Stalker like

When I drive around STL city I get glimpsed of veggie gardens..... I really want to be a stalker and take some pics of them to learn what others in the area do. There is a great looking garden on Shrewsbury by the police station. I think that would go over well.
There is another on Arsenal on the way to Ares I think or its on southwest on the way to Chris's pancakes. I know i walked passed it once going to the respective restaurants. I now have a shit load of freetime at lunch now that the house is on the market and I can't go to the new home during lunch.. walking around in the heat of the day taking photos of strangers gardens seems smart right?

The Punisher

Not starring Thomas Jane.. but me.. the evil dog mom. Simon and Riley have been running off the property. I never leave them unattended but that doesn't mean something doesn't grab their attention. I really need to work on training them now that we have a new home. We have an underground fence but I don't really want to spend the 500 bucks to get the collars to zap them. I also don't want to zap them.
One route I'm doing is more walks. Simon is doing so well since his injury. He's gotten over his unfortunate incarceration in random parts of our house and has full home freedom much to his pleasure. At random points in the house you can hear elephants as they roughhouse, each of them with their 20 lbs of pure manliness. Outside they don't seem to play but instead explore and get in trouble... We'll I'll show them, I'll take that excessive dog energy and show you where to put it. Its walking time bitches. Riley loathes walks, Simon is game and burns much of his energy just getting his leash on. He leads for the beginning of the walk but after the first block, Riley is in the lead even with his random twirls every ten feet. Simon is my 100 meter boy, Riley is my cross country boy. Slow and steady versus fast and finished early. Unfortunately Riley is on a leash like Phoebe is to running. I'm pretty sure he's trying to kill me and trip everyone.
I also am carrying treats with me more so that there is a reward to their listening which they have no been doing so well. My love is not equal to chasing a bunny.. I rank much lower apparently. Somehow, while I think I'm punishing them with walks and recalls that are rewarded with treats, I'm not so sure they are seeing the down side.

15 days

2 days Thanksgiving, sometimes we do 3 since the travel can be excessive to get out there (there being Vermont).
2 days Rosh Hashanah
1 day Yom Kippur
At least 2-3 for passover
that is 7-8 days of my 15 days for vacation and sickness
5 days for a trip of fun which I haven't done without family in a long time except the honeymoon. In fact the honeymoon is the only extended trip we have done in our 11 years together without family involved on some end of the trip's location and I don't know if you know this but weddings tend to precede honeymoons and then its family family family....
thats 12-13 days of my vacation, this year my vacation time went to being with my family and supporting my mother during our loss of buby. Apparently me using my time for this doesn't click with everyone. Yes it was my choice but to a good child its not a choice, its what you should do.
Anywho 3 days left, 3 that might go towards jewish holidays, 3 days that might go to being sick because OMG I'm not impenetrable. 3 days for doctor appts. 3 days for house items, 3 days to maybe take off for things like news years eve or attached to a holiday so i don't come to the office for one day when new years or xmas is on a thursday or a tuesday.
That five days I mentioned earlier... I'd like to spend it with my Boo. I'd like to spend it with friends. I may not even get a 5 day plus weekends trip. It may be tagged onto a weekend here or there. We did get to take a 3 day weekend this year and visit a lake house which was awesome except for my poison ivy.
I feel like a spoiled bitch but if "you" want to spend time with me. Try coming in for some holidays where we are all already together with other family. Every year, thanksgiving, we'll be in VT, this is common knowledge. Every year I'll spend Passover with my mom.. so if either halves of our families want to see us, thats when it is. If i ever do passover out here in MO I will not see my dad that year... he won't come for that reason. These family trips are not my idea of fun and I'm just coming out as the spoiled bitch here and I know it. Maybe they are trying to squeeze these trips in before we have a midget or two tagging along, i don't know.. but I have the view that before midgets I'd like to explore with my friends. I'd like to go to Seatle, Old Quebec, the jersey shore and soak in the sun. I'd like Boo's friends to visit us from NY in NJ, I'd like my hounds to be with me. I'm very me centered at the moment, got a problem with it?... me don't care :P

6 lbs and counting

I've harvested 6 lbs of food for people and iguana ingestion so far this year. I have and earthbox ready to be filled with green beans and a crop i'm trying to save from spider mites which i didn't figure til half was dead.
On the vines, bushes etc I currently have ghost eggplants which i need to figure how big they are supposed to be when picked, regular eggplant, blackberries, greenbeans, a watermelon, lots of decorative squash, pumpkins, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, funky looking tomatos, a few sad looking cucs... major fail on their part this year, tons of male zuc flowers but i need some bitches to get my fruit.
I"ve come to the conclusion that one of 3 raspberry twigs is making it... and thats no for sure, the apricot tree kicked it. Zuchs need to not be planted in raised boxes as they take over. Also i need a better garden. not for lack of trying too much stuff is on a slope and the top stuff is losing water and nutrients. I'd love to build a multi level stone stepped garden on the side of the house but thats something to hire out and something Boo would want to talk about. I bet with some better planning and some extra patience i can also make other items thrive better in the spots around the house but alas, i must give myself some slack. I've only been living here since April 23rd.

Killer in the house

Not only is the cat killing things I've been killing bugs like a mother f-er. I hooked up the bug zapper... I had no idea there was that much to kill. After one night there was a few solid areas of dead bugs caught in the screen. Fascinating and gross at the same time. Sorta how I roll. Ew spider, then proceed to check spiders out before killing them.
Speaking of grossed out, lets talk foodies. I've run into quite a few foodies in my time...I'm now even more fascinated and grossed out all in one. A few local folks are getting all into pig and using way more parts than this kosher girl can handle. I"m totally grossed out but can't stop checking out all their newest projects. I'm very intrigued by the make it yourself world as you have seen from my crafts and gardening but a lot of what they do is beyond my comprehension but then again I've not eaten from others what they are creating themselves. I've suggested that Boo check their stuff out but he says it just makes him sad with our lack of pork in the house. I think many of their creations would remind him of time in Europe and Asia. I've nibbled the chicken heart in Bejing years ago but he down right devoured them along with deep fried sparrows which I passed on. Lots of the food we had in France last year grossed my shit out...sorta wish these gals could have swapped with me for the day, they truely would have appreciated all that I did not, quail with head attached stuffed with foigras and a side of artichoke stuffed with morels, mussel smoothies, and more and more foigras. I'm so done with all things liver. Jewish style, french, chinese... I think i've tried it enough to call it quits.

She's a killer queen

Yay, my cat kills bugs, in fact I've found some dead spiders and didn't think twice about why. She did not however kill the spider that took roost in my pj pants lying on my bathroom floor yesterday. Its dead know courtesy of orange left flip flop. I'm thinking sticky mouse trap or the likes in some of our vents to try to catch of of this charlottes because they, like wilbur do not belong in my house :P Speaking of death, goodbye apricot tree.. Not sure if i over watered it or it was too hot.. Apricot trees are known for drowning so who knows... The peach tree is still looking dandy and it was the tree I wanted, i just threw in a friend for good measure.
My garden is looking great but I've only harvested 3 lbs of food thus far. I'm keeping track of their weights. Its all a handful of this and that. My greenbean plants are about to kick it but I"ll put in another batch for the year. In fact I'm looking for where else on the property I can put an assload of them. I love my beans. That and I want to make dilly beans this year. Maybe I'll start to grow some dill at the same time ... would be smart..I'm going to be coming into a lot of tomatos soon but we just aren't there yet. Not a zuc in sight but my neighbor has some. She planted two weeks before me so maybe soon... fingers crossed.