Saved Seeds...

I am an amateur seed saver. I think it was hearing about Monsanto and the terminator gene that got me all fired up...plus spending money every spring on seeds at the garden center.

Anyway, the thing about saving seeds is that there are a crap ton of seed in...oh say, a tomato. So while I might want to grow 6 or 7 black plum tomato plants in my garden, I definitely don't want to grow 200. And seeds have a shelf life....plus I'll be getting more this fall when I do the seed saving thing again.

So...if you are a gardener type, and you want some seeds send me an email and let me know your address, and what kinds of seeds you would like. I can't guarantee the varietal, or the viability of these, so plant at your own risk.

I have:

Tomatoes: These first ones are getting a little old, and they were from tomatoes that I purchased at a farmer's market. They're heirloom varieties, but I don't know exactly which ones. I also have relatively few of these so it might be first come first serve.

Orange: this is a medium sized tomato that's bright orange when ripe.
Yellow: same as above except canary yellow.
Purple: I think this is a smallish tomato and I think it's more like purple streaked.
Pink/Yellow: This was a great sandwich tomato, large and ruffled and very tasty. I suspect it of being a variety known as German Pink.
Green Zebra: Smallish sweet, has green stripes with yellowish green flesh when ripe.

I also have some Green Zebra seeds from last year. I'll probably mix them together for distribution purposes.

Also from last year I have some

Brandywine Tomato: Large, ruffled and sweet.
Black Plum: Just slightly larger than a "cherry" variety, very nice for salads, frustrating for sauces since they're so small.
and a tomato that I'm calling the
"Volunteer Plum" since it was growing in a community garden space that I took over last year. This may be a good old Roma, but it was a very productive, good sized plum tomato.

And in the non-tomato category there is

Sugar Baby Watermelon, this was from the CSA, but it's an heirloom so it should breed true. Small green skinned, pink fleshed watermelon.
Acorn Squash
Butternut Squash
and Calundula which is a daisy like flower, edible and medicinal, an annual but it reseeds itself like mad so plant somewhere that it won't matter if it spreads a bit.

So let me know if you want any and I'll try to get them in the mail by the end of next week.

jessyhenderson(atsign)gmail(dot)com

Ragnar...domesticated and shit

Knit it...

I seem to have been avoiding the old blog lately. Fairly often I think "maybe I'll blog" and sometimes even sit down at the computer before thinking "ho, hum, but what would I say?" I think it's called "the first trimester," it's when everything seems harder than it should and you really just want to stay in bed for...six...more hours.

I do have a bit of homework to do. I want to introduce you all to the "knit it forward" ladies: yberry (who hasn't done her cut and paste post yet, naughty naughty Ms. Berry), Sarah (who went to high school with me...that should be interesting), Obsidian Kitten (who used to live here in Michigan, but ditched us for a fancy life in the big apple...we forgive her), NancyAnne (my BOSS), and Andi (quilter, mother and knitter extraordinaire).

For you (lucky? only time will tell) ladies, I have a short questionnaire:

Are you allergic to anything? Food, fiber, anything.

Are you mortally offended by any colors? What about colors you love? Answer carefully, I am bloody minded and evil.

Is there something missing in your life? A potholder maybe, or a nose cozy?

Post your answers in the comments....

Ragnar...just that lazy.

Cutting through the bullshit...

Having a monster toddler has the same effect on your brain as drinking a pint of whiskey with breakfast. You pass through the world in a dreary haze, with occasional moments of manic joy, or anger, and when you climb in to bed at the end of the day you have an impression of what you did, but no very clear recollection. What did I have for breakfast? Did we go to the library?

I find that the prospect of having another wee human to sustain and nurture is a wonderfully focusing prospect. I've also worked out a really great (hopefully) mutually beneficial babysitting scheme with a friend, so I have certain days during the week that I am (almost certainly) guaranteed to have some time when the Toddlerasaurus is attached to someone elses leg, however briefly.

(a brief aside, to demonstrate what I mean about toddler/whiskey brain...I just tried to spell check Toddlerasaurus)

This is the state of my brain at the moment. I have a brief window of time before I am engulfed into the vortex which is newborn. I feel very strongly about not wasting that moment. I spent my last few studio hours gathering up unfinished projects that had hit the interminable puttering stage and (sit down for this) THROWING THEM AWAY, I shit you not. I am also mentally rearranging the to-knit list and moving three or four big projects on to the FROG.IT list. I'm inviting some friends over next weekend for a craft-eat-bitch party and I think my project is going to be frogging about three half knit sweaters. It'll give all the knitting newbs a good scare, don't you think?

Ragnar...productivity is the new black.

Questions I knew the answer to, but asked anyway because I'm just masochistic like that. Part 2 of 22

Me, to the Manimal, approximately a week and a half ago:

"Man, I haven't had heartburn since I was pregnant. Come to think of it, smells have really been getting to me, and my nipples hurt, and my back hurts, and I'm always thirsty. Do you think I could be pregnant?"

Ragnar....knocked up yo.