Summer Planning

Image from CaptainCat's etsy store - Birdcage for sale!

It doesn't look like we will be traveling much this summer. So I have turned to planning small day trips and treats from home that might serve the same purpose as a mental break from the routine. Which I am actually really excited about . . .

:. Slurping Serendipity's Frozen Hot Chocolate. (I used to go to Serendipity's when I lived up in NYC.)
:. Eating cucumber sandwiches. (Hello, white bread!)
:. Finding the perfect vintage birdcage.
:. Listening to more Bessie Smith.
:. Running more through The Women's Four Miler Training Program. (I ran the 5K two weeks ago, so hope to step it up to four miles by this September.)
:. Enjoying a summer reading list that includes: The Thirteenth Tale, See You in a Hundred Years, The Help, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Girl Who Played With Fire, Bossypants (Tina Fey) and Water for Elephants. All somewhat light and good distractions.
:. Taking day trips - including Richmond for the gardens at The Virginia House and Agecroft Hall.
:. Visiting swimming holes! Cold and shaded. Willa and I love hunting for salamanders and crayfish, too.
:. Going to the movies with friends. Air conditioning + salty popcorn = a mini-vacation. Last night, Sarah and I saw "Midnight in Paris." LOVED!
:. Getting outdoor chores completed in the morning and then napping in the afternoon.
:. Watching Doc Martin on Netflix streaming.
:. Getting back to sewing and upcycling clothing.
:. Letting the garden be for the next two months. Some weeding, some watering.
:. Baking our own bread. (Now reading: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.)
:. Going to see The Decemberists at the Pavilion in August.

What about you?

Southern Gothic :: Summer in the South

: Peach freezer jam :

: Tart baking :

: Cut flowers :

: Cicadas and lightning bugs :

: Vintage metal porch furniture :
: Evening hikes under the tulip poplar canopy up in the Hollow :
: Apple mint and summer thistle honey iced tea :

: Ceiling fans : Books by Peter Taylor :
: A dinner party in the river : Evening visits with neighbors :

: Swimming holes :
: Blackberry picking :

: Deep-blue (very active) bird baths :

: Sweet tea and pulled pork BBQ :

: Watching movies like Fried Green Tomatoes (photo above) and The Secret Life of Bees :

(the first for the cooking and the outfits; the second for the back porch and the kitchen scenes)

Metal glider print
Apron
Lightning bug light
All the Love print

Scattershot

Sultry and hazy in the dell.

Small moments from our July . . .

Lodi apples. New to me this year. Tart applesauce in mid-summer from these small, pale green overlooked gems is fun. It is also a nice surprise and a reminder about upcoming autumn tastes.

As our Sugar Baby watermelons get ready for picking, I wonder about cocktails I can make with watermelon. Don't people inject melons with liquor and drink from that? Wait, is that something I saw in a moment of weakness on Jersey Shore? Whoops. There must be something more classy out there. A martini, perhaps? Or maybe I can do the injected watermelon thing in the privacy of my own home and nobody needs to know that I got the idea from Snooki.

An update on our Shared Backyards experience is over at Virginia Living Magazine's blog.

Learn how to can your summer haul with Leni. She is also offering classes on bread making and tamales. (Maybe I'll see you at the tamale class?)

My friend Sarah, who is also a rock star vegan, got me into Bento box lunches!

I'm a green mama, according to C-ville Weekly. Sweet.

I want to make this tomato cage lantern for my bedroom balcony.

When I am a little bored at work, I like to plug in dates on Expedia.com for a trip to Ireland. Just to see how much that would cost. Because I have all that money lying around and I love flying so much. But, I mean, Ireland. Right? I have this vision that the moment I land there, I am welcomed with open arms because I look like them. I am one of them. It can't be denied. My hair and fair skin no longer stand out. I easily assimilate into the folds of Ireland - the gardens, the countryside, the tea houses. It should be so.

Coming up in the garden: The garden goes off the ground for fall vegetable crops in the way of balcony and window box gardening. I hope.

Miscellany in the June Garden

Love-in-a-Mist patch from our gardens (above). Start one - you won't regret it.

We've been eating broccoli, Red Russian Kale, mustard greens, Sungold tomatoes, garlic scapes and a small harvest of juneberries from our garden. I returned home from our trip to find that a woodland creature had snibbled away all of my much anticipated 'Endless Wonder' blue hydrangea blossoms and some of the elderberry plants. Round one of the deer foil project has been put into effect. I need to become comfortable with the fact that I will probably be on the losing end of this war.

Watermelon, honeydew melons, zucchini and muskmelons were planted over the weekend. Annnnndddd a bunny has already decimated the muskmelons. *Big sigh of frustration*. All the tomatoes and basil are in - Brandywine, Pink Brandywine, Old German, more Sungolds and another cherry variety. I also just bought a 'Blue Beard' caryopteris, a pale pink rose and more blue speedwell for under our walnut. And I am going to do a very small rock and container garden with petunias and verbena and other sturdy annuals that hopefully won't become bunny fodder.

These long nights send me out to plant, weed and water with a glass of chilled lemoncello to keep me cool. Last night I was out there until 9:20 - with a nice, loopy buzz. I'm not going to lie - I am looking forward to a little more sitting with that lemoncello during the cicada-zzzzzzy, humid nights of July and August and appreciating my garden from the porch.

On a side note: We drove through the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg after a several hours at Amazement Square a few weekends back. The trip also included Corey buying a new work trailer for his truck - which looked mildly creepy and predatory lumbering through a cemetery. But I must get back there to stroll its gardens quietly - and they were selling antique rose cuttings! The ones, I imagine, that have that nostalgic scent I am always looking for . . . the scent of summer.

Higgledy Piggledy

The days are getting longer! Seed catalogs have been arriving! And, I'm trying to think ahead about the wonders that the garden will offer up after all of this rain and snow! The weather has, indeed, been chasing us indoors an awful lot lately. Anything I can do in front of the woodstove is game.

I've been knitting slouchy hats for Willa's teachers and am starting the fourth one this week. Slouchy hats were their top request and this pattern has been a humongous hit.

I have forever loved nesting dolls and found this pattern (photo above) from Sublime Stitching. I'm embroidering a few for Willa's room and will put them in simple oval frames.

We had a sweet morning hunting for used and vintage treats at the Greenwood Country Store last week. A stack of children's albums (including Wind in the Willows and The Sound of Music), an old egg beater with those satisfying, whirring gears, costume jewelry for dress up and a pile of old, crocheted doilies for $1. I'll be visiting there often.

My friend Lois gave me a division from her bromeliad. A bromeliad she bought while in grad school in Berkeley a-ways back. I love having a part of her plant.

Cooking my favorite beef stew ever. Baking my first loaf of bread. Gulping down this chai concentrate with my morning tea. And thinking about making salted caramels and homemade marshmallows.

I've watched It Might Get Loud three times now, two times with the director's commentary. I was loathe to put it back in the mail this morning and felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends. Really cool old friends.

To fend off doldrums, Willa and I have been going swimming on Sunday evenings and it has become my favorite part of the weekend.

I made a small resolution to meditate daily and these podcasts help me in a huge way. I need to have a voice to focus on, or the voices (and monkeys) in my own head detract from any rest my brain desperately needs.

What are your favorite indoor pursuits these days?

What Worked, What Didn't Work - The 2009 Edition

These Worked

Knock-out roses were a good introduction to roses, for me. Mostly because I could completely ignore them after they had been planted. They remind me of the roses that grew near the beach when I lived on the end of Long Island. Simple. Hardy. In sweet shades. Maybe someday I'll work myself up to the more exquisite varieties. But probably not in this decade.

Daylilies are awesome slope stabilizers. I have officially become a daylily kook. The more varieties, the groovier. The deer showed no interest in these, either.

Black plastic mulch. For the areas of the raised bed garden that ran amok while Willa was wee. We tucked three out of the five beds under this mulch for future gardening endeavors. In the meantime, I didn't have to weed them for an entire season. We will put compost and shredded leaves under this same mulch over the winter - so the compost will cook and break down (making the beds ready for planting in spring 2010).

Strawberries in a big container. Okay, so we didn't have tons of berries, but had enough for Willa to pluck and enjoy. I did battle with a strawberry patch one season several years ago. Never again.

Shrubs are a garden's best friends. With our front area ready to be planted this past spring - I learned the value of the shrub in a vast landscape. I planted a Virginia sweespire, two glossy abelias and one hydrangea. I hope to add many more in upcoming years. They make a nice statement, quickly.

These, Not So Much

Respect the power of the black walnut. The roots of the black walnut tree produce juglone - and it is toxic to lots of plants. I learned this the hard way when adding to our new garden bed under our walnut. I'm looking into planting a black walnut permaculture guild in spring 2010 with tomatoes, elderberries and currants to foil it's deadly, wilt-inducing juglone. A guild is when plants work together instead of against each other. It's all about the love in the garden.

My nursery-bought shiitake log. The spring yielded one mushroom that smelled like feet. The fall yielded one mushroom that was sublime. Hence, that sublime mushroom was a $30 mushroom. I'm thinking of just making my own mushroom logs - after lots of tips from friends.

Geometric bulb planting. Ugh! So bummed about this and have no idea what I was thinking when I planted my tulips in an orderly fashion in a new bed. Learn from me - plant in clumps and drifts. Clumps and drifts, dear readers!

The new-ish nasturtium varieties in pink. They just didn't thrive like the orange variety - which I ended up falling in love with over the season anyway. Plus, the orange varieties remind me about a sweet part of the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Hodge Podge

I know it has been quiet as far as news from the garden goes. There is a reason. Our serene garden space has been (somewhat) torn up to deal with burying power and Internet lines and other house-related underground madness (a nice way of saying septic system). The earth-ripping machinery has stayed away from anything I established, but working in the muddy space is not fun. Willa and I have been trespassing on the land next to ours (photo above) and making the best of what we can. Spring promises peace and order in the garden (so says Corey). Good Lord, I hope so. 'Cause when my garden is out of control, my brain mirrors the chaos and gets somewhat unhappy.

Some distractions from the mud and the muck:

This gorgeous, sustainable, permaculture-driven hobbit house.

I like very strong Irish Breakfast tea to jolt me out of my morning fog and found Bewley's of Ireland in Charlottesville. Make that a double-jolt.

I made this for dinner last week. You should, too. Even baby ate kale and squash.

I so want to make this. The author's blog, make grow gather, is wonderful and crafty. I also tend to linger over her posts about the family's cottage in Ireland.

Speaking of cottages, amid the fog and the downpours, an email hit my inbox from a friend who is renting out his family's Ontario cottage during the summers. This is especially fantasy-provoking because during my time in Manhattan, I had this photo cut out and up on the fridge about 'Cottaging in Ontario.' I would stare and stare and stare at it. Mind-melding the wish with reality, I imagine.

I'm so curious about airplants and think a few might like taking up residence next to our shower.

This is on its way to our house from Modcloth.com and I think bundling up for winter will become that much more fun.

I'm excited about shredding leaves for our compost bins and our raised beds. File that under 'nerdy gardener' thought processes.

We've Been Busy

Watching the rain, the mist and the autumn colors; cleaning up the herb garden; sorting garlic for planting; and making applesauce and apple butter (even more sorting for Willa - a task she takes very seriously).

Tonight - date night with Corey - to see Elvis Perkins (again!) and eat at Bang. To celebrate the last year in my 30's. How did that happen?

I'm talking about bulb planting tips and garlic over at Virginia Living!

Where Was I?

Oh, the neglect. The neglect in my garden, the neglect of my blog. I just seemed to have two switches over the past two weeks :: on (work, Willa, wifey-duties/housework) and off (DVD-watching and sleep, lots of sleep).

But there have been some lovely, ever-so-appreciated moments.

Apple butter from my sweet friend, Kris. I regret not bringing it into work with me - as I crave it day and night, yet panic when I see how much has been eaten. It is a *huge* hit with Willa. That's a fruit serving. That's a victory.

Making applesauce with apples from our (very) local orchard - Henley's. When you visit them, there is a kind, older gentleman who carefully peels the apples and gives out tastes. He is their best marketing ploy, ever. We fell in love with Cameos and Grimes Goldens.

Planting garlic. I just ordered the beginner, small garden packet from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and have a patch ready for planting this weekend.

Dinner out with girlfriends at The Local. Pots of tea and autumn patio dining. Most of the menu features ingredients from area farms.

Listening to this and watching this. The Smiths' Johnny Marr and bearded ladies. What's not to like?

While I Get My Bearings

Visit the Virginia Living Magazine blog! Christine Ennulat writes about food adventures with her terrific sense of humour while offering mouthwatering glimpses of her experiments in the kitchen. W. Matthew Shipman contributes recipes that I have already started collecting - including a very beloved recipe for Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes. Tricia Pearsall and Daisy Khalifa bring wanderlust to my brain with their posts on places to explore around Virginia. And little 'ole me contributes gardening posts.

I'm slowly getting better and mildly shocked at how this flu kicked me to the curb. But, Willa and I did get out the other day to do a little weeding, to prep a bed for garlic planting. Our shiitake log offered up a mushroom over the weekend, which I promptly sauteed in butter and thyme and ate standing up, over the counter, because sitting down would just delay in my being able to devour it.

Here and There

I'm knitting this vintage baby hat for Willa. So she can look like even more of a pixie.

Fresh figs. From our CSA. Not sure is there is anything better on the planet.

I've had my nose deep in The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. It spooked me so completely the other night that I thought I kept hearing things go bump in the Sugar Hollow night and was desperate for Corey to finish up work in his shop and return to the house to protect me. From myself.

Bulb planning - flowers and maybe garlic this year. I drool here.

I've been stamping the hell out of fabric these days. Once I got my textile paint and stamper rigged up correctly it was off to the races. A curtain for Willa and (finally) a clean bedspread for us. Amy Karol showed me how.

Speaking of races - we'll be here this morning. I'm most looking forward to to the terrier races and the beagle parade. I mean, really, a parade of beagles? I will be squealing louder than Willa, I'm sure.

Caprese Salad. Like three or four nights of the week. Corey calls it a pot of gold. Two minutes of chopping tops - tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil. My mouth is watering at the thought of it. And it is 9 a.m.

We had a short visit to the North Carolina shore earlier in the week. The beach in September really is the stuff. The drive was just as relaxing. We visited the big red tractor on our way down.

Happy Weekend Moments

I found this vintage-looking oilcloth for our kitchen table.

I've been working on my fall planting wish list and talking about hardscaping ideas with Corey. I like when walkways and fieldstone are in the same sentence.

Mad Men, Mad Men, Mad Men. We don't have cable, so Season 2 is brand-spanking new to us while the rest of the world is in the throws of Season 3. (No spoilers in the comments section please!) I'd like to say that I savor one episode a night - but I actually gobble them up in a greedy frenzy as soon as the disc arrives. I'll probably rewatch each episode before releasing them back into the mail.

Amy Karol's new book arrived late in the week. Just in time for me to scheme for a new bedspread adorned with fabric-stamped botanical silhouettes. I went to The Art Box and found nice quality textile paint.

My friend Mike loaned me his beautiful Yashica Mat awhile back. I keep circling around it - trying to muster up the courage to load it with film and have at it.

A canning class at The Charlottesville Cooking School.

I can't stop listening to birdlips and am hoping I can get out next Saturday to see them.

I discovered this terrific calculator for knitting gauges and patterns. This is huge, as I usually tend to buy my yarn first, and then fumble along with my poor math skills to convert newly discovered patterns. Sometimes I worry about how little I depend on my brain cells to complete basic math equations, but am letting go of that worry and swapping it out for this converter. For now.