Hello?

"Where are you? Hello? Where did you go? Is anyone here? Hello?!!!!"

Have you ever been in your yard, house or anywhere, for that matter, only to turn around and find the people you thought were with you are...gone? Simply nowhere to be found?

You search for them in obvious places, like the bathroom, or under a pile of blankets...you know, in case they are hiding in the pile, waiting to jump out and scare you. But they're not. Nor are they in the kitchen making you sandwich. They've just seemingly disappeared.

Fortunately, in most cases, the missing person isn't missing at all. They've usually just stepped out the back door for a sec, popped behind some shrubbery to relocate a sprinkler, stepped into the closet to get something buried deep within or ran down to the basement when your back was turned.

No matter where they've run off to, the person left behind (haha, no pun intended) suffers a few moments of sheer terror, thinking thoughts such as this:

"The rapture has happened and I didn't make it!! Ohhhh no!!"

But oh, what sweet relief washes over you as soon as you find the missing someone, right?

I have a very distinct memory of this happening to me as a child. Mom and I had been outside. She then told me she was going inside. I went in a few minutes later but could not find mother anywhere. Not even in the
basement!

...Panic. Stress. Fear. Sweaty armpits. What should I gather to keep safe, fed and warm? Where is the big box of matches? I should find them immediately and put them in a waterproof bag...

Oh. She was just STILL OUTSIDE. Behind some shrubbery, relocating a sprinkler. THE NERVE!

Something similar happens in my own home more frequently now that we live in a house with more than one level. Well, really, now that we live in a space where you can't see in every room by simply walking through the front door.

We've lived in some small spaces...including an RV. But I digress...

A few months ago, I went outside to put on our new license plates. I yelled my intention upstairs and then headed out. Ten or so minutes later I see Justin stick his head outside, then throw his hands up in relieved exasperation. "I thought for sure the rapture happened, I've been looking for you all over the house!"

Apparently he hadn't heard me declare my aforementioned intention.

Then there's last night. As I headed upstairs, I asked Justin to bring Rolin up in five minutes. Instead of getting ready to feed Rolin, I started looking for something in the back of our closet, so when Justin looked in our room he didn't see me. (This makes our closet sound big...it's not.) I wasn't in Rolin's room, the bathroom or the guest room. I'd seemingly disappeared!


...Panic. Stress. Fear. Sweaty armpits. What should I gather to keep safe, fed and warm? Where is the big box of matches? I should find them immediately and put them in a waterproof bag...

He checked all the rooms again and thankfully spotted me in our room just as he started to tell Rolin he thought the two of them had been left behind.

Sweet relief!

Is the rapture anyone else's first assumption? I think it's hysterical that it's the first conclusion Justin and I jump to when we can't find each other in our own home.

Adios, amigo!

We parted with a good friend last month.

A friend that had seen Team Thompson through many adventures, countless movies, laughs, tears, good news, late night snacks, lazy weekends and panic attacks. This friend was also hospitable to strangers and friends alike, and stuck by our side through the five times we've moved in the last five years.

Though strings of insults were thrown its way, particularly around tax-return season or any time we moved, this friend remained a constant in our lives.

You could say this friend has been there through sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer.

This friend was our couch.

Our OLD couch, that is.

Old Couchy in San Jose

WE GOT A NEW COUCH!

The crew loading a few of the boxes into Justin's work rig. 

Old Couchy was a truly heavy beast, complete with a hide-a-bed. We have reason to believe it had invisible lead bricks sewn into its cushions. Justin absolutely despised that couch, but, really, only when we had to move it.

I inherited Old Couchy from friends Sarah and Eric when I lived with Tara & Ami in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Eric and Justin moved it into my old apartment, destroying only one and a half exit signs and scraping the stairway walls along the way. Upon setting it down, Justin proclaimed, "When you move out, this thing is staying here!"

Luckily Joe was in town when we decided to get the new couch.

Then Justin and I got married a while later and, upon reviewing our finances, decided to move the couch into our new apartment in Lake Forest Park. My dad and bro Joe helped with that move. Upon setting it down in the new place, Justin proclaimed, "When we move out, this thing is staying here!"

OK, one of the main reasons we got the new couch was because Joe was in town.

Then we learned we were moving to California. Old Couchy stayed in LFP while we lived in my parents' RV in CA while waiting out our LFP lease to be up and trying to save money for a new place in CA. After getting all our ducks in a row and finding an apartment in Mountain View, CA, we reviewed our finances and decided to bring Old Couchy to CA. My bro Joe also helped with that move, both out of the apartment in WA and into our new home in CA. Old Couchy smashed only one finger along the way. Upon setting the couch down in CA, Justin proclaimed, "When we move out, this thing is staying here!"

It takes a lot of muscle and stamina to move Old Couchy.

From Mountain View we moved to San Jose where our rent was a bit higher. Upon reviewing our finances, we decided to bring Old Couchy with us to the South Bay. We had a crew of friends help with that move, but still, upon setting down the couch, Justin proclaimed, "When we move out, this thing is staying here!"

Not exactly sure what to do with the old while bringing in the new, we moved the beast out on to the porch.

Soon after we got settled into our place in San Jose, we received our tax return. Upon reviewing our finances, we decided to see about getting a new couch. It was also the weekend Justin's brother came to visit. We spent the better part of Saturday testing out new couches....leather couches, microfiber couches, couches with ottomans, couches in the shape of an L.

We came home with new TV instead.

In no time at all, the neighbors expressed interest, and Old Couchy had a new home. 

As you know, we recently moved again...this time back to WA. A professional crew of movers packed up and transported our belongings this time, so while Old Couchy skirted ridicule during this latest move, Justin still looked at the couch with hatred that burns with the heat of a thousand suns. When it came time to arrange the living room, Justin proclaimed, "This is the last time I want to move this couch!"

So he began plotting. Plotting ways to convince me it was time to part with Old Couchy. "We'll have more visitors now so we'll need more places to sit." "See how it dips down in the middle?" "See how it slides so easily on the wood floor?" "Don't you think a darker colored couch with a different fabric would make for easier baby barf clean up?" "You hate this couch, too, don't you? DON'T YOU?!"

The weekend Joe my bro came to town, and after MUCH discussion as to whether or not it was the right time, we went to Coscto and purchased a new couch.

New couch!

We weren't sure what we'd do with Old Couchy, but as Joe and Justin moved the beast out to the porch -- not without much moaning, groaning and calling of names -- the neighbors walked by.

The neighbors are now the proud new owners of Old Couchy.

I'll miss Old Couchy. As I said, it's seen Team Thompson through a lot of adventures, but change is good.
And so is a new place to rest our weary rears.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

Aside from my husband and two houseplants, I've never had many living things to care for day in and day out. There's a long line of pets from my childhood, but those were a family affair.

Except for the tadpoles. I kept those in my room. They didn't make it to frog stage. But that's another story for another time.

We grew a tomato plant the first summer in our old place. It produced one little tomato. The poor thing didn't get much sun; however, everyday I'd come home for work, wave at Justin and run to the porch to check on it.

Now we have more than one measly little plant to watch and rear into responsible, productive adults leafy plants. I get up in the morning to give them all a drink and to check out their blossoms & buds. I get home from work and, instead of running by Justin and to the backyard, I run through the house to the backyard where I find Justin also checking on the garden...well...either that or he's rearranging his beloved shed once more.

Because we love them so, we'd like to introduce you to our plants, too: These pictures were taken July 2nd, and they've already grown much.

 Artichokes and Watermelon. We inherited the artichokes from one of Justin's co-workers. Let's hope we can keep them going...so far they're having a hard time with the adjustment. I think I've over-watered them.

 Basil and Thyme. I've already used some of the basil :)

 Yellow bell peppers (left) and Blue Lake beans. While I can't eat the bells, I know Justin is keeping a close watch on the little buds because he loves them so.

 Chives and Cilantro. The chives are growing like a weed! We've used it already for a few baked potatoes, so I'm glad it regrows quickly. The cilantro, on the other hand, doesn't like us, so I gave him a trim and am waiting for him to regrow again.

 Spicy Spanish Pepper...hoping it's like a jalapeno. The store was fresh out of jalapenos and I didn't want to wait to get something in the ground. The pepper pictured on the right has grown and grown, and the plant produced three more baby peppers in just this last week. 

 Parsley and Rosemary. I purchased two rosemary plants because I know they can also be ornamental... If you have any great recipes featuring rosemary, please send them along.

Roma tomatoes (a.k.a. plum tomatoes). Since this pic was taken, the plant produced another baby tomato and they're getting to be more pear shaped. I love watching these grow the most.

 I also planted seeds for red leaf lettuce (left) and Brussels sprouts (right). I think the rain washed away my second line of lettuce because the first sprouted while the second is showing no signs of green.

Two more types of tomatoes: Sunny Boy (left) and Granny Smith (right). We got these after we purchased the others, so they're a little behind in production. Granny came with that little tomato, but the plant didn't look so hot, so I've since removed the tomato so the plant can feed its other leaves and stalk to get healthy again. 

 

Our neighbors gave us some geraniums they'd torn out, so we replanted them. They're finally starting to look healthy again. (Mags - these are what I was planting while I was on the phone with you and fighting with the snails!)

 Bougainvillea. I hope it gets bigger and bigger. It's so pretty against the blue of our outside wall.

 More rescued geraniums.

 A front yard tree that suddenly burst with purple flowers.

 Marigolds.

Chocolate sunflower popping up from a seed that Justin's mom sent us. They're growing!!

Some of this was covered in a previous post, but here are garden bed progression shots, for good measure:

Welcome to the jungle

We moved into our new place at the beginning of February, during California's rainy season. The backyard was a mess, but we were told by our landlord (LLD, as we'll call him) that we would soon see major improvements, complete with garden beds, a shed and some new plants.

Sweet, right?

We thought so, too.

We still do, but the excitement turned to slight frustration over the course of the last five months, as it's taken LLD that long to get the show on the road. We're certainly grateful for the shed and garden beds, but every time we saw him over course of the last five months, he'd say, "I'm going to start on that shed soon..." and then another month would go by. On top of that, the yard looked like a jungle. A real one. Justin had to use a machete to cut down some of the thicker weeds that our man-powered lawn mover couldn't cut through. But I digress...

In just the last two weeks, Team Thompson + LLD have accomplished much. It just took a couple nights of Justin announcing that he'd work until the sun went down to get LLD to follow suit (because he generally puts in one hour and calls it a night). So good work, JT!

Now the shed is up. The garden beds are in. There's dirt in the beds. We've filled the shed. There are plants in the beds. It's awesome.

Here's a series of pictures to show the progression.

 

One of the first pics of the backyard. It was still a baby jungle.

  

But the jungle grew. As did the mulberry tree that needed a good trimming.

 In a moment of desperation, in hopes to not be deemed the "scrappiest house on the block," we bought a man-powered lawn mower.

 Weeds mowed, macheted and knocked down.

  

With the jungle mowed/hacked down, Eva came over on Easter to hunt eggs in our yard.

 LLD rototilled the areas for building...

 

Reviewing the plan for the shed and beds.

  

Pavers for the base of the shed.

 

With garden beds in place, we bought some plants.

 

And waited for dirt.

  

A few weeks later, some dirt appeared. But it wasn't enough. 

 

So Justin watered it and more soil grew. 

Just kidding. LLD brought in more compost. 

Then we filled it in with a little extra.

 

Finishing the shed foundation.

Reviewing the building plans.

 Time to open the boxes that have been sitting in the yard for more than a month.

 

Found a window!

 

 

 

The walls go up!

Shed by morning light.

   

It wasn't a tornado. It was two men that made this mess. 

 

Quite the project, and we still have more to do. LLD wants to get some rock to go around the outside of the beds and had plans to replace most of the fence. No matter how long that takes, we're just glad to have the shed up, so we can get the pile of tarp-covered junk off our patio. We wasted no time to fill up that shed, and we couldn't be happier.