Winter Gardening

On January 1st, I started my first batch of seeds (Tomatoes and artichokes). Pretty much every weekend since then has involved my garden. So I feel it is time to show it off.


These are the indoor greenhouses we bought at Fleet Farm (our new favorite store) for $25 each. (They were $50 each at ShopKo.) They are upstairs in the computer room, and I can smell the greenhousey-ness as I type. (The Kleenex box is sitting on my computer desk.) The greenhouse on the left belongs to Nick, the one on the right is mine.


This is our basement set up with our grow lights. We aren't using regular florescent lights. We are basically using aquarium lights that "stimulate plant growth." Each light is 4 feet long. The table is big enough for about 6 rows of lights. Part of my container garden from last year is on the floor under the table. All those plants are dead though.

My 144 Marigold seedlings, to go around the garden.

My peas (sugar snap and snow), along with some squash and a few other items. The peas are doing too well. I'm going to have to come up with some sort of transplantable trellis for them.

Emerald Green artichokes. These were part of my January 1st plantings. They have 180 to 360 days to harvest, and need to go through a "winter" period before they produce. They are in the basement to go through their "winter" period now. The containers are made from newspaper, and I feel it is very ironic that my office Wall Street Journal issues are being used for gardening. Each pot is about 4 inches high and 2 inches in diameter.


These are supposed to be beets, and I'm supposed to be able to eat them in April. I wonder if it is too cold in the basement for them. I planted them 2 weeks ago, and nothing. Its not safe to bring them upstairs and put them in a window. The cats already used my kitchen salad greens window boxes as a litter box.

Annual Weigh In

I had my annual doctor's exam this past week, which includes my annual weigh-in. I don't own a scale, and nor do I want to own a scale. So, I only get on one once a year, when I have my physical.
Ever since I got out of the Army (in 2004), I've been gaining weight at the rate of about 10 pounds a year.
I did not gain any weight this year!
This was a major relief. While I do enjoy food, I don't consider myself a glutton. I don't eat many sweets, I don't eat all my food from McDonald's (it averages to about 1 fast food hamburger meal a month). I was starting to think there were health issues associated with my weight, such as a thyroid problem, because I thought my sedentary lifestyle weight would have plateaued 20-30 pounds ago.
So, now that I've reach my plateau, I will be turning my weight around and beginning the process of losing it. I've already started making changes to my eating habits. Now I need to stop coming up with excuses to not exercise, like my cold Wisconsin winters. (Hello -20 weather.. I thought that only happened in Fairbanks!)

Tattoo

I've been thinking about a tattoo for a long time. I first got the idea into my head when I was on crutches, in the Army, in language school, working out each day with one of the SF guys in my class. My arms were starting to tone pretty nicely, and I thought it could be neat to get one of those arm bands. Then I remembered that tattoos are permanent and when I'm an old lady with flappy skin, that tattoo is going to look really silly. So I didn't do it, and the idea went away.
Then I met Nick and we stared dating, and occasionally he'd harass me about getting a tattoo. My response was always "No, they're permanent." But it did get me to thinking. I knew immediately I didn't want to get a rainbow, star or Tinkerbell on my ankle. I didn't want anything cliche. If I were to get a tattoo, I'd want it to be symbolic--Something I'd be happy having on my body forever.
I thought a Celtic knot could be cool. (I was thinking about something along that theme when I thought about the armband.) It would be a nod to my heritage, my English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. So I contacted an artist friend of mine, Bobbie, (also on deviantART) and asked her to draw something up for me. I wanted a Celtic knot, with Heather flowers worked into it.

Bobbie's drawing for my tattoo.

After I got the picture from Bobbie, I tried contacting a tattoo place in town, but they took to long getting back to me. So I stopped by a tattoo place in the next town; they set up an appointment for a week later (I don't know why they couldn't do it right away).
Last Saturday I went to my appointment, and received my tattoo. It hurt. It hurt a lot. I didn't cry, but I sure did complain and whimper, and I cussed a little bit.

Brian working on my tattoo.

My tattoo while it was getting worked on.

Basically, they took a copy of Bobbie's image, and put it on carbon paper. Then they applied the carbon paper onto my body, and traced it with the tattoo needle. The process took about 45 minutes. After he was done he cleaned the ink off, bandaged it up, and sent me on my way with an instruction sheet. The next day, Nick removed the bandage and cleaned it off for me. The antibacterial soap made the wound sting. The tattoo scabbed over along the ink lines, it itched some for a few days, and now it has pretty much healed up.

So now I have a permanent image on my right shoulder, but I'm very happy with it, and it is something I feel I can relate to for the rest of my life. I'm thinking about getting color added, eventually, but I haven't decided the coloring will be yet.

Roxi (With Pictures!)

A few weeks ago Nick told me he wanted to get a second cat, so Lulu would have a friend to play with. I told him he could if he kept the litter box clean. So Nick decided to get a self cleaning litter box. Now we have Roxi, and a litter box that looks like a robot.
Roxi has adapted well and is far more affectionate than Lulu. We were able to interact with Roxi on the first day, Roxi is more amenable to holding, and she'll hop up on my computer keyboard while I'm typing. Lulu likes to stick to herself.

Roxi in our paper compost bin.

Roxi in the bathtub checking out the soap suds after my shower.

Roxi and Lulu playing.

The litter box.

25

1. My job leaves me feeling drained.
2. I wish I lived closer to my family.
3. I have 2 cats (more about Roxi later).
   
4. I have a 75 gallon fish tank.
5. I'd like a dog; a yellow lab or golden retriever would be cool. Or a husky.
6. Some day I want kids, and I'd like some day to be in 2.5 years.
7. I'm Airborne, but never did a jump after getting my wings.
8. I'm going to try and grow artichokes this summer.
9. I don't remember the last time I went to the dentist.
10. I ride a bus to and from work.
11. I got a new internet capable phone so I can blog on my bus ride home.
12. I got a new tattoo (more about that later).
13. I need at least eight hours of sleep to function properly.
    
14. I think I have low blood sugar, because I turn into a total freak when I miss a meal.
15. I've become one of those crazy cat ladies who thinks her cat is the cuties thing and takes pictures of it. At least I don't frame the pictures, right?
16. My husband has a Mohawk. (I know that isn't about me, but I'm running out of ideas.)
17. Kaycei stands for kitty cat.
18. I used to do 3D modeling as a hobby, but it takes the same part of my brain as my job, and I just don't have that much brain energy left after work. So I haven't done any new models in quite some time.
19. I enjoy sewing, although I spend almost as much time ripping stitches out as I spend putting them in.
20. I become more and more like my father every year.
21. Oddly enough, I'm becoming more and more like my mother. It must be the gardening.
22. I like to grow out my hair and donate it. I've donated to Locks of Love twice. Next time I want to donate to Pantene.
23. Because of this, my hair is its natural color--brown.
24. I keep thinking about getting a master's degree, but haven't decided it its worth it because
25. I want to be a stay-at-home mom.
    

Christmas

Nick and I have been looking forward to having family over for Christmas for several years now. This was the first year it actually happened. (And I apologize for not taking a picture of the tree, or any other Christmas time pictures.)
The weekend before Christmas, Nick's parents, step-brother and step-brother's wife all came over. We had a nice dinner and gift opening. Nick's parents stuck around over the weekend and helped out a lot with the house. They installed a programmable thermostat and fixed some of the wiring issues upstairs.
My parents came up Christmas day, and stayed the following two days. The visit wasn't as house productive as it was with Nick's parents, but I got to show off my house, and go Wisconsin cheese hunting. It was a fun trip and far less stressful than the last time I saw my mom (which was when we moved in). My dad loved the house, and seemed to be a little bit jealous. I wish my family was closer, but... that's how things are.

Because we had family visit for Christmas, I got Nick a dining room set for his gift.

Nick got me a 75 gallon fish tank.

They are both great gifts and are really helping to make the house feel like our home.