Gardening Update!

As Jeff left this morning, I watched him study the lantana at the end of our garden, now in its second bloom. When I asked him what he was doing, he explained that he was amazed by how much it has spread out--which inspired me to give a little update on our garden!

Woah--that's definitely some growth for the lantana and lavender!

See how full the double impatiens are now?

Clearly, we need a little more mulch--we're getting a bit dry in spite of all the recent rains. Still, we're just amazed by how the garden has blossomed--it gives us such joy!

Jeff's Birthday (Part 2)

The birthday boy on his perfect, beautiful June day!

The surprise was a success! We woke up to beautiful blue skies and no humidity. In spite of some unexpected traffic getting there, we had plenty of time for an amazing day with good friends (and good food!). But the pictures really tell the story...

Jeff immediately took the pilot's seat--he couldn't wait to get out on the lake! Before our friends arrived, we spent some time prepping the the boat (and I might have enjoyed showing off the delicious treats I'd brought along!). Were you wondering how the deviled eggs traveled?

They did great! The ziploc bag trick even allowed for some pretty piping, and I added just a dash of paprika at the end for color. I think I'll be volunteering to bring deviled eggs to all the summer picnics now!

Once we got out on the water, Jeff was only too happy to abandon the wheel in favor sipping a birthday beer and checking out the beautiful lake surrounding us. It didn't take him long to decide it was time to hop in for a swim--and it took even less time for the rest of us to join him!

Yes, for those of you who know me, that's actually me in the lake, swimming! The water was incredibly warm (our "Fish Finder" was logging it at 78 degrees), and the bottom was sandy (not the murky slime typical of so many lakes). We spent most of the rest of the day hopping in and out of the water, grazing on fried chicken, cheese, crackers, and salami, and even fishing. (Well, not me, that was just Jeff.)

By the end of the day, Jeff just couldn't stop grinning, and I knew I'd accomplished a successful birthday mission. And you know what the best part was? I enjoyed it just as much! I can't wait for our next visit to the lake!

Jeff's Birthday (Part 1)

My 33rd birthday on Block Island

Jeff and I have a somewhat unique idea about birthdays and anniversaries: we think they're far better spent having experiences than getting things. Though some of our friends think that's crazy, as adventures seem fleeting and intangible, we find that we continually unwrap the places we've been, meals we've eaten, and bed and breakfasts where we've stayed, even months and years later.

So, since Jeff's birthday is next week, it's my turn to get creative! The idea started as a little seedling, thanks to one of our favorite summer country songs: Little Big Town's "Pontoon." Notorious for his constant desire to spend weekend days on a boat, Jeff has over and over asked me why we can't just own a pontoon for the (tiny) lakes in Reston. While I can't afford a boat, I was able to find a large lake about two hours to our south that had a 6-person pontoon boat available for tomorrow. Add a couple of good friends who were all too happy to clear their schedules, and we were good to go!

Well, except for the food, that is.

So, I've spent most of today preparing lots of goodies for tomorrow. The back of the car (which Jeff won't be allowed to look into in the morning) looks like this:

All the right snacks: beef jerky, really good salami, chips, and popcorn.

Since chips would be no good without something to dip them in, I whipped up a batch of homemade guacamole:

The picture above doesn't do it justice, but this summery combination of avocados, tomatoes, a tiny bit of chopped onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice always hits the spot! Of course, I needed something a little more substantial than just chips & dips and cheese & crackers, so I put together our favorite summer tortellini salad:

Nothing more than tortellini, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, this is always a massive hit at parties (if it makes it there at all... usually it gets finished at home before I can get it out the door!). Our friends will be contributing some fresh fried chicken in the morning as the main protein, but I thought I should probably make a little something else with some sustenance:

Deviled eggs! I followed Paula Deen's traditional recipe, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. The odd presentation above is the result of my research on how to travel with deviled eggs--particularly ones made in advance. When we get on the boat tomorrow, I'll just take out the filling, snip off an end of the plastic bag, pipe the filling into the halves, and voila! (Or, I hope it'll be that easy and beautiful--I'll let you know in the "Part 2" post!)

Hmmm... is that everything? Oh, wait--we have a birthday on our hands here!

When I was a little girl, I never took cupcakes to school on my birthday; instead, my mum and I always made "Birthday Brownies." They're quick and easy--even though the brownies are made from scratch. Two of my containers above are iced and decorated with Jeff's favorite candy (Reese's Pieces) while the other one is, well, for me (M&Ms). Can't wait to dive in!

So, with the beer and wine stashed at the neighbors' (who are coming with us tomorrow) and all the yummy treats hidden in the fridge (behind "don't peek!" boxes that have been artfully arranged), Jeff has no clue what's going on and I can't wait for tomorrow morning!

Breathing

If you've been around Jeff and me enough, then you've heard him remind me to breathe at some point. In the last 7 years together, I've finally started to get better about reminding myself to breathe, too. So much better, in fact, that today, knowing that Jeff wouldn't be able to pick me up from work until a half hour after my day ended, I decided to go for a walk around campus.

I should pause here to explain that I'm incredibly blessed by working on one of the most beautiful high school (or college!) campuses I've ever encountered (and I've attended, taught at, and visited some top-notch ones). Though we're located just 3 miles outside of Washington, DC, the buildings themselves back up to acres upon acres of woods and fields, and there's a beautiful stream that runs through the trails behind the Upper School buildings. That's where I went today.

Hopogo Farm, the house where I grew up, also had a stream winding through the property, which meant that I fell asleep to the sound of running water every night and woke up to it every morning. I spent countless hours building boats out of bark and leaves, wading into the icy chill on a hot summer day, and hop-skotching across the rocks that peppered the stretch of Silvermine Brook beyond our waterfall. As a result, the sound of running water never fails to calm and soothe me.

One of the most remarkable things about my campus is the sheer volume of outdoor teaching spaces: rows of benches overhanging the stream, circular wooden logs set in a clearing, a low ropes course hidden amidst the trees, and my favorite spot of all--Morton Deck (pictured above). Throughout the chillier winter months, our incredible Environmental Studies and Sustainability team keeps warm fires roaring in the fire pit so that we can bring our classes outside to read a few lines of Whitman, to share creative essays they've written, or to learn about the plight of Washington's men during the cold winter at Valley Forge. Even now, on a warm spring day, the deck remains inviting as sunlight filters in through the verdant trees.

As my walk came to a close, I stumbled upon an outdoor classroom I'd never noticed before. Pictured above, it seemed so inviting within the cool shade of the overhanging branches that I stepped in for a closer look.

Yes, this is a good place to breathe.

An Actual Post About Gardening!

The origins of this blog's title are explained in the column to the left, but the short version is that it has nothing to do with gardening--until today! Jeff has been set on getting our front garden blooming (if we're honest, we're partially motivated by the super-gardeners who live around us and show us up), and he's finally really gotten things going!

Here's what we started with when we moved in (which is the way we left it for the first year and a half):

At the outset, the long strip of garden-able space pretty much served the purpose that it's serving in this photo; it was full of red lava rocks, and the neighborhood kids loved filling their trucks with the rocks and displacing them around the front yards nearby. That is, until the day that Jeff decided the rocks had to go. He spent many painstaking hours (a paltry few of which included my help and the "help" of the neighborhood kids) removing the rocks to reveal the dirt below. The good news (according to Jeff) was that we had a lot of worms, so that meant the soil might be richer than we expected.

Our first trip to the nursery was small; we just wanted to tackle the square area surrounding the lamppost at the front of the walk. Having completed several hours of research--and knowing my love of lavender--Jeff settled on a modest landscaping design.

With just a few lantana flowers and lavender plants, it already looked worlds better--and Jeff was rightfully proud of his accomplishment! We truly started to reap the rewards when the purple lavender buds began to blossom, and I got in the habit of running my hands through the soft flowers each night as I came home. Within a few weeks, Jeff was ready to continue his hard work.

When we started last night, the garden looked like this:

After several hours of Jeff's hard work and sweat (I did pull up all the grass that had grown in, so I wasn't totally useless)...

We actually had a full, diverse garden!

I'm in love with the whole thing--with Jeff's hard work, with the beautiful flowers and plants we've chosen, and with the fact that we've put our own stamp on the front of our home. Inch by inch, we've grown a garden of our own!

My Newest Merit Badge: Camping

My apologies for how belated this post is--the event itself occurred over Memorial Day Weekend.

By the fire pit on the first chilly afternoon.

I don't camp. I hike, I scrabble up and down steep trails, I sweat with exhaustion and cheer with elation when I conquer a challenge, but I don't camp--my love of soft beds and hot showers precludes that activity.

So, when Jeff asked if I might consider camping with friends (and their friends) over Memorial Day Weekend, "pshaw--as if!" was right on the tip of my tongue. But then I thought about how much my husband has done to support me--always, but particularly since our second loss. When I added up the hours he's spent calming my fears, listening to my frustrations, and letting me cry, it hardly seemed fair to say no to such a simple request. And when he added that another merit badge was in it for me, I was sold.

Merit badges have been a long-standing joke in our relationship. As the adventurous one, Jeff is forever encouraging me to bound outside my comfort zone in ways that terrify me to no end--and yet, because I love and trust him, I often take those leaps. A few years ago, for our anniversary, Jeff gave me a picture frame with several pairs of wallet-sized photos and little circular fabric patches between each one: my merit badges. It's proudly hung on the wall going up our stairs, and it includes adventures like our all-day trek through a snowy New York City, my first experience at a high-ropes adventure park, Jeff's turn as a pilot in an introductory flight lesson (trust me, being the passenger definitely earned me the badge), a snorkeling expedition (Jaws was certainly a concern), and our 9-mile winding journey through the hills and dales of England last year. There was just one space left in the column of photos and badges, and we all know how I like to check things off a list and complete them, so camping it was.

My amazing badges, all proudly earned.

As a whole, the trip was far better than I had anticipated. Jeff brought sundry items to increase my comfort: an air mattress for the tent, peppermint hot cocoa for the morning, a specialty chocolate bar for dessert, and even a comforter from home to keep me snuggly and warm inside my sleeping bag. The company--17 in all, ranging from 4 years old to adults beyond our years--were easy-going and welcoming, and they had no hard feelings about my desire to curl up in our tent at 10PM and read or our need to take a long walk on our own during the day Sunday.

Scrabbling up rocks on our walk.

And so, when we stopped at Perkins for a hot breakfast on the way home Monday morning, and when Jeff nervously eyed me as if to say "now she's going to tell me how awful this was," I surprised myself with my response. It had been a good weekend. I survived with only one shower. I slept well in spite of the chilly nighttime temperatures--perhaps even because of them. I immensely enjoyed sausages and peppers roasted over the fire. I did fine interacting with people I didn't know but was living in close proximity to. And, most of all, I taught myself that accepting the challenge is really the battle for me, because I know that I can always overcome it once I'm there.

Know what we're thinking about doing next weekend? Camping.

Maybe I'm not so bad with kids after all...

It's been the little needling doubt in the back of my mind for the last few months. Just last weekend, as we camped with friends and I watched Jeff take on the role of "additional dad" to the 5 little ones with us, I marveled at how children gravitate to him. By the second afternoon we were there, one little 5 year old girl--who had never laid eyes on him before--was already insisting that he be her "buddy" for a walk in the woods, and the second evening found him tossing a baseball with a couple of the older kids. Children love my husband so much--I imagine they sense his gentle acceptance of them, right where they are at that moment in time.

While I've always been fine with little ones--and back in college seriously considered being a kindergarten teacher--I'm now much more at ease with the high school students who comprise the demographic I work with every day. As a result, I've been secretly harboring the fear that there's something terribly wrong with me in that I feel no desire to hold the newborn across the street or that the toddlers at church don't race around my legs as I talk to their moms. But last night, without even knowing it, little B allayed all my fears.

B is our next-door neighbor's son. He's usually fairly quiet, often sticking by his dad's side. When you ask him questions, the answers usually begin with "no" or "yes, but...", which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in continuing the conversation. Add to that the fact that his favorite things are cars, and my knowledge is limited at best in that arena, and we don't really have much to work with.

Last night, we went over to relax and have wine with B's mom and dad (our good friends). As soon as we walked in, B was on his feet and ready to give me the full house tour (of the house I'm in at least once a week, mind you). First stop was his bedroom, where we admired a dinosaur that belongs in the basement (but apparently we didn't need to return it); next stop was the basement, where we learned all about his favorite basketball hoop, jumping sofa, and alphabet mat. Once we got back onto the main level, he snuggled in next to me on the sofa to explain the complexities of the "Create-a-Car" app on his dad's phone. For the next half hour, we created cars together, carefully adding important details like time warp roof attachments and pontoon boat wheels, then naming them before taking them for a "test drive." Even that, his favorite part of the game, was turned over to me as he studied my technique over my shoulder and commended my accomplishments ("You're doing very well") and acknowledged my mistakes ("You just hit a pirate, Miss Tory!").

After B headed upstairs with his dad for bedtime, Jeff turned to me to announce, "I think he's in love." And you know what the incredible part is? I'd have to agree--but not because I did anything to win B's sweet, innocent affection--simply because he gravitated to me for whatever reason.

Maybe I really can do this mom thing one day.