Lazy days of summer

I've been vacationing in Hatteras for a few days with Sarah- lots of relaxing at the beach and on the sound! When I returned, I found two furry pups waiting for me, tails a waggin'! From naps, to snuggle time, to being afraid of thunder, I'm convinced that we have the cutest family on the planet!

Ben and the Bean Stalk

We planted only two bean seeds and we have enough bean biomass to feed Honduras (for an afternoon!) Ben built a "bean contraption" to maximize growth- he used old guitar strings to create a lattice structure. Everyday for the past month, we've seen the plants grow about an inch from morning to night. Then, all of the sudden, there were baby beanies! They just keep getting bigger and bigger, we're not sure how big they'll get! I picked a handful of them today, all about 7-9" long, and we had a lovely curried potato and bean salad for lunch.

The morning glories are climbing and coral honeysuckle flowering. Otis likes to hide under the marigolds and keep cool in the hot sun. We also find him under there when its raining, very cute.

Next project- Ben is outside repairing the lawnmower and I am going to trim what little grass we have in our sandbox of a yard!

Trip to Charlottesville

I joined Sarah in Williamsburg and we headed to Charlottesville last weekend to stay with Andrea and meet up with Jes for Sarah's bday celebration. The weekend was full of laughs and shopping, cocktails and good food! Some of the highlights include: tubing down James River, pedicures and waxing at the salon, dressing up for a sassy tapas dinner, visiting wineries and orchards, and celebrating good times! Thanks, Andrea, for being such a great host :)

Make-Your-Own Laundry Detergent

For only 8-cents a load, you too can make your own laundry detergent! It is pretty simple and it works as good as any detergent I've used. Thanks, Mom, for the recipe :)

1 bar of Fels Naptha
3/4 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
3/4 cup Borax
68 cups of water (544 oz)
essential oil (optional)
big bucket with lid

Have strong man grate soap and boil with 6 cups of water. Once completely melted, add soda and borax, and continue cooking until dissolved. Pour mixture into bucket and add 4 cups of hot water, stir. Add a few drops of essential oil for added fragrance. Add another 1.5 gallons of water (24 cups). Cover and let sit overnight to gel. Instruct strong man to use 1/2 cup per load.

I only made half a batch and it all fit nicely into my old, empty 150 oz detergent bottle. I scented mine with tea tree oil, which is alright, but I would recommend lavender instead. My original recipe called for ivory soap but I heard Fels Naptha works better. Let me know how it works out when you try it :)

PS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Homemade Rain Barrel

I've been teaching workshops on rain barrels and rain gardening, but I (with Ben's help) finally made one for my own house! They are such a good idea because rain is plentiful and its much better for the garden than expensive, chlorinated tap water. I picked up a barrel for just $13- it was used to ship olives from Italy, so it smelled good when we were drilling into it, haha. Then I spent about $8 on hardware (and an entire afternoon, walking up and down the aisles of Home Depot, and getting to know the plumbing section really well!)

Ben helped me drill two 3/4" holes, one for the spigot, and one for the overflow. Then he crawled inside the barrel (which was truly priceless!) to screw in the pvc fitting and apply some silicone sealant, just in case. We drilled a few holes in the lid, stapled on some screen, and set up the barrel on cinder blocks, to increase the water pressure. I rubbed vegetable oil over the outside of the barrel to fill in the scuffs and now it looks just as fancy as the ones you can order online (for $75 or more!)

We put it to the test today during a torrential downpour and its full, no leaks, and still beautiful! If our house had gutters, we would capture even more water, but since we're merely renters, the excess splashing will have to do!

Ben's Birthday

We started out the day by Miss Sheba delivering birthday presents to a sleeping birthday boy using Maverick's hiking backpack (he doesn't like to wear it but she sure does!) Each pet signed the birthday card with their pawprints, even Otis, who's little foot looked really cute next to the big dog paws! Because Ben's bday was on Thursday, we both had to go to work, but he did get to lead his favorite program The Early Bird (but I tell everyone it should be called Birding with Ben instead!) After work, we had some ice cream cake (that I made from scratch!) and went out to happy hour with friends! We had dinner at the Black Pelican, this great restaurant that's right by our house, and had a nice time.

Neither one of us felt like the day was long enough so we instituted Friday as Ben's bday as well, and had another slice of ice cream cake to start off the evening after work. Ben chilaxed in the hammock (his bday present from his amazingly clever and thoughful girlfriend!!) with a Pabst Blue Ribbon, new birthday books, and of course, binoculars. The pups joined him underneath to get the best view of birds at the feeder so they could run over, barking wildly, and chase them off, haha. Then all we went for a ride in the car and watched Across the Universe, a Beatles tribute movie. This is the life of two 28-year-olds with two big dogs :)

Family Visits!

Lots of visitors this past week! First, we had Kelly, Dave, and the girls for a few days. We went to Jockey's Ridge, out for a delicious dinner, and showed off at work with a maritime forest hike and crabbing program! Rachael cooked us breakfast one morning; bacon and eggs are her specialty. Sheba loved on Karinne the entire time, so cute! We had a really great time!

Next, Summer and Kat brought 10-month old Clara to play with Mav and Sheba. Boy did they ever! We got them all dressed up in their emergency response gear (Sheba is so tough, she doesn't even need any gear) and posed them for a portrait because they were so darned cute! Us humans took the pups to the beach for a swim and surprised Ben with a birthday cake. We had a cookout and played cornhole while the pups chased each other in the water- everyone had a lovely time and we were all very tired by bedtime! We also visited Jockey's Ridge and went out to a new Mexican restaurant, mmm! Thanks guys for such a good time!