Flowers going crazy...

In early Spring Carrie and I started what we thought was just putting in a couple of azaleas to make the backyard look better. Little did she know that 5 azaleas would lead to over 50 new shrubs. It has been a lot of fun. I have learned a few things along the way. One of the best things is watching plants grow and really do well. The series of photos below is an example of that:



It is incredible how well the plants are doing around the azaleas. They are providing great root shade. It is hard to tell but the azaleas a growing really well, too.

One thing that is stressful is when a shrub I planted dying. I don't understand why they die and no matter what I do, nothing helps. It stinks, but I guess nature takes its course.

Crape Myrtle - More landscaping...

So, I spent some time the past couple of days getting my next landscaping project underway. First I wanted to remove the old shrubs as they were really old and one was in pretty bad shape... half the truck was rotted out.

I used my a saw and fire to get the shrub and root out of the ground. I burnt the root system for about two days... this was very effective and much easier than trying to He-Man it out. So, today I replaced the old with some new.

I got these Crape Myrtles today at Lowe's for really reasonably. The subspecies of the plants from closest in the photo are: Tuscarora Crape Myrtle which grows pink and gets about 15' tall, Acoma semi-dwarf Crape Myrtle grows white blooms and about 10' tall, and Zuni Crape Myrtle grows lavender and about 9' tall. All of these plants bloom from summer to late fall. It is nice to have some color in the dog days of summer. Jerk.

Let's smoke a cigar...

Carrie and I were hanging out on the deck last night. Carrie insisted on having a smoke. It was an Oliva which rated 94 in Cigar Aficionado. It is nice sitting on the deck under the umbrella. If your not under the umbrella it is way too hot... it has been over 90 deg for a good while. Enjoy!





She looks like a pro!

Breaking Dawn

Last night I went to the midnight release party at Barnes & Noble for the forth and final book in the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn.
It was interesting to say the least. I went with a co-worker, Megan, and we were definitely in the minority - over 20 and not dressed up as a vampire or in Prom dresses. I felt very much out of place, but it was a lot of fun hearing the excitement of these middle/high schoolers and seeing some of their outrageous outfits. I really wished I had my camera, but my crappy camera phone had to do.... here is a glimpse of one person we saw:

At 12:01 the first book was sold. Megan and I were in group "G" so we got our books around 12:30. I actually saw one girl from the first group open her book to the very last page, she couldn't wait to know who Bella chose, Edward or Jacob. Megan and I quickly got as far away from her as we could. The girl had a "Team Edward" shirt on and heart with Edward's name on her arm, so I knew whatever her reaction was we'd be able to tell the outcome and she ruin it for us. We darted around a bookcase out of eyesight and earshot - crisis adverted.
I didn't get home until almost 1 am, and seeing as I'm not used to staying out late anymore, I chose to go to bed rather than start reading. I'd guess most of those kids stayed up all night to read the entire book.

Giving for Today

I am in the process of starting a non-profit. I had no idea what the process was like until recently, let me tell you... it is not fun and takes a long time. But like some say, if it worth having it is worth working for. Fortunately, I have some great people around me that are giving some much needed guidance.

I won't forget the adventure.

Some say life is an adventure. It is easy to say something but have no indication that what you say is what is so. Looking at my life there is a lot of adventure. This adventure may not be apparent to those around me, I guess it shouldn't be because its not their adventure. I have seen and experienced adventure with money, time, relationships, and stuff.

Money: I have dug Carrie and I some pretty deep financial holes. Thankfully, Carrie is great at managing the books. I had a very difficult time accepting our personal financial crisis. But I can tell you that we were not able to experience freedom from this pit until we took responsibility and owned our debt. We are close.

Time: I have attempted to free up time by giving up some hobbies. Back in the day I golfed all the time. I don't anymore... I may go 4 or 5 times per season which is enough for me. I have made a commitment to myself that any new hobby I take on Carrie must be able to join in. We went fly fishing together and it was a great time!

Relationships: Spending time with people is fun. I enjoy conversation. I enjoy sharing my vision and hearing about other peoples vision. It is especially great when two visions can be joined for a greater vision.

Stuff: Carrie and I have gotten rid of a lot of the "stuff" that filled our house. It is a constant struggle for me to get rid of stuff. I think what if I need this or that again... it is not worth keeping if I use it every once in a while. I prefer to borrow a friends. I tell my friends if I have something don't buy it because you can use mine.

Observations from gardening...

Our garden has begun to produce a fair amount of vegetables. Something I have noticed is the savings gained by growing your own food. If we don't use the vegetables fairly quickly they will be no good. I have noticed on a few occasions when we would have had to make some sort of side dish we have been able to use vegetables from our garden. Another thing... it is crazy the way people light up when you give them food. Carrie and I have given the people across the street cucumbers and a zucchini bread and they love it. It is great to see people happy simply by giving them a vegetable. I can see how communities were developed back in the day when everyone was growing and sharing food.


Carrie made this zucchini bread. The loaf in the middle has poppy seeds on it.

Sundays with Zucchini...

After church this past Sunday Carrie and I came home and had a great lunch. Carrie took zucchini that we grew and cut it up into what looked like french fries. Then she breaded them and fried them in oil... they were really great!




I know that in the photo Rummy looks like he is happy to see you. Well, he isn't. This is the face he makes when he wants to say, "I don't like you." Get over it.

Carrie - The Dog Talker.

Carrie is great with our dogs. In fact, she is so good they like to use her as a pillow. Rummy is a great dog and Madi is not bad.

New Furniture

Here they are as promised...

I'm not as young as I used to be...

This weekend Jesse and I got new furniture, well, new to us furniture. I can imagine that this furniture sat in some old lady's house covered in plastic for years and years and was barely sat on. We'll post pictures of it once we have everything rearranged... It's an awesome yellow and green floral - totally retro.

Anyway, while Jesse was picking it up from the Estate Specialist on Saturday (awesome antique store in Lynchburg), I decided to move our old furniture out of the way. That was a bad idea seeing as our old furniture is massive and heavy. Now it is Monday and my back is yelling at me for thinking I can do that kind of thing on my own. I have come to the realization that I'm not as young as I used to be... 27 is tough.

The many faces of Carrie.

I was going through iPhoto tonight and found some interesting photos of Carrie. I can tell you Carrie has always had a great sense of fashion. In fact, if you ask her for her opinion she will gladly tell you what to wear.





The last one is me... in case you didn't know. Again, as you can tell from the photos, Carrie is great with style.

Zucchini - from garden to dinner...

So Carrie prepared a couple of zucchini for dinner a few nights ago. They were excellent. It makes me feel good to be eating stuff that we cared for. Next year we plan on expanding our garden extensively. We planted way to much stuff for the space we have... however, having never planted a garden we had no idea. Vegetables really need space in order to do their thing. Thanks for stopping by to see what we are up too.

I am thankful for these soldiers.

U.S. military service members take an oath at a mass re-enlistment ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 4, 2008. 1215 service members re-enlisted Friday during an Independence Day ceremony at al-Faw palace at Camp Victory.

The garden bears vegetables...

So, we have eaten from what we planted a couple months ago. So far we have bunch of cucumbers and beans coming in. Carrie cut up the first cucumber and gave thanks. The beans are trickling in. Everything is good so far.




Funny story... I got home from somewhere and Carrie was in the backyard working in the garden. She had something protruding from her sweatshirt that she is not genetically equipped for. So I ask her, "Is that a cucumber in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" It turns out it was the cucumber in the photo above. I was relieved.

Three Ridges & The Priest Wilderness

So two weeks ago my Dad, Uncle, Cody (cousin), Ariel (cousin), and myself went hiking and camping on the Appalachian Trail. My uncle asked me to find a good place to go... naturally I found a place. I know of a couple of places around my house that provide great views and some good hiking. What I didn't know is that the section I took them on is considered by many to be the most difficult vertical climb on the entire trail. It was pretty brutal. Don't get me wrong, I am glad we did it and would do it again, I would just slim down my pack to essentials. Did I really need to bring my 6 person glass hookah? In hindsight, a 4 person would have been fine. Anyways, it rained for the better part of the first day, which kept us cool. I will post more photos later and a better write-up and maybe some links to what we hiked.




Not sure who this bozo is below... I think he was a through hiker. He followed us the entire time. We finally clubbed him and left him in a stream.

Carrie paints the bedroom...

So this holiday weekend Carrie tackled the bedroom. Previously it was gray... kind of dark and boring. Now it is nice and yellow. Carrie did an excellent job. She primed the walls and put two coats of paint. She painted the ceiling and also did all of the trim. She has got far more patience than I have and frankly she is good at painting. I like the color she choose - she asked me if I liked it and I do. So far she has done all of the painting and choose good colors.









What did I do this long weekend you might ask... I cut the grass and got stung twice by an army of bees that built a nest in the ground in our front yard. I wouldn't bother it but it is right in the middle of our yard. So, I poured gas in it and then struck a match. I was trying to think of ways to get rid of them without destroying them as bees are severely in decline. But I couldn't think of a realistic way to do so without being mauled by an angry mob of bees. I had a memorial service for them with Rummy. He cried.