Sous Chef

Make that sous de les peids chef.

Garden Progress

Oh good lord. I just looked at some pictures of my garden at the beginning of spring. It was a freaking jungle!

I took the following pictures at the beginning of one of Eddie's naps so I could see how much progress I'd made by the time he woke up:
Two hours later (I moved an umbrella out there so Eddie could hang out with me while I harvested the collard greens. At that point he couldn't crawl but he kept scooting off the blanket and grabbing the weeds.):

A few days later my dad came up for a visit and he really helped whip that garden into shape! He helped me finish weeding the nastiest weeds (not the annual rye grass, though, since it never seems worth dealing with). We also rototilled the beds to break up the clods of dirt before adding two cubic yards of compost--that's a LOT of compost! Since it was so carbon-rich, we tilled in some inorganic P and N fertilizer and let the soil microbes do their thing for a couple of weeks while we were in France.

It isn't a good visit with my dad unless he and Dave decide at the last minute to start (and usually finish) some huge undertaking. Sometimes it is a wiring project or removing a giant stump. This time it was installing proper irrigation lines throughout the garden yard. They even put two spigots in that yard--one for the garden and one for the chicken coop. Dave installed 350 feet of PVC pipe and made a manifold of 6 valves and pressure regulators.
He took this picture to show what little was left of the 350 feet of pipe he bought and the empty jars of primer and glue he'd gone through. After everything was done he estimated he'd made over 220 glue joints. Whoa.Most people put their valves a lot closer together (like this), which seems silly because then if anything needs to be replaced because of a leak there isn't room to unscrew the valve and they have to cut the pipe. Dave thought ahead...and thus, we have a giant manifold.
Now each of our 5 garden beds has two options for timed irrigation--a long term soaking circuit (like for tomatoes and squash) and a short term circuit for everything else. Since every bed is outfitted with both circuits I can plant whatever mix of things I want.

After another round of tilling we finally got to plant everything! Gosh, it is amazing what a few hundred feet of pipe, my dad and Dave, and a few weeks can do to my garden. (Those 3 posts along the back of the house will soon hold a shade structure from which I can hang shade cloth to block the sun from hitting the house this summer...those rooms get soooooo hot.)See the nice gravel path on the right side of the picture above? Dave finished installing that on Mother's Day (he claims it was my present...har, har,har). There's a conduit line buried in it so we can eventually have power out to the chicken coop. The coop is at the end of the path there, but it is hard to see since it blends in with the fence (by design).

The narrow patch of dirt along the driveway has never been planted so I decided to plant something edible there, too. But I felt limited in what I could plant there because it is in dog-peeing range (so low growing things were out) and within reach of the path to the park (so tall things might get messed up by rambunctious kids grabbing them as they ride by on their bikes). We settled on planting potatoes and some squashes (spaghetti and pumpkins) since those things either grow underground or will be peeled before eating. The potatoes haven't sprouted yet but the squashes emerged this weekend.Our garden is so industrial looking and I'd like to girly it up a little with some flowers. I'm not sure how much more money I want to spend on it so I might just stick with whatever random seeds I have left in my stash from the last few years. If they germinate, great. If not, oh well.

Update

Sorry...the weather has been so nice that I've not spent any time inside (much less on the computer) so I've not updated in a while. We've been having fun (still!) enjoying having Dave at home for jury duty--there are lots of pictures of Eddie being cute and I'll be sure to post some soon.

I have about 90 papers to grade so I've got to get back to it.

Bleh.

For the Record

I'm sure many couples take each other for granted--they don't realize what a blessing it is to share each other's company or household responsibilities (laundry, cooking, childcare, yard work, killing icky cockroaches hiding in shoes). Normally everything during the week falls on my plate. In the last few months Eddie and I have gotten our routine down pat and we do really well when it is just the two of us.

The nights when I want to throw in the towel because of having to do everything myself are long gone. Once Eddie could sit unassisted my life got so much easier--I could then take a shower, cook food, start a load of laundry, or whatever without having to juggle him and do things one-handed (he was never a fan of tummy time or being in a swing or bouncy seat for more than a few minutes at a time). I made sure to let him learn to entertain himself with toys or whatever (safe) goodies were within his reach. Now that he's crawling and navigating the furniture--learning to walk already--my life is really easy peasy all things considered.

I remember when he was itty bitty and I'd tip toe around the house lest I accidentally wake him up. I'd think, "Please oh please oh please don't wake up yet! My nipples hurt so much I don't want to nurse again just yet. And I really want to take a shower and eat something!" Now I find myself missing his company during his 2 hour naps but I'm wise enough to enjoy the alone time instead of waking him up. When he only sleeps for 40 minutes instead of 2 hours I'm no longer disappointed. I just figure if he's ready for play and not sleep then so be it.

A few weeks ago I was cooking dinner after picking Eddie up from daycare and realized that I finally missed Dave for the right reason--I just missed his company. Before I'd complain to him that I needed him to get a job closer to home because I needed help raising the baby. It wasn't fair that I had to do it all myself. I guess it is a valid argument but it really wasn't constructive to make him feel bad. After all, he works hard to provide financially for our small family. (But I have to say, being distracted by his tv shows while on the phone listening to me gripe on the phone after work while I'm at home folding diapers, nursing, walking the dogs, etc. is NOT okay. HELLO! I want to have leisurely time to watch tv!)

This week Dave's been home with us because he's on jury duty. I can't even express in words how much I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove having him home with us for dinner and breakfast every day. It makes the sun shine brighter, the spring air smell fresher, and our precious baby that much cuter (if that's even possible!). Being able to go back to lab for a few hours after Eddie's in bed is also a treat--I'm so much more productive with my schoolwork, too.

Yesterday Anthony didn't come over to play so Eddie and I met Dave for lunch near the courthouse and then visited one of my fellow grad student/new mommy friends. Seeing Dave during the MIDDLE of the day was icing on an already scrumptious cake.

Thank you lunatics from West Sacramento who do stupid stuff that lands you in court so Dave can be your juror and live at home with us.

My fingers are crossed that the universe will align and Dave will get a job he likes in Sacramento so he can move home. A job with benefits in Davis would be the best, but I'm not going to push my luck. The job Dave used to have in Sacramento was SO terrible for both of us that he just had to quit after sticking with it for almost 2 years. We realized we'd rather live on the streets with no job than keep working there. Of course, then the economy tanked and he couldn't find another job in our area so he went back to work for his dad.

So to all you folks out there who get to have your spouse/partner live with you, make sure you stop to enjoy their company and realize how lucky you are!

Up and Down

With regard to losing the baby weight after pregnancy, many books say you should give yourself 9 months to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

Nine months up, 9 months down!

If that's the case then I have 4 pounds to lose by Thursday. I really don't think it's going to happen.

All I can say is, it is a good thing my mom doesn't come visit me every week anymore...because when she was here helping me babysit in January she ALWAYS bought takeout food for dinner and cake from Nugget for dessert. I actually think I regained some weight that month.

How likely is it that my 4 extra pounds are newly acquired arm muscle (from holding my squirmy baby all the time) and extra dairy real estate?

My Little Helper

Last weekend Eddie helped me plant up some mint, cilantro, and parsley. The poor mint plant was unplanted 3 times by my chubby-cheeked little helper...good thing mint is so robust! My dad saw these pictures and said, "Careful there Julie, Eddie's going to grow up thinking that ALL kids get to play in the dirt as early as 6 months old."

I had to stop and think about that...but he's probably right. Most kids these days probably don't "get" to play in dirt until they are much older.

Poor things.

Updated Post

I added another line to the ELB Quality Control post for your giggling pleasure. I thought of it while riding my bike to school on Friday.