Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Goals for 2011
I just updated my procrastination log for the day, and have to acknowledge that I have not been keeping up with all the tasks at hand this week. Not only that, I realize that it’s January 13th and as much as I have intended to – no intentions have been set on this blog for the next year. Oh procrastination!
I’m not so much for resolutions really, but goals – things I have been working towards for some time, or am identifying as a priority during this time of grey and introspection. And so for 2011 I have identified that in each area of my life I have some things I’m setting the course for in the aspiration of becoming a less-stressed, more grounded, and more productive person:
Work
- Become a zero-inboxer, or as close to it as possible. I have been on this since January 1st, and it really does feel awesome to leave work with less than ten emails in the inbox.
- Communicate better with the staff I supervise – to wit I’ve arranged for bi-weekly meetings in order to do this.
- Put an end to procrastination! To-Do Lists are my friend. Crossing off items every day makes me feel better about my existence.
- Dial out of the negativity in my office rather than getting caught up in it. I suspect this may involve a lot more listening to iTunes.
Relationship(s)
- More impromptu overnights & trips. So far this year we’ve gone to Bowen, and have trips planned for February, March and April. Navigating new places & visiting familiar ones is good for B. and I – us out in the world together!
- Be nicer. Seriously, sometimes I’m too crabby with B. even though he is my one true love. Given that I want a long and healthy relationship, I want to find continual ways of acknowledging the amazingness of my partner rather than being snappish because of whatever issues I happen to be having.
- Have confidence in my friendships and that people actually want my company. I tend not to follow up with friends because deep down inside I am sure that my presence is an annoyance, and that phone calls are unwelcome. This is something I don’t expect to conquer in 2011, but I can work on it by making a couple phone calls to friends a month.
Blog(s)
- Post-a-day on this blog – even if that post comprises only a photo or a few words. I suspect lining up a few blog posts at a time when I’m free would be a good way to ensure that even on busy days and holidays I’ve got content.
- More networking with other bloggers. More reading other blogs and subscriptions. Blogging is two-way communication after all and I am going to set regular weekly time aside for this.
- Better tagging and categorizing on all blogs.
- New posts at slipperyfish.ca and viaducteast.ca this year or I’m cancelling those domains. I’ve e-clutter like I’ve got basement clutter and it has to stop!
Personal/Health
- Finish my application and get into grad school.
- Lose ten pounds by the summer, get regular physical fitness back into my life (I’ve been slacking since the fall!)
- Spend more time in the studio where it is really quiet – reading, meditating, having private space. I feel guilty about this, even though I know I shouldn’t.
Garden/Home
- Continue to relocalize to within as tight a footprint as possible. More local food, beer, wine – and consumer products. More making things for ourselves from their constituent parts.
- More seed saving.
- Learn to grow great red cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and onions. Struggle vegetables for me, but ones I love to eat.
I’m sure there are more goals I’m missing at the moment – but the beauty of blogging is that I can always come in and add them later. For now these all seem attainable and concrete – which is exactly what goals should be. Woo hoo 2011! I am totally ready for this one 🙂
January in the Garden
In an effort to document garden activities month-by-month in my pacific northwest garden I am introducing the category “In the garden right now”. I find lists like this useful in other publications and blogs – as reminders and inspiration to get out there and dig my hands in the soil. So this January, 2011 I have:
- Emailed local apiaries about the possibility of getting bees for 2011.
- Ordered my seed and mushroom plugs.
- Turned the worm compost to make sure everyone is still living, and added a liberal layer of leaf mulch to their habitat in order to continue staving off the cold.
- Pruned my neighbour’s quince tree while it’s in dormancy and can’t really be hurt too much – the branches were taking over our patio.
- Reviewed the garden while the foliage is most died back to plan building onto my garden’s bones as the weather allows.
- Started a new garden journal.
Edible things in the garden this week
- Dead lemongrass is fragrant and good for teas and soups – I need to cut the patch back and bring it inside.
- My rosemary is flourishing right now.
- The kale is sweetened by the frost, even though it looks a mite sad at the moment. Unfortunately every other green was killed by the cold this year.
First quilts of 2011
I finished these quilts last week – my first projects upon bringing home the new PFAFF after the Christmas holidays – but am just getting around to posting about them now. Two quilts for two pregnant friends made with the American Jane fabric line Punctuation. I am pretty much in love with all retro imagery in fabric and also fabric that includes writing or textual motifs – so this line and the alphabetical center panel thrill me to no end. I am quite pleased with how these turned out (I am pretty limited in my quilting skills) – and used them as an exercise in how different quilting stitches work on my machine. These measure 38 x 54 inches.
More detail:
A hop, skip and jump…..
B. and I took ourselves a little post-holiday break this weekend and hopped the ferry to Bowen for a much-needed overnight escape. Just the two of us, hiking Killarney Lake, hot-tubbing in the afternoon and cooking a gourmet dinner and breakfast in our little rented cabin….
All within 45 minutes of our home! I really do love that aspect of where we live – so close to getting away all the time – and Bowen is just a bus and ferry-ride away. I’m thinking summer dinners at Tuscany after work sound like a nice treat – and we can make it there and home in time for bed.
In March we have scheduled an overnight to Lummi Island in Washington state to have dinner and stay at the Willows Inn on their Sunday-night special (dinner, overnight and breakfast for $235). Another close-by spot – just across the pond from Bellingham by county ferry.
Even as I outline my spring projects for the next few months, I’m eager for little adventures away from home as well. I absolutely love packing up the car with B. and hitting the road – for an afternoon, an overnight, or a couple of weeks – it’s all about the little intimacies of travel and exploring new spaces (as close to home as they might be). And we both note at the end of our little sojourns – how much closer we feel, how much more relaxed. It’s almost always possible to make time for an overnight – and one of the essential pleasures of our life together.
Working on it….
In a temperate climate that doesn’t get much snow (like ours), January/February are the best months for looking at the garden’s “bones” and thinking about what structure might best support new plant growth come the growing season. With the ground frozen and most foliage dead (and cleaned out), this really is the best time to find out what’s going on out there and look for opportunities to get a few tasks done before the real work of March and April being. Yesterday was my day for doing that – so let the spring cost tally begin! After all the work we put in last spring and summer, you would think that the work out back is done – but alas! Not only do I see room for improvement, but I also want to start keeping bees this year – so there’s more prepping to do and that starts about now.
In order of priority and timing the spring projects include:
- Ordering Bees for spring pick-up. Timing: Now. Cost $135.
- Ordering seeds and mushroom plugs. Timing: Now. Cost $100 (or less)
- Trellis over the herb garden, and grape arbor over the garden bench (two separate projects). Timing: Whenever the ground isn’t frozen. Cost $50 or less if I can scavenge some of what I need.
- Irrigation for backyard beds. I’m planning on using the Lee Valley irrigation set-up but haven’t mapped out specific needs yet. Timing: March. Cost $150-$300
- Sinking a bathtub to contain the bamboo. Timing: March. Cost: Pretty much free.
- Backyard mulch. Timing: March (after irrigation set-up). Cost: $150
- Drill mushroom logs and install in woodland garden area. Timing: April. Cost: After the cost of the mushroom plugs, free.
- Finishing the top-bar hive construction. Timing: by April. Cost: Under $25 in wood.
Total spring costs: $650-700
Now, those are the “must-haves”. Other projects that are not spring dependent include:
- Planter boxes alongside the hot tub gazebo. Either purchase or build. Cost: Up to $200 if purchased.
- Water collection system. I plan to install some type of rainbarrels at the side of our house. Depending on which way we go (DIY or not) this will cost either $50 or $150.
- Firewood shed for the side of the house. Can’t decide whether to build a little wood structure of buy one of the prefab plastic “storage sheds” by Rubbermaid. Also wondering about doing a rack like this with a roof instead. Potential cost $50-$400 depending on which way we go.
These projects will happen as cash-flow allows.
And of course, that isn’t even getting started on the front yard which is also in a state of needing some help about now – our first plan of action to be digging in a pond once the ground is ready to be dug. I think this year we will be lucky to get in the pond, some border plants on that, and a couple of raised beds for winter veggie gardening (I have totally given up on our backyard for winter veggies as it gets almost no light after the September long weekend). Just as the backyard has been a multi-year project, so will the front yard take some time to come together. Again, I’m thinking bones… the pond and a couple of structured beds first…. a pathway or two…. So many things to do in the next few months but I’m excited to have another spring of projects to continue towards my goal of having a private oasis, a food-producing backyard, honeybees and an example of healthy, urban space.
Red Cedar 