Most of my life I have shared easily but with few. With Social media (blogging, facebook, twitter) I now share with many but no longer with ease.

Filed Under: Apple, baby, Family, Fiction, Friends, Garden, Geek, HR, Kids, Lit, Local, religion, writing

Weekend update

May 27, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Had a wonderful weekend.  I didn’t do any writing, but you know what, that is OK.  I don’t think I spent more then 15 minutes at my computer all weekend.  Not to say I embraced a luddite way of life, I had my trusty iPhone, even made a couple Joshua related blog post straight from the Jesus phone.   I did not think about work until I hit the gym this morning – work related reading material in hand.  While the pregnant 4pm Friday before a holiday weekend phone call did indeed come, I had left at 2 and no one bothered my cell.  What I did do this weekend was spent quality time with my wife and son.  We read, gardened, shopped, hung photos on previously barren walls, played with Joshua, rode the CJ Park train and went for walks.  Actually Melissa walked and pushed the jogging stroller and I strapped on the roller blades and entertained Joshua with my wheeling around.  It was a wonderful weekend filled with family, love and joy.  It was a beautiful reminder of why I get up every morning; battle the demons (traffic, work and personal) happily and without reservation. 

Filed Under: Apple, baby, Garden, Home, iPhone, Kids, Local, Weekend Update, writing

Rabbits

May 6, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Looks like I am going to have to make another trip to Home Depot, the new vegetation is attracting rabbits.  They seem to be coming in under the fence door which has about a 6 inch clearance.  I will have to rig something up to block access this weekend. Fortunately the door swings inwards towards the patio, so it shouldn’t be to difficult. 

Filed Under: Garden, Home

Recent Updates

May 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Real Life

 

Saturday was gardening day.   Took a trip to Lowe’s and the Potomac Gardening Center and came away with lots of plants, flowers, herbs and vegetables.  I never thought I would get into gardening but I found it relaxing, rejuvenating and was filled with a sense of accomplishment.  I think I did a pretty good job and I am really looking forward to the veggies and herbs coming up.  I have a few pictures on Flicker if you want to check out the fruits of my labor.   Saturday evening, I helped my brother load up a U-haul to help with their impending move.  Between the gardening and the packing I was expecting to be pretty sore but I am actually feeling OK. 

 

Sunday morning Melissa taught a Yoga class so I babysat* Joshua.  Anyways, we drove to downtown Bethesda, walked around and grabbed some breakfast.   We ate in the courtyard in front of Barnes & Nobles and it was good bonding time.  Joshua went wild for all of the dogs on show.  He really loves animals. 

 

Joshua is now officially a toddler, I wish we caught it on video…  He has been cruising and walking with push toys since he was 7 months but refused to take a step without a toy, hand or piece of furniture for assistance.  That is until yesterday.   Well a couple weeks ago he started to take a few “unassisted” steps. Basically he had to already be walking with a decent amount of forward momentum, and we would have to pull our hand away.  We would take a few steps and sit down or dive into the couch.  Yesterday was different; I actually got him to take about 19 steps from a standing position.  It was pretty amazing to actually get to be there for such a huge first.    

 

Fiction

 

I got some writing done this weekend and even had a little break through on one of my projects.**  My protagonist has a mentor whose motivation for helping I have never quite been able to pin down.  Basically I had him call her on it.  Hey – why are you helping me…  I am not planning on keeping any of it, or at least not most of it.  It was more an exercise in understanding.  Biggest thing I realized, she is lying and my protag is too damn trusting – going to have to toughen him up. 

 

*Although I don’t think babysitting is the appropriate term when it’s your kid. 

 

**Maybe I would get one done if I actually worked on them one at a time.

Filed Under: baby, Fiction, Garden, Home, Kids, Local, Weekend Update
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