Learning a little about gardening

Wow, I realize that it has been a really, really long time since I have posted anything.  I suppose I have a somewhat good excuse between traveling and trying to get the house sorted.  Anyway, as Andrew is supposed to be keeping up our house blog I thought I would post some pictures of my first attempt at gardening.  When we were growing up we always had a vegetable garden.  As there were six kids in our family it was pretty much a necessity.  On the weekends I remember that we all got in the garden and worked together to do whatever was needed.  I also remember that I didn't particularly care for it and did just what was asked of me before scooting off to play with the my friends.  One of those moments when you realize that you wish you had paid more attention to what your parents were trying to teach you!

I am very lucky to have made some great friends here in France.  Dot and Dave have been lifesavers in so many ways and so many times.  They both really enjoy gardening and I am trying to learn as much as possible from them.  As our garden/yard was in such bad shape from over twenty years of neglect it wasn't as if I could just move in and set up a nice and tidy little veggie patch.  I still don't have a spot yet but am getting closer.  I did decide to plant some bulbs in the flower bed last November and was anxiously awaiting to see if anything would come of it.

Then there was nothing left to do but wait for winter to come and go and see if they made it through or not.  Just about the time I was getting ready to go to Kuwait to help Andrew with the shipment the shoots started coming up and then one little bud appeared before I left at the end of March due to an unusual warm trend we had then.

I was convinced that as I was going to be gone for six weeks I would miss all the beautiful flowers that they promised and all the waiting and wondering would go out the window.  But when I got back there were some really nice flowers waiting to greet me.

With the help of my friend, Dot, I also planted some veggies in pots and bags just to get something started.  She gave me some cauliflower, cucumber, yellow squash, five varieties of basil and couple of varieties of tomatoes as well as some morning glories.  I also planted two varieties of potatoes and cilantro/coriander, sage, rosemary, mint and strawberries.  It has been a lot of fun and I have to say now that I can see things popping their heads above the soil and the strawberries starting to form I may just be addicted to gardening.  My sister, Jawana, did warn me that this is how it gets started and next thing you know you have things growing everywhere!

We also planted a few fruit trees and some currant bushes that have started showing promise this Spring.

I am hoping to get a small vegetable patch started in the back corner of the yard but still have so much work to do to make it happen.  Fingers crossed as I really am enjoying gardening and can't wait to actually eat something the was grown right here at Chez Houston!

Italy or Kim's 50th birthday!

I realize that I have been most remiss in blogging for way too long now.  I didn't do part two of the Bali trip and more importantly I never blogged about my fantastic trip to Italy with my sister, Kim.  After lots of planning and waiting we finally put it together and the most amazing time.  I arrived the day before so that I could be at the airport to meet her.  It was well worth for the look on her face.

We jumped in a taxi and headed off for our apartment that we rented within walking distance of the Piazza Novona.

Here is the road to our apartment so you can tell we had to drag our bags up to it as there was no room for a car.

We had a lot of fun in Rome and tried to work in as many touristy things as possible.  It was my fifth trip to Rome but I knew that there was a lot that Kim needed to see as this was her first.  I was so anxious to give her the birthday card that had a picture of her present in it.  We went to dinner that night and I gave it to her and I think she was happy.

But not sure she realized exactly what all went to the project that our family took on to make sure her 50th was unforgettable.

Then we spent four days in Rome taking in the sights.  Our apartment was across the river from Castel Saint Angelo.

And this is the bridge that we had to cross to get there.  In typical italian style everything is considered art.

We had some pretty amazing views from the top of St. Angelo.

And we found out that Romans were and still are for the most part shorter people.  It kind of ruined it for us when we thought about the movie "Gladiator" and Russell Crowe and then realized that he should have been about 5'4" to be authentic for that time period.

It was a great location because we were so close to most of the important attractions that one would want to see in a short period of time.  I love this picture of Kim in front of the Vatican.

We did go through St. Peter's cathedral but skipped the day long tour of the Vatican museum.  It was a very fast four days in Rome but we packed in a lot.  We did go to Sienna for an overnight so that we were there first thing in the morning for the street market.  It was not really that far away but had a totally different feel.  Everywhere we went there were street artists turning out some really nice pictures on the sidewalks in chalk.

And of course we did our fair share of shopping mostly for shoes and decided we should have brought a much bigger bag!

I did buy a handmade leather belt and buckle.  I just love it!

I had my picture made with the guy who made all the belts.  Of course, my lovely husband, Andrew, didn't believe me when I told him the guy was gay according to his partner that was working the stall.  So, with the magic of photoshop he "corrected"  the picture according to him.

Then Kim and I moved on to Florence for eight days.  We rented an apartment in the center that was part of a big complex that we think was built in the 18th century.  Our apartment was actually really good sized and was the original kitchen so it had some neat features to it.

And I personally, loved this huge sink.

I asked Kim what crazy thing she wanted to do to mark her big 5-0.  You know, get a tattoo, get a piercing, or something?  She wasn't too keen on all my crazy ideas but we did decide to get our hair colored and have a fringe cut.  We found a salon that could take both of us at the same time and made our booking.  We just had enough time to run to a pizza place close by (I know, who would have thought a pizza place would be close by in Italy?! lol)  And we had a great lunch of yummy pizza.  This is hands down one of my favorite pictures of Kim from the entire trip.

  Then we had a fun afternoon getting our hair done which we both enjoyed.  Afterwards we were two lovely made over model babes!  Felt like a million dollars and out to see the sights.  I think Kim was feeling a bit cheeky!!

And I thought she looked absolutely fantastic and so happy!

We did go inside the Duomo in Florence but by far we thought this door was the most impressive.  Our apartment in Florence was just around the corner from the Santa Croce and we found a lovely wine bar that we made a point of visiting as often as we could to sit in the street and take in this beautiful view.

and here it is without Andrew's photoshop help.

The rest of our Tuscany tour will have to be done in a separate blog as there is restrictions on how many pictures can go on one.  So, read on below for the rest of the story.

Italy - Part Two

If you haven't read the previous post, please do so as this one is a continuation! :)

We went to a lot of different places in the Tuscany region but some of my favorites was the Chianti and Castle tours.  We did two of these and learned so much about not just wine, but also olive oil, balsamic vinegar and wild boars.

They took their time explaining what it is you should look for, smell and taste which was a lot more than I ever thought imaginable.  Here's me thinking if it tastes good drink it!

Everyone got their own plate of samples and we dove in to a tasty treat and some great lessons about local food.

We had the obligatory tour of the wine cellars.  I wondered how I could put this on the plane and move it to Kuwait!

But maybe my favorite part of this tour was the story behind the caretaker.  When the castle was built in the 16th century the family had a rule that the caretaker could never take a wife as he should be married to his job in order to do it properly.  The castle stayed in the family until the early 20th century when they sold to another family and the current caretaker asked the new family if they would consider changing the rule and allowing him to marry.  They agreed and two weeks later he married and has been taking care of castle very well and happily ever since.  He was such an interesting character to me and what a great story.

Now I know you won't be surprised to hear this one but we had some absolutely amazing food pretty much everywhere we went.  I love the italians way of thinking that you eat what is in season so it is always fresh and full of flavor.  One of the things that kept running into was on the menu was wild boar and zucchini flowers.

They turned the zucchini flowers into some lovely pasta.

There is so much more to share like our trip to the south by train.  Our wonderful experiences in Sorrento and on the Isle of Capri.  But that will have to another day.  

But here is one last impression of the italians and their sense of style.  Even the horses wear designer shoes!

I absolutely love Italy and anytime you want to meet me there let me know.  I am much closer now and could make the sacrifice to join you!