Family Fun Time

My brother and his family came to Oregon for a quick spring break visit. It coincided with our own spring break making it the perfect chance to get cousins together. We played basketball, celebrated a birthday, went frog-hunting, planned gardens, bowled, and played games as we Kohlers are wont to do. I think it's safe to say that we all went home tired and happy and that right about now my parents are enjoying the restoration of peace and quiet to their home! I love my family.

 

I was crafty today

Seed Exchange

Last night, Brett and I went to dinner at one of his classmate's homes. She and her husband (mainly her husband) are very much into gardening - yay! After a delicious dinner of pasta with a fresh tomato and basil sauce (using garden tomatoes I canned in the fall), we had a little seed exchange. There is so much variety in the vegetable world, we found very little overlap in what we each had to offer. Now I'll be able to plant variates I likely wouldn't have gone out and purchased myself. The first frost-free date here is May 1, so it's only a month and half or so until I'll start my indoor seedlings! If our gardens do well this year, we'll be exchanging produce somewhere down the road.

Yesterday afternoon, we also attended a class at Al's Garden Center on how to successfully start seedlings indoors. I already knew a lot of what was covered, but did learn some new things. Plus, it was good to have Brett along with me so we have the same information. We sometimes have different ideas of how something in the garden should be done. Though I'm usually right!

I'm excited to put the lessons I learned last year into use this year.

Hello, 2012

So, it's a new year...I might get back in the habit of blogging...but I might not. Stay tuned.

I Planted, I Harvested, I Canned

Yesterday, I took these:




And made this:


Lessons learned:
-It takes more tomatoes than one thinks to fill up canning jars
-And each step takes longer than one thinks it will
-With some practice, I think I can become a canning pro
-Once again, I realize how much work my mom put into things that through my childhood eyes didn't seem like a big deal (thanks for manning the canning hotline, Mom)
-For my first time solo-canning, I think I did pretty well!

Chickadees

We have a makeshift bird bath set up on the deck railing. It's very popular with our resident population of birds. Yesterday, a family of Chestnut Backed Chickadees stopped by for bath time. The fledglings are smaller than the adults and have an overall rough/fluffy appearance due to the newness of their feathers. The little guy on the left in the top picture is a good example. They were fun to watch as they tried to figure out how it all worked. My favorite fledglings this year have been the Stellar's Jay youngsters but I wasn't able to get any decent pictures of them.

Gleeful Dog

This picture is for Jeff, who commented on the last post that he didn't sense much glee from Abby.

You Say Potato, I Say Potahto

I am ridiculously excited about this. To the point that I want to call everyone in my phone book to tell them the news. I stuck my hand in my potato hill to see how things were going in there and pulled out this gorgeous Red Norland potato. Even my dog wanted to see what the fuss was about. You'd think I'd won the lottery I reacted with such glee!!

Not too late to change

I have too much stuff. For a few months now, I've been accumulating things to contribute to an August garage sale. Anything that doesn't sell will be donated to a needy organization. Goodwill is easiest, but they charge too much in their stores so I'd rather support someone else. The books that don't sell will go to the library where they'll either add the books to their lending list or sell it in their next fundraiser. I've reached a point in my life where I feel burdened by the things I own. I'm sure part of it is because I'm in an apartment that doesn't have a whole lot of "extra" room. But I also have a hard time getting rid of things. I'm going to change, though! One technique that has helped me is the attitude of "one thing in, three things out". If I bring something new home, I have to get rid of three things I already own. I'm at a point now that my momentum is accelerated and my garage sale boxes are filling up quickly. It feels so good to get rid of things! I really like the sense of freedom that comes from it. I've eliminated nearly a third of my closet! My goal is to whittle my clothes down to an amount that...wait for it...can actually ALL be put away. AT THE SAME TIME!!! What a concept, huh?

This book has been helping me: Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It! It has great, easy, approachable ideas to streamlining your home and clearing clutter from your life. The author has a helpful website, too: orgjunkie.com. I have always loved the idea of being an organized person. However, all the Rubbermaid totes in the world aren't enough to magically make me so. My dream is to have a home that is always ready to receive unexpected company. I'm proud to say I'm slowly getting there!

Leaning Tower of Tomatoes

I visited the garden today to shore up a tomato cage that was threatening to fall over due to my huge Sun Gold tomato plant. I feel so much satisfaction to see just how far the garden has come in the months it's been under my charge.