Good things come to those who wait

Did I tell you that I love him too?!

Tosser!

Getting ready for Chelsea and Oliver's big day I made a mini bouquet to keep the hands quick. Diggin' the peonies - hope you do too Chelsea, cause that's what Ma Nature is giving you! And some orchids from Canada eh.

After

Joel has engineered a tubing system to keep the pots consistently moist. By August 9th these will be tall and lush. I'll be sure to baby them.

Before

Anne, your future centerpieces smell lovely! What an awesome combo of textures and colors - and they're all edible! We have 60 pots total:

Chewing Gum Mint
Curly Mint
Hidcote Blue Lavender
Baby Blue Lavender
Susan Belsinger Lavender
Curly Parsley
Italian Parsley
Italian Large Leaf Basil
Cinnamon Basil
English Thyme
Marjoram Golden Upright
Rossenkuppel Oregano

A rolling stone...

gathers no moss...but we're hoping these will. Behold the first round of the terracotta experiment. These pictures are pre application. Joel opted for a mixture of stale beer and moss. I walked over to Haggen to get rations for the buttermilk n' moss recipe (supposedly tried and true). Check out Heavy Petal's cool post on moss! These pots are for Anne's herbal wedding centerpieces. I'm growing the lavendar from seed - 'Fernleaf' and 'French Perfume' - so far, so good. The seedlings have about 2 sets of leaves.

Worky work, busy bee...

No excuse for the lack of posts, well maybe a bit. Got a new job that I love and have been busy with backyard projects. Joel engineered a beautiful cedar fence. I helped! Now I'm overwhelmed with all the extra space. I planted out some zinnia seedlings, but am fearful that the SNOW IN APRIL! killed most of them off.

Pics of the fence and all the other madness to follow...

In the Projects

So it's been pouring rain and I think I jumped the gun on the seedlings, but spring is near and I'm trying to finish up some things - with help from the handsome ranch hand of course. Here's what I got:

1. The bed next to the patio originated from an awkward pile of dirt. The flourishing evergreen and large log were illegally obtained from the logging road behind the gun range...shhh! This bed will soon house: leeks, onions, carrots and lettuce and I'll throw a trailing pumpkin in to climb the trellis. Yes, the old toilet still stands, but I can't lift the damn thing on my own.

2. I sectioned off the big raised bed into quadrants for a cutting garden - a la Sarah Raven. I wanted to keep seedlings safe from kitty paws and avoid trampling fluffy dirt. This will be the first year so stay tuned. I'm trying to grow some of the flowers for Anne's bouquet in this space.

3. I found sections of old deck rail from the ReStore that make STURDY trellises for sweetpeas and green beans. I even scored a new gallon of exterior latex paint for $3! Joel lost a bit of blood stapling chicken wire to the back of them. I think my resourceful trellis qualifies as a 'good thing.'

4. The neighbors get to witness my organic grass killing experiment with the blue tarp. But I don't like their dog, so we're even. If we win the lottery, I'd like to replace the fence, but what are the odds? Might have to wait until next season. I have big plans for this bed which is 30 feet long and 5 feet wide. Drifts of annuals and periennials will include - cerinthe, Russian sage, artemesia, 3 blueberry bushes, echinacea, sunflowers, amaranth, miscanthus, nigella and california poppies.

5. And this is the COOLEST! Garden Rant has a category called "I don't have a garden but I watch one on TV" and I was inspired to make a 'food digester' in a 20 gallon galvanized trash can. Hardware Sales had a close out so I got them for $5. Another score for the green team! Joel also made custom tops to keep the rascals out.

Fall Sowing - 2 Green Thumbs Up

Having some technical difficulties this morning, so I couldn't get all my pics up. Late fall I planted White Bishop's Lace - not pictured and 2 kinds of poppies - 'Hungarian Breadseed' and 'Black Peony.'

Fall sowing works like a charm and now I have some big ol' plants going. I thinned out the poppies and distributed them in the front yard and back - to disquise the neighbors composting barrels. Not like I have anything against compost. However I have too many plants and not enough space.

FREE POPPIES TO GOOD HOME! They have to go quick, or they're getting yanked.

Interview at 3!

My days are numbered.

Snow!

Seed Starting Round 1: I'm going to regret this...

The ground is totally frozen and the cold weather (low of 19 degrees) chipped off all the paint on my newly built sweet pea trellis and planter boxes for the raspberries. Blast! So I decided to rebel against Mother Nature by starting some seeds inside. Last year all of my seedlings got leggy - only the 'Earl Grey' larkspur survived - and it was ugly and gangly to boot! I started leeks, Brussels Sprouts, peppers, cherry tomatoes and artemesia seeds. In January I took slips of geraniums I bought at the end of the season. They look completely dead, but I couldn't get a close up of the little buds starting to emerge - hardy little bastards. I had a light bulb moment (could even be called an Aha moment!) and realized that I should put all of the geraniums in terra cotta this year so both can be overwintered in the garage. Duh! Gardening is true trial and error.

Less than 2 months to go until the Last Hard Frost Date - March 24th according to Farmer's Almanac. Note: Zone 4/5 boasts 232 growing days and the Last Fall Frost is November 11th. So if you don't know now you know, jigga. Also please note: I realize that mortgage is spelled incorrectly - but don't you think it adds a little something...extra desperation?

In other news: Joel had a productive weekend - we visited 3 hardware stores in total to look for a "tap and drill" to fix the boat motor. The garage was spiffed up and organized and the 4Runner was even cleaned out. Had a great dinner with Emily and Jesse and ripped on all of the Miss America contestants. Nice little Saturday...

Brrrr...

Sunny and 22 degrees - note this picture is from weeks ago. Joel sat in his car listening to sports radio for nearly 15 minutes while I drank coffee, nice and warm inside. Woke up to find that Smidge had shat in my newly repotted tree, so I covered the dirt in tinfoil.

Have been doing lots of garden planning and can't wait to get out there! I think I'm going to build a box for the 4 raspberries to maximize the amount of space for perennials on the side bed. I need to utilize my last 3 weeks of unemployment - but it's frozen tundra out there.

Finally found Artemisia seeds through Bountiful Gardens and they had all the varieties of vegetable seeds tthat I wanted too. Erin suggested that I put the Artemisia against the fence by the neighbor's house to create more privacy - cheaper than building a new fence. Still haven't narrowed down the flower list, but here are the veggies you'll be eating in 2008:

'Hungarian Yellow Wax' Peppers

'Lyon' Leeks

Japanese 'Red Kuri' Pumpkins

'Blue Lake' Pole Beans

'Rubine' Brussels Sprouts

Lettuce Mixes

Scallions

Selection of Cherry Tomatoes - 'Black Plum' 'Gold Currant' 'Chadwick's Cherry' 'Sweet Orange II' and 'Yellow Pear' - (Christina, I grew extras for you!)

Most likely some carrots and beets too! Let me know if you'd like some seeds or plant starts. JM

Utility

Aunt Linda gave me this cool shelf over Christmas which was in the infamous rubber ducky themed bathroom. Not sure what I'll put in the jars - buttons, clothespins, spools of thread? I spent a couple hours hunting down the blue Mason's at the Old Town Antique Mall.

...photo overload last post

Talkeetna river view from this plane...Seward which was my favorite...and driving across the state with a busted window. North to the future!

Alaska Pictures

Going back through Alaska pictures - uploaded everything on photobucket.com. Cool site!

Pictures of me and my mate in Denali National Park...almost getting in trouble with a moose...Me & Chelsea in front of McKinley...

Fat, hairy cats! (with scary eyes)

Look! Feared Arctic snow cats indiginous to Whatcom County.

They always lick their bums on the nicest fabric in the house.

Investigative Wedding Planning

So there aren't many terra cotta pots out there without the distinct lip, but the prices are good.

Sunshine Liquidators sells their pots for $0.50 each and saucers for $0.05. 2 sizes to choose from: 6 3/4 inch diameter, 7.5 inch diameter.

Home Depot (not a great selection this time of year) had 4 inch pots for $0.78 and 8.5 inch for $2.18.

With the sage ribbon, the lip will be covered. What do you think, bride-to-be? I think they'll look fabulous whatever you choose. It would be fun to do a mix of small and large, some pots with 3 varieties, others with singles like basil and lavender. Here's the look we're going for friends:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.0e0eb51a2e6b5ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=1fae2e912b11f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=terracotta%20pots&rsc=header_9

A few projects:

Dad gave me a palm sander for Christmas compelling me to finally paint the molding in the bedroom and living room. Wow - it's almost been 3 years since we refinished the floors, so I'm a little late. Fortunately limited cat hair stuck to the oil based paint. I also repotted the 'Norfolk Pine' I won at the Birchwood Garden Club raffle. Nerd!

Joel built me a 12 x 3' bed for vegetables. The neighbor asked if we were "building a coffin for Seahawks hopes and dreams." Look how big my shadow is!

Hey good lookin'

What I've got cookin'.

Trying a couple of recipes from Bob Greene's Best Life Diet.

For Dinner: Corn Chowder with Shrimp Serves 6

One 10-oz box frozen Niblets corn in butter sauce (I used plain)
1 T light olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 c)
1 stalk celery, chopped (1/3 c)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 c reduced fat chicken broth
1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 t chopped fresh or 1/4 t dried thyme leaves
1/8 t cayenne pepper
2 c nonfat milk
2 T flour
12 oz peeled and deveined shrimp

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion, pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Add broth, potato, thyme and cayenne. Heat until boiling. Reduce, cover and simmer 10 min.

Add corn to the mix. Bring back to a boil. Pour milk in a medium sized bowl and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add flour to warm milk and whisk until smooth. Stir milk into chowder and bring back to boil. Reduce heat, simmer soup uncovered until thickened, about 5 min. Stir in shrimp, heat through, 1-2 min. Add S & P to taste, and chili flakes are good too.

Per serving: 242 cal, 21 g protein, 21 g carbs, 29 g fiber, 4 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 115 mg cholesterol, 159 mg calcium, 299 mg sodium.

...and for Breakfast: An Oprah Original: Chocolate-Strawberry Smoothies Serves 2

2 c light chocolate soymilk
1 medium banana, in chunks
2 c frozen unsweetened strawberries

Blend on high speed for a minute or two. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 192 cal, 8 g protein, 38 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 2 g fat, 0 sat fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 326 mg calcium, 183 mg sodium

Hell, if it gets Oprah through the day.

Fin-spiration

In addition to freshly painted molding in the bedroom (and fumes still) there is new artwork. After I saw the Martha Stewart show featuring this project by Anna Marie Horner I started to read her blog. She has great ideas and her entries are thoughtful. My painted silhouettes feature Coho salmon and cool fabric from Fourth Corner Quilts. Hopefully Joel will get a kick out of it.