It's Not Been Quiet

No updates doesn't really mean that nothing has been happening. Actually, that's generally the opposite. I have been spending a lot of time on the web camera talking to Paul (I can't say we're Skyping because for some reason, his Skype doesn't play the sound), I have been working pretty regularly, and I'm always on the lookout for new papers I can write. And, I'm doing all of the work in the vegetable garden this year, minus the rototilling that Kellan did to get the ground ready.

Wedding Updates

I've gotten quite a few texts, emails, Facebook messages, and questioning looks over the last couple of weeks. And it's always the same question - "Any idea on the date yet?" I honestly don't really mind the question, because it reminds me that after we go through the headache of paperwork that I get to marry the best man in the world. But right now, the answer is, "Still hoping for August or September". Paul actually arrives on Wednesday (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!) for a visit, and we're going to be meeting with an immigration attorney. Though I think I have a slight grasp on US government English, I was still a bit confused. And considering we have to pay a hefty sum to apply for various visas and petitions, I'd rather be certain before I spend my hard-earned cash only to learn I've done something wrong. So, my amazing mother has set an appointment with an attorney so we can ask some questions and make sure we're going about the process correctly. And if we can save a couple of forms along the way (and their fees), then even better for us.

Saying that, since Paul is here next week (YAY!!!!!!), we get to do some of the mostly fun stuff with wedding planning. My beautiful friend is going to take some engagement pictures for us, we'll get a chance to look at some venues, and maybe get a few other details hashed out. Paul's a bit into the music aspect right now, so I'm sure we'll be going through a playlist and debating over song choices. I guess there are certain songs that are traditional at Scottish weddings, and I may or may not agree with a few of them because they are very untraditional here. It is always interesting to see the small cultural differences that we have. Another cool thing is my brother Dale is planning on making the sporran for the men's wedding kilt outfits (my dad and brothers are going to be wearing kilts, too). And since this part of the wedding definitely belongs to the guys, Paul and Dale will be going through different types of designs. I'm also going to make Paul help me a bit with invitations and flowers if I can, though we only have 10 days to pack a bunch of stuff in.

And Paul is going to read this and rethink making the trek here.

Gardening

Another big thing that has been consuming my time is the vegetable garden. I planted it in the third week of April, which normally would have been okay. Unfortunately, Kansas has a tendency towards interesting weather, and though it was warm and gorgeous when I planted, it turned to 50-60 for a couple of weeks after. I only lost one tomato plant and a few seeds, so that is pretty good.

Right now we have one row of potatoes (just planted on Thursday), 5 rows of corn, 4 pepper plants, 5 tomato plants (2 Roma, 2 Grape, and 1 California), several onions, a mini-row of peas, a mini-row of carrots, 1 thriving zucchini, 2 straight-necked squash, 1 cucumber, and 1 watermelon. As you can tell, corn in my family is very important, along with the tomatoes.

When you do corn, you do have to have at least three rows so the plants pollinate correctly. Initially, I had planted 3 rows, but some of the seeds didn't look like they took. So I seeded a few in little planters and got those growing well enough. By the time those were ready to transplant, my 3 rows of corn had come in and only one spot was bare. Pretty good. Since we wanted to expand the garden spot anyway at this point, it gave me the opportunity to just add another two rows of corn. I did have to reseed the squash and watermelon, but considering everything, not too shabby.

I am finding that weeds are popping up everywhere. And I do not really like kneeling down in the dirt. And it seems like every morning I'm able to get in the garden, it's rained the night before so I get covered in mud. But you know what? It's pretty cool to be doing this mostly on my own. I'm sure as the summer goes on Mom will be able to help some, even if it's just a bit of harvesting. We've had gardens in the past and I generally helped, but I have never planted everything and taken care of it every step of the way. I've been able to ask Mom for tips and advice, but I think it's great practice for when I have my own garden every year. Of course, if I end up living in Scotland, I'll need to build a green house and my plant choices will be pretty different.