A Side Note of Inspiration

This is not directly list related but I had to share. I have spent a lot of time lately planting and growing things. This is a picture of my 86 year old Great Aunt Annie. This is the MOST positive person I have EVER met. Every where she goes and every single person she meets is enriched by her spirit, her wisdom and her wit. I hope one day to be in my garden at 86, not just to be there, but to have a smile on loving every second of it. Thank you Grannie Annie for all that you have taught me and all the love you have given so many of us all these years!

#51 and #76

51) Plant and nurture (with out quitting!) the wonderful heirloom seeds I bought.

76) Buy and spread the stuff to kill the Chinch bugs in the lawn.

So I am off and running with the list!!! So very excited and find myself thinking about it all the time. How to make your life better now, is to do the things you have been putting off...NOW! So this weekend (after spending a RIDICULOUS amount of money on composite boards, dirt, manure, posts and other a sundry materials) we finally put in the garden I have been dreaming of. Of course, I took a good look at the plants before I started putting them in the ground and...they are being attacked by aphids! Damn heirloom seeds, bread for taste and NOT pest tolerance! So before all my hard work went to waste before my eyes I ran out to get some Neem oil. And (insert appropriate onomatopoeia here) the afflicting aphids are gone, for now, I harbor no notions that they are gone for good, I must be vigilant I am learning!

Which leads me to #76, the lawn. We are having some catastrophe of a herbaceous nature in the tiny postage stamp lawn we own and have pledged to the HOA that we will be in charge of keeping the appropriate shade of green. At the wonderful Home Show we attended people where more than willing to come out and do a "free evaluation" of the situation. Little did they know how cheap we are and how small our lawn really is (no spreader needed, just stand in one spot and throw out handfuls of what ever and you will have it covered!). So they came out yesterday and told us we have a fungus, not Chinch bugs like we thought. So I think I am going to try the Neem oil on it first, since it is a fungicide, since it is good enough for an organic garden and since my child plays in this yard, I am going to mix it up and water the affected areas. Hopefully it will be as effective as it was on the aphids! Here's hoping! 98 to go!

#67 Donate Blood

Ok, this might seem like an easy one to start with, and maybe it was a little, BUT trying to find an hour to donate blood when you have an 8th month old is harder than it sounds. Chris and I went to the Palm Beach County Home show on Saturday and had a wonderful time. And FYI, which I should have known, don't sign up for any drawing AT ALL unless you want to be harassed to the point of madness! Anyways, my wonderful husband, knowing I wanted to get at least one list item accomplished, encouraged me to take the time while he made endless loops in the parking lot with a baby who had been at a home show all day. 8-0 After a long and extremely drawn out process, I left with a purple bandage, a slightly bruised arm and 2 tickets to the Improv Theater! They say I "saved three lives" but I was more shocked about the Improv Tickets. Nice surprise and it will be a fun date night! Here is to crossing one off the list! Only 100 more to go!