Updates!

So I have surgery in less then 36 hrs and will be in the hospital for 2-4 days depending on how I'm feeling and if there are any complications.  And after that I intend to be bestfriends with some pain killers and next week we are moving and then I have my 2nd surgery.  Insanity right??!?!  What this all adds up to is I'm going to be very busy, very stressed, doped up, in pain and not likely posting much.  Just a forewarning.  :)

Now onto the updates.

Moving process is coming along nicely.  And after Wed it won't be my concern anymore.  As I'm exempt from packing, moving, etc thanks to my surgery.  Hehehe.  It's a valid exemption!

The veggies are doing alright.  My poor pepper plant has been invaded by aphids and alas I think the battle against them is a lost cause.  I still have pepper fruit on the plant and some new one growing, but virtually every leaf is yellowed.  I even tried the soap and water solution, but I think it might have been too little too late.  Everything else is growing wonderfully!!  I have already started using my parsley and dill that I grew from seeds in recipes!  And my green beans are about ready for their first harvest!!  The sugar snap peas have yet to bloom let alone produce, but they have managed to grow to about 4 ft tall.  Oh, and last week I decided to try planting broccoli seeds!  The little seedlings have already broke the surface!  So now it's a wait and see what happens game.  :)

Swedish language.  Well I have started speaking swedish in public!  Shocking, I know right!?!?  I have also begun chatting in swedish my "mother-in-law" on facebook chat.  While I haven't been in school since April due to illnesses, doctors visits, and all the other madness that is my life, I am still trying to soak up the language.  I even watched a few swedish tv shows.  And I'm bringing a couple of workbooks with me in my hospital bag to provide "entertainment" while in the hospital.  Because you know, when your high as a kite and freshly sliced open, the one thing you want to do is to study a foreign language.  Hahaha.  At least I'm making an effort.  Right?

So there's the latest and greatest (well maybe not greatest) of whats happening now in my life....on the other side of the planet!

-FXA

My apologies for the delay!

Hey all!

Just wanted to apologize for being lazy with the blogging.  It's amazing how the days just slip away.  I said to myself, got to post at least one blog a week.  Then last week I was like eh, too busy.  And this week I was like eh, the world won't stop spinning.  So it's my bad.

Quick little update on things.  The indoor garden is doing alright.  My pea plants are trying to see if they grow all the way up to celing.  My green bean plants got all kind of out of control so we had to go all mcguyver on them and construct a climbing and detention system.  My basil and chive seedlings are flourishing and i'm being equally as lazy about potting them as I have been about blogging.  Hey! It's on my to-do list.

Moving in a little over 3 weeks!  Lots and lots of stress to be had for all!  With that and surgeries coming up this month as well I have found myself stressed to the max.  Too much to do, and too little time to do it in! :)

So there's the quick version.  More to be coming later!  I won't slack this time.

-FXA

This years attempt at indoor gardening

As I live in apartment in Sweden, my best option for growing things is in the window.  We do have a balcony but as it's way too cold here most of the year (summer is like end of June till end of august), I can't really grow much out there.  Or the time frame for growing is too short.  Last year I attempted to grow onions, carrots and green onions out on the balcony.  Yeah, my carrots grew to about 2 inches long.  lol.  Failed!

So this year I'm going a different route, and keeping everything inside.  We even bought one of those seed starter boxes to mimic a greenhouse kind of environment to help the seeds stand a better chance of me not killing them. Did I mention I have never really been able to grow much in all my years at attempting to be a gardener.  I guess I just wasn't born with a green thumb.  So what the hell, lets try again.  If at first you don't succeed try try again, right?

So on this years attempt list, we have......

Herbs

1. Rosemary
2. Parsley
3. Dill
4. Chives
5. Basil

Vegetables

1. Sugar snap Peas
2. Green Beans
3. Chili "Apache" Peppers
4. Green Onions (2nd times a charm?)
5. Radishes

I bought mostly seeds, but I did buy the chili and rosemary already as a plant.  Everything else is starting from scratch.  We started off by planting all the seeds in seed soil.  Some we put directly into the pot they were meant to grow up in.  Some we planted in the seed started box, and some we planted in both (such as the chives and green onions).  I also pre-soaked the green bean seeds and the parsley seeds for 2 days.

Everything was started on Monday May 3, 2010.  It's only been 5 days and already we've got little babies growing!!!  It makes me so excited!  So far nothing is dead, I think.  Which means I'm already off to a good start!

From left to right:  Unmarked is green beans that were pre-soaked, then green beans that weren't pre-soaked, basil, chives, green onions, and then sugar snap peas.




Left:  Chili "Apache" Pepper Plant

Right: Radishes

So there are my little babies.  I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful garden!  We are moving into a bigger apartment this summer, and I'm hoping if these all turn out to be successful, then I can expand and grow more things at the next apartment.  As the babies grow, I'll continue to update on their success or my failure.  Haha.

Welcome to my blog!

Hey everyone!

If you'd like to know more about the author, then click on the about me page to the right.  :)  As for my blog.  Well it's all about my life here in Sweden.  The ups, the downs, and everything in between.  :)  I'm an immigrant here, having moved here from America 1.5 years ago.  So I figured this would be a great opportunity to document my journeys starting a new life...on the other side of the planet.

Warning:  I'm not the most savvy html user these days, and I haven't quite figure out how to divide up my posts onto different pages to allow for better organization of the posts.  So for now...all the posts about all different subjects will fall under this main page.  Some of the subject areas will be, politics, social health care, indoor gardening, books, movies, cooking/baking (gluten free) culture, language, my obsession with makeup/beauty, and just general gripping and praising of life.  :)

So I welcome you all to follow me on this often interesting and sometimes boring journey.  Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment.  I'm all for hearing your stories as well!

Thanks!

-FXA