Classic Training

We are managing to complete the workouts on the training guide for the Crescent City Classic. Tonight we bundled up and leashed the pooches and ran 2 miles. It is chilly when we start, but I warm up quickly. I am too wimpy to start out in only one layer though.

Tomorrow we run 1 mile and walk 1 mile. I have also been doing my regular 4-5 miles each day on the treadmill. In accordance with my resolutions, I am working out harder. I have been walking 1-2 of the 4-5 miles on a 10% incline and the remainder on a 5% incline. I am not seeing drastic weight loss, but I do feel workouts getting easier.

Tonight I registered us for the race, April 7th, the day before Easter. Hope we stick with it!

Wash, Dry, Fold, Repeat

Welcome to our guest room. For all of our guests, this is what your bed looked like seconds before your arrival.

I seem to always have laundry to do. I do a load a day during the week, and the weekend is more with bed sheets and dog beds. I don't despise laundry, but it easily gets away from me.

Usually the bed has a combination of piles straight from the dryer and piles that have been folded and yet to be put away...and may never be put away! We often manage to get dressed by rooting through both piles.

As a kid I can remember my mom would take clothes from the dryer to the dining rooom table. She'd fold, make piles, and the clothes would have to be put away before dinner. What a great system...the clothes had to move so we could use the table for dinner. While I like not lugging laundry up and down stairs, the laundry room upstairs doesn't allow me to implement Mom's system.

I can only imagine what laundry will be like when I'm doing it for three, or four, or five, or six (just kidding, Charlie!).

Painting Project

Ok, so long over a month (almost two months) ago, I started painting the front bedroom, and gave myself a two week time frame.

Well, I finally got back to working on it this weekend. I am proud to report that the trim is done, and above the picture molding got its first coat.

The house has been painted with the wall color up to the ceiling. I've decided to paint above the picture molding the same color as the ceiling to try to make the ceilings look even higher (no, 12 feet isn't enough!).

This is the first look at it.





I'll have to wait to finish the room to decide if I was successful in creating "the look."

Hoping to make it to Sherwin Williams this week, and do the walls this weekend!

Today, We (He) Dug a Trench

Note: He wants to be very clear about something: "(He)" really, really means "he" and NOT "we".

After an all day rain on Saturday, Sunday morning we went outside to dig the trench that would be the first step in the workshop getting electricity as well as the first step in my being able to plan my garden (we couldn't have all of my hard work dug up mid-spring!).

I had to choose...save the fig tree or save the pink jasmine on the fence. The line has to go from the house straight back to the shed. To save the fig tree, the digging would have to go right along the fence and the jasmine destroyed. To save the jasmine, we'd have to dig through the roots of the fig tree. Decisions.

I opted for the fig tree since we could easily get more jasmine, and I am not so sure I really wanted the jasmine because it was taking over the yard. It was about to bloom so I was a bit bummed about cutting it all back away from the fence, but I'll live.

Needless to say, what started as a "we" project ended up as a "he" project. I am not quite strong enough to dig out the banana trees, break up concrete, etc. And, one of the shovel handles broke, SO with only one shovel, the job was all his! He did give me the chore of cutting away the jasmine, bagging up trash, and "supervising" (wink, wink).

We (he) are about half done and with the rain this week, looks like things will be on hold. So I'll be using my time to plan the garden and figure out what I'm going to plant to hide that fence!

A New Loo?

Oh, we want another bathroom, we really do, but where can we (or HE) find the time?

The bathroom project moves along in bursts. There is little space on the calendar to block out time for the bathroom. Every weekend there seems to be SOMETHING! This weekend Charlie has a day of lacrosse and we need to mow lawns. Also, getting electricity to the shed/workshop is of high priority. At least digging the trench and running the line is up there on the list for both of us. I am ready to do some work in the garden, but don't want it trampled and uprooted when he digs to lay the line. So that will be the project on Sunday, if the weather cooperates.

So the bathroom sits. There is a drain and there's a water line.

We've got a toilet...



...in the entry under the console table. He bought it when he was in one of those "bursts" but has yet to have the time to install it.

It'll look just like this...



but better when he finally gets it in!

Butterfly Garden

The milkweed is growing rather aggressively, and will be the anchor of our butterfly garden. I hope we attract some monarch caterpillars this spring.

Other plants we're using to attract butterflies this year:

• coneflower
  
• zinnia
  
• flowering maple
  
• black eyed susan
  
• Mexican sunflower
  
• cosmos
  
• cigar plant
  
• shasta daisies

And Yet Another

This week I am finding our ladybugs in the bathroom light, kitchen cabinets, on the night stands, and even in the refrigerator!

It's Carnival Time

Even our salt and pepper shakers are in costume!

Monday Nights: Pancakes, Sausage, and 24

We are turning Charlie's love of 24 (on Fox at 8pm central) into a Monday night event, accompanied by pancakes and sausage (turkey sausage, of course). Jack Bauer, our hero, will keep us in suspense as I smear Brummel and Brown atop each fluffy bite.

Charlie's the chef when it comes to pancakes, so even better for me! He uses the Fannie Farmer recipe and White Lily flour is the secret ingredient that makes the perfect fluffy pancake.

We'll see how our CCC training schedule fits in with the night's events. (We walked, jogged, walked last night as scheduled, with the pooches in the rain.)

Game Over

We watched from our couch...



as the season came to an end for our Saints.

So close.

So many turnovers. It was SNOWING for crying out loud. They did their best.

A great year.

We are looking forward to next season, but in the mean time we're drowning our sorrows in a little Who Dat cake.

In Training

83 days until the 6.2 mile Crescent City Classic. The Times Picayune once again published an 83 day training guide for walkers, joggers, and runners.




Naturally we've clipped it, tacked it to the refrigerator, and have made a commitment to be "joggers." Our first day of training (today, January 21st) includes a 1.5 mile walk and a 0.5 mile jog. The plan is to get this done after the playoff games.

Let's see how long we last!

Even God Loves the Saints

You can get the sacrament of Holy Communion, do some Bible study, and watch the game, all in one place!

Two Words

Who Dat?

We've opted to stay home and watch the Saints play the Bears. Even though there is an energy flowing through the city and we feel the call to be cheering for our team in a sports bar, we've opted to remain on our own couch.

Didn't want to have to fight for a seat, and smell all smokey. Does that mean we're getting old???

The Gardner

A few weeks ago we headed to the levee to find some driftwood to mount the staghorn ferns to. We found two suitable pieces and the work began.



We bought the two ferns about a year ago on our trip to Forest Hill with Bruno and Lizzie, and have always planned to mount them.



Charlie did a little research this morning and got to work.



The plan is to eventually hang them on the fence, but we'll wait to make sure the weather doesn't loosen them from the driftwood.

Flowering Maple

This thing never stops blooming! I love it. When we moved into the house there was one in the yard which I managed to destroy; it's stem doesn't do the best job of supporting it and I provided a fatal crack near the root. Thankfully, we were able to find another at the farmers' market and Charlie has even sprouted some! We planted it in the same spot near some of our other butterfly attracting foliage.

Seedling Report

He may have "told me so" but I am not so sure if he was right. My seedlings seem to look like they are going to make it, despite my planting before all threats of frost had passed.

I know I am not completely out of the woods as the temperatures seem to be staying pretty cool and it looks as though other parts of the country are getting another round of snow and ice.



It looks as though almost all of the packets have sprouted with one exception being the coleus. I read that transplants are better than starting from seed, but since we plant so much coleus, I thought it was worth a shot.



I can see on the seedlings below are getting their "real leaves". They are the first new growth after sprouting. I think the real leaves are an indication that it's time to "thin" the seedlings so they are spaced more appropriately. Not so sure I am sold on this idea, so I'll have to read up on it and see what I find.



Come on 70 degree days!

Irises in January

Dan Gill reported today that it's a good time to lightly fertilize the Louisiana irises for vigorous growth and abundant flowers.

I've given ours some osmocote. The irises from mom aren't growing as aggressively as the batch we got through the newspaper ad. I think they are all yellow, but we will wait and see what happens in late March.

On This Day (Yesterday, Actually)

Today I found this message in my inbox from my love...

yesterday was our first date anniversary...love you
poo cat...let's go out to dinner tonight

January 18, 2003 is the anniversary of our first date. We had dinner at Cafe Degas on Esplanade. I remember agonizing over what to wear, and Emmy was sure that jeans were the best choice because he's such a casual guy, "he probably doesn't own a pair of slacks." I didn't want to make him feel underdressed, right?

He wore slacks, ironed at that, to dinner! Thankfully, I went with my standard black pants.

I was impressed that he ordered French onion soup as it is a bit challenging to eat gracefully. Obviously he was more concerned about his belly than any silly first impression. That's my Charlie!

Because of too much wine, the date ended after dinner. And he didn't call. So, I called him that Wednesday and the rest is history!

I am looking forward to celebrating many anniversaries and milestones in the years to come.

Homecoming

We made it out of the ice on Monday and were quite thankful to hear the pilot on the Houston flight report a temperature of 75 degrees at home!

Little did I know the temperature would drop 40 degrees in 36 hours.

We've been bundled up as the icy blast followed us home. We had some freezing temperatures the other night and I laid in bed thinking about my poor little seedlings...and what my husband was going to say about my poor little seedlings.

I could count down to the phrase during our dinner conversation...."Well I hate to say it but....I TOLD YOU SO."

Yes, he said it. I knew he would.

So this is my blog entry, tagged "garden" to remind myself that the directions on the seed packets state to plant after "dangers of frost have passed." And to remind myself that even though we have 75 degree days in January, it is still winter, and it just may freeze.

Oklahoma ...

....Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains! Any mention of OKC and my dear husband breaks into song.

This weekend I experienced more than sweeping wind. We arrived just in time to be watch the roads freeze over with ice. So that meant lots of together time on Hillcrest.



We managed to stay "connected" by tapping into the neighbors wi-fi. The stairs were the hotspot.



We also had a little Christmas since we were all scattered for the holiday. GG got another way to show her OU pride.



We headed out to a local sports bar to watch our Saints in the playoffs. We donned our jerseys, drank some beer, and were the only bar patrons shouting at the televisions.

Our only other outing was to the mall, and there we did some mall walking! GG did leave us in her dust; I was happy to look into the windows of the closed stores.

We enjoyed our short visit and hope it is not another 8 months before we are all together again.

Note: Photos courtesy of Pudge. Of course I carried my camera around and didn't take one photo. Perhaps he has one to upload of ice covered Oklahoma.

Hip Hip Hooray!

The trashmen came today!

And they had just come last Friday! Trash pick up twice a week sounds like nothing special, but I appreciate it now after a several months of random pickup times, and then a year with pick up only once a week. We only had to put out one trashcan and it wasn't even full.

I am curious to see how the new trashcans along with robotic arms on the trucks will work around town. So many people have little courtesy about how their trash is put on the curb that it will certanily make the new system interesting and most likely ineffective.

But, then again, who knows.

Here They Come

I've planted many, many seeds this week. It is probably a bit early as there may still be a chance of frost, but the warm weather and my working in the yard made me want to get the seeds started.

So now I keep my fingers crossed for mild weather here on out, and hope to see some results.

I went willy nilly and not sure where I planted what, but I know this one is nasturtium, and I think it's the right time of year for them to be sprouting.



Most of what I planted are wildflowers and are already present in our yard, and hopefully self seeded last season. I am hoping that these seeds just fill in the beds with flowers.

Stats for the First Week of 2007

0: Pounds lost
1: Pounds gained
4: Salads we’ve had with dinner this week
0: Salads I’ve made (love salad bars at SavACener and Whole Foods!)
4: Trips to Lowe’s
2: Pounds of red beans I’ve eaten
2: King cakes we’ve eaten
20+: Packs of seeds I’ve planted
5: Pounds of Louisiana satsumas consumed
7: Days of excercise
3: Days I pushed my workout
1: Number of fresh veggie sides this week at dinner
0.5: Books read
1: Scarf completed (given away at school during meeting when finished)

Privacy in the Powder Room

J.D. made a curtain for our powder room. I sent her some fabric and she sent back a curtain. I had hoped she'd do the finishing hem after we decided on a length, but she never made it here.

So, I did the hem all by myself. I should have trimmed the fabric first, and I didn't do such a great job, but overall, I think the curtain looks great and keeps the bathroom private!

Now I need to find a spot for my stained glass star that's hidden behing the curtain.

Move It, Would Ya?!?

Muppet stares down Batture in order to get the nest. Batture has gotten better at ignoring him, but he is well awware of the fact that Muppet wants THAT spot.

Holiday House

Out with the old...in with the new.

Why can I never get things paked back into the boxes they came out of? We've taken down the Christmas decorations and had to buy yet another storage bin. I mustn't be the only one because they are stacked up right when you walk into Lowe's.



I never much cared about holiday decorating other than a Christmas tree, but I must say, I love how cute our house looks when it is decorated. I really enjoyed having the Christmas lights up and hated to take them down.

But, I do really like the second line crawfish flag.

Day 2

He got the baby yesterday. He bought another cake today. Two days into carnival, two kings cakes to eat.



This king cake was to be a French king cake, his favorite. So we skipped Laurel Street Bakery for breakfast (yesterday's choice) and headed to La Boulangerie.

And he got the baby, again, and on the first piece again. And he'll buy the next cake.



Not sure what the theme for the "babies" in their king cakes are this year. Last year I collected a few miniature kettles from the cakes. Maybe the next one will give us more of a clue.

I think it looks like some Egyptian puzzle piece. I know it doesn't fit the theme, but anyone have a better idea? Charlie thinks it is a black man baking, but what about the shape of the piece?

On a Mission

We took the pups and headed to the levee this morning in search of some wood to mount our staghorn ferns to.

It was a foggy, muggy morning along the river, but the dogs enjoyed the running and smelling.

Batture must bound into every puddle or mud hole he comes upon, no matter the size.



Muppet was worn out, but Batture was just getting warmed up. Muppet barely sat up enough to see over the truck bed on the ride home.

King's Day

It's Twelfth Night! King cake at last!

Despite king cakes popping up around in the groceries, we held out until 12 days after Christmas.



About 12 hours into the day, we got our cake at Haydel's.



Charlie got the baby in the first piece. He gets to buy the next cake!

The First Project

My first completed project of the new year was setting up some furniture in the yard. Our lawn furniture, a hand me down from the Great Aunt Mary, made it through the 8 feet of flood water on Jena Street, and just had a little rust to show for it. So, I got a wire brush to the rust and added a coat of paint.



The table and chairs were a "vintage" yellow with matching vinyl cushions. The cushions didn't make it, and I am trying to decide if I should get some new cushions to replace them. I could never match that yellow, so I opted for the dark green.



Now I need to get the bogunvillia to cover that green shed and add some other potted plants to enhance the ambiance. Perhaps we'll have a coffee there in the morning (if it's not raining, again).

Gimme That!

Muppet needs his hedgehog and his pink ball. Poor Batture fished the hedgehog out of the toy basket, but wasn't allowed to play with it.

And Then There Were Two

Two lonely presents remain under the tree. They were to be opened this week, but because of snow and canceled flights in Denver they'll now have to travel to Oklahoma.

All Good Things...

...must come to an end.

It has been nice to have my hubby home this past week. He has been away from the lab (more or less) for the week in between Christmas and New Years. We haven't done anything other than putz around the house, but it's nice to have him to putz with.

My very favorite part of the week was sharing bagel sandwiches on the porch at lunchtime.

The Resolutions

It is the first day of the year 2007. I make resolutions each year, and each year I break them. But there is something satisfying about making them, so here it goes...

These are on the list every year:

1. Eat less. Eat healthier.
2. Exercise more. Exercise harder.

A new twist this year may make these resolutions more effective. I think we've been better about portions and meals, but now we need to commit to healthier choices. As far as exercise, I already go to the park 6 to 7 times a week, so I don't know if I can do any more, but I can certainly step it up a notch.

That brings me to the issue of our weights. I have documented mine...
(I really should resolve to work on cuter feet!)

Erin

Current weight: 128

Goal:115

Charlie

Current weight: ???

Goal: ??? - 40

Charlie will not reveal his weight, so it will be referred to as ???-x or ???+x from this point forward.

Resolutions 1 and 2 bring me to these:

1. Make a salad once a week. (salad bar at Whole Foods counts!)
2. Make a fresh veggie once a week.
3. Turkey sausage only
4. Whole wheat only

Those who know us well, know that we always have multiple projects going on, deadlines to meet, and stuff to do! We don't relax very easily, so the resolutions the Lagniappe section of Times Picayune were definite additions to our list of resolutions.

The resolutions all revolved around what our city and south Louisiana has to offer. We have done a great deal of the activities on the list but they are things that can be done again and again and again. Charlie wanted to include them all. I decided to focus on a few:

• Eat a french fry poboy doused in roast beef gravy at Parkway Bakery (Note: I do realize that this conflicts with other resolutions!)
• Ride the Canal Street ferry at sunset
• Feed the ducks in Audubon and/or City Park
• Spend Mardi Gras morning near the corner of Royal and Frenchman streets, waiting for the Society of Saint Anne
• Order a bloody mary at Liuzza's by the track before heading into Jazzfest
• Brunch at Commander's Palace
• See a show at Preservation Hall
• Sit on your stoop and get to know your neighbors
• Go see Louisiana's wild irises in bloom at Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve
• Visit the cemetary on All Saints' Day
• Visit at least one St. Joesph's altar
• Drink a green beer at Parasol's on St. Patrick's Day
• Become a regular at our neighborhood resturaunt (But which one?!?!)
• See Chris Owens at least once
• Canoe down Bayou St. John

These would have been great resolutions to keep had JD and Pudge made it this week.

Random resolutions that I have:

1. Garden more and keep a garden journal to help me with future gardening.
2. Take a class: ideas are stained glass, photography, Spanish, or pottery
3. Read more for leisure
4. Practice knitting
5. Post my life list to the blog
6. Become involved with our neighborhood association
7. Find out which church parish we are in (Perhaps this will lead to our going to mass, but for some reason I do not see going as the resolution, just knowing.)

So that's it..seems balanced and easy enough. Of course, I will update on progress!

Countdown

Less than sixty minutes remain in this year, 2006. We are both home, have finished a bottle of wine, and can hear the celebrations around us...fireworks, music, revelry. We are both very content to mark the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007 in our home, with each other. I wonder if we'll be awake for the midnight kiss.