Stressed

Something I have neglected to mention here is that we've had a landscaper plant some Cypress trees in the backyard. They are planted in such a way to provide a privacy screen from the back and side neighbor. The back neighbor contributed with us and got the same thing done for his backyard as well. So essentially, we have 2 rows of trees alternating in the back where our backyards meet, and a row on the side. A picture would describe it very well but I don't have the heart to put that up..

..because many of the trees are turning brown and dying. DH and I are so disappointed and just heartbroken. We've spent a huge amount of money on these. The neighbor is also involved into it. General consensus is it is from lack of water. We have been watering them pretty regularly since we noticed the problem. But our landscaper had repeatedly advised *against* watering them because the ground was soggy from rain. I had asked him repeatedly how often should we water, how much water they need, what do we need to do they're turning brown. The guy doesn't have a clue. From reading online, I know he planted them incorrectly and on top of that gave us wrong advice. It's all a mess. People are saying get a full refund for such a crappy job but I don't see him paying anything back. We got an year's guarantee but I will be elated if I see any trees getting replaced. I have a bad feeling about this whole thing.

We've been stressed about this pretty much entire week. Last weekend was pretty busy with the get togethers and a party. This weekend is looking the same. We have been invited for dinners on Friday and Monday, and I have invited someone for Saturday night. Sunday looks free rightnow but I'm sure something will come up. Summers are always so busy. Everyone likes to get together. But at this point I just want to hide in a hole and not come out. I don't feel like socializing at all. But it's too late to call of anything.

Did something about the Hydrangea-induced-guilt

I moved them. Originally when I had planted them in the front (North), I thought they'd only get morning sunshine and afternoon shade. Wrong. I noticed over the last weekend (I was home for about 4 days - read on) that they were getting pretty strong afternoon sun. Anyone who has planted Hydrangeas knows that most varieties don't do well in afternoon sun. In spring, they did fine because the sun wasn't as high in the sky so the front was shaded by the surrounding houses in the evening, the temperatures were low and everything was great. Summer sun is not the same. Novice gardener mistake :) Of the 3 Hydrangeas in the front, I've moved 2 to the east side bed. These two were the ones that always wilted. The third one is still in the front as I have no place to move it and it seems to be liking it where it is. I don't know what's different about it. The two I moved are liking it better where they are now.

I was home friday through monday. Not for fun, mind you. I was taking some training for work and decided Friday would be a good time for taking the test to get certified. Home is much quieter than my desk and for taking the test I needed quiet and no disturbances. So that was friday (I passed - 95% and 83% for the two tests). Because I was home, I didn't realize there was no power at work since the afternoon. Monday morning my boss called me to tell me to stay at home until further notice because the power was still gone. Network was down, and no AC. The network came back around 11 but still no AC so we stayed put. Back to normal routine from Tuesday.

Anyhow, now I'm looking for other plants for the front. I might just get some annuals and be done for this year. I'm bummed because I really wanted Hydrangeas in the front.

Roses!

I'm about to leave from work in 5 minutes so this will be very short. Few of my roses are blooming! I'm in love :) Few are not yet blooming and I will be very patient with them. The red one is my most favorite ever. No, the pink one. The yellow! I love them all. I was stupid and didn't label them as I planted them. I know many are Hybrid Tea roses and one is 'Peace' Hybrid Tea. That's all I remember. I'll try to do better next time I plant a rose!
I have also planted some Flower Carpet roses and some Double Knockouts that aren't blooming yet. The Hybrid Teas were the first to get planted.

Back at work

After an almost weeklong vacation (minus monday), I'm now back at work. The weather could not have been more gorgeous last week. It was in 70s although one day it did hit 80s. I did a lot of yardwork. Laid down the sod by the steps we've recently had someone build, planted the shrubs, and tidied up the yard. I've planted roses, pink hydrangeas, Clemantis, Jasmine, Butterfly bush, and atleast 2 more shrubs I'm forgetting. I've put a lot of bulbs as well - Gladiolus, gayfeather, and Dahlias. We'll see if all the hard work was worth it in a few months. I need more hydrangeas for the front yard. And I am looking for a nice tree for the front as well.
It's been raining since yesterday. It's good for the sod and the grass seed.

Stitching - I've completed parts 1 and 2 of the Papillion Creations mystery - How does your garden grow. I forgot to give the design info. in the previous post. It's available if you sign up for their newsletter. I am almost done with the part 3 now and received the 4th installment yesterday. There will be a total of 13. I'm really happy with all the flower colors I chose, though the light green could be a little lighter. Oh well. I haven't decided if I'm going to add the beads as recommended, and if so, what color.

I took some pictures on saturday but they're stuck in the camera. I wish I was home today too. It's hard to come back to work-mode after a vacation.

How does your garden grow - Part 1

I planted the roses yesterday. The original plan was to put them on the east side of the house but later I thought they might be better in the back, which gets sun the whole day, so that's where they've gone. I am still deciding on where to plant the climbing rose. For the east side, I have gotten some more flowering perennials - spinea, and another one with blue blooms. I also got some clematis. That will go in the back next to the roses. I can't wait for bloom time! I need to get the hydrangeas from the nursery. They'll go on the east as well. I put a few ferns in the front in big planters. I am a fern-lover. If I could, I would have a garden full of ferns. The front of our house gets very little sun (North) so that should be good for them.


The wind was blowing so they look a bit weird.

So apart from gardening, I've been stitching a lot the past 2 days. Not much else going on. I'll share the garden pictures once it looks reasonable. Right now everything's such a mess.

One more picture before I go - how cute would this photo be for the goofball's room?

Mehul's Birthday Photobook

So I got an offer from Shutterfly 2 days ago to create an 8x8 inch photo book and get another one free. As some of you might know, I had created Mehul's first birthday album pages already. I had been reading about this photo book concept and really liked the fact that it was cheaper and much more durable because of being in a book format. I was thinking of going with full 12x12 format but that's HUGE for a book. So I had almost decided on getting an 8x8 book made. And then I got this offer. So I took the plunge and resized my pages the last two nights, uploaded them and ordered! Offer expired yesterday at midnight so I had to finish it yesterday. No procrastinating. Now it's done done done.
If you're curious, I've shared the photobook and you can check it out by clicking here.


I deliberately did not use the mirror images of the layouts on facing pages, but kept the similar angles. I like it better this way. I hope it'll look ok in the book as I only had a traditional scrapbook in mind when I did the pages.

I haven't been running faithfully as my hobbies are keeping me very much occupied these days. We had someone dig out some space in the backyard for making a herb garden. It's more like a furrow but whatever. I love it. Yesterday we went and bought a few packs of the gardening soil. Today it's a bit chilly again but by the weekend, we should have the seedlings planted outside. I don't know if there are many squirrels here, guess I'll find out! I'm also reading Nora Roberts Garden Trilogy at the moment, so it all flows together ;)

I also joined another CT - Lisa Whitney. Here's a link to her store at ScrapArtist! Woohhoo! I LOVE her designs and buy them all the time. So cool.

Just barely, but I made it :)

I just finished my last 5.5 miles of the 100 miles by April 1st. Feels good to actually follow something through and see the end of it.

I haven't been posting a lot because, well, I didn't have much to say. Not much scrapping going on but I did finish 2 layouts for Diamante Designs CT yesterday. Still stitching regularly on the Angel of Love.

I am planting some herbs and veggies this year. Sowed Tomato and peppers couple of days ago in the Jiffy Green House. It comes with a tray with cup indentation (sorta like muffin tray) and peat pellets (the shape and size of carrom or checkers pieces). Put warm water and they poof up real quick. I sowed about 3 seeds per peat muffin, covered them with peat and put a lid on the tray. About 2 hours later, I went to check on them. I am sure they wouldn't sprout too quickly, but I have a curious little one in the house. I have placed them near a window in the library as it doesn't get direct sun. Might have to move them if I see Mehul hanging around that! So far so good. I am thinking of going back to the store to get more trays for the coriander, mint, basil and okra! I've only done coriander in the past and that didn't even go very well. Wish me luck!

Yesterday was our monthly GTG. There are 5 families and we rotate the venue between us. This time it was at Monika and Vineet's house. They have just adopted a little poodle puppy - Zoey. He's 3 months old. Mehul was just facinated by Zoey. He wasn't scared at all and tried to hug it like a little teddy bear. So cute to watch. And Zoey wasn't intimidated either. They both hung around in the basement the entire time (the other kids were there as well). M is the youngest of the group though most of them are in 3 -6 age group. Much fun to watch a puppy and little kids run around :)

I have some pictures of M's art work but they're still in the camera. He doodles along and comes up with something resembling a known shape once in a while. I'll post those later.