Veggies in Newspaper

The veggies in my planter box are coming up nicely and I just wanted to show off something different that I tried this year when I was planting.

I didn't have any peat pots to start my plants in so I used newspaper instead. I'm really happy with the results! It was so easy.


DIRECTIONS
First I folded the paper over a few times in the same direction to make a long rectangle. Then I wrapped the rectangle around my right hand to make a shallow tube. Next, pinching where the end of the paper was with my right thumb, I folded half of the tube inside itself with my left hand to form the bottom of the pot.

These weren't amazingly sturdy, but that didn't matter because I tucked them all into a shallow cardboard tray (box) and filled them with soil. The weight of the soil and the squishing of all of them in that tray, made them strong enough to start my plants in. After a couple of weeks of regular watering and sunshine, the veggies were ready to be transplanted into my garden, newspaper and all!

I can't say I'd recommend this for all veggies. It's not good for root vegetables like onions, carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, etc. But for other veggies, it's worth a try. It was a fun little money saver!

Spring in Full Swing

Spring seems to FINALLY be underway here on the island. Until recently, the weather has been very cool and rainy but the May long weekend seems to have brought the sun along with it. I've been busy gardening. Here are some photos from what's been happening in my little yard.



These are the bulbs I planted a few months ago in pots (previous post: http://horncat.blogspot.com/2011/04/peek-outside.html ). Last time I posted a photo of them, they were just poking their heads out of the soil. Now they are in full bloom and looking beautiful. I especially love the tulips (Luca Banja).

This is a rhododendron that a friend gave to me. It never bloomed for her and we hoped it would be happier in my yard. As it turns out, the plant liked the change and we now know what colour it is; pink! The rest of the bed is still a work in progress but I am happy with how it is turning out.

Artistic Angst

Sometimes life throws painful situations at us and it's up to us on how to deal with them. Last week, one of my favourite uncles passed away suddenly. He had been ill for some time but his autoimmune disease was under control. Unfortunately, a complication from a regular in-out procedure stole him away from us. His death feels so crippling to me, but I have been trying to use my grief as an "excelerant" for creating artwork.

I've been playing with an old hardcover book for a while; toying with ideas and occasionally doing something on a few pages. Last week, I started using the book as a means for expressing grief. I suppose most people call it 'art journaling'. I'm simply using it like a visual diary and I'm really liking it. I'm not great at expressing myself verbally, and this is turning into a great way of getting stuff off of my chest. It is especially good when most of my thoughts feel like lumpy gravy and trying to articulate them is like trying to get the lumpy gravy through a fine strainer. It's not always a good scene!

The first painting I did in the book was done last week when I was feeling quite angry. I just did the second one the other day. I am starting to feel a bit better about his passing now.

"Life Without Love is Like a Tree Without Fruit"

The memories of your love and your laughter will live in our hearts forever.
You will be missed. Rest in peace Uncle Len.

A Peek Outside

I looked out on my deck today and guess what I saw?! The bulbs I had planted at the end of January have come up! I was beginning to think that they weren't going to come up- assuming that they had succumbed to death by drowning- but no, these little bulbs are persistent.

They were bulbs I had gotten on sale at Superstore for $0.75 a bag and at the time they didn't look very promising, but I figured I'd give them a shot. The pot closest holds tulips (Luca Banja). The other pot holds chiondoxa forbesii. I had put a twig into one pot, so I'd know which was which. I guess I can take the twig out now!

These bulbs are quite late (most of the other bulbs in the city are blooming or have finished blooming already) but I am happy and will make more updates as I go along.

A Beautiful Day...

... for digging a hole!

One of the great things about the place I've moved to is that the back yard is just lawn. It is a blank canvas just waiting to have plants put into it and I am so excited about trying to garden in Victoria this year!

So today, I got out my shovel and started digging out a flower bed. It's in a corner of the yard where the fence is the highest. My plans are to turn it into a shade garden. I think it will be a mix of perennials and some annuals. I might add a shrub or two but I want it to have mostly perennials: some hostas and ostrich ferns and definitely some plants that I've never tried before.
I won't have as many weather-related challenges here in Victoria as I did on the prairies, and I'm going to be able to try out plants that are new to me; so basically anything higher than a zone 3. I guess a trip to a garden centre is in order!

The weather today was absolutely amazing. I hear that the prairie provinces still have snow but that is definitely not the case here in Victoria. The sun was shining and the temperature was close to 20oC. People were out mowing their lawns and the mail carrier was wearing shorts... AND I had the gardening bug! What a great day :)

Curling!

Yesterday evening, I tried out the sport of curling for the very first time. I think the sport gets a bad rap because it isn't exactly fast-paced but boy oh boy is it ever fun to play! I didn't get any pictures of myself playing, but my teammates all look like they're having fun.

First, I had to figure out how to keep my balance on some incredibly slippery ice (there's a machine that sprinkles a layer of water droplets on top which makes it even more slippery than the ice you might find in a parking lot or ice arena)!

After that, I tried to throw a 42 pound rock across the ice. The most confusing thing for me was figuring out which way to point my thumb and which way to rotate the rock when I was throwing to get a curve across the ice. I did get it in the end.

Sweeping, I'm sorry to say, came to me fairly naturally but I didn't realize how HARD you have to scrub the ice sometimes to get that stone to move! It's quite a work out!

The best thing is that while you are doing all this, you are on a team and socializing with people the whole time. I think it is a great way to get out of the house, get a little bit of exercise and a good way to meet people too. I definitely want to give it a try again sometime!

Some Thoughts on Working/Shopping at American Companies

The other day at work, a colleague and myself were given the task of "cleaning" one of the rooms at work. It wasn't a great experience.

I put "cleaning" in quotations because according to this business, "cleaning" means that we had to make sure that all supplies in the room were according to company policy. Basically, some people in Texas have decided what supplies should be in that particular room. What happens to all the items that aren't on the company-assigned list? It gets thrown in the dumpster. That's right- straight into the trash.

This is where my sense of good morals start to kick in. All of the supplies in this room were, at one point, assigned to that space by the company because of various projects done there. Any left over materials were kept for future use. But now, we are throwing them out.

These items are in great condition and some of them are even brand new! It pained me and my colleague to throw these things out. We asked if we could donate some items to schools or other charities. The answer we got was, "No."

Someone had told me it was because this is an American company. In the USA, items cannot be donated because if a person harms themselves with a donated item, then the person who donated the item is liable to be sued. In order to prevent this, companies simply throw items out and make it their policy. In many American chains, such as the one I am working at, policies are kept the same across the border.

It has really made me think twice about working and shopping at American companies.