Veggies

Pics of my veggies in the back, at least the rain is helping out in this area, my peas are SO tall, taller than my red runner beans, which is weird.


My snap peas are growing already, and they are so freaking delicious at this size, (I snuck two small ones) I can't wait to see how they are in a week or so..mmm...


The tomatoes are doing awesome as well, I really hope that this year they get ripe before the end of the summer tho.... I was fake ripening tomatoes (stupid brown bags in the cupboard) last year and they just don't taste the same at all.

My bolted broccoli. That hot spell we had of plus 30/32? ? Yah, I guess broccoli doesn't like hot weather at ALL, and this is what it does. Grumble grumble. So its ruined, I just haven't the heart to rip it out yet. Sigh.

This Made My Day

I was visiting Parentdish, which has sorely lacked in the writing department lately, which I have bemoaned to no end, only to find an absolute gem of a blogpost mentioned by one of the writers, concerning the book "Uncle Bobby's Wedding".

Publisher's description of the book:

Bobby and Jamie are getting married, but Bobby’s niece Chloe is worried that she won’t be his favorite person anymore. Will Uncle Bobby still think she is special?

Sarah Brannen’s warm story is set in an alternative family as Uncle Bobby marries his boyfriend. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding embraces Bobby’s relationship with Jamie, but keeps its focus where it truly belongs: on an uncle and niece’s love for each other.

(are we surprised??) A patron of the library complained about the story, due to the fact that Uncle Bobby the guinea pig, is getting married to another boy guinea pig. This writers response was so incredible I thought I would post a link here, because it not only applies to this book, but the countless others that people think should be banned.

Have a good read, its incredibly insightful and well reasoned.

Uncle Bobby's Wedding

A Touch of Blue...

Going......
...going.....


Gone!

Here's hoping that they are even more successful next year, these kids eat me out of house and home with their blueberries!

Eeewwww

Ugh they look worse close up!

New festival goes green

Marta Gold, edmontonjournal.com

Published: 11:03 am

EDMONTON - Festival City will add a new, aptly named Green Festival to its roster later this month at the Devonian Botanic Garden.

Visitors to the Green Festival will be able to see green, in the garden's lush plants and flowers, go green, with environmental advice and lectures, and spend green, on eco-vendors' products and services.

The event is aimed at helping average consumers become more environmentally friendly, says Emma Gilbertson, who runs youth programs at the Devonian Garden. "We're trying to make it a really educational event," she adds. "We're looking at every part of green living in Edmonton."

That includes composting, recycling, environmentally safer gardening, carpooling, using green energy - even housecleaning with less environmentally harmful products.

Half-hour talks in the centre's outdoor Pine Pavilion will cover the basics of recycling, or green gardening, for example. Vendors will be on hand offering products and services like green cleaning services or green landscaping using native and low-maintenance plants.

The Green Festival runs Sun. July 20 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Devonian Botanic Garden.

Argh and I am in Calgary that weekend, I would have LOVED to go to this!

How To Fill Your Brake Fluid

1: Realize on your way to the museum that your brake light is on in the console, put 2 and 2 together and remember what that pretty red light means.

2. Stop at nearest Canadian Tire.

3. Haul children out of car into pouring rain and into the store.

4. Find fluid, drag out daughter, who's immersed headfirst into the ice cream cooler trying to get a freezie, (yes! In Canadian Tire! By the do-it-yourself checkout, thanks SO much guys!).

5. Throw kids in van and let them run around rocking it like wild animals.

6. Pop the hood, get out umbrella, look confused, while perusing under said hood.

7. Wait LITERALLY only 10 seconds before a guy comes up and asks if I needed a hand (I am still laughing over the short time period)

8. Have guy read van manual, find out where the fluid goes, have him get his hands dirty pouring it in. Ok, I WAS nice and held the umbrella over him.

9. And finite!

Ladies, if anything goes wrong with your car, ALL you have to do is just make it to the nearest hardware/car supplies store, open the hood, and looks under it confused. I actually would have figured out where it went, but it was just so damn funny that I didn't even get a chance to read a single CAP under the hood before some guy came over to help.

Things

My gallardia fanfare, I picked this up when Karami and I went to Hole's, and tho I was sorely tempted to buy the one already blooming, I resisted (the heftier price tag also helped) and grabbed a smaller cheaper one and threw it in the flowerbed.

Its soooo gorgeous! They are supposed to be ok to Zone 3, bloom from June to October (holy!) and if it comes back next year, I am going to make these the border around my flowerbed...I looove them! I am hoping to find seeds, but somehow I doubt I will....
Hehehe my little bird watchers being all stealthy waiting for the birds...notice the feeder is empty, I make those lazy birds come and eat the seeds off the grass first! They make SUCH A MESS! I think I am going to find a new place for it next year......just not sure where yet. You can see the huge sunflowers coming up beside it, I figured what the hell, let some grow. I have only weeded out about a 100 of them.

Other than that, we have been sticking close to home with Ivy's potty training, (doing a dance of joy now) and taking all sorts of small trips to the store, and to my work to meet Mike and she's been fantastic.I can't believe I have two potty trained kids! (runs around in circles with glee, cackling)

We are heading to the museum today with A and E, I am looking forward to the dragon exhibit! We were supposed to head to the beach, but its raining darn it..oh well, next week!

Yes, MORE Flowers

Yah yah my summer posts are booooring, BUT I actually find it SO useful for myself the next year, I know when everything bloomed, when it should have come up, where my forgetful mind planted certain things...lol...


My echinacea, its kinda short! Its only about 8 inches high...I am hoping next year it gets to that meter high point....didn't really plant it where I want a stubby plant! Damn thing was $15 too, I feel ripped off somewhat...

AND our first raspberry! These are really large berries, and do you think I can remember which bush it was? Time to dig out the cards from the raspberries and see which has the larger berries...if it comes back after this winter, I am going to plant some more of this kind, that is the Princess's hand, but still a big juicy berry! Then the kids went and ate the green ones. Sigh.

One of my canterbury bell's came back this year, how pretty! I didn't get these blooms last year, and they are supposed to bloom a couple of months the second year, we shall see...oh, and its another stubby one! Its soo short, and its supposed to be 12-18 inches high! What the heck.



I had a lovely day at Brandy's, whom I haven't seen in forever, thanks again for letting us invade you house and feeding us lunch! It was a great day and the kids were so excited to tell Mike all about it when he got home.

Blooms

The two shrubs that I would most and have most recommended to people :


John Cabot climbing rose , hardy hardy HARDY, grows fast, the blooms are fragrant and gorgeous, it looks even better today than this pic from 3 days ago...I think I am going to pick up another climber at the end of the season and plant it..I have an idea and a vision...lol!



And my mock orange, which I have extolled the virtues of before. Amazing, interesting to look at foliage, the blooms are short but spectacular and a fast grower!

And On a Happy Note..

Mike won a spotting scope with his raffle tickets, he's going to bring it home today. When he told me he entered most of his tickets into it, I was like " why would you do that! what the HELL do we need one for, we don't hunt!" (yah, can you tell how I grew up lol I assumed it was one for a rifle. who knew you could look at birds with one?)

Anyhooo, pretty cool for BIRD WATCHING lol so we are looking forward to taking it out to Clifford Lee and seeing what we can see! That was planned 5 minutes after we found out we won it!

Yay

Well I did get out last night, thank the gods, and the movie was wonderful. It was everything I had expected it to be for an Indiana Jones movie and I was not disappointed in the slightest! Harrison Ford was great as always, a little bit slower and creakier but I was impressed that they managed to make a great movie .


And we saw a TON of previews for movies coming out that I want to see, the Mummy is back for a third movie and I looooved those, X-Files (holy I CAN'T WAIT!!) Journey to the Center of the Earth, Hell Boy 2, the newest Batman, man, we could spend the whole summer in the theater this year!

My mood has improved but for the fact that I have to go in to work tonight for 4 hours. Its such feast or famine, I have worked something crazy like 7 out of the past 9 days, then Fri-Mon next weekend, I am just damn tired at this point, BUT then after that, I only have weekend shifts booked for most of the summer.....I just can't help but take the shifts when I can get them, but man, I am tired out. Its a good thing I like my job!

Hope everyone is having a great long weekend!

THE SUCK

This weekend is THE SUCK, all in capital letters. I say this weekend because I am still in the middle of it, at work, and not sprung for another 3 hours (some of which is OT, and I am TIRED)

I don't mind working, I actually love my 7-3 shift that I am working. But yesterday after work I had to rush home and get the kids ready and all cute to head to a BBQ out in Spruce Grove. For some stupid reason, Mike's boss told him to bring the kids for the BBQ part. Here I had pictured a nice family BBQ at the end of a golf day for the guys (and some women.) Nope. We drive out there and its an indoor dinner with NO OTHER CHILDREN IN SIGHT. All adults. Noooo families. Which is all fine and dandy and I got over that, ( ok really, I didn't, I was so embarassed! who takes the family to an old golfing farts dinner?? ) except that we hadn't eaten supper and arrived for 5:30, when we were told the BBQ was started. So my starving children proceeded to attack the SUGAR CUBES meant for coffee like a couple of hyenas. At that point I was like f*** this we are playing outside.

So outside we go and wait for dinner. Which was served at 7. By this point my children played with pinecones, narrowly escaped a few golf carts, found not only tons of cigarette butts but two cigar ends as well.

So we eat, an actually great steak dinner. Mike wasn't feeling great so he ate very little of it. The kids eat, then play some more. Mr K asks for dessert (which I, like an idiot, had told him there would be) and when told sorry baby, there isn't any (ISN'T dessert at a BBQ?? What the hell?) he proceeds to literally collapse in a heap of sobbing snotty teary heaving gasping crying. We carry said heap of sobbing snotty teary heaving gasping crying little boy to the van and go to Mac's for dessert.

Fine, done, Mike has his car and heads home and we follow shortly behind. I get into the house and am greeted by the sound of heaving and retching. Yah. Mike had waaaay too much sun golfing in +30 and spent the entire night until about 1 keeping us awake with the sounds of praying to the porcelain gods. Men are SUCH babies, can't you at least throw up silently? just kidding honey! erm, sort of...

That is what I missed a lovely Epicure party at Brandy's for! wheeee.

Then today, because I work (after my 5 hours of broken ass sleep and now taken on some OT to help out) and not only is Mike still sick, but I took the van and the carseats in my sleepless haze this morning!! They had a birthday party to attend, something that would have been a nice ray of sunshine in our weekend, but nope, not for us. So even if Mike wasn't suffering sunstroke, in my idiocy I cemented the fact that they couldn't go anywhere.

I'm also cancelling my trip to Calgary this week because its forecast for rain the two days I planned to be there, and I am not going all that way to miss a trip to the zoo AGAIN and watch my children destroy my sisters house because they are trapped inside and bored. I would rather stick a fork in my eye.

I am desperately holding on to the fact that SO FAR, we still have a babysitter tonight, I am getting off work in time (oh hell yah I am not staying any longer) and Mike and I are going to see Indiana Jones. He can sleep in the damn theater beside me and I will eat the popcorn myself (hardship, I know) but I am GOING OUT TONIGHT!

Only 2.5 hours left....only 2.5 hours left..... I managed to kill half an hour typing this out :)

Rainy Rose

My first rose of the year, but WHAT is eating the leaves!!!!! Look at those poor, hole-ridden leaves!! I am going to have to find some sort of natural bug repellent...I had tried one of oil and soap on my lupine, but it actually wilted some leaves and a couple of the flower spikes, um, are totally mutant! (I will post pics when I can,they are freaky lol)

I saw this out the window this morning and of course I am crazed enough to run out and get a picture. In a few days, the whole bush will be covered in glorious pink blossoms and holey leaves. Can't wait.


I was crazy and pulled a double shift last night, I worked 230-1030, then stayed overnight to help the new night girl until 630 this morning. I am insane. However, let's just say that since its a government job, between the premiums for nights/weekends, double time for OT, and getting my breaks paid out, I made enough in 16 hours to pay for our second deck. There was no way I was turning it down because that happens once in a blue moon. All I had to do was stay awake all night and watch Sex in the City on my portable DVD player LOL! I got through, um, 7 episodes? Ok, and yes, I worked as well, but nights are SO quiet its not like working at all.

Mike was a great help :), he and the kids took me to work yesterday, the kids came and saw where mommy was spending the night (Mr K thought that was so cool) and met the girls, then came this morning and picked me up. He even went to Superstore grocery shopping with the two kids while I slept. He's in super husband mode this weekend and it sure helped with me pulling a crazy shift like that.

BUT I am super tired, I need to get to bed at about 8 tonight and just sleeeeeep till tomorrow now. I could never work nights on a regular basis and unless I was getting the crazy good pay I don't forsee ANY other night shifts in my future!

And, happy summer to everyone!! Its officially here at last!

Virginia Ctenucha

For a moth, its kinda cool and the first time I have had one in the yard.



The Virginia Ctenucha can be found throughout Alberta except the prairies, in open places and grassy meadows in early summer from June through early July. Like other members in the Tiger Moth Family, they are poisonous to birds and so remain unmolested as they flutter from flower to flower in broad daylight.

This dusky moth has a wingspan 50 mm (2 in.). The wings are dark olive brown with a narrow white fringe. The fuzzy body is an iridescent dark blue and the head is a fuzzy orange.

The innocuous yellowish tan caterpillars sport short white hair. They are about 25 mm (1 in.) long and feed on grasses and sedges.

Headline: Boy Band Mauled By Cougars

I CAN'T WAIT! I bought tickets for Kandice and I to go (I knew she would be my partner in crime, I didn't even consult her LMAO) and WE ARE FINALLY GOING!! WE had wanted to many many years ago in our twenties and now we have the money and the cougar instinct.

Weeeehhheeee hahahahaha!

F I love boy bands! I love that I am old enough not to be embarrassed (mostly) over my love of pop sugar cute boy bands.

For your viewing and listening pleasure. I guess Kevin isn't a part of it anymore which is fine 'cause he was my least favorite.

I Heart My....

Wii Fit! I can't believe I forgot to post about it, but last weekend Mike managed to score one first thing Saturday morning at Superstore. And we LOVE it! I especially love watching Mr K do yoga poses :) its exceptionally adorable, I will have to post some videos I have taken of him doing his yoga.

I think that the aerobics part isn't enough for what I need, but I really wanted it for the yoga, which is excellent because it uses the board to show you how you balance is while doing the poses. A video would never be able to show my how to shift my balance to achieve the right center of gravity while doing it, yet you just follow the little balance dot on the screen and you can make sure you are doing it 100% correctly. I also suck at strength training and wanted it for that as well, those exercises are great. I am very much a "have to follow visually" person while doing those, I can't understand from pictures in magazines or explanations when it comes to any of the strength training moves.

WAY too much for for the whole family! They have running games, skiing, hula hoops, I think this is just the greatest game ever!

Lupines

To my delight while weeding my front flowerbed, I discovered about 15 wee little lupines growing in there...I do believe they actually seeded last year, which = much less work for me in the front! I had wanted to just fill the front with these since the foliage is gorgeous even when they aren't blooming and they are tall enough to be seen over the white fence, so I just moved around the little ones I found growing and voila, front is almost done!


My 2nd year ones are blooming already...


And as long as the birds don't get 'em, we will have about 10 blueberries this year LOL!

Reading....

I kept seeing this book in the locker than Beckie and I share at work and I finally asked to borrow it, and I am glad I did. This is an incredibly good book, and I am not sure why. Sounds weird, but there are points when I stop and think "why is this so damn interesting? Why can't I put it down?"

The premise is nothing spectacular one would think:

"The spellbinding epic set in twelfth-century England, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the lives entwined in the building of the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known—and a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother."

Its not something I would pick up and think, hmm, yes, this has GOT to be great! I just thought hmmm, ok, I have nothing to read at home LOL!

Its good...it's very, very surprisingly good and I recommend it to anyone who wants a good (but LONG at 900 + pages) summer read.

Pansy's And a Princess

My pansy's..
My Princess...watering my lovely lupines! I can't wait till they are fully in bloom!
Just some cute little Princess feet in my weedy flowerbed.

Eeeeew

It may look like those creatures from War of the Worlds, but it WAS one of my Oriental lilies. I finally dug them up since my glads are about 2 feet tall and were buried just as deep, and this is what I found:



It sprouted roots like hell, then just rotted. What a waste of 10 bucks! And do you think I kept the receipt for my "it will grow or your money back! "? Nope! Bah on them.