hysterical! JUST KIDDING. Just Kidding. just kidding

Busy in Brooklyn

Well, it has been a busy time here in the greatest borough. Spring is now officially here, as told by the calendar (March 20th is my favorite!) and by the weather. As you know, Spring is planting season so I have been busy. Most of my seeds have arrived (I am still waiting for peppers and large leaf basil) and have gotten their start in the seed starter. I have also planted the seeds for the cold weather crops outside (radishes, carrots and greens). Last weekend I spent most of Saturday morning bringing in the planters, amending the soil with compost, and planting seeds. Today I went back and planted successive rows so that the harvest will last longer. Here are my easter egg radish seeds.



I also planted another row of greens. I will plant a third row of greens and a second of carrots next week. These are all the planters so far.



Here are the lilies, coming right along.



This Spring I feel like there are more birds around, or maybe I am just noticing them more for some reason. Anyway, there has been this one little guy who comes every morning and sits on the corner of the fire escape and sings his heart out. The cats love him very much and would like to get to know him better. They sit in the window and chatter at him. It makes them so happy. I have been wanted to put out a bird feeder for our little bird, hoping that he will keep coming back and will bring his friends. We had a bird feeder when we lived in Park Slope, but a chubby squirrel came and destroyed it as he was emptying it of all the seed. So I have been thinking that I should run to Target and get another feeder, but last night decided that I would try to make one instead. Because I hadn't taken out the recycling in a while, we had some liter bottles from seltzer, which I thought would work well. I spent last night crafting the feeder using a plastic bottle and chop sticks. Here is the result of my project.




I hope the bird will be back tomorrow and find all this food. Just in case he wouldn't notice it, I put a little trail of seed from his favorite perching spot to the feeder (approximate distance-4 inches). It is probably not necessary, but I am a human and don't fully understand the ways of the birds.


As if this was not exciting enough...

I have been really interested in urban composting. Because we don't have a yard, this entails having a bin that contains 1,000 red wiggler worms in a bed of moist newspaper in which you place your compostable materials. The worms then eat it and poo it out, creating some of the best compost around. Well, I have been interested in it, but also wary. Plus, there is the expense of it. Worms can be so expensive these days. Well, when I was looking to amend the soil in my planters, I called the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to find out if there was a local place to by worm castings (worm com-poo-st). The gardener help line person told me that the Lower East Side Ecology Center sells the compost at the Union Square Green Market. I went to their website and saw that they were offering a seminar on worm composting, after which the attendees could purchase a worm bin for a mere $10.00. I couldn't pass it up. So. last Wednesday I went to a library in Midtown for the two hour seminar. I sort of expected that I would be the only person there. Well, me, the lecturer, and the crazy lady/man (I think we have all been in a seminar or class with her/him). She was there, but there were also a ton of other people. It was great-very informative and hands on-so we could practice getting a bin set up. Once it started I sent the following text message to Lauren: "I think the 10 dollars INCLUDES the worms! This is the best day ever!" To that, Lauren's response was: "Bring 'em home!" (Isn't she good?)

So, for the bargain basement price of $10 I walked out of there with a worm bin and a pound of worms (which I had to bring home on the subway). I found out at the seminar that the whole program is subsidized by the NYC Department of Sanitation, which I think is really smart. I think the statistic is something like 70% of household garbage is compostable, so this is a great way to keep all of that out of the landfill and to create something useful with it. The whole circle of life is happening right here on Prospect Place. This whole thing may sound crazy, but I am so excited! Here are some photos from that night when I put the bin together.







I am not the only one excited about this project!



If you are interested in reading more about worm composting, check it out here.

L's sister K is here this weekend, which is great. She and L are currently baking chocolate cupcakes that are going to be awesome. And I am starting to smell the delicious smells of dinner cooking. We will try to post some pictures of our time together in the next few days.

I feel it in my bones

There comes a time in each unpleasant New York season-and I am speaking here of winter and summer, of course- when I just can’t take any more. (See: last two late-Augusts when I heard that the forecast was yet another day of “hot, hazy, and humid” and began crying. I wish I were exaggerating.) Well, this winter feels like it has been a long one. Maybe it is because most of it was spent waiting for, experiencing or recuperating from some type of surgery. Also, it has been pretty cold, but there has been barely any snow. What is the point of all the grey, cold, and wind if you don’t get to wake up the next day to a world transformed into beautiful, quiet brilliance? Last week I finally hit my breaking point. I just got overtired of being cold and of the biting wind and the cold rain (I mean really-rain has NO PLACE in winter).

Luckily for me, I had a very exciting and special treat waiting for me. As you may know, I love to garden. It is certainly challenging in New York, but it is not impossible. Where there is a fire escape and lax local fire authorities, there can be a garden. For Christmas this year, L’s mama gave me one of the most perfect gifts ever …a seed starter bio-dome and a gift certificate for a seed company. On Christmas morning I spent hours pouring over the seed catalogue thinking and dreaming about all the possibilities. At that point it was still too early for action, but last week, when I was at that breaking point, it was finally time to choose and order seeds for spring!

Our good friend M is also an avid urban gardener and she and I decided to start a seed cooperative. We are calling it “The Small Plot Seed Cooperative.” Our tag line (for the back of our imaginary shirts) will have a graphic of a fire escape and the words, “Escape New York.” At present our cooperative has a membership of two, but everyone has to start small right? In addition to coming up with our name and tag line, we also (and some might say more importantly) decided on our seeds and plants for this year.

Our overall concept can be captured in a single word: strawberries. We both got very excited about a product called “Growin’ Bags” that grow strawberries vertically- a very nice feature when space is an issue. So we both got a bit overexcited and decided to order a lot of strawberries- too many, in fact, for me to share the number here because I feel embarrassed. All I can say is that we were gripped by what I can only describe as strawberry fever – a virus for which there is no vaccine, nor cure. I am predicting a bumper crop this year.

I made our order on Friday afternoon and in addition to strawberries I also ordered:
Italian basil
Red Ruben basil
Carrots
Radishes
Salad greens
Heirloom tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Peppers
Lemon grass (for the cats)
Cosmos (for L)

Wow, making that list it seems like a lot of crops, but I swear I really held myself back. Honestly.

So now I wait for the seeds to arrive and to bring Spring with them. Although, I know it is around the corner. I can feel it trying to break through the cold. And if I needed anymore proof, I noticed this today…




These are the beginnings of my tiger lilies, which L found on the street two autumns ago and brought home with her. (We seem to get a lot of stuff that way.)


And I am not the only one excited for gardening season. As I was coming back into the house after taking the above picture, this is what I was faced with.



And just for good measure, this is the beautiful sunset tonight. Surprisingly, New York has some of the most beautiful sunsets ever. The sun setting over New Jersey looks better than it sounds.

Update and love.

H. had a 2nd opinion yesterday and it was the best possible outcome - no surgery!!! She needs to soak it every day so the large scab will come off, and the bad news was that this doctor did not think her swollen finger would reduce in size dramatically. Which is disappointing since it is currently almost double in width. But no surgery that is wonderful

We also had a wonderful valentines day yesterday: we went to whole foods and made dinner at home - ribs, mashed potatoes, salad, and sundaes with fresh berries and homemade chocolate. The dinner was excellent if we do say so ourselves and we were so stuffed that niether of us could finish our sundaes... it was the height of yumminess.



These are the pussy willows that H. gave me - much better then roses - I think.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful day in whatever form you celebrate.

They've done it again...

Kitchen-Floor Conflict Intensifies As Rival House Cats Claim Same Empty Bag

MAPLEWOOD, MO—"It is beginning to appear that any long-term solution may have to involve deployment of the disciplinary squirt bottle," said one U.N. investigator.

Gettin' Crafty

So we have been inspired by design shows and we have gone crafty in our house. I wanted to share our efforts.

We needed new pillows for the bed so we purchased this great quilt fabric and made our own covers in sort of a modern quilt pattern:





AND our biggest and most proud accomplishment is that we rehabbed an old dresser and made a t.v. stand out of it. We recieved a wonderful t.v. for christmas by combining gift cards from best*buy (thank you everyone!!), and since then have been trying to figure out how to incorporate the large t.v. into our living room without it completely taking over. We had the TV on H's old 3-drawer dresser but realized that it would be better to have it lower to the ground. Everything I read said the t.v. should be at eye level. So we went to ikea on friday night to get ideas and also to look at chairs (because I think we need to replace the giant chair in our living room-but that is another story). There were tons of opitions but all in the $150 price range - which we were not too excited about...... so........ this dresser that previously had 3 drawers:

turned into this:



I wish we had better pictures of the before, unfortunetely we thought of that AFTER we cut off the two top drawers. Here is what we did: removed the top, cut off the 2 top drawers (that were always a pain to use because they stuck so badly and made H. cry on more than one morning), re-attached the top, and then attached the shelving we made to house the components. It was really great, we both were so proud of ourselves - I was mainly the measurer and planner and H. was in charge of the jig-sawing and various other production skills - it was so fun. I now have visions of chopping up other furniture to make it perfect. We found a green alternative to buying something new, and it was considerably cheaper-about 20 dollars in paint and new handles. Also I have found a website I am obsessed with. We ended up painting our new t.v. stand a deep purple, which from afar looks black or brown but up close is definately purple - It ended up looking realitively modern.


Also, for those who love surgical matters, here is Hazel's incision from being fixed. I am hoping this is the last of our surgery stories to be posted on the blog - I guess we will know for sure on thursday. Yikkes - I hope Hazel's was the last. 3 surgeries in 30 days is enough.

Hazel did great for her surgery (as it said on the bottom of her discharge papers-highlighted and with three exclamation points!!!) and she has not really been bothering the stiches, except in the beginning when I was sure was saying to herself...."what happened? I always have a furry belly and now I don't. What the ???" She looked so bewildered. It must be very strange to wake up and to want to clean up only to lick something that does not feel like any belly you have ever licked. She was so very cute. However...a word to anyone who wants to adopt a kitty... .don't rescue someone from the street - it ends up being very expensive because you don't get any shelter deals - it is cheaper to adopt through a kitty rescue-she is now in the 800 dollar range - but she is priceless.

Also I wanted to give a picture of sadie lovin on her. Despite her surgery she is a happy kitty, mainly because she loves her sisters so very much, and she has also discovered that she likes to sit in laps!!!

Please define "DONE"

Well, as most of you know, L and I have been recovering from our collective surgeries. While the actual surgeries are finished, the surgical procedures were just the beginning. Here is the truth that people may not tell you… surgery and subsequent recovery is HARD. And, frankly, it hurts. I think L and I both underestimated how long it would take to recover (Hazel is the only one who seems to be back to 100% after being spayed on 1/31). Even though laparoscopic surgery is far better and less intrusive that having a larger incision, it is still a big deal that takes a long time to recover from. L is still in pain when she sits too long, or has to lean over. And even though a pinky finger is the smallest of all fingers, putting screws and cadaver bone into it is a big shock to the little guy. I can’t straighten or bend my finger, and still have a large scab type thing that won’t go away.

This brings me to the current issue … I saw the surgeon today for a follow-up. The x-rays look good and the joint is now healed with all its new accoutrements, but he is concerned that the skin is not recovering more quickly. (Though he took some photos, I won’t favor you with them here.) He said that it is unusual for the skin to take this long to heal and said that we might need to consider a skin graft. Yes, you read that right: ANOTHER SURGERY. I have scheduled a second opinion, at his suggestion, and will see another hand surgeon on Thursday. I just can’t understand why my skin isn’t healing better. It scares me that there might be some larger health problem that is keeping my skin from healing. I know that I am prone to “worst-case” thinking when it comes to health issues (just ask L’s sister K who has explained to me at least ten times why every headache I have is NOT an aneurism). But really, why isn’t my body healing?

After the appointment, I went to Whole Foods and bought every supplement I could find that might have any impact on healing/growing skin. I just want to feel like I can do something to support my body and hopefully avoid another surgery. I will let you all know how it goes on Thursday. Hopefully I will get some good news.

Until then, L’s last post about being done makes me feel a little like George Bush in a flight suit standing beneath the “Mission Accomplished” banner.