Home Depot's plant return policy

This past Christmas we decided to be "green" and get a living Christmas tree. We were in the process of closing on our land so it seemed like such a good idea to buy something that we celebrate with and then plant as a forever reminder.

Unfortunately, that's not what happened. We put our house on the rental market and moved within a very small period of time so the decorating of the Christmas tree fell by the wayside. Wanting to make sure that the tree went in the "perfect" place we decided to store it at our apartment until we could get a better "feel" for where it should go (this was back when I thought I was secretly harboring a green thumb and plants would grow taller just at the sound of my voice).

Fast forward seven months and our poor "living Christmas tree" is no longer living (yes, I understand the irony). So, on my mother's suggestion we decided to try to take advantage of Home Depot's plant return policy.

They say they will take any plant back within one year of puchase if you have the receipt. That receipt is crucial (according to the woman I called over the phone). We arrived counting on doing the credit card look-up (which by the way I think every store should do) because we had lost our receipt. Unfortunately they only store cc information for 90 days. Luckily though we still had the price tag on the bucket so she was able to scan it and give us store credit. Honestly I think she just thought Mr. Nick was cute but I thought about it and I'm okay with pimping him out in the name of saving money. And let's face it, he is ridiculously good looking :)

So that's that. The tree has been removed from our lives, leaving a trail of dead pine needles from our balcony to the parking lot. I'm sure our apartment manager hates us by now ...

Mom and I pose in "happier times".
We'll miss you living Christmas tree. We promise to do better next year.
p.s. Mom made my sweater for me when I was in 5th grade.  

So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow ...

Having a mother who is artistic is a blessing. Having an artistic mother in town for the weekend is even better. Having an artistic mother in town for the weekend and a sister-in-law who likes to celebrate the little things is THE BEST!

Today Mr. Nick and I received a "Congratulations you've got water ..." present from our 2.5 year old niece and 5 month old nephew (of course, they had a little help). Mom used a black permanent marker to write out the words and then white Rustoleum oil-based paint to trace over the words.

Here we are in our brand new wheelbarrow.
I love it even more that it's red because when I first met Mr. Nick
he referenced William Carlos Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow".

But that's not all! Home Depot had their Adirondack chairs on clearance so Mom picked up four for us. Having been through this whole, "build your house with your bare hands" dream herself just a few years ago, she knew the importance of having a nice place to sit at the end of the day ... even in the middle of a construction site. But she wouldn't be my mother unless she personalized it just a little.

Mr. Nick's says "MR" at the top and "THINKER" on the bottom,
mine says "MRS" at the top and "DREAMER" at the bottom.

So it was a day of celebrating and presents ... a reminder to stop and enjoy the small successes along the way.

R.I.P. Sweet White Corn

Well crap, I guess that's that. We hit the 90s today (although according to the weather station it only feels like 89, oh coastal breeze how I love you) and lost our corn. To be fair, I'm not sure how much blame I can put on the weather ... APPARENTLY you're supposed to remove the plastic lid as soon as you get sprouts. Oops. Here I've been hot boxing my corn stalks for a good four days thinking that they were having the time of their lives thriving with all that warm moist heat.

So, change of plans. I have brought my lavender tray inside (trying not to stress about the fact that my baby sprout is MIA), taken off the cover and watered again. We don't have air conditioning, as evidenced by the multiple box fans strewn throughout, so it's actually quite warm in the apartment.

Mr. Nick, ever the optimist, is less deflated than me even going so far as to suggest that NOW our soil is extra rich so this next batch of corn will certainly just explode with nutrients. I will trudge ahead but am feeling a little worried that my black thumb is dooming us into a life without home-grown vegetables and fields of lavender ... at least, Sasha doesn't seem to mind.

Apartment garden therapy?

Summer is finally here! We have emerged triumphant on the other side of one of the coldest Junes in record books. Today is beautiful and sunny and dare I say, to hot (Pacific Northwesterners are a fickle bunch aren't we?)

First, as a disclaimer I think it's important to note that the only thing I have ever grown with any sort of moderate success is catnip and jade ... that being said, it appears I may have sprouted my very first lavender plant. Hopefully not my last though as there are 71 of his brothers and sisters germinating as we speak.

Everything I have read says that lavender plants are incredibly hard to grow from seed but, Mr. Nick only agreed to my dream of a lavender field if we could do it on the cheap. So late one night we walked our little butts over to Fred Meyer and picked up all the necessary supplies for an apartment garden. Of course, you should never shop for anything after 10 p.m. because that's when you start to buy more things, like ...

Enough cucumbers and tomato plants to keep us in Greek salads for eternity. And while we were at it we threw in some corn too because, hey, who doesn't like sweet white corn. Granted it was a good ten minute debate to figure out which sweet white corn variety would best serve our refined palates. In the end we went with Lilly Miller's Silver Queen White Corn because the back of the package said that Silver Queen's "outstanding flavor and texture are the standard for white corn." Looking back now that seems like a dumb selling point ... wouldn't I want something that excels above the standard?

The corn is thriving (despite my lack of a green thumb) while the cucumbers and tomatoes are chugging along, but so far just that one teeny tiny semblance of a lavender plant. If the rest don't start following suit I may have to resort to "Plan B" which involves stealing established plants under the cover of darkness from inappropriate places: the hospital where I work, the church down the street, the roundabout by the elementary school ... why is it that only the places I would feel guilty taking from can afford a landscaping budget? I can see the headline now: "Local woman caught with dirt under her nails and plants in her pocket: Husband refusing to post bail."