I got back into my garden today, after something like two weeks straight of rain. It was muddy, and I probably should have left well enough alone. But I was out there mostly to dig shit up, so I wasn't as worried about it as I usually am. 30 dandelions and a bunch of bluebell-like bulbs later, my garden didn't look much different than it did before I started. I felt like superman, though, getting out there again. And I planted a parsley start and an artichoke start. We'll see what I get. I'm still dreaming of tomatoes and peppers, though it feels good to see a few radish sprouts poking up.
P.S. Anyone want a gazillion bluebell-like bulbs and a handful of daffodils? They're packed in the backyard like a house show, packed so tight they barely even bloom. I've been slowly digging them up, and once I'm done I hope to redistribute them in the yard and trade the rest for some nice fall veggie starts, beets or kale or something.
We also took some salvaged plywood from The Rebuilding Center, and made two new shelves. One for the pantry, the same as the shelves that are in there, and one for the unused overhead space in the stairwell to the basement. Two bucks for all the plywood and 1x2 lumber for the supports. I also spent another two bucks on a bunch of small, pretty hardware I think might make nice jewelry additions. Lots of pretty cupboard handles, some chain from a backyard swing, some random bits of metal that looked interesting. This is a truly amazing place that is 100% devoted to reusing salvaged scrap, old fixtures, and all sorts of household building materials that could easily get tossed in a dumpster. If you've ever wanted a beautiful vintage sink, this is the place to look.
I'm not sure whether I feel accomplished, or just feel sad, that my other major task this weekend that I've done a great job with has been laundry. It feels so goddamned ordinary to crow about having gotten five loads of laundry done in 2 1/2 days. I wish someone else did my laundry so my superman accomplishments could be all about the creativity. Though once the laundry was done we did head out to see a great, cheap show with a whole bunch of bands for super-cheap at an odd and unexpected venue. Screw you, laundry! I've got better shit to brag about!
I did make a lovely dinner for St. Patrick's Day earlier this week. I made beef guinness stew, which went beautifully with the homemade whole wheat bread from last weekend. I think my crockpot runs too hot, so the beef was drier than I hoped, though. Then today was the first day of the 2011 Portland Farmer's Market (at PSU), and we picked up a pound-plus of last-minute-super-discount salmon, which made a gorgeous dinner with some tzatziki (thanks, Cooking Light!), roasted new potatoes with oregano and lemon, and a salad. This was truly a joint effort, The Lovely Partner took care of the fish. Tomorrow's dinner looks to be pulled pork and some beet greens (Lovely Partner is all about the smoker! I'll deal with the greens...). We also picked up another bag of the most amazing whole wheat flour (I used the very last of it in the whole wheat bread described above), so flavorful and grainy and I feel like a homesteader every time I grab that bag to do some baking. And I'm hoping that I can turn a bunch of end-of-winter stored asian pears into asian-pear butter. I have no idea what that will be like. I'll keep you updated.
Tomorrow I'll be up early to draft my fantasy baseball league team. There's no way in hell I'll manage to get Felix Hernandez for a fifth straight year, not after he was the AL Cy Young Award winner. Damn, I love my regulars, and they're all hard to get this year. Delmon Young and Francisco Liriano are another couple I've managed to swing the last couple years, despite playing in a Twins-fan-heavy league, because everyone knows they've got weaknesses...but not this year. They're heavy favorites. Gotta find some super-secret rookie phenoms this year again. Damn. I'm betting on a few National League guys with the kind of boring, ordinary names that might hide their true potential.
Sunday's plan, after the baseball draft, is all about building these shelves we cut, and putting together some Ikea storage in the basement spare room, once we figure out what fits where and have moved some pieces from upstairs. Moving into someone else's place is hard. I've never done it before, and this is the first moment that I've realized that it's a new experience for me, which partly explains why it's so hard. Even just moving a few things from here to there in his kitchen cupboards is a huge deal; I'm anxious when I do it, and the reaction is often not totally positive. I'll stop referring to it as "his place" and start referring to it as "home" when I no longer have my own apartment somewhere else, but when will it start feeling that way?
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