Wednesday, June 22, 2011






baby hazel came to visit us from jersey (along with mom and dad)!
selva and "doody" (as i am calling him for now) have enjoyed having company to sniff.
i collected my first harvest today! kale (that i started from seeds) went into the quiche i made for dinner this evening!

Monday, June 20, 2011

in the garden.







the garden has not been the hit i imagined in my mind at the beginning of the season but it is slowly growing.
almost everyday i go out to check its progress and have been rather surprised by some of the very obvious changes i have noticed over the past few days. tomato plants shooting up what seems a few feet over night. the pepper has doubled its size in days. the basil is growing thicker. the tomatoes are turning golden. the kale is producing more and more leaves. plants that i thought were just not going to budge are starting to change shape and produce buds. i am learning the problem is not them but my patience.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

in the kitchen.




in the kitchen tonight. rediscovering my old Nikon D1 with 50mm lens.
baked a couple loaves of banana bread. added coconut flakes to the recipe from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. jeremiah and i finished a whole loaf to ourselves.
i love the new japanese lantern over our table in the kitchen. i have been wanting one for quite a while and was very excited to find one (lantern & wiring) at a yard sale for $1.
pup loves to nap. then pee on the rug. then chase chico. then nap.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

around here.










luna (the cat) has been extra homebody-ish lately.
sailor, plus tj & sheena, came to visit.
one of the kids across the street drew us a rather awesome picture. it is now hanging in the living room.
i finished some placemats for a friend to give to friends for their wedding. always love these kind of projects.
of course a puppy wandered into our yard the other night. he is literally skin & bones with a swollen belly. we are looking for an extra good home for him. at the moment his name is "boxcar".

garden update: a handful of cherry tomatoes, one good-looking pepper and lots of kale!

[p.s. please excuse the crappy photos. our new camera is in the shop and we are "patiently" waiting for a replacement.]

Saturday, June 11, 2011



we had friends over for dinner the other night.
it was so nice to be able to sit outside.
we had greens & beans tacos with tomatillo salsa and jalapeno-cheddar cornbread. for dessert, silje made a fantastic blackberry-peach pie.
i picked the flowers down the street from our home at the entrance to the greenway. they are still going strong on my dining table. i have loved finding flowers this year throughout the "common" places of the city. sweet peas growing uptown were my best find by far.

today we have spent time in the yard tidying up the messes we have made over the past few weeks.
i especially focused on the flower bed where all sorts of unwanted green things were popping up.
i am happy to report i have a handful of tomatoes growing. there is one pepper growing steadily and i think another one is on his way. the kale is still growing despite the heat.

i am beginning to really savor the seasons and to learn to live my life by them.
winter was good this year with its snow and cold, cold temperatures.
spring was faithful once again with its rebirth.
now summer has arrived and the harvest is growing.

today is heavy with summer.
cicadas in the trees. a thunderstorm rolling up. heat weighing you down.
there is something slightly exciting about this time of year.
i think it is the lingering feeling from childhood of school being out and the whole summer being before you.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

out of order.


life has been out of order recently.
having your main source of information taken away can be a bit debilitating.
on the other hand, it can be freeing.

i want to push myself so far away from technology but i seem to find myself falling only further into its grasp.

due to my mother's generosity, we are "connected" to the rest of the world.
this is a photo i found in her picture library.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

two years.



5.9.09


5.9.10

5.9.11