Gardening for squares

Dan just made two raised beds last week, ala Sqaure Foot Gardening. One is 3 by 7 feet, the other is 2 by 4 feet. He's also going to make each of the boys a wee 2x2 foot garden so they can plant things (Ryan wants strawberries and lots of flowers, Arden wants flowers and some "cool" purple sage in his).

I stuck with things that would do well in the Fall or overwinter well, along with lettuce that will get replanted many times. The containers are tucked next to our patio, up against the house, and are shielded from wind from the side of the house but still get good amounts of sun. I'll probably add cold frames once things get colder, but I think being so close to the house will help everything stay warmer as well.

I was amazed at how much stuff I was able to plant! All of this went in:

• strawberries - two kinds of alpine strawberries and one regular sized everbearing kind
• red leaf lettuce
• baby bok choi
• broccoli (3)
• purple sage
• cauliflower (3)
• spinach
• cilantro (we'll see if I can get at these before they bolt)
• oregano
• garlic (red hardneck)
• some hummingbird flower mix
• mesclun mix
• radishes
• flatleaf parsley
• two of kinds thyme - silver and lemon thyme (mmmm!)
• leeks
• brussels srouts
• carrots (Atomic Red and Nantes)
• Daikon radishes

I've been watering a little each day, since it's been very hot here lately and I wanted the seeds to get a good start. Almost everything has sprouted, aside from the parsley (notorious poor germinators, I hear), carrots, flowers, oregano, and garlic. Every time I look out and see all the wee bits of green peeking out over the top of the soil I get this lovely warm feeling, like I've done something good. Can't wait until everything starts getting bigger and the sprouts start looking more like actual plants. Bit like watching babies grow, though much more quickly and without the sleep deprivation.

I also filled up my new Earth Machine composter today. Got it for free on Craigslist a couple of weeks back. Craigslist rocks. I've bought, sold, given away, and gotten for free more things than I can count. We found our kitten online, too. Great, great resource. Anyway, I filled up my composter, carefully layering green plants, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds as an activator, and brown leaves. Wet everything a bit, then stirred it round. I'll be giving it a stir once a week and making sure everything stays moist for the next few months, then if all goes well shoveling out rich, deep brown soil.

The foot is doing a lot better, though it's awfully weak. I'm wearing the boot half a day now and icing it twice a day to help keep the swelling down. Seems to be healing well, though I can't wait until I can ditch the fancy footwear.

Saturday Sky

This is for you, Ms. Sandy. Below is the view from my back patio, looking over towards my neighbor's back yard. It's cloudy out today, but still pretty bright and warm outside. Perfect for puttering around in the garden. Come to think of it, I should go do that.

Like my new boot?

Basic black, up to the knee...sounds great until you see the sucker in person. Oh, and I'm only wearing one of these lovelies, which sort of spoils the whole ensemble. Though it does look particularly fetching with shorts.

The sprained ankle I had before we moved? Wasn't a sprain, as it turns out. I pulled a tendon, which oddly enough didn't get any better when I treated the injury like a sprain (under the advice of a very decent doctor who is all the way back in California). Walking was getting harder and harder, and hurting in a way that just didn't make any sense at all. I asked some people locally about where to get orthotics (still thinking I just had a weak ankle) and found Dr. Ray McClanahan of Northwest Foot and Ankle. He set me up with this big ol boot (if you find it especially appealing, you can order one here) and told me to rest my foot for two weeks, ice the injury every night, then slowly wean myself off of the boot for another two weeks. Driving a stick shift has been highly entertaining with this thing on, more so because it's my right foot. Climbing stairs is really hard. I sound like Frankenstein as I walk through the house: step, THUMP, step, THUMP! But I can't complain, since it's getting much, much better.

Time for some tea

I love tea in all forms, from chamomile to Darjeeling to genmae. One of my most favorite cups of tea is warmed with spices and mellowed with milk and a little bit of sugar. Thought I might try this iced (hmmm....now where did I get that idea?)

Masala Chai
serves 4
1 small cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods
(or 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom)
4 cloves
6 peppercorns
3 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 heaping teaspoons loose tea or 4 tea bags (orange pekoe)

Place spices and tea leaves (if using) in a tea ball or tie in cheesecloth so you can remove them later. Place water and spices in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sugar, milk and tea leaves or bags, bring to a simmer, turn off heat and cover again. Let mixture sit for 2 - 3 minutes to allow tea to steep. Strain and serve.

It's a wonder that a few twigs, leaves, and flower buds can scent the whole house and bring such flavor to a simple cup of tea.

Sock and a bit

Can't believe this yarn was hand painted by me. It's knitting up so nicely, with only a little bit of pooling, and even that blends so well with all the other colors that I hesitate to call it that. These are for Dan, knitted out of the yarn I had leftover after I sent out my Dye O Rama swap. The yarn is Wool2Dye4 Supersock, and I ended up using 2.25 mm size 2 DPNs (not the larger 2.5 mm size, which was far too large) and 6 stitches around to start. These have become my tote along project, though my very favorite time to work on them is curled up on the couch with Dan after the boys have gone to bed. He's already tried on one and loves them so far. Once I'm done with these, I'll start in on the yarn I got from my talented pal Kate. That pair will be for me.

Playing in the yard

Can you tell the boys love having a back yard and actual, bona fide plants and trees to play with? They love climbing the tree out in front, and can't wait until it's time to water the lawn so they can play with the hose or the sprinkler.

I've been playing in the yard, too. It's been balmy and sunny and just plain gorgeous here for the past few weeks. I keep wanting to update but getting caught up in weeding and planning my garden and watching the butterflies and hummingbirds. Finally got around to sitting back and enjoying the quieter pace of life here. Bit of a change of pace for me, but I really like it :-)

Random Cuteness

Meet Ryan's new kitten. Her name is Lisa ("that's a really pretty name for a girl, Mommy!"), and she's the sweetest lap kitty you ever met. We're learning to look for her deep inside cardboard boxes, which seem to be her favorite places to sleep. The two older cats aren't quite sure what to do with her, but seem to be putting up with this evil intruder with remarkable grace. Mostly.

Things I love right now

• Recycling. I'm having the best time finding any and everything I can put in our recycling bins. It's like my own personal scavenger hunt every day, looking for bits of paper and plastic and metal that can be reused again. Our old towhouse didn't have any kind of recycling, so we collected everything and drove everything to the redemption center once the bags got full enough. Problem was, they didn't accept anything beyond bottles and cans. Not even newspaper (it killed me to throw newspaper in the trash, but what else could I do when no one would take it?). Now I'm having a grand time, finding new things I can recycle everywhere I look.
  
• My own back yard. It's wide and inviting and so full of growing things, flowers especially. I love that the boys can run out and come back not five minutes later with armloads of roses, bachelor's buttons, and other flowers and you can't even tell they picked anything. Still don't know what most of the plants out back are yet (anyone want to take a guess if I post pictures?), but figuring it all out is pretty fun, too.
  
• Working out where to put everything. Sure, it's a bit of a chore to unpack and get all the stuff in place, but there's something really satisfying about finding the right place for things and getting it all just the way that feels right.
  
• Watching the boys explore their new home. Arden especially is thrilled to finally have his own room all to himself. They both are having a grand time running around the back yard, searching for "treasure" and generally getting covered in dirt in every way imaginable. Warms my heart to see them stack rocks and dig in the dirt and ride their bikes in the cul de sac. They already have a new friend who lives just 3 doors down, and it looks like there are several little boys of about the right age within 2-3 blocks.
  
• Oregon strawberries! Absolutely incredible - so sweet and full of flavor, it's hard to even describe. Delicious.
• My granite countertops. I can put a hot pan right down on the counter without giving it a second thought, keep pastry cool if I need to, and the counter never looks dirty. Ahhh....lovely stuff.
  
• Knitting with my handpainted yarn. I was going to jump into the glorious yarn my dye pal sent, but Dan has been drooling over the other half of the skein I dyed since it was fully dry. He kept making subtle comments like, "you are keeping some of that yarn, right?" and "you know, if you made some socks for me out of that yarn I'd love you forever." Yep, he's the king of subtlety. But the yarn is knitting up really nicely, and I love watching the colors turn and bend as the sock gets longer and longer.
• Ginger and "Yuzu" Wafers. Got the recipe for these ethereal cookies from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider. They're essentially tuilles with a hit of intense ginger and citrus. Just enough to nibble with some tea or alongside a bowl of ice cream. Yum.
  
• Living here. I'm so incredibly glad we went through everything we did to make this happen. This is the right place for so many reasons, and it feels like home already.
  

Lots of dyeing

Now that I finally found my camera cord, I can share a few more goodies. Look what I got in the mail! Six weeks ago I signed up for Dye-O-Rama, a swap where everyone exchanges hand dyed yarn. I signed up for this in the middle of selling my house and packing because I am certifiably insane, but that should be abundantly clear by now. Anyway, the lovely Kate of k8knits sent this amazing package that you see to the left. Not one but two skeins of the most gorgeous colorways and a skein of the softest handspun I have ever come across. I kept holding it up to my cheek and petting it. Seriously.

The moment I saw the handspun, I knew exactly what to do with it. A friend of mine is going through chemo and had lamented the lousy choice in hats, and this happened to be exactly her colors. I started knitting once I rummaged through boxes and found my Denise needles, but soon found that there just wasn't enough for a full hat. No problem - this was a great excuse to go to my first Portland yarn store! After a quick check with Google, I drove off to Abundant Yarn in search of something with similar tones, something hopefully just as soft. I found many yarns that matched well, but nothing came close to the feel of this handspun. Finally, I spied some Jo Sharp Silkroad, gave it a feel, and smiled. Silk and cashmere would be just perfect, and the color worked wonderfully. Made up a roomy hat (she likes larger hats) with a rolled brim and gave it to her yesterday. She told me it feels like a "head hug" :-).

Today was the last day to send off dyed yarn, so last night I found my dye and yarn, waited until the boys were asleep, then laid everything out. I mixed colors (a Frankenstein mix of Rit dyes in brown and black, Dudley Easter egg colors in blue, orange, green and yellow, and KoolAid mix in blue) until everything looked about what I wanted, then tested what they'd look like by dipping bits of paper towel in each cup and laying that down in front of the cup (the colors were so dark, it was hard to tell them apart otherwise as well). The Dudley colors were very, very bright and vibrant, and I wanted muted and deep, so I added brown and black until they looked more sedate. Then I started painting the soaked yarn, bit by bit. Then I wrapped the yarn in plastic wrap, coiled it up, and set it onto a steamer rack in a large canning pot. The yarn steamed merrily for half an hour, then cooled with the lid on until it was just barely warm. I rinsed the yarn carefully, then laid it out on a rack in our dryer and set it to air dry with a bit of warm air to help things along. Took over an hour, but it finally dried properly. I was really happy with the end result. The yarn - Wool2Dye4 Supersock - really opened up and did beautiful things once dyed. I'm completely hooked - yarn dying is soooo much fun!

Then I skeined it up by hand. Took a long, long time to wind the yarn around the top of a box. Must. Get. Swift. My skein wasn't quite as tidy or pretty as many I've seen, but it didn't come out too badly. I tiptoed out across the wet grass to take a picture, since the colors went so nicely with the little tree out off the patio in our new house. Any excuse to walk outside in my very own back yard :-) Took a close up as well, just because. I love this colorway. Hope my dye pal likes it, too!

We're home!

This pretty much sums it all up:

And we're off!

Oregon, here we come :-)

Boxes, boxes, boxes all around me

I have:

3 bankers boxes of yarn
1 bankers box of knitting needles and notions
1 bankers box of knitting patterns and books
3 bankers boxes of craft supplies
4 bankes boxes of cookbooks
1 bankers box of sewing supplies
10 Sterilite under-bed storage boxes of fabric



and one bankers box of shoes.

Insert your own joke here

I was just checking out maps, and finally looked at the names of the streets surrounding our new house.

We're going to live on 69th and Hemlock.

I swear, I'm going to giggle every time I drive up to our house!

Happy Birthday, wee lil blog

OK, I'm a few days late. Been just a little bit busy around here with all the packing.

I'm amazed every day that I type on a keyboard, plug in my camera, arrange things a little, and end up with something that people I have never met actually read voluntarily. Not a lot of people (at least I don't think so), but then that doesn't bother me in the least since I started this for entirely selfish reasons. This blog is my own happy place, somewhere that I can fill with good things and projects and recipes that I'm proud of, things that make me smile. One less place to bore my non crafty or foodie friends with endless discussions of baking temperatures, sewing machines, and yarn guage.

Thanks for hanging around with me in my happy place for the last year. I hope I've managed to spread some happy around from time to time, or at least coax a smile or two :-)

Finished Socks

Done! I sent these off yesterday but wanted to get a picture or two in. They came out really well, I think. Hoping my pal likes them.
Pattern: Aran Sandal Socks from Socks, Socks, Socks
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull in Red
Needles: size 2 dpns that my Grandpa made
Modifications: I made these longer than the pattern specifies, since my pal likes a longer sock. The yarn guage was much smaller, so I added in patterning on the sides and throughout the cables so they would be wide enough. I drew out a chart for the entire pattern, which was much easier for me to follow than the mix of charts and printed instructions in the original pattern. I will definitely make these again for myself! Might even use the same red - it's a really vibrant, fun color.

Sock central

I got my Sockapaloooza socks! The pattern is Wyvern - a sybtle and really interesting stitch pattern - from Marnie McLean (I love her patterns!) in a delicious muted lavenger/purple KOIGU!!! I've never actually touched the stuff in person, so I just sit, fondling them lovingly. My pal, Jennifer (sadly, blogless), also sent me some chocolate "to give you strength for your move" and the cutest fluffy lamb ornament ever. I love these socks. The chocolate is all gone (see? needed strength, I did), and Arden wants to take the lamb to bed with him :-).

In related news, I finally finished the socks for my pal as well. They are almost done drying and will be sent out later today. I'm hanging my head low that it took so very long, but at least they came out really well. Hopefully my pal will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Update: found a camera cord!

House pictures

Want to see our new house? I knew you did! Here's the front, looking from in front of the driveway.


Second, the all important kitchen. Yes, you see granite on top of the counters and yes, the yellow is going away just about as soon as we get there. The electric stove will also leave almost instantly, to be replaced with a shiny new gas range.Then there's the dining area, which opens out onto the back yard. There is plenty of room for a really, really big table if needed for parties or holidays.Next up - the living room - wide, open, full of light, and much larger than it seems here. It also opens out onto the back yard. The lovely blonde on the left is our agent. Next comes the upstairs loft, which the current owners are using as a master bedroom. Lots of skylights. I think this will become a play area or bonus room for the boys to run around in. That border will be coming down as soon as I get my hands on it, the floral curtain as well. Finally, my favorite part - the back yard. It's HUGE! A little over a quarter acre, but the footprint of the house is pretty small, so it just goes on and on. The fenced area to the right is a dog run, and the yard wraps around the other side of the house far enough for a good sized garden. The first picture is what you see from the dining area and kitchen. I think we'll be spending a lot of time there. Can't wait until we move in on June 5th!

Stress, stress, stress, stress, stress, baked beans and stress

That pretty much sums things up around here. Escrow is so fun!

We got the house!!!

I've been waiting all morning by the phone, hoping to hear something, nervous as could be. I kept my cell phone on as long as I possibly could once I got on the plane, hoping for *the* call. Then 2:15 came around, time to take off, so I sadly shut the phone off. When the plane landed, I turned it on right away and quickly checked to see if there were any voice mails. None. Oh, well. So I called Dan to tell him I had landed. "Oh, good! By the way, we got the house." The call came through at 2:30, right after I'd gotten off the ground.

Escrow closes on June 2nd. We'll be in our new house by June 5th at the very latest :-D. I'm beyond happy right now.

The picture up above? That's the view from the front door :-)

Found a house and made a bid

Well, the offer won't be presented until tomorrow morning. So now I wait.

Looked at over 30 houses between yesterday and today, and what an experience it was. Wish I'd gotten a picture of the elaborate, muticolored crazy-quilt carpet covered wall in the first house we looked at. No, seriously. The agent, my friend Stacy, and I all burst into laughter at the same time when we saw it! Guessing someone, somewhere, thinks that just as carpet is perfect for the bathroom it is also just the thing as wall decor. Oh, my. Saw many, many shades and forms of linoleum, a house with no windows at all across the front very wide front (we're thinking grow lights inside, if you know what I mean), saw a "bathroom" that didn't have a sink or toilet, and a pink and white tiled kitchen.

Also saw this. Hoping I can call this my home very soon :-)