Im April macht das Wetter was es will

I just heard on the news that the high temperature for tomorrow, in Portland Oregon, will be lower than the high temperatures in Moscow, Reykjavik, and Anchorage.

Seriously?

Seriously.

What I Did On My 4-day Weekend (or Who Am I and What Have I Done With The Lazy Gardener?)

It could have gone one of 2 ways: Take 4 days off and sit around the house doing not much of anything except squishing ants in the kitchen (for serious) or take 4 days off and kick some serious boo-tay.

Friday:

• Took the dogs on a longer-than-usual walk
• Went down to visit my grandfather and my cousin and her son who were visiting, too. Had lunch at Hometown Buffet. Didn't over-eat for once (although I could fill up on their fried okra, banana pudding, and chocolate pudding cake.)
  
• Braved Winco for some lunch staples and the rest of dinner ingredients and the pet supply store for kennel bedding.
  
• Mowed the front lawn after foraging in Loafland.
• Cooked Cal an extra-nice dinner after an extra-hard week for him.
  
• Took a walk with Cal and the dogs after dinner
• Folded some laundry

Saturday:

• Slept in a little bit (which means 7:30 in our house)
  
• Cleaned up in the kitchen and started to reorganize the pantry
  
• Finally planted some seeds in egg cartons to put in the garden window (I know I know...shouldn't I have done this a month or 2 ago? The answer, of course, is yes. )
• Weeded the north-facing shade bed
• Worked with Cal to get the vegetable beds ready for planting, which included getting the clover taken care of (the soil is super-great now)
• Discovered that if you listen to the David Bowie station on Pandora long enough, you will hear Billy Idol. More than once. And Devo.
• Mowed the backyard
• Had a (mostly) one-sided conversation with some worms. Successfully convinced them that the dirt flower bed was a more comfortable home for them than underneath a root-bound Escallonia in a pot on top of a concrete slab.
  
• Watched Cal wash my car (more exhausting than you'd think)
• Got a sunburn on my shoulder (yes, I was wearing sunscreen. I missed a spot.)
  
• With Cal, finished seating one of the big (about 4' x 4') planter boxes he made last year
• Went to The Lucky Lab to join my friend Scooter for a birthday beer (his birthday, not mine)

Sunday:

• Finished cleaning the kitchen
• Cleaned out the inside of my car--Cal Shop-Vac'ed it for me
• Did a little bit of weeding
• Cal and I cleaned out the garage (a huge task, let me tell you) (It's almost unbelievable some of the things we saved: an empty yarrow seed envelope? A pair or work gloves with holes in all the fingers?)
• Ran a couple of errands with my mom and then had dinner--our first time firing up the grill this year!
• Discovered that listening to the Led Zeppelin station on Pandora makes us fit in almost too well in our neighborhood

(I definitely feel like I accomplished less on Sunday than I did on Saturday.)

Monday:

• Losing...steam...11 in the morning...haven't done...anything. Except eat breakfast.
• I...
• Um...
  
• Oh, yes. I made a chocolate buttermilk cake with some leftover buttermilk I had.
• Made some stew
• Apparently, the day revolved around food.

The weather had turned from 70 degrees and sunny all weekend to 55 degrees and rainy and windy on Monday. I felt forced to stay inside. Actually, it was nice after so much activity Saturday and Sunday.

That, friends, concludes my 4-day weekend. It's back to work in the morning (and on Wednesday, a beer school course with the fun and fabulous Jamie Emmerson of Full Sail Brewing!) (I know...my job sucks.)

A bit of inspiration

One of the perks of my job and where I work (there are many) is the free food. Now, it's not as if the employees just take their shopping carts down the aisles and fill up on organic milk, gluten-free tortillas, and free-range chocolate. But sometimes, for instance, our produce departments have to throw out fruits and veggies. Yes, some of it goes to the food bank, but the employees are encouraged to sift through and take home. A lot of the stuff is barely bad--how many times have any of us passed over a banana with a blemish or an apple with a bruise? When it's free, though, these defects hardly matter.

In the past week, I have been inspired:

• First, by my best friend AudGirl and her husband Bert. He and I work for the same company, and when The Husband (Cal--yes, I've decided "The Husband" needs a name. Even if it's a fake one.) and I were over at their house last weekend, Bert was showing off the various pickle-projects they had done: Asparagus, eggs (I have say "gross" to that one, but apparently Cal likes them) and some other ones made with produce he picked up for free.

• Second, by someone I've never met, but admire: lolo from VeganYumYum. While I'm not a vegan, or even a vegetarian (I was for almost 10 years, though...the time which my mother lovingly refers to as "The Dark Years"), but every time I read her blog, I consider a lifestyle change. This is the post that inspired me.

• Third, by my mom (she's always an inspiration, though) after enjoying the pickled beets she shared with us. They're basic refrigerator-preserved, as opposed to hot-water-bath canning. They are incredibly delicious.
  

In all instances, I realized that canning/preserving doesn't need to be done on a large scale basis. My first project was strawberry jam. I picked up a bunch of free berries that were on the verge of being over-ripe. Normally, strawberries this time of year are off-limits for me--they're pretty on the outside and actually smell like strawberries, but they are always white and blah on the inside. I have to make myself wait until the Oregon berries are available. But free berries trump my snobbery. I had enough berries to make about 9 pints of jam.
(It looks a little strange, because all of the solids floated to the top. But I assure you, it's delicious.)

My second project was marmalade. I scored a bunch of Meyer lemons and thought turning them into marmalade seemed appropriate. And I was correct--the sweet-tart and bright quality of Meyer lemons balances just right with the sweet base of the jam. I regret not having used more lemon peel, but it is still so pretty. I started to get a little nervous, though: after I had consulted a few recipes and made it, it didn't set up. 6 hours later, it wasn't set up. I tried to ignore it, thinking magically overnight it would gel, so to speak. Then I researched a little online about marmalade and potential lack of a firm set. I came across a forum with people talking about how it sometimes takes 1 week (2 weeks, in one case!) for their marmalade to set up. So I was given hope.

I still have about a dozen lemons left and some of the peel from the ones I used. I will definitely be making an infused vodka with much of it, but I don't want any of it to go to waste. Then I came across this article. If nothing else, I know 2 members of this household who would appreciate #35.