Wendy Kozol’s The War In-Between
2 weeks ago
Friday, June 5, 2009
Kink in my plans!
So here's what I get for being just a bit too smug about things in general. I find out this morning that I am currently number 43 on a list in the Student Family Housing Department at NMSU. And there are 10 houses available now for summer and fall. SHIT!!! It would've just been too easy, right? Only $575 a month, rent and utilities, including phone and internet, right on campus basicall, which = saving on gas money, a bus that comes right by to take the boys to school. Yup, too damn easy. The lady on the phone was like, 'The soonest you'll be coming up for a house in maybe October or November'. Which is odd, who moves out of student housing in the middle of a semester? So I'm assuming that the earliest will be next semester. So, I'm thinking, not the end of the world, I can go along with this, right? Rent a house or apartment until then, right? And SHIT!!!! again. Money-money-money-money, etc. Lord help me, I'm busted!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
How does my garden grow?
Bad-ass, that's how!!
'My' garden is actually a cooperative effort between me and my Nanny and Papa. However, silly, capitalist, westerner that I am, I like to refer to it as "mine". Sick, I know...
However, that is neither here nor there where members of the nightshade family are concerned! The tomatoes are flourishing! The potatoes are thriving! The peppers are doin' a dancin' jig!
We actually have two separate gardens going. Behind the house, there are 10 tomato plants in a bed with 3 pepper plants sprinkled in. It's a great spot, protected, and when it rains (however often that is) half the roof drains right there. There are also two old bathtubs filled with basil, rosemary, parsly, dill, chives, and other various yummy herbs, along with some loose leaf lettuce. In the big plot, we have a couple rows of sweet corn, a row of yellow wax beans, various cucumbers, beets, cantaloupe, okra, and potatoes. We also have a squash and zucchini plant. Mmmmmm, I can't wait to reap the harvest, man!
I've been using some old hay as a mulch in the big plot. Once the seedlings get a decent size, I put the hay up and around them, and along and in between the rows. It seems to be working well both for the moisture retention and keeping the weeds at bay. It's pretty noticeable in the spots that have a good, thick layer of hay versus the spots that were planted later and therefore don't. I'll keep you updated and post some pictures soon.
In Other News
1)So, it's been a few weeks since I've graduated and guess what? I still haven't heard a peep from my dear old dad. Ugh! Irritation. I mean, we've never kept up a constant and close correspondance, but generally we're on good terms. We're both just lazy about keeping in touch. However, I felt that this (graduation) was a pretty momentous occassion. Whatever. I've had a bit of a thorn in my side since a few years ago when I asked him for some help (ANY help) when I wanted to go to Dominica to study abroad. Now, I know my dad's not rich, but neither am I! Or my grandparents, for that matter, and they constantly go out of their way to help me and the boys, when they had no hand in the creation of moi, and, therefore, no obligation really. Apparently, my dad feels that his obligation was $180 per month until I turned 18, with a year of living with him in high school thrown in. Ugh, whatever. It's one of those things that shouldn't surprise you, and you really expect nothing more, yet it still bothers on a very deep level. Blech!
2) I'm getting cabin fever! I want to get on a plane and get out of the country! I'm so restless! Let's face it, gardening and blogging can only take up so much of my time.....:)
'My' garden is actually a cooperative effort between me and my Nanny and Papa. However, silly, capitalist, westerner that I am, I like to refer to it as "mine". Sick, I know...
However, that is neither here nor there where members of the nightshade family are concerned! The tomatoes are flourishing! The potatoes are thriving! The peppers are doin' a dancin' jig!
We actually have two separate gardens going. Behind the house, there are 10 tomato plants in a bed with 3 pepper plants sprinkled in. It's a great spot, protected, and when it rains (however often that is) half the roof drains right there. There are also two old bathtubs filled with basil, rosemary, parsly, dill, chives, and other various yummy herbs, along with some loose leaf lettuce. In the big plot, we have a couple rows of sweet corn, a row of yellow wax beans, various cucumbers, beets, cantaloupe, okra, and potatoes. We also have a squash and zucchini plant. Mmmmmm, I can't wait to reap the harvest, man!
I've been using some old hay as a mulch in the big plot. Once the seedlings get a decent size, I put the hay up and around them, and along and in between the rows. It seems to be working well both for the moisture retention and keeping the weeds at bay. It's pretty noticeable in the spots that have a good, thick layer of hay versus the spots that were planted later and therefore don't. I'll keep you updated and post some pictures soon.
In Other News
1)So, it's been a few weeks since I've graduated and guess what? I still haven't heard a peep from my dear old dad. Ugh! Irritation. I mean, we've never kept up a constant and close correspondance, but generally we're on good terms. We're both just lazy about keeping in touch. However, I felt that this (graduation) was a pretty momentous occassion. Whatever. I've had a bit of a thorn in my side since a few years ago when I asked him for some help (ANY help) when I wanted to go to Dominica to study abroad. Now, I know my dad's not rich, but neither am I! Or my grandparents, for that matter, and they constantly go out of their way to help me and the boys, when they had no hand in the creation of moi, and, therefore, no obligation really. Apparently, my dad feels that his obligation was $180 per month until I turned 18, with a year of living with him in high school thrown in. Ugh, whatever. It's one of those things that shouldn't surprise you, and you really expect nothing more, yet it still bothers on a very deep level. Blech!
2) I'm getting cabin fever! I want to get on a plane and get out of the country! I'm so restless! Let's face it, gardening and blogging can only take up so much of my time.....:)
A Strange Summer
But lovely, no doubt...
So, I've graduated, completely finished my undergraduate career. After 6 long years, it feels a bit strange and a bit not. Like when you have a birthday and are supposed to feel old but don't. But this might just be better :)
And next up? Graduate school in Las Cruces, Cultural Anthropology. Yay! I'm completely excited and impatient. I'm pretty sure it's going to be amazing, though the last few days have been more numbing in my brain than anything else. I mean, I'm hopeful and pretty sure that things they are a'changin', but after the flurry of classes was over this semester, I went into weird mode. Mostly, it doesn't feel real yet, like when I'm about to travel somewhere new, and I know it, but I just can't fell it. Like that.
Which brings me to this: I'm not going anywhere (that I know of) this summer! Achk! I think it's kinda been seeping into my brain and depressing me a bit. Blech. But I am moving. And I am starting this whole new chapter of my life, with just me and my boys, thrown adrift. Well, ok, not really, I have a friend or two (including one totally amazing one!), a relative or two there, so we'll get on fine, I'm sure. There is worry, however, seeing as how this will be my first time, ever, with just me and the kiddos. I've had either my Mom, or mostly, my grandparents within yelling distance ever since I've had these boys. That's going to be quite a shocker, I'm assuming. We'll see.....
On another note, Erykah Badu has become the soundtrack of my summer, I think. Or part of it, at least. Along with Manu Chao and Lila Downs, my summer is groovin', yo! Blissful!
So, I've graduated, completely finished my undergraduate career. After 6 long years, it feels a bit strange and a bit not. Like when you have a birthday and are supposed to feel old but don't. But this might just be better :)
And next up? Graduate school in Las Cruces, Cultural Anthropology. Yay! I'm completely excited and impatient. I'm pretty sure it's going to be amazing, though the last few days have been more numbing in my brain than anything else. I mean, I'm hopeful and pretty sure that things they are a'changin', but after the flurry of classes was over this semester, I went into weird mode. Mostly, it doesn't feel real yet, like when I'm about to travel somewhere new, and I know it, but I just can't fell it. Like that.
Which brings me to this: I'm not going anywhere (that I know of) this summer! Achk! I think it's kinda been seeping into my brain and depressing me a bit. Blech. But I am moving. And I am starting this whole new chapter of my life, with just me and my boys, thrown adrift. Well, ok, not really, I have a friend or two (including one totally amazing one!), a relative or two there, so we'll get on fine, I'm sure. There is worry, however, seeing as how this will be my first time, ever, with just me and the kiddos. I've had either my Mom, or mostly, my grandparents within yelling distance ever since I've had these boys. That's going to be quite a shocker, I'm assuming. We'll see.....
On another note, Erykah Badu has become the soundtrack of my summer, I think. Or part of it, at least. Along with Manu Chao and Lila Downs, my summer is groovin', yo! Blissful!
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