Finally, after an uphill battle, I think our garden is starting to shape up. Of course, it's still a little bit behind schedule and it won't bear any fruit for another few weeks, at least its starting to grow. Turns out, the dirt in PA just isn't cut out for growing vegetables as its about 20% clay. I talked to an owner of a local nursery and he said, "You could make bricks out of our dirt here. It takes at least two years of tilling the ground here and working in compost and organic materials before you'll get good soil." Nice...Guess we should've looked into things a bit more. No wonder everyone has raised beds around here.
Nevertheless, we've made three big changes that I think have helped us out tremendously. First, we placed our grass clippings around the plants in order to help hold in moisture and keep the ground from drying out so quickly. Next, we broke down and used some 20-20-20 fertilizer we had around the house (we had hoped to go "organic" but... alas...). Finally, I brought home about twenty pounds of used coffee grounds from the coffee shop I work at and we spread it around our plants. So, "with your powers combined..." we're finally starting to see some progress.
In other news, I managed to get an assistantship next school year as an editor for Duquesne's academic publishing company. Not only does it pay for my tuition and offer a stipend, it will provide me an insider's look on the publishing business and provide me some ample opportunities to make contact with people within academia. Part of my job description will be finding scholars within the field who can serve as peer reviewers of the manuscripts Duquesne is thinking about publishing. Additionally, I was just accepted to present a paper on the Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, at a national conference in Seattle in late August. My brother Bryce just moved there, so not only will I get to present "with the big dogs," I'll have a chance to see my brother and have a free place to stay.
We're having fun continuing our CVS treasure hunt and earning "Extra Care Bucks" (ECBs) The last couple times, we've combined coupons with CVS sales, and along with the return ECBs, we've actually earned money off our transactions... Craziness. For instance, we purchased everything in the picture to the right for a total of 67 cents after using coupons and ECBs. The last time we went, we purchased some shampoo, deoderant, and other things, and after everything panned out, we spent about 20 cents, and made money on our ECBs. The clerk was incredulous. Last weekend, we saw Over the Rhine perform in Pittsburgh. It was somewhat of a disappointing show even though we enjoy their music so much. The show was only about an hour long and the seats Amber and I were right next to the speakers. We listened to most of the show with our ears plugged! Overall, we had a fun time though, as virtually everyone we know in Pittsburgh was in attendance. We went out with most of them afterwards to a place called Fatheads that has some of the most amazing hamburgers.
Aside from all these things, I've been busying myself with relearning Algebra in preparation for the GRE which I am retaking in early July for my Phd applications and getting over a cold that Amber graciously passed on to me. I went through a whole roll of Halls yesterday to ease my sore throat, and now I'm on to the perpetual nose-drainage stage... Who knew one head could produce so much snot... (TMI, I know). Hopefully, I'll be feeling better soon so I can stay on top of the various projects I am working onat the moment.
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