The Garden- Day 1

We are finally going to have a garden! I miss the garden at the house we were renting 2 years ago (btw- that's the only thing I miss). Now that we have a house of our own, we must have a garden. When we bought the house, everyone said that the previous owners took very good care of the soil in the bed. The soil smells bad when it's hot, so that must be good, right? Anyway, we got a good start on it today. Unfortunately, it might be some time before we get to Day 2 because the next 7 days have rain in the forecast.

This is what it looked like before:

Mike dug up a piece of wood that is supposed to be the edge of the garden bed. It got run over by the excavator (Mike driving) last spring. It was fine, but it was buried a little. He got it out, and screwed it back in place.

He looks very serious.

Willie and I hung out for that part.

We snuggled in the dirt. While we worked, he did his own landscaping in the yard-

4 or 5 lovely holes.

Mike wrapped the string around the posts as we went around and hammered them in to make sure they were lined up nicely. We used a tape measure to make sure they were generally the same distance from each other.

Mike cemented this 4x4 into the ground. We have a lot of ledge in the backyard, so it was hard to find spots to bury the posts where we weren't hitting rock. The door will be here.

At the end of Day 1, we got about half of it fenced in.

I can't wait to finish! I have about a month to be completely done and ready to start planting. Any thoughts on what to plant? We already have LOTS of rhubarb growing. You can see it in the picture to the right.

Vacation

Spring vacation is here! I have BIG PLANS to do nothing. Well, I will need to catch up on a little school work, but that is practically nothing compared to what I do in a normal week.

This weekend, Puck and I got some much needed Vitamin D while Mike worked on the shed behind us.

Mike and I also tried to set up the wireless invisible fence for the dogs. We set it up and I walked all over the yard sticking the flags in the ground. However, I noticed in our (sloping) front yard, there were serious "holes" in the fence. At certain angles, Willie could run completely out of the yard. So after reading more about the system on the internet, I learned the wireless doesn't work well when the yard slopes away from the unit. Therefore, we will be getting the invisible fence that you have to bury in the ground.

Even though the fence didn't work out well, it gave me the chance to walk around and look at the pretty spring flowers blooming.

Daffodils, tulips, and little pink flowers whose name escapes me...

For the rest of vacation, I will be attempting to keep these 2 out of my bed.

I'm also getting ready to fence in a vegetable garden. I have the materials and Mike and I just need to clear the space. Once that is done, I will post pictures.

Yikes Bikes

Over the weekend, Mike and I dug the bikes out of the shed and took them for a ride on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. I only know that official name because I looked it up online. (I usually refer to it as the long path that starts in Cheshire.) It's actually 84 miles long, and much of it is paved. It was colder than I thought it was going to be, which is why I'm all bundled up. Next time, I'm taking my rollerblades!

We also went to the dog park. The first few times I went there, I loved it. Willie was so happy and getting along with everyone. He runs around off the leash and socialized with everyone. He is completely harmless and so submissive to other dogs. Over the weekend, we went twice and both times Willie got beaten up by ghetto pitbulls. Their owners said things to us like, "Oh, they just want to hump your dog." Or they said, "Yaaa our dog is so playful." For all you doggie idiots out there, when your dog is twice the size of the puppy, growling and foaming at the mouth at a puppy, and showing teeth and biting the puppy to make the puppy cry and yelp, your dog is a mean asshole and belongs nowhere near the doggie park. That is fighting, not playing. Go back to the ghetto of Waterbury or Bridgeport or wherever you came from and let your dog FIGHT in your own backyard.

Look at this dog. Does he really look like he could defend himself?

Italian Girl Meets Irish Boy

I know this post is seriously late, but with my busy schedule, I figure it's better late than never.

March 17th always reminds Mike and I of our first St. Patty's Day together. He took me (Lisa MARIANO) to a St. Patrick's Day dinner and party with his friends. I grew up eating pasta 3 nights a week, and had never EVER celebrated St. Patrick's Day. We arrive at this party and the conversation went like this:

Mike: So, you want to get something to eat.

Lisa: Sure, I guess. (Together we walk to the buffet table and each pick up a plate.)

Mike: Well, what do you want?

Lisa: (Squinting her eyes and looking for a dish that she recognizes, now sees a plate that resembles meat. Now her nose turns up.) Ummm, I don't think I want to eat that ham, really.

Mike: (Eyesballs bulging out of his head) Lisa, that's corned beef!

Lisa: Well, whatever. I'm not eating it. I've never eaten it and I'm not doing it now. (She sees clear looking worms in a pan.) What's that?

Mike: Cabbage.

Lisa: Huh. (She returns the plate to the pile.)

Mike: Please don't tell anyone about this conversation.

Now, 5 years later, I make delicious corned beef and cabbage in the slowcooker AND eat it!

This beer is for show. I ordered it and gave it to Mike. We did an Irish Car Bomb, and then I ordered a margarita.

This guy, HENEGHAN, had a lot more than me.

what kind of day do you think I'm having?

Happy thought of the day:

6:00am- I love "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga! It really gets me going at the gym!

All my other thoughts for the day:

At the gym...

6:15am- How much more do I have to go?

6:20am- Does that girl really think that I think that she doesn't see me? Seriously, I don't want to say hello to you either, but I was taught that you should wave, say hello, and be polite. Two words: white trash.

6:30am- Maybe I need an "ugly friend" to go to the gym with. Other people here are clearly doing it. That guy even has "back-up ugly friends"

At home...

7:15am- Is this scale right? Kill me...

7:30am- Why is Willie chewing on the SECOND pair of earbuds I have bought?

7:45am- Great. No clean pans to make eggs.

8:00am- Coffee smells terribly burnt thanks to my abuse of Afrin over the last week.

8:15am- I should be at work already.

8:30am- 4:30pm- School. Need I say more?

On my way home...

4:30pm- Where in GOD's name did you learn that merging onto the highway going 35mph is a safe idea?

4:35pm- Or that driving below the speed limit is appropriate?

4:36pm- Of course you are getting off of my exit and I will have to follow you home.

At home...

5:00pm- Mail: bill, bill, bill.

5:15pm- Wonder what we're gonna have for dinner since I forgot to take something out.

5:20pm- Just remembered we're completely out of alcoholic beverages.

5:30pm- I'm sick of doing laundry. If I was ever to come upon a large sum of money, I would hire a maid.

put your paws up because you were born this way...

We got the results of Willie's DNA test. Very interesting...

My mom asked if I was sure it didn't say, "terror" rather than terrier.

Winter Festival?

Since Thanksgiving, I have been planning to go to Maine over President's Day weekend. I have been hearing about this AWESOME Winter Festival by Mike's camp! We get packed and ready (this is a lot of work for me) only for Mike to casually mention... "Oh, by the way, they cancelled it because of budget, ice, etc." Of course. However, we went anyway and had a great time!

We went snowmobiling:

Funny story about our ride: We took the snowmobiles to a restaurant/bar/ laundromat/ hotel. Don't ask, because I don't know. There were only a few seats because NASCAR was on. When I walked in, I felt like the music stopped and everyone was staring. Uncomfortable. We found 2 open seats next to a couple of guys that Mike knows. First, one of the men told me I could have just left my helmet outside because no one would EVER steal it. Okay. Next, we all open our menus and the other man says to Mike, "My back is hurting so I took an Oxy at 5am, 9am, and 1pm and now I'm on my 5th beer. "Oh boy," I thought. So we order appetizers (delicious fried cauliflower). When they arrived, I looked at my plate with big, excited eyes and grinned. Just as I go to reach for my first bite, OxyMan leans over, scoops my plate up with two hands, and says the table next to us, "Here, want to try our appetizers?" Why would they decline? A big, burly Maine man starts to dig in. If you know me, you can imagine my face- shocked. And if you know Mike, you can imagine his reaction- hysterical, uncontrollable laughing.

Snowshoeing:

And survived a road trip with these guys: