gone buggy, gone.

This weekend, I said goodbye to my 1965 Volkswagen. Our time together ended on a high note. I'll miss it, but it definitely feels like a weight lifted. Having a third car just felt excessive, so I was happy to find the right home for my buggy.


It was one of those weekends of many accomplishments. The piles of branches out by the street are evidence of our heavy pruning. I got through part of the azaleas and saw some bushes with a few blooms left, so I stopped. It was getting pretty hot anyway. This is the only shade of pink I can tolerate, and I love it!


The dining room also got a new coat of paint--natural wilderness, a grey-brown by freshaire.

I've got packing and planning to do, and then I'm off to NYC on Wednesday, with E to join me on Friday, his 30th birthday. I'd like to find some place special to eat, although I think he already has his taste buds set on Yoshinoya. See you next week!

Consolation Prize

Over the weekend, I tried once again to find a way to get better/local/organic produce in my area. I mean, I live in Florida. Our growing season is year round! I am so frustrated by the lack of local produce. Even our farmer's market isn't truly a market of farmers; it's more of a wholesale market. Each stand sells everything, some of it with store packaging and "Peru" stickers. I really hope those oranges I got were Florida oranges, but I didn't even bother to ask the woman selling them--she probably doesn't know.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I saw the 2 lb tub of strawberries on sale at the supermarket for less than the 8oz size. And where were they grown? Plant City, FL. They may not be organic (and strawberries are one of the fruits that are worth buying organic), but at least they didn't travel far to get here!


In crafty news, I finally bought a mat cutter, and I've gotten to work matting + framing the prints I bought from Julie. Soon I'll have my little tree memorial.

vacationing locally

A great day to open the windows.

I really don't mind getting stopped by a train, especially when the engineer waves!

Can you see what I'm researching? Any NY tips are welcome!

I'm happy to say that yesterday and today I've taken full advantage of where I live. Yesterday included a trip to St. Augustine. With its European-feeling cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, and hordes of tourists, I really felt like I was on vacation. And more of it today, in my own town! We took the skyway (our very tiny mass transit system that goes nowhere) into downtown, enjoyed lunch on the river, the Friday market in the plaza, the Ramen exhibit (just one piece--cool, but a little disappointing), and best of all, the library. Our new main library is a beautiful, grand building with an upstairs courtyard in the middle. It was perfect weather for sitting in the shade, thumbing through books we didn't want to lug home. Right before we left, I caught a whiff of downtown Jax's signature scent--coffee from the Maxwell House plant. 2 days that reminded me how lucky I am to live in the sunshine state.


And if you've read this far, you're in luck! I have a bunch of push pin sets that I'd like to give away. So, if you leave a comment, I'll send you one. Just be sure I can get in touch with you by email--blogger users, make sure your profile makes your email address available. Thanks and have a great weekend enjoying wherever you are!

update 3/30: Thanks for the comments! All the push pin sets have been claimed, and I'll be mailing them shortly.

carb-y snack and supper

Wow. I am really a carboholic. First chocolate bread, and then dinner rolls. And I’ve eaten way too much of both. I’m really glad I put chocolate chips into the chocolate loaf, even if they’re not that evenly dispersed. They definitely turn it into a dessert (or breakfast!) food. And LeeAnn was so right—the 90 minute dinner rolls did not disappoint. E wasn’t too impressed by their name. “I mean, you can pop open a can and have fresh dinner rolls in waaay less than 90 minutes.” But then he ate 3 of them.

It’s nice to be off work and actually have energy to spend time in the kitchen because dinner was so good. Asparagus is in season and on sale. Yum.

Still working on those lists. For today: yard/garden work, laundry, and sewing! Hope you're having a good week.

getting things done

I'm still here! Feeling a little quiet these days because I haven't *done* anything lately. And when nothing creative is going on, there's not much motivation to blog. But then I was reading Ambika's things to do before she goes on her blog today, and thought of my own to-do list. After I graduated from university I made a similar, but much shorter list of my own. Included were 'live overseas' and 'own a bug'. check and check. That makes me feel a little better.

And on to a more short-term to-do list, since this is spring break and my week-to-get-things-done, after all. I know a checklist will keep me on track to do the necessary stuff:

• mail taxes
  
• renew library books
• catch up on ironing

Maybe a little list of fun things will help me to feel (and be) more creatively productive.

• make chocolate no-knead bread
• go to free night at the museum to see cotton sculpture Ramen Noodle exhibit
• play with photoshop (and learn to do more than what I did above!)
  
• plant my spring garden
• sew at least something
• research things to do on a trip to NYC in a few weeks

We did make our first farmer's market trip of the season this weekend. The arrangement of winter leftovers (the squash) with Saturday's purchases caught my eye. Lovely colors that we'll enjoy on this week's menu: veggie burgers with fried green tomatoes, leftover fried green tomato BLTs, salmon with mango salsa. And hopefully some chocolate bread!

green (...and fuschia...and red)

A few quick pics for green week:

From the garden.

Have you seen the topsy turvy planter commercials? People out there (according to my official internet research) seem to get results from growing their tomatoes upside down (heated soil, etc). I got an empty pickle bucket from E's dad, and we rigged up our own hanging garden. I've never grown tomatoes before, but I have high hopes!