Inspiration: Pea Brush

I just finished watching Martha Stewart, as it is one of the many home and garden shows I like to watch, none of them on a very regular basis. I learned about pea brushes today, and upon doing a Google search to find out more I came across this poem by Robert Frost:

Robert Frost (1874-1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

12. Pea Brush

I WALKED down alone Sunday after church

To the place where John has been cutting trees

To see for myself about the birch

He said I could have to bush my peas

The sun in the new-cut narrow gap 5

Was hot enough for the first of May,

And stifling hot with the odor of sap

From stumps still bleeding their life away.

The frogs that were peeping a thousand shrill 10

Wherever the ground was low and wet,

The minute they heard my step went still

To watch me and see what I came to get.

Birch boughs enough piled everywhere!- 15

All fresh and sound from the recent axe.

Time someone came with cart and pair

And got them off the wild flower's backs.

They might be good for garden things 20

To curl a little finger round,

The same as you seize cat's-cradle strings,

And lift themselves up off the ground.

Small good to anything growing wild, 25

They were crooking many a trillium

That had budded before the boughs were piled

And since it was coming up had to come.

Looks like Robert Frost had the right idea. I am so excited to have a house of our own because I have always wanted a vegetable garden. My aim is to have something beautifully cultivated that also aids the economics of the home. How rewarding and easy would it be to simply walk to your garden and pick the produce for an upcoming meal? Flowers are always nice as well, but for now I am in love with vegetables.

If you would like to learn more about pea brushing/how to do it yourself, visit these blogs for excellent tips and advice:

Urban Veggies Garden Blog

A Way to Garden

21 days until Andy is on leave!!!

House Hunting

We've begun to look for houses in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. This is really exciting for me as it will be our first place. It feels so grown up going house shopping, and I know that it will be a good investment. There are a lot of bases around this area, so when we leave we are planning on either renting it out or selling it. We definitely don't want to get stuck in Virginia when Andy's time is done there, but we also don't want to continue throwing money away on rent, and let me tell you! There are some nice properties.

Now, I'm a veteran of Property Virgins... I know all about the "wishlist," the inspector, closing costs and not setting your sights too high. I mean I'm your average text book know-it-all. I know that you need to put a larger down payment and opt to have higher payments that get payed off quickly instead of a low monthly payment. Some of this I know from growing up with my Dad, but all in all, I'm ready to flex my investing muscles! It is a great market in which to buy, and I've been kicking myself that we didn't take advantage of it sooner. This is so me, though, always bighting at the bit, wanting do things a little too young.

More updates later. Emma will celebrate her first birthday while Andy's on leave! Yay! He will have 30 days of leave starting the 17th of September. I had wanted to go and visit during that time, but what with trying to find a place to live (we might have to rent somewhere while we figure out buying a house), moving, etc. I want us to just be able to relax and enjoy each other's company. Andy's been through so much at prototype and I just want him to be able to relax before he goes on a potential deployment.

Well, that's it for now. Here's some pictures of Emma and I playing Baby Moses the other day:

Emma and the Window

Turns out it's not just mirrors Emma loves, it's any piece of glass that she can look through! She loves seeing a world up close and personal, plus being able to stand up by herself. It's so cute to watch!

Everyday Stuff

These days, the bug is getting into everything... She is cruising on the furniture, and "walking" around with her whenever she can get us. We have to hold her hands for balance. Thankfully, though, she is a tall bean so I don't have to bend down very much! She is learning what to do for the camera, although the flashes bother her (do we ever get over that? I don't think so, lol). She usually "reads" her books upside-down, but I think she finally understanding that there is a right way to hold books! I love the bottom picture, as well as the one with her surrounded by magazines. She loves taking everything in and on our coffee table and throwing it to the ground.

This is our every day!

I love my baby

Some people are amazed when they see that I'm married and have a baby. I know that I'm only 22. It's only been 5 years since I graduated, but life happens. The strong person is the one who can learn to bend. Flexibility is my word for the year. I have been learning that it is not all about me, and I have received the greatest love from my husband and daughter in return. This is seriously what life is about. The greatest gift is right before I go to sleep in my husband's arms and holding my little girl. That is seriously so rich.

They sometimes need your attention.

But they are so worth it.

Emma Discovers Chocolate!

Sorry it's taken me so long to put these up! These are from last week, I emailed a few of you, so this may be old hat for a few of you. They're still cute, though!