Ch ch ch chia!

Over the holidays one of the wackiest gifts I received was a "Willard" Mitt Romney Chia Pet.  Yes folks...this really exists.  There is also a version of Obama, which I would have preferred, but I was stuck with Romney! Grrrr!  Oddly enough, on the side of the Obama Chia head it has the slogan "yes we can".  I was surprised that Romney one didn't include his 47% comment!  Anyway, it was a gag gift that was given to Ed's mom prior to the election and while Ed was hanging out at her office, he saw the box sitting on the shelf and told his mom that she should give it to me because I would get a laugh out of it...so she wrapped it up and gave it to me over the holidays...thanks a lot Ed!  After the tears of laughter died down at Christmas, Ed's mom asked, "your going to grow this right?".  At first I wasn't sure how to answer, but looking at her and seeing her expression, I could see that she really wanted me to grow the chia head.  She's like me...hates to see something like that go to waste and would prefer someone to actually grow it.  So I relented and said that I would.  After sitting in the box for almost a week, Ed started pestering me as to when I was going to grow the chia head....its' a family conspiracy I tell you!  To shut him up, I finally put aside time to grow this damned thing!  Below are the results of my efforts, but remember, not long after doing this I got sick with the flu...so he was a little neglected for about a week and the growth is rather patchy.

The sides are growing nicely, but the top part of the head, the seeds have yet to sprout.  Is it weird that I have this thing?  It sort of freaks me out every time I see it!

The back was difficult because the seeds are rather slimy after you soak them and many of them started sliding down the back of the head.  Some of them ended up on his neck and shoulders, and I just left them there.