keep on keeping on

What's New?

We took new kitty back to the no-kill shelter that we adopted him from. It was a very hard thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. While sweet and loving towards us, he was totally uninterested in our other cat Athena. She tried to play with him, snuggle with him, and groom him... but he wasn't interested. The whole reason we adopted him was to provide a kitty friend for Athena. On top of that he also had food issues. Not needs special food issues. We can do that. But I've starved before so now I think food will always be scarce no matter how often or how much my people feed me issues. It was too much.

In garden news, I finally cleaned up my raised beds for winter, planted two types of garlic, and scattered some nitrogen-fixing seeds on top. I'm hoping the cover crop seeds grow, but I realized I started them very late in the growing season. I know there are rules and guidelines for gardening that, if followed, would make my gardening experience more successful. But the realities of life often get in the way of following those rules and guidelines.

In kitchen news, I've started cleaning out and reorganizing my pantry cabinet. I had tried to use some plastic bulk food containers for rice and grains but they just didn't work. They didn't stack well, and they always just seemed awkward. So I've decided to donate them and use what I have: glass canning jars. They are plentiful, inexpensive (I buy most of mine at Goodwill), easy to clean and I just like the way they look. I added simple labels and grouped foods by type. Now all my dried fruit are on the same shelf, all the grains are on the same shelf, etc. I still have more to clean out and organize. Seeing progress so far helps to motivate me to keep it clean.

Currently Reading

• The Martian by Andy Weir

On the Needles

I've started seaming my Wood Hollow Vest. It's a slow process for me, since I don't have a ton of seaming experience and I want to get it right.

I've worked a bit on my Bonny top while on the bus. It's a great bus knit - simple and easy to pick up and put down.

I started knitting Gramps for my nephew Xander. It's going to be tight, since I'm a little short on yarn, but with some creativity I think I can make it work. I've already divided for the sleeves, so now it looks like a sweater instead of a blob.

Looking Forward To

1. getting together with friends for food & games

a few things

:: I had the pleasure of reading this book by one of my former coworkers Megan Morrison! A fun adventure story that is a bit of a twist on classic fairy-tales. I bought two copies at her book signing: one for me and one for my school, since I work at a K-8. I think this book would appeal to 5th grade and up.

:: So far I've really enjoyed my weekly CSA box. The CSA season runs through October, so I have many more to come. This week, while looking at the contents, I think I see a plan: bruschetta! There are other things in the box that I'll need to plan for: carrots, potatoes, kale, and something completely new to me... fennel.

:: This year I've only made two small batches of jam. The first one was strawberry balsamic, and the second one was blackberry apricot. My blackberry apricot recipe is adjusted from here to be a small batch. I have a bunch of raspberries in the fridge that need to be processed today, but I haven't decided just what to do with them yet.

Blackberry Apricot Small Batch Jam with Cinnamon

• 4 cups fruit pureed (roughly 2 cups blackberries, 2 cups apricots)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 10 minutes in the boiling water

4. Those tomatoes have really taken off. They are now taller than the tomato cages and don't show any signs of slowing down. There are countless blossoms, and many baby tomatoes, growing on each plant. There are three plants, in three colors: red, orange, and yellow. I can't wait for ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden.

checking in: celebrate the seasons

We're halfway through 2014, and I need to check in on the goals I set for myself. I decided I wanted to work on three things this year: go outside, simplify inside, and celebrate the seasons. I intended to set mini-goals and check in monthly. For January, February, March and April that system worked pretty well, but once May hit it all fell apart. As a public school teacher, this makes complete sense. May is when state testing, science fair, modified schedules (thanks to state testing), evaluations, and general spring fever hit all at the same time. It's like tax season for accountants.

So, in the interest of personal accountability, I need to check in with myself. Here we go...

In January Joe and I finished our Game of Thrones inspired snowflake art, but it didn't make it up on the walls until May. In February I finished a quilt for my nephew, March saw me dying spring eggs, and in April I learned embroidery.

Now that summer is fast approaching, I want to work on berry jams, berry shrubs and my small garden.

I realized after beginning that most of my seasonal celebrations center around autumn and winter. Autumn is my favorite season and there are many things I do to celebrate the turn towards colder and darker days. This year, after my big job change, I struggled to have the time and/or energy to do those simple things that bring me so much joy, and so I set this goal as a way of making sure that didn't happen again. I hope this coming autumn finds me making applesauce, visiting the fair, diving back into soup recipes, knitting and wearing sweaters, listening to Muse, decorating with changing leaves, eating pumpkin, and everything else that helps me savor autumn.

gardening in 2014

One entire wall of my classroom is composed of windows. It happens to be the south-facing wall. My coworker and I took full advantage of that fact this spring and started seeds on the window sills.

I took my seedlings home for spring break, thinking that they needed to get into the ground. Also, I wouldn't be around school to water them. It seemed like a good plan. But life got in the way and I wasn't able to plant them for awhile.

Today I finally finished putting everything into the ground. My tomato starts went into pots so that I can drag them around this summer to take full advantage of the sunlight.

Last year I did strict square-foot gardening. This year I am experimenting. One bed still follows square-foot gardening rules, to a point. The other bed doesn't have the guides in place and is a bit of a hodge-podge.

Last year I planted a pumpkin plant that sprawled all over the side yard. All of the pumpkins rotted before they were big enough to harvest. I saw a photo online that involved using tomato cages with squash plants. I'll give it a try this 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.

science & sunshine

What's New?
This past week has been one of those weeks. A doozy. A week that thankfully went by quickly, but also wore me out. The highlight of my week was taking a group of girls to the Expanding Your Horizons conference at the local community college. It's so refreshing to see so many young girls excited about science and math. On top of that, it turned out to be a beautiful day, full of rare Seattle sunshine.

Speaking of weather...we've had such cold and inconsistent weather that I am nervous about planting my seedlings outside. They are growing quite well in their little newspaper pots, but some are getting a little leggy. I hope to take some photos of them this weekend, as I decide whether or not they are ready for the raised beds.

Currently Reading

• I finished The American Way of Eating early this week. I was so impressed with the amount that I learned from that book, and I'm certain I will not think of food the same way again. I highly recommend this book.
• I've picked up Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent after setting it down for awhile, and I'm enjoying learning more than I ever have about Darwin's voyage, his strengths and weaknesses, and his transformation from a staunch creationist to the architect of the major foundation of modern biology.

On the Needles

Did I mention that this week has been a doozy? I don't think I've picked up my sweater once. I'm just where I left off at the end of last week: halfway through with the first sleeve. I'm on the homestretch, though, and should finish soon.

Looking Forward To:

1. using my new EMP/Sci-Fi Museum membership

How's March treating you?

week two

What's New?
I started seeds this week! I made seed pots out of newspaper for the first time, which was much easier than I had previously thought. I re-purposed an old under-bed storage bin and used strips of cardboard to keep the newspaper pots upright. My bin ended up holding 8 rows of 6, so I've got quite a few starts. Now I just need to keep the cats away until they are hardy enough to be transplanted outside. Oh, and clean out the raised beds (something I should have done last autumn, and I'm now kicking myself).

My nephew and I have become pen-pals. He's 5, lives across the country, and is a great reader and writer. He also loves checking the mail. So I've decided that in 2013 I'm sending him something in the mail once a month. In January I attempted to send him a box of books from an online retailer, but the box got lost in the mail. In February he got a Valentine. Now that it's March I'm sending him the Bob Books I tried to send him in January, and hopefully some St. Patrick's Day goodies, although I've been rather disappointed in the selection this year.

Currently Reading

• Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent by Lyanda Lynn Haupt (local West Seattle author!)
• The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan

On the Needles
Still working on my purple and grey striped Idlewood sweater. I'm currently working on the bottom ribbed hem. When that's finished it's time for sleeves, although I'm a little worried I'll run out of purple for the sleeves. Maybe they will be solid grey? We'll see. I hope to be finished by next week.

Looking Forward To

1. bridesmaid dress shopping with friends
2. meeting a prospective student-teacher

What's new in your life?

fresh start

What’s New?

Well, it's been nearly 4 months since I've posted anything on here, and it's time to get back in the saddle (so to speak). I've realized recently that I'd rather post meaningful things here to help myself document my life than waste time checking social network sites (that shall remain un-named, although you can probably guess). I'd like to quit social networking, but I'm not quite ready. I think that if I'm able to keep up regular posts on here, that will help ease my transition. Who knows? But I'm ready to give it a shot.

I've learned that I need to set realistic, yet smallish, goals for myself, and I need to tell others about them if I hope to accomplish them. So, dear internet, here is my goal for this space: an update of some sort once per week. It doesn't even have to be the same day of the week (although I imagine that might help). It might include pictures (I'd like it to), but that's not a requirement. I used to only post if I had interesting/pretty pictures to share. I haven't been taking many pictures lately (rainy, grey Seattle winter + go to work in the dark and get home in the dark), and I've used that as an excuse to not post anything at all.

Currently Reading

• The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins (a "thinky" book)
• Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (a YA novel)
• Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent by Lyanda Lynn Haupt (local West Seattle author)

On the Needles

After finishing both my purple Shalom sweater and my grey Idlewood sweater I found myself with leftover yarn from both projects. Combined, it's enough for another sweater. I made both projects out of the same type of yarn (Cascade Soft Spun), in colors that are both considered "heathered" so I think they'll look nice together. I'm working on a striped Idlewood variation (smaller ribbed yoke, long sleeves) using roughly 4" stripes of each yarn.

Looking Forward To:

1. starting seeds
2. cooking for others

What are you working on right now?

generosity & square foot gardens

I have an amazing husband. And some amazing in-laws. It's true. And this little bit of square-foot-garden wonderful is just some of the proof.

I've been wanting to build a square-foot-garden on the grassy patch next to my door ever since my husband and I met our landlord. As he showed us the apartment, and the shared yard, he asked me if I liked to garden. We had also looked at a similar apartment across the street earlier that day. They were almost exactly the same in amenities and price (both buildings were built by my landlord's father some time ago, but the ones on the other side of the street belong to someone else now). The one up the street had something this one didn't: no-coin dedicated laundry for each apartment. That's a huge deal for renters. But the apartment we decided to rent had something else that meant more to me: the possibility for gardening. As soon as our landlord uttered those words, my husband looked at me and said "so we're going to move here, right?" He knew I was sold.

A year passed. I was busy. I knew exactly what I wanted to build, but the project kept getting pushed to the back burner. I had dreams of walking mere feet around the corner to fresh produce.

Little did I know that while I was away visiting family in Virginia, my husband and his parents got to work building two 4x2 raised beds. Imagine my surprise as I walked from the car to the apartment after flying 3,000 miles on 4 hours of sleep and found these two raised beds. Did someone else steal my idea and spot? Surely these weren't for me.

One bed even had plants in it! This couldn't be mine. No way.

But my husband assured me that yes, these were mine. He quickly told me the story of how he secretly planned this for while I was away. I was dumbstruck.

The second bed was left empty so that I could choose what to plant. I'm not sure if I will transplant some of my potted plants into it, or start some new seeds. It's very late in the season, but why not?

They also left a large watering can, gardening gloves, a copy of the square-foot gardening book and more potting soil.

Every time I take a peek outside at my little garden my heart is filled with love for the wonderful people in my life and their abundant generosity. Thank you Joe, Gary and Carol.

this moment

From my walk last weekend.


Starting to sprout.

spring planting (finally)

garden dreams

We're moving at the end of this month into a bottom-floor apartment. Our new place is in a triplex on a residential street. I have been given permission by the owner to garden to my heart's content. And so I shall.

I will start with herbs in containers. Baby steps. At some point, probably not until the summer, I will build a simple raised bed outside. It might not happen this year, but I have dreams of small theme beds. Can you guess what theme I'm going for here?

purple peacock broccoli	royal burgundy bush beans
spanish roja garlic	deep purple carrot

My favorite place to look for seeds is the Territorial Seed Company. The images above are from their online catalog. The links will take you there.

It's Science!

I'm taking a summer class for science teachers at the local university. One of my assignments involves setting up an experiment and then doing a display board (kind of like a science fair project). The idea is that at the end of the class I walk away with a display board that I can use as an example for my students.

We did ten experiments throughout the course of the 4-week class, which we were supposed to choose from for our board. I really liked the baggie garden experiment, but I didn't want to use the class data. I wanted to do the experiment again, this time changing a different variable.



I'm interested in the idea of using untreated gray-water to water plants, as a way of conserving energy (since all of our waste-water is currently treated so that it meets potable water standards). So I poked around my house and decided to try three different cleaners that I currently use in the bathroom: Seventh Generation multi-surface concentrated cleaner, Method Le Scrub gently abrasive cleaner, and Target's Up&Up all-purpose cleaner with bleach.





I don't have lab-glassware at home to measure and mix the water and cleaner, so I improvised. See Mom, those shot-glasses come in handy!

I set up my baggie gardens with lentil seeds (from my kitchen) and tried to keep all variables the same, except for the added cleaner. Then I attached them to the wall using push-pins, and I'll check on them daily.



We'll see in a couple of days how my garden grows. Which cleaner do you think will allow the most seeds to germinate?