Meet Shea - 8 pounds 14 ounces

A Baby on the Way!

I am trying to relax and focus on my beach book, On Rue Tatin, and make the most of our beach getaway but I am nervous in anticipation waiting for word on a very special baby. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you may recall my friends Caitlin and Jason married in March of 2008. Today, their daughter (my Goddaughter) Shea will be arriving via c-section.

Prayers, blessings and much love are being sent to my dear friends in Seattle today. Can't wait to share photos!

Just Can't Give It A Break!

We are having an incredible rest at the beach but in spite of the getaway I still have to read my favorite blogs and talk to my sister! My husband caught me in the act on the balcony - on the phone with my sister and reading some of today's posts!

Off to the Beach

We are headed to Destin for some R & R.

Friendly Visits

You know spring is here when you can hear the familiar buzzing of the bees. This weekend was beautiful and the temperature outside was perfect so I took advantage of the mild weather and decided to keep my car windows down while running errands. After a quick trip to the fabric store, I got in my car only to discover there was a bee in the car with me. I quickly pulled over and opened all the car doors and I was able to safely get the bee out of the car. When I got home, I left the car windows down and went in the house for a short while knowing we would be headed to a party within the hour.

My husband and I were driving down I-75 when there it was again in the car - the familiar b-u-z-z-z-z-ing sound. Yes, again we had another bee in the car. This time we had to pull over into the emergency lane so we didn't feel safe in getting out of the car up against those large concrete walls. Instead we rolled down the windows trying to get the bee out. Sadly we finally had to take violent action as we couldn't get him out of the car.

Moral to the story - even when the weather is nice, seems it is best to keep the car windows up.

Community Gardens

One of our neighbors decided to create a community garden this year so several other neighbors joined together and they will each have their own garden "patch" in the garden. ather than establish the garden on neutral territory, the garden is being planted in the neighbor's yard across the street from us so we have a perfect view of the project. It has been great for our neighbors as jointly everyone has helped put in a fountain, pathways and arbors while the owner of the property has added other yard art features. Every Saturday the yard is full of neighbors working on "the garden." I decided not to participate mainly because for me, gardening is something I enjoy doing alone and without conversation. But we have enjoyed watching the progress of the garden from our front porch.

One of my best gardening experiences was working on a community garden project. For five years I was a part of a community garden that was actually quite different than the neighborhood garden. In the town where we used to live a group of 10 gardeners got together to create a community garden at our local food bank. Our group of gardeners was made up of some very seasoned gardeners as well as 2 Master Gardeners which made the experience a great learning experience for me. We applied for a small grant from our local United Way to help fund the cost of materials and we were given $500. We worked on our garden from March - October growing a myriad of vegetables to help provide fresh produce for local families in need. We had joint work days at the beginning and the end of the growing seasons but generally we rotated shifts to do the work that needed to be done. One of the things that made our work rewarding was the weighing and measurement system we put into place. We set up some scales at the food bank so on picking days we could weigh our yield before we turned in the produce. At the end of every summer it was so exciting to hear how much produce we had grown and donated to families in need.

At this point if I plant another community garden it will be more like Susan Branch's garden. Don't you just love it?

If you haven't ever tried a community garden you might want to investigate the idea. Whether for your own consumption or helping others, it's a great way to meet people and learn new things about gardening. If you happen to live in the Atlanta area, check out the Atlanta Community Food Bank Community Gardens.

A Rainbow

I had been trying to decide what to post - stories about my girlfriend Chris, a neighborhood garden tour, photos from Macon, etc., and then it happened. A few of us in our neighborhood have formed a small dinner club and tonight as we gathered for our first "chillin' and grillin'" event, a big storm blew in. We all ran for cover and waited for the winds and rain to pass. In about 20 minutes the worst of the storm was over so we all headed for the front porch. Suddenly a small segment of a rainbow appeared and within seconds we watched as the rainbow began to expand. I love rainbows and while I have seen many of them in my lifetime, never have I seen a rainbow slowly grow from beginning to end. But that is exactly what happened tonight. There were 8 of us watching this small miracle unfold and it was nice to take pause and enjoy this incredible sight.