Greenish Thumb

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth (please!)

2012-05-22T20:30:00.000-04:00

So, I'm supposed to do my talk about growing and cooking Chinese vegetables tomorrow at the Maryland Master Gardener's Annual Training Day. I checked out the brochure and the speakers are published authors, PhDs, lifetime experts in the field, and then...lil' ole me.

I THINK I've put together an informative presentation - I've got a clever title, a powerpoint presentation with some interesting info, a simple cooking demo, handouts, some food to sample, and I'm going to give away the veggies I'm bringing in to show - luffa gourds, long beans, etc. I'm also a ridiculously organized person and have no fear of public speaking. So it could possibly go well.

But here are some things that can go wrong:

First and foremost, I could have technical difficulties. I'm not technologically-inclined, so this is always a big fear of mine.
I could be asked a question I can't answer, which would be mortifying.
Worse yet, I could have a heckler in the crowd.
My cooking demo could go wrong in a number of horrible ways.
People could scoff (or worse, be grossed out) at my samples.

BUT, I've come up with a little insurance policy. I'm also going to give out some seeds. What gardener doesn't love seeds right? In the basket above are some business cards I've printed from Moo. Moo cards are pretty awesome. My photos are on the front, and my contact info is on the back. Stapled to each card are 3 small packets of Chinese vegetable seeds. Because what I'm thinking is...you can't look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Right? I hope?!

GTTC: strawberry ice cream and citrus-mint gin and tonic

2012-05-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

I've been experimenting with different ice cream recipes. The deal with the custard based treats is that they're richer, creamier, smoother, but they also require a large pot, small bowls, large bowls, whisks, spoons, as well as chilling time in an ice bath before the actual freezing. I'm just not sure the cream is worth the custard. Today's ice cream is a Philadelphia style - no cook - ice cream. It is so simple I can explain it in a few sentences.

Chop a cup of strawberries and set aside. In a blender, add 4 cups of strawberries, 3/4 cup of sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon, a sprinkle of salt, a dash of vanilla and puree. Stir in 2 cups heavy cream. Pour into ice cream freezer and when half frozen, add the cup of chopped strawberries.

In a taste test, perhaps the custard style would win, but on a busy Sunday night when there is laundry to finish, the work/school week to prepare for and DISHES TO DO, I really loving the Philadelphia style.

So where's the ice cream? Unfortunately, the family ate it before I had a chance to take a photo in decent light. So for your viewing pleasure, I made and snapped a photo of my drink of the week. I'm reading a book for my book group that is sheer drivel and I'm absolutely embarrassed to be seen reading it. I may have lost 10 IQ points in the process. The only redeeming factor is that it's inspired me to make drinks "with a paper thin slice of lemon floating in it" just like the main character always drinks (while summering in Nantucket). Now if this lemon-mint gin and tonic doesn't make you thirsty, you got your AC cranked up too high.

Who else looks out in the garden and sees drink possibilities? Join the Garden to Table Challenge every week by linking below. Details here. See ya!

GBBD - May 2012

2012-05-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Every May, I appreciate the name of Carol's blog - May Dreams Gardens. Stop by there to see other blooms, if the ones below don't satisfy you!

Above - some sort of little firework allium. Below: lingonberry blooms.

Above: sinocalycalycanthus.

Above: Major Wheeler honeysuckle. Below: Pass the Wine rebloomer

Above: pale blue Siberian iris, purple French lavender, light green euphorbia in bloom. Below: baptisia

Above: green halo peony. Below: don't have the name, but isn't is pretty?!

Above: reliable pinks. Below: clematis rooguchi. I love it. A beautiful clematis for the deep shade.

GTTC: a retro strawberry dessert

2012-05-13T23:03:00.005-04:00

Above: a Mother's Day treat from my 7 year old. She must really be maturing since she left the brownie reserved in a bag for 24 hours so I could have this present Sunday morning. Yes she had access to the tub of sprinkles while I slept, and yes she hovered and drooled as I ate, which prompted me to share most of the brownie with her, but still...

The strawberries are awesome right now! There are so many to pick and this week, we had one of my favorite desserts in the world. Who knows if I've properly labelled it "retro", but at my age, basically everything I think is awesome I find out is "retro". My husband and I were listening to a Smashing Pumpkins song on TV and commenting on how great it was when he mentioned we were listening to the Retro Music channel. What?! I digress. Here's the blissfully simple dessert that makes me feel 10 years old in 2 seconds flat:

Slice of Sara Lee all-butter pound cake
Sliced strawberries
Giant dollop of Cool-Whip

Anyone else harvesting strawberries? What are you doing with them right now? Post about it and link to the Garden to Table Challenge this and every week. Details here...

PS - come back on the 15th for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! My perennial garden is quite stunning right now if I can say so myself!

GTTC: lemony spiced spinach and chick peas

2012-05-07T22:03:00.000-04:00

Above: the first strawberries of the season, along with rhubarb and raspberries growing slowly but surely- yes, there will be pie!

But as for now, I will boast about this quite delicious lunch I made this week - onions, garlic, chick peas, spinach, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika - served with pita and plain Greek yogurt. Hearty and healthy, and made great use of the spinach that's so prolific in the garden right now.

What are you harvesting and using in your kitchen this week? Join the weekly Garden to Table Challenge. See details here... This week, my neighbor blogger of Charm City Balcony Garden has won a starter pack of Asian vegetable seeds. Send me an e-mail with your address and I'll send your seeds out! Hope all you gardeners are having a fantastic spring so far!

On a different note, the spring pinks in my perennial garden are so darn pretty I could just die. I'm doing my annual persistent "look at that flower - just look at it - isn't it gorgeous". My family is quickly getting sick of it I'm sure, but so far, they're humoring me. Anyway, check 'em out on Garden Blogger's Bloom Day on the 15th...

GTTC: lemon-mint ice cream (and the 10K!)

2012-04-29T22:43:00.000-04:00

For this week's Garden to Table Challenge, I decided to make use of the mint that is growing prolifically but obediently within its bounds in the sunken pot in the garden. This lemon mint ice cream is made with a lemon and muddled mint syrup, which is poured into the ice cream freezer along with the lemon zest infused custard base. It was a really different flavor with a refreshing and light creamy taste. I love making ice cream, though mine is usually a soft serve. You're technically supposed to let the ice cream harden for several hours after running it through the ice cream maker/freezer - which I never do. Really now. Who can wait?!

Want to join us in the weekly Garden to Table Challenge? See here for the details. Random periodic prizes will be awarded. This week, a starter pack of Asian vegetable seeds goes to Lindalou from Our Mush Push. She's always doing something interesting, fun, or creative. Check her out! Lindalou - e-mail me with your address when you get a chance...

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If you followed my run recaps, you know I started the year off strong making a sustained, consistent effort. Then, almost all at once, I fell fully off the wagon. I talked my friend into doing a race with me in December but I backed out at the last minute. I would have backed out of this too, but I really couldn't do this to my friend, especially after talking her into doing it (and the other one!) in the first place! The 10K race was today and I accomplished my goal of 1) finishing the race, 2) finishing on the road as opposed to the sidewalk where they make you move if you're going too slow, 3) not getting picked up by the straggler van, and 4) not being one of the 10 slowest people. In other words, I was just trying not to humiliate myself. I was not only not one of the 10 slowest, but when I finished, there was still a sea of people behind me! I've been refreshing the results page of the race site and the times are still not posted. But as one of the many inspiring t-shirt messages I ran behind said, "Finishing is Winning"!

Edited to add: not that there's anything wrong with being one of the last 10...

GTTC: asparagus and soba noodles in XO sauce

2012-04-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Week 3 of the Garden to Table Challenge!!

This week's GTTC entry was super freaking yummy. First I made a big batch of a classic Hong Kong style XO sauce - (dried scallops, dried shrimp, country ham, last fall's ground red chili peppers, garlic, ginger, shallots, oil - all cooked down slowly till golden and fragrant, then seasoned with a dash of sugar). It's an expensive and delicious condiment that adds a slightly spicy umami flavor to any food. For lunch, I simply sauteed the asparagus, and then added the cooked soba noodles with a generous spoonful of XO sauce. I made this using my purple asparagus - which is foolproof for cooking with - when they turn green, they're done!

This week, Liz from Suburban Tomato has won the second of four sets of Chinese vegetable seeds. Liz, please email me with your mailing address. I've got 2 more "starter packs" left to send out in the next 2 weeks. See here for more details about the GTTC. See you for the next GTTC every Monday!

helicopters everywhere!

2012-04-19T13:00:00.000-04:00

Helicopters are flying overhead all over the place! When I received the message below from Sandy, our DC Cooperative Extension Agent, I became acutely aware of the abundance of maple seeds all around my neighborhood. Her Tip of the Month was very informative so I thought I'd pass it along... Thanks Sandy!

A SEEDY START TO SPRING. Throughout the city I have noticed a strange look and color to many maple tree canopies. Upon closer inspection the cause is clearly due to most maples having a very seedy appearance! Due to the incredible warm, dry weather this spring, maple flowers were fully pollinated, which in turn means every single MAPLE SAMARA or winged seed, whirligigs or maple helicopters, is currently under development. This extreme seed load and their subsequent development and ripening, is expected to result in sparse, dinky foliage development on maple trees this spring. Normal leaf development is slowed and reduced by the quadrillion maple seeds ripening, using most of the stored resources of the tree. The seeds mature, turn brown and then fall off to cover every square inch of the earth, easily filling and plugging all rain gutters. However, the anxiety is most intense after the seeds fall because there is no apparent reason for the "thinning canopy" and lack of leaves. Many will be concerned about the overall health of their trees, while others erroneously associate heavy seed production with the last hurrah of stressed, dying trees.

Maple trees are capable of producing many seeds each year, but the limiting factor tends to be the weather, specifically those quick freezes and frosts after seed set. Without some type of freeze or frost to kill or injure these developing seeds, the die is cast for scores of samaras to rain down from the trees. This year just happened to be one that favored maple seed development. Remember that heavy seed production is not necessarily a good indicator of tree health nor should it be used as an indicator of impending tree death. It just means that well-timed freezes are needed to reduce the seed numbers, or hope for a really strong wind to blow them all to the neighbor's yard!

GTTC: baby portabella and Swiss chard in red wine sauce over polenta

2012-04-16T00:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the second GTTC post of the year! Which spring harvesters can join me this early in the season?

Though there are new spring things going on - spinach, cauliflower, green strawberries rhubarb, asparagus, nothing amounts to a decent harvest quite yet. This week, I decided to do something with last year's chard, which has been just growing and growing all through the winter and early spring. There's just one plant, but the leaves are beautiful and gigantic. They remind me of something pre-historic. This delicious dinner was based on a recipe that Holly posted way back. I did make it her way last year after she posted - as a sauce over steak - and that was QUITE fantastic. For this simple dinner, I scaled down a bit and served the sauce over polenta. Check out Holly's original post here...

Last week, I launched the first GTTC giveaway of the season. For four consecutive weeks, I will be sending a "starter pack" of Chinese vegetable seeds to a random participant. The winner from last week's post is Johanna. Be sure to visit her blog Tend-Her Garden. Please send me an email with your address and I'll put your seeds in the mail.

Want to join the weekly GTTC? Read the very simple guidelines here. Post below anytime before next Monday. See you soon!

GBBD - April 2012

2012-04-14T15:17:00.008-04:00

Everything has burst into bloom in the past couple of weeks. It's a blissful spring - today I decided to forgo any garden chores for a nap in the backyard instead (knowing it will not be mosquito-free out there for long). As I drifted off to sleep, I heard my 7 year old take her dad to see the strawberry plants in bloom. Here are other blooming in my garden. Take a look at all the GBBD posts at May Dreams Gardens when you're done. What's blooming in your part of the world?

Fothergilla beaver creek - a perfect little shrub. Fragrant bottlebrush blooms in spring, green all summer, all sorts of fiery autumn color in the fall.

Above - my favorite tall flowering shrub Sinycalycalycanthus. Gorgeous dark blooms, billowy leaves that turn yellow and orange in the fall. Below - Euphorbia Rudolph

Above: checkered lily

GTTC: chicken noodle soup (with fall/spring? carrots)

2012-04-09T00:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the first Garden to Table Challenge post of 2012!

It started with a plan to clear out the raised beds to make way for spring vegetables, but what I found were some gorgeous carrots I never got to in the fall. I ended up pulling a good bunch of frost-sweetened atomic reds and chantenay red cores for a basic chicken noodle soup - perfect for a funky spring in Maryland when the weather is 78 degrees one day and 38 degrees the next and everyone's suffering from what's hopefully the last cold/flu of the season.

What are you harvesting and cooking in your part of the world? Post about it here - each and every Monday of this growing season! Click HERE for all the details about the weekly Garden to Table Challenge.

Today, I'm also announcing the first GIVEAWAY of the season - each week for the next four weeks, I will send a random participant a "starter pack" of Chinese vegetable seeds - mustard greens, luffa gourd, wax gourd (aka winter melon), Ceylon spinach, snow peas, bitter squash, tong ho (chrysanthemum greens). Link to the current post anytime after Monday. The link for each week ends when the next GTTC post goes up - the following Monday. For those new to the GTTC, just post your GTTC entry on your blog mentioning Greenish Thumb with a link back here, link your blog below and that's it! Enjoy seeing what other gardeners are doing with their harvests.

Urban Farm Handbook Challenge - (not) paneer

2012-04-05T22:48:00.005-04:00

I'm such a wannabe farmer it's disgusting. In between my full time job and driving kids to ballet, piano, art classes, etc. in my SUV, I imagine the different combinations of jams I will can this summer, consider the eternal question - how can I make my garden bigger, and ponder the feasibility of raising chickens in my backyard. This is why when I stumbled upon the Urban Farm Handbook Challenge (book and blog) the other day, I scrambled to figure out what I would put together for the March Home Dairy Challenge.

I figured I would try to make paneer, since I've heard it's ridiculously easy. The cubes above are attractive enough, but this first experiment with cheese-making was not terribly successful. Here's what DID go well:

Above - the whole milk is at a rolling boil. The lemon juice was added and the milk began to curdle. Below - it was all strained through a cheesecloth over a colander in a bowl. I did drink some of the whey, and it was not unpleasant. I actually drank a lot because every time I made someone try it, he/she said, "You drink it first". So I got more than my fair share of tastes. After the whey has been stained through, I folded the cheesecloth over, put a small plate on top, and weighed it down with my heavy cast iron risotto pot. The whole operation sat for about 2 hours, and then the cheese went into the fridge for an hour.

Here's what needs to be improved for next time:

The cheese was not firm enough. When I added it to my tikka masala sauce, it basically fell apart. I think my paneer recipe was basically the lemon cheese recipe I saw on a link on the Sustainable Eats blog. Next time, I will try a different paneer recipe and use today's recipe to make a softer herbed cheese. I can tell that would be incredible - tart and creamy.
I need to figure out how to make this lactose-free. One of the consequences of aging is that dairy is now my nemesis, and though I dare my body way too frequently by having dairy, my favorite magazine Experience Life keeps telling me that eating things my body does not tolerate increases inflammation, which leads to some sort of bad thing that has to do with insulin, which ultimately leads to weight gain.
I need to make my own sauce because the jarred tikka masala sucked. OK, I do see the irony here - making my own cheese like an urban farmer just to buy a jarred sauce like an urban schmuck. Not too farmer like. However, I do have a good excuse this time. My sister has just gone into labor with her second child and I'm in a rush to post this, pack, and get down to North Carolina!!!

Here are the other Urban Farm Handbook challenges that I'm looking forward to: April/Gardening, May/Foraging, June/Botanicals, July/Seed Saving and Winter Gardening, August/Preserving, September/Bartering, October/Protein, November/Grains, December/Handcrafted Holidays.

And in the meanwhile, I'll be eager to read posts from other participants on the Sustainable Eats blog, and will also be hosting my own weekly Garden to Table Challenge which begins April 9th. I'll be announcing the first giveaway then. Check it out!

My article in Kiki Magazine

2012-04-05T12:14:00.000-04:00

Kiki Magazine is a super cool girls magazine. Here's why I like it:

There are no silly quizzes about what kind of girlfriend you are or what kind of kissing style you have.
The magazine is not filled with advertisements for tampons or Clearasil (not that there's anything wrong with those - but you're not paying for a bunch of ads!).
It's edgy yet modest. There are articles about runway and world fashion, but at the same time, a swimsuit article will feature the suits by themselves and live models wearing cute coverups.
The models are ethnically diverse, and they are real girls - not mini pre-anorexic fashion models.
There are always articles that involve other cultures and countries.
The pages ooze with creativity and encourage girls to be creative.
It's filled with how-tos and DIY projects. There are TONS of ideas for things to make and do.
And finally, I like it because my article on how to build a 4x4 garden out of stone is printed on page 46. :)

If you have a young daughter or granddaughter you should know this is really a high quality magazine. It'd make a great gift for any girl you know with "style and substance".

The Garden to Table Challenge 2012 begins!

2012-03-30T15:00:00.000-04:00

The Garden to Table Challenge 2012 is about to begin on APRIL 9th, and you're cordially invited!

WHO: Anyone with a passion for growing food, cooking, and sharing ideas with others.
WHAT: Simply post on your blog or on Facebook about how you've used your own harvests. See any of my GTTC posts for an example. Share a recipe if you can. Be kind by mentioning Greenish Thumb in your post so others can find us.
WHERE: Link your post to the GTTC of the week using Mr. Linky.
WHEN: I will add each week's GTTC post on Monday. Simply find the most current GTTC post and add your link. Posts will begin on Monday, April 9th.
WHY: Because it's fun. Because you're growing and cooking amazing stuff anyway and you should let others know about it. Because you can see what other people are doing with their harvests each season. Because knowing you plan to participate will inspire you to be your culinary best. And finally, because I will be doing giveaways periodically throughout the summer and each time you 1) do a GTTC post that includes a link back to Greenish Thumb and then 2) link using Mr. Linky, your name goes in a pot to win random prizes. Your name never comes out, so the more you participate, the more chances you have to win. How fun is that?!
Not reaping huge harvests yet, but still want to participate? Please do! Choose fresh, seasonal vegetables and show us how you're using them!

Scamp and the fence

2012-03-25T22:00:00.002-04:00

If you've been following Scamp's story, he's been doing great. A little wobbly and arthritic-looking, but he seems to have a happy life with us. He's the kind of dog you can dress up in a bonnet and push around in a baby carriage. He's just a sweet and quiet dog who tolerates (and has been through!) a lot.

Unfortunately, he's also been routinely destroying my precariously stacked raised beds and sleeping and peeing in the vegetable garden. When you try to tell him to move, he sits and just looks at you. When you try to move him, he lays down and closes his eyes. Below, you see him in the strawberries. In the irises. In the raspberries. This behavior can't continue.

Sooooo... the yard that had been metal fence free for several years, is once again surrounded by the unattractive but necessary green metal fence. Above, Scamp is enjoying his last moments before being moved to the garden-free portion of the yard.

week 12 run recap - fat (asparagus, that is)

2012-03-25T00:35:00.000-04:00

I never tire of these gorgeous magnolias. Could a bloom period be any shorter though?!

Race is approaching and my running is decreasing. Not smart. These posts, which I have set to post automatically for "accountability" every week for the rest of this year are actually really annoying me. I deleted all my posts scheduled to post after the race to spare you and me. This week, I ran twice. Didn't time it. I'm finding the whole thing getting old.

But here's an instance when getting old is good! In this photo (in which my daughter looks really horrendous for some reason), I found the fattest spear of purple asparagus yet - proof that patience is really a virtue for asparagus growers. My small asparagus bed was planted about...7 years ago I think?

Heirloom Gardener - Spring 2012

2012-03-19T22:45:00.000-04:00

If you haven't already seen it, Heirloom Gardener is a fantastic magazine with quality articles that are very different from many other mainstream gardening magazines. This Spring 2012 issue includes articles about hardcore composting, botanical wisdom, heirloom plants of medieval Cyprus (Really, where else could you read an article like that?!), and smack in the middle, my article about the 8 Best Asian Vegetables to Grow.

When the issue came out, I asked my parents what they would have picked if they had to choose the 8 best. My mother said, "Snow peas. White people like snow peas". I had to explain that the article was not about 8 vegetables that white people like, but was intended to be an introduction to lesser known vegetables that all people might like to learn about. There are so many different Asian vegetables I could have chosen, but for this article, I tried to include a selection of vegetables that were either really yummy, really different, or really cool in some way. All of the vegetables I chose are easy to grow in most zones and I included ideas for cooking each one, along with 2 complete, simple recipes.

Nuff said. You can pick up this magazine at many stores including Whole Foods or Barnes and Noble, or you can visit the Heirloom Gardener Magazine website and buy a back issue or subscribe. If you do read the article, I'd love your feedback!!

week 11 run recap - no running, lots of excuses

2012-03-18T11:38:00.002-04:00

Truth be told, I did no running this week. BUT! I did stay active with many gardening tasks to make up for the mileage. Plus, I plan to get back to it this week. As usual, the confidence was going to my head as I started improving my pace and so I started slacking. Not good since the 10K is just over a month away... Anyway, this week, I:

Raked all the sweet gum seedpods from the slope and the back yard.
Removed about 70% of the onion grass from the slope and vegetable garden beds.
Pulled all the dandelions and shotweed from the perennial beds, garden beds, lawn, and vegetable garden.
Repaired the four stone raised veggie beds.
Put up a wire fence around half my yard to keep the dog out.
Amended a few of the veggie beds with Bumper Crop.
Planted some annuals (yellow viola and pink ranunculus) in the big planter on the front porch.
Started seeds indoors and set up the grow lights, potted the baby lemon tree I bought.
Planted some purchased plants in the garden (rhubarb, cauliflower, spinach)
Sowed some beets, carrots, lettuce, cukes, dill
Did general clean up of all the perennials and herbs - everything wintered over!
Pulled all the carrots
Pulled ivy off the fence.

OK. Really, I thought I was going to do a half-assed excuse job here, but after listing all this, I did a LOT! All that, and I had time to play some bocce ball with my 7 year old. Spring (or at least spring-weather!) is so fantastic.

Above: rhubarb and Meyer lemon tree.

Friends and Enemies

2012-03-15T17:00:00.002-04:00

First, the easy part. Deer. Straight up foe. I had just asked my friend Grace if she started using her deer spray yet and this happened the very next day. This year, I resolve to have the most horrible smelling yard (coyote pee) with the most beautiful reblooming daylilies.

The more complicated issue of the moment involves friends. Facebook friends that is. My literary agent (no, I've never mentioned this before and if I weren't so damn superstitious, I'd divulge more info right now...) has asked me to get on Facebook and I have complied. I don't know how much I'll use it because I've never been too fond of the idea. I've always been the type that prefers few, but close friendships. After being on board for a few days, I just have some thoughts, questions, reservations I'd like to journal here just for posterity (or for feedback too!). Here there are, listed in no particular order...

I like to say things like "in no particular order", and as I was posting something or updating my wall or status or whatever it's called, my daughter encouraged me to shorten what I was saying. She said, "It's not e-mail, mom." I'm not sure I'm ok with this. I can be concise when I need to be, but for pleasure writing, I like the freedom to be as long-winded as I want to be.
I was against Facebook when I saw an acquaintance who had become a new mother. It had been months and months, and when I told her we should catch up and that I wanted to see pictures, she immediately dismissed the idea and said, "They're all on Facebook". And that was the end of that.
I have friended people I have not talked to in 20 years. That's really freaking weird. What's the etiquette? Do you have a personal conversation? Do you just quietly accept the friending and continue to not talk? That doesn't really seem right to me. At the same time, I'm going to admit that as much as I love the "catching up" in real life, I don't necessarily want to. Yeah, and for the friends who have quietly accepted my friending, it's weird to just say "Yo", after 20 years, yet at the same time, if nothing is said now, it will just get more and more awkward to suddenly say "Yo" after some length of time.
I realize I'm being uncommonly sensitive about this. I was talking it out with my teenager. I was wondering: if I comment on an old friend's wall or post or status or whatever, and I DON'T comment on another mutual old friend's, that person will see, and won't she then be upset that I didn't comment on her's? My daughter assured me that she would not care - that people don't really care. Again, not sure if I'm cut out for this.
When my teen was younger and first got on Facebook, I established an account just to stalk her. I really masked my name because I didn't want to be found by anyone. I had like 5 friends, one of whom was the PTA President, and also a guy named Jerry Moyer - not sure who he is exactly. Anyway, on my birthday, I got a few e-mails wishing me a happy birthday and I thought that was so sweet! I wondered how some of the people knew and then I realized they found out on Facebook. Humpf. I wished an old friend a happy birthday via e-mail recently, and I realized that along with my wish, he probably received 300 others. But how is it possible to convey that his birthday is burned into my brain and that we almost never talk anymore, but I think of him every year on that day not because I get some sort of notification, but because he was my best friend for years and years?
I fit a lot into my life. It is not logistically possible to do everything I want to do in each day. For the first 24 hours after establishing my fb account, I was completely addicted. It's hard not to view every photo, figure out how this person knows that person, back up and see what he or she has been doing, read all the notifications, etc. I see how people can get addicted and the thing is, it's truly very time consuming to catch up with so many people - and at a count of about 45 friends, I'm at a practically loser-like popularity status. How do people with hundreds of friends do it?
I love the safety of my blogging world where people come here because we share a common current interest. People voluntarily read this stuff I write and that seems preferable to being forced to skim through my current interests that all my "friends" see - and that many don't give a shit about.
I don't like rejection. I don't carry a lot of baggage, but my fear of rejection takes up a good deal of that small bag. To "friend" someone and wait to be accepted... ha ha, well, it's just not fun for me. And I've definitely had real life friends tell me "He friended me but I ignored it", and then we both laugh at that chump's misfortune. I don't want to be the butt end of that joke!
I made a mistake listing my work locations and it ended up posting another job as my current job. When I went to change that, I think everyone received notification that I made a change. Now come on, do people really want to know every minuscule move I make? I just feel weird adding to the clutter of life with these kinds of superfluous notifications.
Sometimes I want to comment on things, like for example, all of my sister's updates. But at the same time, I don't want everyone else to read what I've written. Not for any particular reason - perhaps because I'm ultimately an introvert.

So there you have it - all the overanalysis and hypersensitivity related to my first few days on Facebook. There's a lot I'll have to reconcile, but for now, I'm open for friendship!!!

GBBD - March 2012

2012-03-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

My hellebores have had a haircut and look fantastic! They're lovely from the sidewalk, but the best way to view them is really floating in a bowl. Hellebores were pretty huge at the Philadelphia flower show. I must admit that I have a few speckled varieties that blow anything else I've ever seen away.

The vinca is flowering and stretching out, but they're supposed to be growing over the wall, not reaching back towards the slope.

Yeah, I'm really done holding out for snow. The green halo peony is going to be great this year. This plant is 6 years old this year.

A ratty mess now, but the lamb's ear is one of my favorites. The color and texture call out for attention more than any other perennial in the front garden.

Is it spring where you are? To see more blooms from around the world, visit May Dreams Gardens for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day on this and every other 15th of the month!

week 10 run recap - Chestnut Lodge

2012-03-10T21:38:00.001-05:00

This week was a bit of a crappy running week - about 3 miles on Wednesday but my usual 6.2 miles on Saturday. I'm plateauing on the pace.

Above: This is where the circa 1886 main building of Chestnut Lodge Hospital used to stand before it burned to the ground a few years ago. The old and historic psychiatric hospital, where I worked for 5 years, had some past. Geez - the crazy stories I could tell from just my time there would be completely overshadowed by the other sordid tales if walls could talk (which I guess these couldn't since there are no walls left). Arson is likely responsible and conveniently paved the way for the new development of expansive homes on minuscule lots. I dare say I find the whole thing sick.

Anyway, one of my 3 mile routes takes me through the development (and the old hospital campus). Maybe I should stop doing this route because as much as I like the stroll down memory lane, it always leave me feeling uneasy.

And on a lighter note, I know all these gazillions of birds naturally live in homes up there, but I'm still always delighted when I stumble upon a nest I can check out up close.

Asian greens and bolting...

2012-03-04T23:41:00.002-05:00

Love-to-bolt bok choy

What we know about bolting...

Bolting describes the process of a plant sending up a flower/seed stalk prematurely.
Plants have a genetically controlled internal clock that tallies the number of daylight hours required for a plant to bolt. In addition...
Anything that puts a plan under stress will cause it to bolt. This includes conditions that are: too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too crowded. Many Asian greens are particularly fussy!
Cold-bolting basically looks like - you sow your seeds in February, the plants face some cold snaps (which sets the bolting process in motion), once the plants face a warm April, the plants will bolt.
More evidence that nature is cool: the bolting process is the plant's survival mechanism. When the plant faces adverse circumstances, it will try to produce seeds to guarantee the next generation as quickly as possible.
When a plant prematurely bolts, the leaves usually become bitter and inedible. Sometimes it's possible to delay this process by pinching off the top of the seed stalk, but this strategy will not stop the process. Once it's on it's way, there's no stopping the bolting process.
Once a plant bolts, the bitter compounds in greens such as lettuce provide insect resistance. Mother Nature has thought ahead again!

Easy to grow sweet potato greens

So what if we want to grow and actually get to enjoy our love-to-bolt Asian greens?

Don't wait to harvest. When your greens are ready to harvest, get to it.
Plant early and consider trying some sort of row cover or hoop house to start your season even earlier.
Or, save your favorite cold-weather greens for fall.
Plant in small amounts, and plant successively.
Choose a spot in the garden that gets some shade during the day.
Try slow-bolting varieties of your favorite greens (mizuna is a mild and tasty option and is not too fussy. Garland chrysanthemum is unique and fragrant and does well in spring/fall gardens).
Water consistently during periods of drought.
Try heat loving Asian greens (such as vegetable amaranth, malabar spinach, or sweet potato greens).

Feel free to add on to these lists of what we know about bolting and how we harvest in spite of it!

week 9 run recap - things my midwife never told me about running

2012-03-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

This photo is sort of misleading - this is the watershed area at the end of my street in sprawling suburbia... Really pretty though, huh? If it weren't a protected area, they'd bulldoze for sure, build some luxury townhouses and condos and put in a commercial block complete with Panera, Chipotle, Starbucks, and Marble Slab.

This week, I started my Riiiiiippped in 30 days program and the hard part was the food. Really. Like an addict, I was fiending for food most of the week. One day I was driving my older kid to dance class and the voice in my head was saying, "Go to Krispy Kreme on the way home and get 2 glazed donuts or maybe get some fries or a snack size bowl from KFC or some chips and queso from Qdoba or some bubble tea or at least an iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks. It was pretty bad. I did ok until Friday when I fell off the wagon and went on a TOTAL sweet carb binge. That night, I had a dream that I was going to a meeting at work but there was free food because the guy who comes to sell life insurance was visiting and trying to entice customers with his bagels, apple turnovers, and danishes. I spent so much time filling a PLATTER with food that I was going to take with me to eat during my meeting, that I missed the actual meeting. Anyway, trying not to let all that derail me.

On crappy days this week, I did the Jillian DVD. On nice kid-activity-free days, I ran about 3 miles on Wednesday and did 6.2 miles today running a 12.41 minute mile. Yay!

So I successfully had 2 natural childbirths. To manage the pain during labor, it's important to relax through the contractions as much as possible. At one point during labor, my midwife told me to relax my eyebrows. I didn't even realize it, but I probably had a scrunched up face and furrowed brow. OK, the midwife didn't give me any advice about running, but I've noticed that every now and then, I do the same kind of scrunched up face with furrowed brown when I run. I've been following the advice to relax my face and it's very helpful. The exhaustion face does not make anything easier and in fact, only serves to make me feel more tired and intense - in a not good way. Consciously making an effort to relax the face has helped me feel more relaxed, less tired, and more energetic. It's been an interesting parallel.

week 8 run recap - It's spring!

2012-02-26T21:35:00.002-05:00

I'm sure there's some good reason for all this (about a 1/2 mile's worth of what you see below), but it's still always sad to see...

Above: the jail that's just down the street. Below: the school where I work. There's no significance to the juxtaposition of the images. Really. This week, I fought the urge to do no exercise but resigned myself to a short run on Wednesday so I could get back early enough to do some garden clean up on that glorious 68 degree afternoon. A bit short of 2 miles, but still beat my time yet again for a 12.19 minute mile! This morning, I lay in bed for about 40 minutes and successfully talked myself out of going on my scheduled long run. Only the thought of breakfast souffles from Panera actually got me out of bed.

I've realized (yet again), that exercise is fantastic and makes me feel great, but there's just no way to actually lose weight and change the way I look (especially for apple shapes like me) without making changes to the daily diet - which is why tomorrow starts a 30 day eating plan per Jillian Michaels. I'm not really a big fan or anything, but just bought the Ripped in 30 days DVD and am going to follow the eating plan too. Watch out weeds cause in 30 days I'm going to be rrrrriiiippped and ready to do quadruple the amount of weeding and not even feel it the next day.

It's spring! Well, not quite, but my garden sure thinks so. At this point, I'm not holding out for the snow any longer. The daffs are up and I'm looking forward to spring!

Maryland Home and Garden Show (and giveaway!)

2012-02-22T22:09:00.001-05:00

I need to share with fellow Marylanders (and neighbors) that the
Spring Home and Garden Show is coming up March 3-4 and March 9-11
at the Fairgrounds in Timonium.

The show's theme this year is "Books in Bloom." Local landscapers are
creating 17 gardens on display at the show based on popular books
including Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Under The Tuscan Sun. The show
also features the Maryland Orchid Society's Orchid Show & Sale, as
well as a mystery-themed flower show by the The Federated Garden Clubs
of Maryland.

Of course, there will also be hundreds of exhibitors at the show with
every conceivable product, technique and service to transform your
home and garden.

Also, there's a preview party to benefit Habitat for Humanity of the
Chesapeake on March 2.

But here's the best part, I'll have 2 free tickets at will call to the first person who
expresses interest. Simply comment below -or- send me an e-mail at wkspray at gmail dot com.