Yay For Gardens!!

I am so excited!! About a five minute walk from my apartment is a historical house that belonged to the founder of my town, John Tigard. I have a connection on the Tigard Historical Association committee and through her, I was put in touch with the director of said committee. I am now the proud foster mother of four garden plots in the John Tigard House backyard!!! After years of container gardening, I am over the moon ecstatic about having actual ground to play around in. It is so difficult to get a community garden plot around here. I've been on the waiting lists for a couple years now - to just have four plots handed to me is such a blessing. They're providing me my water and aren't even charging me a rental fee. THA is just happy to have them put to use and looking good. Last year, the gardens were maintained by a local private school group, but for whatever reason they're not tending them this year. There are eight plots total and Mary was willing to give them all to me. I know my limits, though, and didn't want to get overwhelmed so just took the four. But I did tell her that if she can't find someone to take the others, I'd figure out some way to handle them. It's in my garden's best interest that there aren't beds of weeds adjacent.

Each of my beds is a different size but together they equal ~225 square feet of sweet dirty goodness. The first order of business is pulling weeds and preparing the beds. Then I get to decide what I'm planting!! I'll definitely be doing the usual tomatoes, peppers, carrots, radishes, beans, and onions. With all that space, though, I can really try some new things. There is some established rhubarb that Mary asked I leave be.

Now I need to buy some real tools and really learn composting as there's a composting bin for me to use. Did I mention how excited I am? If I could do a cartwheel, you bet I'd be doing them all over the house.

Here's a before picture of my plots. As you can see, there is a LOT of work to be done. Even the paths between the beds need some attention (i.e. weeding). I can't wait to get started! Let's hope the growing season is better this year than last. You got weeds, I'll pull 'em. You got slugs, I'll kill 'em. You got seeds, I'll grow 'em. So happy!

Baking 101

It's official! I'm a bread baker and my home smells like my childhood.

For the Birds

January has been a good month. I went on my first birding expedition. I've had a long interest in bird life and claim the bird nerd title proudly. It's a part of the animal kingdom that we can observe with immediacy and the more behavior I see, the more fascinated I become.

The Audubon Society of Portland sponsors small birding expeditions regularly. I was on their site a couple weeks ago and saw they were going on a birding trip at Summerlake Park, about ten minutes from where I live. I figured it was a good opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, meet some strangers, and look at birds. The park has a small lake with paths and bridges and a variety of resident and visiting birds. I introduced myself as a newbie at the outset and throughout the two-hour tour, the others made a point of showing me things and giving me identification tips and really making sure I had the best experience possible. I had so much fun! I saw birds I see all the time: varied thrushes, flickers, nuthatches, house finches, goldfinches, western gulls, etc and ones I don't get to see very often: egrets, blue herons, wood ducks, green-winged teals. I even saw birds I'd never seen before: buffleheads, mergansers, widgeons, ruby-headed kinglets, bewick's wren. I even saw a redtailed hawk perched up in a tree thanks to my companions.

We'd just had a freeze, so parts of the lake were still frozen, giving the birds the appearance of walking on water in some areas. The gulls, in particular, seemed to enjoy the ice as they came in for slip-sliding landings. They'd coast, land, slide, and repeat.

I was the youngest member of the group by at least 15 years but couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable experience. In a couple weeks, I'm going to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve to participate in a night hike all about owls. I Can't Wait!!

Gratitude - Take 2

This week I am grateful...
for the first Christmas card of the season!!!! (Thank you Nicole!)
for working heat
for my new orange beanie
that my nieces and nephew think I'm cool enough to be friends on Facebook
to all the people who supported me at yesterday's bazaar
that my Christmas shopping is nearly complete
for my cactus that puts forth gorgeous pink blooms in the middle of winter
for my health
for the birds that visit my feeders every day
for technology that makes it easy to maintain contact with old friends

Gratitude - Take 1

In keeping with the season (and in a concerted attempt to regularly acknowledge the good things in my life), here is the first of what I hope to be many "I am grateful for..." lists. Yes, some of the items are superficial, but they are balanced by the not-so-superficial. Deal with it.

This week I am grateful...
-to know so many talented cooks
-that it's scarf-wearing weather
-to be part of two loving families
-for my public library and the way it so aptly fits my budget
-for a dog that is excited to see me whether I've been gone five minutes or five hours
-that Brett gets as excited about the Christmas season as I do!
-for online Christmas shopping
-for the regular text messages I get from my little sister, Jaylyn. Even the one that came at five in the morning

Creative Endeavors 101

Call me crazy, but I'm signed up to participate in three holiday bazaars - two elementary schools and a church. Can you believe it? I might add a fourth, but haven't quite decided about that one, yet. I've never done anything like this before, but believe I have something to add to the crafting scene. I'm really excited and energized about the endeavor and trying not to give too much attention to the nerves and second-guessing. Like I told a close friend, if it doesn't work out and no one likes my cards, then at least I know I won't have to buy another greeting card for some time to come! I'm concentrating on Christmas cards, general greeting cards, bookmarks, gift tags, small gift cards, etc. The first one is next month. Wish me luck! Please.

I love jam!

When Mom and Dad give you fresh raspberries from their backyard, make jam!!! How delicious is this going to be in the dead of winter? Thanks to my Ps for sharing their bounty.

Green Thumb

I've been remiss in posting pictures of my garden this year. We had an unusually cold, wet spring so it took awhile for my plants to really get up and going. I've been taking pictures, but haven't taken time to post them. Some of these pictures are at least a month old, so the plants are even more impressive today. Anyway, without further ado....my 2010 garden.

I planted more seeds this year than I normally do. I started from seed radishes, carrots, beans, sweet peas, nasturtiums, chives, mint, Anaheim peppers, broccoli, and onions.

And this years tomatoes include Sun Gold (my favorite cherry size), Early Girl, Arkansas Traveler, Mortgage Lifter, Polish Linguisa, Big Rainbow, and Purple Cherokee. All the plants have tomatoes, but only the Sun Gold has had fruit ripe enough to eat. My fingers are crossed that the warm weather won't vanish before we've been able to enjoy more of the garden's offerings.


Columbine














Nasturtiums















This poppy keeps blooming but sometimes the flower comes out white and sometimes it comes out orange.




















Beans














Honeysuckle















Broccoli



















Sweet peas - so incredibly fragrant!















Never have I had such a big Lantana!















The tomato lineup















Carrots















Anaheim Pepper



















Jalapenos















Orange Bell Pepper















Hot Chili!



















Dahlias















The lovely blossoms of a Thai Basil plant (very licorice-y)















And what's a garden without herbs??

Seashells by the Seashore

I recently spent a fun couple of days in Cannon Beach, OR with some of my family. Despite my sunburn, I had a fantastic time!

We made sand castles.














We tried skim-boarding - some had more luck than others.





























We ran from the waves





















and were reminded again of just how beautiful Oregon can
be.
















We went for a hike, Kohler-style...
















...with beautiful scenery along the way and a big payoff of a view at the end.
















Wish you could have been there!

Why Me?

Hello! This news has been coming for awhile now, but I had no idea just how soon it would happen. I - along with nearly my entire department - was laid-off this morning. Or, as the British say, "made redundant". Basically my company is out-sourcing to India where the work can be done much cheaper. Darn them and their cheap labor! Like I said, I knew lay-offs were on the horizon but had no idea that I was on the front line. The four people in my department who did not lose their jobs outright are only being kept for two more months.

Yes, there's a severance package so I do have some breathing room to find a new job. It's just going to be strange to not have to be somewhere everyday. It hasn't entirely sunk in yet.

I'm trying to view this as an opportunity to find something that makes me happier and a place to which I enjoy going. It has been a long time since I've been able to say that about this particular job.

That's all I know! Commence job-search.