February 2012
2 posts
3 tags
Eating is the New Drinking
Me: there's this huge food revolution going on right now
Maryann: that's so rad
Maryann: i think eating is the new drinking :)
Maryann: people want to get chocolate wasted or food wasted
6 tags
Shopping Spree!
Like a little kid flipping through the Toys R’ Us catalog, I spent the past 2 weeks perusing a vibrant selection of vegetable seeds on the Johnny’s Seeds website. After adding every vegetable - in every imaginable color - into my virtual shopping cart, I finally narrowed down my choices to ONLY 8 varieties. And I am super excited to get them all started!
For a whopping $39.60 I...
January 2012
3 posts
4 tags
“Don’t be afraid of failure; be afraid of petty success.”
– Maude Adams
6 tags
The mesclun seeds are already sprouting!!
This picture was taken on January 7, 2012 - only ONE WEEK after I planted the mesclun greens seeds. Mind you, this growth happened despite lack of proper insulation and during one of the heaviest snow days Chicago has had this winter.
The keys to this extraordinary growth:
1. above freezing temperatures in a green house environment
2. additional warmth and nutrition provided by a...
4 tags
The New Year
With the new year finally upon us I find myself reflecting on all that has transpired in 2011… and how I have grown as a result. If you asked me at graduation where I expected myself to be in 3 years, I definitely would not have answered, “Living in my 5th city since graduating, engaged, with adopted pet, and questioning everything I ever thought I wanted for my life.” Yes, I am...
December 2011
8 posts
3 tags
End of Year Inspiration
“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want.
You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it.
And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before....
3 tags
3 tags
“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the...”
– Michael Pollan
5 tags
Winter Sunchoke "Festival"
Below freezing temperatures made harvesting a bit of a health hazard today. But about 7 of us braved the weather and had yet another exciting day of unearthing sunchokes. Few other plants are as hardy or capable of withstanding such frigid climates.
Sunchoke root. We pick out the tater-looking sunchokes. (Northside)
The sunchoke, or Jerusalem artichoke, is related to sunflowers and grows...
5 tags
4 tags
Color Me Good
Senior year of college I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. Every Friday at 8AM a group ventured east to Detroit for a full day of glorious building. For me it was a chance to do good for the community with the added benefit of relieving the stresses of school. I enjoyed all the hammering, painting, installing, power-tooling - and how it allowed me to get lost in my own thoughts. The...
5 tags
November 2011
2 posts
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see...”
– ALDO LEOPOLD, A Sand County Almanac (via urban-ecologist)
4 tags
Planting the Seed
Living in California filled me with romantic notions of leaving behind the cube monkey life to self subsist on a small, podunk farm. It’s hard to believe an east coast city girl, who spent most of her life cringing at the mere thought of camping, could grow up to pine after a life on a farm. But I think I can relate this personal change back to two key experiences: befriending the daughter...