Lelo in Nopo

A gardening manifesto: what I believe

2012-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I believe....

The garden is a grand place to fly your freak flag high. Like growing wildly colored azaleas in brazen rows? Shearing your hedge to resemble a giant llama? Accenting spent poppy seed pods with hot pink spray paint? You go, gardener. You go.

I believe gardening is an act of rebellion. In our manufactured world of big box stores, packaged meat, and shrink-wrapped vegetables, we gardeners who grow food from our own soil do it ourselves. I revel in being that rebel.

I believe everyone has a green thumb. You just may not know it yet. The belief in yourself and the will to make things grow go hand-in-hand. Coax yourself and coax that seed. It takes care, reflection, thoughtfulness, and patience — things we can all benefit from nurturing in ourselves.

I believe I've always been a gardener...

Read my entire gardening manifesto in the latest Cultivating Life column over at PQ Monthly.

Gardeners are weird

2012-05-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

When I say gardeners are weird, it's a compliment. Weird is good in my book. The above photo is weird to many, but completely makes sense to me. It's my kitchen counter. From left to right: Flour, sugar, brown sugar, praying mantis pod. One is not like the other, right? I hope in the coming weeks the pod hatches plenty of praying mantis babies. When it does, I shall name each one, with names all beginning with P. Petunia, Penny, Peter, Paul. Oh oh. What other P names are there? I shall report back on the progress of the Ps.

Sneak peek: I wasn't kidding around about color

2012-05-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

I'm done taking the garden so seriously. Give me whimsy, give me color, give me a fiesta in my backyard. Here's a sneak peek...

Frida approves:

Visits to Oregon rhododendron and azalea gardens

2012-05-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung! The above view is from the Hendrick's Rhododendron Garden in Eugene. We recently found ourselves there on a lovely spring evening, just as the sun was beginning to set.

I haven't always been a big fan of rhododendrons and azaleas. They're a common foundation shrub here in Portland and far too often they're pruned into sad shapes and just always seemed too common. But my thoughts on them have begun to change. They're common because they're hardy here, and will often grow for years and years, no ailments or problems. When they bloom they are absolute show stoppers.

Seeing them in the Hendrick's Garden we could see how gorgeous they are when left to grow to their natural size. Often, that size is huge, and when they are bloom, so beautiful!

Some more photos from the Hendrick's Garden:

Check out this lichen:

A few days later we ventured to Portland's Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. And yes, the garden was in full bloom. So peaceful and pretty. Diego experienced his first "creek" and was very hesitant about the sound, but not so hesitant about the geese and ducks: oh man, that was funny. Loving these adventures lately. Photos from Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden:

Rudy and his amazing rhododendrons and azaleas

2012-05-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

There has been no adjustment to this photo. No saturation of colors, no umping the volume to create a surreal image. No little blurring along the edges. Plain, raw, straight from my phone. The azaleas and rhododendrons are going full throttle, screaming their colors at you for good or for bad. I saw a dull cream rhodie the other day and said out loud, "But why?" Why have that drab of a color when the family has so many outlandish, garish, shocking and startling of colors?

Rudy has fantastic color in his garden right now. I realize I haven't given you an update lately on Rudy—you can read previous posts like this one, or this one. In the glorious sunshine this afternoon, I stood with Rudy in his back yard admiring the spring color. He can't get to pruning his shrubs anymore, but they are in amazing shape.

We had to do the math to figure out how old he was and we realized, together, he's 98 now. "All of my friends have passed on," he told me.

Despite his hearing aid not quite working well enough to hear me, we chatted about a variety of things like composting, a tree removal down the block, and how he doesn't think he'll be around for another winter. It's hard to hear someone tell you that. What can you say? I don't think it matters what I say, but to just be there to listen.

So while Diego explored around Rudy's back yard, we two friends stood together, in the sunshine, admiring spring flowers and making small talk. Sometimes it's the smallest things in daily life that bring the most joy.

Occupy May Day

2012-05-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day to you. Share some flowers with the ones you love. I intend to pick a big bouquet of lilac and lily-of-the-valley and let them infuse the house with perfume. Loving springtime.

One of those moments when all is right with the world

2012-04-30T05:49:00.002-07:00

This was my view from my seat last evening in the garden. Such a busy weekend, and Sunday evening, I sat for a moment to just rest a few, and to see what was unfolding before me. Spring in all of its glory. The scent of the wisteria floating all around me, and right behind it, the growing patch of tiny Lily-of-the-Valley, fragrant beyond belief. Lilac in full bloom, just now opening up to share its old fashioned fragrance with us.

In this moment there was no worry of weeds, chores to be done, items left unfinished or mulch needing to be spread. It was pure of-the-moment, letting the garden provide to me a moment of solace and peacefulness. But soon it was made even better...

See how much better the picture is? I hope you notice how perfectly located that lilac is for AdRi to take in its perfume. Love it, love them, love this garden.

Woof: an update from Diego

2012-04-19T08:40:00.001-07:00

You may know me as Diego, but I also go by Señor Diego El Perro. You, my friends, may call me Diego. I've completed my first phase of dog training courses, and I know my name, how to sit, lay down, and I'm getting pretty good at stay. Except if someone knocks on the door and then all bets are off: I need to protect mi casa! If you can't tell, I'm bilingual. Si, si se puede. Gracias a dios I'm no longer being dragged by my harness around the neighborhood: I've learned to actually walk on a leash and surprisingly, I like it. Me gusta. Now let me tell you something. Lean in. It's muy importante. I like meat, and I especially like carne asada. If there is meat being prepared in this house, which seems to be hardly ever, I let mis madres know I want it. Jump bark jump bark jump bark repeat. Aye yie yie. Just dame my carne asada and I shall love you forever. Comprende mi amor?

P.S. Note from Lelo: I really hope you just read that in the voice of Antonio Banderas, because that is how Diego speaks.

Does this photo scare you?

2012-04-16T15:04:00.005-07:00

It may scare me. But after living in our craftsman bungalow for the past fourteen years, which is now 101 years old, there's always a project to do. This year it's repainting the house trim. Not the house color itself, just the trim. And while we're at it, why not repaint the accent color (which is currently salmon). And heck, let's go all out and paint a garage wall facing the back patio a deep cobalt blue (seen above in photo).

As for the back patio wall and that blue..... getting these colors right is tricky. I'm thinking some inspiration from Frida and Diego's garden, which we actually visited in person a few years ago...

We'll forego the red trim, and the blue needs to be pulled in a little for being here in the light of the Northwest. But I think we may actually pull it off.

As for the house trim, I'll miss our salmon door...

But the new bright yellow/green should look pretty fantastic with the existing green house color. I like the playfulness of the accent color: our garden sets the tone for a house that doesn't take itself too seriously, so the accent color is definitely doable. But still. It makes me a little nervous. Ah well. It's only paint. Right?

Some Monday inspiration for you

2012-04-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Rain + Sunshine + Rain + Sunshine = Portland Spring

2012-04-12T14:31:00.003-07:00

It poured rain last night. Pounding on the skylight upstairs, I layed in bed listening, in awe, to how hard it was raining. Today the drizzle continues, but then like it is in our spring, the clouds parted and blue sky loomed brilliantly outside. Diego sat in the window barking at the people suddenly all out walking their dog. Yes I have deadlines, yes I have work, but I also have a rare opportunity right now, and a sweet dog looking at me longingly. Off we went.

It's blooming spring right now in Portland. Not quite yet for the rhodies or the azaleas–their garish color show starts soon. We took in the sight of camellias hanging heavy with blooms, leaning over fences staring at us eye to eye.

Camellias and their dainty girlish light pink flowers weighed down with heaviness of rain and soggy blooms, but still amazingly delicious.

Their heavy petals scattering and covering the ground.

The fragrant daphne blooms are on their last legs but scenting the air strongly now is the evergreen clematis. We smelled this one before we saw it.

I'm so grateful for how far Diego has come since he came to live with us. I'm no longer the woman showing her dog how to walk on a leash by half dragging him through the neighborhood. And when the sun comes out, off we go. Have to take it when you can get it: the sun waits for no one.

The Shih Tzu Head Tilt

2012-04-02T16:14:00.003-07:00

Diego? Diablo? Diego? Diablo? Is your name Diego or is it Diablo?
And so it goes, the conversation with my dog Diego. The questioning makes him tilt his head. First to the left, then to the right. Repeat. The other thing that makes him tilt his head? Saying carne asada in a thick Spanish accent and rolling the r. He loves it. Maybe I forgot to tell you. Diego is bilingual. And he goes bonkers for carne asada.

But then today, the following news story was reported over the wire:

Portland, Oregon; Today in North Portland a small, maltese-shih-tzu was given its first bath by its owner, LeLo of Portsmouth. It was a traumatic affair but much needed after 5 days of horrible dog diarrhea and torrential rains.

During today's bath there were reports of much panicking, water spilling, and chaos. Diego LoRi was seen climbing all over LeLo, up her arm and attempting to jump from the kitchen sink. LeLo deftly handled the quick little dog, and though there was a hope for a two-step of shampoo and then conditioner, LeLo opted for just the shampoo.

"Before today's episode, I thought I could just blow dry him on the counter after the bath," said LeLo. "Boy, was I wrong about that!"

LeLo was seen, completely drenched herself in water, carrying Diego LoRi to the bathroom, swaddled in a towel, for a closed door session of blow drying and brushing. While Diego LoRi did not like the blow dryer one bit, attempting to bite and bark at it, he had no option in the small room but to take it like a man and get his hair fluffed. "Woof woof YAP yap" he says.

LeLo is looking forward to the next bath with optimism. "After today's escapades, it can only get better."

Feral Crocus

2012-03-12T15:18:00.002-07:00

It's crocus-gone-wild. And thus I know it's springtime. When this vacant lot in North Portland sprouts a sea of purple, the feral crocus are in full bloom. Some have jumped the lot and shown up across the street. I can only wonder how many years they've lived here. Spring forward, feral crocus, and thanks for the welcome wave to spring.

On cultivating vulnerability, and being okay with it

2012-03-05T09:48:00.006-08:00

I feel a little lost in writing about vulnerability, and feeling it's a topic covered so well by so many other people last year, and the year before.

Technically, I have read all of these wonderful stories, articles and blog posts about vulnerability, and felt moved by them. I've watched Brene Brown's TED talk and known I'm watching something very powerful. I've read her book. But I hadn't been able to tap into the HOW of it all. That often seems to be the case with so many things, doesn't it? Wrapping our brains around the concept, yet frozen in how to apply it ourselves. To ourselves. I've talked about vulnerability with friends, I've written about it personally, I've used it as a daily intention: Allow yourself to be vulnerable. Yet it has fallen empty. Until recently.

Having major surgery has forced me to rely on others, to ask for help, and to encourage my partner to ask for help. The two of us have had a mindset that has often included the words "We're strong women, we can do this!" and we have. Being vulnerable, to me, has been admitting defeat. Never admit defeat! right? But when you have no choice, like having surgery, it has meant give in and ask.

As I've been healing and getting better, and from all external looks of it I probably look just fine to others, I've been forced to sit on my hands. To ask AdRi to take the laundry downstairs. To pick up X or carry Y for me. The natural "do-er" and "maker" in me wants to just do it myself. But I can't, and if I have, it actually makes AdRi frustrated with me.

I wrote in my last blog post about seeing the garden open up to spring, and knowing how much needed to be done yet unable to do the work. That was an act of vulnerability. And with that act, several voices popped up and came forward.

This weekend, I sat on a bench in the garden, directing friends in how to prune roses. And prune they did.

We started with a simple young rose, and ended with the massive burly overgrown climber. They used loppers, handsaws and pruners, and stacked all of the cuttings in the back of the truck. It was amazing. And fun, and sweet. They learned how to prune roses, and I could let my fretting about all of the work that needed to be done, fall by the wayside.

By showing an inkling of my vulnerability, buried really, in a blog post and hidden by references to spring and Beyonce's baby, this vulnerability sparked the desire of others to help and I allowed the help in.

This being vulnerable thing is something new to me, but I know there are things in there for me to learn. It's an area to continue to scratch in, and see if I can allow more of it in my life.

For now, I'm so thankful, and I'm pretty sure my roses have never been pruned as thoughtfully or with as much care as they were this weekend. Thank you Lacy and Gretchen. Until they bloom this spring and summer, here's a photo of a bouquet from Jude the Obscure, that huge gnarly rose in the front of the garden you did a hard prune on this weekend.

Bleeding hearts bloom like the hair on Beyonce's baby: a rambling ode to Spring

2012-02-28T09:09:00.002-08:00

My mind wanders to the garden today. As I wandered through it yesterday in the late February sunshine, my eye spied tiny pink violets blooming violently, daffodils with buds formed, and hyacinths growing up, quickly, much like a beloved 14-year-old girl next door. The soil around them was crumbling, apparent that the movement of their growth was fast and quick. The hot pink nubs of the rhubarb shout to me in all caps from across the yard, their color shocking in the brown soil.

Our garden is so much a perennial garden, leaving this time of year to bareness and a view of brown dirt in the beds, and quiet.

The leaves on the spirea are forming, teeny tiny dots of bright coral and the fire stick euphorbia has grown 3 inches straight out of the ground. Soon, I know, this whole area will be full of tiny firey red sticks emerging into the warming air. Glancing at the back bed, the gnarled root base above the soil level shows me the home of my beloved bleeding hearts. Sure enough, an inch or so of growth is showing, but I know how strange they grow and bloom. I will check every day on their progress. I think of them as babies who are born with a full head of hair. Our bleeding heart emerges almost immediately with blooms, using energy to both grow green growth, and to bloom its dainty pink nodding flowers all at the same time.

I try to not be overwhelmed. Spring can be overwhelming to gardeners. I look at the many rose bushes, especially the old climbers and ramblers, and see they have new growth showing. It's time to cut them back, and this year I intend to aggressively. But surgery in February has humbled me to be still, and to heal. No lifting, bending, or workouts at the gym for 6 weeks. I look at the roses and know they won't wait. I run through thoughts in my head, "What if I only cut and AdRi picks them all up and lugs them to the compost bin? Would that be allowable?" I suppose it might be, if I only did one rose bush every few days. But at that rate, it might be summer. Spring waits for no one, and while I revel in its quickening, I sit on my hands and am patient. The roses will be fine, and I will heal. And the bleeding hearts will bloom away, just like the hair on Beyonce's baby.

The world would be a better place with more baby head planters

2012-02-27T08:43:00.002-08:00

Am I right or am I right? Previously, I introduced you to Edgar, but here are the two most recent additions. The dainty, smaller one has eyelashes, but only on one eye. And the other? Well, it's a Cabbage Patch Kid. Need I say more? These are by the artist Tim Brock and are available at Salvageworks here in North Portland, in case you would like some baby head planters yourself. You know you do. I know AdRi is hoping I stop at 3. We'll see about that. We will see.

Hey look at that, I have a new column!

2012-02-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

You might know that while I was gallivanting around in Australia this past December, the paper I had an ongoing gardening column in for over five years folded. The newsprint industry is a tough one these days, and unfortunately, this long running LGBT publication didn't make it.

But in its wake is a brand new publication picking up where Just Out left off. PQ Monthly is committed to showcasing a diverse cross section of our community and I'm really excited to be a part of the team. My writing there is more than gardening and with a title of "Cultivating Life" I plan to write about gardening, cooking, preserving and healthy living. The publication is available in print throughout the Portland area, and of course, online as well.

We just launched this past week and wow, the community is buzzing. Check out the debut of "Cultivating Life" here, and as always, big thanks to all of my blog readers who have hung on with me through over seven years of blogging here at Lelo in Nopo. I can't believe it's been seven years!

Here's to a new and exciting year...

I have a new obsession, and a garden trend prediction for 2012

2012-02-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

Okay so I may be obsessed. Just a little obsessed. Hairdos in the garden. Meaning, plants in pots shaped like heads. I've had one in the kitchen sitting atop our coffee maker for the past 8 months or so. His name is Edgar.

Some people have walked in and stopped dead in their tracks asking "What. The. Hell. Is. That." Apparently it may be frightening. I find Edgar to be delightful.

And it's with this delight my obsession is growing, and over on Pinterest I have a whole board for Hairdos in the Garden.

I'm envisioning amassing a collection of them in our garden this year. Curly hair, medusa hair, dreadlocks, fancy combinations, mullets. Oh the thrill of it all. I love it when I get like this. And as for the potentially frightful aspect for some? That's only an indicator that I love it more. Weird is always, always good.

And as a garden writer? I officially predict wild hairdos planted in pots shaped like heads to be an official new trend. (at least in my own garden.)

More garden stuff over at my place on Pinterest here.

Making it through the winter: a new series

2012-01-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

Oh, this gray rainy weather is tough. I noticed the other day that while it was noontime, at the height of the day, it was so dark out I had to turn all of the lights on. Dark, gloomy, cold and stormy. And so it is for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and especially for us up north. Triply so for Northwesterners, where our dark days seem to go on forever. Are you still reading my gloomy post?

I had thought the Australia trip would ward off my winter gloom, but I can feel the SADs inching up on me. Fortunately, I have a whole arsenal of activities and rituals I do to keep them at bay, and it's time to kick them into high gear.

For those of us who are gardeners, the dark days of winter give us time to do other things than work in our gardens and play outside. I'd love to hear what you do to keep your mood up in the winter, and if you're a gardener, how you spend this time dreaming of spring.*

Here is my first installation on Making It Through Winter....

Ritual. There's something about being a gardener that brings out the witch in me. Tending to the earth, connecting to it, and practicing a daily (okay, okay: it's more like weekly) meditation of weed pulling puts me in a place of calm. Weed pulling gives me a time to work through things in my head, or just clear my head of workday worries, deadlines and creative projects I'm noodling through. Establishing a wintertime ritual to help replace this calms me.

One of these rituals is tea making. There's the witchlike steam, potion building, and elixer stirring. The beauty of the color of the tea in a beautiful cup. A cup that is only used for tea drinking. This is a Mexican Mango Chili Mate from Capital Teas in Washington DC. The cup is a bowl and plate from my friends at Lonesomeville Pottery. If my blog had scratch'n'sniff you'd be in herbal, spice, floral heaven. It really does smell like majik.

*I'm writing this as a series gathering my thoughts on making it through our winters, especially for gardeners. I may use this content, and your comments, in an upcoming column I'm writing for PQ Monthly. PQ Monthly is a new monthly print magazine/daily online news launching in February. I'm excited to be their garden/home/living columnist, and will share more information here as that unfolds.

Ye Olde Meme

2012-01-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

A long time ago, in a galaxy known as Ye Early Blogging Times, there was "tagging" and these things called "memes." In these times, most people wrote personal blogs, or as they were known then, web logs. I haven't done a meme in a long time, but in my desire to try to kickstart my writing here once again—dammit to hell trying to figure out the content and purpose of this blog—I'm thrilled to have been tagged by Gazelles on Crack!

I have to answer her questions, personal as they might be. Ready? Here we go.

What is your #1 best memory - the one that will always make you smile?
While I may smile both with laughter and with fear on this one, it's an early morning earthquake in Southern California. My bedroom had a linoleum floor, and my crib had wheels. Needless to say, when that room began rockin', my crib began rollin'. And I stood up for the ride. I couldn't have been that little, because I can remember. Standing up, laughing and holding onto the crib's edge, while my mother in her nightgown chased me around the room. I don't think she was laughing though.

If you could do anything (career wise), and money was no object, what would that be?
Honestly? I really love what I do. But I think I'd be an artist. I'd build things, make things, tinker with things, paint things. There might be some welding equipment in there too. But it would all be from my own eye and crazy vision.

What is the most awesome place you've ever visited?
I just visited Australia for the second time, and it was awesome. With animals like kangaroos, and beaches that take your breath away, what else is there to say? Here is a photo of each of those things taken last month. Awesome.

What is your go-to comfort food?
It used to be homemade mac-n-cheese. But these days, it's a big bowl of steaming soup. With lots of lime juice, ginger, green onions, mushrooms and maybe tofu. I like the steamy facial you get at the same time as you slurp the hot soup. On cold days, it's the best.

What's your guilty pleasure (that you're willing to admit to in a public forum?)
This time of year, it's really long hot showers under my rain showerhead. Long showers. Like until the hot water runs out. Such the bad environmentalist. But sometimes that's what it takes to feel warm again in our cold, wet winters. In our summers? My guilty pleasure is laying in the summer sun and working on my tan. Sometimes even without sunscreen on.

Favorite way to relieve stress?
To prevent it, I work out. Hard. At the gym or by running. I do a morning spin class 3+ times a week, and on other days, run or take a yoga class. If I work out in the morning, it keeps me calm and stress free throughout the day. If I end up feeling stressed anyway, working in the garden or being outdoors helps me disconnect and come back to my center.

Favorite book?
I've gone through different phases in different times of my life, including a love affair with all of Tom Robbins' classic books in the early 1990s. Hello, Jitterbug Perfume and Still Life With Woodpecker. But I think if there's anything I continually come back to, it's the classic witty prose in The Portable Dorothy Parker. I would love to have a drink with Dorothy. What a bitterly delightful woman.

Favorite movie?
Moulin Rouge. Everything about it. The art direction, the costumes, the music, the cast: I know the soundtrack word for word. Did you know Wink's middle name, Satine, was for the main character in Moulin Rouge? Satine, in her white dress, so elegant.

What are you good at that hardly gets recognized?
I'm an early adopter. Technology, trends, you name it. Hello. What year did we organize the first pie-off? Hello. And I just received a happy five year anniversary note from Twitter. I've been on it five years.

What did your 10-year-old self want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a piano teacher. Because that's what I knew. I may still be a teacher in my lifetime, it just won't be piano. I don't know yet what I will teach but I know I will.

What's holding you back?
I've learned this past year that the only thing holding me back is myself. The world, my friends, is our oyster.

The amazing year of 2011

2012-01-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Lest you think 2011 was a horrible year, since my last post was about the loss of our sweet Wink Satine, I have something to show you about last year, because sometimes pictures really do say a thousand words.

This was me at the beginning of 2011:

This is me at the end of 2011:

Photos from ILiveHerePdx

It was an incredible and amazing year, and I've been going round and round how to tell you some stories. Stories of intention, authenticity, fun, making space, and incredible adventure. Here's a taste of adventure for you:
More to come....

RIP Wink Satine: Farewell to the Best Dog Ever

2011-12-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

She really was the best dog ever. Sweet and loyal, fun and social, she mastered the fine art of lap sitting like Rembrandt mastered capturing light. But like many great artists, her candle glowed bright but burned out far too soon.

At age 4 she began to have seizures, and at 4 and a half she went blind due to an auto immune disease called SARDs. The coming year and a half found her coping with new illnesses, none that doctors could link together, but as one of our many veterinarians said, it was "plain bad luck" and "little white dog syndrome." Eventually a diagnosis of kidney disease came a few months ago, but one day before we left for a trip to the other side of the world, she showed signs of distress. But she rallied and while we traveled, she spent her last days with amazing friends who cared for her and helped her through her final hours. Even her best rallying to hold it together couldn't do it in the end.

Despite Wink's illnesses, she loved life and she loved all the people in her life. She knew the path, even while blind, to our next neighbor's house and would run it if we let her. She loved giving licks, jumping with glee, seeking out her favorite treats of carrots and apples, and simply sharing a seat with her peeps.

She taught us so much. To love a rare snowfall, to get to know our neighbors more, to try new things, to revel in the simplicity of a good walk and to care for little people. To lean in when needed, to cherish a fresh pea from the garden, to catch a good breeze and how to make it work. We loved that dog so much and our lives are forever changed. Words don't do justice but I needed to make this post.

Love the ones you're with people. Life is fleeting and you never know what's around the bend.

A simple summer evening walk from LeloNopo on Vimeo.

wink is a rocker from LeloNopo on Vimeo.

Why I give to change, not charity

2011-11-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

I don't give to charity. I give to change. I work for change. I support change. And the most important work in our communities, nation and world. I give to hope for a better world, for the discovery of cures and creativity and aid. I give in thanks for the abundance that my life has afforded me and for the privilege that I walk through this world with. I give in ways that provide funding for causes I believe wholeheartedly in, and I strive to vote with my dollar and put my money where my mouth is. I give because I walk the talk, and because I know I am part of the change we wish to see in the world.

As the holiday season approaches, in my mind I hear the death march in the background. The crass commercialism, the attempts to over dominate with one religion all others, and the out of balance beliefs that more equals love and we must go in debt to pay for holiday gifts. All these things grate on my very last nerve.

But after an amazing year, I'm filled with inspiration of the possibility of a country waking up from an oppression by the 1%, and seeing the light bulbs go off over their heads as so many move their money from Big Banks to their local economies. I'm inspired by the countless hours my friends volunteer for causes they passionately believe in, and for the work every one of my clients does to make things better for women, girls, the LGBTQ community, our nation's health, our reproductive health and rights, those who are developmentally disabled, and our libraries. So. Lucky. So lucky I am to live this life, in this world.

And because of these things I give. To change, to hope, to miracles, to hard work, to compassion, to determination, to getting it done. Non profit organizations are here for us this time of year to honor and celebrate our place in the world. I hope you can be inspired by the world around you and give to the organizations you admire and want to see continue.

Need ideas? Here's where we're giving/have given in 2011...
AIDS Life Cycle
Basic Rights Oregon
Destination DIY
Milagro Theater
Mercy Corps
Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp
Oregon Humane Society
PHAME Academy
Planned Parenthood Advocates for Oregon
Portland Women's Crisis Line
Q Center
The Equity Foundation
The National Crittenton Foundation
Urban Gleaners

I hope you'll give—to hope, to change, to others. It's a lot more than "charity."

Gnome update

2011-11-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

Someone has been a very bad gnome and is in gnome jail for the winter.

And here we are, the happy gnome couple:

In other gardening news, we did some garden fall clean-up this weekend, getting a head start on next spring's clean-up. I think it might have been the first fall clean-up in our garden in years. Usually I leave things for the birds, but this year, I don't know what's in me. This morning we have a truck full of debris AdRi is dropping off at the dump, and the front yard actually looks presentable. The vegetable beds are tucked in for the winter, and all of the solar lights and lanterns are filed away in the garage until next year. Seriously, pinch me. It's a rare year. Perhaps the gnomes inspired us.

Oh and hey! My column in Just Out is on winter hiatus, but I did write a little recommendation on a recent book I loved, The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell of The Fabulous Beekman Boys. You can read it here.

Designing salads as a feast for the eye and for the mouth: kale salad!

2011-11-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

I know it sounds like such a cliche: feast for the eyes. But I've been playing with this theme for the past several months, and designing meals for beauty on the plate is really fun, and super healthy. As a visual designer, I love the challenge of hitting different notes of the color wheel, and where I've embraced this the most is in salad creation.

Who knew that I'd come to love kale as much as I do? Sometimes I even crave it. I know: crazy. What can I say? If anyone has an I Heart Kale bumpersticker, you know who to send it to. Wait. Of course there's an online generator for that. Here you go:But a big part of what I love about kale is its ability to hold up in a salad, and to even get better the second day. Combine that deep green with other colors from the rainbow and you are guaranteed to have a plate full of vibrancy and health. I like having an acidic dressing because it helps to break it down a bit, and if you chop chop chop the kale, you have really palatable bits to chow down on.

I don't have a strict recipe to share with you, but instead a technique to follow, allowing for creativity and working with what you have or what's in season.

Let's start with the kale. Lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale, is usually my kale of choice. (Good kale reading here!) Start with a big healthy bunch or two, rinse it thoroughly, then using two fingers, strip the center stem, leaving long strips of kale from either side to work with next. Pile all of the strips up, and chiffonade or chop it up. I like to sing the Choppin' Broccoli song while doing so. Don't ask why, I just do. Also, if you want to save some time, Trader Joe's sells big bags of washed and prepped kale, leaving you with only the chopping to do: sweet!

Next up, build your salad ingredients based on beauty of the color wheel, what's in your fridge or garden, or what's in season. Ideas:

Red-cherry tomatoes (halved), red bell pepper, roasted bell pepper from a jar
Orange-orange cherry tomatoes, orange bell pepper, orange slices chopped into bitesize pieces, shredded carrot
Purple-purple onion thinly sliced, chopped purple cabbage, chopped purple kale
Cream-slices of apple, thin slices of fennel bulb

Use a few or a lot of the ingredients listed above. I always include shredded carrot in mine, but everything else is up for grabs.

Finally? The dressing. Here's how I do it:
In a mixing bowl, throw in a big dollop of dijon or flavored mustard. Add to that a big squeeze of honey if you want some sweetness, the juice of an orange (fresh makes a big difference in the brightness of flavor), and a good splash and a half of vinegar. I like balsamic, but have experimented with apple cider, champagne, or flavored vinegars (like blood orange). Grind enough black pepper into the bowl until your arm tires, season with sea salt, an mix it all up. You don't need oil in this, but if you want to, you can always whisk in some good olive oil. Taste for flavor, then toss toss toss with your salad. Toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds can add some texture to finish off your salad.

Enjoy the salad fresh, taking in the beauty of your plate. Seriously, look how gorgeous this is:

Then keep in the fridge a big container of this salad and enjoy on day 2 and day 3. The acid of the orange juice helps break down the kale, softening it a bit but never leaving it mushy.

The more you experiment, the more you'll get comfortable changing ingredients up and trying new things in your mix. But following the practice of creating a bowl of beauty is always a winner in my book.