Growing a Green Thumb

Now that we have a real yard, with real potential, I have plumb run out of excuses for not learning to garden. This weekend was supposed to be the start, with the priceless help of my dear mum who has a fantastic garden of her own, but alas, the wretched rain has foiled our plans. I do however have some transplanted inspiration right on the back porch. Thanks to the same wonderful mum, I have several starter herbs ready for use, including rosemary, sage, basil, parsley, and chives. Peter and I were also given a tomato plant from our friend Steve, which we hope to get into the ground very soon, as well as a potted plant from our other garden goddess mum. While there is still a small window of opportunity on Monday, I'm not keeping my fingers crossed and looking forward to the anticipated June sun. In the meantime, I came across a recommendation in the local paper called "Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles"that I plan to pick up shortly, along with a somewhat related cooking companion, "Urban Pantry".

Our first edibles

Books to add to the reading list.

Home Sweet Home

Dear loyal readers,
Since our last post, there have been some changes--some large and some small. The obvious is that we've switched blog servers from WordPress to blogger. I'm hoping that the ease of use of this platform will result in more frequent and up-to-date blogging on my end. But I'm not making any promises and reserve the right to use the term "daily" loosely. (Not that I have the authority to use it this loosely)

The second bit of news, perhaps old news to most, is that Peter and I made the big leap and purchased our first home last month--and we couldn't be happier. I was more apprehensive than he and afraid that I would feel 'homesick' for my 45 sec walk to work, the two coffee shops blocks away from one another, and the option for a quick bus trip downtown when jonesing for a bit of market and metropolitan shopping. To my surprise and delight, the transition has been very smooth. I love that I can take the train with Peter in the mornings and have a solid block of morning coffee/Bible reading time before work each day. (We even managed to squeeze in a quick trip through Pike Place market and coffee at Le Panier before work one morning--a treat we look forward to indulging in more often during the summer months!) And while the commute back can some days be long (especially when I sleep through my stop), the permanency and stability of what it now means to "come home" is worth it. As is the responsibility. In the few short weeks that we've been here, Peter has made numerous trips to Home Depot, replaced several light switches, and installed bathroom hardware in both bathrooms (yes, we have two!). As for my part in this operation, I've attempted to find the proper place for all of our belongings, am continuing to unpack the last 10% of our boxes/bags and am working on some projects of beautification, including art work for the space above our fireplace and gardening--much more to come on both these fronts.

I'll end the post with a picture of one of my favorite areas of the house thus far: the "breakfast nook"--which also serves as our lunch/dinner/snack nook.