tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67577810630059863052024-02-02T08:02:41.485-08:00Copelandstreethouse
Missouri girl meets urban Northwest plotUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-27657042127655748642014-04-04T09:40:00.001-07:002014-04-04T09:40:16.007-07:00April ChoresSo, I have a few friends who are starting gardens in the Portland area and I thought I could use this space to share some of the stuff I've gleaned from countless garden books and a decade of Portland gardening. Here's a quick run-down of what you can do right now and what not to do yet:
If you have an already prepared garden spot/raised bed:
Clean out any dead plants from last season
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-39693381879663495162013-01-21T11:31:00.002-08:002013-01-21T11:32:40.222-08:00Inside TimeIt's the thick of winter and I'm inundated with homework that I ought to be working on this very moment. I'm completely distracted though by the sun shining into my yard and directly onto my 4x4 raised beds. All I want to do is put on some grubbies and start digging in the dirt. The seed catalog on my kitchen table keeps begging me to commit to this year's order.
As beautiful as it is through myUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-87901251341444646472012-09-18T08:22:00.001-07:002012-09-18T08:24:10.208-07:00In Praise of CarrotsMmm, carrot love. Carrots are my favorite vegetable to eat. They are also my favorite vegetable to grow. With just some nice loose soil and regular watering you get these beauties. Nuggets of yumminess. Just as good raw right out of the ground as they are roasted. The greens are tasty in salad or soup - or as a treat for the bunny. My favorite thing about growing them aside from eating them is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-29105890051135052382012-08-17T19:26:00.000-07:002012-08-17T19:27:47.607-07:00I've turned my laundry green!
Copeland House finally has a laundry line! I've been procrastinating installing a line for about a year now waiting for just the right design. For less than $20 today I found a retractable line that took about 1/2 hour to install. So worth it!
Of course if you have a line, you have to have a laundry pin bag. So in about 20 minutes I put together this little sock monkey oilcloth bag.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-5102260182740624442012-08-15T21:21:00.000-07:002012-08-15T21:21:35.662-07:00Bean Belly
Bean harvest in my t-shirt! We're calling it my bean baby. I've picked about this much each day from our little 4x4 box that also has carrots and did have greens and radishes too! Half will go to the neighbor - I got a bag full of new potatoes from her garden. Our shared garden has given us cucumbers, zucchini, and now the tomatoes are getting ripe! Yay!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-29076102211369547802012-08-14T20:44:00.000-07:002012-08-14T20:44:23.511-07:00Oh Look Winter Gardening Time! I know, it's supposed to be 100 degrees out on Wednesday - crazy hot for the Willamette Valley - and I'm talking about winter gardening! Now's the time to plant though according to Territorial Seeds' Winter Gardening chart. Cool season crops often like warm soil for seed germination even though the plants themselves like cooler weather for production. I need to get my butt in gear is what it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-7115898667702408362012-08-13T21:12:00.000-07:002012-08-13T21:50:05.329-07:00Going Green in StyleSo I found these food storage "devices" on Pinterest this evening and I can't help but share them. They aren't 100% practical, but I LOVE the concept. Kinda a big "whatever" too to folks who think "green" means dumpy... Just lovely
Food Storage Without the Fridge
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-39768986955869704732012-08-11T15:25:00.001-07:002012-08-13T21:51:21.607-07:00Garden RepastSo I took a solo camping trip over the last two nights/three days. It's something I've always wanted to do and the time was just right. Me and the dog.
Since it was just me, I decided this would be a nice time to have a little cleansing diet so to speak. No meat, diary or processed sugar. I raided the garden before the trip and got a little creative at the campsite. When it's just you and there Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-37383807970934129142012-08-08T08:40:00.001-07:002012-08-08T08:40:42.910-07:00Pickles!Well, the garden is going strong. Cheryl picked a bunch of cucumbers yesterday so I made a couple of jars of refrigerator pickles for us. They are bread and butter pickles and are supposed to take 3 days to be ready to eat. I used an old pickle jar for our batch.
We also had some lovely quinoa tabbouleh with garden fresh garlic, parsley and cherry tomatoes. Lastly, falafel with yogurt Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-31418083661356522602012-06-13T16:05:00.001-07:002012-06-13T16:05:23.209-07:00How Does Our Garden Grow?Here's an updated look at the shared garden beds! This is the garden we started with our next door neighbors. The lettuces are getting ready to eat, the broccoli is HUGE and the squashes are taking off. Cosmos, nasturtiums and marigolds pepper each bed to attract the pollinators. Baby garlic and green onions are stationed throughout the beds to detract pests. A second crop of lettuce has been Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-25352896379773685512012-06-02T09:24:00.003-07:002012-06-02T09:26:54.893-07:00Little GardenBabies in our newest raised bed - slowly replacing all the grass : )
Strong little green bean, just pushed through the dirt!
Radish forest, just a few days old.
Mixed greens to be shaded by green bean canopy.
And progress continues on the shed.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-64640639576489553662012-05-27T22:15:00.003-07:002012-05-27T22:20:14.950-07:00Roof TrussesAnd work continues on my special shed! Kalvin and Jovi got the door opening framed yesterday while I took a mid-term test and sat through 2 hours of anatomy and physiology lecture. Today the three of us got through most of the roof trusses. The cross beam is new too - the idea being that we will have storage on the right half of the ceiling and then an open ceiling on the left (window side).
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-51751111559712091832012-05-20T14:07:00.000-07:002012-05-20T14:07:05.133-07:00Beeing Green
I've been looking for quick projects that can give me a break from studying and work. We also have a bit of left over odds and ends from the framing of my "shed" I'd like to figure out how to repurpose. (Yeah, that's my new work lately!) A few years back, up in B'ham, I saw these neat cylinder-filled canisters for sale in the local book store. Turns out they were bee homes, meant to attract Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-57097106271299364302012-05-16T13:12:00.000-07:002012-05-16T13:12:05.835-07:00A Room of One's OwnSo, the wife loves me. What's even cooler, is that her little brother loves me too. He, and his family spent this past weekend helping to build me a little room of my own. All this while I mostly studied or was in class! It's officially to be known as "the shed", you could also call it my woman cave. It's a 10x20 structure with a mix of repurposed and new materials. Here's the skinny on what it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-7724355363092779122012-05-09T08:46:00.001-07:002012-05-09T08:46:56.315-07:00Are We Really Urban "Homesteaders"?There are so many new exciting books and blogs out there with folks doing amazing things on their little bits of property or with vacant lots. It has been really easy for me lately to feel like we are failing as "homesteaders" and that I haven't earned that title. What with two bad summers in a row leaving us with a terrible garden and me being almost too busy to even prepare a homemade dinner orUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-29644054224440845682012-04-22T16:57:00.001-07:002012-04-22T16:57:37.773-07:00Community Garden
Well, we finally did it! We got together with the neighbors this weekend and built seven "new" garden beds. The beds are located in an empty lot next to their house. The wood for the majority of the beds was repurposed deck boards from our old back deck! Now next weekend is dirt hauling time. Jovi, Kalvin and George did most of the work on the actual frames.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-49955413677681855532012-03-07T13:21:00.000-08:002012-03-07T13:21:28.257-08:00Bleeding HeartsSpring is definitely here even if we have the occasional, super odd snow. Just look at this forest of bleeding hearts that have popped up. I cleared out all of the beds today, raking away the winter coats of fall leaves. For a brief time though you could see three seasons at once: fall leaves, winter decay, and tiny spring shoots.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-86013297532572444312012-02-12T21:37:00.000-08:002012-02-12T21:37:24.031-08:00Craft NightWell, we've decided to have a family craft night now and then. We couldn't find the fabric that Kalvin wants to make his project with and Jovi's project is a surprise for her sister next weekend. I made dinner this evening so I didn't get to start my project, but you can have a sneak peek. Here's the fabric for my project (a yoga matt holder to be).
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-56908759659086642002012-01-11T15:42:00.000-08:002012-01-11T15:42:41.687-08:00Spring?
We've had the most unusual winter in the 20-some years that I have lived in the Northwest! So much sunshine. There have been some cold days and I know folks who ski or snowboard aren't super happy with the lack of snowfall. You won't hear a complaint out of me. It simply feels like spring is around the corner. There are bulbs that agree with me.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-71930736989659160622012-01-07T22:50:00.000-08:002012-01-07T22:50:32.413-08:00Crafty NightSo, this isn't really about something super recycled or from my garden etc., but I am pretty happy with this and wanted to share. I have a friend who I'm co-hosting a baby shower for tomorrow and this evening I wrapped all the presents. Her colors are pink, black and white. I couldn't find any wrapping paper to match. So I improvised! I found plain pink paper at the dollar store, along withUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-29157817541467876142012-01-06T07:44:00.000-08:002012-01-06T07:44:45.102-08:00Build Gardens!If you live in the Portland area, Growing Gardens of Portland is having a garden bed challenge. Similar to other fundraising events, you can captain a team to raise funds to build garden beds for low income people. The best part is that you also get to help build the bed AND the funds go directly toward helping families in need. OK, even better, it's a "pay it forward" model in that your one-timeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-11676575735512768042011-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:002011-12-31T13:52:08.299-08:00ResolutionsIt's that time of year when we start frantically making our own resolutions or rolling our eyes at other people's resolutions. I'm in the making resolutions camp and proud of it. The darkest day is over, but cold wet days are ahead if you live in the Pacific Northwest. What better way to while away the hours than to eat, wait - no - make resolutions. (It is a better alternative to eating myself Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-6085260761359907072011-12-03T17:53:00.001-08:002011-12-03T18:07:21.552-08:00Oh The Places We'll Go... With LeftoversI made Chicken Chipotle Chowder Wednesday night (Chupe de Pollo con Chipotle) - one of my old favorites! It's a rich, spicy soup that can work in summer or winter. That said, it is not a week night soup like it is advertised and you will heat up your kitchen. I have Wednesdays off and it's swap night with my neighbor. I wanted to make something special for them as they are always spoiling usUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-22305397375653250882011-11-16T08:22:00.001-08:002011-11-16T08:31:11.399-08:00Ever GrowingNow we have taken up farming teenagers at the Copeland Street House. Our 17 year old nephew has moved in with us and will stay with us for at least the rest of the school year, perhaps longer if he wants. This has already been an amazing experience for us. Farming our little plot is as much about nurturing things as it is for nutrition and sustainability. Now we have another human to nurture. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6757781063005986305.post-77496972519327710742011-10-25T22:09:00.000-07:002011-10-25T22:09:42.404-07:00Arty Food BlogA friend of mine just started a new food blog. She is working on her PhD in Art History, so I think there's potential for a visual and tummy appealing combination. The Artful KitchenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0