July, middle of.
Tonight we ate part of our yard! We didn't get to the grocery store as planned, so we had an empty-cupboard dinner. We did have pasta and 9 ounces of ricotta, so we used that, salt, parmesan and olive oil, plus yard chard, yard garlic,* and yard basil. It made me feel (briefly) kind of like a real, honest-to-goodness gardener.
In other news, today Cook officially launched the Paint-the-House-By-Himself project. (I plan to help, of course. Just not with the parts involving power tools, which I hate, and ladders, which I also hate. Otherwise, I will be very, very helpful, I'm sure.) Here's phase one... the back of the house! Our house has experienced some additions in its time, mostly done hastily and on the cheap - you can see that the mudroom (to the right) was added on to the nook (on the left). Cook's desire to make everything better (if not perfect) is slowing him down, as he keeps seeing bubbles and blisters and cracks he wants to fix. Officially, we're just doing the trim, and will do the rest (and get rid of the orange color!) in a few years, when we're rich and can afford to hire people to do it for us. Unofficially, I suspect that there will be a lot of sanding and touching-up of the horrible orange paint, because Cook can't let those bubbles and blisters slide.
And this is our parking strip, which got a makeover recently - Cook dug out all the lawn and lots of the dirt underneath, and we got our lovely Friends of Trees cascara tree, and added two kinnikinnick plants and an Oregon grape (natives all!). Cook and Antarctic Uncle spent an afternoon in the blazing sun making those pavers PERFECTLY LEVEL (it's a genetic thing, apparently, as Antarctic Uncle also cannot let sloppy work slide), and then we got a Ziptruck-bed-full of hazelnut shells for mulch.
Tonight the girls are camping in our yard.**
I can still hear them giggling.
*We harvested about 36 heads of garlic - that might last us through August. In order to be self-sufficient in garlic, I think we'd have to plant about 150 cloves. The yard would be nothing but garlic. However, they're sort of magic - HOW does a clove turn into a head? Magic, I tell you. And having them hanging in the basement makes me feel like Ma Wilder, like if I turn around I'll see squashes piled in the corner, and jars of preserves stacked on every shelf, and a big barrel of salter pork. ** In the ancient, mildewy 2-person tent Cook and I bought 15 years ago, when we thought we were the sort of people who would go camping more than once every three years.
In other news, today Cook officially launched the Paint-the-House-By-Himself project. (I plan to help, of course. Just not with the parts involving power tools, which I hate, and ladders, which I also hate. Otherwise, I will be very, very helpful, I'm sure.) Here's phase one... the back of the house! Our house has experienced some additions in its time, mostly done hastily and on the cheap - you can see that the mudroom (to the right) was added on to the nook (on the left). Cook's desire to make everything better (if not perfect) is slowing him down, as he keeps seeing bubbles and blisters and cracks he wants to fix. Officially, we're just doing the trim, and will do the rest (and get rid of the orange color!) in a few years, when we're rich and can afford to hire people to do it for us. Unofficially, I suspect that there will be a lot of sanding and touching-up of the horrible orange paint, because Cook can't let those bubbles and blisters slide.
And this is our parking strip, which got a makeover recently - Cook dug out all the lawn and lots of the dirt underneath, and we got our lovely Friends of Trees cascara tree, and added two kinnikinnick plants and an Oregon grape (natives all!). Cook and Antarctic Uncle spent an afternoon in the blazing sun making those pavers PERFECTLY LEVEL (it's a genetic thing, apparently, as Antarctic Uncle also cannot let sloppy work slide), and then we got a Ziptruck-bed-full of hazelnut shells for mulch.
Tonight the girls are camping in our yard.**
I can still hear them giggling.
*We harvested about 36 heads of garlic - that might last us through August. In order to be self-sufficient in garlic, I think we'd have to plant about 150 cloves. The yard would be nothing but garlic. However, they're sort of magic - HOW does a clove turn into a head? Magic, I tell you. And having them hanging in the basement makes me feel like Ma Wilder, like if I turn around I'll see squashes piled in the corner, and jars of preserves stacked on every shelf, and a big barrel of salter pork. ** In the ancient, mildewy 2-person tent Cook and I bought 15 years ago, when we thought we were the sort of people who would go camping more than once every three years.
Comments