Origami and Seed Starting and a Cold Winter....

I guess it has to do with the weather, thinking about smoking (or not smoking in my case) and the fact that I do like it but I have become a little obsessed with folding paper as of lately. I picked up a book on Polyhedron Origami which outlined how to make over 70 different shapes. Although these shapes seem complicated and are borderline overwhelming, they are actually made up of a single folded flat shape.....50, 60 or 70 of them, but one flat shape none the less. This one was 60 shapes which took about 4 nights to fold and then almost 4 hours to put it all together. The putting together part was not easy but was fun and satisfying once together. If this is a sign of getting bored, I don't mind it, it is very focusing and relaxing....time seems to move quickly.

Trying to get ready for the spring has started to become a bit overwhelming. Not that any of the tasks with the garden are particularly large or hard to manage, it is the time and money that is making me a little crazed. Seeds need to be bought in the next 2 weeks, the sowing set-up built and running in 3 weeks, tomatoes, peppers and everything else germinating in 4 weeks, etc.... This combined with the 30 projects we have planned for outside it is easy to either become frozen with the overwhelmingness of everything or so disjointed that nothing gets started. I do know that the removal of the deck is the #1 thing for the spring closely followed by lots of fruit trees/shrubs and the garden. At this point, I cannot be any more specific or I will be frozen.

Trying to create a seed sowing station as sustainably as possible is hard in terms of thinking out of the box. Jen is much better with ideas like this which much of the time I quickly (and wrongly) dismiss. Trying to build something that is either re-usable from year to year or prevents something from going to a landfill is easier to talk about than to implement. The set-up is a 4' storage shelf (still have to find this), eight 4' 2-bulb T12 fluorescent lights (this was from Craigslist, $70 used instead of $500 new) and seed starting pots (picture to right, $12). The Potmaker is a cool tool that uses recycled newspaper to make the pots that you can sow seeds or put transplants in. The 3 pots pictured took me all of 1 minute to make in total...I picked this up from Seeds of Change for about $12. The trays to hold the pots will probably be the same nursery trays that you get with flats of flowers. These all usually go into the garbage when you plant your annuals and I will be able to reuse these from year to year. I figure the whole set-up will come together in the next two weeks (I hope).

It is cold here.....as predicted, we are in an extreme cold spell for New Jersey. For the last few days, it has been in the high teens and much lower with the wind-chill. This morning my thermometer read below zero. Everywhere I read about Garlic, it tells you not to worry, cold or no-cold, the garlic will be fine - I am not so calmed by this. Jack and Charlotte don't seem to mind the cold, I guess I didn't either as a kid. They have a whole routine in bundling up and play just as hard, I think it is Jen and I whom are getting old as we keep asking them "are you sure you want to go out....its REALLY cold out".

Food Harvested:
None

Things Planted:
None

Seeds Saved:
Red Crepe Myrtle (Jen actually saved these)

Marigold (Orange)

Preserved/Cooked:
Lentil Soup (which Jen did not like)

Things to Remember:
1. Order the seeds in Feb to start sowing by Valentine's Day
2. Have to get 3 sturdy logs for Trellis into Garden.
3. Need 3 4x6's to finish lower bed border
4. Have to move Apple Tree to pot until Deck is done.

December Ramblings....

With the weather turning much colder and my garden being pretty much done for the this season, I am a little lax about blogging but even worse, I convince myself that since I have nothing growing , I don't need to post. To have this not be the case, so starts the rambling...

For Halloween, Jack and Charlotte were Great "Mommy and Daddy" Horned Owls. Keeping with the theme, in early November, Jen and I took them to the Raptor Trust in the Great Swamp. It is as quick self guided tour that takes about 30-45 minutes and as you can see from the pictures, you can walk right up to the enclosures and see most of the birds (raptors) they are rehabbing. Jack and Charlotte still talk about Great Horned Owls and I seem to have a liking for them as well.

I am now in my third month of the Master Gardener program through Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Although I am very excited and I am learning, my thirst is not being satisfied. They touch topics at a surface level and I want to go much, much deeper. I struggle because I am excited for the program and what it does but I want more. With that being the only negative point I can think of, there is a lot that is good about the program as well. Much more on the pros later. Our overall class is 30 people, mostly retired or stay-at-home moms. I am among the youngest and based on the 80 people that attended the Holiday Party, I would venture to say I am by far the youngest overall. The classes themselves are not timed in such a way to make it conducive to young professionals participating.

As for the Holiday Party, it was up to the new class to throw the party. We worked on a theme of "For Ever Green" emphasizing the green aspect to the party. We purchased disposable tableware from World Centric and although it was a little more expensive that standard plastics, it was 100% plant based and will completely biodegrade in a compost pile within 1 year. I donated 80 packets of seeds that I have saved, traded and collected. I folded tiny Origami envelops to put he seeds in and it seemed to be a hit. Overall the party was a great success albeit a little cheesy.

My apple addiction has subsided as the season is over for apple-picking. At its peak, I HAD to have one....and preferable an outstanding one for after dinner. It was so bad at one point that I would hide my favorites from the kids so I could have them all to myself. In the height of this, I was eating 4-5 apples a night. In trying to find out what I liked and didn't, I absolutely had to try every variety of apple I could get my hands on. This went as far as buying bags of single apples and asking the checkout clerks for pen and paper so I could label what was in what bag. For the most part, I have a definitive set of favorites and a set of apples I will never try again but in the spirit of the list that I started here earlier, I am continuing it. I am up to 15 different varieties

1. Honey Crisp
2. Cameo
3. Jonagored
4. Winesap
5. Pink Lady
6. Fuji
7. Pinova
8. Golden Delicious
9. Braeburn
10. Gala
11. Granny Smith (slightly tart)
12. Red Delicious
13. Ida Red
14. Rome (Red)
15. Macintosh

Food Harvested:
None

Things Planted:
None

Seeds Saved:
Chaste Tree

Preserved/Cooked:
Snickerdoodle Cookies

Things to Remember:
Too Much

The Origami of Baseball

On an off topic for this blog, I took Jackson to his first baseball game. With the Somerset Patriots minor league stadium only 20 minutes from the house, seats 10 rows behind the 1st base dugout and it being a cool summer night, Jack and I headed out. We usually have to talk things up with him to build the excitement but this was different. We left early, went to dinner and when we drove up to the stadium with complete and total anticipation to watch a "hitter".


The excitement and joy of eating stadium food, buying his first baseball hat from a game and eating popcorn was too much. He enjoyed it too. Once the game started, I realized that he was holding his breath for every pitch and with every hit. In between pitches, he talked about "bad" pitches and "good" hits. He was amazed at the foul balls that left the stadium and wondered why the "hitters" didn't run to first base. At the top of the third inning, an hour past his bed time, he asked if we could go because he was really tired.

Although I did not get a picture, Jack wanted to go to sleep with his hat on. It took him all of three minutes to fall asleep and when we checked on him, his hat was right next to his head. The next morning, he came down in his underwear, shirt (as always) and wearing his new cap. A week later, we are still hearing little references to the game.

Quiting smoking has its definite drawbacks, the constant urges, moods and most of all, the lack of things to do to keep your mind off the fact that you are not smoking - even when you have more projects half started than you know what to do with. Each and every time I quit, my patience seems to disappear for a week or so, I become angry, short and a real ass. The worst part of the this process is the kids who witness my anger and do not understand....and I quit every other week or so which makes it hard on everyone including myself.

To keep my time occupied for this quitting time, I picked up some Origami paper and decided to give it a shot; nothing else to do and it keeps me from pissing off the house. I have always had an interest in it but more like a distant interest such as rebuilding a car engine or becoming a vet...sounds great, looks like fun... Although it may sound a little obscure to others, I am really enjoying it and I want to learn more. In doing some research on the Internet on different patterns, I came across an article on an Origami Master and his website. Looking at his work is inspiring.

Roasted Beet Sandwich

For the beets:

• 1 bunch beets - sliced about 1/4 inch thick
• 1 Shallot - chopped
• 2 Clove garlic - minced
• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tbsp Rosemary

For the Cheese and Greens:

• 1 bunch Chard - Stemmed
• 1 bunch Beet Greens - Stemmed
• 1 Shallot - chopped
• 2 Clove garlic - minced
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Load day old Italian Bread

First, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the beets, Olive Oil, Rosemary, Garlic and Shallots in a bowl and let sit for 1 hour. Arrange in 1 layer on a baking pan and roast in the oven until soft and tender (about 20 minutes). Rotate and flip as required to ensure all beets are roasting evenly. Once done, pull out and cut beets into strips

While beets are roasting, heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet for about 1 minute. Add all greens and let sit for 2 minutes. Turn all greens as they begin to wilt and allow to cook under medium flame for about 4-5 minutes. Beet greens and chard are generally bitter and the more you cook, he less bitter they become. Once done, remove to a bowl and splash with Balsamic Vinegar turn to coat.

Take goat cheese (room temperature is better) and mix the dill into the cheese. Cut the bread into slices and brush with left over oil from the beets. Place in oven for 1 minute until toasted. To build the sandwiches, spread generously the herb goat cheese, place greens on and place a generous amount of beet pieces. This can be served warm or cold, I prefer warm.

Food Harvested:
Tomatoes
Lemon Cukes

Things Planted:
None

Seeds Saved:
Lemon Cukes
Purple Cherokee Tomato
Black Krim Tomato

Preserved/Cooked:
Canned:
- Yellow Peach Halves
Made:
- Roasted Beet Sandwich with sauteed chard and herb goat cheese
- Flounder baked with shallots and garlic
- Carrot Cake

Things to Remember:
Nothing I can think of today