I’ve checked out my seed order for the year, minus the potatoes. I’ll order them in a day or so (after Seed Savers answers my question about garlic). Everything else will come from West Coast Seeds. I even remembered to check the stash of leftover seeds from last year and am not buying more zucchini or carrot or spinach seeds. The challenge veggie of the year will be eggplant, which is more a challenge for the garden and less for me. Meaning that the challenge will be to see if the garden can produce actual eggplants, since I have a …
It’s only a problem some days. Caitlyn’s school is in a room in the lower level of a Catholic school attached to a church. St. Joe’s has a lovely big white building, and if we get close enough, soon enough, we often get to listen to the bells tolling noon. Last year, we watched the lengthy process of stained glass window restoration/installation. But sometimes when we walk past the church to school, we walk past a bit of church life. If people would get married or christened at noon on a weekday, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but …
Harvested some kale from the backyard this morning, sautéd it with onions and sweet potatoes, and made a savory bread pudding for dinner with it all. The results were very pretty, with vivid orange and green. Caitlyn, of course, looked at it and announced that she didn’t want it. Coaxed into trying it, she announced, “It’s not as yucky as it looks!” and then ate two servings. I’m trying to see this as a happy moment, not a critique of my cooking. Four year olds can’t be reliable food critics, right? Or we’d all eat nothing but mac-n-cheese and PB&J. …
Tomorrow is Monday, and the vacation is officially over. And, in the department of minor miracles, I might actually be mostly ready. The after-school muffins are made, the mail is processed, the email box sorted. Caitlyn and I harvested the remaining carrots that were still in the garden. Their tops were nasty, but the carrots are in surprisingly good shape, even after the freezing weather of last month. Caitlyn was able/willing to get into the harvesting this time, as well, since the soil just brushed off, unlike last time. I may leave them in the garden longer next winter – …
Well, we’re back… I’ve been digging my way out of the pile up of Stuff accumulated while we were on vacation in California. Seventeen days, 8 different sleeping locations (two of them on Amtrak), 6 kinds of transportation, lots of friends and a new cousin. Great to see everyone, and great to be home. It’s New Year’s, and I keep thinking I should be making up a list of goals or something. Make some bold declarations. But mostly I keep coming back to wanting more of what I’ve got. I’ll keep gardening, sewing, freelancing. I suppose I could say that …
A note to my future self: when Cliff Mass says it’s going to be cold, get out there and bring in the rest of the root vegetables. I spent about an hour in the p-patch this morning (two pairs of long johns under the jeans, two scarves, hat, two shirts, sweatshirt, jacket, and gardening gloves) using a shovel to pry beets and carrots out of the ground, then chipping frozen soil off them with the digging fork (since maybe the dirt should stay in the p-patch and not get washed down the kitchen sink). I filled a 15 lb butter …