How does my garden grow?

Here is a quick update on my gardening boxes. I was gone for 10 days to Utah, and what a blessing to come home to this. Yeah for modern irragation.

Chris asked about my planting mix, so with out having to go to the square foot gardening website here's a quick mix. You combine 1/3 compost, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 spagnum peat moss. It contains all the nutrients that the plants need. I didn't use my own soil. I purchased large pkgs of the stuff from a nursery in Upland. They were pretty reasonable compared to Home Depot who only had small pkgs. of the last two.
Some of the tomatoes are ready, and I can't wait for the rest to be harvested.

Queen Of Soul

Here is a cop out of a blog. On Friday night we joined with four dear friends to attend an Aretha Franklin concert but I'm sending you a link to Lisa Blog because she has pictures and I don't. I also want to add that after the great concert I throughly enjoyed the ride home as we discussed gospel and temple related ideas. The evening was filled with great friends, great music and great spiritual interaction. http://lisakirtley.blogspot.com/

See how my garden grows!

I'm trying a new way to garden because I have abused my soil in the back yard retaining wall for toooo many years. I have planted tomatoes way to many times (32 years) in the same place, so I'm using different soil. Here is a link to the web site that helped me get everything set up. www.squarefootgardening.com (it didn't make it a link, so you'll just have to copy and paste this address, thanks for patients) I'm so excited to see the results. This pic right below is of the pansy in my front yard, you all know that I love Pansies. They are in full bloom so I had to add the pic for fun. Thanks for Mark for taking such great pictures. You just have to smile when you see pansies smiling at you.

Here I have planted my tomatoes in this planter with the new soil. I have two of them. You'll laugh at me but I just replaced one of them, I had planted an heirloom variety and when the tomato was ripe I didn't like the mealiness of it so I ripped out the plants and started with two new fresh ones, yellow pear. This is my better boy, with a purple pepper plant tucked in.

Here it is hard to see, but it's exciting. The starts of my beets, cucumbers, and my most anticipated, cantaloupe, sounds boring, but here is the quick story. Last year I bought this weird looking, odd cantaloupe (a different variety), but when we ate it--wow--it was so sweet and great texture. Soo, I saved the seeds and planted them this year, and 12 of them are growing. Too many for me, so if any ones interested, come and get a couple.

Let's see what happens. Love ya all, and happy gardening!!

Jungle Book Prom

There has been so much in-between my last blog and this one, I'm sooo far behind. Any way I thought that I would just quickly put in some pictures of Marks' extracurricular art work.

Three Stakes in our Area rotate the responsibility of doing a Mormon Prom for the Youth here, and the Ontario Stake was in charge this year, and to make it spectacular they enlisted the help of my art genius for the decorating committee. He was in charge of this really cool Ka the snake, it has many really spiffy features that this pic doesn't do it justice but I hope that you get the idea.

I am so caught up in the school Prom right now at work I realize just how important Prom is to the youth, and what a blessing for the youth to have somewhere to go that has values, modesty, and mega doses of Mormon fun!
One of his murals on the wall of the cultural center. This pics are in the setting up stage of the decorations so there are bonus stuff, but it was awesome. As you can tell this mural was huge, I mean really huge. There were other murals but I didn't get a pic.
The last of his part of the deco are these great ruins at the monkey palace. Who would have ever thunk? Love his creative brain.

Nicole is 29! Really!

         Nicole Kathryn Hendrickson Shelby
It's just amazing, but my Nicole was born this morning 29 years ago.  What an amazing addition to our family, what a beautiful daughter, inside and out.  I love being with her.

                                   May, 1980

                                   Easter 1981
                                         Easter 1985
                            Orchestra performance--Claremont Youth Symphony 

                                           High School Graduation, 1998

                                   Isabelle's Baptism, April 2008

       

What more can I say you are loved and I will Love you forever!!

32 Joyous Years

Word's can't express what I feel today.  I have spent 32 years with a man that I love with all my heart.  A man who still makes my heart do funny things; my heart stops at times when I look at him and know how blessed I am to share life with him, it still skips a beat when I see him, it races when we are together or just holding his hand.  I love to feel his touch, to laugh, cry, talk, share, explore, just be together and share space without words, and to be enveloped in his arms.  He is my lover, best friend, companion, spiritual leader, protector, provider, my true earthly joy, life is wonderful because of him.  I can't wait to spend Eternity with him, I never grow tired of being with him.  He is an awesome husband, wonderful father, caring son, true friend, who wouldn't want him in your life.

Now brace yourself, here is a couple of pictures of our life together, OK more than a couple but I wanted to put so many more.  I didn't even get to the ones where he is with the Grandkids.  Some of those are my favorites.  He is just the best!!!

This is Mark and I on our very first date, 5 days after he returned home from Argentina on his mission, April 1976.

February 4, 1977--We are young and eager to share life and all it brings.
My how we grow.
I love this group!  I know that everyone isn't here, but as of today Mark and I have gone from 2, to 19, who would of ever imagined.  Time flies by so fast.
Nostalgia.
 
Mark and Scott on his (Scott's) blessing day.
Mark and Jodi and her family on his graduation day.
Mark and Nicole the day they blessed adam.
Heidi and I at her visit.  (Not my favorite picture but I added it from the small thumb nail, it looked better small, sorry Heidi--I owe you a better pic of us)

Thanksgiving 2006, Utah.
This picture was for our wedding announcement.


I love this man!
We took this picture tonight after we got home from dinner.  February 4, 2008--32 years, and all I ask for is Eternity with him.

Saturday Night--Belly Up Bar

Saturday  Night  we headed to Solano Beach to attend a concert of James Morrison with the Kirtley's.  The tickets were theirs and they generously shared with us.  We met them for a fabulous Greek dinner first, yum.  Then off to the Belly Up Bar.  My first standing only concert with a room more than full of fans.  It was a fun concert with good music and good people watching.  Here's a video of one of our favorite songs that he preformed that night.