changes

What's New?

I cleaned up my 'porch' area today in our 80* Seattle heatwave (I know... just roll with it). I got a new bistro set, and a plant stand for my herbs. Of course, it's too hot outside to sit out there, but I hope to enjoy it soon. Maybe I'll have breakfast outside tomorrow.

I used up all my u-pick strawberries making this jam, this jam, and this tasty dessert. The strawberry-honey jam is by far my favorite. It set up very nicely and has a pure strawberry taste (as opposed to traditional strawberry jam which kind of tastes like strawberries and sugar).

I've been so completely busy the past two weeks, it feels like my summer vacation will never start. I've been working at school on my room and my ProTeach portfolio (which is finally finished!), getting my placement file up-to-date (it's been seven years, after all), and staring at all the projects I need to tackle at home. It's a bit overwhelming, really. I'm going camping next week, which will help me unplug and unwind, and it can't come soon enough. I hope to emerge a more rested and centered person at the end of that trip.

Currently Reading

• The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

On the Needles

My Leaflet cardigan is almost finished! I have 10 more rows to complete before starting on the ribbed edge. Then, of course, I still have to do the sleeves, but those will go very quickly as they are only half-sleeves.

Looking Forward To

1. camping with Kristi & Tyler

sun tea

What's New?
We had some beautiful, warm and sunny days earlier this week, which led me to make my first sun tea of the season. Then yesterday it rained. That's Seattle for you.

I've been accepted to two summer programs for science teachers! Which is great, but there's one problem: they overlap. So after much thought and deliberation, I've decided to attend the week-long Living With a Volcano In Your Backyard program at Mt Rainier, since it will directly impact my teaching next year. I'll reapply for the DIG School next year.

I'm almost finished with my ProTeach work. Just need to scan and attach two artifacts, and get feedback on two textboxes. I can see the finish line!

Currently Reading

• The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

On the Needles

My Leaflet cardigan is coming along quite smoothly. I almost finished two repeats of the leaf pattern down the back with the first skein of yarn. I think I'll have quite enough yarn left over from this project to make another sweater. Maybe another February Lady? Maybe something new.

Looking Forward To

1. heading off for a weekend with friends

across the finish line

What's New?

If you have a teacher in your life, you know that the school year is akin to a marathon race. Making it through June feels like you've crossed the finish line. Sometimes it's triumphant, sometimes it's nostalgic, and often it feels like you are dragging yourself across. No matter how well the school year goes, that last push to get to the end is often exhausting. And you know what? I think that's okay. I think it's just part of the process. Life has seasons, and the school year does as well. Fall is full of enthusiasm, hope and great expectations. Winter is the mid-point when many students finally come into their own and show improvement. And Spring is that last, often mad dash towards the lazy days of summer.

Currently Reading

• Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein

On the Needles

I'm still working on my Leaflet cardigan, although this week I think I might have only knit 3 or 4 rows. Now that school is out I expect to make much more progress on my knitting.

Looking Forward To

1. picking strawberries
2. making jam

potstickers & teaching

What's New?
While I've been away from this space, I've been experimenting with making dumplings. I started with Smitten Kitchen's Spring Vegetable Potstickers and I've branched out to more traditional pork & cabbage stuffed wontons. I like how quickly they come together, and how quickly they cook. It's made weeknight meals so much easier.

The other news is that school is almost out! Next week is a 4-day week, with Thursday being the last day of school. I know I say this all the time, but I really don't know where April and May went. I swear March was just a few days ago. Part of that, I know, is that I've had a student-teacher the past couple months. The other part of that is how busy life gets in the Spring, especially when you're a teacher.

Currently Reading

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Why is Milk White? & 200 Other Curious Chemistry Questions by Alexa Coelho & Simon Field

On the Needles
I started a green Leaflet cardigan with my new birthday yarn (Thanks Marya & Alex!). Even though I try to do smaller projects, I just love knitting cardigans. I'm using Berroco Ultra Alpaca Tonal yarn, which is not single-ply (I'm swearing off single-ply yarn - it just doesn't show stitches as well). The Leaflet pattern is another by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, who is quickly becoming my favorite cardigan designer.

Looking Forward To

1. finishing up this school year
2. cleaning and organizing my classroom for next year

tour of my garden

This post is mostly for my parents, who live much too far away to see my garden in person. 

I live in an apartment, so my garden is partly in containers, and partly in raised beds. Directly outside my door you'll find herbs that I use in the kitchen (two types of thyme, rosemary, parsley and chives). The long skinny container was just planted with a lettuce mix.

 

Next to the front door I have two types of tomatoes and a scrawny lingonberry bush I bought from the blueberry farm last year. It's pretty much the same size as it was last year.

Around the corner from my front door are two raised beds. They are surrounded by netting to discourage the neighborhood cats from using them as litter boxes. In the first bed I planted winter squash, leeks, broccoli, cucumber, kale, more chives, strawberries and carrots (clockwise from top left). I also planted some snap peas along the back that will eventually climb up the trellis.

In the second bed I planted celery, more kale (diff. variety), more broccoli (diff. variety), and pumpkin in the back row. The front row has green onions and more pumpkin. I left two spots open in the front row in case something strikes my fancy and I need a place to put it.

Well, there you have it. That's my apartment garden.

Memorial Day Weekend

Joe and I headed out to the peninsula for a weekend getaway in sunny Sequim, WA. It ended up as a cloudy and rainy weekend, but we still had a good time. Besides exploring the sleepy town of Sequim, we stayed in a converted caboose and hiked along the Dungeness Sand Spit. The sand spit is a 5 mile hike from the base to the lighthouse at the tip. The terrain is an uneven sand/rock mixture that makes it truly a hike. We made it about halfway before realizing we'd need to turn around so that we'd make the trip back. Joe longingly held out hope that if we made it all the way to the lighthouse there would be a shuttle back. There is no shuttle.