Souvenir Plate Collection

Today I was checking out the thrift store for jelly jars and sweatpants (check, check!) and then wandered through the kitchenware looking for surprises. Last week I found a dehydrator with all 4 trays and 5 insert liners for only $4.99 and I've been happily experimenting with drying fruit and making raw food crackers all week. This time I saw what had to have been someone's collection of souvenir plates. They were all very dirty, and there were quite a few at once. I didn't get them all, but I picked out a few at .99 each. From the upper left corner of my pic is the New York World Fair of 1964-65, center is the Seattle World Fair of 1962, Ireland, Caverns of Luray, VA, and the Great Smokey Mountains. All of them are in very good condition, and I love all the various plate shapes. I'm not sure if they are worth any more than I bought them, but I'd love to know! If not, they'll make a cool grouping hanging on my wall.

And this is who was waiting for me when I got home! He's my shih tzu/bichon, Gipper.

Wishing for Warmth!

Spring has sprung in Washington and, true to Seattle form, it is changeable! No mere weatherman can prophecy its hourly whims. Generally cool, with sudden showers and gusty winds this month. Our dogwood tree is glorious this year, bouncing back from a pruning and reveling in all the increased sunlight from the front yard remodel.

Our new bunny has made himself part of the family and has reached about 5 lbs so far (he will be about 10 as an adult). Oscar is quite a character and takes his job as manure-producer very seriously. He loves everyone, including the dog, but he is seriously Daddy's boy. He goes crazy for my husband! We are planning to move him outside in the next month or two, but have decided that he needs to be by the back porch instead of the compost pile for safety and convenience. Oscar is getting used to wearing a harness, and if he accepts it, we plan to let him have the run of the backyard eventually.

In the front yard, I have planted 3 beds with my spring crops, and they are looking good for the most part. The asparagus were, for the second time, an epic fail. Their squares have been reallocated to more cooperative crops. Broccoli, kale and lettuce are happily transplanted and bok choy, carrots, peas, sweet peas, and beets are up from seed. A red potato is sending up its first stem, but I'm still waiting to see life from the white potato. The cherry tree flowered profusely, but the plum has only leaves (need to research that a bit). The 4 raspberries look marvelous and are leafing out healthily. I moved one of my orchard mason bee condos to the front yard to help with pollination. My 3rd and 4th veggie beds are leveled and are near ready for the planting of summer crops on Mother's Day weekend.

Indoors, the cherry and Brandywine tomatoes have gone insane and are 4 feet high, with blossom buds! I have started taking them outside every day to harden them off for transplanting and to slow down their rampant indoor growth. On the nursery table, peppers, basil, zucchini, pumpkins, marigolds, watermelons and muskmelons await the big day in May. I even started a few Japanese eggplants from seed to see how well the plants do, although the fruit won't have time to mature this time. I have received a lot of flower seed varieties lately and I plan to add more flowers to my veggie beds and forgo some lettuce squares. I want my garden this year to be full of many veggie varieties and color!

In the backyard, one bed has been amended and planted with 2 rows of snap peas, bush beans, and broccoli, and flowers. The herb bed looks great, and I moved lots of volunteer curly parsley into it. I need to pick up some thymes to round out the role call.

I have learned a lot by my seed starting and bed prep this year. One thing is that I will use peat pots or sterile mix to start my seeds in the future. I have too many mysterious seedlings coming up by using my own soil mix! I also have had some bug problems in the nursery. I have also learned that bargain cow manure is no bargain! Not well rotted, and LOTS of grass coming in.

Introducing Oscar!

Introducing Oscar: snuggle-bunny and garden fertilizer! He is a nine-week old New Zealand Red rabbit. He is living in his (free from a neighbor) hutch in the garage until the weather is warmer at night, then we will move the hutch to the back yard by the compost bins. New Zealands are "meat rabbits" and get to be about ten pounds. They come in white, black or red but red is the rarest. The white ones are most common for eating. They are known to be a very friendly breed, and he is certainly demonstrating that! He loves to be held and petted. From my research I found that bunny manure is supposed to be the ultimate for gardens (not to mention much pleasanter than many types in form and perfume)! For now, he is coming in to "exercise" in the kitchen twice a day, and has already learned to use a litterbox indoors. I am composting his manure with the veggie compost and dried maple leaves twice a week. I am hoping to find/create an outdoor pen for him so he can be outside while I'm in the garden this summer.

Front yard update: Last week I got the asparagus planted, 10 crowns in 5 squares in a six-inch trench. When I see the tips come up, I will fill the bed up a bit higher. I planted a row of sweet peas behind the asparagus, since I can't pick it the first year anyway! I have the 2nd veggie bed leveled, lined with weed blocker, and mostly filled with my soil mix. I plan to finish mixing soil and fill the second bed, and then plant all my early spring crops this week. The cherry tree is budding and the plum tree is sending out green tips: leaves or buds I'm not sure yet. The rhubarb is looking great and the stalks are approaching usable size, although I'm supposed to leave it be the first year. The goldfish in the pond are still alive and look 3 times their petstore- size last summer! The four raspberries are starting to sprout, the blueberry looks healthy, and the strawberries are definitely rooted in their new bed and leafing out.

Back yard update: Hubby helped me remove some soil from the pea bed so I have room to add manure and compost before I plant. Need to get the peas in ASAP. The herb bed looks messy but healthy. The new rosemary made it through this mild winter - we loved our big rosemary that came with the house 8 years ago, but it died in the hard freeze last year. It looks like the garlic cloves that I left in the ground last winter are all coming up! The compost is in full swing and I'm using the ripe compost as I fill beds. The newest compost is now being fortified with Oscar's bunny manure. I am thinking of trying a melon or two in the flower bed against the south side of the house - some of the best reflected heat!

Indoors: The Brandywine and cherry tomatoes are over 6 inches tall so I potted them up from 4" pots to gallon pots. The Siletz and San Marzano tomatoes are starting to show true leaves, and Italian sweet peppers are now potted up from their toilet-tube starters into 4" pots. The kales are all doing great and I plan to plant them outside this week. The onion and lettuce starts are going strong and I am hardening them off outside too. I have 2 red potatoes and 2 baking potatoes from the organic grocery "chitting"on an egg carton, seeing if the sprouts will start to grow so I can plant them in pails this year. I don't want to have to buy a whole bunch of seed potatoes just to try a few. I picked up a packet of yellow dwarf French marigolds and started a bunch too: I have read that marigolds are good pest deterrents and are good near tomatoes. I plan to plant them intermingled in the veggie beds. I know from experience that they are also very easy to save seed from for next year - just leave a few flowers on the plants until the flower head is dead and dried up, then pull off and dry fully inside. The seeds are long and black and easy to separate. Many of my veggies are from last year's or saved seed. If you keep your seed packets in an air-tight container and in the frig, they will last several years. The germination rate may be poorer as they age, so just plant a few more seeds to guarantee the number of starts you need.

My Garden Stats

Location: 15 miles north of Seattle, WA (zone 8)

Last frost date: April 23rd

Front yard beds: 150 sq ft (full sun)

Back yard beds: 100 sq ft (half day sun)

Herbs 2010: about 10 varieties

Fruits 2010: 15 varieties

Veggies 2010: 23 varieties

Method: Mel Bartholomew's "All New Square Foot Gardening"

Warm vs. Cool

It has been lovely here in Western Washington for the last few weeks. Nice cool mornings (in which to wear a sweater as you walk around the garden in the early morning light) and warm 70-ish afternoons (when you can walk the doggy and weed in a tank top). No bugs, low humidity... aaaahhhhh! I'm making a conscious effort to store up this lovely memory in order to make it through October-to-May.
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Here is my pup's typical pose in the morning as I check my email and blog in our "new" office - curled up in the brown corduroy armchair, getting in his first nap of the day.
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And the latest off the ice-cream maker? Rhubarb sorbet! OMG! I made it exactly as this recipe, with rhubarb from my bulging freezer. It was awesome! Quite tangy, like a lemon sorbet, if you (like I) enjoy that type of thing. And after searching other sorbet recipes on epicurious, I can see I'll be needing to step up my fitness routine soon...

Goodbye, Friend

Today we said goodbye to our lab puppy, Sammy. She was 12-1/2 and we had had her 9 years. She had been a delicate flower all her life - epileptic and with lots of food and environmental allergies. Not very active or playful, but very loving and a big "talker." We've seen this coming all summer, but it's still hard.
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Lying in the sunshine in the grass, like this photo from May, was one of her pleasures. Her little puppy brother doesn't get it yet. Bye, big sis.

Spring Promises

Springing from cold earth

tender green stems give hopeful

promises of warmth.

The Sunny Side of the Bed

Gipper needs a haircut.

Gipper needs a bath.

Why is this dog allowed up on the bed?



Isn't he cute?

Princess Sammy

This is our shy doggy, Sam. She is a lab, and she is almost 12 years old. We have had her since she was 3, when we adopted her from my brother in Florida. He had gotten her as a puppy, but couldn't keep her when his second child had severe allergies and asthma. He was worried about finding a home for her since she has health issues. She came to us at a great time, because our first hairy child, Gus (also a lab), was getting very old and we knew he didn't have much longer with us.

Gus surprised us though and had several more good years with his new "sister" around. When Gus died at 13 years, Sammy was a great comfort to us.

Sammy has always been a delicate flower - not something you may attribute to a labrador. At 57 lbs, she is petite. She has been epileptic and has had lots of allergies the whole time we've had her. So she eats special vegetarian food and gets only peanut butter and apple slices for treats. I thought I had killed her when we brought home Gipper, our shih tzu/bichon, 2 years ago. She wouldn't even come upstairs without us leashing and pulling her for months, he freaked her out so much. But now they are pals and even play a little. Mostly they eat each other's food whenever they get a chance!

Friday I had to take her to the vet to be checked because she has ANOTHER ear infection (probably from sneaking her "brother's" kibble!) which resulted in ANOTHER hematoma of her ear. The vet gave me steriods and antibiotics, but, worst of all, she gave me "The Talk." Yes, Miss Sam is getting very old (for a lab) and has beginning larygial paralysis.

So, we are giving her extra hugs and kisses and we'll see how it goes...

Ungrateful Doggie

I didn't get enough for Christmas... All I got was two new toys and a
greenie treat and prime rib and gingerbread cookies. I whined and whined until Mommy took down all the stockings so I could see if they were really empty. They were. Geesh!

Happy G-F D-F Thanksgiving!!

O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people." Psalm 105:1

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Here is my gluten-free, dairy-free cornbread made last night for making our stuffing. I use the recipe from Bob's Red Mill corn flour, and my kids love it! Today I'm making the pies (two pecan and a Polynesian pumpkin) and hubby is in charge of the stuffing and turkey in the morning, since we're having our family celebration on Friday. Blessings to you and yours!




Gip says, "I'm thankful for my family and ALL MY TOYS!"

Bidding the Autumn Adieu...

Yesterday was our annual Family Raking Day. Having been blessed with an enormous 100 year-old bigleaf maple in our backyard (actually, one of the features that attracted us to the house), and having dealt with the massive load of leaves in different ways each year, we have decided what works best for us is to have FOUR good quality rakes on hand, gloves and a wheelbarrow, let ALL the leaves fall, and attack them on one day. Yesterday afternoon was it. About 3 hours of work with all 4 of us out there. It was the perfect weather - it had stopped raining in the morning, and was cool, but not cold, even with our gloves wet from the leaves. Here was Gipper a few days ago, gazing out across the sea of yellow. I suspect he doesn't have the best eyesight, so the leaves, drifting down, were very mesmerizing to him.

Blind Contour - "Gipper"

I have also been trying out some blind contours lately (I really enjoy all of them at Julie Durocher's blog). This is my one-year-old Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise mix, Gipper. He makes me so happy! We have had labradors for all 18 years of our marriage, and I can't have a cat (although I love them) because of severe allergies. So, for my 39th birthday last year, my husband got me my "substitute cat," Gipper! He is full grown and 15 pounds now, and he sticks to me like glue! If you have allergies, I highly recommend this cross! And, NO SHEDDING!