Attention Spinners

I met a really great lady recently at dinner at a friends house. Her name is Ellie and she makes custom bags for spinning wheels.

For those of you scratching your heads, spinning wheels are used to spin fiber into yarn or thread.

Spinning was nearly a lost art in this country. It was pretty much relegated to fairy tales. (Remember the poor girl left to spin straw into gold in the tale 'Rumplestiltskin'?)

However, spinning is surging in popularity. It is a hobby now, but in pioneer days spinning was an absolute necessity.

In our area, local guilds meet and have spinning sessions. Thus, the spinning wheels must be transported. A spinning wheel is an awkwardly shaped object for transporting so not any old bag will do.This exposes them to nicks and scrapes. Some of these wheels are antiques and no one wants their property damaged so carrying cases become necessary.

Go visit Ellie's website at www.the-baglady.net
You can find examples of her work, pics, and more.

If you have questions, Ellie can be emailed at thebaglady-1@msn.com

-E

Picture and Quote of The Day

This is not as easy to read as I had hoped it would be. The little plaque in our garden reads " Plant kindness, Harvest love."

wishing you a great harvest,

- Ellen

Eating Lemon Pie

Phil and I had dinner with friends to celebrate his birthday. Patti brought her amazing lemon pie. We would all gladly turn another year older (wrinkles and all) just to get a piece of her pie.

The recipe for this pie is a family secret. Since Patti isn't sharing I beseech someone to share theirs with me. I'd be happy to even approximate something like hers.

Cmon, send me your recipes.

full of lemon pie, happy, and headed for bed,
-E

Has anyone seen this bird?

Weeks ago when I first planted beans at the community, I knew they would take awhile to come up. So I was patient.

But days went by, then a week, then two weeks. No beans. What could be the problem, I wondered? Finally, I planted them all over again. "These will come up!", I tried to reassure myself.

Another week went by- no beans. Today I took my husband with me to check out the garden. " Have you checked to see if the seeds are in the ground?", he asked.

Honestly, I looked at Phil as though he had sprouted a horn right out of the middle of his forehead. Nevertheless, I grabbed a stick and began digging at the ground. Guess what? NO SEEDS!

It's like the opposite of Jack-and-the-Beanstalk. We have magic disappearing seeds.

Phil thinks the crows might be eating them. I think it's time to bake four- and-twenty-blackbirds into a pie. Dang birds.

BTW,the first person to get that reference and reply back to me wins a Dutch Bros Coffee.

much love,
-E

No Trespassing

Maxwell has discovered a new word. He likes saying it. Likes the way it sounds rolling off of his 4-year-old tongue. He experiments using it in a sentence. That word is "Trespass".

As I worked outdoors today Max kept putting his rusty yellow dump truck in my path. "Mommy , no trespassing!" he would say sternly. If I continued past him , Max was put out. "Mommy, you trespassed," he would inform me.

My desire to walk through the yard unhindered seemed pretty reasonable to me. Maxwell's desire not be trespassed upon seems reasonable to him. After the third time or so I was about to get grouchy with him when it hit me: I had trespassed on a friend this week.

I didn't see the signs. They were vague. Or maybe I wasn't looking. It was obvious to the sign's owner, but somehow not to me. hmmm. But the end result was a friend felt hurt.

Suddenly the issues of right or wrong, reasonable or unreasonable no longer matter. God says that ignorance is no excuse for sin.

The person for whom this post was written may never see it. If I could see her right now I would dust my footprints off of her sign, and hand it back with a hug and apology.

Regardless of the outcome, the story is worth telling.

peace to all,
-E

growing challenges and garden pics

The growing season on the Oregon coast isn't as long as in warmer regions. Often to have successful crops we need to plant quick growing varieties of the veggies we want or apply the use of creative gardening gadgets.

There are special "water walls" that when placed around tomato plants maintain the heat they need to grow properly. The use of cloches is another method of protecting plants from the cold and the elements while increasing the temperature of the growing environment. Take a look online or in any gardening catalog for ideas and products that maximize your gardens potential.

One woman I know grows her tomatoes next to her dryer vent. When most people around here are struggling to get just one ripe tomato, she has many. How does that work? Well, a couple of days ago I was told that it is heat, rather than sun that ripens tomatoes. If that's the case, then I may just go to the back yard and plant some tomatoes next to the dryer vent!

Finally, when ordering seeds, try to order from a seed company in your region . Small seed companies tend to carry seeds that work best in the region they are located. For example, I like ordering seeds from Territorial because they offer short season varieties that grow well in our cool climate.

So get gardening! Have fun and good luck!

Newest pictures of the goats

As you can see by the pics, Locksley is large and visibly uncomfortable. Robin, on the other hand, is the same as always.

Someone asked, "Didn't they get pregnant at the same time?"

Answer: No. Because although they were both in the company of the billy goat at the same time, they didn't go into heat at the same time. The billy was with them for 3 weeks so there is potentially that much space between the girls regarding due dates.

We continue to wait.

Still waiting

No baby goats yet. Technically they should still have about two weeks to go.
Still, I am convinced that Locksley will not make it that far.

We went to see her today, poor thing, and she is palpably miserable. She stands up, sits down, readjusts position-always trying to get more comfortable. She is not eating much right now except straw. Grain and other goodies are just holding no appeal.

Robin on the other hand is quite cheerful. She is probably going to last the whole two weeks remaining on her due date. While Locksley leans wearily against her lean-to, Robin dances around looking for attention.

So we wait. And we pray that all goes well.

planting asparagus, making soaps

A couple of weeks ago I did two things:

* Plant asparagus
*Make home made soap

Since my camera was non-compliant I couldn't share the pics, but they are here now.

The soaps:

The star shaped soaps were made by re- batching. We grated up bars of Ivory, added color, milk and wheat germ for softening properties and scent. They look pretty good.

The pink rectangular soaps were created from scratch. They need to cure for another week before we can use them. I will describe the process more in a future post.

















And now the Asparagus:



First off, let me say that baby asparagus are quite cute. They pop right out of the ground looking exactly as you see them in the store, but in miniature. Asparagus shoots are so difficult to see that at first you fear they didn't work out. But they do, and they are cool!

Check out this cutie: The really interesting part of planting asparagus is what they look like when you bring them home.

Asparagus grows from a mass of grey/brown roots. If you saw it in your garden, you'd likely pull it up and toss it out.

You take this mess of 'medusa hair' and plant it in the soil, taking care to keep it moist. And voila', little shoots emerge shyly from the earth.


After a bit more research, I'll print some tips for anyone who wants to grow their own.

with love,
-E

Baby watch!

Earlier this evening we got word from the friends who board our goats- They seem likely to give birth sometime this weekend.

Basically what's going on is that they are showing some signs of being ready. Their udders are much larger, the babies have dropped, and their 'backsides' are a bit pouch-y.

Dante' and I grabbed poor sleepy Maxwell and loaded him in the van at 9:30 to rush out and see the 'girls'. When we got there John, Joy, and Melissa had literally thrown up a separate shelter for each goat in about 20 min. flat! I tell you what, if life gets dicey and I need something done on the fly, I'll call the Weber family. They hustle!

So we kissed and hugged all over Robin and Locksley. We made much of them while Dante' brushed their fur. They were so funny. They are acting just like pregnant women. One moment they are desperate for affection, the next they want nothing to do with you. But if you leave them alone they come looking for you. I guess women are women whether they have 2 legs or 4. (LOL)

Dante' and I have a youth group car wash all day tomorrow. But Dante' has her cell phone with her and if we get a call saying the girls are in labor- We are OUTTA THERE.

I'll keep y'all posted,
-E

Rogue peacock on the loose

Just a quick note tonight as I am super tired, but this story just HAS to be told.

Yesterday Dante' and went to see longtime friend Shirley. Shirley lives a mile or so up a slough. It's a gorgeous country setting.

On the way home, we took a side road just to sight-see and enjoy the day. 8 minutes later I find myself saying "Omigosh, a peacock!". There it was, in the middle of absolute nowhere, reclining laconically on the side of the road.

We stopped, we gawked. "It's hurt," said Dante. After a little debate we decided she could knock on the door of the only house close by and see if it was someone's pet.

Did I mention this bird was beautiful and completely decked out in the finest peacocky glory? The tail dragged at least 5 feet behind it.

So a creepy old man answered the door and informed Dante' the peacock, a peahen, and a cat had been abandoned by a family that had moved away. The peahen is missing, he shot and killed the cat (his words), and he shot the peacock in the leg and didn't know why it was still alive.

Dante' hustled back to the car mouthing "let's go now!". We left and went to animal control who took down the address and promised to go talk to the crazy old man the next day.

Before we gunned out of our own version of "Deliverance", Dante' got a small pic of the bird with her cell phone.

head shaking,
-E

You just can't make this stuff up

Here is a play-by-play of a typical day in our life. It really should be titled, "The Good , The Bad , and The Ugly, (with yours truly playing the part of ugly) but that has already been taken. Read on. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will become a part of you. Grinning- Ellen.





AM- * emptied the rabbit cages, lined the bottoms with newspaper, and filled both food and water containers. Shoot! We forgot to get more straw for bedding. It will have to be gotten today.

* Fed the dog and the cats. Rex generally fulfills most of his caloric requirements eating the neighbor's cat food. Aphrodite eats the dog's food. What's up with that?

* Friends come over to knit, crochet and talk. We exchange patterns, ideas and life stories.

PM* Dante', Max, Rex and friends pile into the van. We go to the community garden to tend
our plot. Surprise! Over the weekend potatoes have come up. We are jubilant. The
peas, radishes and green onions are tall. What ever happened to the beans, we
wonder? Organic slug repellent is sprinkled, stray calendula from last year's garden is
ruthlessly yanked.

* Rex ate a chocolate Easter bunny we didn't watch carefully in the car. We panic and
take him to the vet. She smiles and says he will be fine as he didn't eat enough to
make him sick.

* Next we head for the stable where we board our horse. The dog
comes along and usually causes trouble by trying to chase a horse. Max searches out
puddles and gets soaked-again.

* The goats need more grain and the girls want to see the cute guy at Milk-E-Way feed
and seed. So we drive 12 miles and buy the grain. The cute guy isn't there today,
which leaves the girls feeling rather deflated.

* We grab sandwiches and sodas at the McKay's. Full bellies make for good spirits.

* At Melissa's house we drop off the goat grain. Our pregnant girls are really fattening
up. Dante' takes some of the goats straw home for the rabbits.

* Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. We drop off Dante's friends and go back to our
house. The dog goes into his kennel, Max goes into the bathtub, and I go into the
kitchen to clean up and start dinner.

* Our cat, Aphrodite has brought a mouse inside. It promptly gets away from her and
is lost somewhere in the living room. Is that it? Did I see it? Paxson moves
furniture, Dante' shrieks, and Aphrodite grows bored. She leaves without retrieving
her prize. This would never have happened in her younger days. I realize she is
beginning to grow old.

* Phil comes home, dinner is over, we all scatter to the far ends of the house. William
helps with dishes. I fold laundry. Phil is working on taxes.

* Bedtime ritual for Max: Brush teeth, wash face, hands and feet. Read a bedtime
story before prayers. I steal a few moments of computer time before doing it all
over again.
Believe it or not, today was relatively quiet.(minus the dog drama) That is our life. It sounds crazy sometimes but it's real. You just can't make this stuff up.

Goodnight and God Bless,
Ellen

ps- I still don't know where the mouse is.

slugs

They eat the garden. Every tender shoot that dares rise above the soil line is chewn upon.( Hmmm, according to my spellchecker, 'chewn' isn't a word. I'm gonna run with it anyway.) Who knew gardening could be such a melodrama?

Slugs are just a fact of life in the pacific northwest. Our rain forest climate makes this area one big slug-growin' petri dish. They aren't typically a problem. Until you decide to actually grow things in your yard. Other than dog and cat poop, of course. I've got a bumper crop of those.

So What are my slug-killing options? Many Oregonians swear by putting beer in little dishes in your garden. The beer attracts the slugs who then drown in it. This little gem of a tip had to come from the old days when women just stayed home and played housewife all day. A few beers and even weed pulling is fun! Or was it conjured up by a couple of guys who thought drunken invertebrates would be a real knee-slapper?

But I had to try it. So I nabbed a cheap can of no brand suds from my 92-year-old grandfather's house and divvied it into custard cups. It worked. Not well enough to keep buying beer for the yard, but it did work.

At the community garden we are only allowed to use organic remedies. They keep a gallon jug of something called "Sluggo" on hand for us to use. It's a great joke to the slugs. The little pellets are sprinkled on top of the ground. Well, that's just fab for the large, above-ground slugs. But guess what I discovered while planting today? Little baby slugs living under the dirt. Holy cow, who knew? I swear they were laughing at me.

Suggestion #3- How about a pellet gun? Next time I spy a slimy critter munching on my would-be salad, it'd be more fun to just shoot it.
-E

The long, sad goodbye

I loved my digital camera. It was my very first, given to me by husband the Christmas of '07. It went everywhere with me, and provided the necessary pics for this blog. Now it's gone.

It all started when I carelessly positioned the camera bag in between the two front seats while driving. I failed to take into account that my four year old climbs between the seats rather than get in and out of his own door. I went to take a picture at a local park only to find the screen was crushed.

But it still took pictures. I had no way of telling how the pics turned out until uploading them to the computer, but hey, it still worked.

Now it's truly dead. I tried new batteries and pleading to no avail. Photo opportunities are slipping by and my blog is lackluster w/o pics. I'm sure another camera camera is soon on my horizon, but there will never be another one like the first.

If you would please, observe a moment of silence:............................................................................................Thanks.
-E

( :

Calendula From Hell

Last weekend I put Dante' and her friends Mariah and Danica to work. They planted most of the seeds that are set aside for the front yard garden.

I started by planting 6 asparagus plants. These things come back every year so that space is permanently occupied. Then the girls planted rows of salad mix, broccoli, soy beans, peas, cabbage, etc.

Each row was labeled with permanent marker on a wooden stake. Now for the challenges:

1. How to keep the cats from digging up the garden and pooping in it.
2. How to keep the dog from digging up the cat poop and eating it.

UGH!!

Today I went outside to admire the garden (such as it is at this point) and discovered soy beans and peas just sitting on top of the soil. What happened??? Probably a combination of two things.
1. Not planted deep enough.
2. watered too much.

At the community garden, plants are popping up everywhere. The problem is, I can't tell what the heck any of it is. Let me explain:

Last year, someone made use of their plot by haphazardly emptying TONS of Calendula seeds into the dirt and then never coming back. This resulted in hundreds of flowers that went to seed last fall. I remember thinking " I pity the poor guy that is assigned that bed next spring!".

Needless to say, that person was ME!! There are not words for how "less than thrilled" I am. Until all the plants are bigger, I have no cotton-pickin clue what is calendula and what isn't. And How many times a week am I gonna be pulling those blasted things out of the garden?

If I find out who planted those things last year, I may drive by their yard and empty packets of calendula seed.


Plotting,
-E

Fresh Garbanzo Beans

It goes without saying that I get unnaturally excited when I find something new in the produce section. The weirder the item, the more I have to try it.
Garbanzo beans don't qualify as weird , per se, but I have never seen them fresh and still in the pod. Until today.

The pod is loose and large for the beans, the garbanzos are green. They even taste green, but pleasantly so. I couldn't help but wonder, "What do exactly do you do with fresh garbanzos?"

After combing the internet for ideas, my favorite was simply to drizzle them with a good quality olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and broil until crisp/tender.

Eating fresh strawberry pie

I promised y'all some recipes and didn't deliver. So tonight I will make good on my promise. But let's address two things first:

1. I have no idea why the font looks like this and can't seem to fix it.

2. Don't bust me for saying "y'all". I may live in Oregon but I grew up in Florida! ;)

That aside, here is a recipe for one of my favorites, (aren't they all?) fresh strawberry pie.


Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 Quart strawberries, green tips trimmed off
1 C sugar
2 TBSP flour
8 oz cream cheese
pinch of salt
dash or so of Milk
1 pie crust, already baked. Or you can cheat and use a graham cracker crust.

Put sugar, salt and flour in saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese with just enough milk to soften it a little. When it is smooth and creamy, spread cream cheese mixture into the pie crust.

Now pour the thickened sugar, salt, flour mixture over the cream cheese. Take strawberries and stand them up over the surface of the pie. Chill and serve.