Well, Jim is the latest victim of a bad economy. He has been laid off for the winter. He has a great attitude though and plans on working around the house getting some more projects off his list of things to do. My job seems to be secure. I will be working Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after. What a switch in roles. We are very thankful though for too many things to list here.

Home sick no more!

There is a blog called "Homesick Texan" with just about every authentic Mexican recipe you can think of and then some. These are the Sour cream chicken enchiladas. Lots of work but worth the effort.

Garden Goodies

We are finally enjoying some of our veggies from the garden. Jim's making a new batch of salsa every other day. The cantaloupe are small but sweet and the watermelons are too big for me to lift. The eggplants are still on the vine waiting for the perfect recipe.

Out with the old...

Well, it was a very last minute decision but we decided to trade our beloved Jeep and take advantage of the cash for clunkers car sale. We learned a few things during the process. One, our Tahoe is worth more than they were willing to give us and two, both our drivers license had expired. Who knew they no longer send you a reminder card? Anyway, I'm trying to get use to riding close to the ground. It's a fun little car (Hyundai Accent) and I'll enjoy the great gas mileage for sure. The jeep had been good to us for a lot of years. That's the car we brought Gavin home from the hospital and the car we took our first family vacation in. It was hard to say adios.

Owl be back!

Yesterday as I was working around the yard I looked up in the tree and spotted the owl that came to visit last year. We had been watching and hoping it would come back. Later in the evening as dusk was upon us Jim and I were relaxing in the swing when all of a sudden we saw something land on a branch right in front of us. It was the owl! We sat there watching it watching us for about five minutes. Darn, I wish I had my camera. Jim volunteered to go get it but by the time he reached the house it took off again into the neighbors yard.

Pond Tour 2009

We had so much fun doing the Garden Tour that we decided to visit the Pond Tour. Our goal is to start building one next spring. We were told over and over again by these pond owner's that it is a good idea to visit and talk to them first so we don't make the same mistakes they did. They were all really nice and helpful. When we got home we kept going back and forth from the front yard to the back wondering where the best place to put a pond would be. I think we have settled for the back next to the patio where Jim's zeroscape garden currently lies. One things for sure, we still have time to "ponder" it.

First Harvest 2009