Photo Project Day 28: Longing

Photo Project Day 27: Adopted?

And we may have been adopted, although the verdicts still out.  At the neighbor's last night, this SKINNY black kitty was meowing outside their window.  It was accidentally let inside and hub scooped it up to give it some food here in our house.  VERY, VERY skinny but loveable....although it's still making its mind up about our dogs and Major.  We put it outside last night with the other creatures, but it made its way back later this morning and curled up with the hub on the futon for a good while.  So we'll see how it goes.  Four creatures is a lot for us!!  We'll give it a few more days....at least for now it knows where it can get some food, as we're pretty sure that the couple that moved out down the way about 3 weeks ago must have left it behind....

Photo Project Day 26: Contentment

Late post tonight since it was my first official day of work and then we went down the road for home made pizzas at the neighbors (they just got their own bread maker and they were delish!).  This is only the 3rd time we've sprinkled cat nip on Major's scratching pad, but I've never seen him so in love with something!! :-)  I'm sure you're all getting tired of seeing our animals.....but they're seriously our best entertainment!

Hope everyone's been having a good day!

Photo Project Day 25: Jump

Technically today is a guest photo, as the hub emailed me this photo he took from their recent jump so I could use it on the blog. For his specific job, they typically have to jump every couple months to maintain readiness.

Photo Project Day 24: WORK

Since I'm going to have to miss a bit of work to get lab work done and then the medical procedure in the next two weeks, I talked to my boss yesterday about doing some of the online training at home this week in order to compensate.  She was okay with that, especially since the computers at work currently aren't set up for the training to function on them.  Apparently Major thought he was my assistant today.  He kept my computer and work file company while I was still prepping to get to it.  Then he watched as I did the modules online....but eventually he got tuckered out and snuggled on my legs for a bit of a nap.

Photo Project Day 23: Rant

WARNING: It's time for a public health rant.....

This is the view from my backyard every school day at about 3pm.  What you can't see in this photo are two things. 1) There is another vehicle parked hidden behind the SUV. 2) The street that these cars are parked on is approximately 2 city blocks in length and ends in a cul-de-sac.  Our street Ts into it and is approximately 1 city block in length and ends in a cul-de-sac.  Two additional points: we live on a military post where yes there are concerns about who has been let into the Army in recent years, but no one is allowed on post without having their ID scanned....so at least some sort of filtering is going on. And two, the speed limit is 20mph and is heavily enforced in the neighborhoods.

At about 3pm every school day, 2 buses come through the neighborhoods.  The bus stop you can see in the background of this picture services only our two streets as every street off the main street has its own bus stop.  Every afternoon about 3pm at least 4-5 cars park at the entrance to our streets (most of which are parents that get in their cars from their houses and drive the block to this spot) in order to wait for their kids to get off the bus and drive them home.  When our nation is in the midst of an obesity crisis, when kids don't get enough time outside, and when parents are driving a block and idling their vehicles to release exhaust fumes into the air----its seriously necessary to pick your child up a block or two from home?!  I can understand picking your child up if you live a mile out from the bus stop or even 1/4 mile if you lived in an extremely unsafe neighborhood.....but here?!  But since most the people in our neighborhood get in their vehicles to drive to the mailboxes also in the picture, only to drive home after picking up their mail....then what more should I expect!

Which leaves me with an additional gratitude toward my parents....thank you for making me walk home from school almost every day whether it was 1/2 mile down the street for elemetary school, just over a mile home from middle school in the city, or about a mile from high school!!

Photo Project Day 22: Tired Feet

I love this picture because just as I was sitting down to take it...Anna walked in and laid next to me on "her" sheep skin rug.  So I moved over to take another picture of just my tired feet and at the last second....she snuck her paw in. ;-)  Both dogs got walked today after I went on my usual run---I finally agreed to take Anna on a long walk with her buddy Wall-E and then felt bad about leaving Roxi behind (she's not fixed yet and Wall-E can be a bit more aggressive than Roxi can handle) so took her on a solo walk too.  Needless to say...my feet are a tad sore....although I shouldn't complain.  Hub spent five non-stop days in the field and the last two days were with wet boots....so my feet have nothing to complain about really....

Photo Project Day 21: Altered

Slight changes to the eating area.  The discussed new drapes...and the new light fixture.  There is no overhead light on that side of the long room and I was able to get this paper lattern at a really good price.....I think it looks neat.  We're definitely going to need a colored couch now, as everything's getting a bit dull w/ tan, taupe, brown, and white!

Photo Project Day 20: Running

Photo Project Day 19: Orderly

I once hung out with a guy who mentioned that cops judge vehicles based on their level of care by their owners, as sometimes an unkept vehicle/home/etc can be a sign of an unkept person.  Those words of wisdom have been some I have reflected upon many times.  I've always been an orderly person but ever since then I've definitely made more of an effort to keep my surroundings presentable.  One of the hardest adjustments for me has been sharing what was my car with my husband.  He's been working a lot in the field this last week so I had the chance to give the car a good wipe down and vacuuming--somehow the opposite is true at times---organizing one's surroundings can organize the mind. I always found that statement to be true when I had a big assignment to do---organizing my surroundings allowed me to focus more squarely on my work.

Hope everyone's been having a good week!  It's FRIDAY!

Photo Project Day 18: Liquid Sunshine

Finished weeding the flower bed, but while I was out there in the last few hours of sun I decided to also make sun tea.......threw about 5 tea bags in an old large glass jar, filled with filtered water, and set it in a sunny spot....In this picture it was about half way done....Delicious!

Photo Project Day 17: Afternoon

Major likes to make himself at home wherever he desires during the afternoon sunshine.  We used to really get on him for being on the table but he uses it mostly to get to the windowsill and to get away from the dogs.  As long as we're not eating (and he stays away from my plant and the flame!), he can enjoy the afternoon sunshine....

Photo Project Day 16: Potential (Garden Suggestions?!)

FOR ALL YOU GOOD GARDENERS OUT THERE, I could use some advice!

This is my potential gardening space....

Last year we attempted to grow a few items from baby plants we bought and put into pots, but it was late in the season and whatever did show potential was damaged by the dog before it reached ripeness.  We're not allowed to really alter the yards nor block the lawn crew from mowing, and so this patch of 15 feet by 1.5 feet that you see above is our flower bed that we are allowed to actually plant it.  The catch is that the housing policies state that these areas have/are sprayed by pesticides by the housing company as a means to keep bugs from entering homes via the foundation, etc.  Since we are leaving in a year and we're technically not allowed to alter the beds beyond planting in them, raised beds aren't really an option.  And now with 2 dogs, more pots in the backyard are not really an option.  I attempted planting lettuce and turnips (some of which you can see amongst the weeds that have grown back....) but never really ate them due to the pesticide concerns.  Plus they didn't really produce as expected--probably in part because this bed floods every time we have a heavy down pour.

However my newest idea is to invest in a few more hanging baskets and attempt to "garden" in those using this same area.  I know I could do herbs and a fellow blogger and I discussed strawberries....but I'm not sure what else would do alright in such shallow soil?  I'm also thinking of attempting corn and wild flowers in the actual bed but am not sure if the soil (about 3 inches of sand/dirt and then red clay) would allow for corn or not.  And we'll attempt another tomato plant in a pot on the front slab that gets lots of sun--hopefully it'll produce this year if we start it sooner.  I'm definitely open to suggestions about how to garden in this space though because I'd really like to attempt something.....IDEAS??

The good news is that while helping the neighbor down the street look for bed side table options, I discovered a big bag of organic potting soil that was marked half off due to the bag being ripped.  Deal!  And since I was buying potting soil I went ahead and bought some strawberry starts, corn, and wildflower seed.  We have two hanging baskets already so I figure I can start the strawberries in the next couple weeks, and then accumulate more baskets along the way....  Most the stuff I've seen shows that the planting season for here begins in Feb and/or March....

Other good things about today:

--Pancake breakfast with the hubby & extra bacon for the dogs.

--Stopping by the office to see the coworkers when dropping something at work for the husband.

--The hub found the new thermos he thought he already lost and that we bought him just last week.

--My weekly phone call w/ Granny and the end to phone tag w/ a good friend from back home!

--Email exchanges w/ two of my favorite gals from my MPH program.

--Neighbor & I checked out the on-post thrift store.  Didn't find furniture, but I dropped off a bag.

--Quick & satisfying evening run.

--Called f/ the referral appointment already.

--Discovered that the eco-friendly bed company found yesterday carries an affordable bed of similar design to what we want, it'll still be in stock when we can afford it, they'll ship to us, and my oldest brother is willing to check out the showroom as its 1.5 hours from his house....Deal!

I'd love to hear gardening suggestions!  And I hope you've all had a good day today as well!

Photo Project Day 15: Changes

Living on a military post, there are constant changes.  Someone's always coming and going, so at least once a week we see one of these or a U-Haul in our cul-de-sac area....Some times of the year there are more changes than others however...

Photo Project Day 14: RELAXATION

Breezes and sunshine blowing through the windows today!  The gals and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon hanging out in the backyard-them gallavanting around and I reading eco-decorating magazines while sipping on a glass of Oregon wine.

This is our bedroom currently.  We just got new drapes that I found on clearance for the living area.  We're anticipating the couch we're budgeting for next time it goes on sale and as we currently use a projector with a screen to view movies---the new drapes are darker and more opaque allowing viewing possibilities during the daytime.  It worked out well as the hub wasn't a huge fan of the drapes in our bedroom, so we were able to hang the seafoam green ones in our room (and the other pair will go in the guest room which doesn't have drapes).  Swapping out to our other duvet makes the room so much more inviting and relaxing---we're both enjoying it.

However also in the budgeting plans is a king size platform bed.  We currently have a queen and while I never thought I'd be someone who wants a king....now that I have a 6'4" husband and like to sleep with a knee pulled up too....my sleep would definitely benefit from a larger bed (aka I actually relish some of the nights the poor man has to sleep out in the field for training....as it means I get a decent night's sleep!).  We were going to get a California King until we discovered that while a Cal King is longer, it's not as wide as a regular King...so a regular King it is!  The current frames we're looking at only require a mattress however and not box springs which definitely helps the budget!  Our friends down the road are also talking about going up a size to a queen, and as they currently have two full size beds in their house, I offered to swap our queen mattress and box springs for one of their sets.  That will help with their overall purchase costs and still give us the opportunity to finally have a guest bed too!

I'm purchasing the new, larger bedding in stages....looking for good deals/sales and trying to weigh cost versus health benefits of organic, sustainable etc.  I know the best source is used, but its hard to find stuff that fits our style especially with limited thrift stores in this area.  Eventually we hope to build two matching wall mounted night stands also, and I haven't decided if I want to repaint my childhood dresser or not (this indecision left it white when I painted all the end tables this summer, and truthfully I could strip and restain it....it's mahogny underneath).  The print over the bed is of a beautiful, large painting by my best friend's father....a piece I'd absolutely love to own but have never quite been willing/able to fork over the money for it!  Eventually I'm hoping to transfer photos taken by my husband onto large canvases which we can hang around the house.  But all of these "design" pieces take time, which is okay by me, especially as I don't anticipate us really being in the right financial situation to make many of these purchases (big or small) for several more months.  So instead, right now, I'm just enjoying the little pieces that we do have and the relaxing view of our bedroom that we have upon entering it. 

Photo Project Day 13: SUNSHINE

After a rough morning with Roxi, yet looking at a beautiful afternoon, I loaded the gals up into the car and we headed out for a local lake.  We'd taken Anna there a few times before, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time Roxi had seen that much water and sand in any place-----SHE LOVED IT!  The two of them ran around like crazies, I enjoyed the sunshine and the drive, and then we drove around for another bit checking out a local hard wood furniture store and seeing about a potential farm stand come spring.  Altogether a perfect afternoon and one in which I realized that slowly and surely I'm starting to think of this place as home--albeit a temporary one.

So today I am thankful for a variety of different things:

-BEAUTIFUL sunshine, especially after the snow

-my run this morning, even as my cold's changed into a cough

-warm hearty nut bread fresh from the maker into a sandwich

-cool filtered water filling my Klean Kanteen

-doggie smiles and kisses & seeing their happiness at new things

-the breeze that blew thru the car w/ the windows down

-great music soothing my soul as I drove

-bumpy gravel roads w/ acres of fields surrounding

-my phone call with my father the other day

-a card from a relative of my husband's

-free shipping

-set backs that produce solidified goals

-yesterday's morning of coffee & conversation w/ my gal down the street

-carpet cleaner....

-the continual presence of my husband

Photo Project Day 12: WINTER?

More snow in Louisiana!  Who would have thought that we'd get snow twice in one winter?  Unfortunately the hub and his guys were working out in the field last night, but in some ways snow is better than just cold and rain!  By noon it had melted off but it was a shock to see it this morning for sure!

Photo Project Day 11: Grillin'

Photo Project Day 10: Laundry

As you can see, this is our make shift laundry line.  Two lines of Army cord strung across our garage.  I hang the husband's shirts on hangers from the garage door railings. Usually it takes 2-3 days for the last of the stuff to dry.  When I do 3 loads of laundry in one day then I do one load of items from all 3 loads that do better in the dryer and then I hang the rest.  You can see the garage door is propped open to allow Major to come and go as he pleases-luckily we can lock it at that height.  If you look closely you can see Major eating a meal on top of his carrier (which we actually were given by friends as their puppy out grew his kennel--it'll be great for the eventual move).

Photo Project Day 9: HELPER

We've just given the dogs bed priveleges during the day.  At night the dogs sleep in kennels out in the garage and the cat goes out too, but for the most part the animals are out and inside throughout the day.  Initially we didn't let Anna get up on the bed, but in the last few weeks we've become okay with the dogs hopping up there if we're doing something in the room...and Anna has fallen in love.  I spent part of today talking to my best friend and then my granny on the phone.  Since I haven't been feeling too great I laid down on the bed during the conversations and Anna relished the moments curled up next to me.  She's also decided she's the ultimate laundry helper....whether it's with hanging some of the clothes out on the line in the garage or watching me fold the clean laundry.... although last week I did find one of her toys tucked into the husband's shirts when I was putting them away. ;-)