Garden Update

My garden is coming along. I thought that since there is actually some green now I would take a few pictures.

Square-Foot Garden. Peas are growing really fast. The carrots, green onions and cilantro are just an experiment. They didn't do well last year. I was hoping it was because I planted too late and it was too hot. The lettuces are from seedlings so I cheated a little bit there but they seem to be doing well.

My strawberries are growing fast too. I was surprised at how quickly they came up from their bare roots.

My landscaping plants are taking a little longer. Although the "Forget Me Nots" have a few flowers, the snowdrops are taking their time and I haven't seen any growth on the ferns. I'm hoping its just to early for them.

Here is what I'm most excited for: Rhubarb. Especially since my mom will be here in June and can make me one of her special straberry rhubarb pies!

Our New Boat

A week ago Saturday I went out, by myself, to test drive minivans. I stopped at the Toyota dealership first and tried a 2007 Toyota Sienna. It was nice but didn't have all the options I wanted. I visited the Honda dealership next and drove a 2005 and 2006 Honda Odyssey. Very nice, right price but didn't feel right. After driving the two types of vans I decided I would rather have a Honda. I know a lot of people with Honda Odysseys and they all love their vans. I took home some information to my dear husband and we thought about it for a few days. I have been wanting a minivan for a long time but when it came down to it none of the three vans I tried on Saturday felt right. I started looking online for used Odysseys and found one I really liked. I got really excited and called the dealership first thing Monday morning. I scheduled an appointment to see the van on Tuesday when Chris could come with me. However, when I checked back with them that afternoon the van had been sold. DARN! Back to square one. After rolling it around in his head for a bit, Chris decided that a new 2008 van would be an option. He did some homework and found some tips online for buying a new car. He calculated approximately how much the dealership paid for the vehicle, added about $500 and said he would not take a higher price. We scheduled a babysitter and headed out to the Honda dealership. Chris drove the '06 and liked it. Imagine our surprise when we went in to discuss prices and the sales manager offered a new van to us at $25 below the price we previously agreed would be a "good price". Before we could commit to anything, he came back and offered an even lower price. The only haggling that took place was with the price on our trade-in, a 1993 Honda Civic hatchback. All in all we got a great deal, stayed within our budget and got a brand new van for only a bit more than the "06 would have been. We are happy.