>The good, the bad, and the ugly in the garden this week

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>The bad: darn these baby maple seeds! The helicopters landed, I picked up as many as I could, and now I’m pulling the sprouts of those I missed. If I ever let natural succession take its course, I’ll have a lot of silver maples.

The ugly: Poor Chuck! The bunnies ate his new shrub. The rain and the construction kept him from putting up the fence, and the neighborhood fuzz-balls thought they’d enjoy a salad.

The good? My tomatoes are supported! I couldn’t decide which type of support to buy, so I bought all three. This will be the experimental year. I’ll see what works best and invest in that kind of support next summer.

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>Oil, oil, everywhere – how to help?!?

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>Some people use skills and knowledge to clean oil-slicked birds.
Some set up barriers and hope they’ll hold.
Some apply their knowledge toward capping the devastating leak.

Some raise the money to help pay for the frighteningly extensive clean-up and restoration efforts.

The Nature Conservancy contacted me and asked if I would use my blog to help spread the word about CNN’s Larry King Live telethon Monday night at 8pm ET. The 2 Hour Gulf Coast Relief Telethon will help The Nature Conservancy raise funds to help restore the Gulf Coast.

The Nature Conservancy has launched the Fund for Gulf Coast Restoration to expand our work in the long term recovery of the Gulf of Mexico and key surrounding states. Money raised from this fund will help scientists and staff devote their energies and expertise to aiding in the recovery of critical ecosystems – the future of oyster beds, marshlands and estuaries is now at stake. Celebrities lending their support to the telethon include Sting, Philippe Cousteau, Kathy Griffin, Ted Danson, Robert Redford, Harry Connick Jr., Aaron Neville, Anderson Cooper, Edward James Olmos and more. For more information about how The Nature Conservancy plans to help the Gulf coast, its wildlife and the people that depend on it please visit http://nature.org/restore.

Do you feel powerless to help with this huge disaster? The Nature Conservancy suggests these five methods to help raise money for the Gulf restoration fund.

1. RSVP to the related Facebook event.
2. Stay informed; follow Nature Conservancy bloggers as they report directly from the Gulf.
3. Post updates to Facebook & Twitter. Use the hash tag #CNN#HelpGulf.
4. Watch the CNN Telethon.
5. Make a donation to help restoration efforts in the Gulf.

Please tune in Monday night on CNN. The telethon airs at 8 PM Eastern Time and lasts two hours.

The Nature Conservancy is a trustworthy nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting nature and preserving the diversity of life on Earth. They did not compensate me for my post. Nor should they. Blogger friends; please help spread the word. Others, please use your networks, live or online, to inform others of this opportunity to make a difference.

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>Party Planning is not for Amateurs

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>Ordering the cake:

“Hello, Local Bakery, how may I help you?”

“I’d like to order a graduation cake — a half sheet.”

“A half sheet serves about 30. Does that sound right?”

“Yes.” We’d invited about 50, but we figured maybe half would show.

“And what kind would you like?”

“Marble, please.” Family tradition: we almost always get marble cake for special occasions.

“Graduation cakes usually say ‘Congratulations, 2010, the graduate’s name, and the school.’ What is the graduate’s name, please?”

Now it gets challenging.

“We’re actually celebrating three graduations together.” I spell the names for her.

“And the school or schools? Are they all, um, in town?”

“Well, no. One is a local high school, one is University of Wisconsin Whitewater, and the other is graduating from UW-Madison with her Masters degree.”

“Oh. Okay, we’ll just leave the school off. Now, colors. Do any of the schools share a color in common? Blue? Red? White?” I could tell she was searching now.

“Two out of three share red and white. How’s that?”

“Okay, we’ll use red and white in the frosting. And the third?”

“Purple.”

Pause.

“Purple and …. white?” I could tell she was hoping it wasn’t an ugly combination such as Viking purple and gold.

“Yes, purple and white.” She didn’t sigh with relief, but I heard it in her voice.

“Okay, then I’ll make a note to work in white, red, and purple in the frosting.”

We went over the details and arranged for the pick-up time.

Good thing the cake doesn’t need to include our anniversary (last Wednesday) and my brother’s birthday (last Tuesday) on top of the rest. We could have had pictures for the brand new babies who will be here, too — okay, enough already. A cake is a cake is a cake! Now I’d better start gathering the cloth napkins and making potato salad and setting up the condiments for the burgers and….

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>Farm Market Therapy

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>I’ve been feeling really down lately. The weather, keeping me out of the garden. The virus, keeping me under the weather for several days. The never-ending construction, forcing me to the laundromat and covering my bed in a layer of dust. I found myself wondering if our carpenters like tomatoes and zucchini – and then thinking “oh, no, that would mean they’d still be here in August!”
Some women go shopping and call it Retail Therapy. I can do that – if it’s thrift shopping or surfing the garage sales. In general, spending money doesn’t make me happy.
Some people work in the garden – the heavy rain took that option away.

But today was the day with the best therapy of all: the first Farmers’ Market of the summer.

I was so involved in the process that I forgot to take a picture while I was there. Here’s a partial collection of my haul. The strawberries are in a colander in the sink. The cheeses are in the refrigerator. I’d already sliced one loaf of bread (white with flax seed, yum) and put it in the fridge, too. The toast with jelly came from that loaf. Onions, tomatoes (greenhouse style), asparagus, fair trade coffee, bunny food (also in the sink at the picture-taking), and more — it was a good day.

But even more important than the fresh and organic goodies: the change in my mood is dramatic. Why? Let me count the ways.
Seeing the crowd: families, singles, couples, people of all ages. Strollers, wagons, wheelchairs, canes.
Crowds of people caring about buying locally, buying fresh, and buying organic.
Sunshine, aromas from the coffee shops and kettle corn stand.
People smiling and laughing and interacting.
The cheese vendor offering a sample to a sad toddler and getting a smile in return.
The young vendor handing our samples of her kettle corn, and people saying thank you.
Music from buskers and local orchestra students.
My wheeled bag getting more and more full of good foods for my family.
I’m feeling much better. I hope you are, too.

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>Remodeling the old Homestead: the runaway bunny

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>It’s not the State of the Union. It’s not even the State of the State. It’s just the state of my bedroom mid-project. Awaiting installation are two brand new energy efficient major appliances: new LG washer and dryer. They’re waiting — in my bedroom. The shiny cover on the bed is the tarp: clear plastic, it keeps the dust off my sheets. See the chair behind the bed? It’s sitting on a cedar chest, keeping the box fan company. Don’t ask.

Last night a tiny bunny named Krumpet who lives in Amigo’s (dusty but otherwise unscathed) bedroom found her way out the door while the carpenters moved the famous toilet into its permanent home. The tiny and adventurous bunny was nowhere to be found. Trust me; we searched and searched and searched. Finally, I shook the treat jar. We heard a thump in a corner. She came out – and then hid just out of reach under the bed.

Finally, we got her near the door, only to lose her again to the safe place under the bed where neither Chuck nor I could reach her little furry tail. If bunnies could laugh, she would have been pointing and gloating “Ha, ha! You can’t get me!”

We managed to force her to one side and Chuck grabbed her. He held her close, settled her down, and with a sigh of relief we moved her back into Amigo’s room, sans toilet. Oh, the drama!
Why didn’t we just let her roam? Well, there was danger for a small furry adventurous creature. If she had gone into the open ductwork, she could have fallen and been hurt or even killed. There were electric cords out, too – big ones. If she’d chewed on one of those, the damage would have been major – to her and potentially to the house. We kept her in Amigo’s room for her safety.
I’ll be happy when this project is done – for so many reasons.

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>True friendship lasts: The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow

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>The phone rang just as President Obama started speaking. I thought, “Oh, no! I’ll let voice mail catch it.” Then I saw the caller ID in the corner of my TV (technology is handy that way), and I leaped out of my chair.

It was a close friend calling to tell me that another close friend had lost her father to kidney disease. He’d been failing for a while, and they all knew it was coming, but she needed us. All of us, her closest friends.

We became friends through work and school: five teachers in the same elementary school building earning our graduate degrees together. The others in the program nicknamed us the Fab Five. We car pooled together, we exchanged ideas on projects, rehashed the good and the bad from our weekend on Mondays in the teachers’ lounge. And after our final projects were mailed and graded, after the diplomas arrived, even after I moved to a new job in a different school, we remained friends. We still share the good, the bad, the hilarious, and the traumatic. We email each other. We turn up in each other’s dreams. We still get together to drink coffee and shop, but mainly to talk.

I imagine the ten women who call themselves the Girls from Ames are a lot like us.

The Girls from Ames: a story of women & a forty year friendship is true. It reads like a novel with history and flashbacks, but the back stories are based on scrapbooks and diaries, not an author’s imagination. The book is illustrated with a photos from then and now, but more than that, it’s illustrated with the stories of relationships.

The “Girls” became friends when they were young. Eleven individuals, all unique, bonded with each other during their high school years in Ames, Iowa. Their hometown, a Midwestern college town, provided the kind of stability and small-town atmosphere typical of America’s heartland in the 1960s and 1970s. After their high school graduations, they separated to attend colleges in different states. In a pre-Internet age, without the benefit of email or cell phones, these women stayed in touch and shared marriages, divorces, children, family illnesses, even the death of one of the original eleven.

I’ve heard it said that men take a long time to get to talking, while women take a long time to get to companionable silence. This is a book about women, written by a male author, chronicles the uniqueness of friendships that have lasted more than forty years. Jeffrey Zaslow (also co-author of The Last Lecture) earned the trust of the Girls from Ames and learned from their talk and their silences. He pulled together eleven different life stories into one coherent collection, much like the eleven women still pull together for each other. His book is truly their story: the story of friendship, life, and love.

The Girls from Ames has a companion website with pictures, video, discussion, questions, and other women’s stories of friendship.

I’ll be joining the rest of the Fab Five on Monday to support one of our own friendship circle. Blog readers, as you read The Girls from Ames, I hope you will continue to cultivate your own friendships, strengthening and maintaining bonds for life.

Gotham Books provided me with a copy of The Girls from Ames in order to read it and write this review. I received no other compensation for the review.

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>No more cash for caulkers?

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>Regular readers know that we’ve been going through the trials and tribulations of a major home renovation. Part of project is a second floor laundry closet with front-loading, energy efficient machines. I’m excited to get rid of my old washer; it wasn’t draining well, leaving clothes more than damp and causing the electric dryer to overwork and use way too much energy. The new washer will use less water, less detergent, and even help use less dryer energy. The switch from electric to gas dryer ought to make a difference in the long run as well.

Part of our ever-greener lifestyle includes energy savings and the accompanying money savings. The Energy Star rating on the washer (there are no energy star dryers; even the best dryers are energy hogs) qualified us for a federal rebate in the program nicknamed “Cash for Caulkers.” It’s a win-win! Invest in energy efficient appliances, save money on electricity, gas, and water, and even earn a rebate in the process!

Or not.

The rebate paperwork came back to us marked (Sing it, Elvis) Return to Sender: Address Unknown. We tried the web site and found out we’d sent everything to the right place, but the program was out of money. Next we tried Big Box Major Appliance Store; we’d purchased in April, and they were informed and told to stop offering the rebates on the first of May. It was simply our bad luck to miss the window of opportunity. No one was at fault.

It’s disappointing, at the least. Do the right thing, complete the paperwork, and have it tossed back at us without so much as a “Gee, thanks for being energy conscious.”

I believe in the changes happening in our government. I believe in the hope that we can lessen our dependence on petroleum products, ease our need for dangerous drilling. I support the work that’s going on, even as the wheels of bureaucracy squeak slowly around and around before significant change occurs.

Watching a positive program shut down seemingly overnight for lack of funds is discouraging – discouraging to an extreme.

Disclaimer: I know the US Post Office doesn’t really use a stamp that says, “Return to Sender.” However, there’s little enough humor in this situation; I thought I’d at least make this episode a musical.

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>Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Chicken Curry in a Hurry

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>

The story goes like this:

One day, early in summer, Daisy was feeling lousy. She was achy, stuffy, and exhausted. Chuck came home from work early and made supper, allowing Daisy to nap. Luckily for all, Chuck is a good cook. Luckily for all, there was a box of Uncle Ben’s Fast and Natural Whole Grain Instant Brown Rice sitting on the table and a collection of recipes for trying out the product – all courtesy of Uncle Ben’s and Mom Central. Even more luckily, Amigo remembered which recipe Daisy had planned to cook.

Whole Grain Chicken Curry in a Hurry

Ingredients
1 cup Uncle Ben’s Instant Brown Rice (see above for full name of product)
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped (note: La Petite recommends increasing this)
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, diced
1 16 oz. can chick peas, undrained
1 cup plain, lowfat yogurt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Instructions
1. Prepare the rice according to directions for four servings (will take about 12 minutes).
2. While the rice is cooking, make the curry in a skillet using the following instructions.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook for about 3 minues until they begin to get tender. Add the spices and stir to coat well. Push the onions and peppers to one side of the pan and toss in the diced chicken. Brown the chicken for about 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking and to cook the sides of the meat.
4. Add the undrained can of chick peas and stir to combine the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes to continue cooking the chicken. Remove the lid and allow the liquid to evaporate for about 3 more minutes.
5. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and yogurt. Stir in the yogurt mixture until well combined. Allow it to thicken and combine with rice.
6. Sprinkle almonds over dish for garnish.

The end of the story: this was delicious. La Petite suggested increasing the onions and considering adding water chestnuts to the mix. Later in the summer I’ll use fresh peppers from the garden or the farmers’ market.

Uncle Ben’s sent more recipes, including a sloppy joe mix and a tex-mex dish, among others. They also sent advice on adding more whole grains to the family’s diet. My favorite suggestions were these:
–Substitute brown rice for pasta in casseroles and soups.
–Use cooked whole grain brown rice in seafood cakes with tuna, salmon, or crab.
–Add leftover cooked whole grain brown rice into any hot cereal recipe and top with cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.
–Make a high fiber risotto using whole grain brown rice; add vegetables such as asparagus or zucchini to increase nutritional value. Zucchini! Another way to cook my zucchini!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Uncle Ben’s and received samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. The timing was perfect. Chuck and I and the family were very glad to try this new dish, and we’ll be sure to try more!

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>Trying unsuccessfully to avoid a crabby rant

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>I’m trying not to react poorly, get cranky, and crab about things I can’t control. It’s not working.

Yoda, I know, would say “Do or not do; there is no try.” Well, I’d say to Yoda, “Old man, walk a mile in my shoes, you should.”

Yoda didn’t have to deal with a lengthy remodeling project that displaced all of us for days and even weeks (La Petite) from our own bedrooms and beds. Yoda could have used a clean-up of his swamp home, perhaps, but that’s a different story.

Yoda didn’t have to deal with a nasty virus traveling through the family, sending three out of four of us coughing and honking and nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

Yoda would probably use the Force to figure out what is making my kitchen smell odd. I keep cleaning and cleaning and purging and cleaning some more, with limited success. If I don’t find it soon, we’ll be forced to move major appliances – without the Force to help us.

When I considered cooking supper on the grill between storms, I couldn’t reach the charcoal. See the lawnmower? Well, maybe you can’t. The charcoal is back there, on a shelf, behind the boards. Which boards, you ask? Never mind. Tip toe through the mess, I won’t. Cook supper in the oven, I must. On the positive side, I cleaned the grill before I realized this modus operandi would be inaccessible.

I can’t work in the garden, either. Can you see the pitchfork, the rake, the hoe, the shovels? No, neither can I. They’re behind the big sheets of plywood. Move them, I must, if I am to work in the tomatoes. Yoda, master Jedi that he was, could have moved them using the Force. I don’t believe it; and that, of course, is where I fail.

My inner Yoda keeps reminding me, “Daisy, you always say ‘Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can.’ ” while I’m tempted to tell my inner Yoda to go jump on a starship and get out of my galaxy, he reminds me to make something positive out of all this.

So while I cooked a boring and not-very-nutritious meal in the oven, I threw together a rhubarb upside down cake. Enjoy.

I’m at Green Spot-On today, talking a (again) about tomato supports.

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>Tomato, tomahto, and tomato supports

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>The newest dilemma in the new garden area is this: how shall I support the tomatoes? The old cages are no longer suitable. Last time I used them we had a tomato jungle: the plants grew so tall they fell over the sides of the cages, and then the wire cages broke through the stems. They were getting close to six feet tall, and the conical cages were only 48 inches in height.

Last year I planted tomatoes in the wrong place and too close together. They didn’t get enough sun, and they fought each other for space and water and nutrients from the soil. We didn’t get hit with the blight, but it was not a good year for tomatoes.

I’ve ruled out the wire cages. I’m using the old trellises to support the peas. Now what? I did a search (on swagbucks, check the link in the right sidebar), and found several options.

Tomato ladders. There’s a neighbor who uses these, and I like the looks of the product. They’re strong, they’re thick, and they’re coated steel (no vine breakage!). But I’d need ten at least, and at a cost of $50 for a package of three… deep breath.
Tomato towers. This is also expensive. Could we make our own? Do I have time? Does Chuck have time? I found something similar in a local hardware for $5 apiece.
Tomato Spirals. Now these look intriguing. At $35 for a set of five, this is more affordable. I can use the t-shirt tie-ups from last year if I need them.
Here’s a combination of two philosophies: the tomato spiral cage. Again, expensive to purchase outright.

Now the challenge: finding and buying these. I’d much rather buy locally. I’ve checked two hardware stores, a garden specialty store, and two big box stores with garden sections. So far, no luck. At least, no luck that I’d consider affordable. If I spend too much, we’re approaching the $64 Tomato mark, and that’s just not reasonable. I know most of these products would last for years, but I still need to make the initial investment now.

There are two stores left on my list, and then I might give in and order online – or create something entirely different.

Ideas, gardener friends? Suggestions? I’m listening.

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