Run Lori Run!

It was so lovely today. The sun eased its way into the sky... slowly, slowly and then by the afternoon it was a full-fledged beautiful, sun-shining, perfect I-need-to-be-gardening day.

This gorgeous specimen followed me around today...

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are." ~Alfred Austin

Hmmm. What am I? I am a person who does not like to weed.

I am a person who cannot grow strawberries to save her life...but keeps trying.

This is the tomato line up this year. Dr Wychee's Yellow is my favorite from last year- great flavor. The guy at Portland Nursery recommended the Cherokee Purple and the Chocolate Cherry tomatoes. And I threw in some Early Girl's because I'm impatient!

This is a neighborhood cat named Ginger. She spends her days in my backyard like this:

 

My weekend kicked off today with....A fabulous Mother's Day car wash!  

Have a great Mother's Day weekend!

Where I've Been

So are you getting any sunshine your way?

We've had a few days of beautiful sunny weather recently so I've been running around like a crazy woman starting projects left and right.  During the gloomy months I lose all motivation but as soon as the sun comes out I am doing twenty things at once. It makes no sense.

So I've started growing microgreens.  I had no idea you could grow microgreens year-round which will be great-- I need something to grow during the winter. Microgreens are basically lettuce (or broccoli or mustard) greens which are chopped off when they're only a few weeks old. And nutritionally they pack a big punch for their little size.

I've also got some kale, basil and cabbage started. Otherwise the garden is still waking up. I see some of the daffodils are getting ready to bloom and it will soon be time to start some greens outdoors. Finally!

And indoors I have this going on.  This is our office/art room which is a complete and total mess. But it's getting a complete overhaul: reorganized and painted. At least the closet now looks like this:

It looks so organized doesn't it!  But then you turn around and see this:

Holy hell.  What was I thinking?

Creating Color

We spotted this beauty on the way home the other day and it reminded me of all of the photos like this one:

...that I have collected on Pinterest. And since I will never actually have room in my home for a rainbow library, I decided to make myself my very own rainbow bookshelf.

And you know what?  It makes me happy.  This silly, simple collection of color coordinated books makes me smile.

And do you want to know what else is making me smile these days?

Having my daughter text me photos like this one from art class. You know how you think your kid is pretty talented at something and then they turn a corner and *POW* they are amazing?   

So that's where I am right now. Happy. Happy to be texted photos of one-eyed owls when I'm in a boring meeting. Happy for bits of color where I can find them. Happy I'm getting seed catalogs in the mail.  Happy that I'm almost done boring you guys with Italy pictures.

What's bringing happiness your way these days?

The Year In Review

What I've cooked.

What I've grown.

What I've made.

Another year is winding down. And this post makes me appreciate all my friends in blog land- thanks to you I always have great ideas for projects at the click of a mouse. I have enjoyed seeing what you all have created, grown and cooked over the years. You help me keep the creative juices flowing- whether I need a good book suggestion or a a recipe- I always know where to go. You guys rock! 

So here's to another creative year!

Change

So this month's posts are dedicated to gratitude.

I am grateful for autumn; the last fickle bits of this season before we slip into winter.

I'm thankful for obscure varieties of apples and stirring apple butter in a copper pot until my back aches. 

What are you thankful for today?

Adventures In Aperture

When did I get this camera again? December? And I hate to admit it but I have been stuck on the AUTO mode since then.  I have many informative photography books and many informative photography websites bookmarked but then... I get all panicky... I can't keep all the lingo straight: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance... I go all deer-in-the-headlights and flip it back to AUTO. Until today.

Lesson number one for me today is aperture. I shot these photos on Aperture Priority Mode so I could control the depth of field and let the camera choose the shutter speed for me. Happily. This photo the aperture is set at f/1.8, ISO 160, shutter speed 1/640 sec. I like the nice blurred background. Still need to work on focus though.

Now the aperture is bumped to f/3.2. More of the photo is in focus, less blur in the back...

And then the aperture is f/14. Crappy photo but it illustrates how most of the photo is in focus.

I walked all over my house trying to find ways to experiment with depth of field, trying to create some bokeh. (Bokeh: the blur or the aesthetic quality of the blur, or the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light. Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field.)  

Dead Flower Bokeh. I wanted to see if I could get some cool bokeh from my patio lights (it works!) but all I had to focus on in the foreground was this dead basket of flowers! 

Creepy Spider Bokeh.

 Typewriter Bokeh.

Day of the Dead Bokeh.

Well, there you have it: day 1 of my photography experiment. More to come!

I Grew A Cantaloupe!

Autumn is in full swing over here- how 'bout you guys? We had a nice break in the rain the other day and hiked to Wahclella Falls. If you live nearby, just head up the gorge- it is a beautiful and easy hike!

And look! I grew a cantaloupe!

I only got one melon off the whole plant, it is about the size of a softball and some critter bore a hole in it about an inch but other than that it is absolutely perfect! 

Otherwise, the garden is winding down. And since it is fall I seem to have remembered my affinity for comfort food and lounging on the sofa! 

What are you guys up to this lovely autumn?

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Lordy these are good.

Remember last year I had zero ripe tomatoes. Well this year I have gorgeous Golden Rave Sauce tomatoes, Dr. Wyche's Yellow tomatoes and Brandywines. I am jumping for joy over here ~ tomato in one hand and salt shaker in the other!

We have been living on tomato salads...

tomato sandwiches... and I've been eyeballing this recipe for awhile now.

I didn't invent this myself people. There are many ways to roast these bad boys, at many different temperatures. I went for 225 degrees for about 4 hours but check them regularly or you will have inedible tomato chips...like I did last year... These two links, Epicurious Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Smitten Kitchen Slow-Roasted Tomatoes were my guides.

Happy roasting!

Before And After

Okay, seeing these before and after photos makes the blisters worth it.

  

And we finally have some ripe tomatoes!  No green tomato cake this year!

20 Crafty Ways to Reuse Glass Jars

1. Bath Salts

2. Drinking glasses

3. Bulk food storage

 
4. Votive candle holders

5. Breakfast On The Go

6. Craft Storage

7. Salad dressing

8. Food gifts- homemade salsa, cookie mix, pickles or my world famous tomato jam!

9. Store cotton balls or Q-tips

10. Terrariums

11. Seed Saving 

12. Hanging Lanterns

13. Ribbon storage, slit the top for ribbon dispenser

14. Homemade cleanser dispenser, poke holes in the lid

15. Store tea bags or loose tea

16. Hold silverware, napkins, picnic supplies

17. House your beach memories

18. Bookends

19. Pincushion

20. Flower vase