What's good for the basil...
Posted by Elizabeth on 05-23-2010 at 11:28 am Time for a garden update! I planted a bunch of carrots a while ago. Last week, I got around to thinning them out, and I still have around three dozen (maybe a few more) left. If they all make it to adult-hood, we should have some tasty carrots this fall. The chives have finally gotten large enough to be put to use, so I think I will be getting some baking potatoes at the store today for lunches. Parsley, similarly, has enough foliage to be added to my next batch of chicken stock and to contribute to Husband's omelets. The rosemary is putting on another growth spurt. Next year I will probably try to get a new plant started in the spring; this one is going to out-grow the container here in a bit. Today and yesterday are some of the first sunny days that we have gotten since I set the basil outside, and it has responded by putting out two new sets of leaves in the last two days. This weather is going to continue for most of the next week, which means we will, eventually, have some pesto from the patio garden. My love for pesto is deep and abiding. Yesterday, however, was the last day for the spinach. We didn't get more than a double-handful of leaves from all the plants put together before they all bolted from the heat. Part of the trouble is that I planted them about three or four weeks too late, and part of it was that we had some really unseasonably warm weather back in April. So, I pulled up what was left and will be planting some morning glories in the basket for the rest of the summer. Yes, they are strictly ornamental, but seeing the big purple and red flowers in the morning makes me smile, and it will give our windows some shade in the mornings as well. This fall I might put some more spinach out after the basil is all gone. This is the status report. This afternoon I am going to check on the pepper plant, which is being fostered on a friend's patio. They get more sun than we do, so it should be happier there.
Wrong Tree
I think I have been asking the wrong questions regarding my hobbies. This whole time I have been concerned with which ones I enjoy most, and trying to carve out time for those from the rest of my schedule. That question really has no answer. I think I need to start asking what I want to accomplish with them, not individually but as a whole. What do I want to do with myself? My hobbies are all things that make me less dependent on others, except fencing. Knitting, sewing, baking, and gardening are all activities that produce (or can produce) necessary objects: clothing and food. Writing is a bit trickier, but it does provide me with entertainment. Fencing dose give me focus when it comes to fitness, which I cannot manage on my own. Exercise for the sake of exercise is not really my thing. Looking at my hobbies in that light, I am not doing too badly. This last month has demanded a lot of work in the "garden", so I have had less time to spend on writing, knitting, and sewing. Things in the garden are about to slow down now that most everything is planted, so I will have more time to focus on writing for the rest of the month. All we have is time, and as long as I am using mine in at least one way that I enjoy, I will try not to feel too frustrated (why no, my script is not going very well!). This is also going to have to change how I look at sewing plans, come to think of it. Last week, I actually had to purchase a pair of pants because I put off making them for too long and had a pair die on me. I needed a pair for work more quickly than I would be able to make them, so off to the mall I went. In the future, I need to look at sewing the way I do baking: plan ahead and make time, and make sure the ingredients are on-hand early. Er, materials. Whatever. Meaning, I need to go buy some black pant fabric sooner rather than later, so i can replace my black pin-stripe pants before they fall apart. Working this out has made me feel better about the whole situation. Hurray for early-morning epiphanies before tea! Also, garden pictures!  Chives and potential carrots  Giant Italian Parsley  Spinach This is what is out so far. I have my pepper plant still inside for at least another two weeks, depending on weather, and the basil is too tiny to think about going outside yet.
Done. I think.
Posted by Elizabeth on 04-11-2010 at 11:14 am I am pretty sure that I have finished planting things for the summer. Note: This post would include pictures of the tiny plants in their pots, but right now my deck is full of dirt-daubers and carpenter bees. Neither one is particularly painful, but I would rather not get stung anyway, or let them into the apartment. I will try to get some shots this evening, when everything has calmed down. Last week all the carrot seeds went out, the basil got its start indoors, and yesterday I planted the last of the spinach for the spring. Thus ends my mucking around with seeds, until the fall anyway, when I may or may not plant more spinach. I am also considering doing some garlic, but I haven't made up my mind about that yet. This was also the week of transplanting things. The bell pepper was the first thing to move, into a newspaper pot made from these instructions. It is not quite consistently warm enough to put it out on the patio yet, but it needed more dirt than what the peat pot had to offer. This is a decent compromise, and I hope it lasts until the weather warms up a bit more. The chives went into the window-box that the carrot seeds got planted in. They seem to be doing fairly well, but have only been out since Wednesday. The parsley went into my second hanging basket (the first is full of spinach), and is showing a bit of improvement. The basket is probably a bit on the small side for the GIANT Italian Parsley variety that I have, but I think it will be close enough. I do wish I knew where we were going to be next year (or in five or ten years, for that matter) so I could make some long-term plans for the garden space. The garlic, for example, I probably will not be able to move with, and I will not know whether I can winter-over the parsley or a couple of carrots to try to get some seeds next year. But, you know, wishes and horses and all.
With my head cut off
Posted by Elizabeth on 04-03-2010 at 10:28 am When did I become such a busy person? Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons (when I'm not working) are fencing practice, Wednesdays are write-ins, and there is usually a movie night sometime during the week. Last night was the Script Frenzy kick-off, and we have another write-in for that on Saturday afternoon/evening now. In about half an hour, we're going to get haircuts, then it is off to the mall or grocery store, haven't decided which yet. This Sunday I'm apparently attending a bar-b-que hosted by one of Husband's friends/coworkers, and next Saturday is given over entirely to our once-monthly D&D game. In between all that, I have been trying to write, bake, garden, knit, sew, and spin.
I hate to say it, but I think I am going to have to start giving up on hobbies. Spinning is the one I am least infatuated with (I like it, don't get me wrong, but it won't ever be an all-consuming passion), so I think after I finish the fiber I am spinning now, that one is done. Sewing is on hold for a bit. I need clothing a bit more quickly than I am able to make it, so I am actually going to buy some this weekend. Just a pair of pants, but I had a pair die this week and it is leaving a gaping hole in my wardrobe. My closet is not particularly full, so when something dies it needs to be replaced.
Baking at the moment is largely limited to quick breads and muffins, anyway. Experiments will wait until after April (and the Script). I think do I need to defrost that pumpkin puree this week for breakfast muffins and something to take to the gaming group.
I am only knitting on one thing right now. Shocking, I know, but I only have two things on the needles at all, and one is the Sock Yarn Blanket, a v-e-r-y long-term project. The other is a pair of socks for the Husband, which might as well be called a long-term project. I am about halfway through the foot on the second sock (toe-up, so I have the heel and cuff yet to go). After that, I think I will start on my mother's birthday/Christmas present (depends on when it gets done, her birthday is early November). I have to find the right kind of lace weight for it, though.
That is what is going on, and that is probably enough of a ramble for a Saturday morning. The script is going relatively well; I have not really done anything yet today but I am caught up for yesterday. Today will be mostly outlines and character notes, which will actually end up in the final game. I think that means I can count it for my page count.
It's Alive!
Sorry about going missing again. The past two weeks have been somewhat stressful. Last week, though, I finally planted some seeds. Everything has been started, now, except the basil and carrots. Both of those need to wait for warmer temperatures, so they still sit in their envelopes. It's a good thing, too, because this is what the view looks like out my living room window this morning: That hanging basket is where the spinach got planted. Good thing it can handle frost, because that, friends, is snow. We have been teased by nature with a few sixty-five and seventy-degree days, and now it's snowing. Most of it is not sticking to the ground, at least, and the weather might slow things down at work today. The spinach has not come up yet, but the rest of the seeds have sprouted. . What, you wanted to see a picture of the sprouts themselves? The box is to keep the cat from munching on the little leaves. Husband put that together last night out of the box our new fencing blades came in. Inside the sprouts' cardboard prison looks like this: Not much to look at, are they? Oh, well. I have three chive plants, two parsley, and two orange bell peppers. I probably won't be keeping all of them, but I wanted to make sure I had at least one of each. So, multiple plantings. I do think that every single seed I planted managed to sprout, though. The Seed Saver's Exchange germination rates are pretty high, apparently. The rosemary from last year is thriving indoors, by the way. At least, is is now that I have managed to get a light on it. I did lose the thyme, but I can re-plant. Not a problem. Anyway, now I really have to get in the shower so I can get to work on time. Ta!
It Starts
Today, I planted seeds. It sounds so monumental to me (and I know it really isn't, and that seeds grow all by themselves every year, but I'm growing more this year than I ever have before, so cut me some slack here), but it only took about ten minutes. So far, I have planted chives, parsley, and orange bell peppers. I am using one of the 25-spot Jiffy seed starting trays, but I only used seven of the pellets so far. Later on I will be planting basil indoors, and I need to get some potting soil for the spinach. It can start outdoors already. The carrots get to start outdoors in May, since they don't like transplants. The chives are going to be planted in with the carrots to help repel bugs. Interspersing them, according to the Wikipedia List of companion plants, will confuse both onion and carrot flies. If I can get rid of bugs without much effort, I will. Also, chives are tasty on potatoes, among other things. All I need now is more dirt and a 10" deep window box for the carrots.
Note from the Garden
I know. It's winter. Believe me, I know. It snowed a bit last night, and it's expected that we will be getting another couple of inches over the next two days. I'm not doing much in the way of gardening right now. There are new developments, though. I did, in fact, create a small drying rack in the furnace closet. See? It's just a quarter-inch, foot-long dowel with two cup hooks on the end for the hanging wire and some home-made S-hooks to hold the plant matter. The initial plan was to have cup-hooks screwed into the dowel at regular intervals for hanging stems, but I just could not figure out how I was going to do that without splitting the wood. Then I remembered that S-hooks existed. Duh. The only improvements I might make would be stronger wire for hanging (like some actual picture-hanging wire) and real S-hooks instead of some made from doubled-up florist wire. These changes are largely necessary if I want to dry big branches of basil, which is possible but a ways off. For now, this works. Anyway, that's some of the monster-thyme you see hanging from the rack, and I think it's safe to put away. It has been hanging for a week, and for most of that week it has been cool enough to have the heater running at night (more lately, during the day as well). I probably could trim off that much again and it wouldn't hurt anything. The other gardening development is that I have created a spreadsheet to track plants from year to year. It has basic information on the plant (pot and soil requirements, date planted, etc), a note section, and, importantly, whether I think it can share its pot well with other plants. Basil, by the way, does not share well. Mine did not, anyway. It nearly shaded out the parsley. I already have next year's page set up. No sense wasting the planning time, right?
To Bed
Posted by Elizabeth on 12-02-2009 at 12:39 pm Is it terribly sad that I didn't put the deck and garden things away until today? I think so, because the only impetus that worked was the expected, combined arrival of both the first snow of the year and my family that will be occurring this evening.
(And yes, I did spend the last month writing verbose prose, why do you ask?)
So, now the mostly-dead basil has been trimmed off. I did collect some seeds from it to start next year. Now all I need to do is work out when I need to start them. The dead mum and the remaining dead strawberry plant are in the garbage, and the deck chairs are put away.
The thyme and rosemary were moved inside about two weeks ago, and seem to be doing fine. They want some fertilizer, I think, and I need to trim off some of the thyme. It is getting out of hand.
Really, I need to play around with putting a drying rack in my furnace closet. It has a louvered door, so it would get plenty of air circulation. If I can get something hung up in there, I can dry some of the thyme and maybe some basil next year, too. Unless I use all the basil for pesto, which is unlikely.
Yesterday was spent entirely on getting the apartment ready for the holidays. Well, about an hour total was spent putting up the tree, decorating it, and wrapping presents. We have a really, really small tree. The rest of the day was spent putting away the fall decorations, which consisted largely of pumpkins. So, from one large sugar pumpkin and one small carving pumpkin (that sadly never got carved), I have about one and three-quarters cups of roasted pumpkin seeds and about seven cups of pumpkin puree for use in baking.
The oven was on from 10:30 in the morning until about 5:30 in the evening, getting everything roasted. But it's done now, and I don't have to do that again until next year. Hurray!
Garden Recap 2009
I don't talk about gardening very much, but I have had some kind of plant or other to look after since I was in middle school. Even when I was living in the dorms, I had a bamboo plant. Herb gardening particularly interests me, and lately I have gotten into the idea of growing my own food (not that it has worked thus far, but give it time). This year was much more exciting than normal because I actually had an outside in which to put the plants, and they always do much better out-of-doors than they do inside. So, what grew? I planted basil and parsley together, and rosemary and thyme together, and two hanging planters of strawberries. For the most part, the herbs worked out very well. The rosemary, thyme, and parsley have been great for soups and baked chicken (fresh parsley is great, and this has been much less expensive than buying it in either tiny or huge packages at the store), and the basil got me three or so batches of pesto before it crashed. Much more interesting is what did not work. The strawberries were plagued with problems. First, I get them started late because we moved into an apartment with a deck in mid-May. I did manage to keep them watered, but because of the baskets I was bringing them into the house and letting them drain into the sink so they wouldn't drip on my downstairs neighbor. Well, that was a bad idea because the cat had decided that she really, really liked to eat strawberry leaves. So, their growth was somewhat stunted. I did fertilize them, with the right ratio of fertilizers, even, but I never saw so much as a flower, much less a berry. The only thing I can think of is that I started them too late, but it seems like they should have produced something in August, anyway. For reference, I was growing Ozark Beauties, and I have no way to winter them over to next year. The basil had some issues, too. There is some kind of white bug (not whiteflies, I don't think, but I could be wrong) that has decided basil is tasty, and ruined some of the leaves. Also, with as wet and cool as the summer has been, it is starting to mildew. Right now, I'm letting it go to seed so I can grow my own next year. The other big issue was that I tried to keep too many plants in too few pots. The rosemary/thyme pot worked fairly well, but the basil/parsley pot was much too small. Which should have been a given, honestly, but I had forgotten how big a good basil plant can get. Next year it will have its own pot, and the parsley will be by itself, too. I might try to separate the rosemary and thyme next spring, but maybe not. They ought to winter over just fine inside and I can see what I need to do with them later. This weekend, or maybe tomorrow, I have plans to dismantle as much of the pots as I can (the strawberries, mostly, and see if the basil seeds are done yet) and store it all for next year. Plans are already in the works for next year. Hopefully I won't go too far overboard. Our deck is pretty big, but it isn't huge.
Goodbye to a hobby
At what point does a hobby cease to be a hobby? How long do you have to go before it just becomes something you did once, and not something you do? Do you have to get rid of all the physical stuff associated with that hobby, or does the detritus of former hobbies just get shuffled to the back of your closet and forgotten about when you quit the hobby? What about the mental aspects of it?
The SCA was a big part of my life for about three years, but it has been another three years since I have done any serious participation, too. I still like the SCA. I still like most of the people in the SCA. It just isn't a priority anymore. Spending time at home with my family (I can be in a family of 2.5) is more important than getting to the weekly meetings. Money is tight enough now that I don't feel like I can participate on the weekends, even if my weekends were not mostly taken up by other activities.
I do miss the social aspect. I miss the people that I never really see anywhere else, because they are always at SCA activities and I never am. I miss the creative atmosphere, too. A lot of my best sewing has come from my SCA participation. Hell, costuming was what got me started on garment sewing in the first place. What do I do with the costumes I am no longer wearing?
I have a small wardrobe dedicated to someone that I no longer am. Joan has five full outfits, several changes of undergarments, five hats, and two pairs of stockings. She has a basket and a sewing kit. She has a pair of game boards and enough feast gear for two. She has enough leather for a pair of gloves and a pair of shoes, and enough fabric for another smock, a farthingale, and a full court outfit that is already in progress. She has her own pile of jewelry, too.
I am busy storing all of this. Joan doesn't come around anymore.
So what should I do with it? I probably should contact the shire chatelaine to see what can go to loaner garb, and donate the fabric and the feast gear to the shire as a whole if they are interested. The games I might keep because they are fun to play on their own, and the basket would be re-purposed to some kind of storage around the apartment, I'm sure.
I don't know why I am so reluctant to get rid of this stuff. Well, more specifically, I understand that I have an emotional attachment to it because of the time and effort put into it in the first place, and because of the memories associated with it, but why does that emotional attachment drive me to hang onto all of this extra stuff that is just taking up (a lot of) space?
And yes, in case you could not tell, I have been thinking lately about the things that I allow into my life and why they stay there. Kitchen wear, books, CD's, DVD's, and old clothing has been flying out of the apartment. At least one bag a week goes away. That is what has lead me to the SCA question. I think I want to leave the door open to participation in the future, but most of the stuff that I am hanging onto does not live up to my standards for authenticity, some doesn't fit anymore, and the rest can be replaced for about $5 at the thrift store on a good day.
But I still have it. Because I might want it again someday.
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