Golden Retriever Madness!!

So for the last couple days I have been in Golden Retriever land!!! Wednesday morning we left and headed south about two hours to my golden client's house in Sharpesburg. She currently has 10 adult goldens and 11 little 5 week old puppies that we call 'the reindeer' as they were born on Christmas eve! With the winter weather and 'the reindeer' she had fallen behind on all the bathing and trimming on the adult dogs. This is where I come in...Darcie to the rescue!!! So for Wednesday and Thursday I spent the majority of my time bathing and trimming. Lets just say I was so tired last night when we finally got home I crawled in bed slept from 9pm to 7am, got up put the dogs out, then brought them back in at 7:30am and went back to bed until 10am! I am feeling much better now.

We did, however, make this an educational trip. Since we had to drive right through the heart of Atlanta we stopped at the High Museum of Art and saw the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit. It was beautiful and so interesting. That man was truly a genius. His attention to detail and his passion for knowledge is just amazing. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of the exhibit, but I am so glad we went. We stopped for lunch/dinner on our way from there at Einstein Bagels, my favorite!!! All in all it was a great trip! Now to spend the rest of the weekend packing, yay!

Winter Greens

So I have three things still growing in my garden; spinach, peas and garlic. Obviously you can see my garlic and I have no clue if it is doing anything but the pots are continually shooting green leaves out which are very tasty!! The peas are doing wonderful and I have collected quite a few. However, I have learned that I need to plant a WHOLE lot more of them to have a decent harvest. My spinach on the other hand is coming along, but with all this cold weather we have been having it has been slow to start. I am hoping that when we get to St. Louis I can put in our little sun room and that will help it along as I believe there is still snow on the ground there. I went ahead and started some pie pumpkin seeds as I am afraid that they wont be ready in time for fall pie making.

As you can tell I can not wait for spring, this will be my biggest garden yet. I think I would have been more successful last year had we not moved in the middle of the season. This year there will be no moving not in the middle of summer anyway.

Master Gardener!!!

Ok so, after killing at least a dozen Orchids, I have finally found one that is pretty hardy and can survive life with me. I am so proud of myself, I can barely stand it. Almost a year ago while Anthony was away at work, I bought an Orchid from Home Depot figuring I would kill it long before Anthony would ever figure out it was a new. However, I still have this little Orchid and while the original stem has since died, a new one has now sprouted up in its place! I have learned the best way to care for an Orchid is to put them in kitchen and then forget about them. I think this little Orchid needs to be transplanted into a bigger container but I am scared to death to do it. Any ideas? I have read it is easy to transplant them but I have killed so many, I have decided that nothing is easy with Orchids. I can't wait for it to blossom again and I am hoping that my luck doesn't run out before it happens. I am so proud of myself and needless to say Anthony is too! I think by having it in the kitchen and with Anthony's cooking it creates enough steam/humidity to make it happy! Or like I said its just luck. Anyway I will post pictures soon and then again when it blooms!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

For the last two days it has been absolutely beautiful, 65 degrees and sunny. Well like most things, all good things must come to an end. The rain started late last night and has carried on throughout the morning. Lovely. So I guess this is God's way of saying get to work on packing and more laundry. Kirby and Hope are great sports when it comes to having their picture taken especially when it cold and wet. Well back to packing, I guess!!

Thanks Brother!!

For Christmas, I had asked for two things, Wii Fit and Books on Gardening. Well I must have been a very good girl this year because I got both the Wii Fit and FIVE books on gardening. I have read four of the five since christmas! Poor Anthony, everytime he turns around I am reading. Well the fifth book is probably going to be my favorite and it was given to me by my brother!!! (Thanks Jay) It's by one of my favorite authors Michel Pollan and its called Second Nature: A gardener's education. Of course I just started the book so I have only gotten through the first chapter, but I am in LOVE! The first chapter talks about the idea of two gardens, the one in your head and the actual garden. I think this is so true, I know it is for me anyway. The first year I had a garden, I started out with this grand plan and by the middle of summer life had caught up with me and my plants and by the end of the season I had a mess with very little success. The second year was better, but I had a little more vested in these plants as I had started them from seed. However, with our move in July it stressed my poor veggie plants out and although most of them recovered a trip towards the end of summer pretty much did them in. I was more successful this past year, than the year before and have high hopes for this coming spring. So back to the book, Mr. Pollan talks about bringing the imaginary and actual gardens together. Although in my opinion your imaginary garden will always be better than your real garden. I am going to give this a try. Thoughts? However, this year wants to can, freeze and dry my success to try and make it last throughout the year. I currently have all my seeds picked out and ready to order, but Anthony made me promise I would wait until we got to Missouri before I ordered them. So here I sit and WAIT!

Today is a beautiful day in Georgia, which I love since I can kick the dogs outside and get to packing without any distractions. Plus Anthony isn't home either which means I can throw things away without being questioned! YIPPEE! Alright off to pack.

St. Louis, Skype and other Random things

We are finally in the middle stages of moving to St. Louis!!! YAY! After spending a week there the first part of January, we have decided its final, we are moving. Although the weather was freezing and it snowed five inches while we were there, it didn't ruin our plans. Suprisingly, people actually knew how to drive in the snow and there was more than ONE snow plow. House hunting was a little trying to say the least. We spent 3 solid days looking at every house that was for rent in the St. Louis and surrounding subarbs. Finally the very last house that we looked at was great!! It was a good thing too, because Anthony was feeling totally deflated and I was just tired and ready to just give up, so it was a blessing that it worked out. It has a huge yard and a really neat fire pit and patio, that I think will be great to have in the spring, summer and fall. We were approved for the house and we will hopefully be moving in the middle of Feburary.

Also, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of packing, trying to figuare out a game plan and just everyday life our beloved laptop finally died for the last time. After reviving it almost everyday for a month it finally could not be revived. So last Friday Anthony and I ventured out, armed with a limited budget and of course two different ideas of what we needed. I, of course just wanted to get a cheap computer that would do just what we needed and nothing else. On the other hand Anthony had bigger ideas. As we walked through the doors of Best Buy, I thought to myself, 'this can not end well.' Well, we actually compromised, which was an amazing feat because I usually just give in and just let him have his way, especially when it comes to electronics. However, the laptop we bought is great! What we love most about it is that is has a camera built in and last night we discovered how to use SKYPE. What a cool invention! The first people we skyped...my parents. It was great fun and the dogs on both ends of the country were completely freaked out that they could hear voices of people that they knew but couldn't figure out where it was coming from! I think Kirby that he was hearing voices in his head and kept looking up at the ceiling as if God was talking to him! It was hilarious!

Lastly, I think I have picked out all the vegetables that I am going to grow this season. I have been reading as much as I can about Missouri and it sounds like a great state for gardening, there are clubs, groups, magazines and newsletter all about gardening just for the state. Anthony and I have been looking up all the great farmer's markets and restaurants that are all organic and sustainable! It's really becoming a HUGE movement, what a great thing to be a part of. We are so excited to get up there, move in and begin exploring our new city! What an adventure!

Happy New Year

Well, it's 2010, but where did 2009 go! As we begin the New Year its always filled with big dreams, hopes and of course the dreaded resolutions! My 2010 resolution is to de-clutter my life and to continue to get out of debit. However, with the purchase of a new car and the beginning of the dreaded pay back of school loans it seems as though I have acquired more debt than paid off this year. Sad I know, but I guess that is life. Maybe I will win the lotto!

On an exciting note I just received my first seed catalogs of the year!!! I was so excited when Anthony brought them in from the mailbox, I could barely contain myself. I have already started to highlight, circle and budget for my seed purchases.

Well with the New Year brings a big move for Anthony and I. We are moving to St. Louis!!!!! I am so excited!! We will be visiting this week to look at some rental houses and to explore our soon to be new home. We have our sights set on a home about 30 miles east of the city that is affordable in rent and has A GARDEN SPACE! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it on the internet. It is actually in Illnois, instead of Missouri but it is all the same from what I have been told. The growing season will be shorter from what I have read but equally as fulfilling.

I hope 2010 brings everyone Joy, Peace and Happiness and may it be filled with all the love we can hold and more. I promise to blog more and stay on top of things alittle better.