Right As Rain

When we moved into our home, my courtyard was severely lacking in any greenery and my mother-in-law came to the rescue with some much needed and lovely potted plants.

One of them was this Camellia bush which I was really excited to receive.


I love camellias. They are so "genteel". They are graceful. They have that southern laid-back charm.

Did you know that one variety of camellia is what they use to make green tea? No wonder it's so soothing...

What I didn't know is that they take their own sweet time blooming.

I just had green leaves for the longest time, but then some buds started to appear. They are a bit smaller than golf balls now, and you can see the pink color peeking out, but they remain bundled up tight, taking their slow-as-molasses time.

So, I wait.

The winter rains have come to southern California. We were told of a chance of rain, but it has steadily fallen since before sunrise. You can tell the ground is just drinking it up. My plants look happy.

Today, an old friend is coming to stay with me for the night. We were friends way back from our days at Orange Coast College up in Costa Mesa. She has two kids I haven't seen in years who are now teenagers! A boy and a girl. Its gonna be great to catch up and be all girly with an old friend. I really need that. Need the giggles and hugs and understanding that comes with knowing someone for so many years.

I am gonna make us a big pot of Asian noodles and veggies, and maybe drink some hot green tea and enjoy the rain today.

What are you doing today??

Wordless Wednesday: Inchworm, Inchworm, Measuring the Marigolds

Hello, My name is Karen, and I am an addict…

Yes, I am an addict.

I have a problem.

The first step in curing addiction is admitting you have a problem, and I do, but the second step is wanting to do something about it. I guess I haven’t hit rock-bottom yet.

I am a craigslist addict. Not just a craigslist addict, but the craigslist FREE PAGES addict! I check what is being given away in San Diego every morning before even checking my email, or what is going on in world news. And often, I find if I really, really want something, it will show up on craigslist eventually!

Yes, some of the things are shabby, and none of the things are new, but my frugal self LOVES to get good stuff for free!

In the past few days, I have received a bunch of plants, some lovely plant stands, an electric Jeep kids-car for Noah, (which admittedly is shabby, but does HE care??? NO!) and my baby… this awesome potting bench! Now I can putter and feel like a real gardener, while I turn this black thumb green!

I have also gotten our entertainment center, a futon, our queen bed pillowtop mattress, our office storage cabinet, a television, a really cool bookshelf, toy storage bins, ceramic planting pots...

Yes, I have a problem. No, I am not ready to do anything about it! More! I want MORE!

I want a beaten but still nice wicker patio set so that I don’t have to worry about the rain and sun breaking it down, or throwing it away when we move. I want more plants to “green up” my courtyard. And I want a groovy rug and a purple lava lamp to finish up the funkification of my son’s bedroom, which I plan on surprising him with: a splendiforously purple bedroom for under 100 dollars!
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I gotta go… its time to reload my craigslist page to see what got added in the last ten minutes…

Wooot!!!

Zen Gardening

I have had this window box for a few weeks now and keep planning to fill it with flowers so that I can look out over the color when I am doing dishes. There is a shelf out there and a long window box was just the perfect thing.

Last weekend, Michael had to work Saturday and so was given Friday off work, and he and I went shopping with the babies, looking for things for the house. Noah was in preschool. I found this great sale on colorful flowers and got way too many to fit in my window box, in red, purple and yellow. They, too, have been sitting around waiting to be planted.

The other day, while Luka slept and Ethan toddled around the courtyard, I finally planted that window box, and its just SO PRETTY!

Ethan, who is a born Zen master of gardening, realized right off that there were just too many purple blossoms to be perfect, so he picked ten or twelve of them right off, handing me each one in succession until he felt that there was perfect balance and symmetry.

We were very pleased with our results.

Turning my black thumb green.

So,

When we moved into our little house here in San Diego, I just LOVED my little backyard fenced in courtyard where my babies can play and walk around in the shade and not be able to escape, allowing me to wash some dishes or even (gasp!) run in and pee!

Did I say Shade?

There is this almost sad joke now, that everytime I move into a new rental, the landlords cut down a tree within the first week. I was told they would "clean up" the courtyard and true to their word, they DID! Including chopping down both shade trees.

Well, this has spurred a desire to "green up" the place even though I have never been good at keeping plants alive.

So I have this new mission... I go on craigslist and look for people who are selling their plants because they are moving. I write them an email and tell them I cannot buy anything, but if they are unable to sell their plants before their move, write me and I will come, get them, and give them a good home. If I don't kill them in the process...

And it has worked! I have so far about 12 free plants, many of them very big bushes and small trees. All in pots so I can take them with me when I move. And I also got a number of cuttings and free little pots. So Noah and I planted all the cuttings and have been trying to get them to take off. Noah is also studying flowers this month in school so we planted some flower seeds that he picked out on his own and I am PRAYING that they come up.

Also got this big window box to put on the shelf outside my kitchen sink window. Got lots of flowers in red, yellow and blue to put in there.... maybe tonight. Should be gorgeous.

If I don't kill them in the process...