12/25/2012: Christmas Tree

Here it is, the Christmas tree, completely decorated this time. Normally there would be a Mr. Hankey ornament at the top of the tree. I'll have to see if I can find him before my dad arrives for dinner. My dad is a huge Mr. Hankey fan.

Merry Christmas all!

9/23/2012: Flower Boxes

Figured I'd better snap a picture of the flower boxes as they'll likely be dead soon. Didn't quite freeze last night but it will some night in the not too distant future. I'm already looking forward to spring. Finally got these mounted on the house and planted back in May. before that these were sitting on my garage floor.

Note how fried around the edges the hostas are, leftover singeing from July's heat/drought.

9/18/2012: Philodendron

The philodendron is another hard to kill plant, evidenced by the fact I have one that is still alive. Haven't watered it in a couple weeks and it looks fine doesn't it?

See also: Buddha Head on a Stick; Mica Shade Table Lamp

9/11/2012: Jade Plant

This jade plant sits in my kitchen window and is something of a family heirloom. It comes from a cutting of a cutting of a cutting off a plant that grew in my aunt and uncle's greenhouse. When they passed away the original jade plant was far too large to move, so it went with the house. But the cuttings off that plant continue to grow. 

See also: Over the sink shelf

8/1/2012: Mini Garden Gnome

This mini garden gnome sits in one the potted plants I have over my sink. It's really only a matter of time before I start getting more full-sized lawn ornements for my yard to emulate one of my favorite houses when I was a kid. Down the street from me was a house that had literally dozens of various lawn ornaments all over the from yard - gnomes, deer, windmills, birdbaths, donkey... and tacky chintzy piece of lawn decor you could think of, this guy had it. I'd ride my bike down and just stare at the yard, trying to spot anything new that might have been added. And all I could think was "Some day... some day when I have my own house..."

See also: Gil Jr., Garden Jawa

7/30/2012: Tomatoes

While much (actually just about all) of my garden has succumbed to the ravages of the drought (RIP zucchini plant, we hardly knew ye), my tomato plant seems to be doing just fine. I think next year I'll just stick to buying my vegetables at the store or become one of those farmers' market people (*shudder*), the whole backyard garden thing is just a pain in the ass. So why not let it be a pain in someone else's ass? And honestly I was only trying to grow my own stuff in preparation for the coming zombie apocalypse, but I'm pretty much screwed when that happens anyway. Haven't been doing my cardio. 

Think there's enough tomatoes here to make a decent batch of salsa?

See Also: Wrought Iron Cafe Set, Mandolin Vegetable Slicer

7/23/2012: Lawn

I'm going to call it. Time of death for my lawn, 6:51PM on the 23rd day of July, in the year 2012. Rest in peace grass, rest in peace.

On the plus side I've saved a LOT of money by not having to have my lawn mowed ever this summer.

See Also: Sprinkler, Lawn Mower

7/10/2012: Zucchini

Presenting these two zucchinis the first harvest from my backyard garden. Which once again begs the question... what the hell do I do with zucchinis? They're some sort of food, right?

See also: Wicker Love Seat

6/8/2012: Over-the-sink Shelf

I got this over-the-sink shelf when I lived in my last apartment so I could put plants on it - the only sunny window was over the sink. When I got the house it wasn't high enough for me to use the faucet properly, so I stuck some ugly chunk of scrap wood under each leg. And look, I fixed it myself!

5/12/2012: Window Boxes (before)

Hopefully these window boxes will go from laying on the floor of my garage to being hung on my house this weekend. "After" pics to follow.

4/23/2012: Irises

These irises come from bulbs that originally grew in my grandmother's yard in New Jersey. Aka the "garden state." After my grandmother and grandfather passed away my parents were out east cleaning out the house and dug the iris bulbs up to bring back. Gave some to me so I planted them in the front yard.They came up quite nicely this spring.

Not only are irises one of my favorite flowers but they're also one of my favorite Vincent Van Gogh paintings.

4/12/2012: Lilac Bush

I figured I'd better snap a pic of my lilac bush while it was still in bloom.

3/23/2012: Elephant Ear Bulbs

Dug these elephant ear bulbs up last fall, then stuck them in the basement. Originally I had three of them... as you can see they've multiplied. Having their dirty bulb intercourse and making bulb babies right in front of my house! A bunch of bulb sluts is what they are. What if the neighbors had seen!

3/22/2012: Forsynthia Bushes

Hard to believe the forsynthia buses are already blooming. In no time at all I'll need to prune them down again since the tend to shoot up and get scraggly like weeds in no time flat.

3/8/2012: Watering Can

1/21/2012: Gil Jr.

Gil Jr. is the smaller version of a garden gnome I have outside that I named Gil. (You'll probably see him sometime in the future)((And no I don't think it's weird to name inanimate objects. You do it too. Admit it.)). Gil Jr. is a houseplant size. You may have noticed I have several houseplants, even featured my Christmas cactus earlier this month. Yes, I am able to keep houseplants alive. Provided they are the kind that can go a very long time between waterings and still survive. And by that I mean I often forget to water my plants for weeks. If they can survive that, the can survive me. If they can't survive that I will eventually toss their dry shriveled carcass in the trash.

1/3/2012: Christmas Cactus

Today is caucus day here in Iowa, a day everyone in the state has been looking forward to for a long long time... so that we can all once again watch TV without being bombarded by political commercials of Rick Perry telling us he isn't embarrassed to talk about his faith or how Ron Paul supports gay marriage so electing him will send America into a moral death spiral the likes of which haven't been seen since Sodom and Gomorrah or anything featuring Newt Gingrich's giant puffy head (am I the only one that thinks he looks like the Stay Puft marshmallow man?). Tomorrow the rest of the country can go back to ignoring us and, let's be honest, being unsure if we're the ones with all the potatoes or is that Ohio?

So anyway, what does any of that have to do with pics of my stuff? Well, what sounds kind of like caucus? That's right... cactus! And *voila* there's my rather tenuous reasoning behind sharing a pic of my Christmas cactus today.

I have no idea where I got this particular houseplant or when. I'd say I've had it at least 5 years, perhaps as many as 10. Perhaps even more, who can remember these things. I think it's technically two Christmas cacti in the same pot, since half of it blooms at a different time of year than the other half.