New Adventures

The quilt is chugging along, 5 out of 7 rows together now. I know I hate putting the rows together, so as I get each row finished I'm attaching them. Almost ready for the borders.

But, in the meantime, I've finally got a garden box. I did quite a bit of research and got some expert advice, but in the end we kept it really simple. Hopefully, not too simple.
With my father-in-law's help, I built a simple 4'x8'x12" frame (no bottom) and filled it with five layers of cardboard. I've been saving boxes for awhile for this! My garage looks much cleaner now that I've finally used them.

The toddler made sure we included lots of love in the garden.
We then collected rich compost from the county dump. You need a shovel, a truck and a strong back, but this is incredible stuff.
And we filled it to the brim with nothing but rich, earthy compost. Yum.
And then, with Sprite's help, I planted three types of tomatoes, petite peppers, jalapeno peppers and bush beans. Yeah! I'm going to try starting my garden from seed later, but since I was cutting it close for a fall garden I went with transplants for now.

Decisions I might come to regret include not sinking posts for the box and not using a weed mat. I deferred to my father-in-law on the posts, and I do have reason to believe he knows what he's doing. I'm just hoping we don't get a hurricane that proves him wrong. And, I decided not to bother with a weed mat having read the layers of cardboard were sufficient. The cardboard will decompose, though, and while the grass should be long gone I'm not clear on what happens with the nematodes. If they find their way in to my garden, I may find myself digging it out to put a weed mat down.

But, for now, Sprite and I have an exciting new garden.

Family

When we were growing up, my mother would often tell my sister and I that the only person you get for your whole life is your sister. It was important to her that we have a close relationship, despite a six year age difference and natural sibling rivalry. Her ploy

worked. There is no relationship in my life quite like the one I have with my sister.

So, this week was incredibly special. She had one week between semesters in graduate school, and she came to spend it helping me re-arrange the house and set up the nursery. I took the first half of the week off, giving us five full days to focus on all things baby. Most of the time it was just the two of us, and it was a great chance to be together and share the excitement.

And we did a great job, if I do say so myself.But, best of all, I got to share this incredibly exciting time with my sister. She listened to the baby's heartbeat, felt her kicks and swore she could see my belly grow before her very eyes.

New Quilt, New Friends, New Furniture

I've always been a solitary quilter, but I love the history of quilting as a community event, a chance for women to bond over fabric and thread. And now I'm creating my place in that great history. Saturday was National Quilting Day, and it was also the first sewing day for the Orlando Modern Quilt guild. Have sewing machine, will travel. I packed up my gear and spent a wonderful day quilting and making new friends. And with their advice, I finished up the baby's quilt and resisted the urge to add more raw edge applique. Its good to have others around to help you stop when its done. Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect backing.

And this is what happens when you order couches from Ikea. Consider yourself warned. But, my wonderful husband and brother-in-law put them together with no swearing and a minimum of grumbling. They look great (that's the love seat under the quilt in the first photo) and we're so relieved to have finally found couches we both love. They're perfect for napping, too.

How to Shorten Your Doggy Life Span

Its a good thing she's cute, because the little dog is doing nothing to help my efforts to get more sleep. Mostly its been small things, like waking me up to help her get back under her blanket, but the other night she took it to an entirely new level.

She sleeps on a large pillow with a fuzzy blanket to curl up in. I always put her pillow on the floor right below me (see above for tendency to wake me up to help with her blanket). Apparently, she woke up the other night and wandered around doing whatever it is she does in the middle of the night. I half registered the clicking of her little nails on the floor, but I was most definitely asleep. Until, that is, she tried to return to her pillow. All of a sudden she was snarling and squealing, the frightened snarl she gives when she is in danger or really upset with Lily. I woke up with a rush of adrenaline, and Alex immediately flipped on our bed light. Had an animal gotten in to the house? Was she hurt? No, she was running away from her pillow, and then she stopped and looked around, confused.

There was nothing and noone there. Nothing. She had scared herself. I'm guessing she touched her furry blanket (the one she sleeps under every. single. night.) and thought someone was in her bed. After a little reassurance from us, she settled down and went right to sleep. I, on the other hand, was awake for an hour as I waited for the adrenaline rush to subside. It was 12:45 in the morning.

It's a good thing she's cute.

I Florida

My job requires a good bit of travel during the day, but generally its not to the prettier areas of my home.  Last week, though, it took me out of town and in to the Ocala National Forest and the surrounding rural area.  I took a short break in a national park, enjoying the cool lake water on a 100 degree day.  I checked out the 50s era sign reminding me that Black Bears will come eat my food if I leave it out and said hello to some less reclusive native life.  And I found a grape orchard, which my father in law would love, using peanuts as groundcover, which my mother would love.  A lovely reminder of why I love Florida, made extra special because it was a work day.

See you at Home Depot

"It smells like popcorn in here all of a sudden."
"Or an electrical fire."

Followed by a check of the dishwasher and billowing black smoke. I can now confirm that an electrical fire (or maybe the near miss of one) does indeed smell like popcorn. I'm sure glad Alex knew about that.

Adventures in Durian

Alex recently took his parents to our local asian market for the fresh fish.  They came home with this strange looking fruit, in addition to the stinky fish.  (I'm just glad they didn't bring home any of the live snails or crawdaddies.)  It was frozen, and they were told to let it thaw and then cut between the spikes. 

My mother-in-law and I did a little research and found we had a Durian fruit.  The article I found by a south Asian chef left me a bit dubious.  She said that, while it was a delicacy in  Thailand that often caused tussles at the produce stand, it is generally considered vile by those with a less familiar palate.  She warned that the smell would be overwhelming, so she recommended eating it while still partially frozen.   Apparently, that would also mute the taste a little.  The taste itself?  It would be a mix of sweet fruit, onion, garlic, and another suggested it would be perhaps a hint of gym sock.

Duly warned, we cut in.  The spikes are on a woody hull, but it was relatively soft in its mostly-thawed state.  We pulled it apart and found a pocket of cream-colored fruit the texture of custard.  I scooped it out with my hand and dumped it in to a bowl.  There was a huge seed in the middle of it, but it was easy enough to squeeze that out and be left with the fruit.  The durian was roughly divided in to quarters and so we had four of these pods.

We served it up and the reactions were immediate.  My 9 year old cousin declared it vomit; my husband disgusting.  My father-in-law refused to try it until forced, and Alex's cousin took a microscopic bite.  My mother-in-law, our friend and I were a little less sure we hated it.  We definitely tasted the garlic and onion, and we didn't think we liked it.  But, we found ourselves going back to try another bite.  On the other hand, we threw away most of it.  In the outside trash - the strength of the smell was not exaggerated.

It was an interesting adventure, but I won't be among the ranks tussling over the freshest Durian in the Thai markets any time soon.

Playing in the Dirt

• blooming Vanda, always reliable but always a thrill
  
• Desert Rose, my show off that will hold through the summer
  
• almost ripe tomatoes that I haven't eaten right off the vine yet
  
• a bean sprout from the beans planted just days ago
• the first of the new caladium bed unfurling
  
• summer portulaca ('moss rose') for the turtle
  

I spent most of the day in my garden today. I started early, early enough that I tried to keep the noise down since I would like to continue being friends with my neighbors. I started out with all the heavy work that I simply can't do in the afternoon or early evening heat. But, I still didn't quite beat the heat. I was out front late-morning, pulling grass, when a neighbor walking her dog gently advised me to wrap it up. Or at least get out of the sun. So, I took her advice and went to the nursery to buy more plants!

I really did go buy more plants, but I only planted what I could work on in the shade and then waited until this evening to put in the rest. I mostly bought plants to fill in pots and then a few for the front bed, which still desperately needs plants since January's landscaping project. The bed still looks bare to me, but many of the plants in there are spreading plants and I need to give them a little time to fill in. Patience is a virtue. And, of course, I bought a few vegetables since I seem to have a serious weakness for them. Its almost past tomato season, but I put in two new cherry tomatoes since they'll last in to the heat yet. And I couldn't resist a couple of zucchini plants for my zucchini loving husband.

After all of that, I gave myself a pass on the gym work out today.

Planting

The days are longer again and, though I know it is an illusion, I feel I have so much more of that precious commodity, time.  The day still has a strong hold when I get home, and there are hours before night will slip in and take over.  Today I took some of that time to plant seeds.  Pole beans to feed us, sunflowers to feed the birds and wildflowers for the butterflies.  I wandered through and counted my green tomatoes.  Spotted the first of the caladiums peeking through.  Transplanted here, weeded there... puttered.  Today I'm not working in the garden, I'm just reveling in it.  Breathing deep and free.  Planting myself in the here and now.

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. Mohandas K Ghandi

This and That

Today has been a day of small accomplishments, wrapping up things that I've 'been meaning to get to.' We ran errands this morning - returning a library book, dropping off a prescription, picking up this for the dog and that for the house. All those little things that just need to get done.

This afternoon, I caught up on crafting. I started this Christmas stocking that I plan to give to a new Mama at her baby shower in two weeks. (Mama's sorority colors are pink and green, and she uses them, wears them, decorates with them... So, of course, I went with a modern Christmas of pink and green. What else?) The cuff and lining fabric doesn't appear to live with me yet, though, so I set it aside to wait until I make a trip to the fabric store.
And since I was still in the sewing mood. I finally finished this little bunny, a project I started weeks ago. I have to admit, I found him much more difficult to make than I anticipated and the flaws are very obvious to me. So, he won't be finding a new home as I had planned. Instead, he'll hang out with me and help in the sewing room. He entertains me, imperfections and all. (Maybe I'll try that pattern again some day. And then again, maybe not. I was really annoyed with all the fiddly bits.)

And then, I hung up my favorite souvenir from Portland. I found myself lingering over these vases every time I passed their stall at the Saturday market, and so one came home with me. It now hangs in my kitchen, and my garden was even kind enough to provide the perfect flower for it. I also envision rooting herbs in it. And displaying pretty twigs of berries. Its perfect for pretty much anything.

Especially for Brit

Before someone sends out the cavalry, I thought I better hop by to tell you we're drying out down here. The weather is back to normal, the husband has caulked the leaky window, and you can hardly tell anything happened. Well, if you studiously ignore the plant and tree debris all over the yard, you can hardly tell anything happened...

Wind blown and Wet

After merely side-swiping us earlier in the week, Tropical Storm Fay has come back for a second try and she managed to cause us more trouble this time. She took her time about it, too, sitting on top of us with days of heavy rain and swirling wind. Even the frogs asked to come in out of the storm.

Moments from a Tropical Storm

• Driving across the lake on my commute home, the wind blows the spray in to the road and for a several moments my windshield is entirely gray.
  
• With the power out, realizing how very quiet and dark the house is. And just how much noise and light is created by our appliances most nights.
• Mopping buckets of water and laying out towels where the wind is pushing rain past the sliding glass doors and in the dining room window.
• A city employee sheds his rain coat before returning to his efforts to pull a limb out of the street, not because its stopped raining but because he's already so wet it no longer matters.
• Absorbing the feel of my husband's skin and gentle breathing while the rain pounds on the roof.
• Standing at the back door fascinated by the dance of the trees in the whirling wind.
• Knitting, or attempting to, by the light of a flashlight.
• Deciding to take the compost and garbage out in the rain, because, really, how long can I wait?
  
• Venturing out in the rain and finding a full rain barrel and a very wind-blown yard.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, part I

I'm on vacation this week. Sweet, sweet vacation. Thanks to a gimpy leg, its not the vacation I had planned, driving all over central Florida to see people and places I never seem to have time to go, but it is the vacation I needed. (Funny how that works, isn't it?)

Monday I lingered over my second cup of coffee, while changing the hem on my second pair of Lounge Pants. (Whipped up in just over two hours late last week - and that includes finishing the seams. I love this pattern.)

And when my leg insisted I lay down, I took this bit of yummy knitting to bed with me and watched hours of History channel. And now I have quite a bit of this silk knit in to a beautiful pattern. Its a very special gift, and I'm pleased to have such a good start on it.

Alex even came home for lunch, and I had a lovely tuna salad with pecans and apples ready. We were able to eat leisurely, at home, and still get him back to work on time. He commented that evening on how much more relaxed he was in the afternoon. (And after I made a pork chop dinner and washed up the dishes, he decided there was some merit to having a wife that stayed home.)

The next morning I decided to forgo lingering over my coffee in favor of a chance to garden before it was too hot. Two tomato plants and a jalapeno plant in the ground, a new little herb garden to replace the basil I killed this summer and try my hand at mint, and just a little clean up - and back inside by 9:30. Florida in August demands an early start for anything you need to do outdoors.
But inside, thanks to the joy of air conditioning, I could bake a loaf of bread while making another Barcelona Skirt. The bread is delicious and I've eaten a piece with every meal since. (The skirt is lovely, from Joel Dewberry's Aviary fabric. I'll take a photo to show you soon.)

And then there was the field trip with my dear friend out to the ginormous Whole Foods on the south side of town where I filled our fridge and counter top with yummy food. And found the makings for a Sashimi Tuna salad (for Alex) and Key West Shrimp salad (for me)that felt fancy enough I was inspired to light the candles on the dinner table.
We even found overstocked flowers at such a great price I brought home enough for a large bouquet on the table and another for the kitchen. I love flowers in the kitchen.

Today I have a few more plans, an outing with my mom and sister and helping a friend at a political event tonight. But, tomorrow we'll be back to lazing about. I'm really loving this stay-at-home vacation.

A Garden Tour

July is always when summer starts getting unpleasant around here, and this year has been particularly hot and wet. (Hot and wet, despite what you might normally think, are not a good combination in this context.) As a result, this is also the time of year when my yard gets the barest maintenance from me.

And yet, a trip through the garden very early in the day always reveals some of my plants are simply a riot of flowers. It is always a great pick me up, so how about a mini-tour of what's happening in my garden this week?
Here's a Vanda hybrid - a low maintenance orchid that has been holding its bloom for a month now. It hangs in the grapefruit tree and greets you as you pull in to the drive. I love its cheerful yellow blooms peeking out of the tree.
And the Portulaca has sprouted in all the beds around the front drive, just volunteers from pieces the birds and squirrels broke off the plants I had in a basket last year. Its almost a weed, but since a weed is only a plant you don't want, we'll call it ground cover. I may even spread some more this fall, if the birds don't do it for me.
The Crepe Myrtle is still in heavy bloom by the drive, too, and though it makes a huge mess and keeps Alex's car filthy with spent blooms I love it.
Oh, here, if you come down by the street,you'll see the Penta still blooming in my butterfly garden. The white is almost done, but the red is so well established I think it may bloom well in to the fall. Isn't it lovely? I saw a butterfly flitting around it just the other day.
Come on around to the backyard, and you can see the sweet Cuban Buttercup blooms. Its a good thing you're here early; they close up to hide from the heat by mid-morning. I thought I might have killed it last year, but a ruthless pruning this spring has brought it back to life. Hopefully next year it'll be robust again.
The bromeliads are starting to bloom, and they'll stay out all day and night for sure. I'm excited to see all this pink emerging, since they didn't bloom it all last year. I took a chance and let a bit of fertilizer fall in to the cups this summer and it seems to have worked.
The Mexican Bluebells, on the other hand, have been reliable every summer and this year is no exception. They, too, are in better shape, though, thanks to the tip my father-in-law gave me about the drastic pruning they prefer.
The peppers, of course, I can't seem to keep up with them. They are pretty, but I don't know what to do with them all. Would you like a few to take home? I could even give you my vinegar pepper sauce recipe, if you'd like.

So, that's my garden in this mid-summer heat. Thanks for stopping by. And remember to take some peppers on your way out!

For the Dogs

I woke up early all through the long weekend, and with my extra hours on Sunday morning I made Gwen a big pillow for the living room. She expressed a preference for an extra large pillow when Lily brought hers to our house. The two dogs would share Lily's big pillow, leaving Gwen's pillow completely abandoned. I'd been saying for awhile that I wanted to make Gwen a pillow with a cover that could be washed, and Alex 'commissioned' me to make her a big one. My first prototype, while Lily was still here, came out too small and became her car pillow. But, this one is plenty big for cuddling. With Lily at home with her Mom and Dad, Gwen accepts me as a substitute and allows me to share her pillow. As long as I don't hog it.

Neighborhood Powerhouse

Across the street from our house, in the lights of the tennis court, is the nesting grounds for a flock* of ospreys. Every evening you can see them wheeling in the sky and hear them calling, impressive vocalizations of interest and power. Though they are a common bird here in central Florida, its always a bit amazing to see them (and the owls, and the occasional hawk) in my very urban neighborhood. They like to stay very high, but they are so distinguishable that you never have any trouble knowing what it is you're looking at. And if you have a young puppy or kitten in the neighborhood, you need to stick close to it!
Especially at this time of year, when they're visibility (and the noise level) suddenly skyrockets. I think it has just a little something to do with those smaller heads peeking out of the nest. I also suspect the fact that I walked in to the backyard last night in to a shower of soft, downy feathers from a songbird may be connected. But, we won't think too much about that reality of the natural world playing out in my neighborhood.

*There has got to be a better word to use when describing a large group of birds of prey. Flock just feels so...well, sissy. It's the word for the cardinals or the mockingbirds, not these creatures with powerful beaks and huge talons.

Photo Monday

The Desert Rose in my front yard is blooming profusely and making me smile.

Photo Monday

Begnoias

Sweet Freedom

I thought we were supposed to spend this weekend at the beach, celebrating my aunt's birthday. Right up until we were in the car, leaving town, and decided to double check the directions. Turns out that would be next weekend, no matter what I wrote on my calendar. Ah hem.

Finding myself with an unexpectedly free weekend, I reveled in it. Doing a bit of gardening and a whole bunch of sitting in the yard with a glass of iced tea and a novel. I even managed to eat an entire mango by myself, the juice dripping off my elbows and put a pretty good dent in the first watermelon of the year.
This not having to go anywhere is not so bad...

Playing in the Kitchen

I've been reading How to Eat Supper from the NPR series The Splendid Table.  One chapter begins "we all have nights when we hit the kitchen at 8 p.m."  Uhm, really?  That would be most week nights for Alex and I.  Maybe its more like 7:30, but still... I guess that explains why our dinners are so heavy on the stir fry, meat tossed on the grill and/or a green salad.  And the rotisserie chicken.  My Lord but do we eat the rotisserie chicken.  (I'm actually not nearly as disgruntled about this since Alex came up with the marvelous trick of crisping it up on the grill.)  Mind you, we definitely aren't living on take out and still do quite a bit of cooking.  As my sister has commented on more than one occasion, we eat well.  Its just usually pretty quick and dirty on weeknights.

That said, the stars have aligned to have me home nice and early three times this week.  So, I've had an opportunity to cook a more leisurely dinner.  My cooking style is to read a recipe and then deviate liberally from there.  And I don't actually measure.  (Unless I'm baking, and then I measure zealously.)  So with that caveat, this book has been the inspiration for several dishes this week.  It has taught me the most amazing trick for cooking frozen shrimp so that they actually have flavor.  And tonight I was wondering what to do with green beans that really needed to be cooked - when I found the perfect recipe in the book.  I didn't actually follow the recipe, but you know...

Anyway, if you enjoy cooking, I'm recommending the book.  I've discovered great recipes, learned useful tricks and found it to actually be an interesting read.  There's a good bit of narrative in the book, actually.  (Is it narrative in this type of book?  They're not exactly telling a story.  Well, you know what I mean.)