My Bit of Earth

Old Dog, Young Dog

There was an article in the Whole Dog Journal this month about how to survive life with an old dog and a young dog.  We've been having some issues lately, so I was very interested.

One of the suggestions was not to feel guilty about doing separate age appropriate activities with each dog.  For example, Moe gets an active game of fetch by himself, Porter gets a nice slow walk by herself.  That way neither dog is being forced to keep up or slow down to accommodate the other. 

So yesterday afternoon, Moe and I went for some fetch (and to take some pictures, of course).  He was actually kind of a different dog without Porter around.  He's so afraid of her taking his toys away (which she likes to do just because she can), it was fun to watch him play without having to look over his shoulder every few seconds.  He just looks happy, doesn't he?

Porter was a little alarmed when we left without her, but she got an extra rub down when we got back (with Moe shut out of the room so she could relax properly). 

All in all, not a bad little tip from the WDJ.

MM at MBE: The Final Four

Hoowah!  My 'hawks are in the final four, and Lawrence is a crazy town.  Sweet Husband went downtown to meet a friend for a drink and just called to say that there is partying in the streets.  We're in the final four!  Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Meanwhile the MBE pool is going as follows:

Chris is in first place with 97 points, Angela follows with 77, Sweet Husband is third with 74, Lghtngfan is next with 71, I'm in fourth with 70, and Bells for Cinderella and erose are bringing up the rear with 68 and 58 points respectively.

Next weekend should be exciting, exciting, exciting!

Ragged-Out Sock Monkeys

Prior to the Tricot Afghan, I was working on a rag quilt for my nice cousin's soon-to-be-born baby.  I actually have three my-age cousins all supposed to have babies on or about April 15 this year, but the little one I decided to put needle to thread for is not a first baby (as with Nice Cousin #1), nor a second baby (as with Nice Cousin #2), but a third baby.  And, as Miss Cornelia Bryant would say, later babies need extra lovin', thus the quilt.

I switched from hand sewing to machine sewing in the middle which resulted in just a tid bit of wonkiness as far as the seams lining up.  (I'm still a little afraid of my sewing machine.)  Overall though, I think it looks OK.

For a tutorial on how to make a rag quilt yourself, see Jen Yu's site  (I skipped the batting in the middle, and the part about sewing the "X's").

Cabbage (and Brussels Sprout) Protection Cages

One of my favorite things about the community garden is that (aside from the uber-minimal $30 a year fee for water, I suppose) there are so many bits of this and that lying around that you can really just about garden for free.

Case in point--last year I planted some cabbages which were promptly torn to shreds by the bunnies in the neighboring field.  This year I decided some protection was in order, so I stole a few pieces of chicken wire from the garden shed and made these cages.  They're basically just tunnels staked into the ground on the sides and bent down at the ends.  We'll see if they keep the rascally rabbits out.

Daring Bakers: Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

This month's Daring Baker's challenge was hosted by my lovely "Seasoned Eatings" giftee Morven of "Food Art and Random Thoughts".  The recipe was for a big, pretty party cake.

My problem?  No parties for me in March. 

But then one of my nice co-workers pointed out that March is basketball month--not a bad reason to celebrate.  And then I started seeing nice berries at the grocery store--not as nice as they'll be in June, of course, but perfectly sweet and edible just the same.  So, voila, a "Crimson and Blueberry" cake which I took to work to kick off the start of the Big XII tournament.  (Which the Jayhawks then went on to win--I think my cake was responsible!)

The cake itself was almost like angel food, very light and fluffy and springy.  I skipped the jam between the layers and just did buttercream and berries.  It could be my growing experience, but this buttercream worked much better for me than the buttercream I made for the Yule Log.  Although I wish the recipe would have made more (you can see I had to skimp a little on the sides), the texture was correct this time.

That being said, if I were going to make this cake again I think I would do it with just berries and whipped cream...and sometime in June or July.

For the recipe, read on....

Community Garden Workday

This morning was the community garden workday.  With a bit of help from Sweet Husband, I got my plot dug, tilled, composted and ready to go.  Of note....

• I decided to try some newspaper--overlapped and laid down about 6 or 7 pages thick--as a weed barrier this year.  I didn't have enough paper to cover the entire garden, but I at least covered the areas that I don't want to plant yet.  After wetting the paper, I recovered it with the straw that's been on the garden all winter.
• The garlic that I planted last fall survived the winter, and is putting out nice green shoots.
• I planted peas and onions, which were part of the plan; and Brussels sprouts and cabbage, which were not.  The sprouts are called "Bubbles"--I'm such a sucker for a plant with a good name!

Planting Around the House

I was feeling pretty nasty this morning (more of the ongoing saga of my stomach), so I called in sick to work.  After spending the morning sleeping though, I was beginning to perk up.  I got up to let the dogs out at about two, and realized it was a bona fide gorgeous day.

It was so nice out in fact, that decided to do a little puttering in the yard. 

First and foremost, I am excited to report that my "Morden Sunrise" rose survived the winter in its pot and is putting out new green shoots.  (See picture.)  Its mate (which got a late start) died in the heat last summer, but this one has now survived an entire year of Kansas weather.  I think I've found my winning outside-all-year-in-a-pot Kansas rose bush.

As for the planting though, I got in a ton of root-and-salad-type veggies.  No real plan, I just put down seeds pretty much wherever I could find bare dirt (including some lettuce around the base of the rose bush, and some radishes in with my tulips).  If I can keep Moe out of it all for a few weeks, I think it will work well.  (He doesn't understand why he can't help....)

To see what I planted, click on.

Little Nesty-Flowery Buttons

While it's fun to do a big project every so often, little one hour bits are usually more my speed.  Or maybe just more in track with my patience level!

And I've been crazy into buttons lately.  You can only wear so many pieces of jewelry on your body, but buttons can be stuck to a jacket, a bag, on a bulletin board, wherever.  (E.g., this one, which is riding around on my bag as we speak.)

So, with this and this as my loose inspiration, this evening I sat down with some left over wool roving (for the blue and white ones), some left over wool yarn (for the yellow one), and some spare beads, and I needle felted these three little jobies.  Add a tiny safety pin, and they'll be ready to go.

I can't decide properly if they're more like birds nest with eggs in them?  Or more like teensy flowers?

"Fruit Stripe" Blanket Has Left the Building

Woohoo!  Just got back from mailing my "Fruit Stripe" blanket to the lovely ladies of "Tricot du Coeur".  (Here's an explanation of the entire project; here's where I decided to get involved.)

If you will recall, I procrastinated a bit on this one, but through persistent work--on my carpool, on my lunch break, on vacation, and even during my cousin's wedding shower--I was able to get it done in exactly two weeks.  (My left thumb may never recover!)

Despite the last minute push, I really enjoyed the project.  I made a plain afghan for my college roommate once but, as far as different colors and things go, this was the most complicated crochet project I've ever undertaken.  In fact, I made it the way I did based on my own limitations; I get tripped up counting stitches, so I purposely did my stripes in rows of ten and twenty so I wouldn't have to keep track any higher than that.

And I still don't know exactly how I arrived at the colors I did.  I'm so not a pink kind of girl, but I think it just seemed very Spring-y and Easter-y at the time I picked it out.  I don't know if I would chose the same colors over again, but at the same time I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Last night as I was finishing up the last bits of the border, I kind of started getting a little philosophical....

Are there other things I could have done to help out the kiddos at "Victory Junction"?  Well, sure.  But, sore fingers aside, each stitch of my finished blanket is almost like a little prayer, a tiny affirmation to the (most likely) girl who receives it...you're going to be OK.  And I'm of the school that believes good energy like that is better than almost anything.  Especially when it comes in wrap-around form!

Much thanks to Vivi and Lghtngfan for hosting--way to go ladies!

Wednesday Poll: Fighting Back Against Poor Customer Service

I was watching the news last night when I saw this story, about Mona "the Hammer" Shaw, a little old lady who--when presented with horrible customer service from her phone company--grabbed the aforementioned tool, took it to the phone company's office, and began smashing office equipment.

While I don't know that I can condone such behavior, I have to think about what it must really have taken to get this woman--who has probably hardly had so much as a speeding ticket--to this point. 

For this week's poll:

Ever had customer service that was that bad?  What did you want to do?  What did you actually do?

Comment and discuss.

MM at MBE: Still Neck and Neck After the First Rounds

Our little March Madness pool is puttering along nicely with Chris in the lead by one point, and the rest of the pack not far behind.  I'm not fairing so well--I'm in last place at the moment--but as long as my Jayhawks stay in it I predict I will rally! 

Another Easter, Come and Gone

We spent the weekend in the home-town, hanging out with family.  Saturday night I had a rockin' egg dyeing party with my girlies and their mommies, then Sunday was Easter dinner.

Nice Mother-in-Law had just gotten back from spending her Spring Break in New Orleans helping with the clean-up, and Nice Father-in-Law is in his busy season with work, so I volunteered to cook.  (I know, so noble of me right?  Volunteering to do something I love to do anyway!) 

I inadvertently ended up with a Jamie Oliver theme--roast lamb; balsamic tomatoes with leeks and basil; and potatoes stuffed with garlic, bacon, and sage (recipe from "Cook with Jamie").  Of the three, I thought only the tomatoes were spectacular.  The vinegar enhanced their sweetness, and the leeks added just the right amount of bite.  The recipe says, in addition to just being served as a side dish, you can cook them up and puree them into a sauce--can't wait to try this with some of my garden tomatoes this summer!

More pictures of our Easter weekend are here.

Pepin's Pizza

Courtesy of Monsieur Jacques Pepin, we have a new pizza recipe.  I can't decide if I like it better than our grilled pizza or not, but let me tell you, the fact that it even comes close means it's pretty gosh-darned good.

The things that might put this one over the top?  First of all, it's sooo easy.  The crust is just a tortilla shell lightly brushed with olive oil.  As long as you have a tortilla shell, fifteen minutes later you can have pizza.  Second, in comparison to the grilled pizza at least, it's sooo low-calorie.  Even if you use a gigantic, spinach flavored tortilla (as we did here) your crust for the entire pizza tops out at 220 calories.  The grilled pizza dough is roughly 1000, so it's really quite a difference.

I'm wondering if maybe I couldn't get the best of both worlds by grilling the tortilla?

Crocheted Easter Baskets (and Fun Things to Fill Them With)

I was playing with some yarn the other day, and it somehow turned into a few of these bitsy Easter baskets for my girlies. 

I couldn't tell you exactly how it happened, except that I started crocheting in a spiral (increasing by a few here and there each time around) until I had something that looked like this.  Then I continued going round and round--with less increasing, maybe one extra stitch for every five--to make the sides.  To help it hold its shape, I put the basket over the bottom side of a glass, wet it down, and let it sit there until it was dry.  Then I added the handle, which is just about a three stitch wide strip that I attached at either end. 

The entire basket is only about four inches tall--not very practical I s'pose, but, hey, it's that time of year when things don't really have to be!

As for the goodies to go inside the basket, the girlies had each requested a felted bead necklace, but I was afraid a full string of felt beads might be a little itchy for them to wear.  (I don't think we learn to suffer for fashion until later in life--at least 13 or 14, at any rate.)  So, I attached one bead each to a ball chain (from the hardware store, look for lamp pull chain) to get a similar idea without the wool having to be worn right up against the neck.  The wire that attaches the bead to the chain is a type of jewelry finding that can be found at a craft store (think long, blunt straight pin).

Then I ordered a pair of lovely "story girl" buttons from Lily Moon's etsy shop.  I've been quietly adoring the characters in her artwork for some time now.  She describes them as, "Thousands of bits and pieces of imaginary stories....I get an idea for a story and then it slips away, back to wherever it came from....and then another story comes to mind....maybe you can fill in the gaps and tell me how they end...! :)"  Now how much fun is that?

Happy Spring!

It's the first day of Spring--and while I didn't play hooky to go plant peas as I might have liked (that will have to wait until next weekend unfortunately)--I did notice that some of my bulbs are coming up. 

I'm happy to see them.  We have a few wily squirrels that live in a tree near our house, so I was a little worried that the bulbs might have become a wintertime snack. 

The leaves of the 'Red Riding Hood' tulips are going to be just as pretty as I hoped they would be.

Wednesday Poll: The Five Year Old Within

For those of you who don't know, I argued my first case in front a court yesterday.  (To answer the inevitable questions, I thought it went OK.) 

During the couple of days beforehand, I was having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I am, in fact, qualified and grown-up enough to have another person's freedom in my charge.  I kept having to issue these little mental mantras to myself, reminders like, "I am 27 years old", "I am a smart person", "I am a competent attorney".  Even once I was all suit-and-heeled-up standing at the lectern in front of the judges, it felt like my Mom should duck into the courtroom and say, "OK sweetheart, enough playing pretend for now, it's time to clean your room."

So, for this week's poll:

Is there a time when you stopped and wondered, "When did I become such an adult all of a sudden?"

Comment and discuss.

I'm the King of the World!

As you will recall, Nice Mom, Sweet Sister, and I made a trip to the Titanic Museum in Branson last weekend for Sweet Sister's birthday.  So, here we are standing in front of a blue screen with the deck of the Titanic digitally patched in on the deck of the Titanic. 

All joking aside, however, it wasn't as cheesy as I expected it to be.  I actually enjoyed the way they really focused on the people who were on board through the things they left behind (letters, jewelry, clothing).  It helped me to envision myself in their places, and see them as individuals.  There was also a lot of attention paid to making the overall environment consistent with what the ship might have been like.  For example, in the third class parts of the museum it was hot and loud, in the first class parts it was quiet with classical music, in the part of the museum that focused on the ship's sinking it was dark and cold.  And the reproduction of the staircase was very beautiful!

Maybe not worth a long trip, but certainly worth it if you're in the area and interested in that sort of thing.  More pictures here.

March Madness at My Bit of Earth

This morning I had a fun idea.  Why not make a little basketball bracket pool-thingy-ma-bob-group for everyone who stops by the blog?  A sort of "don't-know-crap-about-basketball-but-at-the-same-time-not-shunning-those-who-do" kind of thing.  And--just to make it a little more exciting--why not offer a prize for the winner?

Why not, indeed!

So, here's what I've come up with:  Before the start of the first game on Thursday, March 20th, sign up here and follow the steps to make a bracket.  Then go to "groups", click "join existing group", and search for and join "March Madness at MBE".  (The password is "tulip", after the little ones just starting to poke up in my garden.)

As long as at least three people besides Sweet Husband and I sign up, I'll offer a prize--a yet-to-be selected piece of jewelry generously volunteered by Sweet Husband.

A Weekend Away, But Not From Crochet

I'm just about to head out the door for a birthday weekend away with Nice Mom and Sweet Sister.  Sweet Sister's turning 10, so we're off to the Titanic Museum to see what's to be seen and let her play at being one of her namesakes.  (Kate Winslett's character, Rose Dewitt-Whatever.)

All the while, I'll be crocheting my little heart out as sometime last week I realized I was getting awfully close to the March 30th deadline for my blanket for "Tricot du Coeur".  (I'm not a procrastinator, truly, I've just been kind of frozen with indecision as to what exactly I wanted to do.)  I'm making good progress though; I'm about a third of the way done and I've only been seriously working since Tuesday.  The colors are making me crave "Fruit Stripe" gum like nobody's business!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Wednesday Poll: The World is Full of Nice People

I was reading this post on BlogHer the other day (short story--the author gave a woman her ferry ticket and made a new friend) and it got me thinking about all the wonderful friends I've made while traveling.  Most moved in and out of my life in an evening--a few drinks, a few stories, some much needed help at just the right time--but they were friends all the same.  I like to think they're all happy, and I always hope their kindnesses to me were credited to them somewhere down the road.

For this week's poll:

Tell a story of a friend you made while traveling.

Comment and discuss.

Revised Eggy Pasta

A few months ago I bought the book "Cook with Jamie" (Oliver).  It's a big, heavy, picture-laden cookbook--which the price reflects--but, if you're the right kind of cook, the risottos alone are worth it.

And, by the right kind of cook, I mean completely comfortable taking his general idea and making it your own.  Mostly it's just quantity issues--i.e. the recipes are made to serve a crowd and the ingredients are listed in unfamiliar (possibly more British?) measurements which makes it hard to just do half--but in the case of his egg ravioli, I did a total renovation.

In the main, Jamie's recipe requires you to make your own pasta (I cheated and used won-ton wrappers), cut it into a basic ravioli shape, and spoon on some ricotta cheese.  Then you make a little well in the ricotta, in which goes one hopefully unbroken egg yolk.  (See above picture.)  Last you seal up the ravioli, cook it until the eggs are done but still soft, and pour a little melted butter over the top.

Complicated?  Yup.  First, it's hard to get the egg yolks through the whole process without breaking them.  Second, it's hard to tell how done your eggs are when they're inside the ravioli.  Third, it uses a lot of eggs--12 if you follow the recipe as written!  Our end result was that, while it all tasted good, it was not terribly pretty.

Gardening Season Begins!

Although you'd never know it from the temperature outside (15!) or the little crust of snow we still have on the ground, tonight I received confirmation that Spring is indeed on it's way, in the form of a phone call from our wonderful community garden master.  Our annual organizing meeting is Monday!

Frankly, I hadn't even thought about it yet--which just shows how cold and nasty it really has been--so tonight I sat down and came up with "the plan" for the year.  Of course, it will it's subject to change.  As much as I thought she was totally cool, if by some miracle my nearest neighbor in the community garden decided not to garden this year...and if by even greater miracle no new person came along and wanted her plot...I think I would try very hard to snatch it up and plant some broccoli and Brussels sprouts and things of that nature.  Heck, if I could add her bit to mine I might even go crazy and try something like corn or the watermelon patch Sweet Husband is always trying to talk me into.

But more realistically speaking, I think I'm going to forgo flowers to a certain extent this spring and grow arugula, carrots, radishes, potatoes, and some chard in my big raised bed at home.  Then as that stuff starts to get sketchy I can pop some milkweed in its place and see if I can't attract some Monarch butterflies this fall. 

I'll grow some Sunflowers again, although maybe this year I'll actually plant red ones rather than just imagining that I did!  And of course some morning glories on our fence, which, based on the way they got busy on their own last fall, I may not even have to re-plant.

In the Burrow garden (a.k.a. my plot in the community garden) I'm going to try eggplant and peas for the first time, but I'm skipping the green beans, soy beans, and any form of pumpkin or squash.  (Ah yes, the pumpkins...I'm still bitter.)  Here's my basic thought:

It looks like I'm going to have a ton of garlic, but, since it has long shelf life and we're big fans of it, I think that will ultimately be a good thing.  (And at any rate it's already in the ground so no changing that up now!)  I'm not sure exactly how much room I'm going to have in the middle, but (as I've said before) it seemed to me that the people who did better last year planted much more intensively than I did, so this year I think I'm going to try to err on the side of smushed.

*Phew!*  Alright, I have a plan...gardening season can officially begin!

Wednesday Poll: I Shouldn't Have Said That

I've always had a little problem with verbal diarrhea, but lately it seems to have morphed into a full blown case of foot-in-mouth disease.  And--although the moment the words come out is bad enough--the worst part about it is the way I can't help playing the conversation back in my head later and wincing at myself.  I'll be chopping veggies for dinner and just suddenly exclaim, "Ohmygod, I can't believe I said that!"  It makes Sweet Husband give me funny looks.

So, for this week's poll:

Make me feel better--tell me about a time you said something completely stupid, silly, or otherwise inappropriate.  How did you help yourself get over it afterward?

Comment and discuss.

Hello March! Hello Mud! Hello Outside Fun!

It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous here today--sunny, seventy, breezy--so this afternoon we took the dogs to the dog park and planted a letterbox I've been hoarding for awhile.  But before I get to the box, I have to share this picture.

This lovely pup is a Golden named Ella.  While Sweet Husband and I--and Ella's horrified owners--looked on, Ella did a perfect circle, sniffed once, and joyfully flopped down right in the middle of the gooshiest mud puddle in the park.  Some days I'm very grateful that my dogs are just a little prissy, or, at least, prissier than Ella!

But on to our letterboxing....

Lovely Lawrence #2: Dog Friendly Town

This box is planted at "Mutt Run" a dog park near Clinton Lake in Lawrence, Kansas.  (Directions.)  Your dog can be off-leash for this entire walk, and you'll probably meet some new doggie pals.  However, I wouldn't recommend looking for this box after a strong rain unless you have proper mud gear!  (See above picture.)

When you get to the park, you'll see a red gate at the end of the parking area.  Go past the gate, across the small bridge, and continue to follow the path--you should be walking east, generally.  Before long the path will turn to the right.  Continue following the path.  Just a bit further the path will turn again, this time to the left.  There the path basically ends in a large field.  Just as you come out of the trees, you'll see this mound to your right.  The box is underneath a large rock next to the tree that's basically in the center of the mound. 

If you go hunting, leave a comment and let me know how you find it!

See also: Lovely Lawrence #1:  Rock Chalk Jayhawk!; Lovely Lawrence #3:  The Kaw.

(Letterboxing: P4 F5 X0 / Geocaching: P0 F2)

The Other Boleyn Girl

I remember it well.  One night when I was 13, I started watching the movie "Anne of the Thousand Days" about Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn.  But I didn't get to see the end. 

The next morning at the library, I checked out as many books as I could about Anne, Henry, and their baby Elizabeth.  Thus began my lifelong love affair with the time period.

I read--and really liked--Phillipa Gregory's book "The Other Boleyn Girl" (which this movie was based on) several years ago so, of course, the movie was a must see. 

Overall, I thought it was well done and a credible interpretation of the book.  Of course, I could pick at the differences between the book, the movie, and actual historical fact for hours, but for just a few thoughts, read on.  (Spoilers!)