May Sunshine Works Wonders!

We've had an unseasonably nice May here in the PNW and the plants are loving it! My columnar apples actually bloomed this year and I can see tiny little apples starting to form

My bush beans and broccoli are out of the greenhouse and into the ground,

As is my cauliflower.

I nailed left over chicken wire to the fence so the cucumbers have something to climb on. The row of spring onions I planted in this bed are also coming up.

It's the strawberry pyramid's first established spring and it's going to town! All the blank spots I filled in last summer with runners have rooted nicely. I hope to get a bumper crop of strawberries!

And all my potatoes are sprouting. Here are the Russian fingerling potatoes...

And here are the red, Yukon Gold, and Russet Potatoes...

Kitchen Demo!

Another original appliance bites the dust!! For anyone who has followed this blog, you know that there is an on-going battle between the original appliances that came with the house and myself. To review, the house came with the following: 1. A washer that flooded the floor and wouldn't spin. 2. A dryer that you could hardly reach, that would catch clothes in a loose piece of trim inside the drum and twist beyond recognition. 3. A water heater that was not installed to code. 4. A toilet that leaked 5. A refrigerator that quit one day while I was at work and ruined all my food. 6. A dishwasher that stalls at the beginning of a cycle and runs unending until you adjust it. It's basket wheels also pop off at random moments. 7. A wonderful gas stove that I haven't had any problems with....yet. Yes. It has been an adventure. Not in a good way. So, I decided to premptive with the stove and replace it with a slightly newer model brought up from the Lakewood kitchen remodel. Over the years, I'd also notcied that splatters and drips would go between the stove and built-ins on either side. As a person with a strong food safety background, the fact that I couldn't get in there to clean really bothered me. That anything in my house could be that dirty bothered me... So, when we pulled out the old stove and corner cabinet, I was not surprised to find this:

and this:

and this:

What I was surprised to find was a water bill from 1997 (their rates have gone up significantly), an old metal rocking horse child's toy, and the head of my broken pie blackbird (which can now be re-capitated)! After using a shopvac, lots of GooGone, and a putty knife, I got the area clean before putting in the "new" stove.

It was installed in time to make homemade lasagna with Matt!

I'm almost there....the only thing left left to replace is the dishwasher and I think it's on to me. It's been on it's best behavior lately...

Kentucky Derby Hat!

My first attempt at making a Kentucky Derby hat. I think I missed my calling as a milliner... I bought a regular sun hat and re-inforced the brim with a wire frame...

Then, I covered it with real moss that had been attached to a fabric backing...

Added other moss, lichen, peacock feathers, and butterflies and voila! An outrageous Kentucky Derby Hat!

I'm proud to say I won "Most Creative" at the party...

The Front Yard Needs to be DONE Already...

Unfortunatley, my plumbing disaster in January, followed by my truck disaster in March put the kybosh on landscaping the front yard all at once. Luckily (or perhaps, unluckily), I have a very determined boyfriend.... After mowing the lawn (finally- I thought we might have to bale it instead!), Matt decided that the bush in the corner of the yard HAD to come out. Behold the results: A great big hole in the corner of the yard! Here he is rototilling after he and Bob (my next door neighbor) pulled the stump out with a Jeep and a chain.

The stump!

As the boys worked, I saved as many muscari bulbs as I could find. They've naturalized in this corner of the yard and I'd like to keep some for my bulb spirals.

Here's what the front yard looks like now. A mowed lawn and a great empty spot, waiting to be filled.

I also got two half wine barrels from a very nice gentleman off of CraigsList. They worked beautifully for potatoes! I managed to get all my seed potatoes planted this weekend and I'm hoping for a better harvest from last year!

Here are the two containers I got free from work, full with Red Pontiac seed potatoes.

And since I didn't raise chicks this year, I could finally use this planter for it's original purpose- growing russets!

Some progress was also made in the back yard- mainly transplanting tomatoes into bigger pots, but my columnar apples are also flowering. I hope the bees find them...

Ever since I trasplanted it into a larger pot, the rhubarb has been much happier. These are the biggest leaves it's ever put out.

Mom and Dad bought these trellises at the Iron Works place and couldn't fit them in the car to take to LA. Darn. I'm testing them out with sweet peas...

And here are the tomatoes- in bigger pots and ever growing!

Sunday dinner was special this week. It was the first gathering of the Girls Cooking Club! I was the host for this first dinner and picked a French theme for the night. Of course, I decided to make Boeuf Borguignon. I started cooking at 11:30 and was finished just in time to eat at 5:30. My prep: Onions (pearl and regular), home grown carrots, and mushrooms (yuck).

Searing the stew meat...

As I coooked, the kitties napped...

And voila! The French dinner table!

We had Potatoes Anna,

Braised Leeks and Frisee salad,

My Boeuf Borguignon,

And Almond Cream with Strawberries for dessert! It was really, really good. It was so nice to only have to concentrate on making one dish, instead of a whole meal. Next month- Greek!

Spring!

This month is my garden's one year anniversary! What better way to celebrate than to post lots of garden pictures? My Citron Bleeding Heart has come back this Spring vigorous and blooming like crazy!

The white Bleeding Heart isn't too far behind!

A couple of the checkered Lilies I planted last Fall have come up- they have a truely unique flower.

Tulips that I planted last Fall...

I tidied up the strawberry pots by removing all the dead leaves that were choking the new growth. All the strawberry plants are putting out flower stalks since I took this picture.

All the onion seeds I planted are coming up. There are cipollini, red, yellow, and scallions under this greenhouse.

I've put some pansies in by the blueberries for a little early Spring color...

Most of my sweet peas have found homes on trellises- this one was improvised from an upside-down tomato cage over a pot.

I also completed another craft project. This is a window frame that I'd seen outside a thrift store I drive past every day on my way to work. The glass had been partially broken out of it, so I got it for a few dollars. I removed the rest of the glass, strung wire across and hung my seed packets from it! It's great because now I can see all the seeds I have at one time instead of sifting through stacks of folded packets.

I also cleaned out the chicken coop last weekend. The girls are always thrilled with new straw. They love digging through it for the occasional hidden oat...

And now for some rediculous, shameless cutness! A typical day for Alice and Cooper: Nap on the couch...

Nap in the storage bins...

Climbing the laundry basket...

Then, more napping while Mom cans jam...

That's it for now; the plants are growing faster than I can post. Stay tuned for more updates!