For us, it was a long winter. We had several cold fronts come through, and it never really eased up until late February, into March.  The azaleas were two weeks late in blooming. My tulips didn't start popping up until a week or so ago. Pollen counts are just starting to get obnoxious.  For a city unused to an extra season (generally, it's summer ( Read more... )

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After we removed the mirrors from the disco fireplace, I put them in the back yard along the fence. They don't take up as much fence space as I'd have liked, but they add a little bit of whimsy to the backyard, and whenever we get around to redesigning the backyard, they'll be better laid out ( Read more... )

Let's see...

We're doing Game of Thrones for geek night lately. We're a little over half-way through the series on a variety of DVRs, and I've finished the first novel. I think that maybe I'll have the rest devoured by the end of the year. Geek night had taken a hiatus in June and most of July, so it's nice to have our regular socialization back ( Read more... )

This weekend was the annual sping cleanup in the yard. Usually I wait a few more weeks, but the forecast is pretty mild for the next ten days and I really don't foresee any other freezes. Plus, we're having a dinner party in the back yard in two weeks, and I'd like it to look nice for that ( Read more... )

I was fast asleep on Saturday morning when the phone rang. It was cloudy outside, and it seemed like the perfect sort of day to lounge around, reading books, and otherwise not doing much.

The phone call was from my father. He and my mother had gotten up at some absurd hour to stand in line at the Urban Harvest annual fruit tree sale. I knew ( Read more... )

So this winter was ridiculous. We had at least three hard freezes, which almost never happens, and the "winter" didn't stop until the first week of March. This confused the shit out of all of the plants in Houston. Usually by now, the entire city is pink because the azaleas have gone insane. I have so far only seen two or three azalea flowers. My ( Read more... )

I spent last night putting together a potting bench that I bought on sale at Smith and Hawken on Monday. I've been looking for something to replace this rotting piece of furniture that had been sitting on my back porch for the last few years. My dad had given it to me in an effort to "save" something from being thrown away. If it looks like my ( Read more... )

Graham's been gone for two weeks, and I've been trying to keep myself busy with the stuff he's not really into. Last night, for example, I made a lovely salmon baked with dill and olive oil, since he doesn't really eat seafood ( Read more... )

Puppy dogs play in the sunshine. Butterflies flit from flower to flower. Everyone in Houston descends upon their yards en masseMy yard descension involved hacking up and pulling out a white plumbago plant that had taken over one of my beds. It flowered a little bit, but it just wasn't a pretty plant. It took an hour or so to get it out of the ( Read more... )