Garden!

In my last post I did mention building a mini hydroponic garden, but I failed to put up a photo due to the misplacement of my camera.

Today I'm back in action so here you go!

I have absolutely no idea what the top two plants are -- they're something interesting that we bought to fill out the garden until the seeds I ordered came in.

The bottom bottle has two tiny sprouts. So small, in fact, that I could not get a clear picture of them so you will just have to wait a few more days.

The plants do seem to be growing if the level of water in the reservoir is any indication. For the first few days it stayed pretty level but it's been steadily dropping since yesterday. This tells me that the grown plants have now recovered from the shock of transplanting and are taking up water and actually using it.

The system cycles water from the reservoir at the base to the top pop bottle where it drips first into a pill bottle (to muffle the sound of the air and water burbling in the tubing) and then into the top plant. As long as the media in the bottle is saturated, the excess water then drips into the next bottle and then the bottom one and finally back into the reservoir to be recycled.

I love it! I love it so much that tomorrow I'm building one in my office and planting some flowers and herbs to give a nice, natural, fragrance to my space.

Of Tallit and Tomatoes

Dave asked for a close up of the weave structure of the tallit.

It is a basic tabby cloth -- the easiest to weave on my rigid heddle loom. I can do other weaves and have a second heddle and heddle blocks but decided (after experimentation) that one heddle was plenty for me. Eventually I will get a larger loom with more variation but, for now, my Kromski Harp does exactly what I want to do.

On the gardening front, I made my second "major" tomato harvest. (The first harvest was last week and was served up barely cooked with some yummy cured meat and pasta.)

The big one is a Patio, the yellows are yellow plums and the smaller red ones are Tiny Tims. Below, one of the tinier Tiny Tims.
Yes, it is sitting on a quarter. And would have fit on a dime. It was delicious!

A Little Gardening

As long time reader know, I have one of those rare things in New York City -- a balcony. And even stranger ... I use it. At lease durng the summer.

I love to try to grow food on my balcony and have tried over the years, peas, stringbeans, canalope, pumpkin, watermelon, cucumbers, bell peppers and tomatoes -- as well as a host of flowers and herbs. The only things that have done really well are tomatoes and gerbera daisies. So, for this summer, I am going with proven winners -- tomatoes and daisies -- and some basil for good measure.



9 pots. 6 different varieties of tomatoes (in 4 different colors), 2 different color daisies and one pot of basil. With luck, we will be eating lots of pasta with fresh tomato sauce this summer.

Oh, and tomorrow? Squidette is performing in Carnegie Hall, with the New York Pops!

Pretty Silk!

For the curious, this is the roving that the yarn for the silk stole is being spun from. The roving is from Interlacements and totals 4 ounces. I suspect that less than half of it will wind up in the stole.
The spindle is from the Bosworths. I do not remember the type of wood but I love it!
And, just for the heck of it ... proof that if you wait for Morning Glories to sprout, you could be waiting a long time. These were planted at least 2 years ago, maybe more. I suspect my basil will not make it with the competition from the vines.

Bits and Pieces

For those wondering about Passover, I found a really short version yesterday. It hits the main points. Enjoy! Need an explanation? Feel free to ask.

Cute Otter video tho I hear that my favorite Otter already knows.

How does a Squid prepare her home for Passover? She brings these up from the car.

I have BIG plans for this summer. There is one more bag of soil and another pot still in the car. Now to just finish clearing construction debris off of the balcony.

Yeah, bringing up the planting supplies and opening the matzoh is about all we do. Papa Squid did LOTS of cooking of yummy food. Pot roast and chicken soup with matzoh balls, compote and home made almond macaroons. Yum! Yes, the bread is still in the house but it won't be touched until next Tuesday evening. We Squid are more of "in the spirit" observers instead of "letter of the law." That said, I'll be cleaning up matzoh crumbs for the next week. (Please note, we are Squid and as a species are not kosher.)

Today, shopping for wedding clothes -- my kid brother is getting married in May and I need a dress and Little Squid needs a suit. Papa is taking Little for the suit and Squidette is taking me for a dress. In return, I will take Squidette for shoes to match her dress. Given how fast these squidlings grow, it did not make sense to do this any earlier. I'll take the camera and see what sites we can get for you guys!

Quiet Weekend

Before I start, I must thank you all for your kind wishes on our anniversary, you are all very sweet! Now on to your regularly scheduled post.
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First I was mentally preparing a post on how cool it sometimes is to see movie production residue.




























(The Bourne Ultimatum, if you care)

Then I was inconvienced by the same movie and was going to post a rant on how annoying it is to have streets closed by movie production crews. (They wouldn't let me walk down the block to the bank.)

Either post would have been combined with these before and after pictures of Little Squid.














You know the hair is too long when the following is uttered "I think I'm getting a migraine, I see the aura ... oh wait, it's just my hair."

And, while out I took these pictures of some neat buildings.





































(Many of the Public Libraries in Manhattan are in buildings just like this one. I love it!)

Then Papa and I had a wonderful meal at JoJo, a leisurely walk home and a lovely conversation with a friend of my mother-in-law's who keeps asking when she can babysit for us.

Fast forward to morning and a rough wake up due to the time change and a lovely breakfast with more friends of Mike's mom while the kids were in hebrew school.

Pick up the kids plus one for the afternoon, feed them, water them and then start the garden.

Yes, the "pots" are egg cartons and yogurt containers and yes, they are sitting on top of the turtle tank for warmth. I plan on using the old, broken, tank as a "greenhouse" when it is time to start hardening them off in a month or so. My goal is a lush, green balcony this summer which will serve as my refuge from those I love.

All in all, a nice quiet weekend. Any bets on the week?

(Oh, and these arrived on Friday -- yes, Dave yarn.)

(And these were finished for someone out there in blogland.)