Alone...

As occasionally happens in a relationship where one set of in-laws lives 2500 miles distant, my wife is away visiting family. The assumption is that they really are more interested in seeing the baby than either of us, and as Lilyana is too young for flying on her own, someone must go with her. The idea of using the USPS has occurred to me, but toddlers are not found on the list of live animals approved for Priority Mail treatment. Though, if she were a bee, poultry, a scorpion (Yep, you read correctly, at any moment, someone could mail you a live scorpion!), or one of the rather vague group described as "small, harmless, cold blooded animals", it would be another story.

Therefore..... (I love using that word!), therefore, I am at home, alone. Always a dangerous thing, but thus far the only fireworks I have set off have been outside. *grin*  To prove that I am neither entirely dependent on my wife, nor able to function all that effectively without her, here is a look at my life as a temporary bachelor:

Cleaning out the fridge. Tuna on a hamburger bun is not all that bad!

 Even alone, there is always time to stop and smell the roses. 

Before Tiffany left, we planted our garden. The beans have come up in her absence! 

 Climb, beans, climb!

 My wife said these dishes needed to be done before she got back. Nine days in, they are still there. How close should I cut it? 

Once the leftovers were gone, I hit the bottle....of peanut butter! My old friend was still there, after all these years. Just as good as ever!

Boredom + Costco pack of toilet paper = Endless possibilities

The couch. 

Darn timer...

 What I was trying for. Most of my familial interactions during these two weeks have involved the phone. Almost like before I was married!

 Bread pudding. According to the historians, originated in the 11th century, was then known as "poor man's pudding", and has since become a comfort food. Perfect for a poor bachelor who needs comfort!

The benefit of being alone is a great deal of free time. Especially during the weekends. Taking advantage of this fact, I found the most dangerous job I could, it involved lots of pipe, heavy tools, and a highly flammable gas. Insane you ask? 

 Not when the result will save me money!!!! Outside of the hottest of days, our AC only comes on once my dear wife starts the oven to cook me any number of delectable dishes. She has been begging for an outside stove for quite awhile, and now we have one.

 Here is a shot of the garden, which has been faithfully watered.

"Come one, come all!" You may recall from last year, a month after Lilyana's birth, we went and saw Romeo and Juliet. The season for the annual Shakespeare play has arrived, yet again. This year, I had no wife to share it with, but Thomas and Lindsey were kind enough to keep me company. "A Comedy of Errors" was on the billet, with a 60's twist. Thankfully that only involved the set and the costumes, not one "Groovy" or "Far out, man!" defamed the famous bard's artistry. 

Yeah, the 60's were a bit.....odd. Did anyone ever actually think style this looked good!??!?!

 Lindsey chilling, waiting for the play to start, at dusk. She liked the pillows.

Me, filming the set, to show my wife, when she returns.... **sobs**

It was too dark for my limited camera skills to get shots of the play, at night. Sorry, y'all! But, I shall give you one of my favorite lines:

Marry, sir, she's the kitchen wench and all grease;

and I know not what use to put her to but to make a

lamp of her and run from her by her own light. I

warrant, her rags and the tallow in them will burn a

Poland winter: if she lives till doomsday,

she'll burn a week longer than the whole world.

Thankfully, it is not even remotely possible to describe my wife in such a manner!

The other aspect of being a bachelor is going to bed much too late. A fact which I have continued, in order to get this post up. Please pardon any spelling or grammatical errors, I lost both my wife and my editor in a single trip!

Now, fair readers, I must head my mind for slumbers, and mind my head for the pillow. If you get a spare moment, think on the poor soul who is anxiously awaiting the return of the two girls who make life worth living. Goodnight!

"To see things in the seed, that is genius."

It's that time of year around here...the skies have been blue and dotted with what I like to call cotton candy clouds. The temperatures have been scrumptious (68 today), and the days are beginning to get longer. The forecast is predicting rain and chillier weather this weekend, and since we are still in the middle of winter, I'm expecting cooler days to push the beautiful ones out of the way...but they will only make Spring more welcome!

I've never been much of a gardener...a few flowers here and there (and the Tulips that our sheep ate...), but nothing very serious. I don't know what's come over me, but I've decided to really work at it this year and I'm looking forward to watching my plants grow, making my own home remedies, and eating fruits and veggies that come from our garden. But before the glamorous stage arrives, however, there is always work to do....

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. ~ Doug Larson

No pain, no gain...that's the quote, right? I spent several hours outside today clearing out the vegetable garden bed. The entire bed looked like the above picture...oh, and Stinging Nettles still sting.

*sigh* Good, clean dirt. A bit on the sandy side, but still, there were a TON of worms in there, and underneath all of those weeds I discovered a good bit of soft soil, and ready or not, I'm determined to make it work! We used an empty bed in our backyard last year, but you can't see if from the house, and there was a bunch of junk in it. So, we'll use it for a different project this year and keep our veggies and herbs where I can see them.

Currently adorning our driveway are the piles of weeds for our compost. I still can't believe how much came out of that bed!

Three varieties of lettuce have been planted next to my rosemary plant. Mmmmm, I'm looking forward to a fresh garden salad!

It isn't consistently warm enough to plant everything outside, and I don't have my front bed ready for my herbs, so the solution: Egg crates! How many days until the plants start coming up? I'll try to be patient...

Speaking of being patient, our little one is due in one month! A few people have requested pictures to see "the bump", so here is one that I got the other day.

Now, off to start dinner!