DROUGHT
Raleigh, NC is 10 months into the longest and most severe drought ever. I should know. It’s my job to know about everything that happened in this city … ever.
As a result we’ve entered into “Stage 2” water restrictions, which effectively end all outdoor watering of any kind. Car washes and pressure washing companies have been forced to either import water from elsewhere or go out of business.
Raleigh, NC is 10 months into the longest and most severe drought ever. I should know. It’s my job to know about everything that happened in this city … ever.
As a result we’ve entered into “Stage 2” water restrictions, which effectively end all outdoor watering of any kind. Car washes and pressure washing companies have been forced to either import water from elsewhere or go out of business.
We’ve been trying to conserve in a variety of ways. Neither of us has showered in three weeks and we’ve been trying to go to the bathroom in our neighbor’s yard as much as possible to avoid flushing.
Just kidding, Charles … it’s gotta be the dude’s dog across the street!
But seriously, we have been trying to conserve. For some good conservation tips click here. For some humorous ones click here.
Anyway, all of this means bad news for the gardening blog. We’re not really growing that much given the lack of water. Unless situations improve it looks like there will be no Sutton Garden this year. We’ll see how our peach tree, apple trees, blueberry bushes, and strawberry field does with the water that falls from above, but I’m not expecting much.
You see here a picture of our garden taken just a few days ago. In the background you can make out Katie along with one of our neighbors.
And speaking of droughts our blog has kind-of followed the pattern of the Raleigh water situation. I apologize for the lack of posts but there are a few things that I’m excited to report on:
A FRESH LOOK FOR OUR HOUSE
We hired some friends of ours from church to replace any wood rot that had developed around our house. It doesn’t look like any of this was done over the last several years and some parts of our house were in dire need. In fact, we had to replace an entire window.
After all the wood rot was replaced we were left with some replaced boards that needed to be painted. Instead of opting to repaint the house CORNFLOWER blue (which folks have often confused with CAROLINA blue) we decided to give the house a fresh look. We painted it green to match our garden blog … okay not really, but doesn’t it look nice?
(picture coming soon)
We got a great deal on the painting. Our buddy Steve painted and waterproofed our whole house (including trim, doors, windows, walls, etc) for $1400. Steve is available for hire and if you’re interested in having him come pant your house, come talk to me.
A NEW PLACE TO REST
Anyone who has known us for very long has heard my diatribe about our bed. It’s a nice antique bed that is about as narrow as a toothpick and yet rises like a Dubai Skyscraper perilously close to our ceiling fan. While I like the antique nature of the bed, the problems this bed presents to me when going to sleep are numerous. For example:
1. I am exactly 6 feet tall. A full sized bed is right at about 6 feet long, which means unless my head is resting against the headboard (a little too literal for my taste) my feet are dangling off the end of the bed.
2. I do not sleep well when things are touching me. In fact, if something is touching me I will probably not sleep. Do you know how difficult it is for two full-grown human beings (some of us more full-grown than others) to coexist in a so-called full-sized bed? I do.
3. This bed threatens my life in one of two ways. Either I toss and turn just a little too much one night and plummet to a messy finish onto the wooden steps that Katie requires to get into our bed, or I sit up too quickly one morning and suffer the unfortunate consequences of decapitation via ceiling fan.
So yesterday (President’s Day), Katie and I did a little shopping and we purchased a Queen sized bed. The increase is a mere 6” x 5” but I cannot tell you how big of a difference those inches make.
Crater Lake (Deepest Lake in US)
Fact #4 - I spent my childhood in Miami and I used to idolize Don Johnson of Miami Vice. In fact, when Crocket (Johnson's character) grew a spike-mullet in the mid-80s I thought it was the coolest thing ever. All I can say in my defense is that we all did things in the 80s we regret now ... right?
Fact #5 - When I got married my so-called friends threw me a bachelor party where they took me out to my favorite pub, bought me ONE drink and then handed me a backpack and told me to go change into whatever was in there. When I got into the bathroom I found a costume inside the bag. I changed into it and they took me all around town -- including to one of Raleigh's largest indoor shopping malls. Once we were there they handed me a walkie talkie (so they wouldn't have to be seen with me) and asked me to do various feats of manhood. My favorite task: "Go into Lens Crafters and ask them if they have corrective lenses for X-ray vision." There are pictures of this event, but I haven't been allowed to get my hands on them for obvious reasons. This is an artists rendition of pretty much what I looked like: 
Fact #6 - It was probably good that my friends did that to me, though. It was good preparation for my brief life as a member of Raleigh's distinctive super-hero force: The Downtown Raleigh Ambassadors. The outfit was less red & blue and more ... purple & khaki. But I wound up being on the news several times. One news report began with the line: "James Sutton is ready for anything ..." When that report aired my wife fell onto the floor laughing. Here's a pic of some of my fellow ambassadors: 
Fact #7 - My high school had senior superlatives. I was voted one of the following things (see if you can guess): a) Most likely to succeed, b) best kisser, c) best smile, or d) biggest trekkie. Here's a hint: 
