Thanks, Earth.

Nathan & I have been trying to grow a garden for over a year now. We started with container gardening on our crappy apartment balcony, which was a total failure. Then we tried growing a summer garden in our new place, but the sun decided that it would not allow such a thing. So, we were less hopeful at the possibility of success for our fall garden, but we decided that perhaps third time really is the charm.

We planted radishes, arugula, onion, & carrot, to go alongside our already planted tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, basil, & mint.

Thank goodness for the short germination time of radishes to give me the boost of confidence I needed.

Guys, our garden made food. It's amazing. I've been eating fresh tomatoes from my garden. Every day we go out & see which of the tomatoes have turned red, and watch as our little green bell pepper grows bigger & more delicious every day. Our radishes & arugula are growing steadily. Our carrots & onions, which have a much slower sprout rate, have started peeking up out of the soil, reminding us that they're still there.

It might be the greatest feeling in the world to nurture the Earth & help it grow incredibly delicious food that nurtures my own body. It's also really fun having a garden & playing in the dirt. 

My favorite way to eat these beautiful radishes: 

Top a slice of Provence artisan french loaf with:

Kate's homemade sea-salted butter

sliced, fresh radishes from the garden

& some dried dill sprinkled on top

All I want to do is live somewhere cold(er) by the seaside (like in Sweden), grow a HUGE garden, play with my pets (including a pig. I really want a pig as a pet), ride horses to get everywhere, knit thick scarves to keep us warm in the cold, snowy winter, and have cute hippie babies. 

Let's make it happen.

The Land of Babes.

Sometimes it's fun to reminisce on times past, when Nathan & I were engaged and so full of excitement for the impending events: college graduation, graduate school, marriage, etc. Not that life right now isn't absolutely wonderful & exciting.... it's just that I don't have pictures that are nearly as good.

If you give a dog a cat toy....

He will probably just eat it. Unless that dog is Cohen, in which case he will play with it incessantly.

Good god, I love him.

Why I love my pets.

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm just absolutely in love with my pets. I'm an animal person through-and-through. I'm a vegetarian mainly because I just can't bear the thought of eating an animal. I get upset at the predatory nature of animals while watching Planet Earth. I fall in love with every dog I see at the dog park, every single time I go. I just adore animals, particularly the warm-blooded kind.

So, it's only natural that this love of animals would lead me to be a slightly obsessive pet-parent. I could seriously just sit and watch my cats chase a bug all day long. I could pet each of them until their hair fell out. I spend too much of my paycheck on animal toys, and Nathan has to drag me out of PetSmart every time we're there. I nearly had a breakdown when we brought Cohen into the family just because I was so nervous that the cats would be unhappy.

My pets are my family, in such a genuine way. I know their personalities. I know whose hairball that is, which cat is scratching at the door, what food they like (my cats don't like fish... weird, huh?), where they like to be petted (Fiero loves his butt being scratched), what makes them more excited than anything in the world (you should see Cohen's ears when I ask him if he wants to go on a walk), and  what kind of games they like to play.

I enjoy their company like nothing I've ever experienced. The affection of my animals is probably the most therapeutic experience I could ever have. Fi-fi sitting in my lap purring is all I need in this world to be happy. Somehow, when I feel like little in the world is good, including myself, my pets remind me that simply being with another life is enough. The goodness and gentleness of my pets brings me such peace and comfort, as well as joy and laughter.

Animals just have an incredible way of showing us what is good and real in life. They're not distracted by technology, opposable thumbs, and human drama. They enjoy the simplicity of life: food, a warm bed, cuddling, exercise, rolling in the grass. Sometimes I really need to be reminded to take a break from being a human.

THE BEST EVER.

I'm obsessed.

And completely unashamed.