How does your garden grow?

Little surprises seem to have sprung up overnight in my little garden.

My first eggplant is slowly filling out and little buds hold promise of other little eggplant siblings down the line. After talking with the woman who runs my CSA farm, I'm trying a variety of home remedies for the flea beetles - right now it's soapy water. She also recommended dusting the plant with flour or baby powder. Or her preferred method is simply to let the weeds grow around the plants so that the beetles eat the weeds and not the plant. Not sure I want a weedy garden, but it may come to that!

The extra moisture from spraying the eggplant seems to have created the ideal environment for little colonies of mushrooms. These look like pale jelly fish floating above the dirt.

In other news, my backyard neighbor seems to have taken it upon himself to tackle my "weeds" along the now invisible fenceline and eradicated my sunflowers and the lilac plant I bought at the Lewis Ginter plant sale back in May. I'm so sad about the lilac. I am really, really hoping that it battles back. I've now built a little mulch/stick/rock fence to make it very clear that 'this is your yard space and this is my yard space'. I know he meant well, but eesh!

Oh, and I saw a little garden snake slither away when mowing my lawn last night. It is wrong that I find snakes fascinating? And they are certainly welcome in my garden!

A bowl of lemons (or limes or oranges?)

My new guest room is still a work in progress, but the new twin bed is in place, bookshelves are up, and my cats have found a new favorite place to sleep. I still need to work on the set-up in there - my exacting measurements were, well, not so exact, and the file cabinet is currently floating around a bit looking for its proper place.

Now that I'm in disarray, this is the perfect time to paint my living room. Right?! I've been debating colors in there. My couch is tan, my throw pillows are vibrant green, my entertainment center/dresser is a mustard yellow, my side chair a green/mustardish plaid, and my floor is wood with a sisal rug. It's a little too bland. I need some pops of color. I want to keep with the citrus colors, so now comes the question of wall color - yellow, green, or orange? I've found some greens I like, but now I'm thinking a pale lemon yellow instead. Thoughts? I need a little inspiration. Need to start going through all those design magazines I've been keeping around for a rainy day...

To purge or not to purge...

I'm preparing for a group yard sale my friend Christine is hosting next weekend and am having some issues. I like stuff. I'm a museum curator, for goodness sake - stuff is my profession. But when you live in a house where storage is relatively non-existent and you actually haven't used said stuff since you moved in two years ago, it's time for a little trimming. But I keep having the inner conversation - 'you may be able to use this' or 'you should save this and give it as a gift' or 'with a coat of glossy paint this could be xyz'.

Help! Tell me that I need to purge. I look at design magazines and sites like ApartmentTherapy and love the interiors that are clean and open and airy. And yet...

By the way, I'm still trying to figure out where to keep my bike in this tiny space. Love the way they incorporate a bike that looks exactly like mine!

Times when I'm thankful I have a washing machine

After years of living in D.C. in various apartments/condos without washing machines, boy was I excited to move to the Fred into a real house (okay, the house is smaller than any of my apartments ever were, but who's keeping track?). The stackable washer/dryer was one of the deciding factors. Came in really handy this morning at 5:00AM when I was awoken from a lovely sleep to one certain black cat puking all over my bed. Not just one little spot, but ALL OVER my bed.

Into the washer went the sheets/duvet/pillowcases and Trader Joe's laundry detergent with lavender essential oils and Method liquid fabric softener in fresh air scent. Now, as I've been trying to go cruelty free in my household choices, I need to do a little investigating as to whether my laundry detergent fits the bill. The label says "cruelty free" but we know that's not always the case. Method is on the list. But oh do I love the smell of both of them. Take that sheets! And speaking of sheets, right now I'm loving the organic cotton sheets sold at my local Belk that I got on super-mega sale.

Image courtesy maryjanesfarm.com

Veggie patch update

I officially harvested my second zucchini yesterday. And the third is just a day or two away. Now I just need to decide what to do with it. I think I may wait a little too long to harvest - this latest one is ginormous and I don't remember seeing other peoples' zucchinis this big. Or maybe I'm just an amazing gardener.

On the eggplant front, however, I'm still battling the flea beetles (see all those holes in the leaves?) and I fear that they will destroy any eggplants I do get. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. Hard to do when the cutest little white eggplant buds are starting to appear.

Rocky shores and paddling swans

I had such a nice long weekend visiting my lovely girlfriends (and husbands, babies, dog, and cats) up in Boston. Of course the biggest highlight was meeting little Ned and Penny - such personalities!

We also enjoyed a paddle around the public gardens with some swans and a jaunt up to picturesque Rockport for a walk on the beach. The weather was warm and humid (felt like home) and it was such a lovely time. Thanks girls!

Click clack

The last time I was on a train was a long-distance jaunt to Boston for Mommy, Esq.'s baby shower. I leave again this evening for that same journey, but this time to meet the little munchkins and see my favorite girlfriends. Am I packed? No. But I just finished mowing my lawn, laundry is in the dryer or hanging on the drying rack, and the taxi has been reserved to get us to the train station. I have a list and am working through the items, but must admit that I hate packing for trips. I am very much an over-packer. Even when I plan things out day by day I always throw extras in "just in case".

To get myself into vacation mindset I took today off work even when I didn't really need to. I slept in (7:00AM), took a walk to the ATM and coffeeshop, came home and watched a little HGTV. I could get used to those sorts of mornings.

Last night I baked Potatoes Provencal from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian in order to use up some tomatoes and potatoes that I had lingering in the kitchen. It was very easy - layering slices of potatoes and tomatoes with kalamata olives, thyme, and olive oil drizzle in a baking dish and cooking for about 40 minutes on 400 degrees. I'll eat the leftovers for lunch and dinner before heading to the station. Now I need to figure out what to pack for snacks on the train. A big bottle of water and dry roasted edamame should be good. I plan on sleeping and reading, not really eating (fingers crossed I get a seat to myself to lay down).

When I get back I should have full-grown zucchinis awaiting me. Just little flowered babies right now. That reminds me, I should go water the garden...

Where to start?

Where to start?

• Well, the fourth of July came and went with some fireworks, many drinks, and two rambunctious dogs. I discovered quite accidentally that the Fredericksburg, VA fireworks can actually be viewed from my front yard, so Christine, L, and I all pulled up some chairs and had a nice view without any work at all.
• I've been in crazy object research mode at work - English delftware fragments (above) and champagne corks and all sorts of other crazy things fall into my lap and need to be taken care of. Guess I can't complain that my job is boring, right?!
• My mother was just here for an extended girls' weekend and we had a lot of fun shopping, getting pedicures, watching movies, and drinking her Hungry Girl margaritas made out of crystal light powder, diet lemon-lime soda, and tequila. My cats sure enjoyed having Grandmama visit (I must admit that I did too!).
• I harvested my very first zucchini. It was very exciting. I oohed and aahed over it and made my mother do the same. And then we made it into tempura.
  

This week I leave for a little train excursion up to Boston. Can't wait to see old friends, meet some new pint-sized ones, and just have fun getting out of the house. Boston - you'd better warm up - my Virginia blood can't stand any cold weather!

Vegetable tempura without the guilt

I've been on an Asian food kick lately. I think it was all because my friend M and I took a trip to wander with wonder and awe through our new Wegman's. We got sushi to go and ever since I devoured those avocado rolls (yum!) I've been making stir fries and putting soy sauce and teriyaki on everything. Last night it was a tofu, eggplant, and celery stir fry with whole wheat noodles. The night before a faux vegetable tempura made with two types of summer squash (a yellow stripey one and a green spotty one - don't know the technical names).

Vegetable tempura is definitely a guilty pleasure, and the only time I tend to indulge is when visiting my parents and going to The Orchard in Frederick, MD - they make the best veggie tempura. But the recipe I used involved dredging the vegetable sticks in cornstarch tinged with salt and cayenne pepper and then baking them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. The key is spraying them with cooking spray to get a crispy coating. Success? I think so. Guilt? Not a chance.

"Mama don't like business talk with supper on the table..."

My newest obsession is with the wonderful oil-rich drama called Dallas (1978-1991). My mother often asks me about my earliest childhood memory, and I must admit that one of my first is watching the show with my parents (with me often lying on the floor under the coffee table). And could there be a better theme song? I have the first two dvds in hand and plan to spend my free time over the holiday weekend bonding with my inner Sue Ellen (man, she knew how to work a sailor dress).

Image courtesy ultimatedallas.com