PNewL PNewS 21.1

PNewL PNewS

Volume 21 No. 1                  “All the pnews that phits.”                  June 2013

The Reluctant Gardener Returns

     It is that time of year—the bulbs have mostly come and gone, and they were particularly lovely this year. I swear the azalea blooms were twice as big as normal. There are more shades of green out there than I can find on a paint chart. And with all the bleeping rain this spring (something like 16 inches more than normal), things are growing happily. Meanwhile, I grouse about. Sometimes, I wonder what I was thinking. There is a lot of work to be done around ye olde hacienda and knowing me, it ain’t gonna happen—thus the grousing. I putter around over here and then there and the adult onset ADD kicks in and everything is half-done at best. Like right now, I could be outside (which I was just moments ago when I was inspired to come write about it but I really need to take a shower and go to Knitting) but I’m not.

     I do get a few things checked off the list. I have a wonderful weed whacker. It’s battery powered so when the battery dies—just about the time my attention is wandering, I have to stop and recharge it. I had some trouble with it tangling but I did some deep breathing and googling and learned how to rewind the line and also learned that it didn’t like the last line I bought but really likes the new line. And I try not to attack the bottoms of high weeds, working top down, slowly, mindfully. Very…Zen? And then the !(*#&!&$*^$ just stopped working. The troubleshooting guide says things like “If it’s dirty, clean it.” “If there is stuff wound around the pole, unwind it.” DUH. SO I had a good chat with it. I said, look, I really need you to work—there is no way to FIX you, so please? And then I smashed it into the ground and bingo! It works! For now.

     I bought half a whiskey barrel at Tractor Supply. In California, they are wine barrels, in North Carolina, whiskey. They burn out the inside so there was a lot of ash and charcoal inside which I didn’t think much about as I wedged it into the backseat of the car. I thought a lot about it as I looked at my pants and then the backseat. Oops. Then I got it home, filled the bottom with foam peanuts topped with a lot of soil. And then it started rain. Man, that thing is water tight. I guess when I got the one in California, someone had drilled holes in it. Oops #2. The foam rose to the  top and was floating in amongst the soil. What a mess. So I got the drill out and put holes as close to the bottom as I could—it’s too heavy to lift—and watched the murky water drain. Now I have a mess, but it is a relatively dry mess. I better get the herbs planted before something else happens.

     You might be thinking, she doesn’t come to this living in the country, enjoying all of Mother Nature’s offerings (along with those from the hardware store) naturally. Egggggzactly. Thus, the “what was I thinking?” comment and this column too.

     Meanwhile, I have been wondering when it would be time to stop feeding the birds…when the bears would be out looking for big juicy bird feeders. Well, I found out. About a month ago, I looked out and the big hefty feeder was gone. We walked the property, peered into the woods. Nada. It’s gone. A couple mornings later, I was brushing my teeth and noticed that there was something wrong with the split rail fence below. The top rail….was broken in half. And beyond that, the forsythia bush looked like a small vehicle had driven through it. Seems the bear came back looking for another snack. Fortunately I had brought the other feeder in. Nature’s busy here in the mountains!

     As the time passes and I still haven’t finished this, things are constantly changing. Today I went out to have a look at the blueberry bushes and looky there: BLUE berries. Big fat juicy. Yum. Now if it would just stop raining I could go back out there with my bucket…Enjoy the bounty that is summer, y’all!

Things I am Learning

& Miscellaneous Observations

• I made a quick trip to Sanibel for visits with friends and family and with some stops on the way home with other friends. It was a good trip, though the weather was such that I didn’t get to the beach and the traffic such that I didn’t get to my favorite restaurant. It did make me think a lot about the different choices we make—lifestyles, locations, projects--particularly as we get older and the choices are more precious.

• I take a lot of classes—mostly craft-related. I am starting to learn on youtube but I like going to classes. What I don’t like is outdated supply lists. Craft teachers, in my experience, are notorious for asking students to bring a lot of crap that never gets used. The number of teachers who say things like, Oh is that on the supply list? I thought I took that off, is remarkable…and annoying.

• While watching the movie “Lincoln” at home, I started checking birthdates—they rarely pair actors appropriately age-wise. Sally Field is 11 years older than Daniel Day Lewis while Lincoln was nine years older than Mary. I also learned Daniel Day Lewis is one day older than me.
• I had my favorite chaise (which Gini got for me at a garage sale for $25) reupholstered. After months of looking at new ones, none of which was exactly what I wanted and feeling odd about sending a perfectly good piece of furniture that I love away. I paid more than some new ones cost to bring it back to life. When I dropped it off with the fabric, Ronnie the upholsterer started laughing at the fabric. I said what's so funny...and he said STRIPES. It didn't read stripey to me. When I picked it up, I laughed—he asked what and I said, I didn’t notice how golden the fabric is. Alas, it is home and inside (thanks to Jeff and Susan), and I am happy.

• I tweaked my back looking at pans on the bottom shelf. I was leaning in and picking up heavy stuff in the back of the cabinet and thought, I bet there's going to be a time when doing this is really stupid and stood up and realized, this is the time! I now have an itty bitty understanding of back pain. Ouch. My sympathies.

•  Listening to The Splendid Table recently, I was intrigued by talk about chick pea flour. I thought—that is a win-win: flour made of BEANS. Practically a health food! I could buy chick pea flour, but why not just grind up my own? I can tell you one reason: it’s really LOUD. Fortunately, I had just come from a pseudo black-smithing class, so I knew where my ear plugs were. The result—tortillitas by Mark Bittman (Google him)—was very nice.

• Andrew and Kendall got married in the Washington DC area recently. It was one of those happy coincidences: I was planning to go to a conference of do-gooders in Washington DC the week before the wedding and Andrew was getting married (which was not only a happy coincidence but a happy event). A two-fer! How often does that happen? Both events (and a few bonus visits with friends) exceeded expectations. The tears shed at the wedding were all for my pal of 35+ years Stephanie watching her baby boy. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

• Why do I always feel like I am leaving the house, even for just a few hours, with luggage? I can’t even go to the store without a load of stuff. I haven’t counted my canvas bags but they seem to reproduce when I am not there. And they are often loaded with all sorts of stuff I just might need. What if I get stuck somewhere and need something to read? What if the car breaks down and I need a sweater? Might be able to squeeze in a stop at the gym. Always travel with a snack…and paper and pens, and things that need to be fixed or returned or dropped off. You never know. That “be prepared” scouting stuff can be all consuming. Now that I think of it, maybe it was from the days of Let’s Make a Deal when Monty Hall gave money to people who had hard boiled eggs in their pockets.

• I have one of those grown up tasks facing me. It involves money and authority figures and decisions and trust and responsibility. These are not at the top of my list of skills and/or favorite things. As I read through documents, I get kind of interested and then – bing, oh look I got an email. Back to it and bing, I wonder if I need to put toilet paper on the list. I’ll just go look and see. Then, grinding on along, I read someone’s analysis of the issue and become engrossed by their ability to use language in a way that is so foreign to me and it makes me feel sad that I can’t do that and that all of this stuff is so pathetically hard for me and then I wonder if I have any skills and why I haven’t done something more important and serious and grown-up with my life and BING…it’s just a bleeping hurdle, get on with it and bing…don’t I deserve and need a soothing game of Solitaire right about now? As mom always said, This too shall pass. This passing does not appear to be going smoothly, however.

• I am heading out of town soon (usually) and so have been doing some serious paper shuffling. I came across one of those articles I can’t seem to find a place for but I can’t throw away. It is about the joy…and the importance…of solo travel. If you are so inclined I recommend it highly. It is one of those articles I would kill to have written (ok, maybe not kill, but he says what I want to say so much better and so I am envious…plus in googling his name I find he has a remarkable career). There are so many quotable quotes, I can’t pick em out…so just read it. http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/yes-please-party-of-one/

'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.' Thomas Edison

32^nd Annual Angel Island Picnic

Saturday June 22. Perles Beach

Come on down.