Because there's so much garden stuff in here lately, I should note that we picked, prepared and devoured our first home-grown zucchini this weekend. Woot! Read all about it here, on out JAM*intake site: http://jamintake.blogspot.com/2006/06/home-grown.html
Gardens (and eating locally and organically) rock! :-D
26 June 2006
21 June 2006
Summer, Summer, Summertime
Summer summer summertime
time to sit back and unwind
Here it is the groove slightly transformed
just a bit of a break from the norm
just a little somethin' to break the monotony
of all that hardcore dance that has gotten to be
a little bit out of control it's cool to dance
but what about the groove that soothes that moves romance
give me a soft subtle mix
and if ain't broke then don't try to fix it
and think of the summers of the past
adjust the base and let the alpine blast
pop in my CD and let me run a rhyme
and put your car on cruise and lay back cause this is summertime
--The Fresh Prince
Happy Summer Solstice! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice
One Love,
JAM
time to sit back and unwind
Here it is the groove slightly transformed
just a bit of a break from the norm
just a little somethin' to break the monotony
of all that hardcore dance that has gotten to be
a little bit out of control it's cool to dance
but what about the groove that soothes that moves romance
give me a soft subtle mix
and if ain't broke then don't try to fix it
and think of the summers of the past
adjust the base and let the alpine blast
pop in my CD and let me run a rhyme
and put your car on cruise and lay back cause this is summertime
--The Fresh Prince
Happy Summer Solstice! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice
One Love,
JAM
17 June 2006
Meet our boy, Francis
Lots of outside work lately :o) The veggie garden that we laid out in April was planted right before Mother's Day and is doing fabulously. Yay veggies!
The photograph on the top is facing the alley, the photograph on the bottom is facing the house. The white building is our neighbor's garage whose vintage look is proving to be a perfect backdrop to the garden, don't you think?
We planted:
tomatoes
zucchini
yellow squash
jalapeño peppers
banana peppers
red bell peppers
broccoli
cabbage
onions
string beans
red lettuce
So far, no fertilizer, no pesticides, no insecticides, no nothing! We mixed in our compost pile with the soil when it was planted and since then, it's had just sun, water and love. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll continue to get through the season with only those three ingredients.
We also moved Saint Francis to his intended place in the garden. What? didn't you know Saints should be placed behind the lettuce?
The Saint Francis statue was given to me by two amazing people, Jean and Wally Dolan. Ol' Saint Franny was chillin' in their gardens for nearly 30 years, where Wally unfailingly took care of him with a fresh coat of spray polyurethane every other season or so. Then, a few years ago, the Dolans decided to downsize and moved into a condo. They gave a lot of things away when they moved, downsizing not only their landscape, but also their possessions.
Of course, Saint Francis made the cut, and found his new place at the foot of the stairs leading up to the new Dolan home. Wally and Jean always knew that they wanted to pass the statue onto someone, but they wanted to find someone that would care for him and get as much joy out of him as they had for so long.
A couple months ago, they mentioned Saint Francis and their quest to find him a new home to a group of us and I jumped (no really, I jumped), clasped my hand together, and gushed about my love for the Saint and how he is just my favorite Saint ever and how we just dug up our yard and how I would have just the perfect place for him once we put in the gardens and I promised I would take care of him and could I, could I please, keep him? Please? Please, huh, please?
I think primarily in an effort to shut me up, they said yes. I picked him up that afternoon.
So, Francis has kind of been hanging out here and there in the yard since April. This weekend, he picked his preferred location in the lively, colorful and serene vegetable garden. (Click the photo to enlarge it.) He looks perfect there, doesn't he?
The photograph on the top is facing the alley, the photograph on the bottom is facing the house. The white building is our neighbor's garage whose vintage look is proving to be a perfect backdrop to the garden, don't you think?
We planted:tomatoes
zucchini
yellow squash
jalapeño peppers
banana peppers
red bell peppers
broccoli
cabbage
onions
string beans
red lettuce
So far, no fertilizer, no pesticides, no insecticides, no nothing! We mixed in our compost pile with the soil when it was planted and since then, it's had just sun, water and love. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll continue to get through the season with only those three ingredients.We also moved Saint Francis to his intended place in the garden. What? didn't you know Saints should be placed behind the lettuce?
The Saint Francis statue was given to me by two amazing people, Jean and Wally Dolan. Ol' Saint Franny was chillin' in their gardens for nearly 30 years, where Wally unfailingly took care of him with a fresh coat of spray polyurethane every other season or so. Then, a few years ago, the Dolans decided to downsize and moved into a condo. They gave a lot of things away when they moved, downsizing not only their landscape, but also their possessions.
Of course, Saint Francis made the cut, and found his new place at the foot of the stairs leading up to the new Dolan home. Wally and Jean always knew that they wanted to pass the statue onto someone, but they wanted to find someone that would care for him and get as much joy out of him as they had for so long.
A couple months ago, they mentioned Saint Francis and their quest to find him a new home to a group of us and I jumped (no really, I jumped), clasped my hand together, and gushed about my love for the Saint and how he is just my favorite Saint ever and how we just dug up our yard and how I would have just the perfect place for him once we put in the gardens and I promised I would take care of him and could I, could I please, keep him? Please? Please, huh, please?I think primarily in an effort to shut me up, they said yes. I picked him up that afternoon.
So, Francis has kind of been hanging out here and there in the yard since April. This weekend, he picked his preferred location in the lively, colorful and serene vegetable garden. (Click the photo to enlarge it.) He looks perfect there, doesn't he? 11 June 2006
Zoom!
Best thrift store purchase to date: 
Aaaw yeah. It's a Scott's classic model in impeccable condition, and came with a catch bag and a sharpening kit. Oh, and it cost us 25 bucks.
25.
Bucks.
Had we bought it new, it would have cost us over $100. I've been looking for a reel mower since last spring, and I am so glad that I didn't give up, give in and buy one new. My favorite thrift store, Impact! in Lansdale, reliably came through for us once again. It's lovely when patience pays off, yes?
It only took five of us, but we figured out how to sharpen the blades:
From left to right, that's Jason, Mattie, Daddy-O and Bill. Mikaela is behind the camera.
Aaaw yeah. It's a Scott's classic model in impeccable condition, and came with a catch bag and a sharpening kit. Oh, and it cost us 25 bucks.25.
Bucks.
Had we bought it new, it would have cost us over $100. I've been looking for a reel mower since last spring, and I am so glad that I didn't give up, give in and buy one new. My favorite thrift store, Impact! in Lansdale, reliably came through for us once again. It's lovely when patience pays off, yes?
It only took five of us, but we figured out how to sharpen the blades:
From left to right, that's Jason, Mattie, Daddy-O and Bill. Mikaela is behind the camera.
03 June 2006
This is where shrubs come to die
Did I say die? I mean, rehabilitate. They come here to get better, healthier, happier, yay!
The best part of rehabilitating plants? Re-potting.
The best part of re-potting? Dirt.
The best part of dirt? Adding water.
The best part of adding water? Mud.
The best part of mud? This:
My little neighbor and Amanda's sister, Erykah, was my helper this weekend. Actually, she's been our helper since Amanda and I planted the front bed. I just want to eat her up.
The best part of rehabilitating plants? Re-potting.
The best part of re-potting? Dirt.
The best part of dirt? Adding water.
The best part of adding water? Mud.
The best part of mud? This:
My little neighbor and Amanda's sister, Erykah, was my helper this weekend. Actually, she's been our helper since Amanda and I planted the front bed. I just want to eat her up.
29 May 2006
Dirty, dirty girls
One of the teenage daughters from the family to our right, Amanda, and I decided that we would rip out our (verysmall) shared garden. The garden is between our front walks and has had gigantic hostas growing in them since.... Forever. Or, about that long, anyway.
So, up to Suelke's we went. (Yay! I heart Suelke's!)
Amanda and I decided on a color theme of white, yellow and blue. It actually turned out to be more white, yellow and purple because there aren't a lot of blue flowers out there. We grabbed about one of everything (seriously) within our color requirements and a few bags of topsoil. One of my favorite flowers is a columbine, but I had never seen a two-colored one (see photo at right) - it's beautiful! We bought one to take place center stage in the garden, and two white ones to sit on each side.
Jason was very supportive throughout the entire shopping trip, and so I bought him one of the most beautiful hanging plants on earth. [Photo coming soon!]
Once home, we ripped out the hostas and put them aside for Amanda's family to take up to their camper at Boulder Woods in Green Lane. Then we tediously picked out as many of the weeds as we could, turned the soil (with a pick ax and shovels), mixed in top soil and laid out the plants. Turns out, Amanda has a really great eye for gardening! She did a fantastic job arranging all the different flowers. Finally, we planted, mulched and watered.
So pretty! [Photo coming soon!]
So, up to Suelke's we went. (Yay! I heart Suelke's!)
Amanda and I decided on a color theme of white, yellow and blue. It actually turned out to be more white, yellow and purple because there aren't a lot of blue flowers out there. We grabbed about one of everything (seriously) within our color requirements and a few bags of topsoil. One of my favorite flowers is a columbine, but I had never seen a two-colored one (see photo at right) - it's beautiful! We bought one to take place center stage in the garden, and two white ones to sit on each side.Jason was very supportive throughout the entire shopping trip, and so I bought him one of the most beautiful hanging plants on earth. [Photo coming soon!]
Once home, we ripped out the hostas and put them aside for Amanda's family to take up to their camper at Boulder Woods in Green Lane. Then we tediously picked out as many of the weeds as we could, turned the soil (with a pick ax and shovels), mixed in top soil and laid out the plants. Turns out, Amanda has a really great eye for gardening! She did a fantastic job arranging all the different flowers. Finally, we planted, mulched and watered.
So pretty! [Photo coming soon!]
09 May 2006
Through these windows, we can see your soul
More window installation!
The completion of the yard inspired Jason to takle a couple windows. He's an animal. See, look:
That's the bathroom window. (Don't you love the tan and white color scheme. Ugh.) And, here is the spare bedroom window:
The trim has to be painted and re-installed, and we need to find a way to make the bathroom window not-so-see-through. It'll be nice to do some final touches and get these big projects out of the way.
Speaking of big projects...
Capping these windows is definately a priority. The outer frames are epecially bad on the wall of the bathroom (pictured) and the spare room. I think that this is one project that we will sub-out. Unless we find someone with an aluminum break, of course :o)
The completion of the yard inspired Jason to takle a couple windows. He's an animal. See, look:
That's the bathroom window. (Don't you love the tan and white color scheme. Ugh.) And, here is the spare bedroom window:
The trim has to be painted and re-installed, and we need to find a way to make the bathroom window not-so-see-through. It'll be nice to do some final touches and get these big projects out of the way.
Speaking of big projects...
Capping these windows is definately a priority. The outer frames are epecially bad on the wall of the bathroom (pictured) and the spare room. I think that this is one project that we will sub-out. Unless we find someone with an aluminum break, of course :o)
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