The Pandemic To-Do Lists

Somewhere back in early 2020, in that pre-pandemic time, the basket beside my desk (you know, the one for recycling old to-do lists? Oh yes, I do lists, or rather I have lists - I'm pretty sure that even my lists have lists. But just like everyone else, I don't always "do" them. ) was emptied. And then the pandemic lockdown hit, and somehow in my panic-brain, I became afraid that I would forget things. 

So I never emptied the basket again. Just in case - a lost phone number, a forgotten repair, an unresolved task that still needed attention could all be recovered and solved as long as I could find the correct information stashed on one of those lists.

Until today. I've been thinking about emptying it for a while, but after so long, those lists had become a part of my life during these pandemic times. You know, a record, even. 

Unfortunately, a very boring and repetitive record of a somewhat boring and certainly difficult time for many of us.

So just in time for the out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new season, the lists are gone. All ridiculous two pounds and 6 ounces of them. And if I've forgotten or lost something, too bad. I probably wouldn't have gotten it done, anyway. 

Thanksgiving Bounty

Oregon Homestead Sweet Meat Squash

 

Sweet Meat - a classic squash variety of the Pacific Northwest, traditionally first eaten on Thanksgiving. This 10 pounder was locally grown in the front yard. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

End of the Season

Evidence of the end of summer: 

A late season sighting of a katydid on the soon-to-be-faded calendulas. The summer garden is all wrapped up, except for a few sweet peppers still clinging to bedraggled plants. We've eaten the last of the tomatoes and in their place, daikon radishes are flourishing.

And it's RAINING! 

Foster Fail

 Or Failed Foster? In 2010, when we adopted Princess, we were "failed fosters", all the blame clearly landing smack dab in our laps. But since blame is now considered a bad thing, we are a "foster fail", just one of those things that happens sometimes. And indeed it did just sorta happen. 

Luna sleeping in the laundry pile, Sept. 21st

Luna Doodle (formerly Leela), arrived here in a mixed litter on August 12th. She came out of the carrying crate purring and ready to play, even though she only weighed 12 ounces and was pretty wobbly. The two brothers were much less sure about the whole thing, but they quickly warmed up to the world and were adopted as soon as they were ready (snip-snip).

Luna stayed with us for another week to gain some weight, went in for spaying, and still has to wear the Cone for another few days. So although all those travel-round-the-world- plans are on hold yet again (yeah, let's blame it on the kitten, and not on the state of the world), playing Fierce Feather on the kitchen floor has its rewards. 

Summer's Officially Over - Time to Vote

 "Crazy" "Weird" "Ridiculous" "Very silly" "Nightmare"

If that's how mainstream media characterizes the recall election, just imagine how us regular voters feel. A big waste of money - approximately 275 million dollars worth - and a silly waste of brain space. 

Nonetheless. if you haven't done so already, sit down for just a short minute or two, fill out the brief ballot, stick it in the envelope, sign the envelope and send it in. All by September 14th. 

And then go out and enjoy our real Bay Area summer of September. 

The Inedible Pieces in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto

It's not to eat, but an art installation to view at the Berkeley Art Center (BAC) which is situated within Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto. 

Created by artist Cathy Lu, well, I could blah-blah along, but instead, let's just use the words from the Art Center's description:

For the most ambitious iteration of her ongoing installation project to date, CATHY LU strings together nearly 2,000 pieces of slipcast ceramic fruit into an elaborate net suspended over the bridge outside BAC. Lu has long been interested in various fruits as evocative reminders of distant homelands. As an artist of Taiwanese descent who grew up in Miami, her work unpacks how experiences of immigration, cultural hybridity, and cultural assimilation become part of the larger American identity.

Glazed in dark greens, golds, and blacks, the piece is ripe with papayas, pineapples, plantains, jackfruit, durians, bitter melons, ginger, and more. Members of the community were invited to participate by sharing their fruit stories via voice message. Selected recordings play as part of the piece during gallery hours.

It's definitely worth the bother to go see this installation, even if you can't eat it. But no worries, there are plenty of other food options nearby. 

Cathy Lu: Customs Declaration continues through the end of September, 2021.

Party Time!

Fostering kittens can be a load of work and worry because they are so very tiny and fragile. But once they settle in, it's pretty wonderful. 

A Trip East

 I wasn't eager to travel across the country, especially since it involved flying on a commercial airline, but it was my mom's 91st birthday, so you do what you have to do. 

And in the beginning, she wasn't too sure about hosting me, either. 

But we worked it out. Mostly.

I cooked, washed dishes, did the laundry, chauffeured her about and then cooked some more. I would have done some much-needed yard work (I even brought along my own gardening gloves), but the tick situation seemed so dicey, that it just wasn't worth the risk of contracting Lyme disease.

Besides, it was icky-sticky hot and humid (total yuck!), with hazy gray skies and rain (yay!) most every day. 

To ensure my welcome, when cooking wasn't quite sufficient, I made a pair of glass garden towers. She had already collected the glass pieces, I simply had to arrange and glue them together. They were supposed to be shared with other family members, but she thought that the looked really nice in her front window with the light shining through. I have a hunch that these two are going to be staying at Mom's house for a while. I also think that she will appreciate them more than those other would-be recipients.

And then we did puzzles. Puzzles and more puzzles. Big and little, small pieces and even missing pieces, we did puzzles each day. I have never been much of a puzzle-maker(?) doer(?) puzzler(?) but my spatial reasoning skills certainly improved during that visit. I'm sure that my mosaic making abilities will also benefit from these puzzle exercises. 

And when the puzzle looks like the French Riviera, what else can you do but open a bottle of rosé and pour a glass?

The Talk of the Town

 Not really, just my little 27' wide block. And only the talk of the many pedestrians, bicyclists, baby stroller pushers and dog walkers who use my street:

Yes, those lilies. My, oh, my, but the regal lilies (Lilium regale) truly outdid themselves this year. 

Good-bye "Follow by Email." Welcome in "Follow."

Blogger strikes again and is eliminating the function of following my, and everyone else's blog, by email. And after quite a number of hours trying to make it right, I have now formally decided to simply give up, stop wasting electricity and turn off the computer, and pour a glass of wine. 

Soooooooo,

If you have been following my blog by email and wish to continue to receive brief, occasional messages from me, you're going to have to sign up. And if you don't want to do that, I completely understand and hope that you continue to enjoy your life with my best wishes. 

As for signing up, it seems pretty easy-peasy, although with Blogger, who  knows?

Scroll down the page and you will see in the right hand column something that looks just like this image on the left. Click the little blue "follow" sign and you should be able to sign up. 

I have a hunch that since Blogger is part of the Google empire, it will want you to sign up with a Gmail account. But I'm hoping that it accepts a broader range of people and their non-Google email addresses. I mean, a bit of acceptance and diversity goes a long way. Especially for this of us (me!) who seem to be complete computer idiots.

The High Country

Got our reservation last month in order to visit  Yosemite this month. We skipped Yosemite Valley entirely and aimed for the John Muir Trail out of Tuolumne Meadows. 

On the way up the Tioga Road, we stopped at the Tuolumne Grove. Containing around two dozen mature giant sequoias and a steep climb back to the road, it was a perfect break from driving. Yes, Bay Area traffic is miserable again. And yes, the Yosemite reservation system can make entering the park very, very, very sloooow. Getting out of the car was vital.

The next morning, with masks in pockets for those just-in-case situations, we headed out through Lyell Canyon on the mostly deserted trail. Could not have been more beautiful!

 

The third day we hiked a section of the Glen Aulin Trail before heading back home. Reservations are only valid for three days, so you have to pack in all the adventures that you can in a short amount of time. 

Click here for information about Yosemite reservations.

Winter's Bounty into Spring

Somehow, the pepper plants decided that this past winter really wasn't so bad, so they kept producing little peppers all winter long. Yes, they were tiny, but mighty - intensely flavored, crisp and sweet. It took a large handful to make a serving, but as a garnish, chopped into a salad or added to a stew, they were a bright reminder of summer. 

The Last of the Peppers from Last Summer

Two weeks ago they had to make way for new plantings. We can only hope that the new generation will be so prolific and tenacious. 

Springtime on the Southside of North Oakland

Lessons from the Winter Garden

Daikon Fries

In many places, a winter garden is planted from mid-July to early September, so that the harvest is ready before the cold weather arrives. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that. I've gotten away with planting seedlings into October and November with no penalty, simply because summer doesn't usually arrive until September anyway. 

Case in point - daikon radishes. Now I'm not the biggest fan of radishes. In fact, I'm not a fan of radishes at all, but our new Saturday covid ritual of picking up banh mi sandwiches, loaded with pickled daikon and carrots has made me change my mind (the errand has gotten a bit harder, now that traffic is almost back to its horrendous "normal").

Daikon is easy to grow, the tops and the bottoms are all edible, in this area they can be planted anywhere from August to November, and they last a long time in the ground if you are too lazy to pull them. So a new lesson - grow daikon radishes.

Don't grow cabbage, unless you have plans for kimchi or sauerkraut or something large and important. I grew three, and the one that weighed 6 1/2 lbs. took up a lot of space in the refrigerator. We never did quite finish it all. Pretty little lettuces are probably a much smarter choice.

You can grow some of your spring crops in your winter garden. I planted snow and snap peas in mid-October. We started eating them in late February (usually it's early March, but climate change is real, folks) and we haven't stopped yet. Luckily, our friends and neighbors have been quite generous about helping eat the excess.

They're BACK!

The gourd was hung in backyard in January, 2016 as a nesting site (it looked a lot fresher back then.). And that spring, and every spring since, it has hosted at least one round of Bewick's wren nestlings. Often two. 

Over the past few weeks, we have observed (from a polite distance, of course) a lot of "birdie-action" at the nest site: Chestnut-backed chickadees, Oak titmice and the wrens, all checking out the property. But until very recently, it wasn't clear who would be claiming the gourd this year. 

Bewick's wren, April 1st, 2021

So how did we know for certain that it was to be the wren's home again? Two days ago, one of the wrens was observed chasing away a Fox squirrel from around the gourd! We wish these fierce little ones all the best this nesting season.

Got Out of Dodge!

 Hooray! 

We have now received all of our vaccines (for now, at least), and after waiting the requisite extra weeks, we got away for a few days. For me, the first time out of the Bay Area since October, 2019. 

Morro Bay. Quiet. Low-key. And pretty empty during the week. 

I can't say it changed my life, but it was very nice. I truly hope that we all will soon be able to move about safely in our lives.

Springtime

The single blooming daffodil and the new baby hummingbirds tell me that our brief winter is pretty much over for another year. 

Even the cliff maids (Lewisia longipetala) are starting to bloom.

One Plus Two Equals One

As part of the adventure series, What's in the Closets, I came across some wool sweaters I had knit years ago. 

With less need to wear wool because of climate change, the sweaters had slowly worked their way to the top shelf of the closet - you know, that shelf. The one that can only be reached by standing on a chair. The yarn was still in fine shape, so I carefully handwashed the sweaters and gently took them apart.

The result? Plenty enough yarn for an afghan for our tiny TV room. And I might even have it completed before the weather warms up and it's too hot to keep working on. 

Afghan, maybe 1/3 completed

Inauguration

On Wednesday evening, we're planning on sitting on the front porch and raising a glass to the new President and Vice-President. We hope you will consider doing the same.