Make Love, Not War in the New Year

I probably already wished you this, but happy, happy again. 2009 is a new beginning for all of us. I believe we will all be spending more time in our hearts. What else is there to do at this point? Fighting is just not the way to go—look how we've hurt each other through the years and still we continue. One of my main resolutions is to be less combative. I think the old hippy saying is a good one: Make Love, Not War. And with all the good that is available to us, this should be an easy choice. Although it has to be a conscious choice. In each moment there is the choice to react or to agree. This is the simplest way to not fight. A generous couple counselor in Seattle says to always make your partner right. There is a little truth in everything—right? Thich Nhat Hanh says to always clear things up on Fridays—so the weekend will go smoothly. Have a little chat with your lover—say what is bother you and be sure to own it—it isn't easy, but it is possible.

Okay, another snowy day and I'm going out for a walk. Time for the exercise routine to get in gear. Get off these extra pounds and get things cleaned up in the house, the greenhouse, the garden shed, the basement, the attic. You name it. All new.

Peace, Flower

More Snow

Well it's coming down, still. I went out last night to the Allied Arts Membership Soiree--which was fun, but the setting wasn't as intimate as the time before when we met at the Chuckanut Winery. This was at the Allied Arts Holiday Show. Which was sparkling and smelled good. Lots of jewelry, pottery, stained glass, baskets, paintings, etc. And good music, a one man band with banjo, harmonica, and foot drums. I like the one man band, so much music coming out of one fella.

So getting there was a risk, since it had snowed all day. Many folks took the bus. It's pretty easy getting from Fairhaven to downtown, on the bus. I may start doing this very thing, given winter is upon us with a vengence. I'm curious if the schools are closed this a.m.

I woke this a.m. with a slightly sore throat. I have an event tonight, one tomorrow night, the following night and the solstice. A busy social girl, which is the only way I'd have it. Sometime I feel a little guilty to be so busy, but hey, what's a single girl to do? I say, have some fun.

Well there will be no gardening today, but sharpening tools is a good idea. And if you have broken tools, such as shovel handles, replacing them is a good idea. A neat winter job, start up the grinder and fix those dented edges on the hoe and shovel, and on the broken tools, remove the pin and pull out the wedged in wood. I hear you can burn it out if you can't pry it out. Then put the new handle in and nail in the pin. Simple. And cheaper than buying a new shovel. Clippers can be taken to a sharpener and things with moveable parts, oil or use WD40. Clean the garden shed, make sure all your seed is put away so the mice don't get it.

Happy snow day,
Flower

Snow Again

In the PNW, when it snows, even if it is as little as an inch, it can turn to a sheet of ice in a minute. There's just so much humidity, so that is what has happened now. A little snow, more than an inch, with ice beneath here in Bellingham. Driving on the main roads is fine but if you're off on the side roads, you can plow into something easily, slip sliding away. The road outside my place is steep and solid ice. I came down it last night after a tango lesson and slipped all the way to the bottom of the hill. Even the brake-tapping thing didn't work well. Fortunately there were bare places, pavement near the bottom of the hill.

Now, let me tell you about tango. I was the only student in the beginning class--because of the snow--and it was a thrill. At first I thought, oh my gosh, what am I doing. He's going to be teaching just me--but then it turned out beautifully. The tango step, the tiny turns, the chest to chest connection. The lead, the man, subtly shifts your weight so to guide you where he wants you to go. I got it, the feel of waiting until I knew precisely what his intention was for me. He said, in tango, the woman is the queen. If she doesn't look good, the shame is on the man. He's made her look that way. This will be a good experience for me.

Okay, I'll now clunk off in my rubber boots through the snow, huddled in my down coat--which is so not tango beautiful, but I will work on letting my feminine beauty show itself despite the weather.

Stay warm, Flower

Winter Veges

I've told you about wintering over your carrots and chard and kale, now cabbage and bok choy and chinese cabbage also will last in the fall for awhile, but it will get eaten by slugs. I love the way a tattered cabbage looks, but if you want to eat it, you may want to keep those baby slugs away. How to do this? Especially in a rainy climate? And if you have pets and don't want to pollute the watershed, perhaps give up the idea of chemical slug bait entirely. Iron, well it is a chemical too, but not the kind that hurts the birds and fish and cats and dogs, is good to use. And it works. I have found that when it rains, you have to reapply--which means in our area, that's lots of iron. I don't know if there are long term studies about iron in the garden. You could look it up on the internet

A lovely dish in the fall is chard and lentil soup. It's warming and flavorful and great with hunks of winter bread, that hard crusty bread you have to work for. Last night I ate dinner with my daughter and son-in-law and grandbaby. We didn't have winter soup, we had meatloaf and chicken--both store made. Once I wouldn't have eaten something store boughten--all my food had to come from my garden, or something I made. Yesterday I talked to a woman who makes all her own food and grows all her own vegetables. She said her guy buys vegetables at the store--she was appalled. She grows her own and eats her kale from the garden.

There's a good book about winter gardening that can be had for a not much coin. Try it, winter gardening that is, you'll be surprised at how much you can grow, easily. Be sure to cover the carrots with leaves's if you haven't already. Four Season Harvest
Ciao! Flower