Around the Garden

I have finally gotten around to taking some photos of my garden. Its really coming along so I shouldn't be so quick to put it down. Like I've mentioned before, I started everything from seed so it takes more time for everything to grow and flourish. Even harvested some lettuce for salads tonight. Anyway here's where we're at

Mom and Dad's Awesome Garden

What the heck? My mom started her garden about a month after me and when I was recently at their house I couldn't help but notice that the parents garden is pretty much triple the size of my meager little plot. I guess sometimes it pays to buy your plants already started and to use fertilizer? Suppose that's what I get for going the el natural organic route huh? But don't get me wrong, my little plot is finally beginning to show some signs of fruit. Its just everything is so small and feeble looking. I don't think my spot gets enough light and I guess I should have foreseen that. But when I decided on the location of my plot back in early March there were no leaves on the trees so I foolishly thought the location I chose would be decent. Plus I remember the ma inlaw having a pretty successful garden in the same spot a few years ago. Anyway my point here is that I'm totally jealous of my parents awesome garden. I mean come on look at this monster!!

My dad was proudly showing me his veggies, but its all good. I'm super proud of my not so green thumbed parentals.

And they have some pretty diesel herbage going on too. I mean who the heck needs this much basil?

Here's the pumpkin I bought them for Mother's Day a month and a half ago. I guess come October I can just go pumpkin picking at my parents garden ya think?

And at this rate their gonna have tomatoes ready in a few weeks. My meager tomato plants are totally lame. The only one that has remote potential is one that my mom donated to me from her garden on steroids a few weeks ago. Oh well what can I say? I'm totally proud of them. This is only their second year attempting this whole grow your own food thing and I've got to give them props for digging up a huge chunk of their "beloved" back yard and going fer it! I mean it can be a real crap shoot growing your own food. And I'm happy that they are having so much success. I hope that next year they have an even more bountiful crop. And not to be totally ungrateful, but I know that come another month from now I'll be benefiting from this garden when they have more veggies then they know what to do with. This whole garden adventure is a serious learning experience for me. I have read and studied so much and next season when I am settled into my own backyard I hope that I will have more success.

But at any rate its always awesome to stop by my parents house and see the lil sis and the dopey dog. Between them and my parents theres never a dull moment.

While I was there, lil sis was prepping some apps for a get together with her inlaws and the dog was super excited about that. Not that he really likes veggies, but any time your preparing something he's extremely interested. And my dad always buys awesome beer for me! He sure knows how much I love my skiing!!Man my parents rock. Not too mention it was a super tasty beer! And Mad River Glen is only one of three remaining resorts that are skier only. At any rate I took photos of my scrawny garden and I'll try to get around to posting them in the next few days. Anyway in the words of the great song writer Eric Clapton "Let it Grow".

Sunday Funday

This morning me and the hubby were up bright and early in order to provide technical support for a local bicycle tour. So we packed up a mobile bike shop and headed down to one of the stops in our town on this 62 mile tour. The tour raises money for autism and we helped out last year so we happily volunteered again this year. All we pretty much have to do is pump air in a few tires, fix some skipping gears and straighten out the occasional rubbing brake pad. Last year we were the first stop on the tour so we got pretty slammed for about a good hour and a half. There was seriously a line for us. So this year we brought along the inlaws since my father inlaw works at the bike shop too obviously. And guess what? There were barely any repairs this year. Too funny! But figures that's the way it would be. This year we were the second stop on the tour so whatever shop was at the first stop more than likely was swamped like we were last year. Afterall so many of these riders head out on one of these tours not realizing that their tires are low on air or that their chain needs lube. Anyway today was a breeze and it was great to see some of our cycling buddies who were out riding the tour. My mom even stopped down with the dog Joba. He was so excited to be there and fully enjoyed all the action. After the bike tour wrapped up me and the hub went for a nice walk in Shu Swamp. Its a great little preserve located in Matinecock which is one of the richest zip codes in the country. So tucked amongst the rolling estates and old money mansions is this great little preserve open to the public. Its a quick stroll through there but its so nice and quaint. We even ran across a happy swan family. They were so beautiful on this foggy and misty day. We stood there watching them for a good 10 minutes. The baby swan had a deformed leg that was laying limp almost on top of its back. It was kinda sad, but it seemed pretty well adapted to his handicap and really had no problem keeping up with its parents.

On our way home we found this beauty on the curb so we asked the homeowners if they were throwing it out and they said yes. Rick will clean it up and get it running again and then we'll sell it to a happy hipster in NYC more than likely.

We rounded out our lazy Sunday by making homemade chicken pot pie. My parents had given us two cups of fresh chicken stock so we really wanted to use it up. And what better way to do so then by making a big ole pot pie. We used my dad's recipe which is an all time favorite of ours. It was a lot of work prepping everything and cooking the chicken, the veggies, making the rue and the gravy. We did cheat and buy a premade crust, but maybe in the future we'll truly go handmade and make the crust. And now we can with our newly acquired Kitchen Aid Mixer. Thanks again ma inlaw! Anyway the pot pie came out amazing! We even gave it a little personalized touch. I'll try and post the recipe here in a few days. Its definitely worth the time to make.

Estate Sales & Farmers Market

Today I went to an estate sale at a condo that overlooks the water. It was a pretty sweet pad, but it was pretty outdated and the people who called this place home for probably the past 25 years have either passed away or are in a home. I always have strong emotions when I go to one of these estate sales because you enter a person's home and you basically pick through every closet, drawer, cabinet, nook and cranny. Usually by the time I get to one of these things, the house is pretty much turned upside down. And I can't help but be saddened when I'm there because its a person's whole life that is just being ransacked by complete strangers. You can learn so much about a person that you have never met because you see what their tastes are, how they decorate or the condition of their house. But I can't let it bother me too much because this is how I plan on furnishing my future house. Especially because I can't afford to buy any new furniture or housewares by the time we're through with this whole purchase.

So I figured I'd share with you the couple of purchases I made at this estate sale today. First off my ma inlaw went there super early and scored me the hubby a Kitchen Aid Mixer! Wow that's awesome. And she only paid $50 for it. That's even more awesome considering that one of these things brand new goes for around $250 big ones. And the one we got looks like it was rarely used considering that all the attachment mixers still had the plastic on them.

By the time I got there it was pretty picked over. You really have to get to these things early. But I found a great table top easel which means no more ghetto rigging my canvases when I want to paint. It will also make set up and break down a whole lot easier.

I also bought a whole slew of wooden utensils as well as 8 napkins! All in all I dropped a whopping $12! Garage sales and estate sales are so great! Next time you see one you should pull over and check it out. You never know what you are going to find. Some of my previous scores include vintage bikes, glass jars, a bookcase, tons of kitchen wares, a Lowe Alpine hiking pack, just to name a few. You can't beat that.

I then shot over to our neighboring town of Locust Valley where a small farmers market was going on. It was only one farm stand, but that was good enough for me considering that I only planned on picking up a few veggies. I ended up with the biggest head of lettuce I've ever seen! Peas, zucchini, mixed greens and a garlic clove rounded out the rest of my purchase. They are a local farm based out of Riverhead which is about 60 miles east of here. Tonight we made huge salads and they were delicious. The difference between farm fresh and store bought produce is unbelievable. I'm really trying to avoid buying our produce at the grocery stores and its obvious why. The freshness and taste can't be beat. Plus we want these local farms to be able to survive. And here on LI they are all becoming rare. Developers are swiping up all the farm land around as fast as they can and building these huge sub divisions that are so depressing. I hope that more people around here will catch on and help support these farmers so that they can continue to grow fresh food for us to enjoy. Remember No Farms No Food.

Beach Reality

Long Island summers mean fun in the sun. We are total beach bums around here and the water is where its at. So like last weekends evening fun on the beach, this weekends big event was going out on our friend Ned's boat for an hour or so around dusk. We live on the north shore of LI on a peninsula with water on 3 sides of our town. Hempstead Harbor which encompases 1/3 of our shoreline here is a super sad example of urban decay, over development and total neglect. Its so beautiful yet so depressing. Here's a blurb about our water from the coalition to save Hempstead Harbor

There were many instances of beach closures due to high bacteria levels, some due to direct discharge of sewage into the harbor from the former aging Roslyn treatment plant. Several superfund sites were discovered along its shores. Rotting wooden barges lined the lower harbor and sat there for decades before funding and responsibility for their removal could be ironed out. The Village of Sea Cliff even resorted to installing “Gunderboom” around its beach in an effort to keep contaminants from interfering with swimmers. Once the most productive oystering harbor in New York, it is now entirely closed to shellfishing. Low oxygen levels led to periodic fish kills.

-HempsteadHarbor.org/about_us

Now I live in and grew up in Glen Cove which is on Matinecock Point which is more exposed to the vast Long Island Sound. But a portion of my town is on the other side of the point which is Hempstead Harbor. And our neighbor town of Sea Cliff and the super rich neighborhoods of Sands Point and Port Washington all share the Hempstead Harbor shoreline. I probably did more of my growing up swimming on the sound side of the point, but the beach front community that I grew up in is on the Harbor side of the point, so myself, my parents and my past and present Labrador Retrievers have spent countless lazy summer hours in that water, and well we're ok. At least we think we are. And all my crazy Sea Cliff friends have survived haha.You can get a better location idea here: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hempstead%20harbor&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Anyway what I'm gettin at is with the industrial boom that took place back during the turn of the century and with the lax environmental regulations way back then too, its no wonder a dead end like Hempstead Harbor was doomed from the get go. Urban Spraw Man! People needed more and they hastily went about getting it. And at our environment's expense. But don't get me wrong, even as bad as the water is, like I've said, I have swam in it for the past 26 years and pretty much everybody I know has. And up to this point we've survived! I don't know maybe I'm being stupid. Maybe one day I'll realize what a mistake that was? I guess I can't help but feel like the chemicals dumped in a pool couldn't really be much better for one's body? At least in the sound its salt water and its amazing what salt water can do. Clears up skin, heals up scrapes, dries out itches, kills poison ivy. At least those are my experiences, so my thoughts are that the bacteria in the open water at least has a chance of dissipating where as pools just collect germs and I can't help but usually feel kinds gross and skeevy when I get out of a pool. And not too mention you reek like chlorine and your eyes burn. Yeah maybe your eyes burn from the salt, but I've been able to go out for the night straight from a full day at the beach and have decent hair and feel semi comfy. Going out straight after being in a pool just makes me feel gross and slimy. I've had some bad pool and hot tub experiences so needless to say I'm not a huge fan. But I do have a membership at our town's YMCA and they do have a nice outdoor pool that I plan on checking out. So maybe I'm being a hypocrite. I just never had the luxury of having a pool as a kid and all me and my sis ever knew where the beaches. I just really hope that my kids can swim in the sound just like how me and my sis did growing up swimming in the sound.

Tonight being out there reminded me of how lucky we are to live with this amazing gift. I wish it could be cleaner, but that blurb I posted earlier was from about 20 years ago and in that time the Harbor has made huge improvements. Ok maybe you still can't shellfish in there, but you can go around the other side of Matinecock Point and then your set. Its a sensitive subject around here. Especially with our area being such a fishing culture spot. Everybody points fingers and so on. All I know is that its beautiful here and I fully enjoyed myself tonight.

Beach Fun

It has been a serious scorcher the past few days. I hope everybody is staying cool and keeping hydrated. Tomorrow is supposed to be a whopping 99 degrees out! Welcome summer. So much for a spring, but that's usually the way it goes in these parts. Its spring for like a week, then it rains for like 3 weeks straight and then its in the 90's. Anyway the weather this past weekend was a perfect 10. It was warm, breezy and sunny. Perfect weekend for stocking the cooler and meeting the crew for an evening of free live music on one of our beaches. The was no other place I would have rather been. I ran into so many people I haven't seen in a while too! There was a decent breeze so the bugs stayed away and my friend Harry's band played some rockin' covers. Everybody was having such a great time.And to top off a great night, Mother Nature blessed us with a great sunset. We are so lucky to live on the water like we do. Its so beautiful. Sometimes I take it for granted. Especially when I'm feening for the mountains. But its a trade off. I can easily drive a few hours north and be in the mountains yet I can drive down the street or take a 5 minute walk and be on the water. I am very happy where I am. Well I hope you have a beautiful rest of the week and stay cool.

Hand made in the USA

Today I went to work wearing a skirt, shirt and scarf that were all made and purchased right here in the good ole USofA. Try and beat that one! I was super proud and although nobody else knew any better, I sure as hell did. Lately I have been trying to make a more concerted effort to support small businesses and independent entrepeneuers much like ourselves. Not only do we own a small business but my husband has begun hand building bicycles from scratch. Theres something to be said for homemade things. The thought and care that goes into the production and the hours spent laboring over whatever it is just to me makes it way more special and meaningful. So I'm not ashamed to spend a few extra bucks here or there on something that I know is supporting a person's livelihood. Here are a few items from some of the individuals who I have supported over the past year or so. This isn't all of them, but these few are from what I wore the past few days.

The skirt and scarf come from Gaia Conceptions out of Greensboro NC. The product of Andrea Crouse all pieces are handmade and hand dyed right in her studio in NC. Very eco conscious which I totally dig. Plus each piece is totally unique thanks to the variations of each dye bath. Great vibrant colors made from wonderful materials like organic cottons and organic hemps. The skirt is an organic hemp and is light and airy, great for summer. And the scarf is made from an organic cotton that is super soft and stretchy. Great for wrapping myself in while sitting at my desk freezing in the air conditioning now that its summer. Thanks to the wonderful world of etsy.com I was introduced to Gaia Conceptions and I scope out her shop often to check out the latest designs. To discover more about this wonderful eco friendly line of clothing, visit Andrea's website: http://gaiaconceptions.com/

Next I want to talk about my new favorite outdoor technical brand of clothing that I discovered back in December. Melanzana.Italian for the word Grapefruit, I have no idea how that relates to outdoor clothing, but it jives and works for them and for their custy's. Their motto is Original Functional Soulful. I have to say that I agree. I had my dad order me a long sleeve hoody fleece for Christmas and I pretty much lived in the thing for the entire winter. It kept me damn warm while skiing, was totally original, and most awesomely was long enough for my long torso! I was hooked so I had the hubby order me the t-shirt version for my birthday now that its summa time. The long sleever is a size large, so I thought I'd go for a little more of a slim fit with a medium and found that its a tad shorter than the large, but I didn't feel like waiting for an exchange so I kept it and have been pretty much living in this shirt now for the warm season. They are based in Leadville Colorado and employ a small staff that cuts, sews and sells all their goods right there out of their store. They don't sell to any retailers and rely pretty much on word of mouth. I don't know how I stumbled upon them but I'm glad I did. See more here: http://melanzana.com/catalog/index.php

Ok so we got my USA made fashion clothes and technical clothes covered. Now for my work pants. I always wanted to have a pair of Carhartt pants, but for some reason they never fit me right. I have lucked out with a pair of Carhartt overalls that I love, but as far as pants go, it just wasn't happening. I then attempted another work brand of pants called Mountain Khaki's and found myself having the same problem. The fits were just terrible. Too tight around my waist and then huge in the thighs. I guess when a girl wears a size 12, its too be assumed that she's got a huge ass and thunder thighs. Well not in my case. While I am a bit thick in the hips, I'm also 5'10" and have never been small or petitte by any means. Well lucky for me there is a gal out in Montana who had the same problem. Only she went ahead and did something about that. Meet my awesome pair of Red Ants Pants.

Not only do I wear them while working in the yard, but I've been wearing them pretty much all around. Whether down at the bike shop, running errands or even out for some drinks. They are comfortable and durable. Not too mention they fit me awesomely. The brainchild of Sarah Calhoun, Red Ants Pants are based out of White Sulfur Springs Montana and much like Melanzana, they are not sold thru retailers and rely on word of mouth. Each pair of pants is made in Seattle Washington and come with the choice of straight cut or curvy cut. Originally I got the curvy cut thinking that after my experiences with Carhartt and Mountain Khaki's I'd need a little extra room, but to my surprise I was wrong. And boy was I stoked on that! So I got the straight and I also got a boost to my self esteem while I was at it! And they are not just for ladies, guys have been known to rock out RAP too. See for yourself here: http://www.redantspants.com/. I'm hooked.

And finally for head ware (which I'm known for) I discovered thru a ski website this great little company called Recap Hats based outta Silverton Colorado. The one man operation of Anneka Herndon, Recap Hats takes an old pair of pants and turns them into a stylish yet functional hat. Anneka's hats were all over Telluride when I was there in January, but with me having a rather large head, I contacted her about making me one custom since the ones in Telluride weren't fitting me properly. She happily obliged. And this is what she whipped up for me.

The hat fits me perfectly and I wear it all the time, especially with my hair being at this in between length right now. To learn more about her hats and her story visit her website http://recaphats.com/.

Its amazing what the Internet has been able to provide for these small entrepreneurs ain't it? Each of them live thousands of miles away from me, but yet I was able to discover them and support them. Cheers to made in the USA!! Goodnight.

Weekend Wrap up

I hope everybody had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We here on LI sure did. With temps soaring into the upper 80's all weekend, summer seems to be here in full swing. Perfect time to finally get out into the garden and tend to some things out there. First off I had to do some serious weeding. Like several hours worth of weeding thanks all that rain we previously had. And then I was finally able to transplant the seedlings. Thank goodness because I really don't think they were going to last much longer in the pots. They were pretty shocked at first, but now that its Wednesday they seem to be doing much better. Everything else is beginning to come to each's own.

But my next issue is a pest one. So my ma inlaw picked up lady bugs for me as a means to try and rid these bugs the el natural way. Unfortunately and not to my surprise most of the lady's were already dead. But we followed the directions and waited until later on in the evening and released them out there. The next morning all seemed well, the survivors were happily hanging out on all the plants. But as the week has progressed, the lady bugs have either skipped town on me or were lunch for the ravenous birds we've got around here. So today I had to resort to a pest spray which I really was hoping I wouldn't have to do. I really wanted to use Neem after reading about its great benefits, but when I found it at the hardware store near my job it was insanely expensive. And with the pending house purchase looming there was no way I could bring myself to shell out the money for it. So I found another organic pest killer called Safer Tomato & Vegetable Insect Killer. It meets the standards of the Organic Materials Review Institute so it sounded good to me. Plus at half the price of Neem I was sold. So I did what is says and sprayed my poor little plants this evening and hopefully the pests will skip town just like the lady bugs did. Otherwise its starting to look a little bit like a garden back there.

My inlaws were also super gracious enough to pick up a couple of flats of impatiens and some other flowers for me to plant in the containers around our patio this weekend. I'm so glad they did because they hit up a great little garden center in the next town over that is a bit pricey but always has great specimens. And I have to say that these impatiens are the prettiest ones I've yet to see.

I seriously spent the entire Saturday and Sunday of the weekend out in the yard and I loved every second of it. Then Monday we celebrated with our town's annual Memorial Day parade which my dad always marches in since he's a Vietnam Veteran. Thanks again Dad and all those who serve or have served!! We ended out the day with a small gathering on the patio with the hubby's family and called it a night. All in all it was a great weekend that yielded much accomplishing and satisfaction for me.