COVID-19 Quarantine Day 90 - Garden!!!

It's been a little bit, so here's your semi-regular update on the garden!  😁😁😁

Fetilized today.  Finished the bottle off.  I got it at the beginning of last summer.  Last summer I was only using 2-4 tablespoons every 3-4 week.  Now I'm using 10-12 tablespoons every 3 weeks.  But my plants love it!  So I'll keep feeding them!  I'm going to fertilize again right before vacation.  I can't wait to see how much they've grown once we get home!

My borage is sooooo pretty!!!  I am seriously in love with these gorgeous blue flowers!  Might need to plant this one in the back or in a pot next time because it's ENORMOUS!  But I love it none-the-less!!  ❤

I went out with my phone and got all excited about the various blooms in the garden, so that's mostly what this whole post is.  😉

The strawberry blooms have seen better days, but that just means that the berries are on the way!  This, Berries Galore, bush has BEAUTIFUL blossoms!  I'm definitely getting more next year! 

Starting to get Marigold buds!  This is the first one I've seen so far!  🤞  Hopefully we'll have lots of color soon!!  🌼🏵💮

These are from a few days ago, can't remember if I've posted them or not.  Squash have big gorgeous blooms!  I remember seeing the big yellow blooms from the house last year when I looked down into the garden!  ❤  I took a few more pictures of the squash and their blooms today, but none compare the the pictures above!

Baby squash!!!  Can't wait for them to be big enough to start eating!  I imagine that will be about the time we leave for vacay...  🤦🏼‍♀️  Maybe Mama or Sis would like to eat them??  🤷🏼‍♀️

Pea blossom ❤  It looks like some sort of flower, but I can't put my finger on it...  Orchid, maybe?  The peas are doing really nicely on the back trellis.  Next year I'm considering an A frame trellis and lettuce underneath to be shaded.  We'll see...

Bell pepper blooms!  The gypsy peppers have started putting on peppers, I assume the bells and jalepenos will follow suit shortly.  🤞

Tomato blossoms!  My cherry tomato plant loves getting tall!  I hope I did the right thing in trimming it to size to stay in it's cage.  It was sure tough for me to cut off beautiful, healthy, tall growth!  😥  But we have tomatoes starting to set on 3/6 plants so far, so all seems to be going well.  ❤

I harvested all of the lettuce that began as plants today.  The seeded lettuce is still in the garden growing until it shows signs of distress, which it hasn't yet.  Our whole family had big salads for lunch!  Michael went back for seconds, and Avery and Connor both went back for thirds.  I told Michael, I made my first bowl count.  😉  Yum!!  We have enough for another meal like this (after I wash the remaining leaves).  It feels good to eat things we've grown ourselves!  We've certainly been enjoying plenty of green onions for at least a month so far!  In fact, Connor and Avery went out and cut green onions for our salads this afternoon as well!  I love that the kids are gardening with me!  ❤  And Connor is eating green onions now!  I think growing them himself made him more adventurous to try them!  I'm hoping the annual garden ends up spanning several seasons and that the children develop even more of a love for fresh produce as the years go on!  😊

Last pictures for this post.  I'm sure you're surprised I managed to catch these pictures, as I am irrationally afraid of insects (really should have chosen an indoor hobby 🤦🏼‍♀️).  I can't remember if I posted pics of the Assassin Bugs when Michael and I first noticed them in the garden a week or two ago.  But they've grown and changed color a bit.  I even took a video of this one walking around on my squash leaf.  The one who came in on my lettuce this morning did not fair so well.  Michael had to come upstairs and take care of it because I was not having it.  At least they don't fly or buzz.  🤷🏼‍♀️  I'm trying to get better.  It is not easy though...

Alright, I hope you've enjoyed some new garden pictures.  Maybe tomorrow I'll take pictures of the beautiful lilies I got from Mama that are blooming in the front!  ❤  Have a good evening, everyone!  Love you so much!

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 90 - 3 Months

Three months.  That's how long COVID-19 has been effecting the lives of myself and my family.  At the beginning it was only little things like, maybe Mama shouldn't be going to Wichita or into stores for a while, more deliberate hand washing, rumblings and rumors about the virus around work, online, and on tv.  Then, less than 2 weeks later, in-person school was canceled for the rest of the school year and school only continued remotely and digitally.  People made mad rushes on toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and soap.  I also couldn't get flour for several weeks on my click list.  Any time Michael or I would go out, we'd throw all of our clothes in the washer and shower as soon as we got home.  Then we'd take Clorox wipes (also became impossible to find at the store) and wipe down phones, wallets, door handles, car interior, light switches, everything we possibly touched while out or coming into the house.  We stayed home for weeks at a time without leaving our home or seeing anyone outside of our immediate family.  Now, 3 months in, things are relaxing a bit.  We go out more.  We don't throw everything in the wash the moment we get home or sanitize quite as much (we've learned it's more commonly transmitted through the air and breathing than on surfaces).  We, in our immediate family, at least, wear masks out in public.  Our volunteer quarantine times between going out and seeing friends and family is getting shorter, although we will do another hard 14 day quarantine when we come home from our vacation.  Slowly, life is returning to normal.  But I know life will never be the same.  Just like 9-11, some of the policies that start during this time will be around the rest of my life, I suspect.  I don't know what things will stick, but I'm sure something will.  I remember life before 9-11 when you could walk your family member right to the gate before they boarded their flight and watch the plane take off through the big, floor to ceiling windows.  I remember before you had to take your shoes off and have your hands swabbed for explosive residue.  I wonder what I'll remember from before COVID-19?  Time will tell.  It's surreal that this virus has been effecting our lives for 3 months now.  We've been fortunate, though.  We've only been inconvenienced.  And if that's the cost for more public safety, and for the safety or my loved ones, I'm fine with that.  Some may say that COVID-19 wasn't as bad as everyone thought it was going to be, and that we needlessly closed down states and our nation.  Some people may say that COVID-19 was the liberals way of effecting the 2020 election and that we carelessly risked the national and global economy.  There are many conspiracy theories out there.  But I believe the quick and sound action of our governor spared us from the horrors that were very real in New York, New Orleans, Italy, and Spain.  Just because we didn't see, first-hand, the devastation that is an overrun health care system, does not mean that it couldn't have happened if people had been careless.  I commend my fellow Kansans for, generally, listening to good advice and doing what they needed to to protect one another.  We may not be out of the woods yet.  We may never feel like we're completely out after an event like this.  But we have been lucky.  We have been fortunate.  We have been safe and healthy.  And though we've had family members who have gotten sick, they recovered.  We haven't lost anyone.  It's easy to be caulous to the numbers and say, look, it wasn't as big of deal.  The US only lost a little over 2 million!  With a population of 331 million, that's only 0.06%.  What a low number!  But if it had been your grandma, your uncle, your dad, your sister, who died, alone, on a respirator, and then you couldn't even be with them or the rest of your family for a funeral, I'm sure you'd have a much different idea of the effects of this virus.  If you personally knew a doctor or a nurse who got sick and died because they didn't have enough PPE and they were out, doing their jobs, protecting people every day, and it cost them their lives, you'd have a different opinion on the severity of this virus.  COVID-19 has changed our nation and our world forever.  It's been 3 months now.  I've been lucky.  Many others haven't.  We are living history.  (In more ways than one, I believe.)  COVID-19 will be in history books.  It's all so very surreal.  A new normal will set in eventually, things will be different, we'll remember how things used to be different.  I pray the human race moves forward in a way that makes life better from here, not just healthier, but that we all become better people for having gone through this.  ❤

Just a few things I've been thinking about as we hit the 3 month mark today.

Be good to one another.  ❤

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 88 - Thursday Pictures

Michael made the most amazing dinner the other night!  Ribeyes, cooked to perfect medium and medium rare, seasoned with flaky sea salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh ground rosemary, and fresh minced garlic!  Amazing!  Asparagus from Grandma and Grandpa Heorman's garden, seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper!  Delicious!  And loaded baked potatoes with fresh chives and green onions straight out of my garden!  Yum yum yum!!!  It was amazing!  Quite possibly the best steak I've ever eaten!  He got the temperature PERFECT!  It was so so good!  I got these steaks right before beef prices skyrocketed.  We've got a little hamburger in the fridge still, but not much.  Guess we'll need a lot more chicken and fish to get us through the summer.  😉

We went to Braums on Thursday and Connor got to have some ice cream and see a couple of his friends from school.  These guys weren't able to make it to his birthday party in May, so getting to see them was an extra special treat!  ❤

Remember that big, beautiful yellow squash bloom from one of my earlier posts?  This was it (and the squash) on Thursday!  This baby is growing so fast!!

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 88 - Saturday Pictures

Sunday morning snuggles after watching church! 

Saturday pool fun! 

I caught the big, beautiful bloom on Avery and Connor's yellow squash plant!  It will be the first squash we pick when it gets big enough! 

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 83

Good morning, everyone!  If you haven't been outside yet today, I highly recommend you get out here!  I'm out on the deck drinking my coffee.  It's warm, but not hot yet.  I'm planning to get some stuff ready for vacation today.  The kids were so excited when they got their new luggage (Did I post pictures or video of that yet?) that they started packing for vacation already.  😂  Last year it worked out tremendously well to put their daily outfits in plastic baggies.  Each day they pull out a bag that has underwear, shirt, shorts, and socks.  That way everything doesn't become a huge mess while they're looking for something.  It worked so well, I'm going to try it again this year.  Yesterday I bought our tickets for our tour.  I also plotted our stops for gas between Topeka and Murfreesboro.  I checked online and found that the US Space and Rocket Center is opening again, so that's back on the table as a possible day trip to Alabama.  I figure if I do a couple things each day, it'll all be done in time.  So I'll start working on bagging up the kids' luggage.  I don't expect to have all of that done today, as I want to make sure they still have clothes and shoes to wear the next 3 weeks, but a few things won't hurt.  😉

I don't know if anyone has been watching my case count blog (Day 40), but the last report I saw had us averaging less than 100 new cases of COVID-19 per day.  I'm cautiously optimistic about this news and hope it continues.  I'm worried about how protests may effect the spread.  But I desperately want to get out a bit more.  Spending weeks at a time at home is getting to me.  I miss going out.  I miss being about to shop when I want.  I miss seeing people other than my immediate family.  I know it's all for the greater good, but as we close in on 2 months that I've seldom gone out, I'm hitting a wall.  I'm not planning on going out the couple of weeks before our vacation so we know we're safe and healthy before we head to a bunch of new states.  But I plan on getting out a bit more in the next week or so.  To get things for vacation and for my own sanity.  Gotta start sometime.  I'll be careful, but I think my time of staying indoors and home all the time is coming to an end soon.

Oh yeah, can't believe I didn't mention this before, I HAVE A NEW JOB!!!!  I'm soooooooo excited!!!  I'll be working as the part-time library clerk at Sunflower Elementary from now on!  😁😁😁  So here's the long and short of it....  A year ago, the 4th grade teacher that I worked closely with that year, Melissa Scribner, retired.  She was one of three 4th grade teachers who all went different directions at the end of last year.  One of the other 4th grade teachers on her team, Emilie Lambertz, traded grade levels with a 2nd grade teacher, Brooke Cox.  The third team member, Karla Skibba, took a position in the Library as the full-time Librarian (before that we had only a part-time librarian that we shared with another school, as well as a part-time library clerk, Kathy Pyles).  At Melissa's retirement party, I sat with the former 4th grade team and just chatted.  It was really fun and nice!  I remember having an especially good time talking with Karla, who was about to move to the Library.  The morning after the party, I sent Karla a message on facebook...

"The things that come across your mind at 530am when you can't get back to sleep...

So, let me begin with, I love my job, and being a Para at Sunflower has been extremely rewarding and I am very happy and grateful to have the job that I have.  That being said, I just love your passion for learning, teaching, technology, nontraditional learning opportunities, learning through play, for children, and the direction you're headed with the new library at Sunflower.  I know Mrs. Pyles is the library clerk at the moment, and it seems like a great job, so I can't imagine her wanting to give it up anytime soon.  But, if that day comes, eventually, down the line, years from now, please keep me in mind.  😉  I think that we would make a terrific team and I would be thrilled to learn from you and to work alongside you as you carry out your vision for the new library/media center.  😊  Alright, maybe now that I've said it, my body will let me sleep again.  😂  I very much enjoyed talking to you and spending time with you outside of school in an informal setting last night, I think it got my brain going and thoughts and possibilities for the future.  So if the day comes when you're looking for a new assistant in the library, I would be very interested!  That's all for now.  I'm going to try to get a couple more hours of sleep.  Who wakes up at 530 on a Saturday?!?!?  🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️  Goodnight!"

That was just over a year ago.  Over the course of this school year I've watched in awe as Karla has redesigned the space, look, and some of the function of the library

Hey guys, I started this blog a few days ago but got distracted and didn't ever finish it, so I'm going to briefly sum up the rest of my story so I can publish this bad boy! 

Karla has done wonderful things in the library!  It's a beautiful space where learners of all kinds can find something to explore and spark their interests.  Periodically last year I mentioned to her that I was still interested in the job if it came up.  Then one day she told me Kathy was thinking about retirement, but it might still be a few years away.  I told her I was more than willing to wait.  ❤  That would have remained the plan, but we had a global pandemic hit.  Kathy is a little older and her husband isn't in the best health, so she decided this was the best time to go ahead and bow out.  Karla and I talked behind the scenes and when there opportunity was right, I talked to Molly, my principal about the opening and my desire for the job.  A couple weeks went by and school finished for the year and I still hadn't heard anything.  I was far less anxious anot not hearing once summer got here, because I was just glad to be on summer break again.  Then, finally, Molly called me and said they wanted to move me to the library clerk position if I still wanted it.  I excitedly accepted the job, and the rest is history.  I'm very much looking forward to me new roll at Sunflower!  ❤  I'm also very excited about my new 3 day work weeks!  😂  It's going to be awesome!  I can't wait to get in and see just what this new job will be like! 

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 88 - Recap and Pool Pics

Good morning, everyone!  It's been a while!  We're had a busy weekend!  Thursday Mama and I took the kids to Sam's for a little shopping.  We're also started making trips to Sis' house to get ready for a garage sale.  Friday and Saturday we did the garage all our almost all of each day.  I did take a long lunch break on Saturday to take the kids to the pool.  Yesterday we went to Mama and Daddy's for lunch.  It was so good to be back.  I feel like life is slowly getting back to normal.  After we're left, we went home and got dressed and went back to the pool.  Sis, Dayton, and Laney came out and joined us as well!  We all had a great time!  Connor lost his first tooth yesterday morning, so that was very exciting!  It's about time!  The new tooth is already halfway in behind it!  Hopefully it slides right into place.  🤞  He has such a beautifully straight smile!  Here are a few pictures from the last few days.  I'll post more in a second and third blog if I need to.  😉  You know the drill! 

We had tons of fun at the pool last night!  There were only 2 or 3 other families there at a time with us st the most, and for a while we even had the pool to ourselves!  So much fun! 

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 82 - Garden Updates 2

I noticed that a few days ago I put together a post and failed to post it.  I don't know if it'll post it in line a few days ago or today, but I figured I'd go ahead and post.  😉  Back to today's pictures!

This is the first pea pod that set on.  It's fattening up, but not ready yet!  I love watching it swell up!  I think every day my stuff is growing more!  Love it!!  ❤

I'm not sure if I mentioned it the other day, but I planted beans around my corn.  They are already sprouting!  😳😳  Too bad Michael doesn't like green beans more.  Because we may end up with a lot...  According to what I've read out the Three Sisters planting, I needed to plant 4 seeds around each corn stalk, so I did that.  I have 7 corn stalks.  That makes 28 bean seedlings!  Also, I may have bought the wrong bean seeds...  I bought green bean seeds that I found.  But since then I've learned that there are climbing beans (which I needed) and bush beans (which I may have accidentally purchased) so I might end up with bean bushes instead of beans that climb my corn like I intended.  Once again, live and learn!  This was my first year with corn or beans, so I'll get it figured out eventually.  😉

This obviously isn't a picture from my garden, but it popped up on my fb and made me think, oh good!  It's not just me!!  Apparently a lot of people in Wichita are dealing with ants this year.  The Borax and Sugar mixture I tried seems to have been really effective!  Huzzah!!  🙌🙌🙌

We have something new in the garden this week.  After a quick google search, I believe them to be Assassin Bug Nymphs.  Apparently they are something good for your garden, so I'm trying not to freak out and just leave them be.  Hopefully they'll help control the insect population around my plants.  🤞🤞🤞

Can't remember if I posted this pic yet.  My herb garden is looking super!  Only have one rosemary sprout, and didn't get the chives to come up, so I planted some dill seeds.  We'll see how everything does.  I think it the future I'll keep the herbs in a pot and not in the garden.  They just struggle to keep up big enough to get light with all the larger plants.

Okie dokie.  I think that's all I've got for now.  🙂  Hope you're having a nice week!

Be good to one another!  ❤✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿❤

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 79 - Garden!!

More pics!!

Bed 4 - (left) zucchini, cucumber, green onion, cauliflower, broccoli (right)

Bed 3 - (front left) nasturtiums, yellow squash, borage, yellow squash, nasturtiums (front right)

Behind the yellow squash are two zucchini plants

Beside the pinwheels (left) yellow squash and butternut squash (right)

(back) Peas in front of them green onions

Still Bed 3 - Everything but the back 2 plants in this picture started as seeds!  😱😱😱😱😱😱

This is what Bed 3 looked like a month ago!!  😱😱😱😱😱

Bed 2 - Asparagus, seedlings (note to self, don't bother with those indoor seedlings next year), and carrots

Bed 1 - Strawberries, lettuce, romaine, seed lettuce, marigolds, and asparagus 

Bed 5 - My tomatoes are going crazy!!  The corn isn't quite as tall as I expected, but maybe that's because the tomatoes are taking all the sun.  😳  The peppers are up front and the chives and basil are in between the pepper.

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 82 - Garden Updates 1

The only thing that's going on around here is that I go out to my garden every day to check on things.  I have a ton of pictures, so I'm just going to post 5 or 6 with comments about what's happening and then maybe go on to a second or third post until I'm tired of posting pictures.  Enjoy!  😊

I had 2 little yellow squash that came up in their little biodegradable pot when I thought they weren't going to, so I planted them in a pot next to the stairs and they are the kids' squash to take care of (which doesn't require much if anything).  They look great and have blooms that are waiting to open.  Despite being the last squash to sprout/get planted, I think these will be the first to bear fruit.  I was telling Michael just the other day, it's crazy how plenty or sun and water and shelter from being close to the house, all of which create optimal growing conditions, cause it to be one of my best growing plants!  😂🤷🏼‍♀️❤

Everything is so big and green!  Don't look too close at the broccoli and cauliflower.  I have some very hungry caterpillars who seem to love those two.  🤦🏼‍♀️  Also, I checked my garden app and I got them in the ground about 2 weeks late this year.  I don't have heads forming yet, and probably only have a couple weeks left before it's too hot and they'll give up.  Ugh.  I'm going to do some research on the optimal time to plant cauliflower and broccoli, obviously earlier, or maybe as a fall crop, and set some alarms for different days of the year to remind myself to plant at the appropriate time next year, because I think I missed it this time.  Oh well!  Live and learn.  👍

This is the one and only zucchini plant I bought.  It's looking awesome, but all of my zucchini that came up by seed look amazing too.  I think next year I'll stick to seed only, directly sewn in the bed, and not seeded early indoors.  Slowly, but surely, I'm getting the hang of gardening!  And I'm only 33 years old!  I'm gonna be amazing at this when I'm really old!  I'm sure that by the time Michael and I are building our own house in Manhattan, I'll want an enormous garden!!  Good thing he loves me!!  😉💓

Lots of tomato blossoms!!  Hopefully they'll start growing soon!  5/6 of my tomato plants have grown out of their cages (taller cages, probably custom built, are on my list of things I want next year).  I'm slowly pruning the lower branches of the tomatoes so they're less likely to contract disease from the soil getting on their leaves when they're watered or it rains.  I'm also pruning them a little to keep them in their cages.  Hopefully this encourages them to focus their energy on fruiting instead of growing vines any higher or wider.  I've learned since planting these that there are indeterminate and determinate tomatoes.  Indeterminate produce fruit all season, determinate produce one big batch for a couple weeks, and then are done.  I have 4 indeterminates, 1 determinate, and 1 semi-determinate tomato plant.  We should get a nice haul to start the summer, then keep them coming slowly but surely for the rest of the summer!  Speaking of which, when we're out of town, if you're stopping by the house to check on the dogs or the house, feel free to go back and check in on the garden.  Anything you pick is yours!  Please help yourself!  💓

Alright, that's probably enough pictures for one post.  Stay tuned for more!