Looking Forward

This morning after we had a good laugh about Ozzie, I continued watering my plants and when I watered my Butterfly Ginger roots I noticed some green shoots coming up!!! (yay!) Of the 6 or 8 bare roots that I brought back from Florida, only 1 had actual leaves on it and it's not very tall. The ones I planted in the bed with the bananas may well have died in this heat, but I am hoping not. I gave one to a co-worker and I hope that it makes it because it's such a wonderful plant to share! (My forsythia and vitex cuttings looked dried out - I hope it's a different story down there in the root area.) Also, my gardenia - that fried in its pot when we were on vacation - is coming back! I pruned it down to the soil a couple of weeks ago and this week I'm seeing some green down there! Way to go, favorite flower!

Earlier this week when I got a tip from Peaceful Daily on the best plants to have indoors I asked some co-workers about these plants (of the 4 Iisted I only have the English Ivy and it's not indoors). Well, one of my co-workers was kind enough to bring me a cutting from her Hoya Carnosa (aka Wax Plant, Porcelain Plant)! I read that the Wax Plant blooms smell like chocolate! Of the 5 plants that I have in my cube, 3 are from cuttings from friends. And the Passion Flowers that we've passed around the office and yards started with some cuttings that my friend and I got from her aunt years ago in Plano, TX. Those have come a long way.

Another friend brought in some Cosmos sulphureus (Orange Cosmo) seeds for me from her plants at home. She received some of these seeds from her daughter in law back East some time back and said that she plants the seeds twice a year and gets orange blooms in the spring and fall.  I love plants with a history the most! I am looking forward to what the future brings our yardens.

At lunch today I ran by the new Natural Grocers to pick up a recommended shampoo for Emi and I was pleasantly surprised to see my old cashier from my default grocery store ringing up groceries in this shiny new store (which, btw, doesn't have a Beer Cave like my default store does). Anyway, I bee lined to the hair products and ended up getting a few products for my kids. I forced myself to break away from the personal care area and the vast array of coconutty products in an effort to get some artichokes, salad, watermelon, yogurt and apples and check out the rest of the goods quickly. The store is bigger than I remembered Ace Hardware being so my quick 5 minute trip turned into a few more. Side note: I had pounded down a lot of water beforehand and I am happy to report that their bathrooms are very clean!
I grabbed a chicken curry naanwich to take back to work and my tastebuds were pleased when I finally sank my teeth into this sandwich. (yum!) I will have to replicate this dish at home! For dessert I had a Pina Colada (drinkable yogurt) and was very pleased with that too. Perfect size for my kiddos' lunch bags (and mine). 

I am looking forward to the routine of school and the cooler temps that will no doubt come with the new school year...I am also looking forward to the weekend with family and friends and the pool and some swirls... I hope you are keeping cool and discovering happiness in big and small ways as well!

Humpty and Ozzie

So we found out this morning that one of our hens is actually a rooster. We'd suspected for a while but he never has shown any dominance. Still hasn't. This morning as I was watering the front yard and talking to my neighbor I thought I heard the hens. I thought they must be very close to the front yard because they were a little loud. I stood in the alley to be sure of what I was hearing and then I heard it, the unmistakeable crow of a rooster. Emi dubbed him "Ozzie".

In other news, Aubri entertained us at dinner last night with her version of Humpty Dumpty:


Aubri on Humpty from Nolita Morgan on Vimeo.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

My sweet baby girl wore her swim suit to school (she pronounces it "cool") today for some water play. Good for her too because today is the hottest day so far this year and it's been really, really hot here lately. This suit is from last summer and I don't think the bottoms ever recovered from her Extreme Diaper Wearing in Lake Thunderbird.  Doesn't she look so sweet?

Today I met my husband for lunch at the Grand Opening of Cajun King.  They were serving free food all day long and the parking lot was full when I got there. People were leaving because there were no seats left but they were still letting people get plates of food from the buffet. I was worried that we'd be standing outside in the heat eating (and we would because it's that good) but then I spotted a good friend of mine and his wife seated in a booth! This friend is the one who supplies me with his home made wine for the Lake Party Sangria! Lucky for us they had just enough space for us to join them. My favorite part of the meal (besides the company) was the freshly fried catfish that the servers brought to the table (along with beignets and sweet tea, oh my!). The catfish was so yummy with a sort of cinnamon/coconut taste and the gravy that came with was so good too. Will definitely have to go back to do more research!

Little Things I'm Thankful for Today *

1) Hollywood Tape. I love my thin linen baby aqua top from Harold's but I don't love flashing co-workers or the director of the Little Ones' new school (sorry!). And it's too hot outside to even wear a camisole underneath. Two small pieces of Hollywood tape and I am good to go. Not even my crossbody bag can undo the hold of this double sided tape.

No More Gaping

2) Dark Sweet Cherries. I have been gorging myself on them for the past 24 hours. They are a taste of summer. But not my summer because mine is dried up and dusty.

3) Leftovers. Gnocchi pasta with turkey, mushroom, grape tomatoes and feta cheese leftover from Sunday dinner allowed us to get into the pool tout de suite last night after dinner. Spinach Artichoke dip made for snacking this weekend allowed me to avoid grabbing my lunch from the employee break room today.

4) My $1 J.Jill cable knit cardigan. While it's hot as blazes outside, it's still cold and drafty in my office and this cardi that I snagged at a garage sale earlier this summer has been as welcomed as an old friend these days.

*The Big Things are, of course, God, my husband and my family and friends (and our pool).

Time Out

This past weekend I was supposed to go on a family trip to visit Scott's grandparents but at the last minute, I decided to stay home and take a personal time out. I was stressed about the backlog of projects/chores around the house and I was growing annoyed with my lack of progress due to the almost constant interruptions from the kids and I occasionally need some solitude to recharge my batteries (or to keep me from going totally crazy). I missed my family the second they left and I thought about calling them to come back to get me, but I know I needed this time. It was just an overnight trip so I had about 34 hours to myself. I thought I'd catch up on some sleep but could only manage a brief nap on the couch before I got busy taking care of projects uninterrupted! Whee! I spent my time vacillating between a loafing teenager and Martha Stewart.

Some Productive Things I Did:

• Shampooed the carpets. This was long overdue after all of the gatherings we have had this summer. I was disgusted at the amount of dirt and dog hair that I removed from the floors...  After moving things around in the living room I decided to put the bamboo mat away for now (the dogs like to click around on this mat no matter that we are trying to hear the TV or sleep) and I also finally decided to get rid of my lovely overstuffed RED cottage rocker. I got this fabulously comfy chair 9 years ago when Emi was a baby. When we filled our living room with the red sectional pieces a couple of years ago, the red rocker was relegated to the library, but it never quite fit there. And it got more use as a catchall instead of seating. I moved it to the entry when shampooing the carpets and after seeing all of that space, decided it had to go (before I changed my mind). Scott's mom is coming to get it tonight so it won't be far and it will be loved. I plan to finally, finally get some big floor pillows for the library and hopefully add a nice hanging light in that area this fall...
• Laundered the couch pillow covers. (and almost ordered 3 more!) (I still might!). These faux-sheepskin pillow covers are the ones we have!  Soft, sturdy and washable.
• Washed bed linens and remade beds without the pressure of having to remake the beds in time for nap time...
• Mowed front lawn with REEL lawn mower.  This led me to dig up about 75% of the crab grass that was invading our front lawn (hard to mow crab grass with REEL mower).  Now our front lawn looks like it was attacked by moles when in fact it was attacked by Nols...
• Mowed 1/2 of the big back yard with REEL mower.  The chickens seemed to appreciate this quiet, gentle mowing...
• Began propagating (hopefully) forsythia and chaste berry plants.  Basically clipped some shoots off of each plant, dipped them into the rooting hormone, shoved them into planters and watered well. They are in a partial shaded area that is very close to the hose. I didn't cover them with plastic like I've heard is recommended but I've gotten lucky with this method in the past. *fingers crossed*
• Dehydrated my first pineapple (I prefer the hydrated version but I'd like to preserve some healthy snacks for my family when the cold, cold winter comes along). I dried out chunks of about half a pineapple and the yield was small. Might do pineapple rings in the near future. On the plus side, my sun room still smells like sweet, sweet pineapple...
• Cleaned the kitchen completely and laundered the tablecloth. This might not seem like a big deal but our dishwasher is on the fritz and with 3 kids, there are always dishes in the sink. I would wash a batch of dishes then go outside and play (mow, swim, rake, weed, move the sprinkler) and then repeat the process.
• Performed minor surgery on Emi's Rabbit Doll (she's been waiting patiently for months to have the hole in her back sewn up)
• Started work on a photo book of pictures from our recent visit. I got the photos uploaded to shutterfly, took the default book created and began editing it.
• Folded and put away 4 loads of laundry...uninterrupted...

Not So Productive Things I Did:

• Ate peach ice cream while watching parts of Marley & Me and Shawshank Redemption (I HAD to take frequent breaks from the work outside because it was once again 100+ degrees) and all of The Men Who Stare at Goats.
• Took a couple of dips in the pool (followed by a catnap on the floating lounger). I can report that my pool and backyard were thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. It was soooo quiet and peaceful...ahhhh! And my backyard sounds like a jungle or rain forest when there are no small children running around like banshees.
• Made the mistake of checking out an episode of Jersey Shore while folding laundry...I could not turn away. It was like a train wreck and I wish I could unknow the stuff I know about "Snooki" and "The Situation".
• Did not take pictures. Right after the family left I found myself in the back yard with so many things to photograph but Scott had the camera with him. I had to just enjoy what I saw: a mama bullfrog watching over her tadpole babies; an orange dragonfly flying over the pond of matching goldfish;  Chicken Run (the ladies kept walking towards the front gate to check on me while I was in the front yard or in the house); birds gathering around the sprinkler; sunset; sunrise...
• Thought about locating my mandolin...DID locate the mando-learning DVD and quickly put it away before it harshed my mellow.

Do I have any regrets? Not really except I wish I'd gotten a good solid nap in on Sunday. The catnap in the pool wasn't enough so I fell asleep during Breaking Bad.

Friends, this week is supposed to be the hottest so far!  Going to have to make salads and sandwiches and hang out in the pool until we get pruny in order to survive. I hope your week is filled with lots of cool things!