Snapdragons in the garden, originally uploaded by trixieskips

I grew up loving okra plants. My dad had a small garden in the backyard and those okra plants were the coolest thing--we could actually eat the things that grew on them! And that cornmeal-coated, peppery fried okra was so tasty.

That love of the garden has followed me into adult life, but my apartments meant it had to happen in containers. Fine and dandy, but I always dreamed of living in a house with a square of dirt for me to play.

Moving in with Tim last September has fulfilled several dreams: having family over and hosting Thanksgiving; having space to hang art on the walls and not worry about a deposit; finding my mate and living with him... It has also provided me ample room to plant, plant, plant!

Our garden is about nine-by-seven and last week, after giving up on our pathetic seeding attempt, we bought plants and put in red bell peppers, three kinds of tomatoes, English cucumbers, hot peppers, two kind of basil, cilantro, watermelon, and cantaloupe. And, of course, okra! These join the strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and fig tree planted a few weeks and months before.

Yesterday, I got tired of looking at the dying pansies in our brand-new brick planter around the tree in the front, so I drove to Ruibal's on Garland Road and bought three flats of flowers and decorative plants for that space.


I'm frequently disappointed upon first planting flowers because they need so much time to spread out and grow into their potential glory and this was no exception. After two hours of pulling up old plants and digging holes for the new ones, the dwarf snapdragons, red burgundy coleus, and white star zinnias look a little puny. But I trust the rain and a good dose of MiracleGrow to make my pretties get big and bushy.

That wait for the glory, the time it takes, the care and ongoing love and devotion required to make a garden or planter look fabulous, that's what I love most. To nurture something and see it reach its zenith because of your own hard work, that is a brilliant experience. I can hardly wait.

Tim and me, originally uploaded by trixieskips

Today is one year since I quit drinking and it's fairly amazing to me. I am so happy and grateful. My wonderful Tim sent me flowers and I am relaxing before speaking tonight. What a day. What a year!

Love this season's yellows, originally uploaded by trixieskips

How fun is polyvore.com? I've been playing around with my favorite colors, finding all sorts of awesome clothes and shoes that are in style this season. Yellow!


And blue! Is that blue-and-black short skirt not the cutest thing? I love designing these images, too.

New art, originally uploaded by trixieskips

A few months ago, I ran across the work of Heather Powazek Champ on flickr. Her pictures have a Creative Commons license that allow printing and I adore her style, so I blew up two of my favorites from her sprockets set. Both are 20x30 and look so beautiful in our home.

"Persimmons, Flying Cloud," above, is hanging above our bed. "The Accordionist, Golden Gate Park," below, is hanging at the end of our entry hallway, right before the kitchen. I sit and stare dreamily at them both, loving them intensely.



Other ones I am thinking of framing include Cairn, Fort Funston and Untitled.