Dig this shite

So, in the light of my last couple of posts, which have been (admittedly) “down” … it’s time to change pace a little bit. It’s time to take a look at where I am a bit … in addition to many of my admitted fragments of personality, I am a homeowner. </inhale deep breath> Ah yes, the American dream – owning a home, having something big to call your own … having something you can throw money into, again and again, and (if the winds blow right) it’s worth more when you’re done with it than when you began. Then again, this is America – that’s not guaranteed anymore.

Short back story – I bought a house in April 2010. Yes, for those of you paying attention, this was a definite point of contention during my previously mentioned divorce. But that contention doesn’t matter now. The house is mine (well, and the bank’s) and over the past 1+ year I have put quite a bit of work into it (far more than in the previous year’s ownership) … that work has been aided, abetted, and inspired by my lovely fiancée. You see, for those who don’t know – she’s a plant geek. A big one. And I couldn’t be happier about that – she has helped inspire and push me to improve the exterior of our home. A yard that was not the dog of the neighborhood, but definitely needed help, now has flowers, grasses and plants, and a garden, and a compost bin (repurposed from a chicken coop). Soon enough, it will have sod filling the bare spots (left by ill-advised randomly placed pavers) and a path from the driveway to the deck (where we have all worn the grass bare).

As I am sure most of you have seen, we are rarely over a weekend without some kind of project – removing, repurposing, planting, growing, tending … to a point that the kids are also involved. My little one has taken to planting and has declared that it is ‘her thing’. J I am ecstatic over that, to say the least. All of the kids are involved in one way or another (digging, watering, helping to weed, etc) and it really has become a bit of a family project. Our garden, featuring beans, peppers, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, pumpkins, and rhubarb) is coming along nicely … as is the beginnings of the berry patch. All in the effort to make our home a better, happier place for us to live and want to be. While there is still much more work to be done on the “Oregon Trail” (thank you Lance), it is all good work and good times.