Potato Towers

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This year we decided to experiment with potato towers.

http://urbanfarmerseward.posterous.com/potato-towers-and-living-fence-posts

I love to try new things, and new ways to grow food in the yard, and what a better way to maximize space than to grow potatoes vertically.  Our towers have been growing for about 2 months, and while they aren’t growing as much as I had hoped, they are growing and I am excited to break into them this fall and see how well they did, and try it again next year.  I make myself try new things in the garden at least twice before I decide if they are a success or failure.  So we shall see!

 

 

 

 

Just Ask

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I had a conversation several weeks ago with a lady at one of my punk’s soccer games.  She had asked when my due date was and I told her, adding that I am due three days before the kids go back to school, and that Dadzoo was going to take about 2 weeks off work so he could play “mommy” at all the back to school activities.

She then said “Oh wow, my husband would never do that, unless I ASKED him to,” with a very dramatic eye roll.

I had to pause for a second or two.

I then said, very casually “Oh, well Dadzoo (except I used his real name) is really willing to help, but I have to ask as well, he doesn’t know what I need unless I tell him what that is.”

We then chatted for a little bit and parted ways.

That conversation made me think, a lot.  Why do we (women) think that they (men) should be able to just sense what we need?  I wouldn’t be expected to go into work for Dadzoo, sit at his desk and just know what needed to be done.  How can I expect Dadzoo to just walk into the house and just know what needs to be done?  One could argue that if he has to step over toys to get to the couch that he should just know they need to be picked up, but then again he could argue that I should just know that e-mail is checked before the ticket queue at the office (which I don’t really know, I am just guessing).

It leaves me to wonder how much happier we would all be in our relationships if we could just give up the idea that our spouse should just know, and instead we just asked for what we needed?  For me personally, Dadzoo is always happy to do and be what I need, I just have to ask first.

A Walk in June

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 This years garden has been wonderful, the best I have had in a couple years.  The last two years our springs were very cold and very wet and it took forever to get anything to grow!  Tonight I harvested my first round of broccoli and kale.  The cabbage patch is going great, so are the tomatoes and squash.  We also have potatoe towers that are starting to sprout.  I am so excited for our garden this year.

Musical Family?

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I didn’t grow up in a musical family.  When I was about 12 years old my family obtained a hand-me-down piano from my grandparents and ended up taking about one year worth of piano lessons, which I hated, mostly because I was on the same level as the eight year olds around me.  My other siblings took some piano, but it was never really something my parents insisted on.  Despite my lack of musical training I have always loved music and as I got older I regretted not sticking to piano and learning how to play.  I decided that my children would be musically trained, that was something that was going to be important in our family.

About five years ago Dadzoo’s parents offered to give us their piano and I jumped at the chance and promptly enrolled our oldest in lessons.  As of now our four oldest are taking piano lessons, and I have been firm on insisting  on a fair level of proficiency before I will allow them to quit, despite the fights, the crying and the questioning.  I worry a lot about those lessons, am I supervising enough, making sure they are doing their lessons properly, are my kids learning, am I forcing them to do something they don’t really have talent for?  I am terrible at recitals, I compare their progress (in my mind, never to them) to other children their ages.  I wonder, will they ever be proficient?

Well this week our family jumped into the realm known as “band”.  Yes, my two oldest joined the middle school band and have now added another instrument to their musical training (I won’t let them quit piano just yet).  Today as I was walking past, what has become our “music” corner in the living room, it occurred to me that we just might be a musical family, just maybe.

Interesting.

Our music corner

Punk #6 is always very interested when the older girls play the piano. She either joins them by pounding on the keys, or sits on the floor and "dances" to the music.

It is looking as if she will be equally interested in the other instruments as they come into the house.

 

House in Order

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I have 10 weeks until baby sister is to make her debu, I am feeling a great need to get my house in order, especially considering that we are planning a home birth.  However, I am finding that need to order and clean my home in sharp contrast and conflict to my great need of extra sleep.