Saturday, March 16, 2019
Progress #19. Get married
As an artist and crafter with relatively neat printing if I try, I've oddly never been much into typography. My mom and little sister are pros, but I can't very well expect them to come all the way out here just to letter some signs. Ergo, I gave them a go. They'll do. I learned that a lot of nice elegant font is just handwriting with shadows on the downstroke.
Progress #5. Go greener
I realized today that I'm actually 4/4 on Purple Cherokee Tomatoes sprouting in coffee grounds, so I said a mental farewell to all the seeds that were obviously not sprouting, and planted more Purple Cherokee seeds in their place instead.
I also learned to make biodegradable toilet paper roll seedling sprouters instead (cut in half, make three vertical cuts to each bottom and fold in, fill with soil) and planted four dwarf cherry tomato seeds. I also reused the soil from the aloe plant I killed (RIP), which seemed to work just fine to sprout my very finicky cucumber seeds, so.
Here goes.
If this works as well as I hope, I may have some Purple Cherokee seedlings for purchase or trade.
I also learned to make biodegradable toilet paper roll seedling sprouters instead (cut in half, make three vertical cuts to each bottom and fold in, fill with soil) and planted four dwarf cherry tomato seeds. I also reused the soil from the aloe plant I killed (RIP), which seemed to work just fine to sprout my very finicky cucumber seeds, so.
Here goes.
If this works as well as I hope, I may have some Purple Cherokee seedlings for purchase or trade.
Friday, March 15, 2019
Progress: #11. Make my own mustard
I ran out of my live yellow mustard from Fresh City Farms and I have some veggie dogs in the freezer, so I guess this is as good a time as any to achieve this goal.
I vaguely followed this recipe, because I wanted to make it entirely from scratch. I added maybe a teaspoon of yellow curry powder for variation, as it includes some of the recommended spices like turmeric and cumin.
It's all set: just sitting on my counter, absorbing everything for two to three days, before I mix it up in my Magic Bullet.
Hopefully it is as tasty as it is easy.
Original goal list posted here
I vaguely followed this recipe, because I wanted to make it entirely from scratch. I added maybe a teaspoon of yellow curry powder for variation, as it includes some of the recommended spices like turmeric and cumin.
It's all set: just sitting on my counter, absorbing everything for two to three days, before I mix it up in my Magic Bullet.
Hopefully it is as tasty as it is easy.
Original goal list posted here
Progress: #5. Go greener
I'm not sure if it is possible for a person to have too many hobbies, but I have a great number of them. I am a lot of things, but I am rarely bored.
Geoff is gone until Sunday, so - to stave off potential boredom, I have been keeping busy today with things otherwise noisy or messy.
I cooked a lentil loaf. I made almond milk and dehydrated crackers. I did the dishes. Tonight I'll try to watch some anime one of my students has been endlessly bothering me to see. She's written it down for me twice. She's followed up with me three times. She's given me a timeline. That's some serious commitment. I respect that.
Anyway. I also completed one of my messiest most space-invasive hobbies: I made melt and pour soap.
This is only the second time I've tried it out, but I utilized some new molds: A heart one I 3D printed months back, and some animal-shaped ice cream molds I traded for on Bunz, because I thought they could make fun soaps for my nephew.
I haven't quite figured out the trick, though. When I first pour, they are too liquid to affix the top (the print of the animal's face). If I wait a couple minutes too long, they aren't liquid enough. The cow mostly worked, the pig kind of worked, and the rooster didn't work at all.
Ah well. They look like some funky rough-cut Lush soaps, only less of a smell of chemicals.
The soap itself is vegetable-based glycerin, infused with coconut oil. I used essential oils for fragrance: orange, sweetgrass, lavender and mica for colour.
The cow and pig I'll give to my nephew, as thank you gifts for being our ring bearer. I hope he likes them!
Original goal list posted here
Geoff is gone until Sunday, so - to stave off potential boredom, I have been keeping busy today with things otherwise noisy or messy.
I cooked a lentil loaf. I made almond milk and dehydrated crackers. I did the dishes. Tonight I'll try to watch some anime one of my students has been endlessly bothering me to see. She's written it down for me twice. She's followed up with me three times. She's given me a timeline. That's some serious commitment. I respect that.
Anyway. I also completed one of my messiest most space-invasive hobbies: I made melt and pour soap.
This is only the second time I've tried it out, but I utilized some new molds: A heart one I 3D printed months back, and some animal-shaped ice cream molds I traded for on Bunz, because I thought they could make fun soaps for my nephew.
I haven't quite figured out the trick, though. When I first pour, they are too liquid to affix the top (the print of the animal's face). If I wait a couple minutes too long, they aren't liquid enough. The cow mostly worked, the pig kind of worked, and the rooster didn't work at all.
Ah well. They look like some funky rough-cut Lush soaps, only less of a smell of chemicals.
The soap itself is vegetable-based glycerin, infused with coconut oil. I used essential oils for fragrance: orange, sweetgrass, lavender and mica for colour.
The cow and pig I'll give to my nephew, as thank you gifts for being our ring bearer. I hope he likes them!
Original goal list posted here
Progress: #5. Go greener
(Almost) 2 week update on coffee ground sprout experiment:
The best yet are the Purple Cherokee tomatoes. 3/4 have sprouted and they are all looking strong. Oddly, they are supposed to have the statistically lowest and slowest germination rate of all my seeds, so maybe the coffee grounds help?
0/4 cherry tomatoes have sprouted. I seed-saved these from a dwarf plant in my Aerogarden and I know they *can* sprout, because I grew my current Aerogarden cherries from them.
1/4 beefsteak has sprouted, but it is looking quite weak. I seed-saved these from my (very good) plants two years ago. Last year's crop was really weak, though, so they may just be weak seeds. (Again, though, last year's summer weather - VERY dry and very hot - was terrible for GTA tomatoes.
1/8 Genovese Tomato plants has sprouted (0/4 on the windowsill, which is unsurprising, as it has been very cold), and 1/4 on the counter under my Aerogarden lights.
2/4 cucumber plants have sprouted. They are highly finicky, so they are the only ones I sprouted in soil.
I took out the two seeds that were unscripted and replaced them with Genovese Tomato. We shall see if the soil helps.
I'm going to give everything that hasn't sprouted 2 more weeks before I replant them all with Purple Cherokee (and perhaps a couple with soil for the dwarf cherries).
Original goal list posted here
The best yet are the Purple Cherokee tomatoes. 3/4 have sprouted and they are all looking strong. Oddly, they are supposed to have the statistically lowest and slowest germination rate of all my seeds, so maybe the coffee grounds help?
0/4 cherry tomatoes have sprouted. I seed-saved these from a dwarf plant in my Aerogarden and I know they *can* sprout, because I grew my current Aerogarden cherries from them.
1/4 beefsteak has sprouted, but it is looking quite weak. I seed-saved these from my (very good) plants two years ago. Last year's crop was really weak, though, so they may just be weak seeds. (Again, though, last year's summer weather - VERY dry and very hot - was terrible for GTA tomatoes.
1/8 Genovese Tomato plants has sprouted (0/4 on the windowsill, which is unsurprising, as it has been very cold), and 1/4 on the counter under my Aerogarden lights.
2/4 cucumber plants have sprouted. They are highly finicky, so they are the only ones I sprouted in soil.
I took out the two seeds that were unscripted and replaced them with Genovese Tomato. We shall see if the soil helps.
I'm going to give everything that hasn't sprouted 2 more weeks before I replant them all with Purple Cherokee (and perhaps a couple with soil for the dwarf cherries).
Original goal list posted here
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Progress# 19. Get married
1. I burned you all somewhere to sit and I'm quite happy with the rustic results.
2. Geoff and I did revisions to our playlist yesterday and it is so varied and fun and good. (I kept Ludacris, by popular demand.)
3. We met with our officiant this morning and she's lovely. Small world: Her niece is a student at the school where I teach.
Original goal list posted here
2. Geoff and I did revisions to our playlist yesterday and it is so varied and fun and good. (I kept Ludacris, by popular demand.)
3. We met with our officiant this morning and she's lovely. Small world: Her niece is a student at the school where I teach.
Original goal list posted here
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
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