husband
boyfriend
preschooler
and 3 cats who hog the bed.

Been recycling newspaper and aluminum since before I could stand (mom and dad took me on their paper routes when still a babe in arms, both delivering and collecting). Been living the frugal life for as long as I can remember (grew up needing AFDC, know what it's like seeing parents work opposite shifts, was caring for siblings during the gap hours as early as 10, and went to college only because of an academic scholarship). Helped mom tend back yard veggie gardens growing up - horribly clay soil near the beach in SoCal. Got a degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering and then proceeded to not implement much of the data at home because of inertia after so much time living in dorms/apartments. Am now entertaining my friends and family by becoming increasingly "hippified" as I finally fulfill on a personal level the vocation I originally chose, despite having retired from the workplace to be a mom over 3 years ago. My hubby is a highly supportive jack-of-all-trades so once I come up with a design, he's right there helping me with the nuts and bolts of implementation I find intimidating. My friends joke about me using AutoCAD to map out my garden (they're only half right - the new bed layout was drawn in AutoCAD for accuracy of dimension, but the map of what's where is merely an Excel file! :P )

Sewing, singing, reading, knitting/crochet/embroidery, theater, architecture, engineering, environmental science, gymnastics, costuming, ballet, urban homesteading, alternative power, gardening, sustainable use practices, functional form/elegant utility

Plum, tangelo, lemon, rosemary, thyme, lavender, bay leaf. Just added blueberries so crossing my fingers.

Built a raised bed to start on veggies this fall.

Veggies so far in the ground are: peas, carrots, turnips, beets, spinach, garlic, soybeans, thick-root parsley, green onion, red walking onion, cauliflower, russet potatoes, purple potatoes, swiss chard, very young artichokes in pots, and some marigolds and wildflowers for fun.

Windowsill herb garden of marjoram, chives, basil and cilantro started thanks to mom's Christmas gift of a Chia herb garden. Hopefully they'll do well enough to move outside - they're looking kind of leggy, except for the chives which my cat got to...

Just started seeds for tomatoes (cherry and beefsteak), squash (butternut, spaghetti, hubbard), serrano chiles, leek, and tangerine (for fun). Still need to start zuchetta/trombocino squash, cucumber, and GREENS.

semi-arid