Imperfect Gardening

I’m ready for Spring. We had a really moderate early winter in Colorado – I was at the park with Thomas in a tank top several January days. But February reared its ugly head and I’ve got a big case of Spring Fever.

So, I’m planning our vegetable (and herb) garden. I’m making a conscious effort to be better about eating from the garden this year. I’m not a great vegetable eater, but I know the importance of A) eating healthily and B) setting a good example for my son who’s also not a great vegetable eater, so I’m committing myself to the process this year. Plus, I thought the garden would be a fun project for T and I to work on together this summer. I’ll have plenty of time on my hands this summer with a toddler and a newborn to have special projects for just me and Thomas, right? We don’t have a very big garden, and generally I successfully grow basil, one or two other plants (last year it was lettuce in spring and eggplant in the summer), and a too-late-for-my-patience-level harvest tomato. So this year I’m planning better.

Last year’s tomatoes were super late to produce fruit, so I’m doing an experiment this year – container planting and ground planting. I usually start the tomatoes from seed and am lucky to transplant one. But I decided last week that was ridiculous - we don't have room to try lots of different varieties, so I'm just going to buy a few starts this year and call it good.. We’ll see how it goes. I’m also considering trying a Wall O Water for an earlier planting date. Verdict’s out on that one. 

While searching for square foot gardening inspiration, I found this photo and it's a perfect depiction of the space we have, though I think we'll opt for not building up the garden into a raised bed this year and do it next year if this year is a flop:

Source: oldtownhome.com via Emily on Pinterest

Anyone else have their garden plans ready to go? I can't wait to get the dirt under my fingernails - Mr. B turned over the bed yesterday and we'll mark out the plots this week, then it's lettuce time!

February Book Review

February was a slow reading month after my January reading craze. This is partly because the first book I read in February I didn't love, and partly because B and I finally caved to peer pressure and watched Downton Abbey - season 1 and halfway through season 2. We're hooked: I drink tea during our nightly Downton Abbey fests and say ridiculous things like, "I think we should refer to each other as Lord and Lady McKevitt." I'm so dignified.
But anyway, on the reading front:

I started the month with The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg. I didn't like it, maybe because I'm just coming up on my 10 year high school reunion so relating to a 40th was tough. Or maybe because I just didn't like it.  Anyway, I had heard lots of good reviews, but I didn't mesh with the characters.

And I ended the month with March by Geraldine Brooks. I was excited about it because of the Little Women tie-in, but it took me a good while to get into it. In the end I enjoyed it enough, but not enough to allow time to squeeze a third book into February.
What was the last book you read? Did you like it?

Making a Difference in the World

Mr. B was home sick for 4 days three weeks ago, and during that time I said a lot of "Thomas, we need to  practice using our inside voices because daddy is sleeping". So now, anytime Mr. B - or anyone, for that matter - is not in Thomas's direct line of sight, they're sleeping. Every morning: "Shhh. Dada sleeping", or if he can't find his beloved Corduroy, "Cor-roy sleeping", etc. So, I've been working on that issue so that Thomas doesn't think that lying in bed is an acceptable way to spend one's day, so now we have a lot of "Dada's at work today, not sleeping". So now, in T's mind, everyone's at work...or sleeping.

Here's today's conversation:

T: Dada work?

Me: Yep, Daddy's at work. He's working hard to make sure that when people build new houses and buildings that there's enough electricity for them."

T: (Blank stare, then) Yeah! Papa (my dad, T's Grandpa) work?

Me: Yep, Papa's at work. He's working hard to make sure that everyone's wills and estates are in order. 

T: Yeah! Gigi (my mom, T's Grandma) work?

Me: Yes, Gigi's making sure that all the kids at school are healthy.

T: Yeah. Kate work?

Me: Yes, Auntie Kate's teaching all the kids science and math.

T: Yeah. Mama work?

Me: Yep, Mama works.

T: Puzzles.

Me: (Pause while I try to figure out if my job provides any social good...meh, not really). Yes, I love doing puzzles with you. But I also make people's websites easy for Google to find, and tell them why they should use social media for their businesses.

T: (Blank stare). Nooooooooo. Puzzles.

Yep, kid. Those puzzles are what's funding your 529. You've got it.

Washing White Slipcovers

I get so many questions about the real-life practicality of washing my white slipcovers. White sofas scare everyone when it comes to stains, but before I bought our IKEA Ektorp sofa, I knew I'd love the bleachable, washable slipcovers. Caroline was trying to convince me yesterday to consider microfiber for a nursery glider and I said, "I only do white slipcovers, Mom! I'm morally opposed to microfiber." Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I swear by white slipcovers.



In preparation for Spring (which regardless of what the calendar says I count as beginning on March 1st), our slipcovers needed their quarterly wash. I generally wash them once every three months unless something is spilled in that time period. But if no spills occur - or sometimes even if they do and I'm too lazy to wash them, I've found that a quarterly wash is sufficient - they start to look a bit dingy by the end of three months, but are good as new after a half day cleaning process. I own two sets of slipcovers (at $49 a pop it's a no-brainer to have a spare on hand), but in general I only pull out the spare if I'm short on time and need a pristinely white sofa for company, etc. Otherwise, I've found it's easiest to just wash and replace on cleaning day.
I wash the slipcovers in two batches - cushion covers first and the sofa body second. We have a big washing machine that could handle the whole thing, but I've found that they get cleaner if I wash them in two batches. Over the last two years, I've found that two scoops of OxiClean per wash works better for getting them super white than bleach, but I know some people who swear by the bleach method.

The couch's naked state provides an optimal time to conduct a full search for balls that your aspiring Rory Mcilroy has chipped under the couch, should that be the kind of thing that happens at your house.

For stains, I now turn to this Pinterest stain remover. In December I had a really stubborn stain on one of the seat cushions, and bleach and OxiClean pastes took the offensive portion of the stain out, but the ring residue was only removed by Dawn and Hydrogen Peroxide. What did we do before Pinterest?
So anyway, I wash the slipcovers and put the cushion covers in the dryer until they're just damp while the body cover is in the wash. Then I put the body back on the sofa frame right out of the washing machine (we have an HE washer that really spins out all the water and leaves them damp). I put the semi-damp cushion covers on the cushions, but I dry them a bit because I like them to fit tight at first so they'll loosen up over the course of 3 months rather than starting loose - however I've found that any drying of the body cover wrinkles and makes the slipcover fall a little shorter than my liking. Putting the slipcovers back on damp is the key to getting a good, wrinkle free fit. The corners tend to look wrinkly and messy which drove me crazy forever until I started putting the covers on damp - perfect time for straightening out the pleated corners:

 

And that's it. The wrinkles work out as the slipcovers dry, and we have a fresh clean spot to watch our evening episode of Downton Abbey. We throw our shoe clad feet on the couch, Thomas and Casco climb all over it, we say "Bottoms-up" to beer and apps on the couch for the Super Bowl, and we've hosted many a neighbor pizza/happy hours on the couch without worrying about anything. I love white slipcovers and can't imagine my now child-filled life without them!