Amanda LaPera

Deep Thoughts

I just realized that in my pain medicine induced stupor, I never made the webpage "Deep Thoughts" visible. It was here all along, in spirit, but now it is actually accessible.

Please enjoy these deep thoughts of wisdom which I am g...

I've written a few more short stories and submitted them to some magazines. It usually takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to hear back, so it's an exercise in patience.

As for the garden...we've gotten a few bell peppers and tomatoes, in addition to the strawberries that are ripening daily (so sweet!). There are flowers on the eggplants and the zucchini. The corn, watermelon, and pumpkin plants have all sprouted. I've thinned them out, leaving only the healthie...

Okay, so I didn't accomplish any of my three goals. (This is how life goes sometimes). I haven't written a new story or submitted anything. However, I did plant an azalea bush and two gardenias. I also spread organic plant food around all my garden. I bought a bag called blood something or other for the tomatoes, then another bag of food for the peppers (which I'll also eventually add to the pumpkins and corn), and a third bag of food for the strawberries and blueberr...

Grass is growing in nicely, but some of the plants I've transplanted aren't doing so well. After transplanting them a month ago, I dug the bulbs back out again. In their place, I transplanted some of my Lily of the Nile plants (I think that's what they're named). I hope the tall blooms (over 3 feet tall) don't die from shock. I'm trying to water them, but I worry about the gaps between the roots and the dirt underneath them. We'll see.

The geranium has a new home next ...

Today, as I watered my garden and baby lawn, I noticed that tiny blades of grass are starting to peek through the black stinky topper (I had to burn scented candles in order to cover the stench of the topper while I had guests over the other night). I think that the smell will dissipate as the grass fills in.

Yay!

The other day I planted the avocado tree. The grape vine is still in its container, but two large bunches of grapes are growing and s...

What did I buy today? Grass seed and topper to fill in the dirt part of my lawn. That dirt area is an eye sore that seperates the lawn from the beautiful planter bordering my back fence.

Last summer, we:

*cut done three fruitless fruit trees (they were bushy messes)

*planted five Queen Anne palm trees

*planted four orange birds of paradise (to alternate in between the palm trees) *planted two white birds of paradise, one white lily-of-the-valley, and two p...

After getting advice at Home Depot, I've purchased some really long screws. I've used the cordless drill to connect the fencing to the posts. Then I realized that I need a way into my vegetable garden....

So, while my kids painted the fence with primer and then white paint (they almost look the same, except the paint feels smoother and looks a bit shinier), my husband and I built a gate. I bought hinges and a hook which we installed.

Here's somethin...

I ache. My muscles are sore, my body is fatigued, and mysterious bruises have appeared all over.

But...

The fence is done! Mostly.

I dug really deep holes for the fence posts (here is where a post digging shovel would have been helpful). Then, without concrete or bracing, I put the posts in, and packed the dirt down around them.

The picket fence sections are leaning against the posts for now, because I realized that...

Imagine my surprise when I went out to water my garden today and noticed that something took all of the leaves off of one of my tomato plants. Grrr... It's probably going to die. I think one or two of the pepper plants look a bit sad, too. I'll keep watering everything until I know for sure.

Today my oldest son and I took a trip to Home Depot (do they know our names by now?) and purchased materials to make a picket fence. There were two options available to us:

 ...

I've accomplished quite a bit in my garden over the last month or so. Here's a summary:

1. I transplanted some palms and misc. plants from my rose planter by my house to a planter on the side of my yard, because palms and roses don't go together (apparently, this has been disturbing me for quite some time). Removing the large prickly palm was dangerous, especially since I kept bumping into the thorns of my rose bushes. Plus, those nine new holes were quite fun to dig (kiddi...