Stand up Desk

I've been reading about how bad it is for you to sit all day. People who sit all day at work, then go home and sit for more hours (independent of level of exercise) have higher risks for obesity and heart disease.

But stand up desks are expensive, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of commitment just yet. I do know what sitting at my desk isn't amazing- I have terrible posture and I tend to sit on my legs, which my knees hate.

So I'm doing a kind of trial run.

That's a step stool and a few piles of books. If it works, I can look at a more permanent solution.

Cheers!

Itty Bitty Tomato

This little guy is the first tomato from my garden. I'm excited to make pasta sauce, but alas, I'll have to wait for his friends!

Garden Spoils!

Well, there was enough lettuce growth that I felt comfortable taking some for dinner tonight. Some leaves showed some bite marks, but that is the cost of organic growing, hmm? All in all, it was exciting to eat what I'd grown, and boy was it delicious!

Rain Barrel

My friend Jenny helped me make a rain barrel. If you'd like to make one yourself, you can find directions here: http://www.cityofbremerton.com/content/sw_makeyourownrainbarrel.html.

I don't yet have it connected to the downspout you can see in the corner, as the roof is being painted this week, but after a few good rains, I intend to get everything fully functional. As it is, I can fill the barrel with a bucket, and water my garden with a hose. Which sounds like a pain, but it isn't as bad as watering the garden with the bucket. 

When I say my friend Jenny helped me, I mean that she helped me, and gave me bits of her house so I had to buy less at Lowes (In addition to knowing how to put it together, and wandering through Lowes with me making terrible innuendoes . Which is how I have part of a window screen attached here at the top. Also, you can see that I zip tied my hose rack on there. 

Update on the Garden!

This stuff is the secret to my very modest success. I used my food processor to chop up some pablano peppers and let them steep in water overnight, then strained the water into an old spray bottle. I added a little bit of oil too, as I'd heard there were some bugs that didn't like that. I take it out with me every few days and spray down my plants. I know it makes a difference, because when I forgot to spray some plants I put on the other side of the house for a few days, they were eaten alive!

 The rest of this post is really just pictures.

Lettuce! This is the best growing patch.

This is what a strawberry looks like when you have thieving squirrel neighbors.

The plant in the middle is a broccoli (I think)

This was the smallest of my tomato plants that barely made it to the first rung when I planted it.

Lettuce and carrots!

This tomato has also grown tremendously.

baby tomato!

Not so baby tomatoes, though still too green to eat.

The tall sprout there is a Sunflower from a very amazing and lovely friend.