The Art of Thrifiting and Some Fun Ways to Waste Time Today

I'm feeling a bit hazy.

Still in a funk after coming back from the Great Up North. 

Transitioning back into "civilization" is hard, sometimes.

This week is the end of my paper crafting.

Spring means it's time to pull out the sewing machine!

I'll be deconstructing a half-dozen t-shirts this weekend.

Then I'll take my machine for a real spin.

I'm going to make a dress.
 

Did you know that I am a Master Thrifter? 

My mom taught me the art of thrifting in high school, 

and I took to it like a duck to water. 

The trick is to approach it like treasure hunting.

It lacks the awkwardness of garage sale trolling.

Also, it's easy to justify a silly purchase when 

the money goes to a good cause. 

True, those classic Ralph Lauren hiking boots
from the 80s don't exactly fit me.

Maybe I'll lose a little toe one day...

Russ and I have a grand plan for thrifting in Lansing this summer.

I'll be showing him the Mega Mall for the first time, 

and we're going to check out the
much-talked-about World Mission Thrift in South Lansing.

 If you're in the area, you're welcome to join us.

Are you feeling wiggly? 

Calm yourself with these articles and websites 

that have caught my fancy this week:

 (1) Robert Hardman compiled this beautiful photo collection of children at play in the mid-20th century.

When I was a kid I played outside. My sister and I had an impressive amount of property (well, some pretty cool forts) in the field behind our house, in Texas. We spent so many days in the sun with our friends, The Tate Boys, without the fear of getting a scrape or being abducted. We didn't roam so far that we lost sight of the house. Not often, at least. We knew Mom was there if we needed her, as were any other adults within shouting distance. We just some kids playing around out there, looking for adventures.

I can imagine what person I might be if I had not grown up with a big field behind my house. We traded in our Texas prairie for Lake St. Clair when I was 10. That was a change. Rather than a limitless expanse of sun-drenched land to inspect and claim, we found ourselves hemmed in by water on all sides. The streets (no sidewalks!), our driveways and the neighbor's bushes were our playground. We still had fun, but it was different.

 (2) I came across Entertainment Weekly's list of the "30 Greatest Music Artists Right Now" whilst wasting time on Fark.com. What do you think?

The list is... okay. Lady Gaga is overrated, but Beyonce is amazing. There's simply no way to make everyone happy, as is evidenced in the comments on EW and Fark. I'm glad that Fun. and Mumford & Sons made the list, but would have liked to see Imogen Heap on there, and little ol' Frontier Ruckus.

This week I've been listening to Jon Watts, the insightful and creative Quaker musician I'm sure I've mentioned before. His music is haunting, enlightening, and safe for work (mostly). I've also been treating my ears to the sweet sounds of Meghan Tonjes, Swirl 360, Los Campesinos and musical god Paolo Nutini.

Just listen. This beautiful live performance by Paolo Nutini is from 2006, so imagine this guy six years older. I'm hoping he comes to the US for a tour sometime in the next few years.

This 2009 performance by the same guy is even better.  
Let him get warmed up. So good it makes me melt.

I've been slugging through the music on my old Dell, the computer that got me through college. It needs to be reformatted, and without an external hard drive I am left burning countless CDs in an attempt to salvage my music collection. So much Disney. Is Hinder worth saving? When did I get all of this Adam Pascal? I'll be losing a lot of Broadway, it seems. I'll purge plenty of music I never listened to, too.

 (3) And for the gardeners out there, here is what will be one of your most valuable resources. Their recipe database is stellar, too! If you've planted a salad garden this week, I suggest that you take a look at these Mother Earth News links about how to help your garden grow into your private, verdant escape this summer:
All About Growing Lettuce
Grow Great Lettuce
All About Growing Swiss Chard
Down on the Farm with Phyllis (May/June 1976)
A recipe very similar to Sean's Radish Relish

 (4) Do you like to peep into other people's bedrooms?
I sure do. What, is that weird?

Truman Capote's Bedroom

Really, it is not nearly as weird if the bedroom belongs to a writer. Those fools will spill everything just to get some attention. Here's a look at the bedrooms of 15 very different writers, courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

 (5) I got a huge hula hoop as an early birthday present from Sean. The jury is still out when it comes to whether it's a very effective form of exercise, compared to the other things you can do at home. I've been lifting my wimpy weights I got for Christmas and doing some informal yoga. Hula hooping is a fun way to change it up! This girl and this song by Goldfish are great motivators, don't you think?

Not Exactly the Gardening Post You Were Hoping For...

Birthday Week has been a whirlwind of 

delicious cakes, wonderful gifts and a not enough

free time to sit down and write. 

Tonight I'm headed north for a few days in the woods.

 Without electricity I won't get much bloggin' done. 

I had hoped to make an easy, informative post

about how to get down and dirty with what you have

in your own back yard... but am running out of time! 

This quick post will help you get started with gardening.

You have to be self-motivated to be successful.

I'm including two books that I think everyone should 

flip through, or sit down and read if you're serious 

about figuring out this food-growing thing for yourself.

You do NOT need to have a back yard in order to grow food.
You do, however, need sunlight. Even if you're in a basement
apartment, I bet your landlord would let you have a few
well-tended pots beside your door, or even near the
parking lot, if that's where the sunlight is.
If you do live in an apartment, I specifically
recommend that you read The Urban Homestead,
which I talk more about below. It'll change the way
you view your living situation and ability to be independent.

If you don't want to bother with books (why not?!)

then here's what you can do today, or this weekend:

Till up a small, sunny area in your back yard,

or fill a few pots/planters with dirt. Mix in some good

mulch/compost, available from a friendly neighbor

or at various garden supply stores.
Make sure to get something organic. 

You don't want those chemicals

all over your food, do you? 

Buy some spinach, lettuce and radish seeds.

Now's the time of year to put them into the ground.
My favorites are America Spinach and loose-leaf lettuces.
I suggest you avoid he head variety of lettuce. It takes too long.
Feeling adventurous?  Get some Rainbow Swiss Chard, too!

Salad greens grow quickly and will continue to produce

until the end of June, if the weather holds out. 

Just follow the directions on the seed packets. 

They'll tell you how deep each seed should be planted, 

how much sun it needs and how long it'll take 

to germinate, or grow. Save any seeds you don't 

plant now, as they have a second growing 

season in early fall, when the weather cools off a bit.

Things like tomatoes, peppers and most flowers are

almost ready to be planted, but not yet! 

One cold night will set you back weeks if you 

plant too soon. It's frustrating. Trust me.

The most common way of "messing up" your garden

is to forget to water it. It happens to the best of us,

and you'll feel like a jerk-face when you see

your little plants all wilted and thirsty.

Think of your garden as a pet that needs attention.

Spend 5 - 15 minutes a day tending to it. 

Water it, weed it, and maybe sing to it a little.

It's therapeutic, cheap and easy.

If you're only willing to look at one book... I recommend

that you get over yourself and take a look at both of the

following LIFE-IMPROVING BOOKS:

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

is where you should start if your goal is to grow enough

food to eat and enjoy all summer and into the fall.

If you read the book and do what Mel says  you  

can't screw this up. The square-foot method is

the simplest way to for a beginner to grow a small,

beautiful, super-productive and varied garden.

It does require a small investment of money, and a

larger investment of time. But then again, all forms of

gardening take time and (some) money. In the long

run you'll save money, as you'll be eating the food you grow!

Plus, you'll be a healthy eater, grazing in your back yard.

 My dad recommended Square Foot Gardening to Sean 

a few years ago. That summer my generous Aunt Sue lent us some 

space in her back yard, since we had zero yard space of our own. 

Since then, we've convinced two of our friends to try it, 

and they've also been very successful. We still use the 

square-foot method today, and have been eating delicious 

home-grown salads of spinach, chard and lettuce 

for WEEKS, even though it's mid-April!

The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen

is the book that  Sean refers to as his Bible, and for good reason. 

It is, as the subtitle suggests, a guide to "Self-Sufficient Living in

 the Heart of the City." This attractive little book was the 

first thing I brought home from Curious. It is chock-full of
various ways you can live more sustainably

and happily without becoming a hermit in the woods. It covers all 

sorts of topics, like raising chickens and rabbits,
soap making, cooking, rain barrels, efficient home upgrades,

gardening, and how to fight the system. We haven't used

every idea they offer, but have taken much of it to heart.

If you would like to purchase any of these titles, 

I would consider it a personal favor if you used a local, 

independent book shop to do so.

Amazon is not a good option. Not at all.

I won't rant about the evils of the book world today, though.

Don't want to buy them?

Get them FOR FREE from a library, instead!

If your local library does not have an available copy,

ask your (fabulous) librarian about the free

 MEL and Inter-Library Loan programs.

They can order the book from another library and

it will arrive within the next week or two. 

 Most of the information in these books is also

available for free online! Try searching "square foot gardening"

on YouTube. Another fantastic, invaluable resource we

couldn't do without is Mother Earth News Magazine.

Their entire archive (over 40 years worth of amazing articles)

is available for free on their website. 

Check it out!

Posts like this lead me consider signing up for Google AdSense.
It  would give me a few pennies for every person who clicks the link 

to the books and other items I mention in this blog. 

So tempting...

Gardening in Pearls... and a CAT APRON.

It's my day off!
First one in quite some time, 

thanks to the big book show. 

The morning has been a whirlwind of 

drinking yesterday's coffee, fresh bread, 

 bit of paper crafting and lots of laundry.

And cleaning.
So much spring cleaning.

 
Cookies are up next, and I'll top them with
the delicious Maple Syrup Creme we found at the
Fenner Nature Center's Maple Syrup Festival!

 When you spend a large portion of your time in an apron,

it is important to own an apron that makes you smile.

CAT APRON!
(Am I crazy? Maybe. Or are you just jealous?)

Sean gets off earlier than usual this afternoon, 

so we'll be headed to the Garden for some sun and seed planting.

Here are some before and after shots of our little backyard garden.

Radishes, about a week and a half ago.

Radishes this morning.

Salad greens growing in the coldframe, about a week and a half ago.

Our salad supply, today.

The peas are coming up!

Tulips, P. Allen Smith style.

I'm excited to watch what happens with these two pots.

Last fall I filled them with fancy purple tulip bulbs... 

20 to 30 bulbs in each one!

Should be somewhat spectacular.

((Looking at all of these gardening photos, 

I find myself wondering what I'll do once we have children. :P))

Survived another book show!

The 55th Michigan Antiquarian Book and Paper Show
was a great success!Part of my job is to help organize
and run this, the Midwest's largest show.

I don't have official confirmation,
but I believe it to be the second largest
show in the country, just behind the big show in NYC.
We're more than double the size of the antiquarian show
in Chicago. We're nearing our thirtieth anniversary,
and do two shows a year here in Lansing. Thankfully,
we have show preparations down to a science, now.

Once again, I came down with a nasty chest cold
two days before the show. When this happened last
autumn I had to stay in bed while the show went on
without me. It must, you know.

This time, I managed to make it out of bed and into
a nice enough outfit. The medicine I took kept me
slightly loopy, giggly and wiggly, but I strutted around
in my lovely "book show heels" well enough to fool
the guests and vendors. My favorite part, by far,
was taking photos of some of the book sellers during
the afternoon lull. If you're not a fan of books or paper,
you'd still get your money's worth if you came to the
show to people watch. They come from as far away
as Quebec and Texas (though not California,
as the LSJ suggested in their show write-up).

Sean and I splurged a bit, and bought a truly jaw-dropping
collection of four "propaganda" prints from 1931.

This one's my favorite!

 They were printed in Lansing and distributed by the
Michigan Tuberculosis Association.
They feature the most gorgeous nature illustrations
by wildlife artist Charles Livingston Bull. They compliment
the WWI and WWII propaganda posters we've bought
at past shows. Now, I need to put my framing tools
to good use and build some quarter-sawn oak fames!

It seemed to be a pretty good show.
We had about a dozen new dealers exhibiting,
and our porter team was stellar. Many thanks
to Leighanna, Alicia, Russ and Sean. And Keith.
We're not quite done unpacking at Curious,
but we're off to a good start. Mark suspects that
we've come back with more sports and movie stuff
than we took with us, but that isn't much of a surprise.
I'm pretty sure Ray sneaks things into the shop
we're not looking. The trick is finding a place to keep it all.

I used the book show as my Grand Unveiling.
Ray, Susan and Ruth approved my paper flowers,
and I bedecked the Archvies booth with them.
 

Those who noticed were impressed, and I may even
wind up selling a few of them in my Etsy shop.
We'll see.
I have about a dozen Phalaenopsis stems left, and a
few dozen little button flowers.

I've already moved on to other crafting projects,
so those will be the only flowers for a while.

I met some very nice girls at the show, and I think we might
start a blasphemous book club, where instead of reading
we rip books apart and turn them into art.

The few photos that were taken of me at the show are

hilariously embarrassing 

and can be found on the Curious Facebook page.

There is so much more to say about my chaotic, exhausting
weekend. I'll be cleaning up the wreckage-strewn house
for the rest of the evening. I must also try to beat this
cold before we head down to Harrison Township this weekend.
Must. Get. Well.

Book Reivew: The Deathly Portent (A Lady Fan Mystery) by Elizabeth Bailey

In the past few months I have been the

gratified recipient of handful of

soon-to-be-released mystery novels. 

Mostly "girlie" mystery novels 

set in Georgian England and America 

(hint: American Revolution-ish). 

Historical fiction has always held a dear place in my heart, 

and so it seemed like a good way to break 

into mysteries - a genre I had thus far avoided. 

I was right. It was a comfortable fit.

The Deathly Portent, by Elizabeth Bailey, 

may be the last historical mystery I read... for a while.

Don't get me wrong - Bailey's latest mystery 

is a rollicking good time starring a sweet, rich, 

clever but rather naive English lady 

with a knack for identifying sneaky murderers. 

The elaborate cast of characters, 

a town full of suspicious English-folk, 

would be enough to please a fan of Dickens. 

The book has all sorts of intrigue. 

Gruesome murders, adultery, 

hidden riches, forbidden love, 

witchcraft, a sexy young pastor, 

dashing aristocrats, 

an overly-tragic heroine 

and more than a hint of lesbian lovers.  

What isn't to like? 

My problem with this novel is how slowly it progressed. 

This 359-page adventure might have 

benefited from shaving off 100 or so pages. 

This book's solid plot was dragged along for far too long.

There was too much wishy-washy 

yammering drivel for my taste,

and I'm one of those gals who 

enjoys a good group of gossiping ladies.

Some passages were far too wordy to enjoy, 

stretching each sentence until they bulged, 

overburdened with big words and and lacking in focus. 

(The same could be said for my writing,

but I'm not trying to publish this, just post it on a blog!)

By page 188 I was confident that I knew who 

the murderer was, witchcraft. 

I was confident that I that the
plucky detective, Lady Otillia Fanshawe, 

would come to this same conclusion
by interrogating this suspect's maid. 

On page 288, I still believed myself to be true. 

The plot, however, had barely progressed in those 100 pages.
It wasn't until the very end that my suspicions were proven.
I was right about the murderer and the way in which
Lady Fan would figure things out.

If I weren't so stubborn I would have 

cast this book aside and moved on to something fresh.

I was right about the murderer in the end, 

much to my chagrin. I had hoped that there 

would be some sort of mind-blowing plot twist. 

 
Elizabeth Bailey is an English writer to be respected and celebrated.
She's published about 20 novels, taught writing, directed plays,
and I'm sure that this one novel should not reflect her talent or career.

In the future I would probably peruse another 

installment of the "Lady Fan" series

but until then I need to cleanse my palate.


Some recommendations:
The India Black Series by Carol K. Carr
When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris

The Deathly Portent
by Elizabeth Bailey
Berkley Prime Crime Trade Paperback Original.
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
978-0-425-24567-5
Disclaimer: This book was received as a free review copy.

Titillating Titles: Playboy Magazine at Curious!

.

I'm all wiggly from having too much espresso. 

Can't sleep. 

It's just after 11 p.m., and I've poured myself a glass 

of red rosé to try to calm myself a bit.

Tonight was the Playboy Photo Shoot at Curious!

Two days ago we were visited by a photographer 

who was scouting locations in East Lansing

for Playboy's rather popular Girls of the Big Ten issue.

He liked what he saw at Curious, and seemed

enthusiastic when he introduced himself. 

I felt like I blew it, as I slipped into my 

overly-friendly-to-the-tourist mode 

and handed him a map, 

telling him about the cool record shops in town 

(The Record Lounge and Flat, Black and Circular).

We talked about who would have the best natural lighting, etc.

Unwelcome subconscious sabotage on my part! 

We had been approached by Playboy before, 

about 5 years ago - before my time.

They were interested in using us as a location 

for the same Big Ten feature.

Such a tease.

 So, when he said that Curious was "for sure" the place, 

none of us Curious-ers expected much of it.

The photographer came back yesterday... 

and he brought the production team!

They took a meandering tour 

through the shop's three floors

and decided that the shop's "character" was just right.

I wasn't sure how to feel about this whole Playboy thing. 

I've never really had a problem with 

the seedier side of Hollywood,

 but am not a in favor of  objectifying women 

or the blatant consumerism and billions generated by the 

over-sexualization of models and customers, alike. 

However, I respect and admire Helen Gurley Brown,

 and I've watched my fair share of The Girls Next Door.

I'm a Millennial. 

I recognize the popularity of sex 

and the gravitas of the Playboy label, one of
America's longest-running and iconic publications.

I wanted Curious to be the cool place!

I wound up spending some time upstairs with 

the Playboy people. 

(They would grimace to be called that, 

as they are freelance professionals.)

While up there I realized they were just 

normal people with extremely exotic jobs.

The shoot producer had a field day 

looking through our run of vintage Playboys.

She even found a few she had been looking for, 

including the 1988 Cindy Crawford cover that she says 

convinced her to start working for Playboy.

Those photos of Cindy Crawford 

are almost as stunning as the spread of her 

ten years later, after having children.

Seriously. 

Stunning.

They couldn't quite decide where to do the shoot.

They liked the upstairs, with the big mirror.

The colors are lighter upstairs, more airy.

Too similar to the Ohio State barber shop spread, though.

The other option was the basement, 

possibly resulting in

our beloved green armchair 

making an appearance.

(Fret not, Green Chair Lovers!)

They left without coming to a decision.

There was a vague understanding 

that the production team and model 

would return the next evening to shoot, around 6.

Mark and I scrambled around the shop, 

chasing dust bunnies and scrubbing things.
Liz had the foresight to straighten up bookcases
on the ground floor and do some needed sweeping.

As per normal Curious procedure, 

no one seemed to know what the plan was this morning.

We had more than enough to keep us 

busy with the BIG BOOK SHOW looming over us.

As the clock(s) neared 6, 

each of us found a good enough reason 

to hover around on the ground floor, waiting.

The first cart-load of photo equipment 

finally crossed the threshold around 6:45.

After a brief deliberation, 

the photographer started setting up on the main floor, 

in General Fiction, of all places!

The shop cleared out pretty quickly 

(except for the customer we nearly forgot in the basement)

and some staff members made their escapes.

Curiosity got the best of me. 

I stayed.

It's amazing what a professional can do in a small space.

After a brief hunt for available electrical outlets 

and some strategic light placement in the aisles, 

they were ready. 

I made a helpful contribution 

when I dug up my favorite spare book-show rug 

 to use as an set anchor.

The photographer was relieved, 

and said it went well with the color palate.

At this time I encourage you 
to be awed and amazed 
by my obvious artistic and 

compositional talents.
Thank you.

Good thing they brought their own extension cord.
There was some concern about their strobe lighting
being too powerful for the circuit,
but we had no problems! 

Glitz and Glamour.

Their fancy camera and lights make it look way better
than my little Canon.

While we all waited for the model to show up 

(it was another hour, at least),

we played around with the "set" and 

Ray posed for portrait photos by the photographers.

I feel like I bullied it into him, 

but what a cool experience! 

It deserved a souvenir.
Maybe they'll include Ray in the spread!

The model seemed like your 

typical Midwestern, MSU college girl.

Friendly, petite, polite, highlights and a strong handshake.

She was wearing a cute "DEFYE" shirt when we met, 

and Liz lusted after her black stilettos.

She had never been to the shop.

Gah.
Read books, people!

Curious has had more than its fair share
of media attention, this year.
Two weeks ago a student group
filmed a documentary,
and I gave a crummy interview.
Of course they used my photo on the cover.
We still haven't gotten around to watching it.

With Barnes and Noble closing earlier
this year, we've had dozens of professional
and student reporters coming in for our take
on the matter. We've also had a handful
of professional and student photographers
rooting around the shop, which is pretty neat.

The Playboy shoot was, as Liz put it, 

very classy and professional.

The production team members were charming, 

apologetic for "getting in the way".

I was just glad they let us hang out.

Ray, Liz and I awkwardly hovered around the 

front counter, making tasteless jokes.

Ray thought the model felt better having me and Liz there.
I'm sure he also felt a bit better having us around.

We spent most of the rather surreal evening

flipping through some of our vintage men's magazines 

with the producer and other photographer.

They schooled us about classic poses,
favorite artists and "cheesecake".

It was a good time.

From our vantage point 

we had a great view 

of the photographer's jean-clad butt. 

We couldn't help but giggle 

as we listened to his directions for the model. 

Peeking seemed like a rude thing to do.

The Curious Playboy.

I left right around the time the crew began
discussing the merits of East Lansing bars, 

or maybe doing some jello shots
and trying out the Marriott's jacuzzi.

Erm..... no. I'll have to pass.
But, thanks for the invite!

We should receive copies of the professional photos
taken of Ray sometime soon.
The producer suggested that we do a "book" signing
when the Big Ten issue is published, this September.

Sure, whatever will bring people into the shop.
We desperately need the business!

Urban Farming and Community Gardening in Lansing, Michigan

It all began about a year ago, in the sloppy, 

cold Michigan spring of 2011.

We had just moved into our current house 

and were rather pleased with ourselves.

We patted one another on the back and smiled, 

proud as could be.

"Look at us, all grown up, doing grown-up stuff."

The only difficulty with our lovely rental house was
the lack of gardening space. The house is beautifully landscaped
with plenty of perennials and shade-loving flowers,
which leaves little room for all of the vegetables
and other plants we would like to add.
Our very nice landlord had some concerns about
Sean and I ripping up her pretty yard, which is understandable.
But, how could we be self-reliant homesteaders
without our own bit of dirt to cultivate?

Around the time Sean and I were hitting this wall,
we heard from a friend that a new community garden 

was to be organized using empty lots 

rented from Lansing's Land Bank.
Part of Lansing's east side lies within a flood plain,
which has resulted in many vacant lots with rich soil
in a nearby neighborhood.

$10 a year, per lot.
Throw in lots of free seeds, 

seedlings, information and help. 

It sounded too good to be true...

One year later, we now know that it is true, 

and even better than we thought!

Here's Poppin' Fresh. We also have a second lot,

named Marvin's Gardens. (Get the reference?)

It took a lot of hard work, and some prescribed Vicodin

when Sean and I both threw out our backs pulling up 

sodden sod. The pain and temporary 

 inability to walk was worth it, in the end. 

Digging up all of that grass  to make the garden beds 

was the absolute worst part about this entire experience.

Once the Garden Project sent over their 

fabulous tilling machine our prospects looked better.

We have the equivalent of three city lots that we use for planting.

These empty lots are in an older, quiet neighborhood built upon a 

30-year flood plain. No new construction is allowed, 

so the houses are slowly being abandoned, 

eventually to be torn down by the city.

On either side of Poppin' Fresh are vacant houses 

slotted to come down this summer. When that happens, 

I expect we'll incorporate 3 or 4 more lots 

into our already large garden.

Last summer, our first main growing season, was a great success!

We have a core group of 5 - 7 gardeners 

who have invested an obscene amount of time 

and effort to make Poppin' Fresh what it is, today. 

Being close to MSU means there are countless 

students who sporadically show up to help out. 

In return, we send them home with a bounty 

of whatever is ready to harvest. Various student groups have 

come and gone, and we sometimes find 

ourselves short-handed when the demands of 

college keep the crowds at bay.

We function differently from the average 

Community Garden cooperative. Instead of each gardener 

tending their own small plot, we all work together 

on what may be better labeled as a Community Urban Farm. 

However, we don't follow the model presented 

by Urbandale, a production community garden/farm 

about a block away. They have a food stand 

and sell their produce to locals. 

They also have big fence. 

We're sort of against fences, but may need 

to construct one this summer to keep our livestock safe.

We're always a little unorganized, 

but Captain Kirk continues to surprise

us with all kinds of crazy ideas and amazing finds.

It looks like our next project will be a chicken coop!

In the last few months, we've acquired some major items:

 The Hoop House

Tons of pre-consumer compost from MSU  and Starbucks.

Piles in various stages line the left wall of the hoop house.

Our vermicompost (worms!) is doing especially well.

 Two New Zealand Rabbits (a buck and a doe).

Carol named them Thing 1 and Thing 2.

The number system might stick when 

they start breeding, next month.
((Update! More about the rabbits here!))

Seedling trays and pots, dozens of them, that were discarded.

We get free seeds through the Garden Project,

but everything we've planted so far this season comes

from left-over seeds - greens and herbs, mostly!

Sean's rabbit hutches, made from reclaimed MSU dorm desks.

Sean's constructing the roof right now!

One in progress, and one waiting for a new purpose.

A free chicken tractor from a nice stranger!

  Later this week we'll begin harnessing power from the sun. 

THE SUN!

Captain Kirk's super-cool solar panel will be 

on loan to the garden for the next long while. 

This will allow us to ventilate the hoop house with fans, 

hook up a light and maybe a boom box. 

We may also need power to heat the chicken coop this winter,

if we don't keep it in the warm hoop house with the rabbits.

Flowers & Bunnies

 I've finally discovered a great place to 

pose and photograph those pretty paper flowers I made.

The fireplace mantel, of all places!

I set up a colorful array of flowers last month

 in an attempt to fight the winter blues.

So, I've just updated my Etsy store with these new 

photos and am hoping to add a few more listings soon.

I'll be premiering these flowers at the BIG BOOK SHOW!

Didn't I already mention this, though?

More about it later.

Now that Spring is truly creeping back

into the landscape, Sean and I have been

busy at The Garden.

Captain Kirk came through with a big surprise this week,

which as invigorated us even more.

BUNNIES!

If you live in the Lansing area and are itching

to get your hands dirty (or pet something soft),

you should consider joining us out at The Garden.

Get in touch with me, and I'll let you know

about some upcoming Work Parties.

We're a very welcoming group, 

and our numbers fluctuate between 4 and 20 

gardeners, depending on the time of year. 

Traditional community gardens are made up of

many individual plots maintained by their respective gardeners.

We're different.

We share!

If you show up and help a bit, 

we send you home with some tasty produce.

Simple as that.

Also, happy Centennial Anniversary

to the Girls Scouts of America!

Visiting the Juliette Gordon Low House

 in Savannah, Georgia is one of my very

fondest memories. That city is gorgeous.

Russ, Sean and I biked the Hawk Island loop
of the River Trail this morning.
My ears nearly froze clean off of my head,
but otherwise it was perfect weather.
8.6 miles. Whooh!

Alright, we're off to our neighbor's tea party,

and then are headed to The Garden to work

and listen to MSU beat the crap out of Ohio State.

GO GREEN!