Yard Projects, Before & After

We have spent most of our weekends doing yardwork this spring (after four rounds of visitors, photos of which I've not yet uploaded!) This entire bed was covered with weeds, which I pulled by hand. David then dug in peat moss to amend the soil. I should mention that we used to have a lovely Bradford pear here, which was blown down in Hurricane Ike. It had been too shady for anything other than ground cover in the past, but with it open, we decided to turn it into a flower bed.


And then I planted it with five kinds of sage/salvia (they do very well down here), some ornamental grass, gaillardia, mini-zinnia, jasmine vines to cover the walls, and some herbs. We also put in a few rocks and mulched it.

Now hopefully everything will grow and look lovely by next year. The plants seem to be settling in well, so I think they'll be fine. We stuck in some cherry tomatoes and red bell peppers as well, mostly as an experiment.

Weeds, weeds, and more weeds! Also pulled by hand, then planted with three kinds of ornamental sweet potato vine for ground cover and mulched.

Couldn't find a good picture of the house before we had the trees trimmed, but it was pretty overgrown. Looks much more open with them trimmed up.

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Merry Christmas 2008!

Dear Friends,

We can’t believe that another Christmas is upon us and that 2008 is almost over! We pray that you have had a blessed year with new memories made and simple pleasures enjoyed. We certainly have.

As usual, some of our highlights this year have been spending time with loved ones. We enjoyed visits from both sides of our family here in Texas. May found us heading up to South Dakota for our annual visit. We were treated to a spring blizzard, which was quite novel to us since we don’t get snow in Houston! I enjoyed an extended stay and the blessedly cool weather, fitting in walks and hikes.

In June I did something I hadn’t done in seven years – boarded an airplane! It was scary, but worth it. We flew to Pennsylvania to see dear friends, who honored us with another godbaby. We had a truly delightful time visiting with them. David was able to see family in West Va. at this time as well, while I stayed behind for a workshop. I even flew again this fall for a shorter trip back to SD.

In July, we brought a fuzzy bundle of fun into our home, aka Shiloh, a wirehaired dachshund. He has been enormously entertaining and is quite popular with the neighbor kids.

David continues to work as an engineer, often putting in very long days but fortunately not having to travel as often this year. I keep busy taking icon painting workshops, doing a bit of writing and editing, and crafting whenever possible.

We pray that your Christmas is peaceful and joyous, and invite you to visit if you are ever in the area. We also wish a wonderful 2009 for you. As we proclaim in the Orthodox Church during this season, Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Hill Country Trip

A few photos from our early Christmas trip to Hill Country for the weekend. We rented an adorable cabin...


Took a warm, sunny hike through dry fields and prickly pear in Colorado Bend State Park to reach Gorman Falls...

Stopped at Inks Lake State Park to catch a beautiful sunset, photograph leaves on the water, and climb on the rocks...

We also popped into the quaint little town of Wimberley on the drive back to browse the shops. I brought a bunch of Christmas music along for the drive, so it was quite a merry time! We look forward to going back.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

We decided to brave the crowds and attend the big Thanksgiving Day parade in downtown Houston this year. There were tons of small children and huge cheers went up when Nemo, Barney, and Santa Claus passed by. We enjoyed it and celebrated the holiday later that day with friends from church, who made a delicious Mediterranean feast for us - turkey with grapeleaves, hummus, and tabouli! Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Two Dog Night

We've had a boatload of entertainment while babysitting a neighbor's dog this last week. Shiloh has greatly enjoyed having someone to play with and chase around the house; both of them cuddle on my lap or at my feet on the sofa while David stays on the floor working on his projects. We're also watching their guinea pig, who is also entertaining in his own way. He makes very cute noises when I scratch his neck. I think what this has mostly taught us, though, is that we are not ready for a second dog! Perhaps when Shiloh is older and isn't so driven to play constantly...

Aunt Pam Visits Texas

David's Aunt Pam came out to visit for a week in Oct/Nov. We had a fun and busy visit. The highlight was attending the huge quilt festival held in Houston. Aunt Pam also showed me some sewing tips and whipped up a beautiful table runner for us.

She also taught me how to make grapeleaves, when she wasn't busy cooking other delicious meals for us and helping with dishes!

And she adored Shiloh, patiently putting up with his kisses during photo shoots!

Thanks for coming to visit, Aunt Pam! We enjoyed it. We welcome all of you to drop by if you're ever in the neighborhood!