What Bounty

Dave and I have been host these past few days to my mom Fran and sister Katy. Vinny the cat and I have been in heaven. Mom plays Vinny constantly and even let her out in the backyard one afternoon. (We quickly put an end to that, however, as Vinny has a habit of jumping the fence and disappearing for days. She can't be trusted outside). We've already seen 2 movies (Once and Waitress - both really fantastic), gone to the gym everyday, visited the US Botanical Gardens on a hellishly hot day, eaten brunch at local restaurants, including the absolutely delicious Belga Cafe on 8th Street, picked up our weekly share at the CSA Clagett Farm, and done a little work at our own vegetable plot at the Kings Court Community Garden. I even put my mom to work pulling weeds in the back yard (what a daughter, huh?).

And I'm happy to report that Dave and I have been harvesting vegetables from our little plot like maniacs. The radishes, mesclun, mustard greens and broccoli rabe (really best eaten very very young) were delicious!

Good stuff: If I were a real artist this is the kind of stuff I'd hope to produce :: Housewares company that made Vinny's incredibly fasionable, and earth-friendly, new bowl :: New band finds of the month The Bird and the Bee and The Frames.

Planticide?

There's something so satisfying about watching a seed you've planted sprout and turn into a plant. However, pulling those same plants that I've nurtured all season out of the ground to eat has taken me some time getting used to. I just couldn't get my head around it last summer and ended up picking most of my crops way too late - past the point where they tasted good, in fact. I vow to be ruthless this year.

Recognize the plants above, mom? It's the mesclun mix you bought me for Xmas last year. I've got the broccoli rabe in the next square, too. Everything's coming up this year, even the edamame seedlings I planted indoors. Better get those out into the garden this weekend, actually.

This week's discoveries: Gardening for the hip and female, You Grow Girl :: If only I could convince Dave, chickens in our backyard would be a great way to turn kitchen scraps into fertilizer :: Much better than the vermiculture set up (worms) we've got going right now :: Exactly the kind of drawing lessons I need - kid level!!!

It's Like Living in the Stone Age

If you've talked to us recently you've heard us complain that our Internet access has been spotty for the past three weeks or so. Ever since we had Dave's sister, brother in law, two nieces and mom stay we've been plagued by our phone and Internet service cutting out (that made it sound like the two things had something to do with each other - they didn't, just a sad coincidence). Dave spent weeks trying to get the Verizon guy to show up, but even when we thought all was fixed we're still having problems. We're scared to death it's the wiring inside the house, which means, let's face it, we'll probably never get this resolved. It's destined to go the way of the leaky ceiling in our bedroom (still leaking after five years and $20,000 spent on a new roof), the broken and jagged tile in the laundry room (don't venture in with bare feet - it's dark in there because the light's broken), one third of the way done curtain hanging project (jesus, can't we just pay someone to install these things for us?) and the bags of left over dirt from the landscaping project started right after I moved in.

And we don't even have kids to blame for our home repair negligence.

Don't you want to see what I bought recently? The perfect electronics back pack slash workout bag. Now I can carry twice as much gear on the plane :: Shockingly expensive sheets that are high thread count yet confusingly scratchy :: A stylish three ring binder to hold my journaling stuff for our upcoming Prague trip :: Moleskine's new city notebook the Prague edition - how effing cool is this???

Back by Popular Demand

Many apologies, folks. I'm not sure what caused that long, unscheduled hiatus. Alien abduction? Amnesia? Ennui? In any case, we promise to be better (thanks for your encouraging words mom, Michelle and Mory!)

After a long drawn out winter, spring seems to have come and gone and the last couple of weekends have been spent laboring in our gardens - both ornamental and vegetable. (I say we, but really I mean me - Dave's just not that into putting his hands in dirt). The seedlings have already started sprouting and we're looking forward to a bumper crop of radishes, edamame, mustard greens, carrots, mesclun, broccoli rabe, green beens and sugar snap peas. Apparently, none of the cruciferous varieties want to grow here, which is why my brussel sprouts, cabbage and broccoli went no where last fall.

We seem to be on some kind of fresh vegetable bacchanalia because we also joined a local CSA, Clagett Farm, and will start receiving our weekly produce share in the next couple weeks (the extended cold slowed growth down a bit). If you've got a CSA in your area why aren't you a member!? There's nothing like eating organic fruits and vegetables picked fresh that day. And the concept is something we all should be supporting: farms that are a part of and supported by the community so that we might all eat local and preserve open space (boo sprawly development!). It's the right thing to do, people!!!

Here's some other stuff on my mind lately: Home exchange, the alternative to high priced hotels :: Video of an artist flipping through his beautiful sketch travel journal :: Peak Oil, it's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine).

Hawaiian highlights

Tuesday and Wednesday Hawaiian highlights

1. Overall new levels of relaxation have been achieved.
2. Another hike up the mountain
3. Ten mile mountain bike ride left family members in severe ass pain
4. While watching the sunrise over the ocean, we saw whales swimming.
5. We shared our new favorite swimming spot with Hawaiian monk seals

Hawaiian Haiku

Hawaiian sunrise
Morning gym and midday hike
Evening barbecue

Ok, This Doesn't Suck

A fun filled, action packed first day. I finally got to meet Lou! (Katy’s fiancé) They have been together for a few years, but somehow our paths have never crossed. Of course (like all members of our family ☺) Lou is smart , funny and cool, and I felt like I already knew him because of how much I heard from Jen and Katy.

After a leisurely morning, Jen, Katy, and I headed off to Costco to buy a week’s worth of supplies for the nine of us. We made the fatal error of not eating before we went in, and before long we were filling our cart with cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie dough.

After picking up the rest of the family at the airport, we headed to our vacation home Mokuleia Beach House: http://www.vrbo.com/46020

This place rocks!!! Today’s catchphrase: “Ok, this Doesn’t suck”

Good Morning Hawaii

Today is the first day of our Hawaii family vacation! So far , besides the 15 hour grueling travel day, the big events have been Jen stealing all the covers in the bed last night and "accidentally” pouring a cup of water in my suitcase this morning. Needless to say we started the day off with a good hearty laugh.

WOOOOHOOOO VACATION !!!!!!!!

The Catchphrase of the trip so far has been “don’t make me cut you,“ which was used countless times during the ten long hours of airplane travel.

We arrived at Katy’s beautiful Home on the south eastern tip of Oahu last night. Katy had prepared us a fantastic dinner of brown rice, fresh steamed vegetables and savory sauce (just like in our favorite Hermosa beach restaurant, “The Spot“.)

WOOOOOOHOOOO KATY !!!

Today we will pick up the rest of the family and the fun will continue.

More to come……….

The "C" Word

Dave and I just learned a close friend has cancer. The news affected me very deeply. Our friend is in his mid 30's and follows a healthy lifestyle. Definitely not someone you'd think would be faced with a life-threatening illness. Beyond bringing up the dreaded reality of my own mortality, I feel incredibly sad that he's going through this alone, as he has no family living near him and is in between girlfriends.

Of course I checked Dave's testis immediately just to make sure he didn't have cancer, too.

Capital R, Art

Finally got around to doing a little art this weekend. I'm crap at it, but the process seems to be soothing regardless of how lame the outcome is. I still have hopes that I'll learn how to draw one day. Maybe I'll be one of those retired folks who take life drawing classes!