hooray spring!!

the weather has picked up this week reaching nearly 80 degrees at one point- although it was cloudy and didnt really feel like it. it was sunny enough to sit out in shorts though! i took a break from the dark room with no windows (aka the office) to go outside and sit in the sun and listen to the birds chirping. and the frequent jets- hey i work near a major airport.



yesterday we went  to lowes to get a gas grill- the weber 120. matt is super excited to start grilling on something other than the george forman. we're also going to order a 5 cubic foot chest freezer since most of our food comes frozen or we buy bulk and freeze a lot of it until we need it. i also bought a blackberry bush, 2 strawberry plants, and 2 tomato plants. and just now i ordered a seeds from johnny's selected seeds. i picked the "easy choice" (read: easy for beginner) varieties of pole bean, sugar snap peas, a lettuce mix, cucumbers, a sampler of 5 different herb disks, and a collection of edible flowers (the mix is below).

Scarlet Runner Bean, Borage, Nasturtium-Jewel Mix, Marigold-Lemon Gem, Calendula-Deja Vu, Basil-Sweet Thai, and Anise Hyssop

Other foliage is well under way getting pretty for spring. The tree right outside the deck started budding 2- 3 weeks ago and this past week with the sun and warmer weather started blooming gorgeous blush pink and fuscia flowers about the size of your palm. so far it's the only one i've noticed on the property. lucky us!! 

the bulbs i bought last fall are looking and smelling wonderful too- daffodils, hyacinth, and muscari. the tulips are still hiding. 

my project today is getting started re-upholstering two chairs i salvaged from the end of someone's driveway. the only thing more hideous than the chairs is the re-upholstery job the person did before. it's just embarrassingly sloppy. the plan is to have them for outside, early-morning-coffee-drinking, sit-and-smell-the-flowers, watch the veggies grow chairs.