It may be no secret to those of you who read this blog (all two of you) that my mother is dutch, and I speak a bit of the language. This came in very handy, as it turns out, when the Austrians visited last week and all of a sudden I was the minority in my own home. My husband speaks german, not fluently but he at least understands everything, my brother-in-law was raised in Toronto so speaks english as well as my husband, my sister-in-law is from Austria and her english is pretty good but broken, and my nephew just completed his first year of english study at school. His english is coming along, but it's still difficult for them to speak english to each other, so for 9.5 days the background language at home was German.
Now dutch and german are not the same language, contrary to what most people believe. In some respects they are very close; some of the words are the same with a slightly different pronunciation, and I believe much of the grammatical structure is the same. But dutch borrows heavily from french and english, and the sound of it is so different that my ears needed to readjust completely. That being said, I did remarkably well picking up what my new relatives were talking about, to the point where they couldn't say anything negative around me (not that they would, but that was always my test with dutch. My mom used to switch to dutch when speaking with my grandmother about touchy things, but that stopped when they realized I knew what they were saying).
We had a terrific time, the Austrians and I (and my hubby). They landed in Toronto on Friday and we weren't expecting them to come that night, but they called around 10:30 pm and said they may just drive straight through. So we rushed and got the spare room ready, but they ended up sleeping in the car at the side of the road. (They ARE _______s, like my hubby, that family is like that). They arrived Saturday morning at 8:30 am. After the greetings and hugs were had, we went out for breakfast, and then spent a glorious day on the beach. My sister-in-law and I chatted all day while the boys went out and had a fabulous day of fishing, then we went for ice cream, and on home for a big fish dinner. A perfect day was had.
Sunday she and I went shopping in town while the guys went fishing again (my 11 year old nephew is a fishing nut like my hubby), which was lovely. Then on Monday it rained, so our plans of going camping were put off by a day. We ended up packing up both cars with boats etc. and shipping out on Tuesday to 31-mile lake, an hour and a half north of us, and set up camp on an idyllic island in the middle of that heavenly clear huge lake. Almost perfection. Almost, because the island had no toilet, and was covered by ants during the daylight hours (we got to know intimately the ants' schedule, however, which was interesting). The fishing wasn't great but for three days we swam, rode around the lake in boats, snorkelled, ate food cooked on the campfire, swam more, ate, drank, swam, played a LOT of gin rummy, and swam. I got a lot of sun.
We returned home late Thursday night. Friday was spent hanging around and tidying up, we went to the little local lake for fishing and swimming in the afternoon, then that evening we went to the Edelweiss Valley Speedway for the SuperSprint car races. Man alive, I don't think they'd ever seen anything like that - I hadn't. So loud, dirty, stinky, and fun. My nephew had a terrific time. We all needed showers when we got home - after sitting in the front row, my hairline was actually caked in mud.
Saturday my brother (R) and sister-in-law (A) went to town and we hung out with our nephew, which was fun. We played games all day, went to the lake for a swim, then when R and A got home they brought all the fixings for a terrific steak dinner and cooked it, which was a real treat. We went for a good walk afterwards, then got home and built a fire and played cards by candlelight until almost midnight.
Sunday was again so hot it was uncomfortable, the boys went fishing and A and I read and snoozed all day. La-zy. It was kind of a sad day too, like the last day of summer holidays. I didn't want them to go, but they were planning their next part of the trip - a road trip to Montreal, Quebec city, Charlevoix and the Gaspé.
On Monday we went back to work. So sad. I didn't cry but was close to it all morning, they left sometime during the day while we were at work. I don't know if they'll be back on their way back to Toronto, but they might be - I hope so. I miss them. It feels like it was a dream week. It wasn't always smooth as butter having 3 extra people in the house, but it was fun, and I especially miss my nephew. Adults are fine with a one-year interval between visits, but kids change, and at 11, by the next time we see him he may be hit by puberty and gone sullen - who knows. It's hard to believe, he's such a little sweetie. (sigh).
Now I'm back at work. phooey. The house has been brought ALMOST back to order (I left the spare room set up, just in case) and I've been relaxing, but I would give anything to have that easy chaos back!
The garden is overgrown a bit, and we had a violent hailstorm the other night that knocked some things over, but it'll only take a weekend to get it back on track. This is the phase of the summer where the garden doesn't really look it's best. The raspberries smack in the middle of my perennial beds are finished and looking bedraggled, which ruins the entire look, and most things are past their peak blooming time for the moment. I have two big plants in pots that I need to plant: a dutchman's pipe, and something else that grows into a shrub-like thing with fuzzy pink flowers. I can't figure out where to put these two things, but for now they're doing fine in their pots in a semi-shady area. My hanging baskets are almost completely dead - that was a failure - and I'm still having a hell of a time with those cucumber beetles, though I'm getting a harvest of squashes anyway. The cucumbers suffered though, the plants look terrible. Even the fruits are looking sub-par. I am looking forward to loads and loads of tomatoes in August, the plants need to be staked up again! They're huge! And I am over-run by borage and cilantro, which popped up wild all over the garden. Fine when they're small and tasty and cute, but when that cilantro gets to be four feet tall and gone to seed it makes the entire place look a mess. I want it to re-seed though, so I will keep some of it around.
Oh! Another success! I have jalapenos this year! They'll be ready to pick in another week!
That's all for now!
7/7/06
Carry on then
Summer is clicking right along here in the hills. The brother-in-law and family arrive tomorrow from Austria to stay for I don't know how long, Amy's getting married tomorrow, and all of a sudden we're halfway into July.
The weather's been a bit odd lately. For about two weeks, it was really humid and stormy; we would have a thunderstorm every day, and crazy torrential rains. I called it Monsoon Season. But that pattern seems to have settled into a climate of moderate daytime temperatures, sun, and coolish nights. I'm sure that will change - this weekend's supposed to be hot as hades - but for now the sleeping is good so I'm not complaining.
I have several minor dramas on the go, as per usual:
My cat was getting into a lot of fights with something (?a stray male cat was hanging around - could be him?) about two weeks ago, and required a trip to the vet and antibiotics for his rather dramatic injuries (his legs were all slashed up). He's bounced back and healed up, but he seems lethargic and reluctant to stay outside. Although last night he wouldn't come in, but whatever. He sleeps all day and this morning didn't want to eat. I'm keeping a close eye on him but I'm very worried; I'm hoping it's a hairball or something innocent. He was eating up to this morning, but today he seems under the weather.
I have a nasty case of cucumber beetles, which is terrible because I'm growing cucumbers, butternut squash, zucchinis, and patty pan squash this summer. When the garden was planted up, i thought "wow that's too much squash, hope it's all ok" but now I'm starting to see damage, and I've lost a zucchini plant. If anyone has any great natural remedies for cucumber beetles I'd really appreciate it, I'm tired of going out there and manually squashing them all. They're sneaky little buggers and they run away from me.
We got a new refrigerator and now I'm obsessed with making it look bountiful rather than full of crap. When we cleared out the old one, here's a basic list of what we discovered:
- 3 jars of cocktail sauce
- 4 or 5 old homemade vinaigrettes
- 2 jars of pickles
- 3 jars of hot pickled peppers
- 3 jars of cocktail onions (who even eats those? I guess I do)
- 2 identical squeeze bottles of mustard
- 2 bottles of ketchup
- 3 kinds of fish sauce
- 4 jars of jam containing less than a tablespoon each
- fudge sauce that is exactly 4 years old
- jerk sauce from I don't know when
So you see, the fridge is pretty darn empty now. I am working slowly at filling it up with good things, gourmet ingredients and lovely treats for when my guests arrive. I want to open the fridge and be blown away by the cornucopia of fresh vegetables and chichipoopoo delicacies, while at the same time being reassured by the good old dairy standbys - fresh milk, cream and eggs, plain yoghurt, and a big hunk of butter.
See? It's not easy to live with me.
Aside from the cucumber beetles the veggie garden is doing well. In fact, all of the gardens are doing wonderfully - I should be posting pictures but I'm too damn busy doing yard maintenance. The only veggie garden failures, besides what I lost to the cucumber beetles (damn them!) are the eggplants (tiny, won't produce this year I don't think) and the basil that I started from seed. Oh, also I have one cherry tomato plant in a galvanized tub that has practically no leaves, only fruit. Why is that? Anyway, I have also had a few garden surprises. Coriander has sprung up everywhere, which is terrific because we eat a lot of it. I'm letting some plants go to seed, so it'll be back next year. I have one cucumber/squash mystery plant growing in a container of flowers by my shed, i have no idea what it is or how it got there, but I can't wait to find out.
Other dramas: I have discovered what's wrong with my plum tree. I'd previously thought that it was just too damn old, but now I see that I have a case of Plum Curculio, and this year is a wipeout. Which is too bad, because when we picked up all of the bad plums to throw them away, I realized that we would have had approximately 200 plums if it had all worked out. That was motivation to take drastic measures next year to try to ensure some kind of successful harvest.
Also, I have some kind of animal living in the woods beyond my veggie garden. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is I hope it's something that doesn't: A) fight with cats or B)eat my garden. I also saw a groundhog on the lawn the other day, but I'm hoping the cats will chase it away peacefully and without gore or tragedy.
Phew. I should write more often to keep the size of my posts down to a reasonable level.
Wish me luck this week with the in-laws....
The weather's been a bit odd lately. For about two weeks, it was really humid and stormy; we would have a thunderstorm every day, and crazy torrential rains. I called it Monsoon Season. But that pattern seems to have settled into a climate of moderate daytime temperatures, sun, and coolish nights. I'm sure that will change - this weekend's supposed to be hot as hades - but for now the sleeping is good so I'm not complaining.
I have several minor dramas on the go, as per usual:
My cat was getting into a lot of fights with something (?a stray male cat was hanging around - could be him?) about two weeks ago, and required a trip to the vet and antibiotics for his rather dramatic injuries (his legs were all slashed up). He's bounced back and healed up, but he seems lethargic and reluctant to stay outside. Although last night he wouldn't come in, but whatever. He sleeps all day and this morning didn't want to eat. I'm keeping a close eye on him but I'm very worried; I'm hoping it's a hairball or something innocent. He was eating up to this morning, but today he seems under the weather.
I have a nasty case of cucumber beetles, which is terrible because I'm growing cucumbers, butternut squash, zucchinis, and patty pan squash this summer. When the garden was planted up, i thought "wow that's too much squash, hope it's all ok" but now I'm starting to see damage, and I've lost a zucchini plant. If anyone has any great natural remedies for cucumber beetles I'd really appreciate it, I'm tired of going out there and manually squashing them all. They're sneaky little buggers and they run away from me.
We got a new refrigerator and now I'm obsessed with making it look bountiful rather than full of crap. When we cleared out the old one, here's a basic list of what we discovered:
- 3 jars of cocktail sauce
- 4 or 5 old homemade vinaigrettes
- 2 jars of pickles
- 3 jars of hot pickled peppers
- 3 jars of cocktail onions (who even eats those? I guess I do)
- 2 identical squeeze bottles of mustard
- 2 bottles of ketchup
- 3 kinds of fish sauce
- 4 jars of jam containing less than a tablespoon each
- fudge sauce that is exactly 4 years old
- jerk sauce from I don't know when
So you see, the fridge is pretty darn empty now. I am working slowly at filling it up with good things, gourmet ingredients and lovely treats for when my guests arrive. I want to open the fridge and be blown away by the cornucopia of fresh vegetables and chichipoopoo delicacies, while at the same time being reassured by the good old dairy standbys - fresh milk, cream and eggs, plain yoghurt, and a big hunk of butter.
See? It's not easy to live with me.
Aside from the cucumber beetles the veggie garden is doing well. In fact, all of the gardens are doing wonderfully - I should be posting pictures but I'm too damn busy doing yard maintenance. The only veggie garden failures, besides what I lost to the cucumber beetles (damn them!) are the eggplants (tiny, won't produce this year I don't think) and the basil that I started from seed. Oh, also I have one cherry tomato plant in a galvanized tub that has practically no leaves, only fruit. Why is that? Anyway, I have also had a few garden surprises. Coriander has sprung up everywhere, which is terrific because we eat a lot of it. I'm letting some plants go to seed, so it'll be back next year. I have one cucumber/squash mystery plant growing in a container of flowers by my shed, i have no idea what it is or how it got there, but I can't wait to find out.
Other dramas: I have discovered what's wrong with my plum tree. I'd previously thought that it was just too damn old, but now I see that I have a case of Plum Curculio, and this year is a wipeout. Which is too bad, because when we picked up all of the bad plums to throw them away, I realized that we would have had approximately 200 plums if it had all worked out. That was motivation to take drastic measures next year to try to ensure some kind of successful harvest.
Also, I have some kind of animal living in the woods beyond my veggie garden. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is I hope it's something that doesn't: A) fight with cats or B)eat my garden. I also saw a groundhog on the lawn the other day, but I'm hoping the cats will chase it away peacefully and without gore or tragedy.
Phew. I should write more often to keep the size of my posts down to a reasonable level.
Wish me luck this week with the in-laws....
6/19/06
Saved by the rain
So remember back when I said my little tomato seedlings would be a failure this year? They were flagging behind so badly that I had to buy transplants from the local greenhouse?
Well turns out I spoke too soon. My little tomato seedlings are bushy and green and happy. They're shorter than the transplants, and not blooming yet, but they're healthy and happy to be there.
I've mulched them with straw again this year, and I've started watering them with coffee to perk them up a bit, and I think they're going to pull through for me after all.
Now I can spend all of my time worrying about the eggplants. I'd forgotten that I planted eggplants, and discovered the seedlings in the seed starter under the deck, drowning and runty. But I put them in the garden anyway, and I think they're starting to stage a comeback after burning and wilting for a week or so.
So far, I am experiencing great garden success in 2006. Now if I could only do something about the cat fights...
Well turns out I spoke too soon. My little tomato seedlings are bushy and green and happy. They're shorter than the transplants, and not blooming yet, but they're healthy and happy to be there.
I've mulched them with straw again this year, and I've started watering them with coffee to perk them up a bit, and I think they're going to pull through for me after all.
Now I can spend all of my time worrying about the eggplants. I'd forgotten that I planted eggplants, and discovered the seedlings in the seed starter under the deck, drowning and runty. But I put them in the garden anyway, and I think they're starting to stage a comeback after burning and wilting for a week or so.
So far, I am experiencing great garden success in 2006. Now if I could only do something about the cat fights...
6/14/06
New Skill Set
Last night I added another skill to my growing resumé: Tile Grouter.
Let me tell you, that is one messy job. Especially when your tiles are white and your grout is charcoal. Apologies go to the water table, and to all of the sponges in my house, and to my fingernails, which are now very black.
But my bathroom is looking fabulous, I must say. It took me approximately 4 hours, but it's worth it.
Let me tell you, that is one messy job. Especially when your tiles are white and your grout is charcoal. Apologies go to the water table, and to all of the sponges in my house, and to my fingernails, which are now very black.
But my bathroom is looking fabulous, I must say. It took me approximately 4 hours, but it's worth it.
6/12/06
Where'd the spring go?
Well it's been a long time since I last posted, and I've finally gotten around to it only after a bustling weekend of activity.
More renovations! Yes, we're insanely doing it all at once, and we're on the bathroom now. Last weekend my dad helped us put in (OK, my dad put in) a new counter, sink and faucet, which completely changed the look of the place. This past weekend, we helped my dad install a tile floor. It's starting to look spa-fabulous in there, so much so that all I want to do is hang out in the bathroom and look at it all the time. I will post photos when it's all done and the mess has cleared.
As for the garden, well, it needs some TLC. I was completely discouraged when my little tomato seedlings didn't transplant very well (they burned to a crisp), and I kindasorta threw in the towel for a week or two. Now I need to get in there and weed, and get some straw to mulch everything because I think it's all big enough. Yesterday I went to the garden centre and bought a flat of tomato seedlings. It was a major pride issue for me not to grow all of my tomatoes from seed, but sometimes you have to go to drastic measures. Whatever makes it from my transplants is a bonus, but in the meantime, I got six plants of 'Lemon Boy' tomatoes from our local nursery, where they DO grow them from seed on-site. They don't have the dark-green hard-leaf crunchy look that the one I bought at the grocery store does, which has probably been Miracle-Gro'ed into oblivion. I also bought a tray of broccoli and a tray of brussels sprouts, but we'll see what happens there - I've never successfully grown anything in that family.
Other failures in that garden include a couple of zucchinis that I crushed while transplanting, and a bit of a weed infestation. Aside from that, everything seems to be OK. I've kind of lost track of what I've got, but I think this year's list goes something like this:
- yellow zucchini
- patty pan squash
- cucumbers
- butternut squash
- one plant of a tomato-shaped hot pepper
- red peppers
- cayenne peppers
- eggplants (don't remember how many or which kind)
- golden pear tomatoes
- lemon boy tomatoes (not in the ground yet)
- (regular red tomatoes, don't remember the name! Ack!)
- thai basil
- parsley
- coriander
- regular basil
- borage (ugh)
- thyme
- 'royal burgundy' beans
- yellow beans (not up yet, just planted them)
- broccoli (not in the ground yet)
- brussels sprouts (not in the ground yet)
- sunflowers
- potatoes
- the rhubarb and mint and onions that keep coming back
- the coriander that keeps coming back all over the veggie garden! yay! This is good - we eat a LOT of it.
- on the deck: yellow cherry tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, leaf lettuce(forget the variety), romaine lettuce, and a basil. Most of these are in the same galvanized tub.
- in the perennial garden, in a tin pot - rosemary and garlic chives.
I also bought some marigolds to put here and there, but I need a few more things to fill it out. I will wait to see what it's like after I put in the broccoli and brussels sprouts, but I may go to get more flowers - maybe nasturtium or other edible ones to sprinkle into salads.
My hanging baskets are a bit sick too. The scaevola (sp?) died in two of them, so I bought some gorgeous purple sweet potato vines to replace them. I need some kind of watering system for the baskets, so any suggestions are appreciated. When I water, the soil runs out of them - they're these coir basket-liners that I don't think I'll be using again. The rest of the plants seem to be acclimatizing, but those darn scaevola make me so sad. They're so pretty, and look so crappy when they're not happy. Damnit, the most successful hanging-basket plants for my full-sun spot are petunias and geraniums, just the ones I like the least!
The perennial gardens are looking fabulous, however. I've had to do quite a bit of weeding and culling, but everything's coming up properly now, and all of the new plants that I put into the terraced garden last year are working together beautifully. The theme right now is pinks and purples, but soon I'll start getting some oranges and hot pinks and reds and yellows. I added annuals to it this year, which I've never done before, and I must say I will do that again. Also soon, my dahlias on the deck will get big enough to start blooming.
New favourite flower: Gazanias. I have put them everywhere, in all different colours.
The irises are exploding right now, as are the poppies, lupines, centaurea, tradescantia, veronica, columbines, and the malva that I bought earlier this year. The peonies are ready to go, and I'm excited. I love my peonies like crazy, they make the best arrangements for the dinner table, and they smell so beautiful. I get all girly silly around my big pink peonies.
My cleome seeds sprouted, much to my surprise. I took them from last year's flowers, and dumped them all into a barrel to see what would happen (I've not had success before), and they all sprouted. So I moved a bunch of them to various spots in the yard, and will give some to my mom as well. She gave me morning glory seedlings; we've got a little exchange program going on.
I put in an order for a whack ($76 worth) of bulbs to plant in the fall, and included some garlic. I can't wait for that - I wish I had garlic in the garden right now. There's nothing worse, in my opinion, than running out of garlic in the kitchen. Garlic powder just doesn't cut it. With these new bulbs and a lot of luck, my gardens will be riotous next spring.
Phew, so I hope that post was long enough to make up for my absence. The weather's been weird, but as soon as it warms up a bit I'll be back out there and get everything fixed up for photos. I've been busy, too busy for blogging.
More renovations! Yes, we're insanely doing it all at once, and we're on the bathroom now. Last weekend my dad helped us put in (OK, my dad put in) a new counter, sink and faucet, which completely changed the look of the place. This past weekend, we helped my dad install a tile floor. It's starting to look spa-fabulous in there, so much so that all I want to do is hang out in the bathroom and look at it all the time. I will post photos when it's all done and the mess has cleared.
As for the garden, well, it needs some TLC. I was completely discouraged when my little tomato seedlings didn't transplant very well (they burned to a crisp), and I kindasorta threw in the towel for a week or two. Now I need to get in there and weed, and get some straw to mulch everything because I think it's all big enough. Yesterday I went to the garden centre and bought a flat of tomato seedlings. It was a major pride issue for me not to grow all of my tomatoes from seed, but sometimes you have to go to drastic measures. Whatever makes it from my transplants is a bonus, but in the meantime, I got six plants of 'Lemon Boy' tomatoes from our local nursery, where they DO grow them from seed on-site. They don't have the dark-green hard-leaf crunchy look that the one I bought at the grocery store does, which has probably been Miracle-Gro'ed into oblivion. I also bought a tray of broccoli and a tray of brussels sprouts, but we'll see what happens there - I've never successfully grown anything in that family.
Other failures in that garden include a couple of zucchinis that I crushed while transplanting, and a bit of a weed infestation. Aside from that, everything seems to be OK. I've kind of lost track of what I've got, but I think this year's list goes something like this:
- yellow zucchini
- patty pan squash
- cucumbers
- butternut squash
- one plant of a tomato-shaped hot pepper
- red peppers
- cayenne peppers
- eggplants (don't remember how many or which kind)
- golden pear tomatoes
- lemon boy tomatoes (not in the ground yet)
- (regular red tomatoes, don't remember the name! Ack!)
- thai basil
- parsley
- coriander
- regular basil
- borage (ugh)
- thyme
- 'royal burgundy' beans
- yellow beans (not up yet, just planted them)
- broccoli (not in the ground yet)
- brussels sprouts (not in the ground yet)
- sunflowers
- potatoes
- the rhubarb and mint and onions that keep coming back
- the coriander that keeps coming back all over the veggie garden! yay! This is good - we eat a LOT of it.
- on the deck: yellow cherry tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, leaf lettuce(forget the variety), romaine lettuce, and a basil. Most of these are in the same galvanized tub.
- in the perennial garden, in a tin pot - rosemary and garlic chives.
I also bought some marigolds to put here and there, but I need a few more things to fill it out. I will wait to see what it's like after I put in the broccoli and brussels sprouts, but I may go to get more flowers - maybe nasturtium or other edible ones to sprinkle into salads.
My hanging baskets are a bit sick too. The scaevola (sp?) died in two of them, so I bought some gorgeous purple sweet potato vines to replace them. I need some kind of watering system for the baskets, so any suggestions are appreciated. When I water, the soil runs out of them - they're these coir basket-liners that I don't think I'll be using again. The rest of the plants seem to be acclimatizing, but those darn scaevola make me so sad. They're so pretty, and look so crappy when they're not happy. Damnit, the most successful hanging-basket plants for my full-sun spot are petunias and geraniums, just the ones I like the least!
The perennial gardens are looking fabulous, however. I've had to do quite a bit of weeding and culling, but everything's coming up properly now, and all of the new plants that I put into the terraced garden last year are working together beautifully. The theme right now is pinks and purples, but soon I'll start getting some oranges and hot pinks and reds and yellows. I added annuals to it this year, which I've never done before, and I must say I will do that again. Also soon, my dahlias on the deck will get big enough to start blooming.
New favourite flower: Gazanias. I have put them everywhere, in all different colours.
The irises are exploding right now, as are the poppies, lupines, centaurea, tradescantia, veronica, columbines, and the malva that I bought earlier this year. The peonies are ready to go, and I'm excited. I love my peonies like crazy, they make the best arrangements for the dinner table, and they smell so beautiful. I get all girly silly around my big pink peonies.
My cleome seeds sprouted, much to my surprise. I took them from last year's flowers, and dumped them all into a barrel to see what would happen (I've not had success before), and they all sprouted. So I moved a bunch of them to various spots in the yard, and will give some to my mom as well. She gave me morning glory seedlings; we've got a little exchange program going on.
I put in an order for a whack ($76 worth) of bulbs to plant in the fall, and included some garlic. I can't wait for that - I wish I had garlic in the garden right now. There's nothing worse, in my opinion, than running out of garlic in the kitchen. Garlic powder just doesn't cut it. With these new bulbs and a lot of luck, my gardens will be riotous next spring.
Phew, so I hope that post was long enough to make up for my absence. The weather's been weird, but as soon as it warms up a bit I'll be back out there and get everything fixed up for photos. I've been busy, too busy for blogging.
5/30/06
Thank You, Gods of Rain
The last few days it has been sunny and hot all day, then raining at night. Consequently, all of my recent transplants are doing just fine thank you very much (except for the zucchinis I broke - 2 out of 3 are gone).
A girl couldn't ask for better gardening weather.
And today is supposed to be 32 degrees celcius. Bye bye blackflies!
A girl couldn't ask for better gardening weather.
And today is supposed to be 32 degrees celcius. Bye bye blackflies!
5/29/06
Weekend Warriors
I never got around to writing about the evening I weeded my brother's garden. I showed up and got eaten by blackflies. After spraying myself with so much DEET I worried that my skin might melt off, my mother joined me in fixing up a bed running the length of his house. Turns out, he's got some lovely gardens in place, once all of the weeds wer removed.
Then his girlfriend came over, and that's when the plan went awry. She brought with her a bunch of annuals and some pots and soil, and since planting up colourful pots of flowers is much more fun than yanking out dandelions and mint (oh, the mint - he's got a serious infestation. I hope he likes mojitos), that's what we ended up doing. We did weed some areas, but at the end of the evening, his pots and the raised strip by his door looked fabulous. He was very appreciative. I also managed to scam a small piece of his very-eager clematis, and will go back for some hosta; he has this variety that seems to spread quite a bit.
This past weekend was stellar - amazing weather, a huge garage sale, plants, sun, beer, barbecue - everything a girl could ask for. On Saturday morning, we went to the Great Glebe Garage Sale. This chaotic annual event is about 10 x 10 city blocks of garage sales, and the entire city seems to go nuts. One of the best aspects of it is that there are so many nice gardens in that neighborhood, which I get to examine at close range, and many people are selling off parts of their plants. I picked up the following:
- 2 japanese painted ferns
- 3 pots of variegated perennial grass
- a geum (don't know what colour - oops)
- something else that has little white flowers on tall stalks, don't know the name of it.
I also got a great old galvanized tin pail, which now has 6 holes drilled into the bottom of it and holds a bunch of pretty annuals.
On Sunday my mom and I made a pilgrimmage to the local garden centre and bought a whack of annuals. I got $45 worth of annual flats. That's a lot of flowers. I spent the rest of the day potting up colourful containers, weeding, flipping the rest of my veggie garden, planting out all of my vegetable seedlings, trimming the edges of the yard, planting the new perennials that I bought Saturday, installing my soaker hose in the veggie garden, transplanting another fern for my shade garden from the woods, cleaning up the deck and doing minor outdoor-decorating tasks. The place looks terrific now, and in a few weeks when the flowers start to go nuts, it will be beautiful.
I am worried about my hanging baskets. I bought 4 of those black iron and coir things, and then four big hanging baskets of: profuse hot pink mini-geraniums, trailing purple petunias, bright yellow drooping strawflowers, and blueish-purple scaivola, as well as a flat of bright orange and pink gazanias. I split each of the hanging baskets into four and made four mixed baskets, with the gazanias added into the dirt in the top to keep the baskets looking full, not flat-topped. Well, now they're all a bit droopy, either from the trauma, the sun, watering badly or all of the above. I hope they pull through - I may put them in a shadier spot for a week or so just to let them establish themselves, and then put them back into the full sun. The one that gets the most shade at the moment seems the happiest.
I ended up hardening off my tomatoes and peppers and squash for a couple of days under the deck. I put the tray out into the sun for a few hours on Sunday and when they didn't turn white and crispy, I figured they'd be ok to put into the veggie garden. I planted them, put the sprinkler on them, and then what do you know but it rained overnight. So with all that water I think they'll be ok in the sunny 29-degree weather today. Keeping my fingers madly crossed. I was also an idiot and tried to carry everything to the garden in one load, and in so doing, I managed to break the stems of three of my zucchini plants. I just planted them very deeply, we'll see what happens. I have 8 or so of them so it should be ok.
I had to buy a flat of cucumber seedlings. I know, I am ashamed to admit it, but the ones I direct-seeded were eaten by something. Only one survived and it doesn't look too hot. From six, I ended up with one, and I am mourning my losses. But the new seedlings have a bit of a head start and were at least started by the nice ladies at my local garden centre, where you can see all of the little shoots growing away in the greenhouses. I love that place, I've often thought of getting a part-time job there just for fun. Hoping perhaps that it would satisfy my garden urges and save me some cash, or at least support my plant habit. But when? I am too busy on the weekends maintaining my own yard!
At any rate, the initial work for the 2006 version of my garden is pretty much done. After this, I will need to plant beans, mulch with straw, build up the soil and mulch my shade garden, and then just mow and weed and deadhead as required.
Phew!
Then his girlfriend came over, and that's when the plan went awry. She brought with her a bunch of annuals and some pots and soil, and since planting up colourful pots of flowers is much more fun than yanking out dandelions and mint (oh, the mint - he's got a serious infestation. I hope he likes mojitos), that's what we ended up doing. We did weed some areas, but at the end of the evening, his pots and the raised strip by his door looked fabulous. He was very appreciative. I also managed to scam a small piece of his very-eager clematis, and will go back for some hosta; he has this variety that seems to spread quite a bit.
This past weekend was stellar - amazing weather, a huge garage sale, plants, sun, beer, barbecue - everything a girl could ask for. On Saturday morning, we went to the Great Glebe Garage Sale. This chaotic annual event is about 10 x 10 city blocks of garage sales, and the entire city seems to go nuts. One of the best aspects of it is that there are so many nice gardens in that neighborhood, which I get to examine at close range, and many people are selling off parts of their plants. I picked up the following:
- 2 japanese painted ferns
- 3 pots of variegated perennial grass
- a geum (don't know what colour - oops)
- something else that has little white flowers on tall stalks, don't know the name of it.
I also got a great old galvanized tin pail, which now has 6 holes drilled into the bottom of it and holds a bunch of pretty annuals.
On Sunday my mom and I made a pilgrimmage to the local garden centre and bought a whack of annuals. I got $45 worth of annual flats. That's a lot of flowers. I spent the rest of the day potting up colourful containers, weeding, flipping the rest of my veggie garden, planting out all of my vegetable seedlings, trimming the edges of the yard, planting the new perennials that I bought Saturday, installing my soaker hose in the veggie garden, transplanting another fern for my shade garden from the woods, cleaning up the deck and doing minor outdoor-decorating tasks. The place looks terrific now, and in a few weeks when the flowers start to go nuts, it will be beautiful.
I am worried about my hanging baskets. I bought 4 of those black iron and coir things, and then four big hanging baskets of: profuse hot pink mini-geraniums, trailing purple petunias, bright yellow drooping strawflowers, and blueish-purple scaivola, as well as a flat of bright orange and pink gazanias. I split each of the hanging baskets into four and made four mixed baskets, with the gazanias added into the dirt in the top to keep the baskets looking full, not flat-topped. Well, now they're all a bit droopy, either from the trauma, the sun, watering badly or all of the above. I hope they pull through - I may put them in a shadier spot for a week or so just to let them establish themselves, and then put them back into the full sun. The one that gets the most shade at the moment seems the happiest.
I ended up hardening off my tomatoes and peppers and squash for a couple of days under the deck. I put the tray out into the sun for a few hours on Sunday and when they didn't turn white and crispy, I figured they'd be ok to put into the veggie garden. I planted them, put the sprinkler on them, and then what do you know but it rained overnight. So with all that water I think they'll be ok in the sunny 29-degree weather today. Keeping my fingers madly crossed. I was also an idiot and tried to carry everything to the garden in one load, and in so doing, I managed to break the stems of three of my zucchini plants. I just planted them very deeply, we'll see what happens. I have 8 or so of them so it should be ok.
I had to buy a flat of cucumber seedlings. I know, I am ashamed to admit it, but the ones I direct-seeded were eaten by something. Only one survived and it doesn't look too hot. From six, I ended up with one, and I am mourning my losses. But the new seedlings have a bit of a head start and were at least started by the nice ladies at my local garden centre, where you can see all of the little shoots growing away in the greenhouses. I love that place, I've often thought of getting a part-time job there just for fun. Hoping perhaps that it would satisfy my garden urges and save me some cash, or at least support my plant habit. But when? I am too busy on the weekends maintaining my own yard!
At any rate, the initial work for the 2006 version of my garden is pretty much done. After this, I will need to plant beans, mulch with straw, build up the soil and mulch my shade garden, and then just mow and weed and deadhead as required.
Phew!
5/24/06
My Brother's Pushy Big Sister
Woo hoo the sun is out!
For those of you in this area, in case you haven't been counting, it rained for 12 days straight. And it was cold, but you knew that already. What that means for us gardeners is that May two four weekend, (Victoria Day weekend) was a total wash-out, as that is traditionally peak gardening time.
Yesterday I came home from work a bit early, and we managed to pack a ton of yard work in before dinner. DH mowed the lawn, and removed all of the coverings that I'd put on my little annuals and veggie seedlings two nights before. I made up my hanging baskets. This year, I bought 4 of those black-metal-with-coir-insert hangers for $4.15 each (a steal!) and then bought 5 hanging baskets of flowers. I split the baskets up and re-assembled them into my metal ones, so that I now have 4 mixed baskets. I will take pictures so you can see what I mean. However I think I did some major damage to the plants chopping them into pieces and reconstituting them. We'll see. But they look fabulous!
Tonight I'm going over to my brother's house to perform a wee favour. My baby brother is a new homeowner, and as a 24-year-old bachelor, he'd much rather be fishing and tooting around on his ATV than gardening. But he's started a bunch of vegetables and fully intends to have a veggie garden, the foundation of which is already in place from the previous owners. He just hasn't gotten around to cleaning it out and flipping the dirt, etc. and doesn't even really know what he's already got in there. So I have volunteered to put in a couple of hours of weeding because I love it so. Yes I said it - I love weeding. I will don my best bug hat and yank all of those little suckers out, and perhaps label the plants that he should keep so he knows what he's got.
Then i will put my seedlings outside for their first night out. I'll put them under an overhang of my house, so they are in the shade. I haven't hardened them off properly, and I want to plant them all this coming weekend, so I had better do something. Last night I compulsively stuck my cathedral bell vines into the garden, and this morning they looked a teensy bit shocked. I think they'll be ok though.
Tomorrow I'm going to wander down to the Byward Market at lunchtime and buy a whack of herbs. 3 for $5 - I'll get basil, a few thai basils, rosemary, more chives, and maybe just maybe I'll get some for my brother as well, just to kick-start him. I am a pushy big sister.
Ironically, his girlfriend works at a major garden centre here in town (thank YOU brother!). She loves to garden. But because he stubbornly won't give her a key to his house, I think she wisely refrains from putting too much investment into his yard. Plus she works crazy hours and goes to school on the side, so she's probably too pooped to manage two gardens (she has one at her place too). I feel it's OK to step in, to a point. He's taking DH fishing this evening, so I will fix up his garden. Mmm I can't wait - the first sunny day in two weeks and I will be out until dark!
For those of you in this area, in case you haven't been counting, it rained for 12 days straight. And it was cold, but you knew that already. What that means for us gardeners is that May two four weekend, (Victoria Day weekend) was a total wash-out, as that is traditionally peak gardening time.
Yesterday I came home from work a bit early, and we managed to pack a ton of yard work in before dinner. DH mowed the lawn, and removed all of the coverings that I'd put on my little annuals and veggie seedlings two nights before. I made up my hanging baskets. This year, I bought 4 of those black-metal-with-coir-insert hangers for $4.15 each (a steal!) and then bought 5 hanging baskets of flowers. I split the baskets up and re-assembled them into my metal ones, so that I now have 4 mixed baskets. I will take pictures so you can see what I mean. However I think I did some major damage to the plants chopping them into pieces and reconstituting them. We'll see. But they look fabulous!
Tonight I'm going over to my brother's house to perform a wee favour. My baby brother is a new homeowner, and as a 24-year-old bachelor, he'd much rather be fishing and tooting around on his ATV than gardening. But he's started a bunch of vegetables and fully intends to have a veggie garden, the foundation of which is already in place from the previous owners. He just hasn't gotten around to cleaning it out and flipping the dirt, etc. and doesn't even really know what he's already got in there. So I have volunteered to put in a couple of hours of weeding because I love it so. Yes I said it - I love weeding. I will don my best bug hat and yank all of those little suckers out, and perhaps label the plants that he should keep so he knows what he's got.
Then i will put my seedlings outside for their first night out. I'll put them under an overhang of my house, so they are in the shade. I haven't hardened them off properly, and I want to plant them all this coming weekend, so I had better do something. Last night I compulsively stuck my cathedral bell vines into the garden, and this morning they looked a teensy bit shocked. I think they'll be ok though.
Tomorrow I'm going to wander down to the Byward Market at lunchtime and buy a whack of herbs. 3 for $5 - I'll get basil, a few thai basils, rosemary, more chives, and maybe just maybe I'll get some for my brother as well, just to kick-start him. I am a pushy big sister.
Ironically, his girlfriend works at a major garden centre here in town (thank YOU brother!). She loves to garden. But because he stubbornly won't give her a key to his house, I think she wisely refrains from putting too much investment into his yard. Plus she works crazy hours and goes to school on the side, so she's probably too pooped to manage two gardens (she has one at her place too). I feel it's OK to step in, to a point. He's taking DH fishing this evening, so I will fix up his garden. Mmm I can't wait - the first sunny day in two weeks and I will be out until dark!
5/18/06
Are you kidding me?
Where does the time go?
It's been a month since I lamented my raking injuries! I can't believe it. I'm the world's worst blogger. I am not cut out for regular updates.
In the past month, I've made some nice progress on my gardens but it's really been, overall, a bit of a disappointment. Due to some renovations and minor disasters, I never got around to terracing the other half of my hill as I'd promised myself I'd do this spring. Perhaps I will get started on it this weekend, but the weather's so crappy that I'm not inspired. It's a lot of physical labour, and colour me daunted.
But I have got the veggie gardens ready to go, been taking care of my seedlings, and purchased a few new perennials. I have big plans for next weekend as well - annuals, hanging baskets, vegetables, you name it and it's going into the ground. We've mowed our lawn once, and I've been dutifully weeding even though it makes the blackflies hot to take chunks out of my flesh. My new 'look' is smeared in mud with dead blackflies smooshed into my hair. It's very sexy.
So you've been waiting with baited breath to see what happened with my renovation project, haven't you. Well, it's mostly done. There's still some trim to install, etc., but we bought it, have cut it to size, and it can go in this weekend after we stain it the right shade of faux-maple. Here's a nice shot of the new spare room/t.v. room:
In the middle of the project, after we'd finished off the floors in what is now our office, we shifted our giant aquarium into its new office home. A day later, I heard burbling, and lo and behold, the aquarium had cracked. Both of my back rooms were flooded. All the laminate flooring that we'd already installed - a day's worth of work because it took us awhile to figure the stuff out - had to be torn out. I had to put fans and dehumidifiers in the back for 3 days. Oh, and it all went down, so flooded the basement too. So that was a setback. But a few days later a friend came over and we finished it. Needless to say that ate up my holiday, and the terracing of the garden was last on my priority list.
Next - On to the bathroom!
It's been a month since I lamented my raking injuries! I can't believe it. I'm the world's worst blogger. I am not cut out for regular updates.
In the past month, I've made some nice progress on my gardens but it's really been, overall, a bit of a disappointment. Due to some renovations and minor disasters, I never got around to terracing the other half of my hill as I'd promised myself I'd do this spring. Perhaps I will get started on it this weekend, but the weather's so crappy that I'm not inspired. It's a lot of physical labour, and colour me daunted.
But I have got the veggie gardens ready to go, been taking care of my seedlings, and purchased a few new perennials. I have big plans for next weekend as well - annuals, hanging baskets, vegetables, you name it and it's going into the ground. We've mowed our lawn once, and I've been dutifully weeding even though it makes the blackflies hot to take chunks out of my flesh. My new 'look' is smeared in mud with dead blackflies smooshed into my hair. It's very sexy.
So you've been waiting with baited breath to see what happened with my renovation project, haven't you. Well, it's mostly done. There's still some trim to install, etc., but we bought it, have cut it to size, and it can go in this weekend after we stain it the right shade of faux-maple. Here's a nice shot of the new spare room/t.v. room:
In the middle of the project, after we'd finished off the floors in what is now our office, we shifted our giant aquarium into its new office home. A day later, I heard burbling, and lo and behold, the aquarium had cracked. Both of my back rooms were flooded. All the laminate flooring that we'd already installed - a day's worth of work because it took us awhile to figure the stuff out - had to be torn out. I had to put fans and dehumidifiers in the back for 3 days. Oh, and it all went down, so flooded the basement too. So that was a setback. But a few days later a friend came over and we finished it. Needless to say that ate up my holiday, and the terracing of the garden was last on my priority list.
Next - On to the bathroom!
4/18/06
Ye olde raking injury
Ah, spring.
It's the time of year when my back muscles go "oh yeah, raking! I totally forgot about that!"
It's the time of year where the cats plot out new places to poop in my garden. Toxomoplasmosis, here we come. Guess I should be wearing gloves...
The season where I have no idea what to wear. I'm underdressed in the morning, and overdressed by lunchtime. (sigh). My life is so difficult.
I have raked and raked. Then I raked some more. And a friend raked too, the entire yard, but then I had to rake again. And I will be raking tonight, and probably raking tomorrow night as well. The problem? We haven't mowed the lawn since approximately July 22, 2005. We don't have grass, we have hay. I could bale it up and feed a horse for a week. In fact, we have horses around, perhaps I could rent one for a few days to avoid raking. If I could get a set of four horse-sized aerator sandals, we'd be all set.
But as it is, I have the sandals, and I have been raking like a mad fool to try and get grass to grow where once there was only hay. This weekend, I will be spreading seeds as well, in the rain because I don't want to tax our well too heavily, and because I am lazy that way and actually enjoy the smell of wet dirt and grass.
I haven't started photographing the garden yet, but I'm going to have to take some 'before' shots this week because I predictably have a lot of work to do. On the horizon this year? Behold the following list:
1. Terrace the other side of my front hill, adding to the work I did last year (MAY).
2. Build up and add to my shade foundation garden (MAY).
3. Fill a hole in our yard with dirt and plant grass seed on it, so that we can string up our badminton/volleyball net (APRIL/MAY).
4. Get some flagstones for in front of the shed and around the firepit (MAY/JUNE).
5. Build (or at least plan) a basic platform for a treehouse. If built this summer, we could get a mosquito net and sleep in it on hot nights. How romantic is that?
6. Plant and maintain a cohesive bunch of containers on the deck, possibly containing herbs and/or veggies, but definitely colourful annuals and vines (MAY).
7. Get the lawn into working order, try to eradicate the creeping jenny - organically of course (ONGOING).
8. Make some kind of progress on the border garden (ONGOING).
9. Re-do the compost bin. Possibly buy one of those black ones (JULY).
10. Maintain a healthy veggie garden all the way through the season.
I think this list is very doable. That's in addition to replacing the roof over our kitchen (over the shade garden, grrr) ourselves, finishing the back room, staining our staircase, and renovating the bathroom all before July. Hey, it's gotta rain sometime!
I've said this before in this space, but there's nothing better than coming home from work, grabbing a cold beer or a glass of wine, and wandering the garden, puttering here and there, coddling the plants. That season has already begun.
It's the time of year when my back muscles go "oh yeah, raking! I totally forgot about that!"
It's the time of year where the cats plot out new places to poop in my garden. Toxomoplasmosis, here we come. Guess I should be wearing gloves...
The season where I have no idea what to wear. I'm underdressed in the morning, and overdressed by lunchtime. (sigh). My life is so difficult.
I have raked and raked. Then I raked some more. And a friend raked too, the entire yard, but then I had to rake again. And I will be raking tonight, and probably raking tomorrow night as well. The problem? We haven't mowed the lawn since approximately July 22, 2005. We don't have grass, we have hay. I could bale it up and feed a horse for a week. In fact, we have horses around, perhaps I could rent one for a few days to avoid raking. If I could get a set of four horse-sized aerator sandals, we'd be all set.
But as it is, I have the sandals, and I have been raking like a mad fool to try and get grass to grow where once there was only hay. This weekend, I will be spreading seeds as well, in the rain because I don't want to tax our well too heavily, and because I am lazy that way and actually enjoy the smell of wet dirt and grass.
I haven't started photographing the garden yet, but I'm going to have to take some 'before' shots this week because I predictably have a lot of work to do. On the horizon this year? Behold the following list:
1. Terrace the other side of my front hill, adding to the work I did last year (MAY).
2. Build up and add to my shade foundation garden (MAY).
3. Fill a hole in our yard with dirt and plant grass seed on it, so that we can string up our badminton/volleyball net (APRIL/MAY).
4. Get some flagstones for in front of the shed and around the firepit (MAY/JUNE).
5. Build (or at least plan) a basic platform for a treehouse. If built this summer, we could get a mosquito net and sleep in it on hot nights. How romantic is that?
6. Plant and maintain a cohesive bunch of containers on the deck, possibly containing herbs and/or veggies, but definitely colourful annuals and vines (MAY).
7. Get the lawn into working order, try to eradicate the creeping jenny - organically of course (ONGOING).
8. Make some kind of progress on the border garden (ONGOING).
9. Re-do the compost bin. Possibly buy one of those black ones (JULY).
10. Maintain a healthy veggie garden all the way through the season.
I think this list is very doable. That's in addition to replacing the roof over our kitchen (over the shade garden, grrr) ourselves, finishing the back room, staining our staircase, and renovating the bathroom all before July. Hey, it's gotta rain sometime!
I've said this before in this space, but there's nothing better than coming home from work, grabbing a cold beer or a glass of wine, and wandering the garden, puttering here and there, coddling the plants. That season has already begun.
4/11/06
Projects up the Wahoo
I have been a busy little bee these last few months, building, the bookshelves in that back room, and an overhaul of that space in general. 
This is a picture of the shelves mid-stock, after my mother dropped off every book I've ever owned, which she's been saving in boxes in the basement since I moved out.
These puppies are made out of pine (uprights) and MDF (shelves). That was fun, as it seems that "12 inch" pine really means 11 inches, and "12 inch" MDF really IS 12 inches. I wish they would standardize that sort of thing.
Here's a BEFORE photo:
Anyway, between those shelves and the Lucky Clover sweater from Stitch N' Bitch Nation, my fingers have been busy lately. I am almost done the sweater; I hope to sew it up this weekend.
Also on my horizon are a number of babies. Spring has sprung and there are mummies everywhere - my friend in BC is expecting in a month, my friend here in town is expecting this summer, Angelina Jolie is getting ready to burst, my my there are babies everywhere. I would say it's something in the water, except that I drink a ton of water and am getting nowhere in my quest. I don't think that's how babies are made. In better news, I have learned that I have a standard body temperature of about 36.2. What a freak I am. Truely a cold fish.
My Gro-op is in full swing in the basement. The seeds are reluctant to start this year (can't I conceive ANYTHING?), i don't know if I just need new packets of seeds, or to stop trying to save them from the peppers I buy at the store. So far I've got two kinds of tomatoes, yellow zucchini, thai basil, tarragon, and oh my, i guess I really didn't put much thought into it this year huh. I need to get started on my cukes, pumpkins (from last year's surprise pumpkins! Yay!), regular italian basil for pesto, and maybe some nicotiana. I have eggplants, ground cherries, hot cherry peppers and red peppers on the go as well but I've not seen hide nor hair of them. I also have some of these puppies waiting to germinate, we'll see what happens here. Perhaps I can grow enough of these so that I won't have to repaint my house this year.
I have also started a number of seeds from a dragon fruit, slices of which I found on a chi-chi poo-poo deli tray at work. I picked the little seeds out before eating the fruit, and soaked them in a paper towel until they germinated. Now the little seedlings are all poking out of the dirt, just happy to be alive. I am excited, and i see future gifts of Dragonfruit seedlings on the horizon for all of my family and friends. I have probably 35 seedlings so far.
I guess that's all the news that's fit to tell. Nothing's going on in the garden yet, though a few perennials are poking their little heads out of the ground. I have to re-seed the lawn because it's currently a mole-torn disaster, but it needed it anyway. My lawn is terrible. I am thinking clover.
Stay tuned for more seedling excitement, plus possibly some news on that Lucky Clover sweater!
This is a picture of the shelves mid-stock, after my mother dropped off every book I've ever owned, which she's been saving in boxes in the basement since I moved out.
These puppies are made out of pine (uprights) and MDF (shelves). That was fun, as it seems that "12 inch" pine really means 11 inches, and "12 inch" MDF really IS 12 inches. I wish they would standardize that sort of thing.
Here's a BEFORE photo:
Anyway, between those shelves and the Lucky Clover sweater from Stitch N' Bitch Nation, my fingers have been busy lately. I am almost done the sweater; I hope to sew it up this weekend.
Also on my horizon are a number of babies. Spring has sprung and there are mummies everywhere - my friend in BC is expecting in a month, my friend here in town is expecting this summer, Angelina Jolie is getting ready to burst, my my there are babies everywhere. I would say it's something in the water, except that I drink a ton of water and am getting nowhere in my quest. I don't think that's how babies are made. In better news, I have learned that I have a standard body temperature of about 36.2. What a freak I am. Truely a cold fish.
My Gro-op is in full swing in the basement. The seeds are reluctant to start this year (can't I conceive ANYTHING?), i don't know if I just need new packets of seeds, or to stop trying to save them from the peppers I buy at the store. So far I've got two kinds of tomatoes, yellow zucchini, thai basil, tarragon, and oh my, i guess I really didn't put much thought into it this year huh. I need to get started on my cukes, pumpkins (from last year's surprise pumpkins! Yay!), regular italian basil for pesto, and maybe some nicotiana. I have eggplants, ground cherries, hot cherry peppers and red peppers on the go as well but I've not seen hide nor hair of them. I also have some of these puppies waiting to germinate, we'll see what happens here. Perhaps I can grow enough of these so that I won't have to repaint my house this year.
I have also started a number of seeds from a dragon fruit, slices of which I found on a chi-chi poo-poo deli tray at work. I picked the little seeds out before eating the fruit, and soaked them in a paper towel until they germinated. Now the little seedlings are all poking out of the dirt, just happy to be alive. I am excited, and i see future gifts of Dragonfruit seedlings on the horizon for all of my family and friends. I have probably 35 seedlings so far.
I guess that's all the news that's fit to tell. Nothing's going on in the garden yet, though a few perennials are poking their little heads out of the ground. I have to re-seed the lawn because it's currently a mole-torn disaster, but it needed it anyway. My lawn is terrible. I am thinking clover.
Stay tuned for more seedling excitement, plus possibly some news on that Lucky Clover sweater!
3/14/06
Too Many Blogs
What's happened? There are so many blogs out there, I think continuing with this is almost completely pointless; I think it's only for my own amusement.
If anyone cares, I've been really busy lately. Work has been zoo-like and not at all enjoyable, and I'm in the middle of a nearly-over-my-head renovation project that takes up all of my spare time. I'm re-doing my back office, which was in terrible shape for the first four years we spent in our house. Now finally, at the four-year mark, I've gutted the room and fixed it up. All the furniture and the mess is piled into the middle of the room, there are wires everywhere, I ripped off the barnboard siding and exposed a wall the surface of which looks like one of those giant termite mounds in Africa. I've plastered, sanded, peeled wallpaper, caulked, painted, painted, painted and painted, re-did all the plugs and outlets in the room (they were dark brown), changed a light fixture, now I'm building built-in bookshelves over one entire wall out of painted pine and MDF. It's a ton of fun. Despite the fact that I think I'm allergic to the dust of MDF (an all-body rash clued me into this fact), it's going pretty well, and I'm almost finished half of the 30 shelves.
When this room is done, it will kick off a massive shift in the way we inhabit our house. When we moved in, we put things in rooms instinctively instead of really thinking about how we might use the space down the road. It's been really willy-nilly. That room was the 'office' or project room, or spare room, or husband's room (he kind of took it over) or computer room or whatever, but it's really large, too large to justify dedicating it to that kind of secondary undefined purpose. When we moved in, we used it as the box depository - we put all the boxes in there and settled into the house from that point outwards.
Aside from all of that, we've been reconfiguring the basement a bit, I've been knitting a sweater, trying to stay warm, skiing, and putting off starting my seeds for this spring. I think it's time to get at it, though, because it's the middle of March already and I don't want to end up with a bunch of green tomatoes in September. We're also trying to plan for a trip to Europe late next fall, all things permitting. We'll see. Things are busy, but not busy enough to justify blogging about.
I think my blogging days might be limited. (sigh).
If anyone cares, I've been really busy lately. Work has been zoo-like and not at all enjoyable, and I'm in the middle of a nearly-over-my-head renovation project that takes up all of my spare time. I'm re-doing my back office, which was in terrible shape for the first four years we spent in our house. Now finally, at the four-year mark, I've gutted the room and fixed it up. All the furniture and the mess is piled into the middle of the room, there are wires everywhere, I ripped off the barnboard siding and exposed a wall the surface of which looks like one of those giant termite mounds in Africa. I've plastered, sanded, peeled wallpaper, caulked, painted, painted, painted and painted, re-did all the plugs and outlets in the room (they were dark brown), changed a light fixture, now I'm building built-in bookshelves over one entire wall out of painted pine and MDF. It's a ton of fun. Despite the fact that I think I'm allergic to the dust of MDF (an all-body rash clued me into this fact), it's going pretty well, and I'm almost finished half of the 30 shelves.
When this room is done, it will kick off a massive shift in the way we inhabit our house. When we moved in, we put things in rooms instinctively instead of really thinking about how we might use the space down the road. It's been really willy-nilly. That room was the 'office' or project room, or spare room, or husband's room (he kind of took it over) or computer room or whatever, but it's really large, too large to justify dedicating it to that kind of secondary undefined purpose. When we moved in, we used it as the box depository - we put all the boxes in there and settled into the house from that point outwards.
Aside from all of that, we've been reconfiguring the basement a bit, I've been knitting a sweater, trying to stay warm, skiing, and putting off starting my seeds for this spring. I think it's time to get at it, though, because it's the middle of March already and I don't want to end up with a bunch of green tomatoes in September. We're also trying to plan for a trip to Europe late next fall, all things permitting. We'll see. Things are busy, but not busy enough to justify blogging about.
I think my blogging days might be limited. (sigh).
2/10/06
Finally some additions
I've had some very good suggestions for things to add to the list. They include:
-Change a tire
-Cook a meal for 10 or more (nothing like cooking for two)
-Make jam or jelly
-Clean a fish (from my husband, who insists that I use the list already compiled by Ontario Out of Doors, but I have refused because there's too much hunting cockiness on it)
So we're up to 54.
-Change a tire
-Cook a meal for 10 or more (nothing like cooking for two)
-Make jam or jelly
-Clean a fish (from my husband, who insists that I use the list already compiled by Ontario Out of Doors, but I have refused because there's too much hunting cockiness on it)
So we're up to 54.
1/31/06
Martha's List
So apparently Martha Stewart has decided on the list of 30 things that everyone must know.
I read this list and thought: this is a list of 30 things that every '50s housewife should know. And priviledged ones at that. Does everyone in the world need to know how to pop a champagne bottle? Eat a lobster? Arrange flowers? I'm sure there are people out there with better things to do with their time than learn these specialized skills, and can risk muddling through the opening of a champagne bottle if the situation arises.
In typical fashion, I decided the list was a load of hooey and came up with my own for my own amusement. A couple of the things on it are a nod to Martha, but mostly they're things that most north american humans should know, whether male or female. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Build a fire.
2. Grow something from seed.
3. Change a diaper.
4. Write a proper letter.
5. Basic first aid.
6. Make a perfect grilled cheese (Damn grilled cheese is good.)
7. Operate power tools.
8. Do laundry with shrinking or dyeing anything.
9. Clean a toilet.
10. Remove red wine stains.
11. Make soup stock.
12. Build something.
13. Budget money.
14. Record a tv program with a VCR.
15. Basic computer functions.
16. Tie some good basic knots.
17. Drive a standard.
18. Hem pants or a skirt.
19. Bake some kind of bread.
20. Mix an old-time cocktail (maybe this fits in the opening-a-champagne-bottle category but I don't care. I enjoy an Old-Fashioned myself.)
21. Iron a shirt.
22. Make banana bread.
23. Make tomato sauce.
24. Patch drywall.
25. Change the oil, fuses and sparkplugs of a car.
26. Remove porcupine quills from a dog's face.
27. Basic hair cuts (sideburns, bangs).
28. Speak a second language.
29. Make a good pot of coffee.
30. Clean the trap of a sink.
Now I'm not purporting to be able to do all of these things myself; in fact, that's the next part of my post - I scored pretty well on this list but I live in the country, where skills like building fires and removing porcupine quills come in handy. I only scored 25 out of 30 (for all of those interested in my deficiencies, I cannot do 5, 13, 14, 16 or 25 with any confidence) so even I am not perfect.
How do you score? Do you have any more skills to add to the list? If we get up to 100 I'll send them to Martha, I swear.
I read this list and thought: this is a list of 30 things that every '50s housewife should know. And priviledged ones at that. Does everyone in the world need to know how to pop a champagne bottle? Eat a lobster? Arrange flowers? I'm sure there are people out there with better things to do with their time than learn these specialized skills, and can risk muddling through the opening of a champagne bottle if the situation arises.
In typical fashion, I decided the list was a load of hooey and came up with my own for my own amusement. A couple of the things on it are a nod to Martha, but mostly they're things that most north american humans should know, whether male or female. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Build a fire.
2. Grow something from seed.
3. Change a diaper.
4. Write a proper letter.
5. Basic first aid.
6. Make a perfect grilled cheese (Damn grilled cheese is good.)
7. Operate power tools.
8. Do laundry with shrinking or dyeing anything.
9. Clean a toilet.
10. Remove red wine stains.
11. Make soup stock.
12. Build something.
13. Budget money.
14. Record a tv program with a VCR.
15. Basic computer functions.
16. Tie some good basic knots.
17. Drive a standard.
18. Hem pants or a skirt.
19. Bake some kind of bread.
20. Mix an old-time cocktail (maybe this fits in the opening-a-champagne-bottle category but I don't care. I enjoy an Old-Fashioned myself.)
21. Iron a shirt.
22. Make banana bread.
23. Make tomato sauce.
24. Patch drywall.
25. Change the oil, fuses and sparkplugs of a car.
26. Remove porcupine quills from a dog's face.
27. Basic hair cuts (sideburns, bangs).
28. Speak a second language.
29. Make a good pot of coffee.
30. Clean the trap of a sink.
Now I'm not purporting to be able to do all of these things myself; in fact, that's the next part of my post - I scored pretty well on this list but I live in the country, where skills like building fires and removing porcupine quills come in handy. I only scored 25 out of 30 (for all of those interested in my deficiencies, I cannot do 5, 13, 14, 16 or 25 with any confidence) so even I am not perfect.
How do you score? Do you have any more skills to add to the list? If we get up to 100 I'll send them to Martha, I swear.
1/30/06
The Big O
I have a question: Why does Oprah Winfrey insist on putting herself on the cover of every one of her magazines?
1/9/06
Diary of a Never-ending Cold
I have had a cold since December 22. That's 18 days. In fact, I think I'm on my second cold, having caught an intensified version from dear hubby. My oh my. This morning I tried to feed the cats salsa for breakfast. Why did I ever come to work? Hopefully I won't have to back-pedal and apologize for things I did today unbeknownst to me.
Nothing much is new. I feel like I write this blog for one person (hi Amy!) and have lost steam (no offense Amy!). I'm going to have to do something, like work my way through a cookbook or something. Maybe start writing about American politics. Or keep a diary of my fertility exploits. What's the purpose in me having a blog? Hmmm.
Question of the day: What's the average blog FOR anyway?
Nothing much is new. I feel like I write this blog for one person (hi Amy!) and have lost steam (no offense Amy!). I'm going to have to do something, like work my way through a cookbook or something. Maybe start writing about American politics. Or keep a diary of my fertility exploits. What's the purpose in me having a blog? Hmmm.
Question of the day: What's the average blog FOR anyway?
1/3/06
Spreading Love to All
Happy New Year everyone.
Happy New Year to all the blogspammers. May 2006 bring you the best of luck selling your penis enlargements and no-fail stock tips. I wish you much success!! And for all of those lonely people surfing Blogger and leaving comments everywhere, happy new year to you too. May 2006 bring you a whole new social circle on which you may drop random comments and 'check-me-outs'. I wish you all the best. To ALL of my new friends from Blogger, those who know my name and those who don't really care, have a great 2006.
So my three-week vacation has left me a little more relaxed but no less black in the soul. Maybe it's coming on with old age. Someone told me that when you turn 30 you become less afraid of what people will think, less likely to worry when you barge in line or interrupt someone, more ballsy and a bit more rude. I think it's true. I think turning 30 has given me free license to be a nasty cynic and speak my mind. Perhaps it's the three weeks of isolation in the bush that I just endured (my car is un-driveable at the moment so I was housebound) but the holiday didn't make me any more charitable towards my coworkers or cheerful about getting up at 6:30 every morning. Ah here it is 3 p.m. According to my holiday schedule, it's about time to get up off the couch and make myself a drinky-poo.
I'm kidding of course. A bit. OK not kidding at all. Everyone at the office is all 'Happy new Year!'every time I turn around. It's enough to make a girl want to turn tail, go back to the bushes and stir herself a little Manhattan to make the cheerful chattering stop. sheesh.
Happy New Year to all the blogspammers. May 2006 bring you the best of luck selling your penis enlargements and no-fail stock tips. I wish you much success!! And for all of those lonely people surfing Blogger and leaving comments everywhere, happy new year to you too. May 2006 bring you a whole new social circle on which you may drop random comments and 'check-me-outs'. I wish you all the best. To ALL of my new friends from Blogger, those who know my name and those who don't really care, have a great 2006.
So my three-week vacation has left me a little more relaxed but no less black in the soul. Maybe it's coming on with old age. Someone told me that when you turn 30 you become less afraid of what people will think, less likely to worry when you barge in line or interrupt someone, more ballsy and a bit more rude. I think it's true. I think turning 30 has given me free license to be a nasty cynic and speak my mind. Perhaps it's the three weeks of isolation in the bush that I just endured (my car is un-driveable at the moment so I was housebound) but the holiday didn't make me any more charitable towards my coworkers or cheerful about getting up at 6:30 every morning. Ah here it is 3 p.m. According to my holiday schedule, it's about time to get up off the couch and make myself a drinky-poo.
I'm kidding of course. A bit. OK not kidding at all. Everyone at the office is all 'Happy new Year!'every time I turn around. It's enough to make a girl want to turn tail, go back to the bushes and stir herself a little Manhattan to make the cheerful chattering stop. sheesh.
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