This year, I put aside a decent chunk of our backyard beside the house for a garden. I planted a ton of stuff - basically I used a lot of my chicken litter as filler for the soil, to give it extra nutrients, and then set out to planting. I did four tomatoes, 6-7 peppers of varying types, a broccoli, a cauliflower, two squashes and then two string bean plants.
The tomatoes seemed to do the best overall - in fact, maybe it was the chicken litter but they were easily 2-3 times as big as my neighbors, and started churning out tomatoes in mid summer! I tried romas, a couple heirlooms, and then a classic big red. The romas did pretty well until late July/early August, and then I think the heat and dryness while I was in Hawaii and Portugal did them in. Right now I'm down to the two closest to the yard (and probably the sprinkler) - they seemed to take a breather in August, though now have more tomatoes appearing again.
Peppers were a mixed bag. My hot peppers did quite well - the chilis, jalapenos, moles, and banana peppers. My green peppers are coming in now, though not very many. My colored sweet peppers did not though - I had a red, a purple, and a yellow and all of those struggled very badly and it seemed like the fruit would rot a bit before they were even ready. Not sure why, if anyone knows please advise!
The broccoli grew, but more weedy than I expected. The fruit wound up being closer to broccoli rabe than a head of broccoli, and not very tasty. I'm not sure if I did something wrong, or I need to prune it, or what happened there. Probably not something I would plant again, nor would I try cauliflower again.
The squash did ok, and we got a few yellow squash in the fridge. Unfortunately, all the rain and damp from the hurricane caused them to rot - so I lost both of those recently. I think they'd do ok next year, but I should move them to a drier spot in the yard where the rain isn't likely to pool and cause damage. Of all my plants, those seemed the most vulnerable to exess water.
My herbs all did very well, the basil so much so that I often wound up throwing out half of what I harvested because we couldn't eat it all. In another year or two, the rosemary will own half my current plot! The sage I think was ok, though overshadowed by how big my tomatoes grew.
And of course, the girls are all well and now all four are laying again. We did lose one of them this summer - reasons unknown, Ian just went out and found her out there one morning, but without any sign of predator attack or problem. She was the largest of our girls, so I honestly think it was heat-related. The bigger the bird, the harder it is for them to stay cool in the heat - we won't really ever know for sure, but that seems to make the most sense. Two of my girls went broody in the hottest months, the Buff Orpington and one of my Cuckoo Marans. In the future, I won't go with another Orpington - they're a bit loud, and definitely prone to broodiness. Swiss Miss, my Spitzhauben, is totally rocking the roost though - she's my best layer, and also the smartest chicken by far. The only downside to a Spitz is that they lay white eggs, and everyone always wants the brown eggs now.
So, what would I do differently next year? For one - I think I would skip planting beans - they really grew to cover a lot of real estate, and the yield, even with two plants, was never really enough to provide a side dish for Ian and I before they went bad. So given a limited space, I'd skip those. The tomatoes, I would definitely do again - but clearly, I need to space them out better so I can make sure each one has enough space to grow and produce. I can't believe how big they got! Peppers, I'll probably do a couple and just stick with the greens, they seem the hardiest. Squash I want to try again, but I'll have to find a different area. Finally, I think I will stay with the hot peppers too, but possibly pot those so I can bring them inside at the end of the season. And of course, the girls just need periodic yard forage trips, plenty of food and water, and a periodic treat of bread of snacks from the house.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Shifting Gears
Right then - so the Big Summer of Travel is over now - thankfully, in some ways - and there aren't any current trips on the horizon. That's good, because I can use a bit of a break. In fact, I know I have some travel burnout as I was invited to a conference for work in Singapore at the end of October, and not only did I fail to leap at the chance, but actually find myself wondering if I'd even want to go at all. Singapore! I've never been there and it's supposed to be fantastic, but I am just plumb tired.
That said though, I think writing is a good exercise for organizing thoughts and communicating a bit. I vastly prefer it to Facebook, honestly. The more I try to be on Facebook, the less I like it. But I do like writing - sharing some of the things I work on, finding topics to describe, explain, draft out, etc. So I'm going to try and keep this, but I might repurpose it a bit for now to be more about crafting. I've always been a crafter, and as the days get a bit cooler and fall begins, I really feel the desire to hunker down and make stuff!
On that note, I want to quickly toss up some notes (largely to myself if I'm being frank) about my gardening efforts this summer, so I know what to tackle next year. Then from there, on to other crafts!
That said though, I think writing is a good exercise for organizing thoughts and communicating a bit. I vastly prefer it to Facebook, honestly. The more I try to be on Facebook, the less I like it. But I do like writing - sharing some of the things I work on, finding topics to describe, explain, draft out, etc. So I'm going to try and keep this, but I might repurpose it a bit for now to be more about crafting. I've always been a crafter, and as the days get a bit cooler and fall begins, I really feel the desire to hunker down and make stuff!
On that note, I want to quickly toss up some notes (largely to myself if I'm being frank) about my gardening efforts this summer, so I know what to tackle next year. Then from there, on to other crafts!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Port Tasting
Today, my panel was in the morning, which left the afternoon a bit more open to do some sightseeing. The panel itself went well - in spite of the fact that only two of the four scheduled presenters managed to make it - and even so, we filled up nearly two hours between our talks and questions. (No softballs from the audience, either!)
We wrapped up around 1300, which left plenty of time to do something in the afternoon. In my case, that something was to hop the metro over to Nuovo Gaia and do a bit of port sampling. I only managed to make four - Portugal apparently has a different concept of "tasting pours" than we do in the U.S, as in our tasting pours are generally one ounce and theirs are a full glass or so....*hic* But I did manage today to get to Quinta do Nuovo, Sandeman, Kopke, and one other. I got to try a lot of interesting vintages. including a really unusual rose port as well as a few dry whites and vintages. Not sure if it was the "pauvre pauvrecita" traveling by my lonesome, as Ian likes to call it, or the American in a land far away syndrome, but I seemed to get extra-special attention in a few of the cellars - or as one might say, extra samples. It could also be a factor - and in my opinion, most likely -that unlike most of the other taster I actually knew wine pretty well and could ask complex questions. Winos like to show off for other winos, which means if you seem to know what you're talking about - your tasting table is quickly full of all kinds of good stuff.
The truly interesting part of the evening was after I decided I had had quite enough wine, and needed some food in me. I wandered across the Duoro, found a place that looked like it had some good local fish, and hopped a seat. Even now, I'm still not entirely sure how it happened - one minute I was being a foodie with the server, the next they're shuttling me into the kitchen to learn how to prepare Portuguese salted cod and dice garlic. !!! Either I was making points with the locals or becoming immigrant labor, not quite sure which - but it was very fun, I learned some excellent pointers, and had a fantastic meal. (Note, I was the only person shuttled into the kitchen, this wasn't like in Istanbul where I paid to learn to cook.) One of the waiters wanted to know if I knew Anthony Bourdain and could pass his name along - so errr.....since James does in passing know Tony B., guess I have some introductions to make now?
In any case, the most interesting night I've had here so far. Yay for getting out and about and eating on the local economy! And if you see me in the Porto No Reservations, well - I'll be the blonde in the kitchen.
We wrapped up around 1300, which left plenty of time to do something in the afternoon. In my case, that something was to hop the metro over to Nuovo Gaia and do a bit of port sampling. I only managed to make four - Portugal apparently has a different concept of "tasting pours" than we do in the U.S, as in our tasting pours are generally one ounce and theirs are a full glass or so....*hic* But I did manage today to get to Quinta do Nuovo, Sandeman, Kopke, and one other. I got to try a lot of interesting vintages. including a really unusual rose port as well as a few dry whites and vintages. Not sure if it was the "pauvre pauvrecita" traveling by my lonesome, as Ian likes to call it, or the American in a land far away syndrome, but I seemed to get extra-special attention in a few of the cellars - or as one might say, extra samples. It could also be a factor - and in my opinion, most likely -that unlike most of the other taster I actually knew wine pretty well and could ask complex questions. Winos like to show off for other winos, which means if you seem to know what you're talking about - your tasting table is quickly full of all kinds of good stuff.
The truly interesting part of the evening was after I decided I had had quite enough wine, and needed some food in me. I wandered across the Duoro, found a place that looked like it had some good local fish, and hopped a seat. Even now, I'm still not entirely sure how it happened - one minute I was being a foodie with the server, the next they're shuttling me into the kitchen to learn how to prepare Portuguese salted cod and dice garlic. !!! Either I was making points with the locals or becoming immigrant labor, not quite sure which - but it was very fun, I learned some excellent pointers, and had a fantastic meal. (Note, I was the only person shuttled into the kitchen, this wasn't like in Istanbul where I paid to learn to cook.) One of the waiters wanted to know if I knew Anthony Bourdain and could pass his name along - so errr.....since James does in passing know Tony B., guess I have some introductions to make now?
In any case, the most interesting night I've had here so far. Yay for getting out and about and eating on the local economy! And if you see me in the Porto No Reservations, well - I'll be the blonde in the kitchen.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 1
Day 1 was, truth be told, not terribly exciting. First of all - even if I had free time, Porto is not the most tourist-friendly or easily-navigable cities in the world. There's a metro system, or so I am told, but it's terribly marked and I am still not convinced if it's bus based or underground based. Never a good sign. Fortunately, the taxis are readily available.
Work is keeping me pretty hopping, though, so perhaps it is for the best if there isn't a ton to distract me from my job. Tonight was opening ceremonies as well as a panel I attended, and then I am a discussant tomorrow, panelist Friday, and chair Saturday as well. If time allows, I'm hoping to nip over to Gaia across the Duoro on Friday and do a bit of port tasting, but that very well may be my sight seeing for this trip.
Haven't posted any pictures yet because I haven't gotten to the picturesque part - mostly it's urban city where I'm staying and working, but hopefully I can get a couple this weekend. Stay tuned! The food's been pretty good though. To date, only eaten in the hotel - walked around for a little tonight after work to try and find a local haunt, but no luck so far in my neighborhood. I'll keep trying!
Work is keeping me pretty hopping, though, so perhaps it is for the best if there isn't a ton to distract me from my job. Tonight was opening ceremonies as well as a panel I attended, and then I am a discussant tomorrow, panelist Friday, and chair Saturday as well. If time allows, I'm hoping to nip over to Gaia across the Duoro on Friday and do a bit of port tasting, but that very well may be my sight seeing for this trip.
Haven't posted any pictures yet because I haven't gotten to the picturesque part - mostly it's urban city where I'm staying and working, but hopefully I can get a couple this weekend. Stay tuned! The food's been pretty good though. To date, only eaten in the hotel - walked around for a little tonight after work to try and find a local haunt, but no luck so far in my neighborhood. I'll keep trying!
Bem Vendo a Porto!
Good news! I arrived safely in Porto - of course, there were adventures getting here as there always seem to be, but both my new laptop and I made it here this time. Huzzah!
The adventure getting here was that my 2:37pm flight to Newark was first delayed three hours, then ultimately cancelled - which of course, caused me to miss my connection in New York to Porto. Now, had they cancelled the flight in the first place, I could have hopped another flight to Newark - even out of Reagan National if needed, where they leave every hour - and been fine. But that would be far, far too efficient and logical for modern air travel. Instead, I spent the rest of my evening waiting in multiple queues with many irate passengers, just to be told they couldn't help if it was international and go wait in another queue, etc and so forth. To make a very long and rather unhappy experience brief - we'll just say that they finally found me a flight to Frankfurt and then Porto, and still managed to get me to my destination on the same arrival day. Fortunately, the customer service manager - who unlike the other employees was actually very nice and pleasant - also upgraded my first leg to business class, so I was able to get some much needed sleep on the flight over.
Can't say that I did much my first day here - of course, due in part to the fact that I arrived at 7pm in the evening instead of 8am in the morning as I was originally supposed to. The airlines lost my luggage *again* - I swear, my suitcase *LOVES* Frankfurt and always decides to spend the night and have a few pints while there. Of course, I can't say that I really blame it....So this morning, I woke up, put on the t-shirt I had in my carry on (thereby flagging myself as an American tourist, of course), and then trekked back over to the airport to get my suitcase. Safely in hand, my luggage and I returned to the hotel and thought I'd toss up a quick post before actually getting to settle in to my trip.
Today's itinerary (after a change of clothes, of course) is to check in for my conference, and then head across the Duoro to do some port tasting. That post should be a lot more interesting then the travel adventures one I just wrote!
Cheers, more to follow tonight or tomorrow.
Monday, June 27, 2011
First Batch of Pictures
So I've mostly settled back in, readjusted to the local time zone - which always seems harder on the return for some reason - and gotten most of my things unpacked. Now I've begun the process of uploading and identifying all of the pictures I took on my trip. I've uploaded the first batch from Istanbul and posted on Photobucket for anyone who wishes to peruse - they can be found here:
http://s1113.photobucket.com/albums/k519/jadavisdc/Istanbul%20June%202011/
I'd love to write more today, perhaps this evening when I get home. Unfortunately today is also my first day back in the office, so I only have time for a quick batch of the first pictures and an update about that. I'd like to get a recipe posted soon and some of my experiences in the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque, but I think that will have to wait for after work! After being gone two weeks, I can hardly roll in late.
Enjoy and more to follow!
http://s1113.photobucket.com/albums/k519/jadavisdc/Istanbul%20June%202011/
I'd love to write more today, perhaps this evening when I get home. Unfortunately today is also my first day back in the office, so I only have time for a quick batch of the first pictures and an update about that. I'd like to get a recipe posted soon and some of my experiences in the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque, but I think that will have to wait for after work! After being gone two weeks, I can hardly roll in late.
Enjoy and more to follow!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Home Sweet Home
Hallo and greetings from lands to the East! I'm happy to report that I have arrived safely home, a bit more bruised and battered from the first stop but with lots of time in Madrid to recover and recoup. Both conferences were extremely informative, I'm pleased to say, and since that was really the main point of the trip then that's all good!
Right now I'm jetlagged as all get out, seeing as it's just nipping on midnight for my body clock. But tomorrow I will begin the painful process of unpacking, and the more pleasant process of uploading pictures and starting to get those posted.
I did wind up keeping somewhat of a pen and paper journal while I was away in lieu of my laptop, so I will try to start adding entries to the blog and pretend like I wrote them in real time. ;)
Even better, I will try to remember and start each entry - or perhaps post intervening entries - with a recipe from the region I was visiting! (Ian and I both being huge foodies, I picked up cookbooks from both Spain and Turkey and also attended a Turkish cooking course one evening - so I have lots of material to draw on, based on the fantastic food I ate.) You'll have to provide your own wine though - and if trying a Turkish recipe, make sure to add a 250% tax to what you pay for the wine as well. That's their current solution to enforcing appropriate morality without seeming too conservative - and while I don't necessarily approve per se, I have to admit it's a fairly ingenious way of cutting down your population's drinking without actually forcing people by the use of prohibition or making wine and alcohol consumption illegal. In fact, it's mighty similar to what we do with cigarettes, now that I think about it...so who knows, as a business model it might have merit - sure beats the morality police that other countries employ.
In any case, stay tuned! The travels of the Clockwork Canard will follow soon! (And little did I know how prophetic the "travails" part of the blog header would turn out to be when I came up with it, right? Here I thought I was just being witty.)
Right now I'm jetlagged as all get out, seeing as it's just nipping on midnight for my body clock. But tomorrow I will begin the painful process of unpacking, and the more pleasant process of uploading pictures and starting to get those posted.
I did wind up keeping somewhat of a pen and paper journal while I was away in lieu of my laptop, so I will try to start adding entries to the blog and pretend like I wrote them in real time. ;)
Even better, I will try to remember and start each entry - or perhaps post intervening entries - with a recipe from the region I was visiting! (Ian and I both being huge foodies, I picked up cookbooks from both Spain and Turkey and also attended a Turkish cooking course one evening - so I have lots of material to draw on, based on the fantastic food I ate.) You'll have to provide your own wine though - and if trying a Turkish recipe, make sure to add a 250% tax to what you pay for the wine as well. That's their current solution to enforcing appropriate morality without seeming too conservative - and while I don't necessarily approve per se, I have to admit it's a fairly ingenious way of cutting down your population's drinking without actually forcing people by the use of prohibition or making wine and alcohol consumption illegal. In fact, it's mighty similar to what we do with cigarettes, now that I think about it...so who knows, as a business model it might have merit - sure beats the morality police that other countries employ.
In any case, stay tuned! The travels of the Clockwork Canard will follow soon! (And little did I know how prophetic the "travails" part of the blog header would turn out to be when I came up with it, right? Here I thought I was just being witty.)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
So İ may not be blogging much after all...
Rıght then - so, had all these good intentions to write all about my travels.
But you see, this relies upon having my laptop with me. Which, as of arrival in Istanbul, I do not.
Not sure what happened - a few of us from DC arrived in Istanbul to no luggage. One of them was someone else on official travel, which may or may not be coincidence. Anyhoo - so we file reports that our luggage is missing, go to our hotels, and settle in for the night.
My luggage arrived at the hotel sometime after midnight and I got it this morning - complete with the zip ties they close your luggage with at the aırport. Except, when I unpack - I have a laptop case. I have my clothes, mostly trashed and in heaps and wrinkled balls - which is fantastic for my suits and nice shirts. But the laptop bag is now empty - no laptop, no AC adaptor.
Needless to say, I am far less than amused. But it also appears for the duration of my trip, I wıll not have easy access to log in and write what I am up to. Maybe I can do something when İ get home, otherwıse I,m going old school wıth a pen and paper journal.
Sure would like to know why my luggage got ransaked and Im missing my laptop though.
But you see, this relies upon having my laptop with me. Which, as of arrival in Istanbul, I do not.
Not sure what happened - a few of us from DC arrived in Istanbul to no luggage. One of them was someone else on official travel, which may or may not be coincidence. Anyhoo - so we file reports that our luggage is missing, go to our hotels, and settle in for the night.
My luggage arrived at the hotel sometime after midnight and I got it this morning - complete with the zip ties they close your luggage with at the aırport. Except, when I unpack - I have a laptop case. I have my clothes, mostly trashed and in heaps and wrinkled balls - which is fantastic for my suits and nice shirts. But the laptop bag is now empty - no laptop, no AC adaptor.
Needless to say, I am far less than amused. But it also appears for the duration of my trip, I wıll not have easy access to log in and write what I am up to. Maybe I can do something when İ get home, otherwıse I,m going old school wıth a pen and paper journal.
Sure would like to know why my luggage got ransaked and Im missing my laptop though.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Airport and Pending Hotel
Just a quick quack before I head off.
This is the hotel I'll be staying at, the Hotel Armada. It looks to be very nice, right on the water and with fantastic views. And of course, no trip is without last minute hitches, right? Through a clerical error, the conference organizers have me staying at one hotel (which also seems very nice but doesn't meet DoD security standards or something) and then my travel office at work put me up in a second. I went to cancel the former, and they're still wanting to charge me for a night's stay! So it looks like if I can't get it sorted out, I will have successfully mastered cloning or time travel and be staying in two places at once. ARGH.
Downloaded my currency converter to my phone this morning (and set it to no dynamic updates, so I don't get a surprise cell phone bill). I've packed - though have the suitcase still hidden safely upstairs so our dog Halo doesn't do the math and become squeaktastic as she realizes we're going on a trip. I've put my Kindle (how did I ever live without that thing?) and my needlework in my carry on case, all set to go. Ian and I had a fantastic breakfast of French toast (with fresh eggs of course), and will enjoy a couple more hours together before he has to take me off to the airport.
Unfortunately, today will be the last time I see him until the end of the month! The day I arrive back in town, June 23rd, he leaves that morning to go off to Montana and participate on a cattle drive. Hmmm, maybe he can write a few entries about that here! It sounds like a fantastic trip, and I can't wait to hear about Cowboy Ian when I return. But yes, the poor timing is that he flies out the afternoon I arrive, and will be gone for a week himself. So we'll save our reunion for early July, and have lots to tell each other about our adventures when we're together again. :)
In the meantime, not at all related to my conferences or a cattle drive - but for those geeks out there, how fun does this look? (Special note to my parents, this is the singer we went to see while you were out visiting - sponsoring a cruise!)
So a bientot, and the next time I write, I'll be in Istanbul-not-Constantinople! (staying at two hotels)
This is the hotel I'll be staying at, the Hotel Armada. It looks to be very nice, right on the water and with fantastic views. And of course, no trip is without last minute hitches, right? Through a clerical error, the conference organizers have me staying at one hotel (which also seems very nice but doesn't meet DoD security standards or something) and then my travel office at work put me up in a second. I went to cancel the former, and they're still wanting to charge me for a night's stay! So it looks like if I can't get it sorted out, I will have successfully mastered cloning or time travel and be staying in two places at once. ARGH.
Downloaded my currency converter to my phone this morning (and set it to no dynamic updates, so I don't get a surprise cell phone bill). I've packed - though have the suitcase still hidden safely upstairs so our dog Halo doesn't do the math and become squeaktastic as she realizes we're going on a trip. I've put my Kindle (how did I ever live without that thing?) and my needlework in my carry on case, all set to go. Ian and I had a fantastic breakfast of French toast (with fresh eggs of course), and will enjoy a couple more hours together before he has to take me off to the airport.
Unfortunately, today will be the last time I see him until the end of the month! The day I arrive back in town, June 23rd, he leaves that morning to go off to Montana and participate on a cattle drive. Hmmm, maybe he can write a few entries about that here! It sounds like a fantastic trip, and I can't wait to hear about Cowboy Ian when I return. But yes, the poor timing is that he flies out the afternoon I arrive, and will be gone for a week himself. So we'll save our reunion for early July, and have lots to tell each other about our adventures when we're together again. :)
In the meantime, not at all related to my conferences or a cattle drive - but for those geeks out there, how fun does this look? (Special note to my parents, this is the singer we went to see while you were out visiting - sponsoring a cruise!)
So a bientot, and the next time I write, I'll be in Istanbul-not-Constantinople! (staying at two hotels)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Getting Off the Ground
Hello everyone, and welcome if you've stopped by! I am once again getting ready to jet-set around the world (or Europe, at least) preparing papers for conferences and taking some time out to see the sights. As many of you know, I'm not exactly the best Facebook user - for one, I'm terrible about checking in and when I do check in, I have a lot more to say than 100 characters! So I'm going to try and start blogging about my travels again, in a vain hope of sharing a more substantial accounting of where I'm off to and what I am doing, seeing, eating, or experiencing.
The Clockwork Duck comes from a couple favorite hobbies of mine. As most folks know, I do love rubber ducks - I've been collecting them off and on for the last decade or so, but pretty much every incarnation or spelling of duck (in both English and the French "canard") were already taken as blog titles. Thus, enter my other, more recent hobby - Steampunk. For those who don't know, Steampunk is a bit of a combination between science fiction and Victorian history/costuming - as Ian puts it, the future as imagined in 1900. It gives me an outlet for the historic costuming I once did through the SCA and other venues, but also allows a lot more creativity and imagination for modifications and such. Thus - the clockwork duck, duckie for the rubber ducks and clockwork for Steampunk.
In any case, feel free to poke your head in and say hello! I'm not sure if I will update this on a more regular basis, or just dust it off like a leather-bound journal when I travel to somewhere interesting and away from home. In either case - this week, I head off to Istanbul (not Constantinople) and then Madrid! So bon voyage, and I'll write more once I arrive and settle in across the Pond.
Cheers,
- Jenn
The Clockwork Duck comes from a couple favorite hobbies of mine. As most folks know, I do love rubber ducks - I've been collecting them off and on for the last decade or so, but pretty much every incarnation or spelling of duck (in both English and the French "canard") were already taken as blog titles. Thus, enter my other, more recent hobby - Steampunk. For those who don't know, Steampunk is a bit of a combination between science fiction and Victorian history/costuming - as Ian puts it, the future as imagined in 1900. It gives me an outlet for the historic costuming I once did through the SCA and other venues, but also allows a lot more creativity and imagination for modifications and such. Thus - the clockwork duck, duckie for the rubber ducks and clockwork for Steampunk.
In any case, feel free to poke your head in and say hello! I'm not sure if I will update this on a more regular basis, or just dust it off like a leather-bound journal when I travel to somewhere interesting and away from home. In either case - this week, I head off to Istanbul (not Constantinople) and then Madrid! So bon voyage, and I'll write more once I arrive and settle in across the Pond.
Cheers,
- Jenn
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