Eastside Hippie

Finally finished fixing up the guest bathroom.

Painted the cabinet and updated the hardware.

Replaced the old (1977!) GFCI outlet.

This glass shelf took 8 holes to install. Whoops.

Took out the old medicine cabinet and installed a simple arch mirror.

Still testing out different spectrum bulbs, so it’s not 100% finished, but definitely better than what was originally there. Full list of what we did: painted the walls, cupboard, and trim, replaced all the hardware (lights, towel racks, toilet paper roll holder, cabinet door knobs/pulls), installed a new mirror and 2 glass shelves, replaced outlet faceplates and the GFCI outlet, and finally added a carpet and a plant.

I am so excited (and not ashamed about it) to be able to add kitchen scraps to a compost pile.

We build an enclosure-ish space by stacking the sod (upside down) that we saved from clearing the veggie bed, covered it with dirt to slow the regrowth of grass, and then added a huge pile of grass clippings. That was on Sunday. This morning, I went out with a fork, dug a hole for the compost, and watched the pile erupt in steam. I put my hand near it and it was generating a ton of heat. So awesome.

Just a series of cell phone photos today.

We made a sifter from mesh and 2×4s. It works great!

Finished the 2nd part of the 8×12′ veggie bed. There is just one vertical portion left that I will work on throughout the week and we’ll finish it by next weekend, just in time to plant corn.

I transplanted the romaine and spinach from the front yard (where it wasn’t doing well at all) and also planted a celery here. There is more celery growing from seed in my study, but it’s too young to plant yet.

Carl mowed the lawn for the first time. Then we took our socks off and had a beer.

Beet seedlings and carrots (from seed).

Strawberries and greens. This raised bed will also house the rest of the celery (when it’s ready), and the herbs: 2 types of basil, cilantro, borage, and parsley.

The first of the squashes are out. I’m also going to plant potatoes around this area and some acorn squash (which isn’t quite ready yet).

Side view of the new veggie garden. I had to put up string to deter Ronan from running through the beds.

Purple mustard greens are thriving in the front, so I left them alone.

Peas, sweet peas, and newly sown peas around the chimney. In a few weeks, I’ll have a huge cluster of peas coming up. When I was a kid, we grew them by the bucketful, and I can’t wait to just walk out and grab them off the vine. For the record, both sides of the chimney have 2 rows of pea seeds just planted.

THE LIST:

15 Tomatoes (different types)
11 Anaheim pepper plants
Marconi Peppers
Leeks
Walla Wallas (from Caine)
5-7 Japanese Eggplants
Misc. Greens
2 Kohlrabi
2 Brussels Sprouts
Pak Choi
Broccoli
Cauliflower (from Caine)
Kale
Beets: yellow, red, chiogga
Chard
2 Artichoke
Celery

Herbs
• Thai Basil
• Regular basil
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Borage

Upper bed
• Acorn Squash
• Sweet Dumpling
• Spaghetti Squash
• Yellow Squash
• Potatoes (red, fingerling, Yukons)

Seeds
• Carrots
• Peas
• Corn

Other:
• Hens and Chicks Poppies
• Breadseed Poppies
• Sweet peas

If I have room:
• Thai chili pepper plant
• Beans (a few different types)
• Cucumbers (especially lemon cukes!)

We may be going overboard…well, the mother in law went overboard starting seedlings for us. We have 5 areas to plant: the raised bed that came with the house, an area above that for squash and potatoes that we cleared, the veggie bed (pictured above), pots on the deck, and the front flower bed along the house. This isn’t counting the bed I started for oregano, lambs ear sage, and other fun things.

I’ve been worried for a while now about cramming everything into the prepared spaces, so I took out graph paper and started drawing. Then I took out some nifty books we have and checked for information on how far apart the different plants need to be placed, as well as how moist the soil can be. Then I assigned the plants to different plots based on geography. Yes, I’m a dork, but I’m hoping it means we’ll have a TON of fresh produce this spring/summer/fall. Within a few years, we should be able to sustain ourselves just on the garden for all produce, just picking up meat and carbs at the store. We’ll see.

It’s only halfway over too. A bit before I would have left to bike to school, it hailed. I changed my mind and instead drove.

Our cherry tree isn’t really going to bloom this year, but it’s leafing out, which is a good sign.

After my 9:30-10:20 class, I came home and started working in the yard. Our yard waste bin (and 5 lawn/leaf bags) was picked up today, so I spent 30 minutes refilling the bin with the big pile of juniper/weeds/ivy that was on the upper landing pad (parking space). I managed to cram it all in there. All that is left from the initial weekend of cleaning out that crap is a pile of limbs from the juniper we hacked down and a pile of bare branches from the ivy experiment. I should be able to pack those up in a few lawn/leaf bags or most likely pack the bags with more vegetation and save the wood for when the bin is empty again. I wonder if we can get 2 bins from the garbage company…I should call them and ask.

Then I spent some time digging out plastic. I’m pretty convinced that our entire yard is covered in a layer (or more) of black plastic. I’ve found it everywhere.

Some Whidbey photos:

A root

I’ll probably go work in the yard for another hour (since the sun just came back out), then shower and head back to campus for a meeting. Tonight we’re meeting friends for a discussion and I need to study somewhere in there for a test tomorrow.

I am having mystery soup for lunch. I found it in the freezer. It looks to have chicken, chard, and carrots in it, which means I made it, which means it has to be tasty.

It looks like our garbage collectors have authorized a strike. I don’t care too much; we only produce a bag of trash a week (most weeks) and the recycle bin is only about 60% full (it goes out every other week). HOWEVER, they better pick up the yard waste bin next Thursday because it is going to be FULL of the ivy Carl and I pulled from the yard this weekend. See photo examples mixed in with other photos from the weekend:

Mystery soup (it was tasty)

Leeks from a soup I made over the weekend.

Fresh bread (plus OMG real sunlight in the kitchen!)

Puppy!

Hibiscus

Purple pancakes!

Ivy removal

The ivy had wrapped around an evergreen tree, killing it. It then bent over the fence from the neighbor’s yard and created a huge “bulb” over our yard. I cut a tunnel, then Carl went in with the saw and removed the entire stump right at the fence.

Some of the ivy vines are thicker than my forearm.

I pulled a huge chunk out. It’s still laying in the yard, too heavy for me to drag up to the street by myself.

Dorky dog is dorky

I totally made curtains guys.

Sure they are simple, but I made them myself!

Still debating whether to split them into two or not. Going to wait until Carl gets home to get his opinion.

I also have enough fabric leftover to make a half-size apron (the kind that go just around your hips and down, not up around your neck). I should do this, y/n?

Before I do a million things to the house today (sew curtains, put up new curtains, hang grow lights for seedlings, etc), I have some photos.

First off, every neighborhood has that crazy “every holiday has it’s own decorations!” neighbor right?

New mirror!

Brussels sprouts and asparagus in butter with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

Shut up! We had some leftover hotdogs to consume.

Saddest bike ever!

Spicy roasted chicken thighs.

Corn beef “hash”: Pretty much everything but the kitchen sink, but it was amazing! Took leftover corn beef, added boiled potatoes, bell pepper, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, eggs, salsa, and a tortilla.

Carl: *sigh* http://www.geekchichq.com/Co_Store/The_Showroom/The_Sultan/The_Sultan.html Some day

Wesa: *shakes head* I thought at first it was a pool table

Carl: Too pedestrian

Wesa: Are you really planning on running table games again?

Carl: I want to.

Wesa: ok

Carl: I want to run them with my kids too

Wesa: Heh, we’re having girls you know.

Carl: Yep, and I promise they’ll stay virgins until they’re at least 25

Wesa: *facepalm*

Other than a bit of touching up and picking out cabinet door knobs (we just decided we needed them after all), the kitchen is finished.

Well, at least until we remodel in a few years.