Saturdays in the Garden - I Kinda Want To Live in a School

I was playing around with making a favicon and this creation just cracks me up!

OUTSIDE

I finally started a few seeds today!  Green Onions, Marigolds, and Sensitive plant.  I'll probably plant a few more herbs tomorrow - Butterfly milkweed, Hyssop, Basil and a couple others I can't think of and am too lazy to go upstairs and look.  It may not have been the smartest of moves because I am headed out of town Monday for several days for work but I think they'll be fine. 

I just saw a local CSA post pictures on facebook of some newly hatched tomato seedlings which is quite early for starting tomatoes and peppers.  For frost intolerant plants the date here in Iowa for planting out is around mid-May - maybe a tad earlier if you're a gambler.  And you are not supposed to start things more than 8 weeks in advance so I usually start mine mid-March.  BUT I have often speculated that starting them earlier and babying them and getting them bigger before planting might lead to an earlier harvest which is what the CSA folks were hoping - ripe tomatoes in June!  However they may also have a hoop house which allows them to plant and rev up earlier etc... Anyhoo - might plant a few tomatoes and peppers next weekend just for kicks:)

LIFE

Here in town, developers decided to take this historical old school building which had recently (in the last 5 years) shut down and turn it into condos with the goal of keeping a lot of the character of the school.  They opened up several of the units to the public this morning and people came out in droves.  Some of it was likely nostalgia for many folks but I think  a lot of people, like me, just really like snooping.  Plus I get ideas and LOVE old buildings/houses.  Fun Fact: My house is 119 years old.  Anyhoo, I think the developers did a really fantastic job  - each condo unit had it's own personality and the elements of the school they kept were awesome.  Here were some of the highlights for me:

Note the built in beer tap!

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Still watching Grimm.  I'm now in the third season.  It's definitely become more addictive but I kind of miss the good ole days of season 1 where it was just a straight up police procedural without all the drama, Nick and Juliet were uncomplicatingly happy and Monroe was a dorky bachelor.  Also just a niggle.  I've worked in a veterinarian's office and had pets all my life so have worked with vets in that way as well.  WHAT the HELL kind of vet is Juliet?  She must have the least demanding practice EVER.  She can pop out whenever she pleases on a lark and ALWAYS seems to be just hanging around home making gourmet meals and doing research on Nick's family.  My experience is that vets work long hours, often stress-filled and are frequently on call just like people doctors. 

I haven't finished any books this week and am still working on the same 4(ish) books: Abhorsen by Garth Nix, The Mermaid's Child by Jo Baker, Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons.  I am also still dipping in and out of Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck - I'm still not out of the Dairy Section where she is rabidly defending how fantastic dairy is for your health.  Considering she is married to a cheese monger, I'm not sure how much that is influencing her ardor.  Quite frankly, I'm easily convinced when it comes to dairy so she needn't work so hard:0).

On the Blog LAST WEEK:

SUNDAY:  A review of Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo.  I thought it was a pretty good ending to the series.
TUESDAY:  Top Ten Tuesday was Book Related Problems.  I was surprised how easy this list was to make!  Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
WEDNESDAY: Review of Jackaby by William Ritter.  I LOVED this book.
THURSDAY:  The Tough Traveling Meme was about Knights this week. This meme is hosted by Fantasy Review Barn.

On the Blog NEXT WEEK:

SUNDAY: A review of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
TUESDAY: The Top Ten Tuesday topic this week is Favorite Heroines in Books or TV/Movies.  I really want to do this topic but I will be traveling so it will depend on how quick I am at putting something together and scheduling it.
WEDNESDAY:  Review of Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch.
THURSDAY:  The Tough Traveling topic this week is Chessmasters in fantasy literature.  I had a couple pop right into my head so I really want to participate but see caveat above for TTT.  I may just post late.

How's your week been?  Reading or watching anything particularly spectacular?  Do you like new or old houses best?