My Not-so-Secret Garden

My Beau and I were playing around online today and meandered our way onto Windermere to look at what the housing market in our area was doing. Naturally, we started looking for houses in areas closest to where he will hopefully (fingers crossed) be teaching next year after he graduates (Scottsdale Community College) and then in areas within a 30 minute driving commute for him. To our amazement we found incredible houses 30 minutes away in North Phoenix (the good part) with pools, big backyards, modern updates, 4 bed, 2 bath, and no HOAs for $40,000-90,000!!!! We did the calculation and our mortgage would be $200-350! That's almost 1/3 our rent we pay now for a one bedroom, one bath, 650 sq ft apartment! Needless to say, we are now antsier than ever for next year to get here. He graduates in Spring, teaches in the summer, we get married in August, and hopefully he starts teaching in September at SCC and we move into a huge house with a huge yard for almost the price of purchasing a luxury car! Who needs a BMW when you can have your house paid off within 2 years?!

House 1   House 2   House 3

With a little paint and some updating in a few of these houses would be a perfect start!
House 1:

• Paint the exterior and trim darker, richer
• Remove all the gravel in the front lawn.
• Put in a medium height chain link fence or white picket.
• Plant garden in front yard.
• New front door.
• Keep the tile- tile is a pain in the butt to remove, so it's gonna have to stay!
• Paint interior walls warm, designer color schemes.
• Update fans
• Backyard mentioned below:

House 2:

• Paint exterior and trim rich colors
• New door
• Build short fence around front yard. 
• Plant garden in the front yard.
• Update kitchen, possibly update the cabinets.
• Update fans
• Paint interior warm, earth colors

House 3: (my fave)

• Paint the exterior a deep mocha color to match the river rock entry way.
• Remove and sell the cactus in the front lawn.
• Clear the front lawn and remove all gravel from the property.
• Plant a flower garden in the front lawn area. 
• Section off the property to have a back yard.
• Create an official driveway for the cars. Build a nice carport.
• Although the gated front is nice, need to build or create more privacy. Tall plants?
• Interior needs paint and designer scheme. Earth colors.
• Love the kitchen, put in an island?

- I originally started writing this July 5th, 2010- and am just now getting to look at it again. I don't plan on completing this blog, so I'll post it now. :)

Happy House Hunting!
~Birdie!

Another update? Who is running this blog anyway?

Hey everyone! Welcome back from the months long hiatus! What has happened, what has happened? Well let's see! We moved to a new apartment in the same complex and it is south facing which means the garden is getting blasted with afternoon sun all late summer! I am happy to report that although this poses a great challenge, 80% of the garden has survived! There is definitely room for some new plants since the old ones have died away. The aloe is thriving and have even developed baby aloes! I'm a grandma! The ivy is trying to make it through, the Faerie Gardens are proving resilient, but I look forward to planting some new buds in them soon! The tomato plants gave a harvest and have been trimmed down and are regrowing- what a success! I used the jalapenos in my salsa and unfortunately touched my eyes and nose after handling them- OUCH! Thank goodness for milk! What a hilarious situation that was! The basil is surviving and often used in soups and salads.


Speaking of soups! I made an organic batch of vegetable soup (neglecting to put some white beans in it- shoot) today and jarred it up! I am waiting for the pressure cooker to cool down as I type! Hopefully soon so I can get some rest before tomorrow! I will be sure to post pictures of the finished product- canned deliciousness! Ingredients: Potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, onions, peas, corn, cilantro, crushed red pepper, rosemary, celery, lemon basil, and water. YUM!


The vegetarian diet has been a huge success and I am starting to tell the difference! I feel so much lighter on my feet and I am dropping ounces every day! I started taking classes at Scottsdale Community College where I am focusing on Health and Wellness. My nutrition class is going to be incredibly useful as well as my alternative medicine and meditation classes. I'm also participating in a yoga class, aromatherapy, *ORGANIC GARDENING!!!!*, and a health and wellness online course. I am so excited for this semester!! But man! Am I going to be busy!


I found a local school online earlier in the month that I honestly can, and will, dedicate an entire blog entry to the philosophy of education and set up of the school system. As it stands, we don't have any human children at this point, but I didn't want to miss out on staying connected with this amazing school- so I signed up with the Farmer to be an apprentice on the school's farm! It has been great- I'm only a week into- I hope my enthusiasm stays with me. It is a 6 month minimum apprenticeship for 6 hours a week. I get to harvest some of the garden (herbs, okra, melon, egg plant...etc) when I'm done. The okra was delicious! I will blog more about this experience as time progresses (and permits!)

Jax

What else...what else? Oh yeah! We are fostering a cat! We have named him Jax and he is quite the lover. Sadly, his previous owner declawed him and then later abandoned him- he has had a rough life so far. He is in much better care now, although he isn't too excited about the other cats in the house. There is a lot of hissing and hiding, but it is getting better. Three weeks into it and we think our neighbors might be interested in adopting. *fingers crossed!* Oddly, he doesn't mind Izzie at all!

I got rid of my car earlier this summer and have been using my Beau's car. It wasn't until very recently we realized that I am WAY too busy to be using his car all the time so... I got a scooter. I have finally named him Mr. Pea-Bodi and my printing fellow is going to be adding my gnome and flowers to it tomorrow! Very exciting! I am sure many adventures will ensue- I love driving it around town- although the other drivers might now be as thrilled- my max speed is 37 mph!

Mr. Pea-Bodi

I think that is it for now! I think I am going to update this blog to include more of an overall health and wellness, weekly journal, bits of information, gardening, and preserving type topic. Basically... I'm going granola on all you!

Micose! (From my heart to your heart- hello and goodbye.)

~Birdie