Update from the Great Unfrozen North

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Kevin finished his written exams a week ago, and is expecting his feedback today. He will be taking his oral exams at 10AM on Thursday, and then (hopefully) he will be done. We leave for the beach on Friday, which will be a much deserved vacation for both of us.

Since getting back from New Hampshire, I have adjusted to working at the New York office for Maine Drilling and Blasting. Work stole me during the day on Kevin’s birthday, but later that night we went to the drive-in movie theater with some of Kevin’s friends to see Iron Man 2. It was one last outing before Kevin had to buckle down on his exams on that Monday.

We have had fun grilling out using Beefalo meat from Lick Springs Beefalo at our local farmer’s market. We also bought a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share from Kilpatrick Family Farm, which grows organic produce. The CSA involves paying up front for produce for the whole summer and part of the fall, and we get 6-8 items per week at the market, depending on what is in season. It helps small local farms with their up-front costs, and lets the farms share some of the risk of bad crop yields with the community.

Kelsey grilling Beefalo burgers on our charcoal grill in our backyard while seven months pregnant.
Kelsey grilling Beefalo burgers on our charcoal grill in our backyard while seven months pregnant.

House Renovations

Kevin’s parents (Paul and Jill) came up a few weekends ago to help us get the house ready for the baby, and for Kevin’s exams. They helped us work on the walk-in closet in the bedroom and on the office / spare bedroom, which really helped Kevin with his exam prep.

Paul working on hanging drywall in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom.
Paul working on hanging drywall in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom.
Kelsey applying the first coat of "Beckoning Sea" VOC-free paint to the spare bedroom / office.
Kelsey applying the first coat of "Beckoning Sea" VOC-free paint to the spare bedroom / office.
Kevin working on one of the answers to his exams in the freshly painted office.
Kevin working on one of the answers to his exams in the freshly painted office.
57 books out of the 60 used for the exam. (The remaining three were digital.)
57 books out of the 60 used for the exam. (The remaining three were digital.)

Yard Work

When Kevin finished with his exams a week ago, I let him celebrate by doing lots of yard work. The yard needed mowed badly, and some of our flower beds needed weeded and raked out.

Kevin cutting the grass with our reel mower. It had been a while since the grass was last cut, so it was kind of long.
Kevin cutting the grass with our reel mower. It had been a while since the grass was last cut, so it was kind of long.

We also needed to mulch the beds in the front of the house, which were terribly overgrown with weeds.

A photo of our terribly overgrown front flower beds, which needed mulching badly.
A photo of our terribly overgrown front flower beds, which needed mulching badly.
Laying cardboard over the dirt to block out weed and grass growth.
Laying cardboard over the dirt to block out weed and grass growth.
Raking out the mulch over the cardboard. We used red mulch, which looks really nice with our yellow house.
Raking out the mulch over the cardboard. We used red mulch, which looks really nice with our yellow house.
The finished mulch at the front of the house. The plants at the back were transplanted from where we put the square foot garden.
The finished mulch at the front of the house. The plants at the back were transplanted from where we put the square foot garden.

Square Foot Gardening

Square Foot Gardening is a method of gardening where you plant crops in square foot plots instead of rows, which improves land use (especially when you don’t have a lot of land to spare, like us) and is supposed to improve crop yield. You use a special mixture of soil, which is equal parts compost, vermiculite, and peat moss. We decided to build a 2×8 square foot garden box, giving us 16 squares to work with.

Kevin working on the box for our square foot garden.
Kevin working on the box for our square foot garden.
Kelsey working on building our square foot garden box.
Kelsey working on building our square foot garden box.
Kelsey (the garden champion) posing in the box for our square foot garden. We put down a double layer of cardboard below the garden to prevent weed and grass growth from the soil below. The box itself was made out of non-treated 2x6es screwed together with three wood screws per joint.
Kelsey (the garden champion) posing in the box for our square foot garden. We put down a double layer of cardboard below the garden to prevent weed and grass growth from the soil below. The box itself was made out of non-treated 2x6es screwed together with three wood screws per joint.
Kelsey mixing together our dirt. The dirt for a square foot garden is made of equal parts compost, vermiculite, and peat. The dirt is light and springy and holds water well.
Kelsey mixing together our dirt. The dirt for a square foot garden is made of equal parts compost, vermiculite, and peat. The dirt is light and springy and holds water well.
We made a beer garden! (BAHAHAHA) *ahem*
We made a beer garden! (BAHAHAHA) *ahem*
The finished square foot garden with plants added.
The finished square foot garden with plants added.

We used string to visually separate the square feet. In most cases we planted one plant per square foot, such as the tomato plants along the back row on the left. In other areas we were able to plant more than one – such as the sixteen onions per square foot in the two bins at the front left of the right hand box. In all, we planted 4 different tomato plants, eggplant, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, cucumber, 36 sugar snap peas, 32 sweet onions, 4 zucchini, 1 sweet basil, and 1 peppermint (which was in the pot in the back).

We also planted our two window boxes with two different kinds of flowers – purple petunias and red salvia.

One of our two window boxes, planted with petunias and salvia.
One of our two window boxes, planted with petunias and salvia.

At market yesterday, we bought three hanging baskets and hung them on our front porch. As we were looking through photos from before we bought the house, we realized that we ended up buying the exact same kind and color of plant that the previous owners had!

Two of our three hanging baskets, containing purple petunias. We got them from a flower vendor at market.
Two of our three hanging baskets, containing purple petunias. We got them from a flower vendor at market.

Baby Update

We went to our last baby appointment before the beach on Friday. With nine weeks to go before the due date, the baby is happy and healthy, as is mom! We had been behind on posting baby bump photos, but here are all of the missing ones from the past few weeks, and today:

The baby bump at week 29.
The baby bump at week 29.
The baby bump at week 30.
The baby bump at week 30.
The baby bump at week 31.
The baby bump at week 31.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day weekend, we went camping with Jess, one of Kevin’s friends from the department, and some of her family and friends. We camped out Friday night at Hearthstone state campground on Lake George, and went for a four mile hike on Saturday. We made mountain pies, hot dogs, eggs, breakfast potatoes, and grillin’ beans over the fire. It was a much needed escape after the stresses of exams and work, and after not having been out of the house for the weekend for a while. We went to some graduation parties for graduating Masters and PhDs in Kevin’s department Saturday night. We’ll leave you with a photo of us at the end of the hike. Thanks for bearing with us on a long post!

Kelsey and Kevin in front of a pond at the end of the hike.
Kelsey and Kevin in front of a pond at the end of the hike.

3 responses to “Update from the Great Unfrozen North”

  2. I love your flowers, even if they are the same as the previous owner! The colors work with your house. Can’t wait to see you and my grandbaby bump in person!

  3. Hi Guys —

    Looks like you are making the best of life! Love what you are doing with the house, particularly the “beer garden!”

    Paul

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