Quite a morning…
Already I have:
*gotten mad at Jeff for something that I thought he misplaced but it turned out I had. *doh*
*spilled my kefir smoothie all over myself and the floor and counter and trash can and dog (although the dog didn’t mind one bit).
*accidentally whacked my poor baby in the head with this… THWAP.
Hopefully the rest of the day will go more smoothly.
The first flower from the nasturtium. Although, for some reason I can’t bring myself to eat it yet. I feel like there need to be more for me to eat it.
June 10th:
My cousin Emily came into town for a few days. We all went out to lunch.
June 11th:
Four months old already!
June 12th:
I went strawberry picking with my friend Becky. I love picking fruit. I think I’ll make it an annual tradition in my family. We’ll pick all sorts of fruit and store them- make jams, freeze them, dry them, eat them! I’m gonna go back and get more. I’m really gonna try to eat as locally as I can this year- we’ve ordered chickens and beef and pork all in bulk, so those will be ready this fall(ish), not to mention all of the preserving straight from our garden I’ll be doing. Also I’ll buy in bulk from the farmer’s market. Anyway, soon I’ll be going raspberry and blackberry picking, then of course apples in the fall. I hope I can get some stone fruit too- I love plums and nectarines and stuff, but I have to do some research. The only downside is that it is hard to find organic AND local stuff- so I do have to put up with some pesticide usage… I won’t make an exception for my meat. I guess because it’s dealing with an animal’s life, and I feel like I can’t compromise on that one. However, for some strawberries I will budge a little. I just washed them as best I could. If anyone has any tips for how to get off most of the crap then let me know!
And lots of bonus pictures today!
I was thinking about how big my baby is… how she changes before my eyes. I love her so much, and even though she’s only been here a short time, I can’t imagine life without her. Pictures are as follows: 1 day old, 1 month, 2 months, 3, and 4. HOORAY!
We made sushi the other night with some friends… it was really easy! We had miso soup (with mushrooms and chicken and nori), then salad with this dressing I made out of ginger and celery and stuff (it’s the orange dressing you get at the restaurants), then sushi with tuna, avocado, carrots, cucumber, mushroom, and some with teriyaki chicken! One of our friends was a little squeamish about the raw fish, so we made the chicken as an alternative for him. He ended up eating the fish too. 🙂 Oh, and for dessert we made a creamy coconut tapioca with peaches sauteed in sugar and vinegar and a little sake. 
I love food.
On Sunday there was this crazy storm that lasted about twenty minutes. We were on our way home from my little sister’s graduation party and as we turned onto our street we saw this:
Apparently the wind just blew this tree right over. We talked to our neighbor and he said we could have all the wood. We want it all, for sure, it’s maple- but where to store it… I think we’ll get it milled first and then we can just keep it in our basement until Jeff decides to work with it.
Quote of the day:
“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” -John W. Gardner
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of course i love the pictures.
we went strawberry picking today and are gonna make our jam tonight. i thought about the pesticide thing and it makes me a little nuts. the farmer said they use “slug medicine” when i asked him. “it just goes into the ground and not on the berries” except the berry plant takes food from the ground that is now poisoned with “slug medicine” whatever the hell that is. 🙂
your nasturtium looks yummy. what are you gonna use it for?
There are two types of slug bait approved. The nasty chemical type, and the newer ones made with iron phosphate that is approved for organic production. Here in Western Washington, the slug capitol of the world, even conventional growers are starting to switch over to iron phosphate, because it works better.
If you get the opportunity, suggest that as an option to the farmers.
I’ve already used the leaves in my salads… I love it! It’s so mild and radishy. (I just made up a word!)
Mmmm… your sushi pictures look so good!
What will Jeff do with all that tree?
🙂
He’ll definitely make me a stool that folds up so that I can reach all of the things in the house that he puts away up high… I’m sure you have no idea what that is like! Other than that, I think he’ll make a side table for his sister, and there’s talk of a cabinet…
I have a stool like that, it’s plastic-y but it works. Mostly, I just ask Jake.
That’s a lot of furniture from only one tree! It must have been HUGE and OLD!
The worst chemical, by far, used in strawberry production is methyl bromide. It is actually banned by international treaty, it’s so dangerous. But if growers are able to show need and there are no viable options currently available, then they can still use it.
Methyl bromide is a gas that is injected several feet underground by a tractor, that lays down a roll of plastic behind it. Workers then seal this plastic to the ground. This stuff kills EVERYTHING in the soil, including some difficult strawberry fungi.
In California, strawberries are grown as an annual crop, fumigating the fields every year because of the buildup of pathogens in the area, with their monocropping. It’s really frightening. In other parts of the country, they may fumigate every few years, or not at all. Here is Washington, it’s rare, as most growers can get about 4 years out of a bed, and since it’s all local market, it’s a smaller crop that they are able to rotate.
It’s really nasty stuff, but in all probability, it isn’t going into or onto your strawberries. There are other nasty pesticides (mostly fungicides) that are sprayed through the growing season. Just wash them the best you can.
We’ve found that a 4′ x 8′ bed grows plenty of strawberries to meet our needs for the entire year, and we know exactly what went into them.
HEY! Thanks for that information about the slug medicine!
you are totally right about 4×8 bed being enough. we just have a row in our garden of strawberries and after picking them today and paying for them, then measuring out what we needed for making enough jam according to what we use…well we probably didnt need to go pick and pay when our strawberry plants have already produced enough. they go a long way…
It might be worth it to grow them next year, if I can find the space! Now I feel like I can go ask them what they use. Thanks!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve mistakenly blamed Shaun (Or my Mom, or Dad, or Dylan…) for losing something that I lost. 🙂
Your food always looks so delicious. You must cook something next time I’m there. Please?
Usually babies get cuter as they get older, but Vera was really cute at day one.
Hey, at least we can admit when we are wrong!
I would love to cook for you!
Yay! I thought so, but I can never tell if I just have mom-perception!
Cute little yellow hat! aw…
It’s been a hit everywhere we go!