Go Figure...

When I started this little gardening endeavor, I tried to do everything "right". I read the information on all the heirloom seeds that I acquired and tried to follow the directions. I started my seeds in doors when there was still a possiblity of frost. I started each set of 2-3 seeds in their own little individual greenhouse cup, complete with organic soil and starter fertilizer. BUT they all died...TWICE!!!! I started a total of 50 plants, 25 at a time, watered and cared for them, kept them inside until they were big enough to be set oustide a little while every day...and they died...all of them. Wilted into teeny, little, sad reminders of my tendency to kill green things. I fussed, and whined and fumed and "RAWR"ed until I almost gave up. I bought allready started plants that seemed like they would do well and I was less likely to destroy them. (They're doing well, by the way...4 plants are at or over 4ft in height!)

But I still had all of these heirloom seeds left over from my disastrous experiment...what was I going to do with them? On a whim, I bought 2 18" wide, coconut-fiber-lined, hanging baskets at Dollar General, filled it to about 2" below the rim with sorghum peat and organic potting soil...and tossed a handful of Cream Sausage (a yellow-white paste tomato) and Green Zebra (green with orange stripes roma-type) into each and said "to heck with it!" (I actually think I said something more colorful and witty, but darned if I can remember, /sad face) That was, ooooh, 3 weeks ago or so? I have watered them, or nature has (we've had a series of nasty storms a-rolling through here lately) but haven't really checked on them since I "washed my hands of them" and they were above my line of sight.

What do I see when I tippy-toed up to see what I could see?

                                                                Cream Sausage

Green Zebra

I left them alone, and they grew...Go figure.

/sigh

A little bit of green...

But more than I have ever been able to grow, EVAR!!

For those of you that don't know, I am attempting a small vegetable garden patch this year. The soil in Mississippi is well-known to be great for tomatoes and such. I am a tomato lover, if I could eat tomatoes every meal, every day...I would. Soon, my dream will come true! I hope...

In this little patch of green heaven I have 8 varieties of tomatoes, Roma, Lemon Boy, Mr. Stripey, Better Boy, Sweet 100, German Johnson, Black Krim...and one more, I can't remember!! It'll be a Surprise Tomato! :o)

I also have a small yellow watermelon (far left, out of pic), Ichiban eggplant, Red Onions, Vidalia Onions, Cherokee Yellow Wax Beans, pole beans, sweet peas, cucumbers and maybe some beets and Black Seeded Simpson lettuce will choose to grow where I sowed them...I am afraid to weed the row where they are...not sure which is grass and which is veg!

I will definitly need to learn to can if all of this grows! :o)

Serendipity...

...finding something amazing while looking for something else entirely (paraphrased definition)

What now?

As I look back over the last 15 years of my life, I see drastic changes in my goals and desires. I used to want to be an actor, a dancer, and artist, a photgrapher...but always knew I would be a teacher...I love to learn. I love to read, I love to figure new things out, I love interacting with young people, I love seeing "the lights" come on. How better to do all those things than to teach, right?


As my life changed, the one thing that was a constant was the fact that I knew that I would always have a job as a teacher, and, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed that. I have met so many wonderfully amazing, painfully gifted, naively sweet, too-old-for-their-age, try so hard to be unique that they become cliche kids that I know that I have blessed many times over. I have been in the classroom for 8 years, I have seen too many changes in education and society that are detrimental to our kids that I feel like the teachers that really, truly care about kids are flickering in the hurricane force winds that are coming on strong.


I always identified myself as a teacher, mother, wife...in that order...who am I? The Draea, the ME, that I always wanted to nurture to vibrant life and share my sunshine with the rest of the world?


I have noticed a disturbing trend in my life...every time that I start something that I think that I REALLY, REALLY want to do...I don't follow it through to completion. Every hobby I have picked up has been left by the wayside...unfinished, undeveloped, unfullfilled. Even as a teacher, I have only skated along at the minimum as it relates to education, skills, requirements...the only thing that I have given my all to is the emotional lies to my students. They're all my kids, even that obnoxious ones that make me contemplate dirty deeds. I haven't even given that depth of connection to my own kids, my wonderful hubby that has kept me standing through so many pitfalls, my nuclear or extended family...and most especially, not to myself. When asked what I want to do....silence, what do you like?.....silence, what makes you happy?....tears, and silence.


I don't want to live this way anymore I want to enjoy the little things, thrive in life...be proud of not only my kids, but myself. I need some direction in my life!


Wow, this was a depressingly long post...I guess I needed to get some of the gunk out....deep breath...so now what?

"I look like a purple-haired Velma...."

"...I LOVE IT!!"

Jessika's New Do

Jess has been bugging me for 2 years to color her hair, even if it's just a temporary dye-job. I had a can of Chilled Plum color mousse just hanging out in one of the boxes that I have finally unpacked, so I did her color and trimmed her shaggies.

Ok, yes, I fail at blogging. I started using FB to keep everyone updated! I PROMISE to post something more at least once a week...maybe my garden trials and errors? Maybe my new family pics? Any ideas....HELP!!