glorious "summer" weekend

I spent most of Saturday outside. We attempted to tame the wild clover (i.e., we mowed the lawn) but I swear, it looked like it had already grown two hours after I did a patch and this morning seems as big as ever. We ran the reel mower into the shop to be sharpened to aid us in the quest.

I worked in the vegetable and flower beds, and at the shop we bought six alyssum (Casper's choice, pink, natch), six petunias (hot pink), six impatiens (mild pink), woolly thyme, a cucumber, a zucchini, and a Big and Beefy (or somesuch) tomato. The last were all 75 cents apiece, so if we get frost this weekend (which we may) there will be no big loss. I also planted another row of peas and still have so many peas I think I'll have to send them to my sister, and planted more lettuce and some marigolds.

Right now we stand at: pea planting 1 is 6 inches, pea planting 2 is 3 inches, sweet peas (both plantings) are about 3 inches, and kale and lettuce are tiny tiny still. My Turkish tulips have blazed out, and the daffodils are mostly gone, too, but we have violets in the lawn and lots of grape hyacinth. My dogwood is barely blooming for the second year in a row, but when I asked my colleague the former landscaper she said it was probably just too heavily shaded by the massive pin oaks, and there's nothing I can do about it. The climbing rose and clematis look good (especially the rose), and the iris are very leafy looking. Lilies just starting to sprout.

Supposed to be hot today, but as I mentioned, they're talking frost again this coming weekend.

environmentalism

Environment Yay!
-we only own one car
-mr. flea only commutes 4 days a week, tops
-I commute by bus
-summer thermostat set to about 80 (which is as high as I can bear it)
-compact fluorescent bulbs now in most of the house
-we recycle, including yard waste
-I garden, organically (I use chemical fertilizer in some potted plants)
-I compost
-we try not too be big consumers in general (this is aided by cheapness and relatively low income)
-we buy at the farmer's market in season (and often walk to get there!)

Environment Boo!
-mr. flea's commute is 20 miles
-I dry clothes in the dryer rather than outside, because of time/space issues
-our house is insulated for shit (built 1923 and not upgraded since, but we don't own it, so can't fix)
-we kept the thermostat too high this winter (ca. 70)
-we had children
-we clothed them in paper diapers (convenience, plus I had 1970s cloth diaper trauma)
-way too much electricity consumption due to adoration of the internet

I know a couple of people on my flist are interested in green building and demolition waste recycling - I suggest you catch the current This Old House that started airing this weekend in our market. It's a short project (their winter project) in Austin, renovating a bungalow with the goal of meeting the 5-star green rating qualifications of the city. And it's a great bungalow in what looks like a great neighborhood.

pics pics pics

I really like this picture of me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/441873656/

Can you tell I have new highlights? http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/441873648/

Dillo is on the move: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/444202956/ and following...

He's just about crawling. He's slow and clumsy and gets stuck, but heaven knows the will is there, and I think in a day or two he'll be all over the place.

He seems to have suddenly grown a lot. Carter 12 months fit well now; he can still squeeze into the 9 months. Good thing we are almost to summer so I don't have to worry aout the fact that most of his PJs don't fit. The insane fatness of his knees is astonishing me. He actually got some ringworm or something - we're Lotrimining it - in the creases behind his knees.

His sleep has been all weird, though not horrible, although we had WIDE AWAKE from 10-midnight on Saturday. He wanted to play the paci game, in which I say, "Dillo's paci? Or Mama's paci?" and he offers me the paci and I take it in my mouth and he grins and laughs and pulls it out again.

Casper tickles him - too roughly, I think - but he loves it and laughs and laughs.

In less adorable news, somehow he's just not cute (looking) to me right now, and he seems rather clingy and whiny. Can't put him down without him fussing. I think it's a normal developmental thing, but it's a bit wearing, especially after the freedom of these past few months when he's been happy to amuse himself.