Dirt Therapy. . .

I sit here at my computer this morning feeling sweaty and super-duper awesome, which is nice for a change.  My week has been rough.  Not awful, just not satisfying.  My class feels chaotic and out of control, I'm not feeling like I'm getting things done at home much, I've had a terrible gout attack this week, and I just feel a little out of it.  Not Amie at all.

So last night when I got home (Super-K is spending the weekend with a friend so I can be as self-centered as I want for a couple of days) I went out into the "garden" (it's really just a tiny part of my yard, so I was considering not calling it a garden anymore, but I changed my mind--more on that later) and started weeding, which led to watering and when I went over to turn on the water, I noticed some old concrete garden borders --not sure if that's what they are called-- behind some bushes that I've never paid any attention to.  I started pulling them out, and I remembered that I stored some more of the same kind behind the compost bin when I built that and I pulled them out too.  A disgusting job, since bugs were all over the bottom of them and they were partially buried in the dirt.  I hosed them off and they look just fine, even though one was broken, I gorilla-glued it back together.  I was feeling very resourceful at that point, so I laid them out at the end of my front walkway where there is an awkward square turn, and dug out a little area, partially buried them, and added compost and planting medium into the little bed.  Mind you, it's only about 24" x 12" in a half-moon shape, but it looks so cute.  

I've been reading a lot of homesteading and permaculture blogs (RESEARCH, PEOPLE!) and one that I read--sorry, I don't remember which one--said that if you wait for the perfect situation, you will never do anything--"start where you are".  

So I started thinking, I am lucky enough to live in a house that my parents own, so I can pretty much plant what I want, dig where I want, and I'm pretty secure in staying here awhile, if not forever, so why not just go ahead and do what I can now.  Meaning, I've been waiting until I can afford to build "several" (no specific number here) raised beds to start my little experiment, while working with the two beds and several pots I have going now, but why not plant some stuff in the ground now.  By the way, the raised beds aren't expensive, it's the planting mix that I make that is, but it will last a lifetime, all I have to do is add compost when I pull something out and replant, according to Mel Bartholomew (sp?) of Square Foot Gardening fame.  

Again with the theme of the year, "Never Underestimate the Power of Humans to Complicate Simple Things".  Plants have been growing in the ground for millions of years (no specific number on that either).  So I've been planning on building a raised bed just for herbs, but this little spot--the half moon--is so cute, all I could think of was a bunch of herbs growing there and seeing them and smelling them every time I come home and walk up to the door.  What is wrong with me?  Why do I get so hung up on how I want things to be "ideally" that I can't see what's right in front of my face?  So I have been rooting some adorable herbs in water on my kitchen window, and I'm planting them there.  There were also some little tiny basil plants that came from my old plant when it went to seed earlier than I anticipated, so I transplanted those in there.  

"Start where you are."  Valuable advice. 

So I came in last night, feeling a lot better about life in general, and this morning I decided to go out and work a little more.  Two hours later my compost bin is full of stuff that has been just hanging out waiting for me to put it in there, the coffee grounds that I get from Starbucks is spread into the garden and the compost bin, the invasive vine that my neighbors love so much and grows into my side yard like a tidal wave is cut back to their fence, I raked a crap-ton of leaves from under the oak tree and mulched the tomatoes, beans and cucumbers, and dug into my compost bin to see how my compost is doing.  This always makes me feel better.  Weird, I know.  I have also been "planning" (which I think we all know means looking at pretty pictures on the internet) to lay down layers of newspaper next to my raised beds and mulching over them for pretty paths (I guess technically that would be A PATH since my beds sit next to each other and are next to the front steps).  I picked a space where I want my potting bench to be--next to the compost bin--and dug out all the stuff that was there, and it's kind of where I've been throwing large sticks that I don't want to put into the compost bin, so it was kind of a mess.  I pulled out the sticks and stuff, cut the plants and vines back, layered on a bunch (at least 10 sheets deep) of newspaper, and covered all of it with free mulch, which is the leaves from the oak tree out front.  Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I wet everything down and walked around on it a little to compress it and I think it will stay put.  The area is not big--maybe 6' x 6', but it looks pretty good, and I have a place to put my potting table when I get it built. 

Which brings me to why I am sitting at my computer blogging while I'm still sweaty and dirty.  This all felt so good to me, getting out there and DOING SOMETHING, even though it didn't really change what is going on in my life right now, I feel better.  So in the spirit of starting where I am, I decided that my little garden is a garden, and I'm calling it that.  Now I have an herb garden too.  And a compost pile,  and a place for a potting bench.  I'm official.  I've planted stuff from seeds. which is my personal definition of official.  I'm sweaty, and happy and dirty.  (Although I will take a shower as soon as I finish writing this)

In doing my "research" last night, I found out that I can get free compost at the landfill, which isn't very far from where I live.  I'm going to empty out a couple of big bins that I have, and head over there with a shovel.  I wish I had a truck.  I also found out that some people around the corner raise rabbits for meat and give away free rabbit manure, so I'm going to try to connect with them too.  Good for the garden. 

I'm embracing my inner hippie.  Peace, love, and compost. 

Everything Rots Eventually, and other life lessons.

So much to say, so little time. . . . 

My plants are looking so happy out in the garden, the beans have reached the fence and are starting to grow UP it now.  The lettuce looks cute, and the tomatoes are okay, I guess.  There are a bunch of baby tomatoes on there, I guess I can't really expect them to perform like summer tomatoes. 

Last night I was reading a homesteading blog, and I decided to take another go at sourdough starter.  Kaleigh and I are making bread pretty regularly now, so I want to give it another try.  After reading this particular book and recipe, I realized I was trying to do too complicated a process.  It's kind of like compost.  Once I got over the idea that it had to be complicated, I had a revelation--EVERYTHING ROTS EVENTUALLY.  Without my help.  This is a fundamental truth of the universe.  So pile crap up in a corner of the yard and it will happen.  And guess what?  It happened.  Without my help.  Never underestimate a human's capacity for making something natural complicated.  But I digress.  My point is, all I REALLY have to do is mix flour and warm water and feed it every day, and wait.  It will happen.  Without my help. 

Last night our cable went out for what I assume was most of the evening, and I had to resort to figuring something else out to do.  I think it was the last straw in the cable's back, so to speak.  I had such a pleasant evening after I figured out what to do.  AND I GOT A LOT DONE.  Figures.  I think the time has come for me to part ways with cable.  I will miss Sons of Anarchy, though.  I ended up taking out the remainder of the English paper piecing hexagons out of the back of my Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt.  It's ready to hand quilt.  I think I will machine baste it this weekend, and start hand quilting it.  It will definitely be gorgeous when it's finished.  Picture below. 

No comments about my name over my bed, please.  Unless you absolutely have to tell me how much you love it.  My bedroom is very self-centric these days.  I spent a lot of years with a bedroom that I hated in muted non-gender-specific colors, so I like a little me in there now.  Sue me.  I'm embracing the Amie. 

I also spent a lot of time reading last night, which I enjoyed so much that I am going to do it again tonight.  I got a new book called "A Homemade Life", which is a woman's story about how food and her life are intertwined and everything good in her life happens with food around.  Her life story with food.  And it has recipes.  Looking forward to it. 



The stupid dog threw herself through a window on Monday, which really pisses me off since she doesn't have a checkbook to reimburse me for the $130.00 I'm out now to fix it.  Bitch.  i also had to take Tuesday off since nobody could come fix it until then, so I decided I could spend the day crying--again--or I could do something productive.  So I opened up my etsy shop.  Nothing has come of it yet, but somebody marked me as their favorite.  That's awesome.  Considering that I kind of feel worthwhile when people re-pin my pins on Pinterest, this is like the holy grail.  (Geek Reference).

A Little of This and That. . .

I finally remembered to cut a bunch of herbs from the school garden and bring them home to root.  I have had success rooting lavender and rosemary in water, so I got those, and lemon balm and tarragon.  I'm not sure if this is going to work with those, since they aren't woody stems, but I'll try.  They are now happily relaxing on my kitchen window sill.  I've been referring to them as "the girls".  I'm not sure why.  My goal this week is to bring some of my worm compost from school and add it to my seedlings' dirt.

I need a theme song.  I started doing this when the show Ally McBeal was on and she always had a theme song, so I started doing it.  I haven't had one in awhile, so I'm trying to think of what a good one might be.  Hmm. . .  I'll think a little about it today and get back to you (all three of my readers).

Yesterday I went out into the garden (which I feel I may have over-glorified in my descriptions, it's really only two raised beds and a bunch of pots right now), and dug around a little bit, watered the seedlings, and I SAW WORMS IN MY DIRT!!!  A LOT of worms.  Yea Me!!  That means my dirt is healthy and doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing.  Makes me happy.  Amazing how what makes me happy has changed over the years.

When I got home from work last night I washed my sheets and put clean, lovely smelling sheets on my bed.  (Not that my previous sheets smelled bad, lol).  There is nothing better than that.  I watched a couple of DVR'd shows and read a little.  Nice to get enough sleep. 

  

 

Another Sunday. . .

I feel like I accomplished NOTHING this weekend.  How can that be?  I start out with such good intentions.  Yesterday I had lunch with two of my favorite people in the world, and a little shopping ensued.  After I got home, K. had a friend spend the night.  I cleaned the kitchen and got some laundry done, but no major progress is any of my big projects.  This is a sadness. 

Today I have no excuse.  I took K. and two of her friends out to play today (they mini-golfed and shopped and I ran errands).  Of course, this was in the middle of the day so by the time we got home and I played around online a little, took her friends home, had dinner and did some grocery shopping, it's pretty much time to go to bed. 

When I write it out, I guess I did get some stuff done, just nothing about any of my big projects.  When will I feel like I have a life?

Research--my new normal.

I've been reading a lot of blogs about sustainability in central Florida, and I'm actually learning a lot.  Yesterday I stopped at a couple of nurseries and bought a few tomatoes and cucumber plants for the beds.  They look really good, and the beans I planted last weekend are a couple of inches tall already thanks to some weird rain we've been having this week.  The lettuce is just starting to come up and also looks good.  I will get the tomatoes and cucumbers in later today. 

I visited my mom at the hospital yesterday, which was a little upsetting.  She is very confused and has been combative, although she wasn't yesterday while I was there.  She did introduce me as Mary Kay several times, so she has a little hospital dementia. 

Kaleigh and I have started the massive organizing project of our house.  I am doing SOMETHING towards this every day.  This weekend I'm going to get in the sewing room and try to get it together.  I'm trying to find a way to sell the antique bedroom set--I adore it, but nobody else likes it and if I'm not going to use the spare room as a guest room, there is no good place to put it.  My next big project is going to be organizing the laundry closet.  There's a lot of stuff in there that could go, and I want it to look nicer.  Reinforcing the shelves is going to be important too.

More later.  Gotta go have lunch with two of my favorite people in the world.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

I got out in the yard today after doing some more research about what to plant for a Florida Fall Garden, and planted some pole bean seeds and some lettuce seeds that I've had good luck with  in the past.  I will get some tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs next week.  I don't really want to plant those from seeds.  I've never had much luck with beans but I think I've been trying to plant them too late in the spring so it gets too hot for them pretty fast.  Who knew.   I am going to go online and order some seed catalogs tonight to peruse. 

Kaleigh and I are going to put together two more raised beds, one for herbs (a small one), and one for tomatoes.  It's just laziness that we haven't done it yet. 

My pots of lavendar and basil are looking a little wilty and stemmy, but I'm going to try to cut them back and see if that helps any. 

Mom is back in the hospital again, I am having some really awful anxiety about it.  How much can a body take?  (I'm talking about mom's body.)

I puttered around the house, did a little laundry, washed dishes, organized a few things, but did little else today.  I really needed that.  Cari called this morning and said that her mom said Kaleigh can come over today, which truly irritated me.  I'm doing all the driving (two trips each time one of them wants to go to the other's house), and HER mom says it's okay.  Isn't that nice of her?  Who asked me?  I want to do things I WANT TO DO sometimes. 

I think I'll go read and make dinner.

Embracing the Amie. . .

At the beginning of the year, I made a commitment to embrace the Amie.  To stop fighting who I am and be more accepting of myself.  How am I doing?  Well. . . I"m not.  It's fall, a new school year, and I'm thinking a lot lately that I'm not doing a very good job of it, which is making me a stressed out, unsatisfied, restless person.  I feel a little overwhelmed by the enormity of doing this, so I'm doing nothing, which is very stressfull to me.

So I have decided to embrace my mid-life crisis (my sustainability obsession), and just accept it.  I've already made a lot of changes, so I will continue to do those, and add small things until I feel I'm there.  So to start off my new attitude, I'm going to make a little list of the things I've already done.

• I made raised beds and planted a small garden
• Made a compost bin and started REALLY composting
• Made reusable lunch bags (to replace plastic zip-lock bags)
• Recycled men's shirts to make plaid quilts
• Made cloth napkins
• Turned the airconditioning up a few degrees (saving me substantially on my electric bill)
• Line dry laundry (sometimes--not really consistently)
• Make laundry detergent
• Make dishwasher soap
• Make salad dressing (more for taste than anything else)
• Make brownie mix
• Make makeup remover

I've also decided that I need to do ONE SMALL THING at a time, and when I get a handle on that, then I can do another small thing.  Hopefully this will keep me from feeling so overwhelmed with the work of it, since I really only have to work on one thing at a time. 

On that note, my one small thing for now is going to be making sure to use reusable bags, although I need to find a pattern and MAKE some fabric bags.  I'm not sure the reusable bags (that are plastic) from the store are much better than the cheapy plastic bags. 

And. . . because I'm an overachiever, I'm going to  be working on my next small thing too, which is going to be planting a fall garden.  More tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and herbs.  Right now I'm doing research (mostly consisting of looking pretty gardens up on Pinterest--lol), so I really won't work on that for a week or two yet. 

Will check in again soon.