My Bit of Earth

Food Gardens Galore

Yesterday afternoon we biked around to a four or five spots on the Lawrence Food Garden Tour.

It's so incredible to me what committed people are doing with their food gardens!  

While a few of the stops were what you would expect--i.e. small, backyard family gardens--most were more on the scale of urban farms.  At the place where I photographed these chickens, the proud gardener told me that he and his partner were actively trying to see how much food they could produce on their city lot with the least expense.  He left me with little doubt but that they don't have to buy an outside vegetable all summer.  While that kind of effort is not necessarily for me, it was nonetheless very impressive!

And the chickens....there were two stops that each had flocks of about 10 birds.  Although I was a slacker and didn't take the pictures I should have, I was interested to see just how simple their coop setups were.  I think it will be very doable for us to build our own little coop next spring.  (Any maybe even put it on the food garden tour for next summer!)

Five years ago today...

...I did a very good thing!

Three Things Making Me Happy Today

1. Paint colors.  This blue is exactly the color I was thinking of for the spare bedroom.  And I'm considering this plummy color for the bathroom, although I think it might be too dark?  But it looks so pretty with that green.  Then again, maybe we should just extend the living room grey into the upstairs hallway, and paint both bedrooms light blue and the bathroom slightly darker blue?  Ehhh, this is hard!  (But it's so much more fun than "Apartment Cream".)

 

2. This video.  Sent from Sweet Husband via his newly updated g-phone.  (Mine is still not updated, by the way, if the Google gods are listening.)  I know it's blurry, but Moe's "WTF?!" response to Sweet Husband's efforts is darling.

3.  NIN and Jane's Addiction.  Live tonight, with Nice Sister-and-Brother-In-Law and Nice Friend.  Thanks again for the tickets Nice In-Laws!

Gone Packing...and Shopping!

So, pending uber-final approval of everything, we're moving in just a little over two weeks.  Crazy to think, yes?  

Right now we're living in a box city, so cooking and gardening and knitting and all the things I usually blog about are just a little bit difficult.  Which is to say, I'm going to be splotchy here for the next few weeks, as I concentrate on more pressing matters....like furniture!

As my poor friends who've heard about it non-stop can attest, one thing I'm really excited about--major props to Barack and Congress for the tax credit--is getting to replace some of our old furniture with pretty, pretty new furniture. (Seriously, our old couch is literally splitting into shreds.  If it were legal, I'd light the thing on fire and dance joyously as it burned.)  

To that end, we did a bit of window shopping this weekend. I'm sure the sales people we talked to thought we were hilarious.  And indeed, we have definitely become "those crazy dog people".

Me to Sweet Husband: "This couch looks like it will hold up well to Porter's naps, but what about Moe digging in the cushions?"

Sweet Husband in reply: "And do you think it's tall enough that he can squeeze under it to get his own ball when it rolls under there?"

But despite the "dog friendly" issues, I think we just might have a living room picked out.  We'll probably make the bookcase/tv thingy ourselves (because IKEA is STU-pid and won't let us order it online) and paint it to match the walls, which are a really pretty light grey.  And, of course, imagine a few funky throw pillows on the couch, and tons of books and yarn littered throughout....

Anyway, what d'ya think?

Moe Speaks: Water Season!

Porterhouse divides up the year into two seasons: Walking Season and Not Walking Season.  But I base my calendar on something far more important: WATER!

And water season began with a bang at our house this weekend!

It all started when Mom and Dad were discussing taking us for a walk.  I could tell they didn't really want to go--Dad said it was kinda hot out and Mom had prickly skin because she had tried to barbeque herself in the sun earlier in the day.  Dad said, "Porter looks pretty happy where she is....."  (Sleeping in the sun.)  And Mom said, "But Moe looks like he's a little stir crazy....hmmm, maybe we could just get out the H-O-S-E?"

And they did.  And it was wonderful!

Pea-Sized Snacking

This is my very first, full-sized pea of the year.  Careful language parsers will note, I didn't say it's the first pea, but rather the first one that's been allowed to get to full-size.  

This is both the advantage and the disadvantage to having your peas planted right outside your front door.  They're always available for snacking, but at the same time they're always available for snacking--even when they're just little baby peas and you know you shouldn't really pick them yet, but you do anyway because....they are very tasty.

This one managed to hide from me, somehow camouflaging himself amid the vines.  Ultimately his efforts were in vain, and he's now been snacked just like his wee friends.

Moe Speaks: HELP! They're Taking My Stuff!

I don't know what's going on, but I think I need back-up on the double!

Mom and Dad have lost it!  They're putting all of our stuff into boxes, including some of my toys!  Mom said we're "moving" it all to a different place.  Why the heck would we take our stuff some place different?  We need it to be here, where we are!  

Especially my squeaky chicken, I can't believe she packed my squeaky chicken!  He won't like the other place, because he'll be lonely there...unless...you don't think Mom and Dad would put me in a box and send me to a different place, do you?

HELP any-doggy, HELP!!!

My Yarn Basket Runneth Over

I think I may have a problem.  It's a problem that, while new to me, seems to be common for people who knit.  In short, my lust for yarn is outstripping the speed with which I can knit it into usable items.

In the past two weeks I've cast-on Shalom, Clapotis, and a Chevron Stipes Hand Towel. Despite all that I'm so fighting the urge to start a pair of Bella's Mittens (yes, I know it's almost June, but did you see how cool they looked in the Twilight movie?), and I really, really want to order this kit for a Habu Scarf (it's metal yarn, dude, what other reason do you need?)  

In my defense, I didn't buy new yarn for Shalom, but I did buy two or three skeins of washcloth making yarn for monthly knit-a-longs (despite the fact that I have several skeins of Sugar n' Cream just hanging out) so I probably only broke even.  

Further, again in my defense, I've actually finished a baby kicking bag (for the millionth time, it's so the baby can kick, not for kicking the baby--and it was the most delightful, meditative thing to knit in the whole wide world), a single bootie (yeah, it's kind of club-footed, but really that's what the pattern looks like), and a hat (fit only for the Arctic tundra, but maybe Sweet Husband will wear it next winter when it gets really cold?).

Nonetheless, I'm thinking the yarn buying must stop....at least until I finish one of the projects I've got going.  There are only so many things you can knit at once, especially considering that I only have two hands....It's just that there's something so comforting about having a big old basket of yarn to run my fingers through.  All the textures and colors...all the possibilities...but really no more.

A Scooter Ralley

Let me start by saying, I'm not a car girl.  When people start talking about engines and brakes and models and what-have-you, my eyes glaze over and I want to throw things.  I like cars that are pretty colors, and that's all I know or want to know.

But the scooter thing is a bit different.  Maybe it's just because they're cuter than cars.  Maybe it's because they at least seem to not have as many complicated parts.  Maybe it's because of the type of people who are drawn to ride them--lotsa fun, but always a little quirky and non-conformist.  Whatever it is, they're great, and--although there's been plenty of good natured teasing involved in the process--I'm glad Sweet Husband has dragged me into the wide world of scooters.

To further my immersion, I joined Sweet Husband yesterday afternoon and evening at the Mad Toto Scooter Club Tornado R'ally (he stayed the whole weekend, but I hung out at home to tend to the doggies).   It was pretty cool just to see so many different kinds of scooters all in one place--from several that were just very pretty, to a few that were awesomely weird:

I got there after most of the organized "rides", but we did zoom around just a little with a smaller group of scoots.  After it got dark, the organizers set up an obstacle course called a gymcanna.  People (not including Sweet Husband, just FYI if either of our mommies are reading this) rode their scooters along balance-beam like rails, in and out of obstacles, over ramps--you name it!

If it feels like a scene from some sort of motorcycle gang movie, that's because it was!  And while that part of it is definitely not for me, the day did leave me with a definite hankering to perhaps, just maybe, think about doing some shopping for a scooter of my own.

Bloom Day: Irises!

It's once again time for May Dreams Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Follow the link to see what's blooming this month all over the world.

In my part of the world I have (from top left and down) Steenbergii Cornflowers, Lavender, Hens and Chicks, a few pea blossoms, some Irises, and broccoli.

Incidentally, I planted the Irises--a pass along from an old co-worker--two years ago, and this is the first year they've bloomed.  I didn't think I was a fan of Irises, but they're so pretty up close, and they smell so wonderful!

Daring Cooks: Ricotta Gnocchi

Today is the first official "recipe reveal" from The Daring Cooks.  

Daring Cooks is a spin-off of the Daring Bakers group, only--big shocker--the group's focus will be on cooking instead of baking.  While I have enjoyed over a year of learning and creating (sometimes fabulous, sometimes failed) baked goods, I'm so much more of a cook at heart, so I've resigned from Daring Bakers and will only be doing the Cooks group from here on out.  (If you're interested in either group, more information can be found at The Daring Kitchen.)

This month's recipe was Ricotta Gnocchi from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

I used fresh ricotta as the recipe suggested, and let it drain in a hanging dishtowel in the fridge for about 24 hours.  (Kind of similar what I did to make cheese.)  Despite the fact that I still consider myself mentally challenged when it comes to making gnocchi, these little guys went together like a dream.  No blips, no adjustments--just perfect.

While I cannot say I liked them better than regular potato gnocchi, the ricotta gnocchi (which have no potatoes and only a little bit of flour) were certainly tasty.  The texture is a bit surprising in the first few bites--a little spongy like ricotta cheese--but once I got over the unexpectedness, they were nice.

For my sauce, I sauted onions in a little browned butter.  Then I sprinkled parmesean cheese and a little lemon zest over the top of each bowl.  

Read on for the recipe.

Barefoot Bloggers: Tuna Salad

This month's first Barefoot Bloggers recipe was Ina's Tuna Salad, chosen by Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails.

I think that many, many people would love this recipe.  

But the thing is, I am a sushi whore, and if I'm going to buy a big old chunk of sushi grade ahi, letting it touch a hot cooking surface seems...wrong.  And dousing it in lime and hot sauce and other various condiments makes me feel like I'm just going to hell.

I was brave and tried the recipe as written (well, I did a fourth of the recipe as written, 2 pounds of tuna would have broken the bank), but honestly, like a certain fictional character, I like my fishies "raw and wriggling"...with just a touch of soy sauce!

Really, though, I bet if you like cooked fish you would like this recipe.  See the link above for full details.  :)

Guest Blogging Morels at The Kitchn

I have a fun little guest blog on morels up today over at The Kitchn.  Faithful readers will recognize the recipe from last week, but for this new post I "interviewed" a few friends who regularly forage for morels so there's a lot more about how to actually find them.  A brief excerpt:

"[T]he first rule of morel foraging is that you don’t talk about morel foraging. Or, at least, you don’t talk about where to look.  I learned this the hard way one day last spring, when I saw Nice Neighbor hauling in a big load of morels and innocently asked him, 'So, where’s a good place to go look for those around here, anyway?' He looked at me like I’d asked for the password to his bank account, laughed a little, and said, 'Yeah right, like I’d tell you that!'"

To read the rest see, How to Hunt for Morel Mushrooms (Plus a Recipe).

Moe Speaks: Tips and Tricks Part 2: No More Halties!

Hello there doggies!  Today another tip for training your humans--no more Halties!

Like many of your humans, I'm sure, my mom and dad are under the mistaken impression that they should be comfortable on my walks.  So they bought this black, strappy thing called a Haltie that goes over my nose and keeps me from pulling them along when they're walking too slow.  Not good!

I've tried getting out of it by rubbing my nose in the grass.  Doesn't work at all, so don't waste your time.  Instead, convince your humans to take it off for you, like I did.  How, you ask?

Well, your best chance is to wait until the weather's kind of muggy.  Act really hot--tongue lolling out, panting, the works!  Then, start hanging back a little bit.  Walk really slow, and maybe even pretend something is wrong with one of your feet.  (This will probably get you a paw inspection, but it's a small price to pay.)  

Before long, your mom (or whichever of your parents is the bigger softie--in my house it happens to be mom) will feel bad for you.  She will worry that you're getting too hot, and off the wretched Haltie will come!  (She might carry you for a little while too if you're carry-able.  While this limits opportunities to sniff, if you drape your head over her shoulder and really play it up, you might even get to play in the hose when you get home!)

Dewey's Books: Year of Wonders

For my fifth Dewey's Book, I read Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.  

The book is set in 16th century England where a small town has been infected by the plague.  Rather than fleeing and spreading the disease, the inhabitants of the town take an oath to quarantine themselves.  The story is told from the perspective of Anna, a young woman who has lost her husband and children.  As both she and her fellow townspeople experience fear and superstition and death, Anna grows from unsure and uneducated to a competent, confident woman.

As Dewey said in her review, 

"There’s a lot of intricacy in the interactions between people, the moral dilemmas, and the situations they encounter. It’s not straightforward at all, but a twisty path through the woods kind of book."

Although it was otherwise a wonderful book--and still one worth reading--I disagree with Dewey a bit about the ending.  She said:

"The ending was so unexpected, actually surprising, but it wasn’t enough to ruin the book by any means."

Unexpected is a bit of an understatement--more like, complete cop-out.  It was like Brooks decided she was done writing and had to tie up the loose ends as quickly as possible in a whirl of sex and drama.  It was sad, because the story was so good otherwise--great characters, interesting questions and issues to be resolved.  There were just so many more honest ways she could have chosen to wrap the story up.

As I said, it's still a good book, and I would recommend it.  Just...stop about thirty pages from the end and invent your own ending or something!

Of Schwinns and Starships

Would you look what followed us home yesterday?

Such an awesome find!  I was looking at the garage sale ads in the paper Friday afternoon, when I found one for a "Vintage Bike Sale".  A guy from Wichita--Geoffry Benzing, check out his artwork, which I absolutely love, here--apparently collects these old bikes, tinkers with them, then sells them.  We got these two for a song.  And they are so old-school-cool!  Sweet Husband's even came with a bell (which I'm planning to steal at first opportunity).

In other news, we went to see the new Star Trek movie last night.

I'm not a hardcore Trekkie by any means.  I remember watching the original movies with my Dad as a kid.  I love "The Next Generation".  But I never really got into any of the other spin-offs, and I don't go to conventions or speak Klingon or anything like that.

Nonetheless, I was practically squealing out loud with delight many times during the movie.  They did such a great job with the characters.  Kirk was Kirk.  McCoy was McCoy.  Spock was...not quite Leonard Nimoy, but the differences--rather than being annoying--were interesting.  There were several references to the original movies, for example, Spock gives one of my favorite lines ever from "The Undiscovered Country" ("[W]hen you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.") 

But what's really fun is, with the way they started it (it won't be too big a spoiler I don't think, to tell you that time travel and a sort of "alternate destiny" is involved) they're now free to basically re-write the stories of the original characters.  And I can't wait!  

Morel McNuggets

I was beginning to despair of getting any morel mushrooms this year when, the other day just before lunch, I got an email from Pendleton's, subject line: "We have morels!"  I anxiously counted down the hours until the end of the day, and was able to just barely make it before they closed.....

Aren't they awesome?  Aren't they weird?  Aren't they beautiful?!!!

As I drove home with my sack o'morels on the passenger seat, I just had to pull one out and touch it.  Their little spongy tops are the perfect study of textures--bumpy but smooth, crumbly but spongy.  I put a mushroom up to my nose and deeply inhaled. (Yes, I huff mushrooms.)  Initially I couldn't place it, but I finally decided they smell kind of like dirt.  But the good kind of dirt--like, all-freshly-turned-over and just-mixed-with-compost and ready-for-growing-things dirt. 

What happened to these little gods of mushrooms?  Well, this year I decided to go the traditional route and bread and fry them.  I soaked the mushrooms in salty water for a few hours to kill any critters that might be hanging out inside.  Then I drained them, rinsed them, and cut them in half.  Next, they got a dip in lightly beaten egg.  Then, a dip in panko bread crumbs mixed with a little salt, pepper, fresh thyme, and just a little bit of dried sage.  Last, they went into a frying pan with a butter and oil combo (don't be stingy here).  The result?

They look like Chicken McNuggets!  As Sweet Husband and I dug in, he joked that we might even be able to get Cutie Niece--currently in the phase of her life where she lives for McNuggets--to try one...if we didn't tell her it was fungus.

We had our "Morel McNuggets" with some tomato sauce for dipping.  A half a pound of shroomies made plenty for dinner for two.  And holy-wow were they good!  I've decided that morels are the exotic cousin of the mushroom family.  They resemble their less exciting relatives, but they're just so much more intense and interesting.  While they're a little expensive to eat all the time, their limited season makes them a great once or twice a year treat.  Yummy!

First Plantings in a New Bit of Earth

So, the couple we're buying the house from? Nicest people ever.  And the male half of the couple is an avid gardener (which may be a little redundant with my first sentence), and so immediately understood the problem with moving into a house in the middle of June.  (I.e., you can't plant veggies at the old place because you'll be gone before the plants mature, but you can't wait to plant veggies at the new place because, darn-it, then you wouldn't get your first tomato until sometime in August which is just too much of a tragedy to even be contemplated!)  That being the case, he invited us over this week to put some plants in at the new house--yay!

But, um, here's the thing.  Ya know how I've been bitching for years about not having enough space and having to cram plants together and yaddie-yadda?  Well, that's not a problem anymore.  

This is just about half of the new veggie garden space (and the herbs and asparagus are in the completely separate "Druid Circle of Goodness" Herb Garden).  It's basically 4 beds, all of which are about 18' x 4' ish, or a little over double the size of the Burrow Garden.  I actually thought I might have gone a little overboard buying plants at the nursery.  I got NINE tomatoes (yes, that's NINE), three peppers, a squash, a pumpkin, some okra, and an eggplant.  All of those plants barely filled two of the beds, and that was with generous spacing and making room for some lettuce and spinach and peas that were already planted.

It kinda feels like I'm moving onto a plantation.

Standing there looking over it all, I couldn't help but think to myself, "What the heck am I going to fill these other two beds with?"  Given time to think it over however....maybe some corn, and green beans, and garlic--ohhh, a lot of garlic!--and potatoes, oh, and carrots and radishes and Brussels sprouts and....the possibilities!

But, for now--if you can read my scribbley-scrawl--this is what got planted:

Moe Speaks: In Which I Defended Mom's Life

I defended Mom's life the other day.  Dad says she was never in harm's way, and Mom was completely not worried throughout the entire incident--but they obviously didn't understand the danger, of course.

It all started when we were sitting outside after Mom got home from work.  She was making things with sticks and yarn with her hands, and kicking the ball for me with her feet.  Porter--whose senses are obviously not as sharp as mine--was napping in the sun.

All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a bit of movement right up next to the house.  I ran over to investigate, and Mom put her sticks down and followed me.  She told me to "wait" so I did.  (Note from Meryl: And my heart about burst with pride.)  But I didn't take my eye off the little slithery-slider even for a second.  

Because it was, in fact, a slithery-slider.

Once Mom gave me the "OK" I ran in closer to investigate.  The slithery-slider was obviously scared to death of my terrier-stare, and when I barked at it, it quickly slunk into a hidey hole before I could rip it to shreds for coming near my mother.  I watched its hole for awhile longer, but the coward didn't dare to show its face again with me on the alert!

Ribbon Bookmarks, So Much Better Than a Spaghetti Noodle

I am a reader of books, and as a reader of books, I often find myself in need of bookmarks.  I usually grab whatever's handy--a library receipt, a Kleenex, a wisp of string, a dry spaghetti noodle.  (Yes, I actually did that once.  But it was a cookbook, so that's appropriate, right?)  

But here's a better idea:

I discovered this on Everyday Beauty.  She used all velvety ribbon, but I had trouble finding velvet in the right width, so I used some gross-grain and satiny ribbon, as well.  You can get the little end clips here.  Then you just pinch them on with pliers and attach whatever bauble you like to the end.  (I raided my earring drawer for a few, got one at a garage sale, and am still searching for a few more.)

Much better!