i have been accused...

...of being a cynic. 'accused' is the right word for it...the tone the word is uttered with is quite disdainful &
seems to require a pointing finger.  many people use 'cynic' without understanding the philosophy behind it.  i am guilty of this as well. imagine, then, my delight, to read the latest entry on dionysian atavism.  as it happens, i do have quite a bit in common with the cynic philosophy after all!  still could do with getting rid of some more stuff, though......;)

awesome as usual

for those of us doing our best to life hack our way through the current economy, gordon has an absolute spot-on post. read it. read the links. great stuff!

thoughts are turning toward autumn....yea!

autumn....it's getting cooler, days are ending earlier, ability to breathe is easier, michaels' is slowly getting thier halloween stuff out :)  recipes requiring ovens are coming to mind:  the english kitchen  has a lovely take on chicken pot pie.   as august is nearing an end, cortland apples are soon to be picked! canning time is nigh :)  and then there is Pie! courtesy of  october farm.

tomatoes & riots

tomatoes are ripening nicely. only a few were damaged in our hail storm the other day.  since i only have 4 plants, there isn't enough to make canning worthwhile. however, this  the english kitchen soup should do nicely to use what i have now.
on to london, & what has been on my mind these past few days.  riots may be an expression of frustration, however it is anger misplaced & hurts more than helps.  mary riddell puts the situation out ever so much better than i.  read it.

113

113. i counted the number of blogs on my blogroll & this is the number.  which explains why i don't have a blogroll posted here as it's just too embarrassing.
i will point out that the majority post but once a month or so. it's not like i read 113 every day! still & all, there would far fewer if i didn't feel bad about deleting a blog when it has but a few subscribers.
the few that post nearly every day are: diamondgeezer, vegplotting, octoberfarm, londondailyphoto.
*sigh* in the spirit of fall cleaning, it's off i go to prune the blogroll with a heavy hand....

so excited to try!

last year i promised myself to learn to space my planting so that i didn't have an empty patch come aug/sept. looky here what urban organic gardener is trying! tomato cages for pumpkins :) def. one i will be trying next season. for this season i have put in some beets (from seed...crossed fingers they come up) & mailman john pointed out there is a pumpking growing in the lawn. so i transplanted it to the garden patch so that dogs won't dig it up. hopefully it will make it!  there are already a few red cabbage growing away.

too hot too cook

i hate summer. one of the few good things(there are, maybe, 3) about summer is ripening tomatoes. today the wednesday chef has an awesome spaghetti dish featuring those lovely glowing scarlet orbs of summer.  as luck would have it, the last of the garden basil is ready to be trimmed!

i adore marshmallows

it's true...i do. big pieces, small pieces, any pieces at all! & david lebovitz has a great recipe listed :)  roasted marshmallows, candied potatoes with marshmallows, practicing marshmallows for gift-giving.....i am so ready for autumn & a cooler kitchen!

day late but not a dollar short

am probably way too excited over what i have just discovered: cucumber jelly, courtesy of dabblings and whimsy.  *this* is what i will be doing this weekend. along with giving more dedication to finding the camera i misplaced in this apartment easter sunday past.  i even have coupons to cut down buying the few supplies i will need :)

my type of inspiring

when oprah winfrey was winding down her t.v. show, when everyone & their media handler was waxing eloquent over oprah-the-inspiration, i didn't join in. granted, oprah inspires countless thousands, just not me. the type of person who inspires me is  one who lives in a small apartment with a small terrace, gardening & foraging in new york city.  a person who can  see greening possibilities in the middle of a huge cement & asphalt urban icon is a fascinating person.  66 square feet is someone i would love to have lunch with (even if the toxins from the car exhaust whacked my lungs a good one).

chicks ahoy! (soonly)

one day in the near future, i hope, i will be able to keep a small flock of chickens.  i even have my preferred breeds halfway picked out! until then, thought, there is purple podded peas...she sat some eggs under a friends' broody hen & withing the next 48 hours.....anticipation! excitement!

bloggers who write or writers who blog?

i seem to be drawn to food-oriented bloggers who publish!  one such blog is cocoandme. tamamis' clear writing style, instructions, & her photos have me eagerly anticipating 2012 (when her cookbook is due out)  :)

canning season approaches!

we have gotten so much rain this past two weeks that my cucumbers, beets, cabbage, & spearmint have drowned. while i am going to replant part of the wee patch, i am also prepping for canning season. one can never have too many jars. simplebites has a most timely post on how to avoid canning burnout. read & enjoy!

jeseez....forgot again!

i love maps---the older the better. i'm not to good at following them, but i adore looking at them nonetheless.  combine history with a map & it's double happiness.  history is some of the best storytelling around & vegplotting is doing a really neat abc of chippenham (u.k.) presently (along with wonderful gardens, public plantings, & the occasional book review). read & enjoy!

tuesday blog thought

one of my most *favorite* jewelry artists is having a giveaway! sillycut  does wonderous things with fabrics & metals.  her 'medusa' pieces are a joy to behold, & i am intent on snatching any more than my three pieces up as soon as she makes more!  rare delicacies, indeed. :) in conjunction with isabelle gloria, sillycut is giving away one of her darkly luscious rings....check it out!!

tuesday blog thought

todays' blog is from one of my favorite blogs...purple podded peas! not only is the text beautiful to read (short but succinct, flows softly) but her music selections are as much a pleasure as the photos of her chickens & artwork.

just becuase it's wednesday, doesn't mean this isn't a tuesday blog thought

not even may, & the humidity is high enough for late june. *extreme dislike*! haven't put the garden in yet as early spring weather in new england can be a gamble. however, earthenwitch has got her stuff together! she even includes her usual fantastic photos :)

hunting cats

or, in this case, *a* cat. kirschbits, a lovely etsy blog full of handbags & recipes is having a giveaway to celebrate her 1st year anniversary.  in order to be entered in one of 3 drawings you need to scroll through photos in her etsy shop to find a hidden cat. now, having feline companions, i know how well cats can hide, but, dammit, i've been looking for 2 days!
also, kirschbits is doing something very smart as part of the entry in this drawing: you must send where you saw the cat *in an email*, not merely submit a comment others can hitchhike on!
*sigh* back to the photos i go. i am determined that the cat shall not triumph.

time to take notes....

there are precious few blogs i take notes off of, excluding 4 i occasionally copy recipes out of.  chaos magic is an awesome blog. i have 3 entries worth of notes to take....'apocalypse timeshares' & 'OAT' have a few pages worth of notes each.  which is what i am now going to do...as soon as i put the grandkids to bed....

tuesday blog thought: more snow!

one of the wonderful things about the british blogs i follow is that the gardens green up so much quicker than does my wee patch in the connecticut valley. victoria's backyard is just one shining example. i shall be scrolling through her lovely photographs & sighing deeply this thursday when more snow falls this first week of spring!