Progress on All Fronts

Just look at my garden growing! I achieved a whole new level of awesomeness with the balcony garden this week, cuz I've now got something growing in *every single one* of those pots!

As the weeks go on, I am starting to see some real changes. And it's become a little clearer who the potential winners and, well, losers of summer 2009 might be out there. I've been doing a lot more reading and have found that potting soil actually may not be the best thing for container gardening, since it tends to get really compacted and holds a lot of moisture, which I'm seeing for myself. So those potting soil pots (the newer ones) don't seem to be growing as fast. At this point, I'm a little concerned about the chives since they seem so thin and fragile - but maybe that will just take time. And the one small pot in which I goofed, planting a new set of seeds on top of perennial chives from last year? Those chives look terrible, though the new herb (parsley, I think?) is doing well.

But the little kits that came with a different kind of mix for soil (or weirdo sponges) are just going gangbusters. Check this out -- over the last week, I've really started to see some differentiation in the new leaves that are growing, and the plant varieties are really starting to look like themselves. See the marigolds there on the top? Flowers really can't be all that far behind, can they?

And look at the cilantro. Those new leaves are starting to be very recognizable as cilantro itself, like the kind you'd buy in the store. I'm hoping that in another week or so I can start pulling those new leaves to use them. All the reading I've done says that once you start harvesting these herbs, they just start coming back stronger for the rest of the season.

And.... ta-dah!!! The great success of the week -- against my own cynicism on the matter, a tiny little strawberry plant has started to emerge! I was so happy when that peeked through the surface earlier this week!

So, for the most part, things are going very well out there. I'm really debating on whether I should transplant the little Chia herb guys into bigger pots with actual dirt (though they'd stay on the sponge, just now surrounded by dirt) and on whether I should start using plant food. Plant food, by the way, is not so easy to find - my CVS is all out and the grocery store's a bust. I may have to make it to an actual garden store soon, perhaps to buy more pots too.

Won't Back Down

Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hit By a Farm

Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn by Catherine Friend

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's the light, funny, and sometimes poignant story of the author and her partner buying a farm and learning how to manage a flock of sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, and the small vineyard they're attempting to grow in Minnesota.

The book is fun on its own, but reading it was an intensely personal experience for me. Why? Because I grew up on a small farm in Upstate NY, where we had a flock of sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, and a very small collection of grape vines and fruit trees. The author's stories of lambing in the spring, of helping the animals suffer through freezing-cold winters, of the crazy pace of something always going on - and usually going wrong - all sounded so familiar. I chuckled many times, and even teared up at a few points, remembering so many similar stories from our farm.

But what was most interesting to me was the emotional journey the author faced, as creating the farm was really her partner's dream and she dealt with the challenges of being completely consumed (and sometimes subsumed) by helping bring that other person's dream to life. That rang very true, as well, since our farm had always been my Dad's lifelong dream, not my Mom's, but my Mom was very supportive and ended up doing yeoman's work in keeping it running for 20 years. They used to say that the farm was my Dad's hobby, but my Mom's full-time job, and that was very true for a long time. Reading Catherine Friend's stories, it made me wonder how much my Mom ever resented the lifestyle she fell into, and it gave me a new perspective on why she made some of the choices she made while we were growing up (like going back to school and then back to work when she didn't "need" to).

I'm sending this book to my parents and I hope they'll both read it, though I know they'll each get very different things out of it. I think Dad will laugh at all the crazy memories, like I did, but I expect Mom will enjoy reading about the emotional struggles of a kindred spirit on the farm.


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Pondering a StayCation

Here's the situation in which I find myself...

...I have tons of vacation and comp time to use up, and I probably should use it before things start getting really crazy in August/September at work again. So I'm thinking of taking an actual vacation this summer. But, I really don't want to spend all the money that comes from travel - taxis, hotels, cars, airfare, meals, petsitter, etc.

Which leads me to thinking I might become one of those statistics of people taking a "staycation" this year. Staying home, and just enjoying a week off. I would LOVE to have 9 days in a row to just sleep in, putter on my balcony, try out new recipes, read lots of books, go for long walks, see some movies, visit with friends, and just relax.

Plus, since I already live in one of the best tourist destinations in the country, I would love to check out some of the museums and other great DC locations that I still haven't managed to visit in my almost 7 years here. Maybe even rent a car and head down to Monticello.

So - readers - if you had a whole week off right here in DC (or in your own town wherever it is) what would you do?

Are there any great museum exhibits or must-see things going on in DC this summer?

I've got to start checking the calendar and just planning for a staycation of my very own.

My Green Thumb

I've just got a little green explosion goin' on out on the balcony these days! As of this week, all of the herbs and flowers have sprouted, and I bought a rosemary plant that's taking pretty well. The only thing I'm waiting for now is the result of the strawberry seeds - which take 4 weeks to germinate so I'll wait a little while longer.

The marigolds, on top, are starting to put out more little leaves.. I'm hoping the stems and actual flowers won't be far behind. And there's that crazy pot of cilantro, still going nuts. On the top left you can see that I goofed here - I replanted new seeds (I think parsley?) but didn't realize that the chives I planted in there last year that never took are perennials. So even though they didn't appear last year, they're emerging now - 2 herbs in one pot, by accident.

The little daisies are starting to grow a bit bigger, too, and I hope they'll start expanding and flower in the next few weeks. And that rosemary plant is just so pretty and aromatic. I should start using that soon!

Finally - I can take no credit for all this greenery - but here's a great view of my actual view from the balcony. Here's what I can sit and watch, with the leaves blowing in the breeze and the birds flying around. Peace.

My Summer Project

It's that time of year again -- the tv season is drawing to a close, which means it's time for me to rev up my 5-at-a-time Netflix to tackle another summer-long series rewind. You may recall that last summer I took on the 9-seasons-plus-2-movies X-Files, and loved every minute of it. I've also done it with LOST (a few times), Sports Night, Freaks and Geeks (also a few times), and Alias.

So, my 2009 Summer Rewatch project is.......


rewatching all 7 seasons of the amazing, entertaining, poignant and funny late-90's girl power masterpiece Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Actually, this project was inspired by the recent finale of Joss Whedon's latest project, Dollhouse, which was a bit of a misfire. It made me yearn to revisit his greatest achievement. I was a die-hard Buffy fan the whole time it was on, but it's now been 12 years - TWELVE YEARS - since it premiered, so it feels like a good time to enjoy it all over again. And, yeah, you know I do love the vampires. I'm looking forward to revisiting Sunnydale and the Hellmouth and spend all summer with the Scooby Gang hangin' at the Bronze. And as much as I loved Angel, I can't *wait* to get back to the later seasons, when Spike just rules.

(Image source.)

Right In Front of My Eyes

It's been less than a week since my last update on the progress of my balcony garden, but there are just so many exciting things happening. I love my little planties!

Here we have the marigolds on top, growing away and multiplying daily. Then there are 4 little pots of herbs, and if you look close you can see little sprouts in all of them. This is an amazing comeback from last year, when I was only ever able to grow 2 kinds of herbs (cilantro and basil) that died very quickly. I'm getting better at the watering. I think that's in part because I bought a cute little watering can. :-)

Look at the cilantro! It's gone freakin' crazy this week, from just a tiny little green sprout sticking out to this.

And the weird little Chia sponge pots are starting to actually work - there are sprouts in all 4 of those. Basil, parsley, cilantro, and dill. It's still so strange to me that the seeds just sit on top of the sponge to germinate and then take root, I guess, but it's working.

And here's one of the newer pots - I planted all of the seeds at the top 2 weeks ago, but then there's another 4 pots that I planted just last week. Here, the first of the newbies are starting to make their appearance - daisies! I'm sure they'll grow pretty rapidly. At least they should, that's MiracleGro in there.

I can't wait to see what will happen out there next week!

LOST Speculation

Last night's season finale of LOST, the long-awaited story of "The Incident," was awesome. Just, awesome. I was so riveted I didn't take notes, and I'm gonna have to watch it again to even pick up on all of the different little twists, turns, and great dialogue.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER (Is that enough of a warning?)

I am pretty happy that just a few hours before the show, I called 2 of the major plot twists that I *think* happened:

- I was pretty darn sure that something bad was gonna happen to Juliet. LOST doesn't like to let happy couples be happy couples (ah, let's remember Juliet and James here in happier times), and the more that they showed Sawyer being the one who wanted to work through their problems and Juliet having all those terrible doubts, I thought she was a goner. Is she actually dead? Who knows on this show. But it seems her storyline could end here, and her final act was a bit, um, definitive. Then again, a year ago, I was pretty darn sure Jin was dead, and you can see where that got me.

- Also, I had a strong suspicion that it was gonna turn out that the resurrected John Locke was NOT John Locke. I thought maybe he was an Island manifestation like Christian Shephard or Yemi, maybe Smokey gone corporeal or something. And I *think* what we saw was slightly something different -- his body 'possessed' or reanimated by that spirit of the ancient/original guy that was Jacob's enemy. Is that the same thing we've been seeing all along? Is Jacob the one behind Smokey and the Island ghosts, or is it the other guy? Does this new John Locke have any of the real Locke's memories or is he just completely that other dude in Locke's body? Or not even IN his body, since that was what was in the box. Who knows.... but Terry O'Quinn's been acting the hell out of this storyline.

VINCENT!!! Rose and Bernard were awesome. I forgot how much I really loved Rose's way to cut through all of the other 815er's b.s.

Okay, so here's my thought on one night of bad sleep and cold medicine.

Yes, Juliet triggered the bomb. But, I think that was the "Incident" they've been talking about all along, and I *don't* think it reset the clock and means that none of the last 5 seasons happened. I'm not sure what we'll find a year from now when season 6 premieres, but I don't think we're just going to wind up at LAX and they're all strangers and just go their own way. Many of my reasons are just practical:

- If none of the last 5 seasons happened, that means next year would bring 'em back alive - Charlie, Libby, Ana Lulu, Eko, Boone, Shannon, Nikki and Paolo, Michael - they'd all have to be back. Unless there's some super-secret casting deals going on, I don't see that happening. (Though I had heard spoilers that Claire would be back in season 6.)

- If they're all strangers when they land at LAX, then there's no real story to tell, at least not one I can see right off. They just get off the plane, grab their bags, and go their separate ways. What's the story for a whole other season?

- Most importantly, if the last 5 seasons didn't happen, then there would be NO BEN LINUS. And I just can't imagine a LOST-Verse without that awesome, crazy, sad, pathetic, manipulative genius. (How freakin' good was Michael Emerson last night, by the way?)

So.... I don't think Faraday's reset plans works. I think Jack was wrong (surprise, surprise), even though he did manage to get everyone else to support him. (After an awesome scene between Jack and Sawyer - before the brawl, that was a great alpha dog showdown.)

What does happen? I don't know... maybe it's enough to kick our 1977 and our 2007 people back into the same time period. Remember, Richard said at one point that he "saw them all die," and Richard was not there at the Swan. So they've got to all reconnect somehow, and there's got to be some central conflict that continues to drive the story in Season 6 - which may be that war between the Jacobeans and the Fake-Lockesters. I think the Incident did do something -- but that we're going to end up returning to a LOST World that we already know, one in which the Swan is completed, Radzinsky and Kelvin and Desmond spend years pushing the button, little Harry Potter Ben grows up to lead the Others, and 815 crashes. Whatever happened, happened, right?

Then again, I could be totally wrong.

Plant a Garden, Watch It Grow

The Great Balcony Garden Experiment of 2009 has begun. And this morning, 7 days into it, I saw my first little baby plants shoot up! :-)

Here it is, after watering at about 6:45 am today. I have a mix of 6 different varieties of herbs, marigolds, daisies, and a strawberry plant. I don't get much sun on my rather closed-in balcony, only about an hour a day, so I'm not sure how all of these different varieties will do. But it's sure going to be fun to try to nurture them all to life.

Lookee! The marigolds are starting to grow! I planted the marigolds (in the top pot on the little rack), the other 4 pots of herbs in that rack, and the 4 tiny pots of the Chia Herb Garden last Monday. The Chia Herb Garden was a Christmas gift from my parents, and it's strange - those are sponges, not dirt, in the pots. You are supposed to keep the sponges very wet, and the seeds rest on top until they take. So far, the basil and cilantro seem to be doing okay, but I'm very curious to see if those sponges will work. If not, I've got more potting soil and can start over if need be.

If you look close, you'll see a few little basil sprouts starting to come up. Note, this was before watering this morning - the plants were thirsty!


Here are all my happy plants enjoying their hour in the sun. I hope they keep growing - they make me so proud. :-)

I Am A Cultural Tourist

I just returned from the 5-day American Association of Museums conference in Philadelphia. Good times. My favorite thing about this conference is that the museums of the host city open their doors to attendees, and there are events every night that allow us to explore... so I can now highly recommend the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Independence Hall to anyone who might be heading to the City of Brotherly Love.

This being a conference, of course, I attended a wide variety of educational sessions during the day. Most were about the sorry state of the economy, blah. But one of the best sessions I've ever attended was on the last day - about being a year-round advocate for your museum among elected officials. The panelists shared their personal experiences of visiting the Hill to advocate for their museums with local delegations, and there was a staffer from a Rep's district office sharing the inside story, as well. There was a lot of good practical information about how to weave advocacy into all of an organization's year-round plans, and I think most in the audience thought it was very helpful.

Since I have a very particular point of view on - and a real interest in - this topic, I actually stood up and asked a question for the very first time at a conference. I asked the panelists if they had any advice for those of us who live and work in the great, under-represented District of Columbia. After a few sympathetic sighs and nods, the panelists actually gave some really good advice that I'm going to start using, both to advocate for museums and other causes I support:

1. Don't ignore Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and her office. She can be a strong internal ally for your cause, since she's paying attention to how other members of Congress are voting on issues and she can lobby from the inside. Get her and her staff involved.

2. Even though DC residents don't have voting representation, we need to think creatively about ways in which we ARE constituents of lawmakers in other areas. For example, if I'm a member of a museum in a different state, I can advocate on behalf of that museum (and the field in general) to the lawmaker representing that district. As an alum of universities in 2 different states, and a contributor to both their giving programs, I can write to those lawmakers on issues of higher education. My family lives in Indiana, so I can rope them in too.

3. Just like in "regular" fundraising, you can never say thank you enough. Thank elected officials who voted the way you liked on key issues - again looking for those constituency ties mentioned above.

My own trick for the last few years has also been to write to the leadership of both parties in both Houses. Sometimes I've even gotten a response... even a form letter means someone read and recorded my opinion in a database somewhere.

Thinking about all of this stuff after the session, I thought the most useful "hook" I might have to use in advocating for my field - arts & culture - is that I am an actual cultural tourist.

For those of you outside the field, trust me - that's a major buzzword. One of the biggest arguments cultural institutions make for both public and private funding as that we are economic generators. People who come to museums or go to theaters, etc., spend money on their tickets and buy in the shops, but they also spend money on parking, at restaurants, at hotels, etc. And the major marketing trend of the last decade has been to promote the arts through cultural tourism - literally, reaching out to people in different markets who like to plan their travel to destinations with strong cultural offerings. So institutions in different cities often band together to promote the city as a whole, attracting visitors to come visit and sample the wide variety of cultural destinations and spending their money in many, many ways. We like cultural tourism, and so do elected officials or anyone who cares about bringing new money into their local markets.

Well, my Mom and I take an annual fall trip, have been for about 8 years. We've been to Boston, San Francisco, Santa Fe, New York, DC, Charleston, and soon Louisville, Chicago, and probably Philadelphia again. And we are textbook cultural tourists. We specifically plan to visit a different city each year, and our main goal is to visit the museums, take the historical tours, see the parks and landmarks, go to the theater, and sample the restaurants. Spending money all the way.

So -- my new strategy for advocacy is to write to those lawmakers that represent the cities I've visited as a cultural tourist, offering real feedback on how a vibrant cultural scene makes an impact in their cities. I like it, I like it a lot.