WiShInG yOu A SpOoKy.....

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A Joe Joe.

Last Friday was such a beautiful day so we hopped in the car and went to one of our favorite places, the Zoo! Here we are taking a ride on the newly renovated train with my girl Cleo and the boys.

Warren and his favorite elephant. He has to get a picture here every time we go.

The Houston Zoo is the most beautiful zoo I have ever seen. It is filled with rich, lush, tropicals all throughout. These Tai Plants had been planted recently because I haven't seen them before. They were so bright and beautiful. These pics don't really do them justice.

The Lions live! I had to post a picture of the momma Lion awake. We have lived in Houston for 3.5 years and have never seen either of the Lions awake. They have always been sleeping. I had decided that the zoo really didn't have Lions and they were stuffed. They were sleeping again when we first got there but as we walked off they lifted their dreamy heads and opened their eyes for like 3 minutes before they returned to their slumbers.

And here is my sweet little Ben. Just as we left the zoo I handed him a Joe Joe (A cookie of chocolaty goodness from Trader Joes). He was so tired but they are SO delicious that kid was eating it in his sleep! For like 5 minutes. Now, that is the goodness of a Joe Joe my friends. :)

Drooling chocolaty goodness finally, he rests, but the Joe Joe is still in hand.

The DIRT.

I finally planted my very first garden! I have been working my tail off the last week and I finally got it built, installed and planted!!! I really don't know a lot about gardening but I am hoping I will learn soon. Here are some pics from my little garden spot transformation.

The goods: Peas, carrots, green beans, cabbage, cilantro, kale, spinach, lettuce, green onions, cucumbers, orange red & green peppers, tomatoes, squash, basil & rosemary.

I did some research a LONG time ago and had decided to do a "square foot" garden because it claims to be the most successful with the least amount of upkeep and I am all about low maintenance. ;) I built these three 4x4 garden boxes in the garage this week in 95 degree weather & 90% humidity. It seems like it has been raining for 40 days here. It was ugly but I made it through without swearing.

PS Don't mind the crushed utility box that Centerpoint Energy has been promising to replace since last February when one of our oak trees uprooted during a wicked Texas thunderstorm. It is totally messing up the Feng Shui of my garden spot, I know. After they replace it I plan to build something a little more attractive around it to hide its ghastly appearance.

;)

24 Bags of enriched vegetable soil (40 lbs each) & 4 bags of cedar mulch.

I bought some landscaping fabric and layed it down under the boxes (I don't do weeds) and over the area where I wanted my mulch paths.

Warren was just tickled with this project. He told me "I am the LUCKIEST boy EVER to plant a garden!" It was so fun to do together and I was a little amazed how much FUN he had doing it too.

I am growing everything from seeds - except for the tomatoes & peppers. I also planted my small basil & cilantro plants that I already had growing in pots in the Herb box.

All finished! Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait for it to start growing! Gardening tips welcome. :)