Market Day, round 2

the Moose's 1st full day at market  :D  btw - it turns out that being next to the bathroom is an excellent locations; most everyone has to walk passed you at some point!  plus, we're actually at one of the 2 entrances & I never have to scope out the bathroom line before heading over LOL

she did SO well - we even had other vendors commenting to us at the end of the day about how surprised they were at how well-behaved she was all day  :D  she met all kinds of people, hoo-hoo'd a lot of dogs, and ate all kinds of yummy foods.  she also got incredibly dirty.  note to self: babies who still mostly crawl should NOT wear white sweaters to market.

oh yeah, market was pretty good, too   :D   we sold all kinds of yummy things & ate all kinds of other yummy things.  we talked to loads of new people & met a bloodhound for the first time - I had NO idea they were so big!  since we had the kid & the plants this time, we borrowed Yobo's dad's truck since our car can only do one or the other - that thing is a beast!  I had to stop by Mimi's house on the way home, knew she'd get a kick out of me driving an enormous vehicle; but I tell you what, the drive from Eagle River back into town was the scariest drive ever!  thankfully it got a little easier with practice & I had to run some errands back in town LOL

Happy birthday!

We had a 5-day birthday "weekend"  :D   What a weekend!  We were vendors at our first ever farmers' market, went on our 1st ever family road trip, had visits with both grandmas, played our first round of Travel Scrabble, ate a whole lot of wonderfully bad (& wonderful!) food, ran a bunch of errands, did loads of gardening, and the Moose had her first real play-date today (she was so good & had a lot of fun)!  Happy birthday indeed.

on the road to Kenai / Nikiski - look at all that snow!

I know it wasn't long ago that we still had snow here, but man! it seems like forever ago now that the grass is green & the sun is shining  :)

the back bed - strawberries on the right, garlic in the left & middle.  the short green plant behind the left plank are some of my first ever dahlias  :)  the tall green in the upper left corner is an Indian pea a fellow vendor gave us at the Market - it's supposed to have lovely purple flowers!  and, of course, the gnomes are ever watchful; mine is also, as usual, helping fertilize the plants  ;)

daddy & baby checking on the kiwi vines  :D  LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

papa bear explaining kiwi buds to baby moose - she was SO interested, I think mostly because she got to hold onto the wall of water & look into it LOL  it was pretty freaking adorable.

poor baby is letting mama know how indecent it is that she's been told "no hands" on the apple buds  :p

Market Day

Well, it was actually yesterday, but what a day it was!  We had a great time; I love the people at the Spenard Farmers' Market - they were such wonderful, gracious hosts, and we couldn't have asked for a better vendor neighbor.  

our little table that Yobo built

The picture was taken earlier in the morning, but we sold over half of what's on the table, plus the tray underneath.  Our 1st Market = SUCCESS!  

We brought a bunch of paracress with us & man that was a hit!  We had little containers of the seeds (in addition to the starts), which are, basically, the flowers busted open.  And since the flowers are the most potent part, letting people sample the seeds in their mouths was FANTASTIC!  It was so great to watch the facial expressions when their mouths went a little tingly hahaha   We hope to go again this weekend, next weekend for sure - we'll be making a new sign "baby teething woes?  we can help!" or something along those lines  :)  

Though it wasn't exactly sunny out, the wind never picked up more than a breeze & it only tried to rain once (only felt a couple of drops).  We completely sold out of tomatoes!  That was some unexpected awesome  :)  Yobo's mama was so wonderful & watched the Moose while we were at Market.  They even made a guest appearance LOL  Thank you mama for taking the kid out & for all of other incredibly lovely things you did for us yesterday.

We also had a number of friends who came by to provide moral support & some of them even bought stuff   :)  One of them even ended up selling US something!  She had another friend who was getting rid of some homemade garden wagons & willing to sell them cheap.  Boy oh boy, they sure do make taking plants out to harden them off during the day & dragging them back into the shed at night SOOOO much easier!!!!!!  Major score!

All in all, you could say yesterday was a damned good day  :)

Bike to Work Day 2012

Oh man is my pubic bone a wee angry right about now.  I didn't do much riding at all last year & today was the first time this year - 7 1/2 miles from home to work.  All of the cars were pretty well behaved this morning  :)  Another cyclist, however, was not. 

I was going along, about 4 miles in, crossing a street, went to turn right when SMASH! there she was!  First of all, she was behind me, did not know which way I was going, knew she was going straight, and SHOULD have come in on my left.  Secondly, she SHOULD have made a peep of some sort - bell, horn, "hello!", "on your right!", "*&%$#%(!", or even sneezed, SOMETHING that would have alerted me to her.  INSTEAD, she came up, quiet as a mouse, on the inside (right), which was just BEGGING for a crash and I gave her one.  There's not much damage to me & the bike seems to be just fine (will confirm tonight when Yobo can take a look at it).  My "injuries" are a sore right hip, a scratched up right shin & knee, and a welt on my left forearm with some scratching along the forearm & elbow. 

Out of the 18 people at work today, ELEVEN of us rode in!  We had someone stop in that asked if it was a holiday or something because there were no cars in the parking lot LOL  nope, our bike rack is just around back  :)




and wouldn't ya know, I'm right in the middle of it all!

 

Heaven in a Jar

Yobo & I just split this - SO yummy!

It was LOVELY out tonight!

my pine cones!

awww... I share  :)

she looks like a pooping Korean baby!  (thankfully, she wasn't)

is she eating pepero or a stick?

Escapades in the Yard

mmm... strawberries & garlic under the hoops.  we "planted" the lawn potatoes (wet soil) this morning! 

garlic in the back bed!  and my lovely gardening shoes  :)

more strawberries!

and kiwi vines hidden amongst walls of waters!

and I think the Moose was hiding behind this martian costume  ;)

We LOVE food!

some ice cream?  yes, please!  (no, she did NOT eat that whole thing)

I didn't do ANYTHING.

sneaking bites from the big bowl (of which she ate the entire thing)

nom nom nom nom nom

Major Fail

Oh man, Eeyore's looking mighty friendly right about now... I put the plants out this morning and I put TWO trays on a not exactly ideal place, where they took the brunt of the force of the winds that picked up this evening  :(  There is much death amongst the plants.  Yobo took some emergency cuttings of other plants to try to get them started before the big day next Saturday.  And then, at some point, I came in through the front door and did not close it quite as well as thought...  Monkey went on a solo safari outdoors.  Thankfully, he did come back not too long after, but, man, that was a long hour  :)  

getting her veggie on

she knows what's what

new sun-hat & shades  :)

The Moose Updated

Well, the fever seems to be mostly gone this morning.  Luckily it never went above 102ºF.  She's still not feeling super awesome though - she slept 12 1/2 hours last night, was woken up to eat, went back down for an hour, woke up for an hour & a half, and just went back down.  That's a lot of sleep, even for her!  Another lucky thing for us is that even when this kid doesn't feel well, she's still pretty darned sweet  :)  

we went out for an adventure last night

just mama & baby, out looking for a kitty toy

and we found one!  I didn't get any pics of Monkey with it though LOL

Our First Time at Market!

What are you doing on Saturday, May 19^th?  Visiting our booth at the Spenard Farmers’ Market, that’s what! 

This is our first time at a farmers’ market, but we'll be there with bells on.  Here’s what we’ll have available:

• Tomatoes (see below)
• Grapes (see below)
• Field mint – mint juleps anyone?
• Squash – Caserta
• Zucchini – round & Cocozelle
• Cucumbers – Telegraph improved greenhouse & little leaf, both are self fruiting, no pollination required

 

• Prickly pear pads – VERY limited number available.
• Potatoes – these are TRUE potatoes from seed, not seed potatoes (Juanita del Montana, early & late blight resistant).  VERY limited number available

 

• Peppers – we have cuttings from our awesome plant & some ghost pepper (bhut) starts.  VERY limited number available.

 

bhut baby

 
 

• Herbs – French sorrel, lime basil, Greek oregano, and more!

lime basil

 

Come on down & check out some beautiful plants!  Just look for the table with the grapes :)

The market is open from 9am – 2pm.  For more info, go to http://www.spenardfarmersmarket.org/.

Let me know if you have any questions & please let anyone who might be interested!

'Maters 

• Honeydrop Cherry Tomato ECO   (62 days)  Open-pollinated.  Ind.  Its sweet juicy fruity honey-colored treats taste almost like light grapes.  Try one Honeydrop, bet you won’t be able to stop!  Still retains a noticeable percentage of recessive pink-fruit off-types in the selection. New in 2011.
• Indigo Rose   (80 days)  Open-pollinated.  Darkest tomato bred so far, exceptionally high in anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are powerful anti-oxidants and are what give blueberries their lovely color.  In the early stages of fruit development, Indigo Rose develops a dark purple pigment in its skin when exposed to direct sunlight.  Green when unripe, purple-red when ripe, the 1-2 oz., cocktail-sized tomatoes have good flavor with 'plummy' overtones.  Developed by Jim Myers at Oregon State University using traditional plant breeding techniques.  Some late blight and TMV resistance.  Compact indeterminate.  New in 2011.
• Glacier   (55 days)  Open-pollinated.  Det.  Glacier ripens around the same time as the sub-arctics with about the same size (1–2"), and almost no cosmetic defects except yellow shoulders, but there the comparisons end.  Glacier’s rich tomato flavor relegates the insipid sub-arctics to the  compost pile.  It is also superior to the highly touted Siberia tomato, to Stupice, to Early Temptation to Bloody Butcher and, in fact, to every other tomato in the same class that we’ve tried.  Originally from Sweden, 1985.  Potato-leaf foliage.
• Cosmonaut Volkov   (65 days)  Open-pollinated.  Ind.  A superb home garden variety with good commercial possibilities.  Early, usually ripening quantities of deep red slightly flattened 8–12 oz. globes at the beginning of August when tomato craving is at its peak.  Even in cold summers, it will produce dependably by mid-August.  What makes Cosmonaut so special is its juice: sweet, rich, and full-bodied.  Volkov was the Russian explorer who fell through space.  From Dnepropetrovsk in the Ukraine. 
• Perfect Storm   (80 days)  Open-pollinated.  Salad-size globe-shaped yellow skin, yellow flesh fruit, fair amount of horizontal early and late blight resistance as well as resistance to nematodes, TMV, CMV, etc.  Some resistance to cold nights, will set fruit at 45f.
• Tiny Tom   (45 days)  Open-pollinated.  Dominant gene dwarf type plant produces excellent yields of ¾" bright red cherry tomatoes. This is a perfect patio variety for pots, containers, and window sill gardens. Also suitable for small gardens. Developed 1943 USDA, succession # NSL 20527.  Compact indeterminate that may set fruit heavily enough to act like a determinant temporarily (tries to bloom itself to death).  Extremely low light tolerance, will produce all winter long in a south facing window.

Da Vines

• Kay Gray - American hybrid grape.  Needs full sun and pruning to reveal fruit or it will not ripen properly.  Low vigor, needs a good nutrition program and no competition at feeder root level (no grass, etc).  Ripens last week of September.  Prune to spurs on 2 trunks.  Canes can be too thin to survive winter properly here if not fed heavily.  This is the variety that fruited for us last year :) 
• AlpenGlow - American hybrid grape.  Needs full sun and pruning to reveal fruit or it will not ripen properly.  High vigor, can compete with grass, etc.  Ripens 1st week of October, can be picked much earlier for wine.  Very vigorous, prune to canes.  1st year for us.
• Riverbank - Species grape - N. Minnesota seedstock.  Extreme vigor.  Tolerant of very wet soils, drought, cold and resistant to mildew and many insects.  Does well in part shade.  Good for display or as a rootstock for other grapes in difficult areas.  Has yet to fruit for us.

bebe grape vines

 

 

One Helluva Week

Thank goodness it's Friday indeed!  This week, Yobo's back went out sending him to the doctor TWICE (Yobo LOATHES the doctor's office, all doctors' offices), I had a nasty migraine that sent me praying to the porcelain goddess a few times, the Moose came down with a fever (possibly from teething), we had some nasty winds, AND our thermostat is now busted.  Hot dog!  Plus, we've now had to cancel some of our Mother's Day happenings and won't be playing the social card quite as often as we'd hoped  :(

At least I don't have to go to school tomorrow  :)  We may be able to hit the South Anchorage Farmers' Market for a minute & check out the first market of the year!  On Farmers' Market news, I'll do the big post later, but we'll be at the Spenard Farmers' Market NEXT Saturday, May 19th!  This is our first market ever & we are STOKED!  We'll have grape, tomato, potato, cucumber, squash, and many herb starts.  Also some of our own peppers and some ghost pepper starts.  Our peppers are a hybrid Yobo came up with years ago, so they don't really have a proper name... yet.

Never a dull day at the Lab

So, we have a saying at work "never a dull day at the Lab."  Today was MY turn to prove that true.  We're a fairly small lab, about 2 dozen employees, and today we also had a group of about a dozen using our conference room AND we're doing practical examinations for applicants for an open position.  Well, if you know me, you probably know I'm not allowed in the kitchen and I am banned from unsupervised use of the grill.  I decided to try a new pizza today, one that didn't even involve the microwave... yes, you know where this is going.  I used the OVEN and some cheese fell off the pizza or something, triggering the fire alarm.  I had to turn off the oven & we had to evacuate the building. 

Luckily, everyone took it in jest - the people in the conference thanked me for the break since many of them were about to fall asleep, most of my coworkers weren't exactly upset about a mandated break (it is freaking BEAUTIFUL outside today!), and the applicant who had just showed up for his exam recieved a very interesting introduction to his potential future workplace! 

To top all of this off, one of my coworkers, being the funny guy he is, went back in (he's the maintenance dude so he had to go in & check the system anyway) and came out with my pizza!  The coolest part of all?  My pizza totally finished cooking on residual heat and was DAMNED good!  So, here's a free recommendation - Amy's Pizza was the bomb.  It was the one with broccoli, tomatoes, and pesto  :D  Eat it.

Plant Update!

and this isn't even all of them!  the stuff on the floor is what goes outside in the mornings to harden off & back into the warm safety of indoors in the evenings. 

the pear & plum, plus a grapevine

these guys are just taking off!  just about time to up-pot.

Street Hockey Day

Today we celebrated my nephew TJ's belated 11th birthday party & mema's birthday with a family dinner after the party at her house.  TJ had his hockey team over to Nana & Papa's house for hamburgers, hot dogs, and (street) HOCKEY!  This year, for the first time ever, he didn't invite his childhood friends to his birthday party.  Sniff, sniff, little dude is, like, trying to grow up.  They seemed to really have a good time - there was a lot of laughing & ridiculous boy horseplay  :)   

TJ's the goalie

all excited about watching the big kids play & clapping my back - it was like baby shiatsu  :)

she picks up & puts her hat on when we're getting her jacket on.  she knows what's up now.

this is like the best picture I've ever taken with her teeth showing - #8 just showed up yesterday.

Nana & the baby & the Parmesan make three  :)

she had just eaten an enormous sweet potato (like 8" long & about 3 3/4" diameter) by herself.  mema says it's her Mimi belly (my biggest little sister - we sometimes refer to the Moose as my Baby Mimi or Mimi II).

and how this child loves plastic eggs.  especially ones with stuff inside them so they make noise when shaken.  oi vei.

time to get your frost protection on!

I don't know if it's the storm that threatened us last week or not, but it's supposed to frost over tonight, so Yobo & I (mostly Yobo) busted out with some frost protection.  I do believe tonight was the best night we've ever worked together!  w00t! w00t!  super bonus!

We covered 4 plants - these (a. arguta issai) kiwis & a ben alder currant - with "walls of water."  That white one in the back is a "Wall O Water" brand one & the others are Ferry Morse "Frost Jackets".  This is our first year trying these guys out... we'll see how they hold up!

6 apple seedlings were covered with pots to keep those little buds safe.

Monster ate a whole lot of frozen blueberries today  :)  This is just the beginning - later came painting the kitchen floor & her face in blueberry juice!  hehehehe  we sometimes encourage "fun with food".

a couple of sections of the yard have already become home to many worms again...

crazy worms!  if I can keep myself up late enough, I may try catching some to sell! ha!

hehehehe (in 3, 2, 1...) oh no! my head touched the floor! (end of the world wailing commences)