Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Spring in Seattle

You know the sun is shining in Seattle if there are numerous people out laying in the sun despite it only being in the 60’s! Nick and I decided to partake in the “first” true spring day by taking the top partially off the Jeep, buying cold coffee drinks and taking Jack to the park where we read, took pictures and threw the Frisbee around. The day could not have been better!


Another spring-like weekend was spent working out in the garden. This year I decided to just use compost from Cedar Grove and I’m so glad I picked up 1½ cubic yards because I’ll have just enough to top off my potato box. This year our goal with the garden is to make it be primarily for freezing and small amounts of eating, but our main fresh veggies will come from the market. That being said I’ve planted a ton of beans (sugar and snow peas and green beans), squash, zucchini, lettuces (arugula, green, butter crunch, mesclun greens, spinach), radishes, potatoes, carrots and onions. Plus all my lovely herbs. To top it off I planted an array of flowers as well. Finally all the seeds are in the ground and the plants in the new greenhouse. I finally found a greenhouse that allows me to walk inside, put lots of plants inside, is removable for winter storage (if I want), has room for a shelving unit and secures to the ground so it doesn’t blow away in the crazy winds we get in our backyard. My tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers are thriving inside and I’m excited to maybe grow some warmer weather items! The garden is totally planted and just yesterday I walked outside and while checking the boxes discovered that my radishes, arugula and lettuce are starting to all sprout. Nick thinks I’m funny when I squeal in delight over the little plants and tell them how cute and sweet they are. They like it though – I know it!

The other very exciting thing was that my red worms arrived and have been placed in the worm bin. They are working hard and my food compost is turning out beautifully. Not quite sure how to move them into a new pile once the old one is ready, but I’ll figure it out. Maybe I can train worms…

I think everyone knows how passionate I am about greening up our lovely planet and reducing waste, and I was so excited to discover these fantastic little bags at Central Market on my last shopping trip:

If you want to buy some ecobags of your own, just visit: www.ecobags.com They have the mesh bags for produce and solid cotton bags that are for bread or other bulk items. The bags are made with fair trade, 100% cotton and can be washed if soiled and reused over and over versus using plastic bags. I was also thrilled to find out that Central Market will let you bring in your own jars, containers, etc. for items like cheese, meats, bulk items, etc. Just remember to ask one of the staff members to weigh your container before you put items in it. Talk to your local market and they may allow you to do the same.

Spring is finally in Seattle and while there have been a couple of light frosts since the first day of spring and definitely many rainy days – the air smells different, the green is brilliant, the cherry trees are blooming, the tulips are nodding and the garden is growing!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Oh Canada!!

Nick and I went to Canada for a lovely vacation with our friends, Tim and Lindsay. We drove up to Abbotsford, British Columbia and flew from there to London, Ontario. It took us the whole day to get there and we hit the ground running with a visit to Toronto the very next morning. We enjoyed perusing the exhibits at the Toronto Science Museum; then went to dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant and attended a fantastic Celtic symphony.


Thursday was a down day for everyone. Lindsay and I enjoyed a lovely time at the standing indoor market in London, ate a divine lunch and then relaxed at a local spa. The guys spent the day playing computer games and enjoying themselves as well.

Friday morning we drove to Niagara Falls, Ontario, and spent the day enjoying this spectacular site!! The day started out cold, misty and overcast and we were disappointed that Maid of the Mist was not in the water yet. However, we decided to experience an indoor version of Maid of the Mist and attended the 4D movie of "Niagara's Fury". We were rained on, "snowed" on, the floor shook and the sound was deafening; however, that did not compare to the awesomeness of the tunnels underneath Niagara Falls itself. The roar of the falls was unbelievable and it was breathtaking to stand 127 feet below the top of the falls. It was a lot of fun to make our own, personal candy bars at the historical Pop & Lollies candy store at Niagara Falls. We stayed the entire day and ate dinner at the beautiful Watermark Restaurant that afforded us a spectacular view of the entire falls (American & Canadian sides). It was fun to watch the falls be lit up by giant spotlights that night as well.



On Saturday we spent the day enjoying the indoor market in London, reading and relaxing outside in the gorgeous weather.


Our last day in London was spent touring the beautiful carved trees and sampling poutine - which I am now addicted to!!


Nick and I headed home on Monday morning and spent another day traveling back to the U.S. We did spot one last carved tree in the airport on our way out. With shot glasses, personally made candy, lots of photos and wonderful memories in hand we made it home safely. Now to make some poutine!!

Friday, April 1, 2011

It's a zoo out there!

Nick and I hadn't been to the zoo in forever and this trip was a lot of fun because Seattle decided to show her true colors and create a beautiful day for our family get-together. We met some of Nick's family at the zoo for a picnic lunch, sunshine and some good ole' zoo action!



I had a great time feeding the birds:


With little ones in tow Nick's family headed home before us, but Nick and I stuck around and I'm so glad we did because we got quite the show from these two:


Spring at the zoo - everyone's twitterpated!!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Hopeless or inspiring?

Nick and I have been on a major documentary kick recently and after watching the most recent one, I posed that this is becoming significantly hopeless and depressing. At what point do you stop watching and start doing? When do you become a policy maker or work to enact change? How do you get off the couch and put action behind words? Nowadays, the little man has to fend for himself; we are all becoming fledgling politicians. You can sign petitions online, contact your local representative, stay informed, march with organizations, volunteer and so much more. It seems that every day there is a new story of earthquakes, floods, famines and disaster. Many say that in 2012 the world will end, others are saying that the second coming is at hand; while all of those might be true, I would like to do something about these happenings versus sitting by and waiting for the curtain call.

Here are a few of the documentaries that have been inspiring us:

Gasland

Frontline: College Inc.

The Corporation

In Debt We Trust

Frontline: The Spill

Food, INC.

Fuel

Plant a garden, convert to biodiesel, buy a rain barrel, plant a tree, write a letter to your local representative, eat local food, support farmers, donate to a cause that is striving to make a difference.

Through action we can create hope!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Composting is for the worms

As many of you know, I've been working on composting for a couple of years and have been failing miserably. This year, I'm done with failure and have made two compost bins - one for food waste and one for yard waste. For the food waste bin, I will be purchasing red worms and they will be making the compost for me. The yard waste bin, I have to do the work myself. I have promised Nick that I won't make him touch it since he was such a wonderful man and built the bins for me (and he gags easily!). The worm bin has a nice little bed of starter material in it (moldy food scraps, shredded paper and torn newspaper) and just needs some very ugly red worms added to it.

The yard waste bin is done as well. We put in some moldy food, shredded paper and the top part of the heinous, galvanized trash can composter gone bad material that was salvageable. Oh, that's a story in itself - I shan't gross you with the details. Let it be said that if you want to use a galvanized trash can, you must punch holes at various levels along the sides and then bury the bottom 2 feet so the moisture can drain out.



The best way to get started composting is to research what works best for where you live. The galvanized trash can works well for yard and food waste, but remember the tips above. Check out this hilarious article about making a worm farm. Here are some great resources for finding out about composting and worm bins: