OK ladies, this is funny. As you both know, we are working on our first garden. Our cucumber plants have been going CRAZY and taking over nearly half of the space. About a week ago, we noticed that one of the plants was starting to turn yellow and wilt. Now the problem seems to be spreading.
I did a little research and we think it is Bacterial Wilt caused by the Cucumber Beetle. We were hoping to do this as organically as possible (i.e. we don't want to use pesticides) so I looked up alternative ways to handle the problem. This is what I found....
David H. Wise and co-workers in the department of entomology at the University of Kentucky thoroughly investigated spider predation of cucumber beetles (Snyder and Wise, 2000, Williams et al., 2001 and Williams and Wise, 2003). Wise found that both striped and spotted cucumber beetles reduce their feeding rate and emigrate from cucurbit plants in the presence of the large wolf spiders Hogna helluo and Rabidosa rabida.
Are you kidding me??? See Kate, there is a silver lining to every cloud! At least you know you can have disease-free cucumber plants on your property. I would say to ship a couple of those bad boys on down here to help our cause, but I suppose some yellow sticky tape applied to the inside of a plastic cup will just have to do the trick.
And... We're live!
Welcome to our special sister space!
Today is the first day of opening up our personal project for all to see.
Take some time to read and see what we've been up to.
Thanks for stopping by!!!
**hugs**
Baby brain
Today I wanted to make a sandwich for lunch. It needed roasted red peppers. I opened the fridge and for the life of me could not find them. I moved everything around and still nothing. I thought--did I lose my mind and put them back in the pantry instead of the fridge for some reason? Nope. Seriously. Where the F are my F-ing peppers?
Oh. There they are.
Right in front of my face. Good grief.
I need to have this baby. Soon.
Last Day
Today was the last day of class at CALLS, the local school where I've been spending my time. It is now summer vacation. I'm going to miss seeing these girls every week. But they promised we would go to the beach and do summery things.
Can't you tell they are the best of friends? They are so funny to watch; they know each other so well, when one is in a bad mood, the other doesn't give them special treatment, they push each other. And that is why they are more than friends.
Sisterhood on the other side of the world is strong - all is very well.
Can't you tell they are the best of friends? They are so funny to watch; they know each other so well, when one is in a bad mood, the other doesn't give them special treatment, they push each other. And that is why they are more than friends.
Sisterhood on the other side of the world is strong - all is very well.
Pity party
Today I really miss you two. Not just like the normal missing, but the I want to sit and cry because I'm by myself and I don't want to be kind of missing...
Kate, I'm sorry I was such a grump on the phone last night. Doing my nails makes me uber crabby these days but it saves us money and keeps my hands from looking like those of the crazy witch from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner circa 1991. Are you too young to remember that movie? When Alan Rickman was young and less wrinkled, but also less sexy...
Em, I can't stop thinking about the conversation we had on Saturday. It was so very real and I'm proud of us for being vulnerable and honest about such a personal and scary topic. One of these days I hope we get the courage to share it... maybe in this space. On another note--Where are you??? WTF is up with your internet connection??? I need to have a chat with whoever schedules these "tropical waves" and work something out... Hmmm... I guess that would be God. I don't think threats and ultimatums work so well with Him. Must find another way.
I think part of why I'm feeling sad is that we're desperately trying to figure out how to get to the cabin this year. Even though it will be fun, it won't be the same without either of you there. I keep thinking that Addie is going to be old enough to make a house out of the floor cushions and pretend that one of those wooden tables is a horsey... And you won't be there. She will probably try and reach the paddles on the paddle boat and climb the ladder on the raft only to immediately jump off the side, over and over and over again. And I will laugh my big preggo ass off and my heart will hurt all the same because you won't be there.
As I type these words I feel like I'm being so overdramatic and silly. It's just this one summer, right? It's not like we'll never have those times up at the lake all together. Of course we will. And we will take tons of pictures and videos and share the memories with you from afar. But damn, it would be sweet if we could all be there now.
Sigh. Alright, enough. Pity party over. Time to get up, belly first, and go knock a little Sense and Sensibility into myself. Maybe a pretend make-out session with Col. Brandon will be just the ticket to pull me out of my funk! Oh don't laugh... you know you've thought about it too.
Kate, I'm sorry I was such a grump on the phone last night. Doing my nails makes me uber crabby these days but it saves us money and keeps my hands from looking like those of the crazy witch from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner circa 1991. Are you too young to remember that movie? When Alan Rickman was young and less wrinkled, but also less sexy...
Em, I can't stop thinking about the conversation we had on Saturday. It was so very real and I'm proud of us for being vulnerable and honest about such a personal and scary topic. One of these days I hope we get the courage to share it... maybe in this space. On another note--Where are you??? WTF is up with your internet connection??? I need to have a chat with whoever schedules these "tropical waves" and work something out... Hmmm... I guess that would be God. I don't think threats and ultimatums work so well with Him. Must find another way.
I think part of why I'm feeling sad is that we're desperately trying to figure out how to get to the cabin this year. Even though it will be fun, it won't be the same without either of you there. I keep thinking that Addie is going to be old enough to make a house out of the floor cushions and pretend that one of those wooden tables is a horsey... And you won't be there. She will probably try and reach the paddles on the paddle boat and climb the ladder on the raft only to immediately jump off the side, over and over and over again. And I will laugh my big preggo ass off and my heart will hurt all the same because you won't be there.
As I type these words I feel like I'm being so overdramatic and silly. It's just this one summer, right? It's not like we'll never have those times up at the lake all together. Of course we will. And we will take tons of pictures and videos and share the memories with you from afar. But damn, it would be sweet if we could all be there now.
Sigh. Alright, enough. Pity party over. Time to get up, belly first, and go knock a little Sense and Sensibility into myself. Maybe a pretend make-out session with Col. Brandon will be just the ticket to pull me out of my funk! Oh don't laugh... you know you've thought about it too.
Lets do the Wave
We had our first tropical storm last night! A tropical "wave" to be precise. I slept through it - Nathan said it sounded pretty bad. We lost electricity and we don't have running water.
Its a good thing we have 10 gals in saved water. That will make plenty of coffee and lemonade until things get better.
And that's all a gal needs, right?
Its a good thing we have 10 gals in saved water. That will make plenty of coffee and lemonade until things get better.
And that's all a gal needs, right?
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
I don't know if you got the chance to read my latest blog post on Hillside Reflections about our adventures in bathroom renovation/redecorating, but here are a few photos to complete the story. Had to share them with my sisters...
The pile of glass shards.
The wall behind the mirror which has been [relatively] successfully spackled.
Seth's blood.(He really wanted the mirror to come down.)
Tonight we tested paint colors and tomorrow morning I'm going to head out to Home Depot as early as I can manage to rouse myself to purchase the chosen color and then start painting! (Seth is helping out at the youth group garage sale from 7:30-noon.) Our goal is to have the whole thing finished by tomorrow night. I think it's possible as long as I don't run into any problems with sanding down the spackle... pray for me.
Do you see what I see?
There's a reason why that is one of my least favorite Christmas Carols...
Kate, I hope you like what Em and I have done to our space. It has taken so many IM conversations with lots of frustrated emoticons in the process. When I thought I was seeing a lovely indigo for a link color, Em thought it was a really bright purple. When she thought she was looking at a soft coral as a background color, I saw bright reddish orange. Either we both have issues with processing colors, our computers are a tad off, or things just look different in other countries.
All jokes aside, I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the three of us have worked together on making this look the way we all want it to look. We have gracefully heard each other's concerns, taken them to heart and implemented the suggestions we've given each other without getting our feelings hurt. My, how we're grown up!
It only solidifies my hope that someday we can find a way to start some kind of small business together. What business? How should I know! But when the time is right and the opportunity presents itself, I'm there. Here's to working with you, ladies!
Kate, I hope you like what Em and I have done to our space. It has taken so many IM conversations with lots of frustrated emoticons in the process. When I thought I was seeing a lovely indigo for a link color, Em thought it was a really bright purple. When she thought she was looking at a soft coral as a background color, I saw bright reddish orange. Either we both have issues with processing colors, our computers are a tad off, or things just look different in other countries.
All jokes aside, I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the three of us have worked together on making this look the way we all want it to look. We have gracefully heard each other's concerns, taken them to heart and implemented the suggestions we've given each other without getting our feelings hurt. My, how we're grown up!
It only solidifies my hope that someday we can find a way to start some kind of small business together. What business? How should I know! But when the time is right and the opportunity presents itself, I'm there. Here's to working with you, ladies!
A Few Befores and Afters
Kitchen cabinet knobs before...
...and after.
Dining room light fixture before (well technically after removal)...
...and after.
Kitchen light before...
...and after!
...and after.
Dining room light fixture before (well technically after removal)...
...and after.
Kitchen light before...
...and after!
More to come later, I promise!
Home Decor
Island life can be hard when you're addicted to design blogs, diy ideas, and pretty vintage decor.
When my darling asked for a more subtle lighting option than our only, bright, florescent light - I usually would have a list of great ideas.
Lets go to Midway Arts, or perhaps the Mass Ave Shops. I can buy a vintage lamp at BR Vintage and change the shade. If all else fails, we'll got to Target and get something presh.
But on an island where the closest hardware store is called "Grand Bizarr", we end up with something a little different.
We end up with a flashlight ducktaped to the wall.
This actually worked really well. Until it fell onto my darlin' in the middle of the night.
Whoops, babe. Sorry.
So we came up with this:
Two booklights ducktaped to the top of our bedposts.
I know your a little jealous - its the essence of shabby, island chic.
Siwy wabbit
This morning, I packed Addie up and dragged her along with me to the yarn store (which sucks and I hate bringing her there, but because they have strange hours, I have no choice). When we were walking around the Trav to put her in her car seat, we noticed a small bunny rabbit about the size of the palm of my hand sitting just next to the driveway in the grass.
We were RIGHT next to it and it didn't budge. Addie's like, "Oh, bunny Mommy!" and it still didn't move. I'm thinking, Oh crap, there's a dead bunny in our yard. I said, "Yes, it's a bunny! Say, 'bye-bye bunny'!" She did and thankfully moved to get in the car without any protest or attempts to touch the lifeless looking bunny.
I wanted to know if it was really dead so I touched its booty with the toe of my sandal. Um... Yeah... Not dead. It lept to life and hopped its way right into our garage. My Crap! turned to Shit! as I chased after it and tried to shoo it out of our storage nightmare. No matter what I tried, it just kept running and hiding behind things and would. not. leave.
So, I called Curt and asked him what he thought I should do. He said to shut the door, go run my errands, and when I came back to leave the garage door open so our bunny could leave when it wanted to. I did not find this advice helpful as I was afraid I would forget about the poor guy (pregnancy brain is a real b*tch sometimes) and he would bake to death or worse--we would let Regan out for some late evening bug hunting and heaven help the results of that catastrophe.
I made one final attempt to scare our almost new pet out of our space and this time it finally worked. I jumped up and down with a few Whoop Whoops! and quickly got the heck out of there and shut the door. When I climbed into the Trav, Addie looked at me with a smile and said, "Bunny..." Yes dear, Mommy was chasing a bunny. Now, off to buy some yarn!
We were RIGHT next to it and it didn't budge. Addie's like, "Oh, bunny Mommy!" and it still didn't move. I'm thinking, Oh crap, there's a dead bunny in our yard. I said, "Yes, it's a bunny! Say, 'bye-bye bunny'!" She did and thankfully moved to get in the car without any protest or attempts to touch the lifeless looking bunny.
I wanted to know if it was really dead so I touched its booty with the toe of my sandal. Um... Yeah... Not dead. It lept to life and hopped its way right into our garage. My Crap! turned to Shit! as I chased after it and tried to shoo it out of our storage nightmare. No matter what I tried, it just kept running and hiding behind things and would. not. leave.
So, I called Curt and asked him what he thought I should do. He said to shut the door, go run my errands, and when I came back to leave the garage door open so our bunny could leave when it wanted to. I did not find this advice helpful as I was afraid I would forget about the poor guy (pregnancy brain is a real b*tch sometimes) and he would bake to death or worse--we would let Regan out for some late evening bug hunting and heaven help the results of that catastrophe.
I made one final attempt to scare our almost new pet out of our space and this time it finally worked. I jumped up and down with a few Whoop Whoops! and quickly got the heck out of there and shut the door. When I climbed into the Trav, Addie looked at me with a smile and said, "Bunny..." Yes dear, Mommy was chasing a bunny. Now, off to buy some yarn!
Another crazy bug story
Seth and I are sitting in the family room enjoying a break from our hard work in the kitchen (we got both of the new light fixtures installed and all of the new cabinet knobs! It looks AMAZING!!! before & after pics are coming soon...) when something happened to catch my attention out of the corner of my eye. I looked up in time to see something large and black crawling along the floor in front of one of our speakers. I said (very calmly) to Seth, "Uh oh! There's a big bug over there. I think it's either a roach or a spider." He went over to take care of it (I love him.) and then he jumped and exclaimed, "It's a wolfie!" As in a wolf spider. That's right. The big ones. So I gave him my shoe to smush it and as he lowers the shoe he jumps even higher and said "S%$&! Go get the bug spray!" Apparently, when he went to smash the spider, a whole bunch of BABIES JUMPED OFF IT'S BACK!!! That's right. It was a mama spider who was carrying her babies through our house and when they saw the shoe heading their way they all scattered. Thankfully he got all of them - or so he told me. And I will choose to believe him.
I will look at it this way: it's that many fewer spiders running around this place. And perhaps their little spider screams scared off any other spiders from coming into our house. If we're lucky.
I will look at it this way: it's that many fewer spiders running around this place. And perhaps their little spider screams scared off any other spiders from coming into our house. If we're lucky.
The Shortest of Updates
after a late night last night (and a lot of help from my wonderful hubby!) I am thisclose to having the kitchen completely unpacked and it feels awesome.
today is a super busy day at work and I really shouldn't be stealing two minutes to post here
even though we got to talk together the other night I was so distracted (and exausted) from the craziness that I still feel like it's been forever since I really got to talk with you both.
I miss you both lots and can't wait to see you both on Skype sometime soon. This weekend should be my first opportunity in a long time to slow down and do some real catching up.
I will be looking for you both online!!!
hugs and kisses from Iowa :-)
today is a super busy day at work and I really shouldn't be stealing two minutes to post here
even though we got to talk together the other night I was so distracted (and exausted) from the craziness that I still feel like it's been forever since I really got to talk with you both.
I miss you both lots and can't wait to see you both on Skype sometime soon. This weekend should be my first opportunity in a long time to slow down and do some real catching up.
I will be looking for you both online!!!
hugs and kisses from Iowa :-)
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