Sweet Summer Days

Believe it or not Kylee and I have already harvested the first fruits of our labor in the garden. We plucked a radish today that was the size of a golf ball and not even the least bit hot. I know that growing a radish that big isn't a huge deal but this one was not even close to being "woody."  The knife just slide right through it when we cut it up to eat it today.

The garden is coming along very well and that is great for now. But here's the dilema: We are getting very close to knowing whether or not we can get a house soon. By next week we should know if we can or cannot get the house we currnetly have our eyes on. To make matters even more difficult, rent is going up in July another $15 a month. I don't want to lose all this hard work we put in. On the other hand I am not ready to lose more money to rent when we could be paying the same in mortgage and maybe even less.

Sad to say I will not be planting Eggplant and Zucchini. Our neighbors and friends will be planting these and since neither is really fit for consumption unless deep fat fried. I'm sure I will eat some by the end of the season.

Jake, maybe leaving "this old Apartment"

Little April Showers

Gardening has taken a back seat for the last few weeks as school draws to a close. Luckily April comes with it's own watering system and every other day is marked with low grey clouds and lots of rain.

plant update: onions, peas, and radishes are all up and growing( I re-seeded the radish and lettuce to get a thicker row). the lettuce really didn't come up except in the walk way where I spilled a few. I also re-started the Tomatoes after the first batch dampened off.

As most of you may have guessed Kylee and I are looking into homes in our area(walkable distance to campus). We went on our first home tour of a house well within our price range only to determine that the house should be burned to the ground and reconstructed. We've been heavily weighing the pros and cons of owning a home and its been a struggle to know what to do. With school getting out soon we may have more time to go looking, but we are going to have to acquire credit first to show the banks we are a good risk.

With all of the research into homes and payments, I recently spent time creating an Excel spreadsheet to see how much we are earning and spending throughout the year. So far we are breaking even but I'm sure when we are going to come out on top as soon as summer starts. Its our goal to own a home and use it to get our dream home before its time to retire.

Jake, just so you know

instant garden, just add water

I know it s been quite a few weeks but we finally made our garden more than just talk. Over spring break Kylee and I were outside working on the new beds while the weather was warm(and inside working on new spring decor).

I'm surprised how well the wooden retaining walls held up better than I expected and we found plenty of cinder blocks around the apartment building to fill in gaps and steps. We would not have finish the whole project before school started if Kevin and Melanie, our neighbors, hadn't helped us. So now we have three times the space we had last year and it only cost $20.

so far we have planted lettuce, radishes, peas, and onions. more planting to follow, pending on the weather. I've planned out a layout for the entire garden square foot by square foot, but we will see just how closely that is followed. Gardening is a science, but it is also an art.

Jake, This Old Apartment season 1

a narration of a moment

I am currently sitting in the public library using the internet, listening to an elderly woman mutter to herself how her husband better not forget to pick her up.

I would not be here if the internet at our apartment hadn't died. The manager said it should have been up today, but no luck there. so here I sit at the library doing online school work (and blogging). From my homework I've decided that Business and numbers don't get along very well.

This lady has been nervously pacing from the chair next to me to the courtesy phone and calling her husband every 5 minutes. It started snowing again and I'm guessing from her overly vocal mutterings that she REALLY doesn't want to be stranded here. I don't blame her but i usually rant like that INSIDE my head.

Oh wow, She just told the librarians that she is going to brave the weather and leave without her husband. either she doesn't trust her spouse at all or she is an overly anxious person. Good Luck random rambling lady!

jake, life is story

Ruminating about Rent

I had the greatest idea the other day to figure out a way to turn the weed lot next to our apartment into a green lawn to pic1nic on this summer. I found a cheap lawn mower on KSL.com and calculated just how much it would cost to do.

Sadly it turns out the manager and the owner had different plans. I was graciously informed that we are free to weed and mow the space as much as we'd like, but not to water it. I guess it has something to do with the cost of water. I was also informed that I should not plan on using a drip hose for our garden bed this year. Bummer.

It's moments like this that get me all excited about owning a home. Having our own space, with our own walls, and our own parking spot. Oh, and our own big mortgage payment. I think that's the only thing keeping us stationary. At least I have the best kind of room mate.

Jake, the grass is greener I'm sure!