13 June, 2010

the weekend follies of Shannon and V

Let me say first, that V and i went to Dublin and had a pretty good time last weekend. After i survived the 4 hour bus ride, that is... More on our trip in our other blog, but for now:

We enjoyed traditional Irish music.
Not so traditional Irish food.
Walked around the Maritime Festival until our feet hurt.
And enjoyed genuine Guinness with a friend. (This photo is by him - Thanks, Mart!)

This weekend was pretty productive! I weeded our garden completely, and was so inspired by how nice it looked, that i started to attack the weeds, which attacked me back. Stupid nettles. The weeds out around our garden area have gotten so tall that i'm afraid they're blocking light from our garden. V helped me tromp them down, and i pulled up a good bit of them. In fact, in between one of the garden boxes, it's down to just grass! The grass kinda makes me happy. I only hope that if we're still here for the next gardening season, we will figure out a way to stop the overgrowth before it happens! Yikes.
My poor arms are still tingling from all the nettle stings. 
At least our strawberries will get some nice morning light, and our currant bush might produce a handful of berries. I'm not holding my breath for our blueberries, but the patio garden is really growing! I just love seeing all the new sprouts coming up. I put down some carrots recently, and hope to see little green shoots soon! I didn't realize how happy my little garden makes me. I say "my" because though i will be sharing the spoils with my husband... i've been doing all the planting and weeding, so i've been reaping all the benefits of the therapy our gardens offer.

Recently, i also decided to take another hobby under my wing. On boards.ie, i found an old bike that needs some real attention and love. The owner left it out all winter and when spring came, she found it to be rusty and didn't have the time to put in the work to restore it. Yesterday was our first sunny day since i got it, and so i broke out V's tools and began Operation Restoration.
While i was taking apart the front end, i needed help with a couple bolts so i enlisted my husband who revealed something amazing to me! He used to be a bicycle lover! One summer, while he was in college, V cycled across both Sweden and Finland camping the whole way. Amazing! I'm so jealous. Needless to say, he knows more about bicycles than i do. He pitched in and actually ended up doing most of it. Not that i didn't want to help, but he is just stronger than me, and had less difficulty undoing some of the rusty bolts and screws.
Thank you, honey. :)
I plan on stripping the frame down (with sand paper) and smoothing out the rough patches, priming it with rust resistant paint, then taking it to our friend to have the frame, fork, and all the parts that show - a nice new pastel color! i'm thinking either olive green, sky blue, or if i feel crazy, i might even paint it HOT PINK!!! we'll see. Anyway, i'm really enjoying the project, and i know that there will be a lot more of V and i doing it together. That last part might be my favorite. <3 Maybe i'll get it finished before the end of the good weather!

Bilbo, our kitten, has decided that he can't live unless he's outdoors. It used to be that when i went outside to the garden or around the house to the laundry room, i would bring him stuffed into my coat with his head peeking out, or on my shoulder. He loved the outings! So much, that he started to sit in front of the door and cry. And cry. AND CRY to be let out. Sometimes if i was going to just be out on the patio (hanging laundry or planting), i would put him on a leash and let him sniff around the patio. He is supposed to be an indoor cat, after all. Keeping mommy company! This is your purpose, Bilbo. Keeping me company!!!
While we were going in and out of the house on Friday evening, we decided to test the waters and see how Bilbo did around the house without a leash. Oh he loved it! Wandering under the car, sniffing the flowers in the garden
 This beautiful photo was taken by my beloved.
and.... CLIMBING THE TREE!!!
He got about 15-20' up, then discovered he was stranded. "How do i get down?!" i imagine he panicked. He started crying. V and i sort of worried for his safety, and in the end, V climbed up to get him. In the above photo, you can see V through the foliage, and just above him, that little flash of orange is our kitty.
Wouldn't you know? 5 minutes after we rescued him, Bilbo was right back up where he started. This time, we left him up there crying. After a few minutes though, he found his way safely down (to our relief!). Soon, he was playing hide and seek in the wall:
He's so funny! He finds all the places you wouldn't expect! It's a bittersweet thing. At least he's enjoying himself. But any time we bring him indoors, he sits by the door and whines. It's funny for about 2 seconds before i actually want to kick him out.

Well that's all i have now. Thanks for sharing our weekend!


08 June, 2010

It ain't pretty...

Are YOU brave enough to post your fatty McGee across the world wide web? Haha! I figure all those other chicks (fatties and non-fatties alike) all post their vacation pix clad in bikinis, and this covers more than a bikini, right? Thought so. Yeah. That's my flubber up there and i have to say - it ain't pretty (yikes! look at those stretch marks!) but it's me, and it ain't bad either. I'm not even sucking in! :-P

I have to admit that when it comes to weight loss, i am certainly not one for motivation. Then i realize how un-motivated i've been and get depressed... then i try to convince myself that i'm fine with the size i am and try to lie myself into believing that i'm happy with the way i look. Haven't we all been there though? Isn't that the point where you DO something? As for me, i had a little shock today. I have been avoiding my measuring tape like the plague just knowing that i could in no way be down any inches at all since i hadn't been active, hadn't been trying. But tonight, i decided to finally have a look. Begrudgingly, i brought out my mom's old sewing tape and began to measure. As i wrote down my numbers and compared them to last time... could it be?! I've lost an INCH and a HALF of body?! Wow! I think this was just the motivation i needed to re-inspire that old goal. I'm really looking forward to re-measuring at the end of the week after i've been actively trying again!

02 June, 2010

Sharing the Spoils.

Recently, i entered a photo contest and WON!!! Thanks to you! Now, i shall share the spoils. Well... not really my spoils... because i'm excited to have won something, and i think i'll just hang onto them for a little while - BUT we at ShannonAngel.com are hosting a Landscape Photography Contest over on our blog! And YOU can enter!!!

We are finalizing the prizes right now, but we'll announce everything on June 4th, when we are beginning to accept entries. Go now! Take photos! I can't wait to see everyone's entries!

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