This was the first loaf I made. Since then, the bread I make looks lots better, and still tastes as great!

Yes, indeed, I am a spoiled girl…

Ever since I discovered the “No Knead Whole Wheat Bread” on the King Arthur Flour website, I’ve hardly bought bread from Safeway. Seriously.

Perfect with a pot of homemade soup

This bread is so fast, and so good, that it only takes about an hour of my time total, including setup and cleanup.

And the results.

My oh my.

The bread is tasty, moist, and probably better for us because all the ingredients are fresh. And, making it saves a heap of $$.

So, emboldened by this baking success, (remember, as a rule, I am not great at baking…) I tried yet another no knead recipe, “No Knead Oat Bread.”

This one is a little more time-consuming, and the actual baking a little more complicated, but the results are amazingly good.

You simply put all the ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix away. Then you let it rise 8 hours or overnight.

Yes, 8 hours.

You probably have all the ingredients on hand.

I once actually raised it about 7 or so hours when I realized I didn’t have time before bed to rise it in the baking dish for an hour and bake it another hour. Poor planning on my part. So I popped in the fridge overnight. It took a little while for the dough to warm up enough to begin to rise again, but once it did, it was just fine.

The recipe says to use high gluten flour, and while I’m sure it’s best to follow the recipe, I must say I only use bread flour and it turns out delish each time. Instead of a cast iron dutch oven, I use my big white Corningware casserole and bake the loaf at a lower temperature, since most of the comments mention the problems with the crust getting too dark.

And the loaf turns out perfect…and huge.

Because it’s a sweetish bread, I usually add a tablespoon of cinnamon to the dough, and before I put it into the casserole, I flatten it out, sprinkle on more cinnamon, as well as raisins and walnuts, then roll it up.

Why don't any of the breads I photograph ever look as good as they taste?

And if there’s any left after a few days, it makes super-de-duper french toast, too.

Ah yes, now you know why I’m spoiled.

It’s all part of my plan to try to learn to make more of our foods from scratch. In these days of inflation and processed food everywhere I look, I believe my family will benefit.

Something in me is wanting to get back to basics lately. Not sure why, but I’m gonna try to go with it for now. Wanna join me?

I can’t wait to show you what I’m up to next!

It's Lucy! She's a stuffie I made for the Bug for Christmas. Great pattern!

I suppose it’d be an understatement to say it’s been a while since I posted anything here. The end of 2011 was one of the busiest year-ends ever, and at one point I realized I had to just put my head down and power through it all. In fact this year I did so much jewelry-making and gift knitting that a few nights I thought I might be having a heart attack because my right arm ached so much!  Unfortunately focusing on getting stuff finished for the holidays also meant I had to let some other things things slip, like making our traditional plum pudding and gingerbread cookies, and sadly, writing my blog.

A shot of just a few of the pieces from my Talisman Rocks Holiday Trunk Show. More photos at the end of this blog.

So let me start this brief post by saying, “Happy New Year” to one and all. I wish each of you a coming year that’s full of happiness, and experiences that are rich and fulfilling.

For myself, I must question “Where will I start this new year?”

I tend to compartmentalize when I think. I’m great at multi-tasking only when it comes to taking care of our home: cooking dinner while doing a load of laundry, helping with homework, and answering emails.

When it comes to my “creative work,” however, I’m happiest with the outcomes when I focus on one creative thing at a time, whether it’s writing, knitting, jewelry, dyeing yarn…whatever.

So over the next few days, I’m puttin’ on my sorting hat, figuring out which one of my “things” to start with, and then hitting it. Hard.

One thing’s certain; I’ll continue to practice something I started doing full time at the beginning of this past autumn: I give thanks and count my blessings as I fall asleep every night. I find that despite the inevitable difficulties that crop up in my life and slow me down, I have more blessings in my life than I can count, and invariably I go to sleep with a smile on my face instead staying awake worrying.

Here’s to you my friends–please know you are counted in my blessings, and I’ll strive to keep in touch with you here far better than I have in the past year.

Look! We made it through the blizzard to Mood!

Can you guess where we were this past weekend? Indeed, if you guessed NYC, you’re correct! Bug and I tagged along with Captain Romance, who had to work a trade show there.

A dizzying array of fabric-y goodness!

Let me tell you, Bug was over the moon happy; she was born in Manhattan at NYU Medical Center, and  had wanted to go there for years.

Bug on a Bus.

Where Bug was born!

Out front of the Natural History Museum

Well, we packed as much sight-seeing as we possibly could into 3 days: Natural History Museum, and the 9/11 Memorial.

The new tower will be magnificent

We took a Gray Line Double Decker bus tour which included drive-bys of the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park (the south side), Tiffany’s and FAO Schwartz, Times Square, the Flat Iron, Soho, Tribeca, Wall St, Chinatown, Little Italy, Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty, to name just a few of the famous places we went past, both on foot and by bus.

Just a couple blocks past the 9/11 Memorial (which btw was very lovely, and as you’d expect, very moving. I was surprised to see many folks mugging for photos at the site; it seemed inappropriate somehow. Sorry if I sound preachy. Don’t mean to. It just didn’t seem right. And I’m pretty sure these people were just goofing around, not “celebrating the life of someone close to them.”), we found a lovely old church, which turned out to be St. Paul’s Chapel, the place where George Washington worshipped. They even have his pew there, and I would’ve dearly loved to take a photo of it, but picture-taking wasn’t allowed. Here’s another interesting link. It was miraculous to me that this, the “oldest public building in continuous use,” escaped the ravages of the attack on 9/11. It was a small gem to find tucked away amidst all the chaos of the construction of the new tower and the knuckleheads in “Zoo-cotti” Park.

And best of all, we got to experience 3 seasons in 3 days there: Spring (rainy Thursday), Fall (crisp and clear on Friday), and Winter (Saturday Snow!).

The beginning of the freaky blizzard

CR, Bug and I had some wonderful meals; the penultimate was our insanely delicious meal at Craft Restaurant, Tom Colicchio’s (of Top Chef) restaurant, and saw Angela Lansbury enjoying a meal there, too! What a trip! That meal has taken a spot on my “top 10 meals of my life.” Wow.

Speaking of wow: How about those last words of Steve Jobs…”Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. Gives me chills every time. So does the eulogy his sister lovingly wrote for him. Have you read it?

But I digress.

Oh yes, and we even braved the blizzard to make a pilgrimage to the one and only Mood. Wow! Don’t know how anyone could race through that place to pick out fabric? Looking at all the buttons alone makes me dizzy. I brought home a luscious raspberry-wine piece of buttery suede to make a spring hobo bag (I think). Thank you, Mood!

Button, button...Just one corner of buttons!

So much we missed because of the weather, made us promise to return to this historic city. I won’t even touch on the experience we had a Newark trying to get home; it was all part of the trip. I, for one, can’t wait for another New York Minute or two.

Amazing African Elephants

I have finally (safely) learned to use a handgun.

This is a skill I’ve wanted to learn for years. Years. And I realize that some of this stems from my “control” issues. What pushed me to do it, however, was a recent event that you probably heard of as it made the national news: a man, who was by all accounts a pretty decent guy, went mentally awol and shot several of his coworkers at a local quarry before he went on the lamb. He also shot a woman as she arrived for work when he tried to steal her car. Then he disappeared into the neighborhoods.All the local schools went on lockdown. And we spent one long sleepless night with all the lights on, feeling rather helpless. Thankfully, our wonderful police got him, just a few miles from here, though the ending was an unhappy one.

Well, I for one, refuse to feel helpless like that ever again. I want to know that I have the ability to protect myself and my family. Even the cats.

So a couple of days ago, I took an intensive two-day NRA administered handgun use and safety course at a local, and very classy firearms dealer. The instructor (who actually teaches/certifies other NRA instructors) then took me to the shooting range. I shot a 22 Ruger, a 9mm Smith and Wesson, and an antique 38 special revolver. Here’s how I did:

This target was used with the 22 and the 38; the instructor marks the holes shot after each round to keep track of progress. He was particular surprised at how often I shot through a hole twice.

After my first 3 shots with the 22 (the 1st hit just outside the target, and my next 2 inside the target), the instructor told me, “Great, but don’t get cocky.” By the time we’d finished, he told me I should be proud of myself, that I’d gone from beginner, to advanced, to master, by NRA target scoring guidelines.

But then, I’m deadly with a rubber band.

Even with its bigger "bang," I'm better with the 9mm.

And he’s one great teacher. I told him so.

Of course, like any skill, now that the mystery (and I won’t lie…fear) are gone, I’m going to keep practicing. Like knitting lace, the more you do it, the better you get.

Although yarnovers aren’t particularly deadly, unless you find one in the wrong place at the end of a big project.

I mentioned once that way back in 8th grade at Edison Jr. High, when we were forced to take a typing class, I silently revolted against the teacher, thinking, “I’m not going to be a secretary. Why the heck should I learn to type? I’ll look at the keys if I feel like it…” Result? my top speed on any typing test in that class was 39 words per minute. Mostly because I’d look at the keys, as well as correct my mistakes as I went along.

Fast forward to now. Hmm. Didn’t need to learn how to type, eh? Well, all the angels in heaven had a mighty good laugh at me. Over 17 years writing full time in advertising…my dearest dream of being a published fantasy writer (thousands of pages written/edited/deleted/saved by now), this blog…just general correspondence…the list goes on and on.

With all that writing, I have to admit that my typing skills have improved. Vastly. But I still look at the keys on occasion. This causes me to take a good 2 to 3 hours to create a post here.

All this is my way of explaining why I haven’t posted in an age, and to say I’m sorry. I really enjoy writing here, visiting and letting you know what’s happening.

That’s the other part of it, though. This is my super-de-duper busiest time of the year. My annual Talisman Rocks Holiday Trunk Show is coming up in a month (November 18th and 19th), and I’ve been at it full time. Really inspired this year to create some new things. Here’s a wee “amuse bouche” of the goods:

Gorgeous Karen Thai sterling pendants, luscious pearls and gemstones knotted on irish linen and silk lay softly over one's clavicle...

Long earrings! So much fun and so "now!"

Also had a day by myself last Saturday, and really finally figured out what I was doing wrong dyeing yarn. Came up with some glorious goodies that I really think I would sell, though I might have to send out a few to some intrepid knitting pals to test knit with…more on that another time.

Here’s a look at some of what I worked up: Merino, merino with cashmere, Blue-faced Leicester with silk, and Alpaca with merino and silk. Yummy stuff. If I had a studio to work in, I’d do this 3 or 4 days a week.

from left, BFL silk fingering, Merino cashmere fingering, Merino fingering

The camera just isn't getting the luscious wines and cinnamons here...better in the picture of the yarn drying at the bottom of this post.

And, I’ve had a couple of design ideas bouncing around in my old noggin so I’ve been playing with that, too.

More on what I'm up to here later...yes, that's yarn I dyed! Super soft merino in a cinnamon candy red.

Busy, busy.

Well, that’s nothing new, I suppose.

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Hugs to you all!

Here the reds are closer to what they look like in real life...

A fun, sort of firey autumn leaves/hogwarts hand painted merino.

Bug's getting so grown up! 7th grade!

This year, as Bug heads off to 7th grade (!!), I must reassess my resolutions of last September, and refresh, renew, resolve for the year ahead. So, before starting this post, I peeked at that last one, and here’s what I think. The list just won’t change all that much. Here’s what I was supposed to do last year:

5.  Workout 4x/week

4. Restock my Talisman Rocks Etsy Shop

3. Open my Twist and Shout Etsy Shop

2. Blog 2x or more per week (provided I have something worth saying…LOL)

1. Get that novel finished!

The thing is, these things, for the most part, are ongoing projects. To that end, let me edit this list in the following way…

2011-2012 updated resolutions:

6.  Workout 3x/week (Yes, those of you with eagle eyes will note this is one day less than last year, however, I must be realistic)

5. Restock my Talisman Rocks Etsy Shop (always the bane of my list! I hate taking pictures of jewelry! It never turns out the way I want it to…when I’m rich, I’ll pay to have someone do it for me. Until then, I must try to accomplish this.)

4. Open my Twist and Shout Etsy Shop (will now be called “Absinthe Yarn” and will include stitch markers, knitting jewelry, and some patterns) (still perfect my yarn dyeing…oh, how I wish I had a free studio space with a sink where I could go work without worry or having to drag it all in and then out before having to cook dinner.)

3. Blog 2x or more per week (still provided I have something worth saying)

2. Get that novel finished! (and start the next one! Have some great ideas and can’t wait to get on with it!)

And here’s the new number one thing I need to accomplish this year…

1. Be a little kinder to myself.

What I mean is, I think I really expect a hellavuh lot from my old self. Instead, of celebrating the stuff I do get done, I ignore my accomplishments, and frankly, that’s not healthy. At least that’s what I’ve concluded after lots of meditating on where I’ve been and what I’ve done since last September.

Sure, I procrastinate. I could’ve gotten a bachelor’s in procrastination if that’d been offered at Drake. On the other hand, since turning 50 I think the one thing I’ve focused on in the last year is accomplishing one “major” thing a day. Okay, some days it’s just getting laundry (though that can be major around here sometimes) and dinner on the table. Other days it’s making a couple dozen pairs of earrings, or taking the Bug out for a “girls’s shopping day.”

So over this past year, especially this past summer, I’ve done some major things not on that list above. Stuff like sewing those couch cushion slipcovers…planted a veggie garden…putting up some strawberry jam…finishing some old knitting projects and making progress on some new ones…losing 10 pounds…sewing a tote and a couple of fun project bags…just being a pal to someone dear who needs a little extra help right now. These things were not on last year’s list, but I daresay, these all were important things to take note of each night as I meditated on what needed doing in my life, and what actually got done.

Got 40% of this "Talamh" cardigan done. Just need to keep up the momentum. Sleeves ahead!

These are things I’m thankful for, things that give me a feeling of accomplishment each and every day. Even on those days where I barely make it out of my comfy pj bottoms by dinnertime because that morning I decided I needed a day to finish knitting a gift or something.

Now I can’t have too many of those days or I really wouldn’t get anything done. But like I said, as long as I can count one truly meaningful thing in each day’s accomplishments, I can go to sleep looking forward to the possibilities of the next day without any lingering guilt about what I didn’t get done the day before.

If this is the wisdom that comes with age, cool.

Hopefully it’s not just me justifying any procrastination.

What can I say…meeting up with my dearest, bestest friend of my grammar school and junior high school years was an amazing thing. I can barely put into words how excited I was to get together with Peach after, ahem, 37 years. You know, Facebook has gotten a bit of a “been there, done that,” sort of bad rep among some, but I am thankful for it.  It was that cyber-social secretary that helped us find each other.

First, let me say, I am a huge fan of Project Runway—hooked since the second or third show of Season One. To be honest, when Season Eight first aired and introduced all the designers, I remember seeing Peach and feeling in my gut she was familiar. But because I knew her as “Sheila Enzweiler,” it didn’t click right away. Sure, her mom and her sibs called her “Peachy,” but everyone at school called her Sheila, and so that’s what I called her, too. And since we lost touch when my family moved away in the middle of 7th grade (I ask you, how cruel was that? Moving in the middle of 7th grade?!), I didn’t know her by her married name.

Still, over the years I thought about her many times, recalling all the things we’d done together, all the things we’d been through together at St. John’s School in Winfield Illinois. One of my favorite memories was us catching butterflies in the field between our houses (using tennis racquets for nets, no less!), then setting them free in the screen porch behind her garage and watching the butterflies flutter around. I often wondered where and what this dear friend was doing. Did she still occasionally dance around with butterflies? Or teach her own kids to stitch up a “sit-upon,” like we made together in Brownies?

I did look for Peach on Facebook when I first joined; problem was, I searched “Sheila Enzweiler.” Dead end, of course.

At any rate, no words can describe how astonished I was when Peach “friended” me; it was like all the bells and whistles and fireworks went off in my head at once. OF COURSE, of course! No wonder she looked so familiar! No wonder that fabulous smile caught and held me, why her laugh was so infectious! And then, I cannot tell you what an utter idiot I felt like for not realizing it sooner.

But further, I cannot express how excited I was for her, and proud—on the other hand, it didn’t surprise me that she’d made such a splash, for Peach always sparkled; she lit up every room she walked into. Not to mention her fresh outlook and sense of humor showed itself in her creativity. You can see this for yourself on her website, and on her blog for PR Season 9. 

And just a couple of weeks ago, when we met again, the first time after all those years, it seemed like those 37 years had never gone by! I wish I could put into words how fabulous it was to be in touch with her again, after so long. How easy it was to be together. More remarkable to us was learning how many parallels our lives had had without our knowing: starting with, for instance, the fact that we were each blessed with a beautiful, curly-haired daughter as an only child.

She was such a sweetie to the Bug (who begged to come meet her), bringing along 2 darling original skirts (perfect fit), and an equally adorable Peach Carr T-shirt for her. Let me tell you, Bug wore them 3 or 4 days running. I could hardly pry them off the kid to wash them. They are her prized possessions!

Anyway, I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, that I feel so blessed to have been given the chance to reunite with this most wonderful and dear friend. In a way, I’m sad that we missed the chance to share our friendship over all these years, but I can only hope we’ll now have the chance to make up for lost time, even with our busy lives in different places.

Dear friends are a gift of heaven...

In my lifetime, I have been blessed with just a few “Anam Cara (a celtic phrase meaning “soul friend”).” Now, I am so happy to think—to me—Peach is truly one of them.

That, of course, is because I’ve just spent the last 3 weeks in Illinois! My most favorite place (besides England) in the world, packed full of family, friends, fun, and drama. My neighbor across the street always harangues me about going to Chicago in the summer, it being all hot and humid. And it was exactly that this time. Really hot and humid. But that’s where I wanna be most, with my family. Besides, everyone there I know has AC. It gets hot here in Northern CA, too, and we don’t have AC.

At any rate…

So, where to start? I suppose, first, after an ungodly early morning flight out, we arrived and went (almost) straight to a graduation party for one of our nephews. Why I have no photos of this, I cannot say. Must’ve had something to do with the effects of the Dramamine on my sleep-deprived brain. It was great though…lots of laughs with family, beer, delicious food…the works. What was strange to CR and me was that as the evening progressed, the 4 or 5 teenagers watching TV in the family room quietly multiplied to somewhere in the neighborhood of 37 by the time we left. I suppose you out there with teens understand how this phenom occurs, but it was surprising to us.

Next, CR and I took the Bug on the train to Wiggly Field—I mean Wrigley Field—to see the Cubbies trounce the Reds. Was so great—haven’t been to WF in at least 23 years or so, and that in itself brought back great memories.

Ah, the ivy-covered walls...

We had decent covered seats, and there was a lovely breeze coming in from the lake. I, of course took the opportunity to “Stitch and Pitch”—a term which totally cracked up CR—while enjoying a beer. Chose to work on my “Orchid Thief” shawl because any spilled beer or wayward mustard blob wouldn’t be so noticeable. Luckily didn’t have to worry about that since I was very careful not to jump around during the exciting bits.

The 2 must-haves for watching a game: knitting and a beer.

Best of all, the final score was Cubs 4, Reds 2. We even got to see a home run made off a line drive. Amazing. Once-in-a-lifetime, according to Captain Romance. And we did the whole commuter thing: the train, the el, walking, walking, walking (that’s my kind of hike). The Bug loved it. I love the City.

Cocktails in the Rose Garden of the Baker Hotel...reminded me a bit of Hampton Court---the castle, not the motel!

The very next day was the delightful wedding of my Darlin’Cuz’s beautiful daughter to her adorable husband. My camera was acting up, so I don’t have the greatest pictures, but here are a few of my gorgeous sis, her equally gorgeous kiddos (those at the end of this post), and my personal favorite, Bug dancing with her dad. Aww. The venue, the historic Baker Hotel, was gorgeousgorgeous! The food was delish, the dancing a riot, and frankly it was a fabulous time!

Still more knitting…was supposed to make Talamh as a KAL with my Darling Cuz, so I cast on to get a jump. That girl knits faaast! You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve seen her cast on a couple hundred stitches or so, and do 2 full inches of knitting, all in a couple of hours of hanging at Starbucks. Anyway, I cast on just so I could keep up with her, and have slogged through this pattern nearly to the point of putting the sleeves on stitch holders.

At this point, it just looks like a pile of yarn the cat spat up, but it's actually pretty.

It’s a top down pattern. The “waffle-stitch” pattern is pretty, but kinda endless. I think the only thing getting me through this is that I desperately need the sweater. Hope I like it!

There seemed to be lots more visiting this year than others: dinner with my bro and sis-in-law, off to see my Aunt Wheezy, a road trip in a thunderstorm with Darling Cuz to my favorite yarn shop ever, The Fold in Marengo, Illinois, a way, way-too-short visit with my Anam Cara Meggie (oooh, you’d better check her blog, Somewhere In Between—makes my mouth water every time I read it!), and finally, an insanely special meet-up with an amazing woman who was my very best friend in grammar school and junior high. It was tough to believe we were together again after 37 years…

Can't even put into words how much I missed her!

That’s right…the gorgeous and talented, amazing Peach Carr. Yes, Peach of Project Runway, season 8 (oh yes, you have to check out her Project Runway blog, too!). More on that wonderful reunion another time.

Thank you, FaceBook.

All this was sprinkled with shopping, and cooking, and thunderstorms, and eating, and sleep-overs, and watching the beginning of The House of Elliot while knitting with Momma. Not to mention my daily coffee with Momma where we try to solve the problems of the world as we wake up. Anyway, it was sad to leave, but oh the fun we’ll have planning our next trip.

Sledding, anyone?

A few wedding pics below, in case you’re at all curious…

So many cuties!

In dappled sunlight under a canopy of Japanese maple

So, after many grueling days of shopping for fabric (this might’ve been the worst of it, actually—I do not love JoAnn’s; at least they had a 40% off sale) measuring, cutting, pinning, basting, and finally, constructing (not to mention much blood spilled over pin pricks), the ancient outdoor furniture cushions are all freshened up. I went through 14 yards of fabric, 4 upholstery zippers, 2 big spools of thread, 15 packages of piping (cleaned out every JoAnn’s in the area), not to mention at least 27 hours of On Demand movies, as well as seasons 1 and 2 of Anne of Green Gables.

But I was not alone in rehabilitating the old furniture. Captain Romance and Bug spent a whole bunch of calories washing and waxing the old bamboo while I sewed, so everything looks oodles and oodles better.

Did you notice? Everything is in gin and tonic colors. Makes me wanna barbecue and hang out in the back yard, even though we still have a whole bunch of “outside the house” projects to do. A Whole Bunch. Sigh.

But even though having the sewing machine out has messed up the house considerably, it also has gotten me excited about sewing a few other things. In fact, I believe on my “to do this year” list, I had lined up a couple of totes I wanted to sew. And that’s what I’ll be up to today, even though I should be 1) Making Jewelry, 2) Cleaning The House, 3) Getting Me and the Bug Ready for Our Annual Trip to Chicago!

Someone looks comfy...

Well, at least CR will have a nice place to entertain his buddies while we’re gone. Wouldn’t want him to get lonely!

Good Morning!

At the risk of boring you all silly with more cat pictures (I think I’ve turned into the girlfriend you hide from because all she wants to do is show you pictures of her grandkids), I wanted you to see what a cutie Mr. Pip has become. And if you hang in there, I’ll give you a little gander at the stuff we’ve been doing in backyard land.

"Birdie!"

I know most cats—and dogs, too—really know how to relax,  but his sleeping antics have got us all giggling.

And oh, the nicknames! I’ve never ever had a cat who inspired so many  nicknames: Peep, Pipper, Mr. Peepers, Dr. Pipper, Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Fancy Pants, Fluffball, Fluff wuff, Puppy-cat, Pup, Pipsi, Pippty Do Da, Pippi…well, that’s just a few. Even sweet little Lucy only has Lulu, La, and Loola, though they share monikers “little a**hole,” and “b***head” when the occasion merits.

Actually, I’d love to hear what nicknames your little pals have, too!

As far as this backyard…what can I say? Neglect, neglect, neglect, I am guilty. I’ve been considering hanging out in Lowes on the weekend, scouting for that Ahmed guy who hosts HGTVs Yard Crashers.

...flax and sagos and ferns, oh my! This is so much worse than even this photo can show.

A serious mess, this backyard has become. But even the thought of going out to work in it makes me want to clean a bathroom and fold laundry.

It wasn’t always this way. I used to love gardening. From the time I was a kid growing up in Winfield, IL helping my grandfather with his huge vegetable garden, to the wooded and equally huge New Jersey landscape of our last home, I loved planting and weeding. It was fulfilling and creative.

But here…I just don’t know. I do know that many people claim that this is an ideal climate for growing stuff, but I haven’t found that to be entirely true. Firstly and most importantly, you need an in-ground sprinkler system wherever you want to plant. Secondly, the growing season is very different here. I’ve lived here (gasp) over 10 years and I still don’t know exactly the best time to prune my English roses. Our neighbor told us that January was when we should prune our perennial grasses. January?

I was also told to consult Sunset for the best info on gardening, and even though I bought “Western Gardening” and read it, the info just won’t stick in my brain. Sigh. On the other hand, I find it a little difficult to follow the wisdom of a publication that finds it necessary to create and use their own climate zones—take that USDA. Try to pick plants that way. Sheesh.

Anyway, I guess somewhere along the way I gave up. And then I lost interest entirely. The backyard became a bit like that pile of boxes in the corner of the guest room that you walk past and stop noticing after a while.

After! A nearly blank canvas!

So yesterday, poor CR decided he couldn’t stand it any more and took out the shovel, hatchet, pick-axe, and rake. I helped for a while, but what it took was manly brute strength to wrench the offensive and invasive ferns, flax, and awful sago palm out of the back border. I did my best to keep him fed and hydrated.

Before: 70s brown palm fabric inherited from my grandmother.

Here’s what I worked on to improve the backyard:

New slipcovers for the bamboo furniture. So far I’ve been working on them for several days and have managed to get just one finished. Long process, and I wish like heck I could afford to pay someone else to do it. Ah well.

At least I don’t have to garden.

mystery slipcovers!