time to get your seed on!

this raised bed was remodeled this year - we pulled it away from the house by about a foot, retilled all the dirt in the bed, put on a layer of compost, and covered it up.  this past sunday, we planted fava beans, spinach, and peas (on the left, against a section of metal from Yobo refurbished from our old box-spring.

more spinach & beans to come... and then corn!  yes, we're being crazy & trying corn this year  :)

Yobo's beautiful tomato starts - mostly honeydrop with some indigo rose

look at those sugar pear buds!

yum yum! bubblegum plum!

also new to us this year - true potato seeds!  these are about 6 weeks old - some are definitely larger than others.  all are rather delicate.  it's kind of cool to see the difference in seeds!

larger potato seed seedlings :)

smaller potato seed seedlings 

Heart Run 2012

The Moose participated in her 1st race today!  We walked / jogged the Heart Run 5K this morning.  This kid, as usual, was a little unsure at first, but then had a darned good time waving to over 5,000 people today!  hahaha she wasn't waving this morning.  At about mile 1, she just started going between waving at everyone, looking up at me all super smiley - yah!, then staring at / studying / smiling at the other babies & young ones  :)   Duh... it just dawned on me as I write it out... ALSO about the 1 mile mark, there was a big brass band playing music on the lawn for everyone & this awesome little bugger just sits up in the stroller and starts rocking out.  She loves to dance.  It's almost like she can't help it - she hears a good beat & she just moves to it.  Her grin was so giant & cheesy!  She's pointing out at everything, "Look mom!"  As we went through the finish line, there were people handing out medals to all the kids hehehe so I guess the Moose just received her first medal, too!  

First race = SUCCESS!!!  

pre-race

post race

yay!

hehehe

The Moose Walk...

The Moose walked!  We went to visit mema last night & brought that little activity center / walking helper with us to show her that the Moose is pretty quick to cross a room with it, which of course meant that the Moose didn't even want to acknowledge the activity center when we got there.  So we started eating instead... mema had something the Moose wanted & she just took her first TWO untethered steps over to get it.  About 5 minutes later, she did it again!  This time it was FOUR steps!  After that, she was done soloing it & grabbed the activity center to show nana (mema) what was what.  I can't believe she did it!  And I got to be there for the first steps!  Though now I feel a little bad that Yobo wasn't there to witness, but he was busy at home making things green  :) 

UPDATE:  we decided to see if the Moose would walk for Yobo tonight AND SHE TOTALLY DID!  She didn't even need bait  :D  we were both saying "can you walk to daddy?" and took 1 1/2 truly awesome steps before fumbling right into dad.  It was priceless - SO freaking cool!

We planted my apples last night in pots.  I have pictures, will post them sometime tonight.  SO stoked!

We got a sugar pear & bubble gum plum tree from Fedco a few weeks ago - these beautiful babies are budding out like champs!  Pictures coming for these bad boys, too!

pear bud busting out

plum buds burst!

the toblerone'd trees being trained slowly to go vertical

Threading bobbins & grafting

I absolutely LOATHE threading bobbins!  Are there any fancy tricks to making this easier?  I can never get it quite tight enough  :(

kitty!

 
Yobo & I attended our first Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association meeting this morning.  Who knew that fruit growers were such a feisty bunch?!  Well, maybe you kind of have to be, given that one of your hobbies IS performing plastic surgery on plants and helping them get their heal on by taping (or otherwise sealing) their open wounds together thus uniting them as one  ;-)


After the meeting, we attended our first grafting workshop (it sounds like they do these at least annually).  You buy the root stock ($3 each), pick out your scion wood (free), listen & watch the instructor (free), and graft some trees together!  A really nice dude (an APFGA member) helped me out & introduced us to a v-grafting tool.  I quite liked it because I'm not yet comfortable with playing with knives in quick, cutting motions.  With the grafting tool, you set the stick in the tool & press firmly; done.  When we got home, Yobo did some research on them and it looks like they v-grafting tool is great for apples & pears, but you have to replace the blades often... unless you get something super awesome like these, but it's gonna cost you, for sure.  There's another version that's good for grapes, but I've forgotten the name :(  

Anyhoo, I did 2 apple grafts - one was Ginger Gold, the other a Rescue crabapple.  We'll see how they do, we're going to put them in pots.  My new gardening end goal is to make an apple or pear tree with multiple varieties on it.  Maybe one day, if we have a super awesome greenhouse & the money to run it, I'll bump it up to a stone fruit or citrus fruit cocktail tree!

beanie baby (that's smashed red beans on her face)

 

Can that be GREEN out there?!

A fitting post for today  :)  Last night, we went for a walk & I was wearing a SKIRT and FLIP FLOPS!  It was GLORIOUS!  We went for ice cream  :)   The tires were changed over today, the house was at a whopping 75ºF this afternoon with all the windows open, and my new shoes came in the mail.  There's green sprouting up all over the place!  There is PAVEMENT!  It hit 50º like EVERY day this week and the sun is setting after 9pm now.  Yobo rearranged our bedroom as a surprise for me the other day!  He set up my old desk in our bedroom & made me a crafty space (and the bedroom's not even overcrowded)  :D   

green things inside, just waiting to go out!

look at those beautiful grape vines!

All signs point to the Moose having some teething pains again - she's in need of all kinds of extra love, is less independent, and gnawing on everything in sight.  We are INCREDIBLY thankful that, even when she's feeling poopy, she is usually of a sunny disposition (when she's poopy, you just have to keep her pretty close).  We went to the library for song time today for the first time in like THREE weeks!  My sweet baby hand fed me red beans & peas and happily touted "mommom" at me all afternoon  :)

she's been using this little activity center to walk across the house the past few days!

Oh!  About a week ago, our buddy Mr. Green (Roger) bought the van!  The "mothership", as I'd lovingly named it (it was a FREE white Ford Windstar van I owned that'd had the back gutted by it's previous owner), broke down like 3 years ago & has been taking up driveway space ever since.  Roger was a mechanic in a previous life; he knows what's wrong with the van & is willing and able to fix it.  Anyway, when Yobo was cleaning it out, he found a bag of clothes we'd both forgotten long ago.  And in this bag was the most awesome (aforementioned) skirt!  Yesterday, I wore ROCKED it for the 1st time ever - I got SO many compliments on it  :D  I'll have to get better pictures of it someday... yeah, it's that awesome. 

Look at that HUGE banana!

Happy freaking Friday!!!

Covert Robin - Sew Very good!

D'oh!  I originally forgot to even introduce Veronica & say that she's guest posting here today as part of the Covert Robin exchange I recently participated in.  She made me a lovely market tote using some real fun fabrics!  Even the Moose fell in love with it - she may now have a thing for oranges...  :)

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Hi!  I'm Veronica, and a few months ago, I started my blog, sewVery, in order to share my sewing and craft ideas and projects with anyone who might be interested.  So far, it has been a fun and educational adventure in both learning to sew and blog, and I've even won a few contests and made a few new friends along the way.

Back in January, I won an infinity scarf made by Rachael over at imagine gnats, and after a few email exchanges, we were friends!  When she announced the Covert Robin Mystery Gift Exchange, I thought it would be a lot of fun to sign up and give this sort of thing a try.  After I received the information on Rikki here at the Optimistic Slacker, I began reading her blog regularly and trying to figure out what she might like that I could make.  At one point, she even posted a list of things she likes which sort of helped me make up my mind about what I would sew and the fabrics I would use.

I've had the book Make It Sew Modern by Vanesa Christenson of V and Co. checked out from my local library now for nearly a month, and I had been admiring many of the projects highlighted in the book.  By the way, I highly recommend this book!

V & Co.

I decided that Rikki might find a Market Tote bag (instructions are on page 59 of the book) useful since she shops for groceries, goes to school, and has a toddler.  I mean, this bag is large enough to hold all kinds of stuff!  The finished dimensions are 17.5" x 17.5"!

For the Market Tote that I made for Rikki, I used a home decor fabric for the main body, and a fun fruity fabric for the lining, handles, and the large gathered piece that goes around the bag.

The instructions for cutting out the pieces and finishing the bag were pretty straightforward; however, I think it would have been much easier and faster to have simply hemmed the edges of the gathered piece instead of the way the instructions suggested.  Even though I used a long stitch length to do my basting, I had a difficult time getting the fabric to gather because it was two layers thick (and it was just normal quilting cotton). The gathering was the most time consuming part of making this tote bag.

I also made a little fabric sleeve and put a piece of cardboard in it for the bag bottom (sorry I forgot to take a picture of this).  Since the tote bag might be used to haul around groceries or text books, it really needed this extra support to make the bag more comfortable to carry.

Other than that, I don't have any complaints, and I was very pleased with the overall result.  The colors are so fun and cheerful, don't you agree?!

Well, Rikki says she really loves the oranges on the fabric and that her daughter is having fun playing with the bag, too!  Whew!  What a relief!

Rikki, I hope that you get a lot of use out of the bag, and I so appreciate your compliments.  I've had a lot of fun reading your blog, Optimistic Slacker, and making this bag for you.  Enjoy!

Hope you'll stop by my blog, sewVery, and check out the other purses, wallets, and clothes I've made for my 3 year old daughter!  I'll be blogging about a beautiful dress I made her this week using the same book, Make It Sew Modern!  Thanks!

Freaky Friday

So... I feel GREAT today!  My boss called me yesterday afternoon to let me know that my co-worker (there were the two of us + our boss) resigned effective immediately.  She's been struggling to keep up for a long time and, though the eventual resolution was expected, how it happened was a big surprise for everyone... I came in early today to catch up a little & man, do I have my work cut out for me.  Luckily, it's all good.  I've been slow on my end, so this will definitely keep me from getting bored.  Plus, it'll put to use some of the training I've had as back-up, but haven't yet had the occassion to employ. 

It was SO eerie though to come into the office & see her desk cleared.  She had a massive number of plants everywhere and they're all gone.  She also had a massive number of knick-knacks she'd collected over the years - all gone.  It's like her area just got sucked up into the vacuum of space & simply ceased to exist.

On an up note, yay! for being able to breastfeed again!!!  This morning was so lovely, being able to have my morning with baby again.  Our alone time really does make such a big difference in starting & ending the day  :D  And, since it's Friday, it's not a full day at work for me.  AND!!! I have my first "medical" massage appointment this afternoon - STOKED!  Tomorrow is our last test at school before finals.  Thank goodness the migraine's out of the way in time for that.

Next weekend, I'm playing hooky with Yobo & we're attending a grafting workshop through the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association.  So stoked about this, too!  We get to play with sticks & learn how to make new plants out of them  :D  

Happy Friday!

Migraine Madness finale?

Yay!  I can see clearly now, the rain is gone - that's some Jimmy Cliff right there  :D  This migraine is finally all but gone.  Hot diggity.  Yobo got me some wrap around sunglasses like the doctor suggested and, despite that they're ugly as sin, they totally kick ass.  I didn't die on the car ride to the salon!  hahaha  and I successfully got my hair chopped.

Ah yea, sportin' the new cut & super awesome buggy shades.  That's just for you, Daddy-o!

And the Moose ate berries for the first time yesterday!  She also hand-fed me for the first time yesterday!  It was SO sweet - she fed me blueberries yesterday & today was marionberries & chicken (surprisingly good combo).

mmm... berries

Migraine Madness continues

So the migraine's still here.  Oh yes.  We went to the hospital last night and the ER doc was kind of a... well, a doctor.  Anyhoo, they hooked me up on an even stronger pain medication via IV.  I'm not at work again today  :(  At least today's a lot better the past week.  I can move around, pick up the kid for short periods of time, and have NOT be sick at all today!  knock on wood.  

It appears that Easter may have been the trigger.  I'd already had a small migraine brewing, but it was nothing unusual or worth writing about.  Then on Easter, I, unwittingly, hit about every major food trigger available - super ripe pineapple, super ripe bananas, a truckload of fermented foods (one of them was made with squid, another trigger), all kinds of msg, and chocolate.

On a good note...  I get my hair cut today!  Yobo's going to chauffeur me over to chop of 10" for a Locks of Love donation this afternoon.  Other than the whole "donating to kids in need" thing, it's also a FREE haircut!  Yay!

Tomorrow I get my first "medical" massage, too!  Then Saturday is our last big test in class.  Hopefully this weekend is a heck of a lot better that this week has been!  

Migraine Madness

In 2007, I had a migraine so bad that every time I stood up, I would fall right back down, and have to crawl into the bathroom from the nausea caused by the rapid, massive pressure change.  I was rushed off to the ER (Providence = yuck!), where they gave me a spinal tap, an MRI, and a CT scan.  With the results of all of these, they could not tell that happened.  All I know is that I was doped on opiates for 2 weeks because that's how long the migraine (or whatever) lasted.  Yes, I did say TWO weeks of this incredible pain. 

This past Friday, my head started hurting.  Saturday, it was a little worse; I ate a lot of advil.  On Sunday, morning there was increased pain that kept building up into the afternoon; the high point of this is is when I took the stronger prescription stuff.  Pain increases continued into the night. 

When I woke up Monday, I hoped I was not hurting as bad as it felt (sometimes this just happens in the morning), so I got & ready.  Arctic & Dimond Blvd is as far as I got.  The light hit my eyes & I was sick.  I went right back home, called my boss to let her know I wasn't coming in, and crawled back into bed.  I ate a single piece of toast & was bedridden ALL day.

Tuesday morning, it was worse, and we went to the doctor.  I got shots in the butt with an even stronger pain medicine & some anti-nausea stuff, along with pill versions of each.  I was able to eat just a little more on Tuesday - has some pretzels, and Yobo got some ingredients for smoothies.  I don't really like smoothies, but they're perfect for right now.  As instructed, I took the first dose of pills 4 hours later.  This continued on throughout the day & night...

Until about 3am, when I started getting up almost every hour to puke.  Luckily, this only lasted until about 7am when the Moose woke up.  So here were are, almost 9am, and I haven't puked in a couple of hours.  The migraine seems to be getting better as I'm not feeling it so strongly with the pain meds.  I've already had a smoothie and it seems to be holding it's own in my tummy, so yay! for calories!

A bit of silver lining, however, is that after the 2007 incident, I think we were a little better at responding to this one. It's sleepy time again.

Happy 1st Birthday!