A Busy Day!

Hey y'all! It's your favorite drama blog-queen back again! Hahaha. Okay, I admit...I suppose I can be sort of a drama llama at times. I'm working on it...I am way too blessed to be so depressed about things that I really don't have too much control over. Sure, I could "take the reins" and push to have things done that could make it appear I am in charge...but seriously? When you get right down to the nitty gritty I have about as much control over it as I do in the seasons and the rising of the sun. And that's OKAY. So, I'll just appreciate and try to be happy for folks who are experiencing things that I hope for our little family here. Hopefully soon I can expound on what I mean a little deeper, but right now that's all I need to say.

It has been kind of busy around here lately and I am glad for it! Some people seem to have that wonderful ability to keep going all year long, but I'm pretty sure if I had been created an animal I would have been a bear. I very nearly hibernate in the winter until Spring and her warmer weather shows up. We also live in what I call a "hobbit house", or a basement house as normal people refer to it. Our living room, kitchen and laundry room are the only rooms in the house that aren't surrounded by dirt with the kitchen and living room having the only full-size windows. I feel like that probably contributes to my hermit nature in the cold months. Oh well :) We have a home and food to fill our bellies and heat to keep us warm and Jesus in our hearts. I am so thankful, and that is an understatement. I am humbled by His goodness and mercy and am embarrassed by how selfish I can be at times. Life is GREAT and I deserve NONE of it.

My online class has been moving along rather well! I am kind of surprised at how well I am actually doing in it. As of right now I am a little more than halfway through and have an average of 91. Hopefully I can bring it up a few points, but I am passing so far!! I may end up slowing down a little bit; with the weather warming up I would like to spend some time outdoors in the yard on days I can, so I'll probably be tweaking my daily routine some.

Speaking of the outdoors, we spent ALOT of time there today. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!! Well, most of it. Last year was the first year we had a "real" garden. It went well, I thought, all things considered. I learned a few things and got my feet wet. We ended up having enough squash and tomatoes and okra to eat fresh and a bit extra to freeze, but not a considerable amount to can and put up. So this year I wanted to make our plot bigger and see if I could plant a few different things and try to put some up.

This was our plot(s) last year

This is the beginning of this year's

We're using old railroad ties for our beds and opted for the raised bed because under the topsoil in our yard we have chert rock. Last year we had 4 ties and this year we expanded it by 3. Looking back I wish we had gotten one more and made it square instead of that odd 5-sided thing we have now (hexagon?) but our tie-supplier is a little longer a drive off than we had time for today. I am debating on buying one more...maybe we will try it like this and add another next year, lol. That's about as often as I want to move these things in a year!! Thank you Lord, for giving me a strong husband!! I love him so! I would also like to plant some "looking" plants. You know, those that you plant just because they are nice and make your yard pretty. Unless the Lord comes soon, I don't see us relocating any time soon. I would like for our home to reflect this reality. That means *GASP* making our house a little more like a real home. A work in progress ;) We have some flowers that have been blessing us this spring and the last that were planted by a previous owner, but I would like to plant a few more pretty plants that I really enjoy.

Here are some examples of already existing beauties: please forgive the drabness...not everything has jumped on the spring bandwagon yet ;)

We have some lovely trees/bushes:

We have a larger plum and some other tall tree to the left of what is in this
picture and another plum to the right of the shot...foresight would be
handy when I take pictures ;) This shot has a plum tree, azalea bush & what I think
is a tulip poplar. You can see we also have some cheery daffodils blooming and
some lilies coming up.

Another shot of the same line of trees/bushes from a
different angle

Some daffodils around Gunner's tree and this bright, bold hedge-thing,
lol. Please forgive the ugly garbage can situation...I also cleaned the
shed out today.

At the corner of the house is a smaller azalea bush.
Haven't decided if I'll keep it there or not...

Ahhhh...color :) Sorry, I couldn't resist! This was last summer.

And the lovely flowers:

daffodils and lilies

lilies up top...not sure what that thing is at the bottom left of the brick wall

Irises waaay in back to the right, and two more of those mystery plants...

Irises around the mailbox

Waaaay back there are some more irises

So, that's what is already there. I have some gladiola and peony bulbs to plant and I have a "tulip kit" started that I bought from JoAnn's earlier this month. I didn't know it took 16 weeks for them to sit...is it possible to put them out and they grow properly? I also have some areas already planned to plant in, just not sure what exactly to plant. I would post more pictures of the area, but this post is already waaaaaaaay tooooooooo looooooooooooong! And I am bushed!! Hope you all have a great Sunday!!