the cabbage worms of mordor

I killed a cactus once.  OK, twice.  I've killed two cactuses.  Yet despite the odds, my very first garden is still alive and well.  I harvested another round of herbs today and even planted a few new additions in anticipation of the upcoming fall.  It hasn't been entirely easy keeping everything alive.  Some were not as lucky as others (RIP cilantro and dill) but in retrospect, they did not die in vain.  I'm piecing together the lessons to be garnered from this year's garden:

Plants are not all created equal.  They have personalities, diverse as an after school special.  Some want as much sun as possible while others freak out in the heat.  Some need very specific containers, some will thrive in anything filled with dirt and will reach their creepy little arms out in an attempt to hostilely take over the other plants (I'm looking at you, mint).  For a successful garden, you have to cater to their quirks.  I've learned to recognize the signs of stress and make the necessary accommodations. 

Plants have unexpected needs.  I started out the summer thinking that they just want sun and water.  Then I read the container garden bible, which subtly suggested that it was a miracle that any of my plants were still alive.  I invested in a few organic and incredibly smelly fertilizers - namely blood meal and fish emulsion - and witnessed a boom in production.  I also learned how to give plant haircuts.  Now I'm a pro at pruning and pinching and shaping.    

I'm not the only one who wants to eat my plants.  Other than one cute slug that I removed from my lettuce in June, I've been lucky in the pest department.  Until last week, when I added cauliflower to collection.  Over the past week, something has been steadily eating the leaves and hiding from my attempts to find it.  Today, I examined every single leaf until I found a gross little caterpillar munching away.  I didn't have the heart to kill it so instead I scooped it up and chucked it into the woods behind my house.  I figure 20 feet to a one-inch insect is somewhere on par with Frodo's journey in length.  Sure, it's possible the little asshole could cross Middle Earth again just to chew on my crops, but I think it's unlikely.  Before I dropped the interloper off, I made it clear that Sauron will not be so merciful the next time around.   

something new

It has been a rough summer for me.  I’ve taken the last month off from blogging because the only things I wanted to talk about (at length) were my work related grievances.  Instead of dwell on the negative any more than I already have, I will summarize in a one short sentence and then move on:  work is not so good lately.  That’s all. 

What that means for me is that my professional life is once again in a state of upheaval and I will have decided to move on .  But it’s mighty hard trolling through job ads when you don’t want to relocate to a new cubicle in a new office with a new computer to stare at for eight hours a day.  It’s a song I’ve been singing for years.  Finally, I’ve decided to do something about it.

After much talk with my husband who is equally miserable living life from the confines of a desk, we’ve agreed that we are willing to work our asses off to escape and at least take a shot at living our dreams, which are conveniently compatible.  He wants to start a microbrewery and I want to start a homestead.  It won’t happen overnight but we’re teaching ourselves what we’ll need to know to succeed.  It’s a start and that makes me very hopeful. 

What does that mean around here?  Well, it’s not that I’ve given up on my goals.  More like I’ve finished prioritizing and refining them.  I probably won’t be doing my monthly check-ins anymore (I never liked those much anyway).  I’ll be committing myself to many more projects.  More gardening, more sewing, more back-to-basics logistics.  I will be putting it here to keep track of our progress and maybe to help someone else starting out on this sort of journey.  So, here we go!   

everybody's living for the weekend. i'm just eating.

It's getting easier and easier to resist pre-dinner snacking and the delectable vegan baked goods that my coworkers bring into the office, but once I leave work on Friday, all bets are off. I am a cocktail-guzzling, bar-snack-inhaling, fridge-rummaging machine and all of those extracurricular activities are undermining all my hard work from Monday to, er, early Friday.

What I need is two-fold. First, I need a plan like I follow during the week. Check. Next, I need something to stop me from snacking as a recreational activity. Beau is too scared to get in between me and a cookie (granted, understandable) so I'm on my own. It's just me versus myself. That's why I decided to post these signs from my Reasonable Thursday Self to my Slobbering Saturday Self. These doses of tough love will go on the fridge and pantry doors. Stay tuned for Monday to see if they worked.

May you be successful in your weekend endeavors as well!

knick knacks drive me nuts

I've never been a fan of clutter and extraneous stuff. Despite that natural inclination, putting down roots in one location has had a noticeable impact on me and the things that I keep around. It's been a few years since the time when I drifted around the Northeast and all of my worldly possessions fit into a Corolla. It's alright to have two bookshelves full of novels and twenty pairs of shoes when you don't plan on moving them anytime soon.

You go from a sedan to a 10-foot square bedroom to a two-bedroom apartment to a whole condo and thing are bound to accumulate. I'm not sure if I keep finding bigger living spaces to fit all my stuff or if I buy more stuff to fill up the extra room. It seems almost like a little of both. It starts with finding a shell a little bit bigger than the last, with a little extra room to grow into and it provides the perfect excuse to gain a few pounds of objects.

I found out recently that this natural penchant of mine has a name and even an ideology behind it: minimalism. After scouting around some blogs laden with dangerous ideas, I felt inspired to take back control by someone urging interested parties to start small - empty a junk drawer, clean out a closet, donate some clothing. I knew immediately where I'd start. My embarrassment of a makeup drawer.

Impressive, right? Not for most women but consider this: my daily makeup routine includes foundation and if I'm feeling fancy, a little mascara. So how in God's name did I end up with green eyeshadow? Why do I own an eyeliner sharpener when I don't own any pencil eyeliners? And, oh gross, is that lipstick from high school?!

I was ruthless. I kept enough to brush up nice for weddings but gone is the real nonsense. As a bonus, I found a little bottle of Purel, which is now safely in Beau's work bag and destined for his cubicle (I fear for his immune system now that he sits next to a guy that hoards dirty tissues). I'm hoping that the other surprise that I found will interest someone who's reading this.

Nestled in the back of the drawer was a full bottle of Burberry's Tender Touch perfume. It was a slightly off-target birthday gift. Much too girly and floral for me but I'm sure it will be perfect for someone else. There's where I'm hoping you come in. I'd like to find this bottle a new home and I'd much rather give it to a friend or reader (do I have any of those?) than Freecycle it. So, if you're interested, leave me a comment and it's yours. First come, first serve.

As for the Bucket

We hopped the ferry to Nantucket for our very first wedding anniversary

Guess who's back to flickr? Friend me if you use it, too!