hollygee Goes West

The hills are greening

I'm always so relieved when the green starts showing under the dry grass. Maybe you'll get a picture in the next day or so.

A few weeks ago, a friend offered me a book that she was passing on. It is a exhibition catalog from, I believe, a single artist. It's all in Japanese and the artist is a textile artist. They are wonderful and make me look at everyday sights from a new direction. Like this one:

What could be more homely and yet lovely than two towers of stacked wood? It makes we want to interpret things on my desk, in my kitchen, the cats in such a simple style. If nothing else, it will teach me some economy of line and shape.

I don't know much about Chips or Diego's early lives, but we can surmise a lot. I know that they each started out with lots of love and attention as neither is shy in meeting new people. Each was found on the street -- Diego here in Marin and Chips up in Woodenville, WA -- but Diego has a confidence that Chips will never have. I think that Chips had to live on the streets longer and was tired and thin when found and infested with a really bad case of ear mites. And I think he was kicked or stepped on. Perhaps that's where the kink in his tail came from. All I know is that when he is on the floor and I or Steve get up to walk somewhere, Chips rushes to get up on the stairs, or the bed or a chair. Diego doesn't have that awareness and as he is a black cat in a narrow house inhabited by people with aging sight, he has suffered for it.

Oh, well, he will learn or not.

It is celery central here. We have lots of lettuce and chard, but the celery is a hedge! The collards are coming back after the assault of the cabbage moths. I'm tempted to add more collards to keep us in cruciferous veg through the autumn. Meanwhile, braised celery and cream of celery soup.

Now that we have Nancy's website up, Steve has returned to painting. He hopes to get a few more clients' jobs done before the rain really gets here. I'm hoping a new job will be along soon.

Our newest project is completed!

Please go and look at Nancy Martin Mysteries.

Another catch-up post

My walk partner went to Ireland for two weeks and my life went kind of crazy during that time, so I didn't walk -- and walking would have been a really good idea to manage some of the crazy. But before she went away we walked the short [.4 mile] walk down [and back up] McClure's beach trail. I took my camera, for once.

 

There is a lot of watercress in among all the other water plants. My mother always warned me against watercress growing in the wild because of 'liver flukes'. Does anyone know of the likelihood of bad stuff hidden in wild growing watercress (I realize that this is protected land and wouldn't be able to harvest any here anyway).

I don't know what kind of seabird where flying so close to the water -- they would disappear behind the swells and looked as if they were flying through the swell.

 

Those are turkey vultures perched on the cliff and on the log below.

 

After Sharon returned from Ireland, we took another trail to Keogh Beach on a clear and beautiful day. We were having high waves that day, perhaps because it was the morning after the tsunami watch.

But did I take the camera that day? Of course not.

Oh

So, how's it going.

You know we see each other so frequently, I forget to fill in the text.

What's been happening:

Work: I hope to make the announcement of our newest website this evening.

The continuing sheet saga: the Pepto Bismol colored cotton jersey sheets were a hit but haven't lasted well (not quite big enough for our mattress, a cat, and a large twisty-turny human). Yesterday I bought some bamboo rayon jersey sheets(!) in Espresso. Should look good with either cat's fur on it. And I shouldn't be able to find the blood stains. The only other dark color choice was black. I'm not a goth. I promise to keep you updated on the Scintillating Story of the Sheets.

The CSA box continues to be a blessing. I have white peaches baking right now -- last week's, because we have more in this week's box. The four peaches would be great for eating out of hand, but we just don't do fruit well in this household, so I bake them in a lightly buttered pan with a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon. I'll saute some chopped pecans and almonds in butter to make the crunch and serve with plain (whole milk) yogurt.

The sack of heirloom tomatoes is generous enough that I don't skimp in our salads and they also include a basket of cherry tomatoes [various sizes, shapes and colors] for additional tomato goodness. Every other week we've had a bunch of frying peppers, green beans every week, some arugula most weeks, melons, onions, garlic. I supplement the boxes with cucumbers and squash. And I've begun harvesting lettuce, chard and collard leaves from our late start garden. At least those lacy collards left after the cabbage worms have visited.

Critters: It's too dry for mosquitos, thanksbetogod, but now is the time of SeptemberOctober flies -- at least that's what I've been told they are called. Steve finally hung old fashioned fly paper to begin controlling them. Luckily they do disappear in late afternoons, and all through the evening. I'm so looking forward to cooler weather. My wonderful friend DeNise in Alaska says that they have stepped into late fall and the night temperatures are in the low 40s. I should spend my Septembers in Alaska. However, then I wouldn't still have this:

Of late.

When weather conditions combine just right they become a perfect storm; I have combined a number of physical conditions to wrack my neck, upper back, shoulder, and arm. I hurt.

• I was using my progressive lenses until I realized that I was tilting my head up and putting strain on my neck.

• I wasn't sitting up straight [with elbows down and feet on the ground], but instead leaning forward propped on my forearm in front of the keyboard.

• And the worst -- working for long periods of time with the phone receiver held between my neck and shoulder so my hands were free to work.

To correct these, I've put on my rarely-used reading glasses which, whoa!, are just right for the computer now -- they feel like cool water. I'm trying to keep to the good posture. And I signed up for Skype and use a headset. That doesn't have the best mike for contacting people on phones, but the Skype-to-Skype has been fab.

I've been doing the ibuprofen and icing my shoulder, remembering my PT exercises, and taking breaks. It will clear up sometime. Playing Bejeweled is not a healing exercise.

Speaking of storms, we had a rare [for September] one of thunder, lightening, and actual rain last night and I have the muddy cat tracks on the sheets to prove it:

 Diego acts like the California cat that he is and doesn't really like to spend time in the damp -- although those are his foot prints. Chips, being of Pacific Northwest birth, knows that if you don't go out in the rain, you don't go out. On the other hand, what's wrong with staying in and sleeping, he sez. Both of them, as well as both of us, prefer cool to hot days.

The fall garden is heavy on the cruciferous vegetables and lettuces. Wow. The difference in how quickly the plants take off in the warm soil to the cool spring soil is amazing. I should begin harvesting some of the lettuce leaves this week. It's in an old sandbox, 5'6" square, and since it is too hard to reach to the center to harvest, I put some marigolds and African daisies in the middle and have sown some calendula seeds.

I also grabbed a six-pack of flat-leafed parsley plants only to discover that I got celery. I've not tried to grow celery before, so it is an experiment.

We are still overjoyed with our CSA boxes. We've been getting a watermelon each week -- luckily not a large one -- and I'm allergic to those, so Steve has HAD to take on the burden of eating watermelons. Sometimes they are pink, sometimes red, and twice they've been golden. Amazingly enough, the farm has not often given us summer squash, so I have bought some in addition. I guess next year I'll put in our own plants again as it takes so little effort for such an abundant return. Our weekly box has been rich in tomatoes. This week, in addition to our regular bag of varied-sized tomatoes, we also got a pint box of cherry tomatoes.

The nekkid ladies are still dancing in the neighborhood. I call these shots the corps de ballet.

The newest project

Steve and I have done a redesign of The Lipstick Chronicles blog. TLC features mystery writers Nancy Martin, Sarah Strohmeyer, Harley Jane Kozak, Elaine Viets, and Lisa Daily, as well as Kathy Sweeney, who functions in numerous jobs/duties/[positions].

Here was the old header:

 

and the new:

 

You miss the smiling faces?

They should (meaning we have some glitches this morning) look like this on the right:

Please come take a look. They have a guest blogger this morning, a guy! Very adventurous -- both for what he is writing about and for coming on the Book Tarts' blog.

OMG I made PERFECT poached eggs

Some parsley on the plate woulda been a nice touch, but look at those nice oval babies. The next two weren't as perfect. Maybe the first two used all the acid from the vinegar and there wasn't enough acid left to make it work right. Who knows? I certainly don't. I'm just glad that I had my camera for documenting this amazing moment in history.

IN OTHER LIFE-ALTERING NEWS:

I planted our fall garden.

Tomato plant from Trader Joe's. Abundant, but so far not sweet. Maybe some days in actual sunshine will help.

I'm walkin', yes, indeed.

Last week and this, I felt a need to walk! On my own! In addition to my weekly walk with Sharon. Both times I went back to the Earthquake trail at Bear Valley, Point Reyes National Seashore. A sign says it is a mile trail, but the website says it is .6 of a mile. Wev. I did two laps each time, but last week was an easy stroll and this week, I walked at a good clip. For me.

I took my camera. Steve and I went to Costco yesterday and I got a much desired memory card for my camera. 4G! From 16 mg -- no wonder I could only take 8 pictures at a time. Unfortunately, these are new and improved SDHC card and my old (4 years!) camera takes an SD. So I still have to make sure that I download my photos after each session. And you don't get to see the big tree and the Disney deer. Why are they Disney deer? Their wearing necklaces and earrings (I'm assuming radio packs and numbered ID tags). Next time as this seems to be becoming a habit, at least I hope so.

Not long after moving here, we drove to Novato on the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road. In the valley I saw a perfect tree. And I've been meaning to take a picture of it ever since. Last month I got a so-so picture from too far away, but I'm glad I got that…

 

…as yesterday when we drove by, I saw that only a third of it was still standing and the remaining large limbs fallen around it. So sad. I've heard that this tree is a named tree and is famous in this area. I will get more info and get back to you.

Indian summer

I've got a whole bunch of little nothings today. There must be an elegant French or Italian phrase for such. With not a lot of help from google, I got rein sans importance. If there's a better one, please tell me -- that will be an extremely useful phrase.

Too early for a true Indian Summer, but it sure feels like it with warm days and cool nights, particularly if the marine layer doesn't come ever to hold the day's warmth down on us. I prefer the chill. The blackberry season has continued much longer than I remember. I was checking on a totem tomato plant that I got cheap from Trader Joe's, abused by leaving it in my hot car, and only planted last night. Beyond the planter is a tall, dense abundant blackberry hedge and from its midst I could here the rustling, whirring, and clucking of the our quail covey. The Sentry must not have considered me to be much of a threat as he was faced looking out over the street.

My weekly walks/hikes with my walk partner, Sharon have been going well. I think we have only missed one. On Friday, we took the most challenging yet; it is a trail that I've been eyeing for some time. We only got the first mile up and then back, but it is beautiful and I look forward to going further. I'm actually beginning to enjoy these walks. All it takes is an engaging partner. Maybe I'll put up a notice to find a partner for a second day a week.

Our Community Supported Agriculture box of fruits and vegetables continues to be a real blessing. I blush to admit that I did THROW OUT a bunch of basil. We just don't like basil that much. Unless I'm making Thai or Vietnamese dishes, but that wasn't what my tongue was wanting. We got a bunch o' red frying peppers so I made some chicken cacciatore last night. I'm turning that into some sort of soup today with the last of this weeks really lovely green beans. Last week I fixed a coq au vin (although I used only boneless thighs) and it was so good that I'm getting some more red wine to make it again.

The box had more nectarines and peaches. I considered making a coffee cake with some, but since we've cut almost all starches from our diet (part Paleo, part Mediterranean) I know that I would much prefer to have the peaches with some toasted nuts and maybe some yogurt. I have to bake or poach the peaches and nectarines because of allergies to one of the proteins in the raw fruit. This is a shame, because this fruit has been beautiful. Our box also had a golden watermelon that Steve says is sweet and crisp. Watermelon is my one and only trigger for migraines, so Steve is taking care of the watermelon on his own. We've had other melons (which I do just fine with) in previous weeks.

On Monday the 31st, we will be unveiling two of the sites Steve and I have been working on, another won't be along until later in October. In preparation for that one, I got to take some pictures of old trucks. I asked permission to take the photo of the tan one, they guy gave it and told me to walk a few doors down to see the same model in somewhat different condition.

I do love old trucks. 

Diego asleep