Ready for a Block Party!

This is our backyard, which I love. It was neglected while the apartment was between tenants, but is well on its way to beautiful again. It's probably about 800 square feet (0.018 acre!) and we plan on using every inch.

1. Grass. I know, it's a water-hungry beast of a plant that is not particularly well suited for drought prone peninsula summers ... but it's also gorgeous and the perfect place for itty bitty babies to play on. We dug up the littered wood chips and heavy plastic liner underneath and put down sod in 2 small areas: a 9'x10' area to the right of the patio and another small area under the window. It's been 2 weeks and seems to be taking root well enough. Lush lawn in little areas: a nice balance. $34 for sod

2. Patio & Deck. Our first weekend here, I spilled a bucket of bright blue indoor paint on the concrete patio. I flipped for a second and then decided to paint the whole thing. I used the hose to water down the paint a little and it resulted in a nice, washed out, Greek-isle style blue that I really like and hope the owner doesn't get too upset about. The deck was solid but raw and covered in splinters that like to get in baby hands and knees. Luke decided to sand & seal it and it looks FANTASTIC -- definitely the biggest improvement.

3. Weber grill! Free off of Craigslist (just one wheel missing!) with BBQ utensil set and ice chest. Previous owner is a Macarthur grad -- holla SAtown!

4. Plants.
3.5 of the 7 large potted plants abandoned by the previous tenant have come back to life after being completely pruned down, watered, and fertilized for a month. There are 3 rosebuds right now! Yay.

Dwarf Eureka lemon tree, aka "Momma's New Baby" (Luke tries to help Scott avoid sibling jealously): I just love the idea of lemon trees. If I ever learn to play guitar, this Mason Jennings song, Lemon Grove Avenue, will be one of my first. $27 for tree, watering pipe, and first fertilizer
Those pretty agapatha plants were also free from craigslist. Agapanthus means love flower in Greek.

5. Laundry lines. Oooooh beautiful little things, I love you. You save me $4/week in dryer quarters, you are green and energy saving, you give me an excuse to get outside and move around, and you make my clothes last longer. (Dryer lint is YOUR CLOTHES. I don't know how I missed that for so many years.) I have enough line space for 1-2 loads. Clothesline posts are pretty pricey, so here's what we did: we screwed in one big, sturdy metal ring very high, looped cotton clothesline through, and made hooks (bent nails work just fine) for the lines against the other fence. I unhook them when I take down the clothes so the lines are only up 1 day a week and don't bother the neighbors. Ellen made me a cleverly designed little clothespin bag. $5 for lines, ring, and clothespins, but have already saved more than that in dryer fees, so $0

6. Furniture. The table (sanded & spray painted silver, $4) was $5 on craigslist and that cute little California Growers bin for garden tools was a freebie garage sale leftover.

Our pretty backyard for $70. Plus, we saved items from landfill fate.

Next Projects:
- Compost pile behind the agapanthus (the county gives free How-To classes)
- Simple veggie kitchen herb gardens
- Native climbing vines along fence
- Possibly widening the walkway with free bricks off craigslist

Beachin' it up with Babb-to-be

Last weekend, I went to Tracy's bachelorette party in Port Aransas, TX (Moore party, more fun!). I am outrageously lucky that I met her and so many other good friends in 6th grade -- FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. I never got it when, in college, other people would grimace and use the term "high school friends" in a not-so-kind way, like they were glad to have "outgrown" them. Ick. Please. These gals are great. I totally have their backs.

Anyway, here's what's changed in the last decade or so:
1. We apply sunscreen (serious stuff, SPF 30 or 70) rather than baby oil or that coconut baking butter junk, which I still love the smell of.
2. We make up cocktail recipes instead of dances.
3. No more lip liner and no more bangs.

Here's what hasn't:
1. I still love swimming in the muddy brown, bath temperature gulf.
2. We still stay up too late and keep talking even after the lights are out.
3. We still talk about the boys we like (although most of us are married to them now).

Old friends smile happily in the shark jaws

Then I got to come home to perfection: my Luke, who cleaned and bought cream puffs while I was gone; his cuteness, who continued the Reign of Adorability; and Ellen, who sewed an apron and chef hat for me! Really, how did I get all of this?!? Thank You.

"I hereby decree that you hand over all the hugs!"

Last weekend

A rather productive 2 days, in which we:

1) Sanded (coarsely and then finely) and treated our deck
2) Sodded 2 small areas of our yard (beautiful beautiful grass)
3) Tilled our garden area
4) Planted a LEMON TREE with a totally cool watering system*
5) Hung laundry lines
6) Transformed a $5 craigslist find into a hip new patio table
7) Went with our neighbors to watch fireworks over the bay
8) Had tequila shots :)

All while keeping a 9 month old fed, happy, and reasonably clean. Go Team Wagner!

*The watering system was recommended by the guy at the garden store and it is cool. We put in about 2' of 3" diameter perforated corrugated plastic tubing in the ground about 1' from the tree trunk ($0.80). We covered the top with a plastic drainage cover to keep things (like little legs) from getting caught in the tube ($1.34). Once a week we'll fill up the tube with water and once every couple months we'll drop in a fertilizer spike. That's it! All the deep watering a citrus tree needs, easy peasy!

Happy 4th of July

Yard work! What an American boy.

Journey to Japantown

We spent our Friday holiday celebrating American diversity in San Francisco's Japantown! We had a great shabu-shabu lunch at Shabu Sen. You sit at a table with a high-tech hot plate and vent hood. The waitress brings a pot of boiling broth and plates of thinly sliced meat and veggies and you cook it up and enjoy. YUM.

We also played at Pikapika, a shop full of crazy photo booths. Check out the results -- stickers! -- below.

Luke channeled his inner Japanese girl and out-decorated Ellen & I.

9.5 months

Little clips of Scott this week, taken & assembled by Ellen:

He's big! He crawls and babbles and smiles!

The View from my Office

Outside, there are Ellen (sister-in-law and summer nanny!) and Baby Boy playing in the kiddie pool in our unfinished back"yard". (Perhaps back garden or back nook would be a better term.) Inside, there is me, doing dose reconstructions!

Life has been exciting and full -- updates soon, but after working hours.