It's later in the spring than I'm used to, but I'm finding my enthusiasm again! It's poking through the ground, a little late thanks to the cool and wet spring, but little green shoots of it are unfurling. Two leaves, then four, then those leaves that really look like leaves...
THINGS I AM EXCITED ABOUT:
MAKE IT POP! This is going to be pretty damn cool. I've been working with PDX Pop Now!, the organization that puts this on, and I'm pretty bowled over by how great it's going to be. Laura Veirs, Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper, Laura Gibson, and Israel Nebeker of Blind Pilot is a pretty remarkable lineup for a show. The way this annual fundraiser show works is that the organization works to get some pretty significant local talent, then puts on this show in a tiny, intimate venue (the Ace Hotel's event space called The Cleaners), so you get to get all up-close and personal. I've been twice before, and it's always a memorable experience. And now I'm a part of the process, so I'm pretty much just buzzing about now, waiting for April 28.
Sherry Vanilla Bean Jelly. The Lovely Partner's mother, out of the blue, bought us a night at a downtown hotel and dinner out. We went to Clyde Common, and while we were waiting for our table, we got a cheese plate that came with this amazing sherry vanilla bean jelly. Turns out it was remarkably easy to replicate. I googled "sherry jelly" and added vanilla instead of the spices in the recipe. I also tossed in a cinnamon stick, which turned out to be utterly superfluous, and if I could take it back I would. But it's still amazing. I wish I had the money to try it with a good sherry, instead of the cheap Christian Brothers stuff, but damn. I'm thinking about all the other possibilities. Tawny Port? Madeira? And then there's the whole realm of wine jellies...I want to make one out of a nice floral, fruity, aromatic viognier or a muscat.
Renewal and growth. At work, I've been working with a too-high number of kids, since one of my coworkers (there aren't many of us) was on maternity leave and is back but only part time. After a while, it seems like all the kids that only need to be in a residential treatment setting for a little bit and then can move on, have moved on. Eventually, I have seven-eight-nine kids who seem like they'll never leave. But as spring buds and flowers burst forth, so have my clients. I sent a kid home on Friday, and another goes out tomorrow (the most hopeful of the bunch, I think she'll do great). I've got two or three more who look somewhere between sorta and really ready to move on, and now it's just about making the plans for where. And at the same time, I see the first shoots of lettuce and radishes emerging in the garden. Stagnation is turning into growth all over the place.
The Farmer's Market. I've missed it the last couple of saturdays, but the two saturdays before that, I made it down to the first two weeks of the Portland Farmer's Market. I've gotten root veggies and greens and vegetable starts for the garden, and pork and salmon, and dried cherries (damn, the Lovely Boyfriend is soaking those cherries in bourbon and Maraska, and they are pretty unbelievably tasty), and always an amazing lunch and some great coffee.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Feels Like Backwards
It's getting colder. Today, it didn't break 50 degrees. I have a cold (as does everyone I know). How did it become November again?
I'm so impatient right now. I want to get back out in the garden, but the garden's a pile of soupy muck. I need to dig up those overcrowded bulbs, and plant kale and carrots! I felt like I just couldn't wait any longer on the potatoes, but now I hope they don't just rot out there. Three kinds, six seed potatoes. I'm pretty excited.
I've also got this great plan to make a sherry vanilla-bean jelly, which I just had accompanying a cheese plate at Clyde Common. Oh, wow. I've got the sherry, and the vanilla bean, but now I need to feel confident that I can touch food without being all Typhoid-Mary. Maybe this weekend?
Maybe this weekend I'll finish my taxes, get flyering done for a fundraiser (okay, this one's not optional), put compost down in the garden, dig up some bulbs, tear up some grass, get some stuff planted, move more boxes of my stuff, make jelly, make some jewelry, finish that email I'm writing, color my hair, make an appointment for a haircut...sheesh, I suck.
No wonder I feel like I never get anything done. Perhaps I should lower my expectations. I'm not sure how, though. None of these things seem like they should come off the list.
Okay, mental shift: Things I've accomplished this past week include finding out what I needed to to get my taxes done, getting a hefty start on it, making slug traps, completing a long list of emails I needed to send out/return for the nonprofit, planning the flyering excursion, buying compost, moving some boxes, making sausage bean stew, and baking this amazing cherry pie with an almond crumb topping, so damn good, using sour pie cherries from the farmer's market that I pitted and froze last July. I so rock!
Okay, the pie was someone else's recipe, I found it online and promptly lost it again, but the stew is really easy and my own recipe, so I'm going to share it:
Sausage Stew
1 can beans (black eyed peas, white beans, or garbanzo work well), drained
1 can hominy, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (either with chilies or fire-roasted taste great), UNdrained
About half a pound of braising greens, washed well and chopped
1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 lb of smoked sausage, sliced thinly and halved or quartered (half-moon or pie shape)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Toss in the garlic, and when it starts to get aromatic (30 seconds or so), add the greens. You may need to add them in handfuls and wait for them to wilt, depending on the size of your pot. If you just washed them, they should have some water clinging to them; if not, toss in a couple of tablespoons of water. Add the cider vinegar, turn down to low, and put a lid on the pot. When the greens are well wilted and tender (10-15 minutes, maybe more depending on the kind of greens), add all the other ingredients. Simmer on medium-low until everything is heated through and all the flavors are combined.
I'm so impatient right now. I want to get back out in the garden, but the garden's a pile of soupy muck. I need to dig up those overcrowded bulbs, and plant kale and carrots! I felt like I just couldn't wait any longer on the potatoes, but now I hope they don't just rot out there. Three kinds, six seed potatoes. I'm pretty excited.
I've also got this great plan to make a sherry vanilla-bean jelly, which I just had accompanying a cheese plate at Clyde Common. Oh, wow. I've got the sherry, and the vanilla bean, but now I need to feel confident that I can touch food without being all Typhoid-Mary. Maybe this weekend?
Maybe this weekend I'll finish my taxes, get flyering done for a fundraiser (okay, this one's not optional), put compost down in the garden, dig up some bulbs, tear up some grass, get some stuff planted, move more boxes of my stuff, make jelly, make some jewelry, finish that email I'm writing, color my hair, make an appointment for a haircut...sheesh, I suck.
No wonder I feel like I never get anything done. Perhaps I should lower my expectations. I'm not sure how, though. None of these things seem like they should come off the list.
Okay, mental shift: Things I've accomplished this past week include finding out what I needed to to get my taxes done, getting a hefty start on it, making slug traps, completing a long list of emails I needed to send out/return for the nonprofit, planning the flyering excursion, buying compost, moving some boxes, making sausage bean stew, and baking this amazing cherry pie with an almond crumb topping, so damn good, using sour pie cherries from the farmer's market that I pitted and froze last July. I so rock!
Okay, the pie was someone else's recipe, I found it online and promptly lost it again, but the stew is really easy and my own recipe, so I'm going to share it:
Sausage Stew
1 can beans (black eyed peas, white beans, or garbanzo work well), drained
1 can hominy, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (either with chilies or fire-roasted taste great), UNdrained
About half a pound of braising greens, washed well and chopped
1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 lb of smoked sausage, sliced thinly and halved or quartered (half-moon or pie shape)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Toss in the garlic, and when it starts to get aromatic (30 seconds or so), add the greens. You may need to add them in handfuls and wait for them to wilt, depending on the size of your pot. If you just washed them, they should have some water clinging to them; if not, toss in a couple of tablespoons of water. Add the cider vinegar, turn down to low, and put a lid on the pot. When the greens are well wilted and tender (10-15 minutes, maybe more depending on the kind of greens), add all the other ingredients. Simmer on medium-low until everything is heated through and all the flavors are combined.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Up By The Roots
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?
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?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Three Themes
As my blog progresses, I'm discovering three themes I keep focusing on. This is where blogs and journals have a lot in common...I turn my lens on myself, and it helps me give words to the themes I'm developing in my own life.
It appears that my current focal points in my blog (and my life) are creativity, conservation, and DIY. There's a lot of overlap, but I think I focus on each independently enough that they really are three things.
Why these things? I have some ideas. For many years, I was focused primarily on my professional development. Graduate school, dissertation, career. I've been working in the same place now for three years (as of last week), and I just realized, right now today, that professional development is no longer the bright shining star in my growth as a person. It's become a much more subtle influence, shifting from who I am in the field of psychology to how I do my work every day ethically, efficiently, and effectively without getting bogged down or overwhelmed. My growth in this area has slowed down, and without realizing it, I've been looking for the next step.
I've been looking for this next step while steeped in the culture of Portland, a hotbed of DIY creativity and day-to-day environmental practice. I've been in Portland now for 7 1/2 years, and I love it here. Even as I stare out the window at another grey, wet, drizzly day and wonder if I'm going to drown before the rainy season is over, I'm happy to be here. Things make sense to me here. And you can't help but be more attuned to what you make, how you make it, and how you impact the world.
I've always been the person who wants to learn to make and do everything, even if I only do it once. And I've always been inspired to do so by whatever's around me, whether baking cookies or building a fort as a kid. So now I guess it makes sense that these things have become my next step(s) forward in who I am as a person.
It appears that my current focal points in my blog (and my life) are creativity, conservation, and DIY. There's a lot of overlap, but I think I focus on each independently enough that they really are three things.
Why these things? I have some ideas. For many years, I was focused primarily on my professional development. Graduate school, dissertation, career. I've been working in the same place now for three years (as of last week), and I just realized, right now today, that professional development is no longer the bright shining star in my growth as a person. It's become a much more subtle influence, shifting from who I am in the field of psychology to how I do my work every day ethically, efficiently, and effectively without getting bogged down or overwhelmed. My growth in this area has slowed down, and without realizing it, I've been looking for the next step.
I've been looking for this next step while steeped in the culture of Portland, a hotbed of DIY creativity and day-to-day environmental practice. I've been in Portland now for 7 1/2 years, and I love it here. Even as I stare out the window at another grey, wet, drizzly day and wonder if I'm going to drown before the rainy season is over, I'm happy to be here. Things make sense to me here. And you can't help but be more attuned to what you make, how you make it, and how you impact the world.
I've always been the person who wants to learn to make and do everything, even if I only do it once. And I've always been inspired to do so by whatever's around me, whether baking cookies or building a fort as a kid. So now I guess it makes sense that these things have become my next step(s) forward in who I am as a person.
Sprout Dreams
Every creative thought I have these days is about my garden. I'm dying for the rain to stop (about this time every year I manage to have some sort of Portland amnesia and believe that any day now the rain will stop) so I can stick a shovel in some nice, fertile, soft dirt instead of a sloppy puddle of muck.
This year, I aspire to grow artichokes, arugula, baby bell peppers, basil, beets, blueberries, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cilantro, cucumbers, ferns (okay, it's not all edible), garlic, huckleberries, jalapenos, jasmine, kale, lettuce, mache, moss, new mexico peppers, oregano, parsnips, pole beans, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, rosemary, summer squash, sunflowers, tomatoes, thyme, zucchini...
(I was tempted to add eggplant and quince just to fill out the alphabet a bit more, but I restrained myself. See? I'm capable of restraint!)
It's not all going to happen. We bought and planted the blueberries and huckleberries, and added another raspberry cane to the raspberry patch. We've got radish seeds in the ground, and the garlic is already a few inches tall. I transplanted the rosemary a year ago, and it seems to love being out of a pot and in the really-truly earth. The thyme dies back every winter, but then grows tiny new leaves again, so I hope it's going to survive. I'm discovering that I can grow some perennials, which makes me happy and eases the pressure in the spring.
Given my discovery of canning last summer, I should really focus on things I can jam and pickle. And salads for the Lovely Boyfriend, who wants one with every meal. Crap, that doesn't narrow the list down much, does it? What have I grown with some success? Basil, carrots, cukes, garlic, radishes (these two are in the ground now), lettuce, pole beans, potatoes, radishes, raspberries (in the ground!), rosemary (ditto!), summer squash (sorta), tomatoes, thyme. Narrows it down a little more.
Wow...I don't think I realized I'd grown that many things successfully! I think of myself as having a brown thumb, but chance has got to work in my favor sometimes. That and Steve Solomon's book Growing Vegetables West Of The Cascades. That man can make anyone a gardener.
The other thing I did just today was bake bread. Two loaves of whole wheat, with this amazing coarse organic wheat flour from the farmer's market. I can smell it now, cooling in the kitchen. I'm a huge fan of the book Kneadlessly Simple, which has a zillion or so recipes for breads you don't have to knead (but require planning ahead about 24 hours, and having a cool place to put bread to rise for 12 hours or more...). They end up delicious, complex and chewy, just really fascinating.
I'm still moving. I expect this process to go for another month and a half, minimum. Pack some boxes, bring them to L. Boyfriend's place, trip to Ikea for more storage space, build shelves, unpack boxes, bring boxes back to my house, rinse, repeat.
A couple of weeks ago, I got together with a friend of the LB's who does some photography, and she took pictures of all of my jewelry. I'm so excited to get these photos back! Etsy shop makeover, here I come.
Sadly, I haven't made a piece of jewelry in over a month. I feel bad, but then I remember that I've got a decent stock right now, and I've got other life projects in the works. I have this terrible, lifelong habit of starting something, but only keeping it up for a little while then letting it lapse forever and ever. Here is my new, very important lens on this problem: There is always an ebb and flow. This means nothing. I am not moving on, I am not giving up. I am ebbing, and flow will come soon.
This year, I aspire to grow artichokes, arugula, baby bell peppers, basil, beets, blueberries, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cilantro, cucumbers, ferns (okay, it's not all edible), garlic, huckleberries, jalapenos, jasmine, kale, lettuce, mache, moss, new mexico peppers, oregano, parsnips, pole beans, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, rosemary, summer squash, sunflowers, tomatoes, thyme, zucchini...
(I was tempted to add eggplant and quince just to fill out the alphabet a bit more, but I restrained myself. See? I'm capable of restraint!)
It's not all going to happen. We bought and planted the blueberries and huckleberries, and added another raspberry cane to the raspberry patch. We've got radish seeds in the ground, and the garlic is already a few inches tall. I transplanted the rosemary a year ago, and it seems to love being out of a pot and in the really-truly earth. The thyme dies back every winter, but then grows tiny new leaves again, so I hope it's going to survive. I'm discovering that I can grow some perennials, which makes me happy and eases the pressure in the spring.
Given my discovery of canning last summer, I should really focus on things I can jam and pickle. And salads for the Lovely Boyfriend, who wants one with every meal. Crap, that doesn't narrow the list down much, does it? What have I grown with some success? Basil, carrots, cukes, garlic, radishes (these two are in the ground now), lettuce, pole beans, potatoes, radishes, raspberries (in the ground!), rosemary (ditto!), summer squash (sorta), tomatoes, thyme. Narrows it down a little more.
Wow...I don't think I realized I'd grown that many things successfully! I think of myself as having a brown thumb, but chance has got to work in my favor sometimes. That and Steve Solomon's book Growing Vegetables West Of The Cascades. That man can make anyone a gardener.
The other thing I did just today was bake bread. Two loaves of whole wheat, with this amazing coarse organic wheat flour from the farmer's market. I can smell it now, cooling in the kitchen. I'm a huge fan of the book Kneadlessly Simple, which has a zillion or so recipes for breads you don't have to knead (but require planning ahead about 24 hours, and having a cool place to put bread to rise for 12 hours or more...). They end up delicious, complex and chewy, just really fascinating.
I'm still moving. I expect this process to go for another month and a half, minimum. Pack some boxes, bring them to L. Boyfriend's place, trip to Ikea for more storage space, build shelves, unpack boxes, bring boxes back to my house, rinse, repeat.
A couple of weeks ago, I got together with a friend of the LB's who does some photography, and she took pictures of all of my jewelry. I'm so excited to get these photos back! Etsy shop makeover, here I come.
Sadly, I haven't made a piece of jewelry in over a month. I feel bad, but then I remember that I've got a decent stock right now, and I've got other life projects in the works. I have this terrible, lifelong habit of starting something, but only keeping it up for a little while then letting it lapse forever and ever. Here is my new, very important lens on this problem: There is always an ebb and flow. This means nothing. I am not moving on, I am not giving up. I am ebbing, and flow will come soon.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The Utility of Hibernation
I've started asking myself (is this a good idea or a bad idea?), what am I doing these days? I have undertaken a few cooking projects. I've been busy with work, the nonprofit project, moving, home stuff. Mostly nesting, it seems. I haven't completed a new piece of jewelry in a few weeks. I built an Ikea bookshelf today, but I wouldn't call that a creative project, not when it comes with picture instructions. Moving into the Lovely Boyfriend's place has taken a lot of my creative energy. How do I fit things into this box in an efficient way, yet one that makes sense? (Yep, that kitchen utensil would fill that last little bit of space perfectly, but the rest of the box is filled with bookshelf stuff...there's gotta be something else more rational to go there?) Where can we create storage space where there was none before? How do I make this shitty closet work for my stuff? How do I organize all my things in my mind, now that I get the opportunity to sort and organize and categorize everything? What can I throw away (well, recycle or donate)? (Yes, this last question is one that's calling on a high degree of creativity and imagination on my part, in ways I couldn't have imagined until I started).
I've planted a few things recently. Radishes, a new raspberry cane (this one fall-bearing, so I now have two summer-bearing black raspberries, a summer-bearing red, and a fall-bearing red), an evergreen huckleberry (yum!), and three blueberry bushes. I'm thinking about where my garden will be this year, since it will be at the Lovely Boyfriend's place and not mine. Where does the sun shine? What will be easiest to dig up that isn't grassless because nothing will grow there?
Hibernation is all about asking the questions and developing the answers. Action comes as the shoots poke out of the soil in the spring.
I've planted a few things recently. Radishes, a new raspberry cane (this one fall-bearing, so I now have two summer-bearing black raspberries, a summer-bearing red, and a fall-bearing red), an evergreen huckleberry (yum!), and three blueberry bushes. I'm thinking about where my garden will be this year, since it will be at the Lovely Boyfriend's place and not mine. Where does the sun shine? What will be easiest to dig up that isn't grassless because nothing will grow there?
Hibernation is all about asking the questions and developing the answers. Action comes as the shoots poke out of the soil in the spring.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
When is Spring Coming?
Every February, I just get tired. I feel like hibernating, holing up, nesting. These are good things, right? Yet my life really isn't set up to do these things. I'm extra busy at work this month, and extra-extra busy this week, and I've got some volunteer commitments too.
Huh...that doesn't sound like much for the week, does it? Work (even a long week at work), and some volunteer work. A couple of bills to pay, called my dad, did some laundry, scrubbed the tub. Why do I feel worn out and too busy? It is clearly time to focus on the things that get me through the late winter blahs. Focus on things I need.
Things I would like to do: Take a sick day or two. Sleep late. Bake muffins. Wear my pajamas until noon. Drink hot tea all day. Avoid everything.
Things that have worked to get me out of these blahs in the past: A long weekend away, doing nothing but what I want to do. Some physical exercise. Sunshine. Cleaning my apartment. Getting some nagging tasks out of the way and feeling a sense of accomplishment. Completing things. Taking a sick day or two.
Of course, this sick-day thing is tricky, because it doesn't leave me with any less work to do during the week, just fewer days to do it in, so I have to time it carefully. But I noticed it showed up on both lists. Apparently one thing I need is a little time away from work. Some daylight hours that I'm somewhere other than my office.
Maybe I'll bake some muffins, too.
Huh...that doesn't sound like much for the week, does it? Work (even a long week at work), and some volunteer work. A couple of bills to pay, called my dad, did some laundry, scrubbed the tub. Why do I feel worn out and too busy? It is clearly time to focus on the things that get me through the late winter blahs. Focus on things I need.
Things I would like to do: Take a sick day or two. Sleep late. Bake muffins. Wear my pajamas until noon. Drink hot tea all day. Avoid everything.
Things that have worked to get me out of these blahs in the past: A long weekend away, doing nothing but what I want to do. Some physical exercise. Sunshine. Cleaning my apartment. Getting some nagging tasks out of the way and feeling a sense of accomplishment. Completing things. Taking a sick day or two.
Of course, this sick-day thing is tricky, because it doesn't leave me with any less work to do during the week, just fewer days to do it in, so I have to time it carefully. But I noticed it showed up on both lists. Apparently one thing I need is a little time away from work. Some daylight hours that I'm somewhere other than my office.
Maybe I'll bake some muffins, too.
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