ruby crowned kinglette

i'm at it again

i have been baking more no-knead bread.  i love it, and that's really all that matters.  these last few loaves have been made from durum wheat flour i bought when i went to pacific food importers, or pfi.  i thought the flour would make a heartier, more chewy bread. i think i was right.  the yeast i had been using was a bit old so it wasn't rising quite like i expected. but, the flour was denser too.  this last loaf has 2 cups durum and one cup regular old stone-buhr white... mostly because i ran out of the durum, so it is a bit lighter and holier... you know, full of holes, not so much godly.  although....

i did buy new yeast too... so too many variables switched to know what specifically the difference was, but it doesn't matter - it is good. great really.

i made the marmalade last winter.  it is the last jar in the fridge and is really good too.  it's from the ina garten barefoot contessa at home book.  she, in turn, states that it is anna pump's recipe from her book country weekend entertaining.  it is easy and delicious.  it is also quite quick to burn should you put it on the stove and then walk away to become distracted by the internets.  so don't do that.  it will almost ruin one of your le cruset pans. but, if you do, you can dremel out the burned sugar that seems might be tougher than the enamel, but it isn't... it is just incredibly stubborn.  i, of course, know this first hand.

i didn't churn the butter, i bought it and then slathered it on the warm toast before the marmalade. it is taking all i have not to continue to power through the loaf of bread and a stick of butter.

going to california this weekend for a little golf.  although you haven't seen me much i am in desperate need of getting away.  here's hoping i break one hundred.

the farm out back

this was the plan.  once i decided to turn my patch of unused space into a garden that will grow veggies to feed more than the occasional varmint i couldn't stop thinking about it.
and then, once i measured it out i had more space than i expected... now, it i am sure is going to seem like less once i start planting and things begin to grow, but right now i am pretty pleased.

and sore.

i spent all of last monday and tuesday digging, sifting (until i decided that rocks in the soil are not all that bad) building, composting and covering with cardboard for the winter.  my muscles were hurting something fierce on wednesday, and my left index finger still hurts and seems like it might for some time... but that's it and i am done with prep.  i didn't expect to finish in two days so i was on a little high because of that.  now, all i need to do is hunt some worms during the rainy days and toss them under the cardboard and let them do their business for the next 5 months and i will be set.  that and some mulched up leaves and maybe some coffee grounds too.

 
the alley end of the bed is different than imagined.  so is that lone post up toward the top sticking too far up.... i am going to plant herbs and things in the little outside triangle bits and work up an irrigation plan over the winter so i can have that ready to place when spring and planting comes...  my huge downfall in gardening, both inside and out, is watering.  it bores me.  but, i have found that living things like water.  and i did not bust my ass digging this beauty to have everything go to waste because i end up being too lazy.

hmmm.  a metaphor for my life, possibly?

nevermind.

this is the list so far. of stuff to grow.  squash is out, expect maybe patty pan or one if it's close heirloom cousins.  but they take up a lot of room and i need that room for the list.

and there might be some asparagus up at the top of that little rock wall.  it would be experimental but what the hell... i might as well try.

crop reports to follow from here on out.

i went kayaking again....

not recently... about a month ago. the morning of the second day of lichen gluing. it was so beautiful.  and peaceful. and as you can tell, hardly a ripple in the water.

 
it was the second time this year... i thought it was the third. i think i just wanted it to be the third because i like it so much.  in my mind, i thought sea kayaking was like white water river kayaking and that seemed like more than i could handle.  i can handle sea kayaking a whole lot.

 
it was a gamble taking the camera with me... not because of the rough water - although these photos were taken in fisherman bay on lopez and not the open ocean - but because if i was just a bit careless and dropped the thing in the water it would have ruined my day as well as my blogging career - such that it is.

as it happened, i was quite careful. above is a shallow area i moved over and was so taken with how beautiful the rocks were with reflection of the paddle.  i mean, you can't go wrong with beach rocks in my opinion.  debbie was way off ahead of me when i finally looked up.... i never remember to look up when beach rocks are involved.

 
we paddled right by this guy.  i suspect he is wondering if that wild turkey is still interested in his job as the symbol of america.  i'll bet he has to be a little disappointed right now.

i know... two days in a row.  kind of amazing. 

who else is tired of the popcorn?

first.... although the popcorn is great, it is far past time to post about something else.
second.... yes, i am still a blogger.
third.... i am also still a crafter; a sporadic one at the moment, but still one nonetheless.
fourth.... i am also a farmer. well, i will be next spring.  right now i am just a digger, forker, turner, composter and mulcher.

several weeks ago i went to visit my friend debbie and took my deer head and ears with me.  i bought the form from a taxidermy company in the hopes it would provide me with a model that i could scale down and make deers of fabric.  well, it didn't work so well and everyone went berserk over deer mounts and then tired of them... i felt a bit behind the curve on that so i just let it go... until august.  i was visiting for a couple of days and it was so nice.  we spent the mornings eating a nice breakfast and then went into the neighboring woods to forage. for lichen. lots of lichen.

and then came back to sit in the sun, enjoy the wildlife and the view and the searing, burning joy of a hot glue gun.

so this is my contribution to the deer mount community... where i finally decided i have room to put it is not the most ideal location for photography.  none of the photos are great, but i have to say it is something that really is so much greater in person...  all the different textures of lichen is just spectacular.  and the branches as antlers.... also super great. 

i love it, and as mentioned above? almost couldn't find room for it in my house.  it isn't small. from the bottom of the chest to the top of the head is about 36 inches and then maybe 48 inches from antler to antler.  it didn't look so big when i was making it outside, or testing it on debbie's walls.  but getting it into the car wasn't a breeze, not hard either, but not a breeze.  it was when i got it into my house that i thought... yikes.  but i wasn't going to give up either because he is too wonderful to not have keeping an eye on me.

so then... other crafting later. and the farming?  that too will be a post for another day.  i worked so hard getting the 'land' prepped i can hardly function... so more too come on the farming front as well.

hope you are enjoying the fall season (or spring for you southern hemispherians).  i am, tons.

it seems all kinds of wrong....

but it isn't....

 
not.

at.

all.

i bought what very well might be the best after work treat maker* ever. it might also be my demise... we shall see.

the best thing - besides making the fluffiest popped corn and popping all but about six** of those kernels - is this.  i can make kettle corn.

so yes, i am in trouble. but good, light, tender, sweet, crisp trouble.

i bought the popcorn at costco in the big-ass 8 pound jug. totally worth it - both the price and the size...  bought the whirley-pop at target.com, and the dental floss picks at bartell's.  i will soon be buying bigger pants at nordstrom rack.

the recipe?

1/4 cup oil (i know)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup (or so... more usually) kernels

whirl until popped.  put in bowl, sprinkle with salt. eat with abandon.

*ok, it has also been a dinner maker, and a lunch maker too. and a mid afternoon snack maker. and also a snack while babysitting maker.

**this time just four!

6:47 wednesday morning

tuesday night was family dinner.  the plan, when we were planning, was to have a family dinner once a month.  although pretty good about doing that in the beginning, we began to slack off.  we're back on a more predictable schedule now and seem to be getting together at least every two months, although it really is more often than that because we, and by we i mean my mom, sisters, their significant others and a little one, are very close. that, in itself is worth celebrating, but so are birthdays and weddings.  tuesday night there was a new house in the mix too.  for only 6 adults we dirtied a lot of glassware - that too is worth celebrating.

i hope you have been enjoying summer and are going to make the most of this last official weekend of the season.  i have a very strong sense that summer is going to continue into september as it has been taking a little break this last couple of weeks.  so with that, here is to enjoying a few more evenings on the patio, with good company and a pair of binoculars.

alice and i....

are still doing our best over here.....

today is my birthday....

one gray hair, plucked this morning at the same time i was looking in the mirror considering how much older i looked than i felt... at exactly the same time.

there are more from where this came...

lucky me

so, michelle was in town and she stayed with me.  we decided to invite a couple other bloggers for dinner and sitting around outside. jen and rose were able to come which made it a perfectly lovely evening.  we printed up alice and bethany too, so they wouldn't miss a thing.

it was a pleasure having you stay at my house michelle.  thanks for putting yourself out there, asking for help and allowing me to provide it. it was an honor.

-steph

sharing my secrets

a collaboration is still motoring right along over here....  although, we do seem to be taking it a tiny bit easy this summer.  i am a little behind, but not so much i am full of any kind of guilt... oh, no. not at all.