First off: Nicoise salad. From my garden. Well, I didn't grow the tuna, olives, or eggs (though if my boyfriend had anything to say about it, I'd be growing the eggs). But I grew the lettuce that was the bed under the salad, the potatoes (my first of the year!), green beans, cherry tomatoes, and basil. And I made the dressing, which is a little like growing it, but not at all like that. So despite the cool early summer and the worries that I'd never get anything to grow, and the hard work, it is suddenly worth it.
The rest of the summer has been pretty wildly busy with a music festival and all the business that goes into being on a committee that puts one on. Summer can be the slow season at work, but not when 1/6 (or more) of the therapists are on maternity leave or changing jobs at any given time for...well, it's been nine months so far, with another two months to go before the last one is back from maternity leave. Makes me want to get pregnant just to get a break. My last big project has been trying to train to climb Mt. St. Helens. I've got my passes, and my motel room booked...now I just need the lungs, thighs, and knees to actually pull it off.
Back to the garden: I've discovered that the tree in the backyard that sheds all those nutshells is actually a filbert tree. The squirrels manage to eat about 9 out of every 10 nuts before they even fall (you're supposed to harvest them after they fall out of the tree), leaving me with maybe a half a pound of hazelnuts drying in the basement. We'll see if they're any good. The garlic is all harvested, and the black raspberries (and just a few red ones) were delicious. One of the four tomato plants died before it could really even flower, but the other three look amazing. It's been too cool for the peppers, so I have just three tiny ones on the two plants. One of the three blueberry bushes we planted this spring actually gave us a couple dozen berries this year, which was a nice bonus. The artichoke actually grew (this spring, I thought it would stay six inches tall forever, and that the slugs would then eat it down to the ground), and I'm going to get one nice big one and maybe two babies. I've got some lettuce (second time's the charm, after cabbageworms and aphids ate the first batch), basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary. The cabbageworms are back to work on the parsley (sigh).
At one point this spring I was disappointed that I didn't get more grass dug up for more garden. Now I don't know what I'd do if I had managed that! I would like to get some fall things planted for overwintering.
The last garden note is that I'm experimenting for the first time with non-food plants. The lovely boyfriend is a big fan of jasmine, so we planted some to twine up a privacy fence, and so far, so good. The roses that came with my apartment, and the roses and hydrangea that came with the boyfriend's house, I've adopted out of necessity, but this was a choice.
What I've noticed lately is that time goes so fast when I'm busy all the time. It makes it really hard to be in the moment, and every deadline and new challenge comes at a rush. I've got a couple of vacations planned, and I don't know if that will ease things, or just make life a little more hurried. In about a week, we're going to Bumbershoot music and arts festival in Seattle, taking an extra-long five-day Labor Day weekend. I'll go back to work for one day before we head out again, this time to Boston. Boyfriend's got a conference out there, and a best-friend-from-high-school whom I haven't even met yet, and the friend's new wife neither of us have met. Once his conference starts, I'll go visit my brother in Connecticut for a couple of days before heading home. I'm counting that all as one big two-week vacation. More off in the distance, we're increasingly seriously planning two weeks in Greece around Christmas. No plane tickets yet or anything, just a guidebook and some vague ideas. It sounds more fun than Arkansas, or even Myrtle Beach...and we might as well be fair and slight both sets of parents, rather than either his or mine. That was actually the original, admittedly a bit passive-aggressive, motive for traveling for Christmas. Spend the holidays together without having to pick one family over the other.
Next up: Cherry jam! Two kinds. And more canning, which I haven't done a ton of this summer.
P.S. The strawberry-balsamic-thyme jam turned out awesome. Like regular strawberry jam with just...something. Depth, mystery, richness.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Check! Check! Check!
I'm checking things off lists left and right.
First off, I finished moving. After five solid months of a carload of things here and there, I hired movers for the last of the stuff (check!), had a yard sale (check!), donated all the yard sale leftovers to Community Warehouse and Free Geek, a couple of organizations I admire greatly (check, check!), cleaned the place (check!), actually moved the compost bin and all the compost (check!), and returned my keys (check!). Whew!
Then I joined some sort of wellness challenge at work. The list of things I get points for is totally random and disorganized. I got up this morning and took a multivitamin (check!), made a meal (breakfast) at home (okay, I scooped last night's dessert of strawberry-rhubarb pudding cake into a plastic container to take to work, but still, since I didn't eat out, check!), ate five servings of fruits and veggies by lunch (check!), came home and made dinner at home (ditto check!), then went for a very long walk...to Beermongers for a Raging Bitch Belgian IPA from Flying Dog that was rad, a marvelous balance between Belgian candy spice and IPA bitter/aromatic hops (I get a point for each 10 minutes of walking... checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck checkcheckcheckcheck...!!!). I'm trying to decide whether it's fair to count drinking a delicious beer and watching the 9th inning of the Twins beating the Mariners as "Doing something that makes me feel good" for 20 minutes or more. I mean, I have to fill in what that thing is, and I'm not sure "sports-watching beer-drinking barstool-potato" won't get disqualified. But damn, it sure felt good. Given that I'm turning this thing in to Human Resources every week, I'm also trying to decide what to do about good sex. Healthy, good for me physically and mentally, absolutely. Do I really want to report how many times a week for a point apiece? Um...I'll get back to you on that. Before bed, I plan to collect a few more points for writing in my journal (okay, blog), drinking another glass of water to make eight, volunteering (I've got some nonprofit-related emails to return), and flossing my teeth (hey, decades of dentists haven't convinced me, but make it a competition and I'm on that shit!).
Things that aren't on this checklist that really ought to be: Eating breakfast. I'm terrible at it. Eight or more hours of sleep would be another good one. I'm pretty consistent in getting more than 7 and a half. I'm going to count going out to see live music as one of the "things that make me feel good." I think I only get to list three of those things per week, though (though each one I can check every day for a point). This diversity/ADHD in hobbies is going to kill me on that front. What about learning something new? I get "exploring a new physical activity" as an option, but there isn't a whole lot I've never done even once that I can fit into a Tuesday evening. I guess I could try an introductory karate class, but I'm probably not experimenting with kayaking or kiteboarding or skydiving every day for a week.
Things I'll be doing to kick some ass in this wellness competition thing: Crafting. Finally, some impetus to really make me get back to making some stuff and keeping up my Etsy site! Gardening. Those tomatoes have got to get in the ground, and that compost has got to get laid down. Biking to work. It's only seven blocks or something, that really ought to be an easy three points per day.
Also work-related, I've discharged three clients in the past two weeks, and I'm down to four. That's just crazy. I'm getting caught up on paperwork! I hope. I've got a ways to go.
First off, I finished moving. After five solid months of a carload of things here and there, I hired movers for the last of the stuff (check!), had a yard sale (check!), donated all the yard sale leftovers to Community Warehouse and Free Geek, a couple of organizations I admire greatly (check, check!), cleaned the place (check!), actually moved the compost bin and all the compost (check!), and returned my keys (check!). Whew!
Then I joined some sort of wellness challenge at work. The list of things I get points for is totally random and disorganized. I got up this morning and took a multivitamin (check!), made a meal (breakfast) at home (okay, I scooped last night's dessert of strawberry-rhubarb pudding cake into a plastic container to take to work, but still, since I didn't eat out, check!), ate five servings of fruits and veggies by lunch (check!), came home and made dinner at home (ditto check!), then went for a very long walk...to Beermongers for a Raging Bitch Belgian IPA from Flying Dog that was rad, a marvelous balance between Belgian candy spice and IPA bitter/aromatic hops (I get a point for each 10 minutes of walking... checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck checkcheckcheckcheck...!!!). I'm trying to decide whether it's fair to count drinking a delicious beer and watching the 9th inning of the Twins beating the Mariners as "Doing something that makes me feel good" for 20 minutes or more. I mean, I have to fill in what that thing is, and I'm not sure "sports-watching beer-drinking barstool-potato" won't get disqualified. But damn, it sure felt good. Given that I'm turning this thing in to Human Resources every week, I'm also trying to decide what to do about good sex. Healthy, good for me physically and mentally, absolutely. Do I really want to report how many times a week for a point apiece? Um...I'll get back to you on that. Before bed, I plan to collect a few more points for writing in my journal (okay, blog), drinking another glass of water to make eight, volunteering (I've got some nonprofit-related emails to return), and flossing my teeth (hey, decades of dentists haven't convinced me, but make it a competition and I'm on that shit!).
Things that aren't on this checklist that really ought to be: Eating breakfast. I'm terrible at it. Eight or more hours of sleep would be another good one. I'm pretty consistent in getting more than 7 and a half. I'm going to count going out to see live music as one of the "things that make me feel good." I think I only get to list three of those things per week, though (though each one I can check every day for a point). This diversity/ADHD in hobbies is going to kill me on that front. What about learning something new? I get "exploring a new physical activity" as an option, but there isn't a whole lot I've never done even once that I can fit into a Tuesday evening. I guess I could try an introductory karate class, but I'm probably not experimenting with kayaking or kiteboarding or skydiving every day for a week.
Things I'll be doing to kick some ass in this wellness competition thing: Crafting. Finally, some impetus to really make me get back to making some stuff and keeping up my Etsy site! Gardening. Those tomatoes have got to get in the ground, and that compost has got to get laid down. Biking to work. It's only seven blocks or something, that really ought to be an easy three points per day.
Also work-related, I've discharged three clients in the past two weeks, and I'm down to four. That's just crazy. I'm getting caught up on paperwork! I hope. I've got a ways to go.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Next on the to-do list: Sunburn!
Holy shit was it beautiful out today. Beautiful! The sun was shining, it was about 70 degrees, it was real spring to go along with May Day. I spent the entire day, literally, in the yard. My back is sore, my thighs are sore, my ass is sore, and it feels wonderful. I have approximately 600 bulbs, almost entirely dug out of a 12-square-foot area, mostly (400 or so) some sort of bluebell-like thing (the closest I can come up with is Spanish Bluebells) and about 200 daffodil bulbs. I could rip up the yard and do it all in flowers in what I dug out of that little spot behind the fence. And then I dug up some dandelions (maybe 0.2%) and raked up some winter-leftover leaves. Today was all about the yard, and I didn't leave home. (Then tonight, for fun, we watched Roman Holiday...such a wonderful movie. All about running away for the day and forgetting everything just to have fun.) Oh, yeah, and I made biscuits and eggs over-easy for breakfast. For the record, until I have a pastry blender, I don't intend to ever cut butter into anything. Ever. Sheesh, that was hard! But the biscuits are pretty delicious.
Yesterday, I put a big push into moving. "She's still doing that?" you're thinking? Sadly, yes. But...and this is big...yesterday I managed to get all my CDs packed! Now all I've got to do is hire movers for a half dozen pieces of furniture that won't fit in my car, deal with the yard stuff and the basement storage, and have a yard sale. Whew! We also went to the farmer's market (the big one at PSU, my favorite) for some chard and collards, radishes, black trumpet mushrooms, bok choy...and ribs. That was Lovely Partner's project for today, and they were delicious (he also tossed the bok choy on the smoker which was lovely, though needs some adjustment so the leaves don't end up crispy). We found a recipe for winter greens pesto that sounds like an awesome thing to do with the chard and collards. A week ago I made a wild sorrel pesto that was pretty good, too. I tossed it into some (from a box) mac and cheese this afternoon and I was pretty pleased with the results. The plan for the mushrooms is a quiche, because the black trumpets have such an affinity for eggs.
The one thing I didn't get done this weekend was a hike. I was going to do that today, but I was totally wiped out by crouching and wresting bulbs out of the clay for hours on end. My plan is to work up to being able to hike up to the top of Mt. St. Helens. Well, that and I didn't make anything that wasn't food, I suppose. I dug stuff up rather than making stuff.
I feel creative. I feel productive. And yet my only visible end products are consumed (or composted) by the end of the week. Huh...I think I'm okay with that sometimes.
P.S. The potatoes are sprouting! A couple dozen leaves! I am a real gardener officially for this year!
Yesterday, I put a big push into moving. "She's still doing that?" you're thinking? Sadly, yes. But...and this is big...yesterday I managed to get all my CDs packed! Now all I've got to do is hire movers for a half dozen pieces of furniture that won't fit in my car, deal with the yard stuff and the basement storage, and have a yard sale. Whew! We also went to the farmer's market (the big one at PSU, my favorite) for some chard and collards, radishes, black trumpet mushrooms, bok choy...and ribs. That was Lovely Partner's project for today, and they were delicious (he also tossed the bok choy on the smoker which was lovely, though needs some adjustment so the leaves don't end up crispy). We found a recipe for winter greens pesto that sounds like an awesome thing to do with the chard and collards. A week ago I made a wild sorrel pesto that was pretty good, too. I tossed it into some (from a box) mac and cheese this afternoon and I was pretty pleased with the results. The plan for the mushrooms is a quiche, because the black trumpets have such an affinity for eggs.
The one thing I didn't get done this weekend was a hike. I was going to do that today, but I was totally wiped out by crouching and wresting bulbs out of the clay for hours on end. My plan is to work up to being able to hike up to the top of Mt. St. Helens. Well, that and I didn't make anything that wasn't food, I suppose. I dug stuff up rather than making stuff.
I feel creative. I feel productive. And yet my only visible end products are consumed (or composted) by the end of the week. Huh...I think I'm okay with that sometimes.
P.S. The potatoes are sprouting! A couple dozen leaves! I am a real gardener officially for this year!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sprouts
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.
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.
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.
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