Also, I cut off all my dreads last week! Aaaahhhh!
Monday, May 20, 2013
.spring.
I love that spring is here! Scramble with local fava beans and asparagus topped with pea shoots and radishes from my garden. One last piece of the tart I made w rhubarb and lavender from my garden as well.
Now to deal with the spring ant invasion in a dog and earth-friendly way . . .
What are your favorite signs of spring?
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
.overwintering.
rather than doing the traditional sewing of a cover crop this winter, i left most of the garden as-is over the winter to see what would make it and what this maritime growing season was all about . . . well, here's how my experiment played out.
BED #1
full of leeks, beets, onions, rosemary, garlic, lavendar, arugula, lettuces, broccoli, brussels sprouts, chard, and several kinds of kale! (no carrots, thanks to the dog who raided the garden and ATE THEM ALL)
BED #2
the big empty patch was where my tomatoes had been - i guess i could have sewn a cover crop there, but i never got around to it. i have a few onions, a little kale and chard, happy sage, sad radishes and not so great broccoli/kale hybrid (this plant didn't fare well in my plot from the beginning - i let it go as a sacrifice to the predatory bugs as long as they stayed away from the rest of my plants).
for now, i am starting seeds indoors (see posts below), put in peas (some from seed saved from my sister's garden and some from territorial seed co, and am working on building a garden map based on companion planting and crop rotation. it's like a big math problem and i am not good at math problems, so we'll see how it goes!!
BED #1
full of leeks, beets, onions, rosemary, garlic, lavendar, arugula, lettuces, broccoli, brussels sprouts, chard, and several kinds of kale! (no carrots, thanks to the dog who raided the garden and ATE THEM ALL)
BED #2
the big empty patch was where my tomatoes had been - i guess i could have sewn a cover crop there, but i never got around to it. i have a few onions, a little kale and chard, happy sage, sad radishes and not so great broccoli/kale hybrid (this plant didn't fare well in my plot from the beginning - i let it go as a sacrifice to the predatory bugs as long as they stayed away from the rest of my plants).
for now, i am starting seeds indoors (see posts below), put in peas (some from seed saved from my sister's garden and some from territorial seed co, and am working on building a garden map based on companion planting and crop rotation. it's like a big math problem and i am not good at math problems, so we'll see how it goes!!
.sprout progression.
They are getting big! Also, that's my dog out the window... He and the neighbor dog love terrorizing each other through the fence.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
.a new leaf.
i've started prepping seeds for my 2013 garden . . . got some started in a seed tray . . . am making lists and circling dreams in seed catalogs . . . i've been in this new, motivated, inspired mindset lately. i just want to create, to dream, to plant, to begin . . .
the days are getting longer. spring is teasing me with her coming. i know that here in the PNW, she's still a bit far off. we've got more rain and cold to get through, but the light is returning and that's enough for me.
so, i plan vegetable gardens, i clean out my closet, i begin new art projects, i start to plod through the pile of mending, i make soups with what is left of the tomatoes i preserved from last year, i see the garlic i planted last fall peeking out of the soil.
crocuses bloom in the neighbor's front garden and it makes me wonder if i still have time to get my daffodil bulbs in the ground.
my cousin and i are buying tickets for summer concerts already . . . i am dreaming of family camping trips and flying back east for visits in the spring and summer . . . i am ready for a change.
my husband has been biking to work all winter, but i am a fairweather biker. i prefer the bus on the cold, windy, raining mornings . . . but i am beginning to dream of evening bike rides down to mississippi ave to drink beer on patios and see shows in the small venues. and it's on it's way.
this is going to be good.
----------
in preparation for this creative spring that's just around the corner, i've been reading some new books. i'll put them in my mixed media sidebar - but here they are as well:
The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
i am excited about this book because it offers tips and advice for growing food in the exact region that i live in, as well as month-by-month guides to what to plant when. living in the PNW means i really can have a year-round harvest if i know how to do it. this book is pure gold.
Print Workshop
this book give examples and simple instructions for all kinds of at-home printing techniques. i have been more and more interested in the printmaking art form and i needed a little more knowledge in my brain about how to do this business. this book seemed to have the best approach for my learning style. since i've renewed my simple line of Hudson Tshirts (awesome shirts with my dog's face on them), i've needed a few more tools in my toolbox in this category. super exciting!
Cut Up This Book
papercutting is, by far, one of the most magical, awe-inspiring art forms. it's dreamy how someone can take a flat piece of paper and make it come alive! this book gives a simple history of papercutting, offers some awesome examples of contemporary paper artists and gives a few projects that one could do at home. i am hoping with this bit of a push i could set myself on a journey to mastering this magic for myself. i was lucky to get to see a cut paper exhibit at the MOMA in NYC a few years ago - it was breath-taking. stoked.
the days are getting longer. spring is teasing me with her coming. i know that here in the PNW, she's still a bit far off. we've got more rain and cold to get through, but the light is returning and that's enough for me.
so, i plan vegetable gardens, i clean out my closet, i begin new art projects, i start to plod through the pile of mending, i make soups with what is left of the tomatoes i preserved from last year, i see the garlic i planted last fall peeking out of the soil.
crocuses bloom in the neighbor's front garden and it makes me wonder if i still have time to get my daffodil bulbs in the ground.
my cousin and i are buying tickets for summer concerts already . . . i am dreaming of family camping trips and flying back east for visits in the spring and summer . . . i am ready for a change.
my husband has been biking to work all winter, but i am a fairweather biker. i prefer the bus on the cold, windy, raining mornings . . . but i am beginning to dream of evening bike rides down to mississippi ave to drink beer on patios and see shows in the small venues. and it's on it's way.
this is going to be good.
----------
in preparation for this creative spring that's just around the corner, i've been reading some new books. i'll put them in my mixed media sidebar - but here they are as well:
The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
i am excited about this book because it offers tips and advice for growing food in the exact region that i live in, as well as month-by-month guides to what to plant when. living in the PNW means i really can have a year-round harvest if i know how to do it. this book is pure gold.
this book give examples and simple instructions for all kinds of at-home printing techniques. i have been more and more interested in the printmaking art form and i needed a little more knowledge in my brain about how to do this business. this book seemed to have the best approach for my learning style. since i've renewed my simple line of Hudson Tshirts (awesome shirts with my dog's face on them), i've needed a few more tools in my toolbox in this category. super exciting!
Cut Up This Book
papercutting is, by far, one of the most magical, awe-inspiring art forms. it's dreamy how someone can take a flat piece of paper and make it come alive! this book gives a simple history of papercutting, offers some awesome examples of contemporary paper artists and gives a few projects that one could do at home. i am hoping with this bit of a push i could set myself on a journey to mastering this magic for myself. i was lucky to get to see a cut paper exhibit at the MOMA in NYC a few years ago - it was breath-taking. stoked.
what have you been doing in this long winter months? how are you preparing for spring?
xo,
tj
Monday, February 11, 2013
Thursday, January 03, 2013
.another 6 months.
hello lovelies!
it seems that another 6 months has flown by!
i am back down to working one job now, doing some massage and creating on the side. i handmade, bought locally or re-homed most of the gifts we gave this christmas, my garden did so ridiculously well that i could not even keep up with the tomatoes! let see . . . i traveled a bit - went to thailand, back east for a visit, down to southern oregon to see family . . . mostly we've had non-stop visitors since moving in to our new place last May. it's been fun being NE PDX's most hospitable bed and breakfast. i am also now the proud co-captain of my roller derby team, the Heartless Heathers for the 2013 season. we are about to have our season opener in a few weeks - and i am so proud of how hard we have all been working this pre-season!
so, this was a big HAPPY NEW YEAR jumble update . . .
i will close by plugging a few facebook pages i've started. the first is Bird on Wire Handmade (which i may just change to TJLoves). here you can find my lovelies as i create them until i get that etsy shop.
the second is Hudson TShirts. a place where you can become a fan of our alaskan malamute Hudson and the tshirts that bear his face. hudson tees were a creation between myself and my dear collaborator, the fantastic textile designer and superhuman whitney. . . the first printing of shirts were a fundraiser for the man-friend and i to raise gas money to move back to the PNW . . . now tees are being printed so that hudson can leave his "print" on the world for years and years to come.
lastly, i've updated a few of the mixed media bars on the side ... more on that to come.
for now i leave you with a few photos of my life since i last posted:
i've missed you all! what have you been up to in my absence?
it seems that another 6 months has flown by!
i am back down to working one job now, doing some massage and creating on the side. i handmade, bought locally or re-homed most of the gifts we gave this christmas, my garden did so ridiculously well that i could not even keep up with the tomatoes! let see . . . i traveled a bit - went to thailand, back east for a visit, down to southern oregon to see family . . . mostly we've had non-stop visitors since moving in to our new place last May. it's been fun being NE PDX's most hospitable bed and breakfast. i am also now the proud co-captain of my roller derby team, the Heartless Heathers for the 2013 season. we are about to have our season opener in a few weeks - and i am so proud of how hard we have all been working this pre-season!
so, this was a big HAPPY NEW YEAR jumble update . . .
i will close by plugging a few facebook pages i've started. the first is Bird on Wire Handmade (which i may just change to TJLoves). here you can find my lovelies as i create them until i get that etsy shop.
the second is Hudson TShirts. a place where you can become a fan of our alaskan malamute Hudson and the tshirts that bear his face. hudson tees were a creation between myself and my dear collaborator, the fantastic textile designer and superhuman whitney. . . the first printing of shirts were a fundraiser for the man-friend and i to raise gas money to move back to the PNW . . . now tees are being printed so that hudson can leave his "print" on the world for years and years to come.
lastly, i've updated a few of the mixed media bars on the side ... more on that to come.
for now i leave you with a few photos of my life since i last posted:
strawberry rhubarb jam with rhubarb from my front yard
an example of how my tomato plants took over the plot- they actually got much worse than this
the man-friend and i celebrating our 8 yr wedding anniversary in sun river, oregon
my 31st birthday float trip down the sandy river. photo by corinne krogh
climbing with friends at smith rock in central oregon
at the top of the angles' rest hike in the columbia river gorge with my sisters in sept
at the highest elevation a person can hike to without technical climbing gear on mt hood oregon, with my leaguemate Roller Eclipse
my travel companions at the loi krathong festival in chiang mai, thailand this november
an example of what you can get when you shop from hudson tshirts
my boy in his christmas sweater
the heartless heathers celebrating their win against seattle's hometeam the sockit wenches last month
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
.6 months and so much change.
it's been almost six months to the day since i wrote that pity party post . . . and how things have turned around!
i am so happy now.
i work two awesome jobs. we moved to a beautiful house in a close-in neighborhood that we LOVE. i have TWO raised garden beds, a huge strawberry patch, and anything i could possibly want within biking distance.
a good friend of mine just visited from providence and i am looking forward to a GREAT summer full of visitors, travel and summer fun. to cap it all off, i hope to go to providence in july, sun river in august, western regionals (roller derby) in san francisco in september, a wedding in california in october, and THAILAND in november.
if you want something, speak it in to the universe and it will manifest (with a little elbow grease and patience.
time to take the pup to the dog park! more to come!
xo.
i am so happy now.
i work two awesome jobs. we moved to a beautiful house in a close-in neighborhood that we LOVE. i have TWO raised garden beds, a huge strawberry patch, and anything i could possibly want within biking distance.
a good friend of mine just visited from providence and i am looking forward to a GREAT summer full of visitors, travel and summer fun. to cap it all off, i hope to go to providence in july, sun river in august, western regionals (roller derby) in san francisco in september, a wedding in california in october, and THAILAND in november.
if you want something, speak it in to the universe and it will manifest (with a little elbow grease and patience.
time to take the pup to the dog park! more to come!
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