Old Window Frames

I saw this old window frame turned picture frame at a store in town. I liked it so much that I snapped a picture of it with my phone. Of course, the picture doesn't quite do it justice.

Whoever made this took an old window frame to display and frame a piece of art. This particular example has what looks like a watercolor painting embellished with dried leaves. The combination created a striking pairing of the soft brush strokes with the crisp and textured leaves.

I have a few old window frames from my uncle. I've been meaning to turn them into some sort of framed display. I've contemplated attaching mesh to the back so that I can hang earrings and other jewelry. Another idea I've had is to make the backing out of cork board; it could make a great bulletin board with the lattice work helping to organize pinned ideas. I'm also tempted to try my hand at something like the image above. I'm not really a painter (at all), but I do love to work with scrapbook paper, embellishments, beads, and wire! Perhaps I can figure out something clever.

Soil

Yesterday was a productive day out in the garden. Largest dilemma: I'm running out of soil. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising since my garden is in containers rather than in the ground. I could simply be utilizing my backyard soil...but that opens up the door to numerous other challenges that I'd rather not face, such as tilling/destroying some of my current landscaping and my garden being destroyed by my dogs. I much prefer that my container garden can weave itself into my current backyard configuration.

But the soil! There never seems to be quite enough! It so quickly disappears, leaving me with a partially filled pot or half-naked plant. Although I have utilized both old soil and some backyard soil (thanks to a few new fence posts!), it seems as though I am constantly buying soil, and I would rather not be buying something that exists on its own in my backyard. My garbage can potatoes in particular have had voracious appetites for soil. Bucket after bucket, dumped in an attempt to cover the tender, green seedlings. Their beguiling ways deceive me, however; just when I think one more bucket should do it, they stand a little bit taller and request yet another. I don't know how much more soil my bank account can afford! Before you know it, I will be cutting water and electricity in order to fund my garden. So much for home gardening being a way to save money!

On another note, ss I've been doing some container gardening for a few years, I'm beginning to wonder how seriously I need to consider crop rotation. This year, I mixed some old soil together with fresh soil and a natural fertilizer. I'm hoping to add in some compost at some point, too. The trouble with my compost is that I have a hard time accessing the new soil. I have an in-ground compost, so the soil is always one of two places: completely buried beneath the fresh scraps or churned in with the fresh scraps. I have not discovered a successful way to access the new soil. Sounds like an adventure--for another day.

March to May (Garden) Madness

May is winding down, and my garden is looking a little sad. That isn't suppose to happen until the sweltering heat of July sets in. For the past five years, I have been slowly transitioning into a grow-my-own-food gardener. I started with the basics: I stuck a rhubarb plant in an area of my yard previously overrun with weeds, and I potted a few tomato plants. Each year, I have bumped it up a notch by adding new vegetables to my garden. Last year I even started a few varieties from seed. Aside from my rhubarb, my garden has remained a container garden, so that slightly dictates what I grow. This year, however, I did more than simply bump it up a notch. This year, I feel like I turned the knob so many notches that it may have broke, but it is too early in the season to know.

Up until today, I personally started every plant in my garden from seed. I started only a few plants from seed last year, so this is huge. On top of that, I am growing more varieties of my traditional plants and I am growing vegetables I have not yet tried. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers have been garden staples for me, along with my trusty rhubarb plants and my basic herb garden. New this year are chili peppers, tequila peppers, a really long named German grape tomato, zucchini, squash, carrots, radishes, beets, baby red potatoes, and purple potatoes. I'm a bit concerned that I may have bit off more than I can chew this season.

Mid-March, I planted my seeds indoors using peat-pots. My guest bedroom transformed into a mini-greenhouse; I set up a card table in front of the windows, placed my labeled peat-pots on trays, and diligently watered them with words and H2O. I even attempted to make miniature terrariums using small, clear, plastic cups that I found stored away and collecting dust in the laundry room. I can't say for sure that the cups helped my sprouts any, but it at least looked like I was doing something to help them grow. Every day, my eyes scoured the soil for seedlings, and I squealed with delight every time I found a new sprout breaking ground. I was pretty proud of myself when I had something growing in almost every one of my 80 peat-pots.

At this point, other than a few herbs, I have transferred all of my seedlings to containers outside. I am growing a little concerned, however, at the lack of growth in my plants. While all of my seedlings have transitioned well, they are still so very tiny. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever get to eat any produce from my plants. It is almost the first of June, and my tomato and pepper plants are only a few inches tall and barely thicker than a toothpick! Every once in a while, I like to read the blog My Skinny Garden and while her name stems from a different reason, I feel like that's what I should be calling my garden. It is so incredibly skinny right now! While at the farmer's market this morning, I broke down and purchased a substantial green pepper plant and two leafy basil plants. I needed some reassurance that I would be able to harvest something from my garden this year! The only vegetables that I know I will be able to harvest for sure are my carrots, radishes, and beets. I sowed those directly outdoors, and they have surpassed my other plants in leaps and bounds. I'm eager to see how successful those three veggies are!

The aspect of my garden that I am probably most excited about is my potatoes! I am attempting to grow potatoes via the garbage can method, which is sort of a new concept around here. I've never seen or heard of anyone else around here doing it, so the novelty of the concept is of course fun, but I'm also excited because I think it is working! I planted baby reds in one can and purple fingerlings in the other. Both have leafy sprouts growing. The reds are to the point that I need to add more soil to the can tomorrow and cover them; the purples need a little more growth before I add more soil.

At any rate, I think I can count on this year's garden being successful. I don't think I turned the knob far enough to break it when I bumped it up a few notches. I was able to grow plants from seeds. Gold star for that. I'm going to be able to harvest radishes soon. Another gold star. My beets are maturing. Gold star number three. I should have a harvest of not only one but two varieties of potatoes. A fourth gold star. If I can claim four gold stars already in the end of May, then I at least accomplished something, and that's pretty sweet! I'm already beginning to wonder what I should do with my garden next year...

Summer Dresses

It appears mother nature cannot quite decide what kind of weather she would like to send our way...It has been too chilly to call it spring, except for the handful of days that reached the upper 80s. Now, however, I am back to wearing jeans and a fleece, complete with mittens. My movable pieces of my garden have taken up lodging in my garage for the time being. Since I started my plants indoors from seeds this year, I am not willing to risk losing them after a month of nurturing because the frost decided to return. But I titled this post summer dresses for a reason...

This awkward weather pattern has left me desperate for summery dresses. Last week, I tried to continue wearing skirts and sandals to work after the sunshine disappeared, and my toes and legs protested by covering themselves in prickling little goosebumps. Tonight, despite the cold air and the fact that I am wearing fingerless mittens, a fleece, long pants, and slippers, I have wasted away part of my evening (admittedly, it has been a large part) searching for a new summer dress at my favorite online sites. I have had very little success, which has left quite another chill in the room. There just aren't that many casual dresses out there at the moment. Either that, or I am too picky. The dress I'm looking for does have to meet a pretty severe checklist:

1. Be on sale
2. Be under $40 (Ideally, it would come with free shipping, too, but if I can find a good enough bargain, I'm willing to pay some shipping.)
3. Have straps
4. Have thicker straps so that I am not showing off my unmentionables
5. Have a not-too-plunging neckline so that I am not showing off my other unmentionables
6. Hit just above the knee
7. Be available in my size
8. Be available in a fun color or pattern

I guess it is no wonder that I am struggling to find the perfect summer dress tonight. Better luck next time, I suppose...

A Taste of New York

So I had a taste of New York this evening in two very different ways.

First, we helped move a friend into his new apartment. It was very reminiscent of the 90-square foot microstudio that has been flying around via emails and Facebook lately. My friend's studio is closer to 200-square feet, however, so it is obviously much larger. But, it does have a very similar feel. The bed is lofted, the bathroom is tucked into a corner, and the neighbors are close. The biggest difference is that this version has a 3/4-fridge, a full stove/oven, and a kitchen sink that doubles as the bathroom sink. It unfortunately does not come with quite the same view. No view of Central Park here. Just the house next door. The upside is that my friend's rent is no where near the famous YouTube girl's rent, and he gets nearly twice the square footage!

My other taste of NY took place closer to midnight. A new pizza location has recently taken up residence in town. Its location is one of the few things local about it. Their pies do not taste like any other pizza made in town. According to my friend who spent a few years living in NYC, their pizza tastes like NY. And it should. Apparently, the ingredients all arrive with a NY accent. The water itself hails from Brooklyn. We got their all-meat (minus the pepperoni) to go, and the resulting pizza lived up to its ingrediental heritage. As I carried the boxed pizza out the door and to the car, I felt like I was balancing an awkwardly large masterpiece in my hands. It was weighty, and I couldn't see my feet, but it smelled magnificent. The box itself--a minimalistic wrapping for this monumental meal--barely fit into my car; the hazard lights began flashing as I struggled to climb in, and once I got the box into the passenger seat and onto my lap, I had to keep an eye on the corners to avoid hitting any other dashboard buttons. (Granted, I do have a miniature car, but this was one large box!) As the meaty scent wafted out, the windows began to steam. I wouldn't allow the defrost to be turned on in fear that it would rob the pizza of more of its heat before we got home. When I finally got to dig in, I went against the NYC grain and used a fork and knife. Fortunately, I don't think it ruined any of the imported flavor. One bite, and I was hooked. It was by far the best pizza/date food/midnight snack I have ever had. I was slightly grieved that I could only eat one piece...one very large and extra meaty piece. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to enjoying it again for dinner tonight.

Groupon

I am so disappointed! I just missed a great Groupon! A local stained glass store was offering their fused glass class for less than half price via Groupon...and I missed out! I've dabbled in fused glass a bit, but it has been a while. I would have loved to have taken a refresher class, especially for half price. It sure would have helped me to use the tools and glass pieces that I have sitting in my office...Oh well. Some day, I hope!

On a connected side note...If you want to join Groupon and score some great local deals, click here to subscribe to Groupon in your area. Just make sure to connect your Groupon account to an email address you check regularly. Then you won't miss out like me!

Welcome to my blog!

I'm not entirely sure why, but I had the sudden urge this weekend to create a blog for myself. I like to call myself a writer, but lately, I really haven't been doing much of it. Aside from updating my jewelry blog/website and writing an introductory speech for an upcoming event, I haven't done any writing, which makes me sad. I use to love to write, and I want to find that love again. I don't suspect that I actually lost it; it's still in me, but I don't take the time to draw it out. So, I guess I am blogging in order to rediscover my inner writer. I had a heck of a time trying to come up with a name/address for my blog because it took me a while to find a name that I didn't find limiting. At first I tried garden-type names because I am an urban container gardener, which I thought about using as writing inspiration. On the other hand, I also have two crazy dogs...but a name about German short-hair pointers quickly became too tedious. Because I anticipate many sources of inspiration, I didn't want my writing to be limited by a title. I foresee this blog being more like a great meal: something will probably emerge as the main course, but there will be many side dishes to choose from as well. Like my Thanksgiving dinner plate, there will be a dollop of this and a dollop of that. Ultimately, I think "Dakota Daisy" came to mind simply because I enjoy my Mid-western life, and daisies always make me happy. At least it's a place to start.