I'm Back! With some good news!

I'm back in the saddle again! After being on an involuntary hiatus for several weeks, I'm finally feeling better! I'll start with the best news first. We're having a baby! I found out we were pregnant in early January, and the wonderful 1st trimester symptoms kicked in not long after we found out. I've been extremely tired, nauseous, and some days nothing sounds good to eat. This is not normal for me, as one of the main joys in my life is food. We had our first appointment on Tuesday, March 4th. We had our first quickie ultrasound and saw the heartbeat and saw the baby move. We both have a feeling its a boy, but we would be just as happy with a sweet baby girl.

In hindsight, I'm glad that I'm experiencing this now while it is still cold and snowy outside here in the ville. In fact, we received a suprise snowfall of about 14 inches over the weekend. I have so many plans for the front and backyard this spring, and I would be miserable if I was stuck inside like this a month from now.

To get a head start on our plans for the spring garden we started some plants inside. We have Early Girl Tomatoes, Big Boys, and Romas. We also have a plethora of peppers, including ancho, bell, and anaheim. We also started some basil and rosemary, but they are not developing the way we think they should be. We will probably end up buying some large herb plants when the season is closer.
We are planning on starting some more seeds soon. I am going to be starting some flowers, including wave petunias, and some phlox.

My plans for the garden include a full blown cottage garden along the side and in front of the house by the sidewalk. Its going to be very free form with traditional cottage flowers. The flower pictured to the left is particularly close to my heart. My grandmother always had phlox in her garden. This particular type of garden phlox is named Katherine. Not only is it her namesake, but it is her favorite color lilac. Phlox is a great addition to your cottage garden. It is so fragrant you can smell it halfway down the block.

My next choice is the purple cone flower. I will probably also have Black Eyed Susans. I have some of these along the side of the house already that I have been there a couple of years now, so they should be really spectacular this year. The purple coneflower is also known by the name echinacea and it can be harvested and used as an immune booster.

I'm also hoping to incorporate some native flowers including, goldenrod and purple passion flower (mentioned in a previous post).

I'll go into the further selections for the cottage garden areas in my next posting.

I'm so happy to be my old self again, and I look forward to sharing our spring garden projects with you. I'm also looking forward to sharing some pictures of my favorite spring cottages and scenes here in Louisville. I'm sure nusery decorating will be included in there somewhere after we find out the sex in early May!

Happy New Year! Its Snowing in Louisville!

At least it was snowing in Louisville. As my DH says snow has become an endangered species in Louisville. It is supposed to snow a little more later today, but alas, no accumulation.

Today, we're just chilling out here at the house on our last paid holiday off for awhile. I'm taking this extra time to organize my list of resolutions and projects for the new year.

Major Projects

Build a shed (We need this so badly. Storing tools in much needed closets must come to an end)
Finish the deck (Yep, still working on it)

Laundry Room Redo (We want to purchase a front loading washer/dryer to better utilize the space in our hallway of a laundry room)
Floorplan redo (Details coming soon)

Minor Projects
Paint/Wallpaper Guest Room (I want to install a chair rail, and use a red, black, and white color scheme for this room)
Finish Trim throughout the house
Install Banquette in Kitchen
Have a flower/vegetable/herb garden

My only serious resolution is to get organized this year. We have a clutter problem. We would have so much more space if we could clear some of the clutter. Having an outdoor storage space would help with this resolution a lot. As I said above, storing the tools in the house really cuts down on valuable storage/organization space. So, the first step in my get organized resolution is to start brainstorming different ideas for outdoor storage.

Option #1 - Build a garage. This option requires a serious investment, but with a guaranteed return due to the fact that this house currently has street parking only.

Option #2 - Build a storage shed from scratch. This option could potentially be the least expensive. This would require a serious investment of time, and we would need some outside help. This option will not add the resale value that a garage would.

Option #3 - Build a storage shed from a kit. This is the best option so far, I think. We could get a kit with plans and everything that we need to construct a shed. No guesswork is a good thing. This is a bit more expensive than Option #2, but I think it would be worth it.

I think this is my favorite kit. Its from a company called Betty Mills and shipping would be free. We probably wouldn't do the windows, although they are cute. They are not included in the kit price. We may just get some used aluminum storm windows to put in there, if we decide to use windows. It would be nice to put some little window boxes on them. I can see myself looking out from my new deck and admiring it now, all the while thinking about how all the junk is not in the house anymore.

In closing, all I can say is what a difference a year makes. I'm so much happier this year than I was last year. I am currently light years better than I was in 2007. I look to the future with great optimism, in hopes that the years ahead will only get better from here.

Happy New Year Everyone!

For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"