A New Year of Projects

I don't make resolutions. They only set you up for disappointment. I am however constantly trying to make myself a better, happier, more productive person. One step to take towards "happier" for me would be to make more art. I have been so lazy the last few months. Not lazy in the sense that I just lay around doing nothing (I could barely stand to do that when I had the stomach flu last week!)--I just haven't been making time for my art...which prevents me from getting better at it. Practice makes perfect and I will work on it. I have so many good ideas for drawings and paintings but I just get so frustrated when the first drawing doesn't work that I kind of give up on it. My perfectionism will be the end of me. "If I can't do it perfectly right away, why bother?" (which is completely ridiculous! I know!) I don't even think I do anything perfectly which goes along very well with the title of my blog. So this year I'm just going to keep on trying everything and working on everything regardless of who is doing it better than me. In fact, I should seek out people who do things better than me and learn from them. That's what smart people do, isn't it?

Another thing that makes me incredibly happy that I've only discovered in recent years is cooking. Reader, look forward to more posts about my crazy kitchen endeavors (i.e some big cheese-making plans)...crazy because almost everything is new to me. Mom got me my own small pressure-canner for Christmas (which I love!) and I look forward to canning whenever I feel like it.

I don't know, I guess we'll just see what the year holds--hopefully more art, reading, school, a beautiful, well producing garden with a pantryful of canned goods, a triathlon in July and possibly a homemade holiday 2... Whatever comes my way in 2009 I hope we all get through it together in good health.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wake n' Bake

(not my biscotti--pictures forthcoming)

Counting down to Christmas and the only big thing left to do is make all the pasta for our baskets. The other night I experimented (along with some of my ladyfriends) with biscotti-baking and it turned out beautifully! We made cranberry-almond biscotti dipped in 70% dark chocolate...sooooo good (especially in the next morning's coffee). We ended up eating quite a bit of it that night and I've already given away a lot too, so this morning I had to hop out of bed and make up another double batch before heading to work. This time I made vanilla-black walnut biscotti. I have had so much fun making it I might make another batch to freeze for Tony and I.

The Limoncello is absolutely delicious. I've already filled 7 bottles and there's still a ton of it. Here's the recipe, which I more than quadrupled:
Giada De Laurentis' Limoncello
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

(Since I realized that my vodka bottles were liters and not 750s after the fact, I just did 14 lemons to the liter and 31/2 C. Sugar 41/2 C. Water for each of my batches. I get the feeling Limoncello is hard to mess up. You could even cut the sugar it's pretty darn sweet)

Giada De Laurentis' Holiday Biscotti Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.
Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.
The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

(Since I don't like white chocolate much, I used dark chocolate instead and completely skipped the red and green sugar crystals because that's kinda goofy. I think you can tweak this recipe well to your liking, it is superb.)

Well, that's all I got. Have a lot of label-making and pasting to do. Hope you all have a happy holiday. Next post will contain finished baskets...which means a finished project. Just saying...

Let it Snow...I Guess

Back from Vail! We got home around 9 last night so travel was really pretty easy. We left 2 feet of snow and negative temperatures...came home to even more negative temperatures (golly I forgot about this!) and woke up to more snow. We had such a good time (pictures forthcoming once Tony and I find the USB that hooks his camera to my laptop) but it's really nice to be home. I have a lot of preparation yet to do for Christmas (which also happens to be the next day off I get...ugh). Tonight I plan to finish up the Limoncello and I'll bottle it this weekend. Tomorrow night I'll be baking and finishing my Christmas Cards...who knew I'd be so possessed by the Christmas Spirit? What's next, liking Christmas music!? ...cough...

Wanted to take the Compass test next Monday, but SCC's out so I'll have to jam it in the first week of January and register for classes right away. Oh the hoops they make you jump through! Crossing my fingers that they'll be able to get me into the math class I need.

And finally, after five days of no swimming, biking, running I'm feeling pretty achey (weird that that's what happens when you don't do it) and I'm really anxious to get back in the pool tonight after work. Last week after a half hour of 100 yd sets, I swam 500 breaststroke nonstop. Felt really good and I still had plenty of energy after my hour was up...thinking maybe just maybe in 6 months, Triathlon will be possible.

That's all,
Hannah

Taste-Test

So, we bottled the vodka yesterday morning--after tasting of course. I thought all of the vodkas tasted pretty nice. The winners were easily the Bloody Mary mix and the Vanilla -nut. an honorable mention goes to Caramel-Apple for being a drink in itself. Citrus is very nice and within the proper drink parameters the pomegranate-basil is very good too (it just tastes so strongly of basil I'm not sure what to do with it--pineapple juice?). Hot Chocolate (nutella with only 1 dried chile which Tony later informs us was a habenero!) is just...so hot. The first taste you get is definately very chocolaty, but then you're slapped in the face/mouth with some serious heat. Katie and I were thinking if you put in in a hot cocoa with a little cream or like, a white russian, maybe the lactose would cool the pepper. Not something I, of the delicate stomach (when it comes to dairy), could put to the test. Sterilizing the Grolsch bottles was a chore. Put an itty bitty bit of bleach in the canning pot, and boiled them for several minutes. Than filled them with the nectar, THEN I had to soak the bottles in hot water for a long time to get the labels off. It all came together though and I'm excited about the finished product.


Thursday morning we are leaving for Vail, Colorado for a nice 5 day vacation with friends. No skiing (no health insurance) but it sounds like Scoie (my friend we're visiting) has some good ideas. Though, she has plans to take Matel and I to a bikram yoga...otherwise known as "hot yoga" similar to hanging out in a sauna, but doing yoga in it. Sounds like something I'd faint doing. We'll see, I'm kind of interested.
Anyway, I chose Devil in the White City to read this week (I think I'll even have some time this weekend in Vail), still have a little to go in Neverwhere which is really really fun to read.

And, tomorrow morning I'm swimming laps, possibly Wednesday morning too. I'm really enjoying it and already see some improvement, so I'm going to keep on with it. Maybe there's a YMCA in Vail I can go swim at some morning. Probably wouldn't get to it even if I wanted to. Anyway, hope to post again before leaving, but maybe not.

Swimming Update

So, my solo swimming session went very well. I was even mistaken by a fellow swimmer for...a fellow swimmer. That, or he was hitting on me. I don't know. What I do know is that so far I swim 2 laps, then kick board across to get my breath back, then swim another 2 laps and so on and so forth. Tuesday I went for nearly an hour. The routine works for now while I'm still getting comfortable with all of it, but at some point in the near future I'll need to develop some sort of training schedule for all of this triathlon bidness.

Presently it's coffee-time at my house. I had planned on getting up this morning and going for a swim,but after spinning twice this week and the fact that today is a 12-hour workday I thought it'd be okay to forgo the chilly walk downtown to the Y and the pre-work shower I hate. Depending on how late I'm stuck working at the bar, I want to get into a morning swim routine. That would require um, ah...oh! Discipline. Working on it.

Almost finished this week's book...not a very impressive one. A reissued 3rd book in a mystery series by Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Christmas . I'm doing double-duty this week and finishing Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere too. I had tried reading Alice Sebold's (author of The Lovely Bones ) new novel Almost Moon but it sucked too much and after reading 100 pages (a fairer assessment than I'd give most authors) and conferring with Gunter I gave up. So that's why I'm so behind in my book a week adventure. I bought a big ol' pile of books at the thrift store and haven't decided on next week's book yet.

Until next time,
Hannah

Fasten your Swim Caps...Hannah's Learning to Swim!

Not that I'd ever drown--I could always pass for a decent swimmer, I just lack form and proper breathing techniques. That's where my good friend Matel came in. We spent a couple hours last week going over those things and once I understood what it was good swimmers were doing in the pool I felt much more confident that I could do it as well. In fact, the biggest help was merely a pair of goggles. The next day we went to Scheels so I could buy my very own googles and swim cap (which I'm still not sure how to put on...). I spent like, $20 on the goggles because they promise to keep my eyes dry--important since I wear contacts. Both the goggles and the swim cap are TYR. I don't know jack about swimming brands (though my swimsuit is one I've heard of: Speedo--thanks Beca btw) so hopefully the saleslady--they are so nice at Scheels--wasn't feeding me a line when she said TYR was really great. They let you try on the goggles and her tip was, if they stick dry and hold to at least one eye they will work really well for you. Very interesting.

So, since I have these grand plans to participate in the Cornhusker State Games' Women's Triathalon, I figured I'd have to learn to swim correctly. Roughly, it's bike 13 miles, run 3 and swim a 1/2 mile. I'm already comfortable enough to do the biking and running but the swimming portion is definately daunting to me. After figuring out the math (via online calculators) I'll have to be able to swim 33 laps in the pool at my YMCA and still have tons of energy left over for biking and running. It's more than 6 months away (July), so I can do it provided I stay injury-free (hard for me).

Anyway, tonight is my first sojourn into solo lap-swimming. No matter how in-shape I may be (and I like to think I'm pretty in-shape...the wii fit thinks so too), swimming is incredibly hard. I was out of breath pretty quickly. Perhaps though, that is also just my brain feeling over-worked (thinking about stroke, breath and pace all at the same time is exhausting). We'll see how it goes and I'll definately report on it.

As for my vodkas and limoncellos...they are chillin' out in the basement. Anna and I snuck down there to sample them the other night and the "hot chocolate" made me cough uncontrollably so... hm. We'll see.

Til' next time,

Hannah

Everybody in the Kitchen Gettin' Tipsy

I am blogging on location at the Zoo Bar! I had thought the wireless connection in our apartment didn't work anymore, and at first it didn't work here at the Zoo but reading the fine print it said "is your wireless switch on?" Wireless switch? What? So I fumble around looking for switches and lo and behold, there is one! I switched it on and now I'm thinking it'll work at home...I feel pretty dumb but I never messed with that switch so I have no idea how it got switched off in the first place.

Sorry, that has nothing to do with my blog but maybe now (provided it works at home) you'll be getting more frequent posts! Anyhow, on with the blog...

Today Katie (aforementioned queen of gift-giving) came over to my apartment and we infused some vodkas. At first I had all these specific vodka flavor ideas but I couldn't find a lot of the ingredients so I didn't really buy anything specific, but I think we had a lot more fun just making up random flavors from what Katie brought and what Tony and I already had in the kitchen. We thought up most of the flavors on the fly, but I'm thinking they're going to be really great since we had to get creative.


The flavors we made this morning:
1. Basil-Pomegranate - Cutting into the pomegranate was a good time because it makes a big red mess, and since I have a giant basil plant we figured we should take advantage of it.

2. Vanilla-nut - Macadamia nuts and vanilla beans (we were thinking creme brulee?)
3. Caramel-Apple-Cinnamon- Katie had the idea to use the caramel candy corns which are very delicious. You just throw those in with some apple wedges (we used pink ladies).
4. Bloody Mary Mix- Jalapenos, garlic, horseradish, red pepper
5. Citrus-Dill - grapefruit, lemon and dill (very experimental)
6. "Hot Chocolate" - here's where we got really weird...nutella and a dried chili pepper (Tony's dad home grew and dried lots of peppers)

So, in two weeks we'll taste them, strain them and bottle them.

In addition we made some infused vinegars to try out (as in tasting and developing some recipes) for future gifts
-lemon-rosemary
-lemon-dill
-lemon-oregano
-basil

we used white vinegar and will probably experiment with some different types with different herbs in the future. It seems like something that maybe goes better with meats but we'll see if I can think up a few vegetarian options other than salad dressing.

It's getting to the point where I have customers to serve so I'd better get to it.
Thanks for reading, if I can update at home I'll post about my limoncello tonight.

Later,
Hannah
-basil

Hannah's (mostly) Homemade Holiday Spectacular

Readers, I'm really sorry I haven't posted in quite some time. Without an internet connection at home it is hard to feel inspired/motivated to blog only on Tuesdays at work--where there is an internet connection but also there is work--so forgive me as I will try to write more often.

Also, I didn't really feel like I had any projects to report on since gardening-time is over for the year. Mom saved some seeds though and we have plans for a big fat garden in her backyard and will take a week off in the spring to get it rolling. In addition, I have registered for a non-credit class at SCC called "organic gardening."

Speaking of school, and actual credit classes, I am taking the COMPASS test in December which will determine which math class I will be admitted to (auuuuuggggghhhh). I will take said class and go from there as far as my schooling is concerned.

That all said, let me tell you all about my newest project! *CHRISTMAS SPOILER ALERT*

Initially I had wanted to do this last year but thought of it much too late in the game. I wanted to try to make nearly all of my Christmas presents for family and friends. Inspired by Tony's sister Katie (queen of awesome homemade xmas gifts) who made Joe (Tony's brother) a bottle of caramel-apple infused vodka for a birthday present, I decided to make some of my own infused spirits for my friends. The hardest part has been finding bottles--lots of them--to give the libations away in. So Tony's been doing his part and drinking plenty of Grolsch beer because I just love the bottles with their nice re-sealing lids. When I told my friend Zach(who bartends at O'Rourkes) that that is why Tony's been drinking them so much he says, "oh, we have a whole box of em' in the basement! You want them?" Yes. So now I've got about 30 bottles (which isn't really even enough yet, so poor poor Tony has to take a few more for the team (I dont' particularly care for Grolsch myself).

It's not that I need that many bottles for infused vodka alone...I'm also making Limoncello which Wikipedia defines as: Limoncello [limon'tʃɛlːo] is a lemon liqueur produced in Southern Italy, mainly in the region around the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi and islands of Procida, Ischia and Capri, but also in Sicily, Sardinia, Menton in France and the Maltese island of Gozo. It is made from lemon rinds (traditionally from the Sorrento lemon, though most lemons will produce satisfactory limoncello), alcohol, water, and sugar. It is bright yellow in color, sweet and lemony, but not sour since it contains no lemon juice. Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after dinner digestivo.

I have a really delicious recipe I've quadrupled which means tonight I'll be peeling 40 lemons, putting the rinds in big glass jars to marinate in vodka (currently we have a case of vodka sitting in our living room) for 4 days, then making a simple syrup of sorts to add and let it all sit for a month or so. The limoncello is going to go in a basket with some homemade veggie spaghetti sauce mom and I canned last Sunday, some homemade pasta Tony and I will make in a few weeks and some biscotti I'm baking soon. It's a big project for sure, but I've set some deadlines for myself and it seems to be coming together well.

The only other projects in the works are pie-baking with Beca for Thanksgiving (I've never made a piecrust), and my winter-self-enrichment project (haha) where I'll be reading a book a week (don't judge my choices gentle reader) and doing a drawing a day. All of which I will really try to post weekly at least.

Okay, this is really getting too long and probably boring so, let me know what you think and if you have a delicious biscottti recipe (or any tips seeing as how I've never made it) I am still trying to decide on one.

Til' next time,

Hannah

Super Happy Color Time! Wow!

At press time, most of the apartment-painting is finished. It's taken the better part of a week and we've had lots of boxes and things to climb over and around while we did it, but thank goodness it's time to start putting life in order. Thank you to all the friends and family members that have helped and will continue to help. We owe you more beer and pizza. Wednesday night we had the painting help of the three Platte sisters: Lily, Rose and Lovena . Three of the most funny and irreverent people I know. Who knew painting could actually be a good time?

Lily Platte brandishing a guacamole roller.

I got it all over myself.

Lovena

Rose doing some champion edging

final touches on the kitchen walls

Roller girl!

Today Dad's helping me get the last of my stuff from the old apartment, and tomorrow I *actually* have the day off and my pal Susie is going to help me clean. Woohoo. I. never. want. to. move. again.

With this week being so wacky I haven't had a chance to go check on the garden, but I did see last Friday that the bell peppers are finally appearing. Though, since then the weather's been very very mild and I worry that it won't get hot enough to coax them into growing bigger. We'll see Thursday when I go check on them. Also, I'm worried that I haven't had enough studying hours to take the ACT/COMPASS test on the 3rd like I planned. I'm thinking about just seeing how I do, but I know that if you retake it it's $15 and...well, I'm cheap. So I might add another 2 weeks. We'll see, I'm very stressed about it all right now and it's not making me think clearly.

Til next time,

Hannah

Tale of the Swatch-Happy Kid

Last night my friends Matel and Robert were nice enough to help me move a bunch of bulky kitchen items (rack, shelves,appliances) over to Tony's to lessen the load later this month. (I'll have you know packing is going really well, can't believe how much stuff I'm getting rid of!) Afterwards the three of us went to Menards (poor T is still on crutches and couldn't really go) to get some paint for the apartment.

It was actually pretty inexpensive thanks to a sale they were having. $14.99 per gallon of semi-gloss. I'd been hemming and hawing over colors for weeks and still wasn't very excited about the ones I'd chosen so Matel and I went through swatches to pick better colors while Robert looked at manlier things.
Top left swatch= "blueberry morning" chosen to be the color for the bedroom and guestroom
Top right swatch="coral bay" will be the living-room color
Bottom left swatch="moose antler" which will be the drawing studio, bathroom and hallway
Bottom right swatch="guacamole" the soon to be color of the kitchen

Am thinking about a job naming color swatches...

I'm sorry this is a pretty uninteresting post, but it's mostly for mom's benefit so she can assure her friend Tim (my landlord) that I am not turning his beige world into "Crazy-Hannah's Magic Candyland" which is pretty much what he's worried about.

Raise your hand if you want to paint! Woo! Hoping to do this before moving in my furniture.

That's all for now.

Moving Project

So, I'm moving into Tony's apartment Sept.1 (which is quickly approaching!), and I think it's okay to post under the premise that this is a project I'm starting. I have only moved one time in my life thus far. From Mom and Dad's to the apartment I've lived in for the past 5 years--the apartment I have love love loved for so long now. You might be asking, "why are you moving out of your beautiful, well-located, cheaply rented apartment Hannah?" Other than the obvious: need for more space (Tony's workshop and dog my huge assorment of stuff/clothes). I can give you 2 reasons I have come up with in the last 18 hours. Indulge me and let me tell you about the night I had last night.

I bartended last night until about 1:30 this morning, got home a little after that. I was reading to fall asleep--suceeded. Around 4:00am I was woken up by a tapping on my window screen. Tap tap tap. I tried to scoot against the far wall and turn off the light (can't believe I fell asleep with it on). Tap tap tap.
"Ma'am?"
I froze.
"Ma'am? Can you see me?" The voice was right outside my window. I about crapped my pants.
"Ma'am??"
"WHAT?" I growled.
"Ma'am, I know you're there, I was just wondering if you wanted some company."
"I HAVE COMPANY, GO AWAY!"
I turned off the light and lay awake for the next 45 minutes horrified and afraid to move because actually, I was home alone.

I wish I could say I slept in-I had set my alarm for 10:30 (much later than I usually sleep anyway), but instead I woke up before 9am to the sounds of a domestic squabble (from a usually quiet couple) across the courtyard. Doors slamming "f**k you, f**ker! Don't come back!" Blah blah blah. So I got dressed, grabbed my mathbooks (studying everyday I'll have you know) and went to the Meadowlark coffee house for a latte and slice of quiche.

There you have it. Two reasons to move out of my neighborhood before breakfast. I've been enjoying packing because I can get rid of a huge amount of stuff at the same time. Simplify is the word. I'm also excited to paint Tony's apartment and see if we can make it a colorful, uncluttered, happy living space. I will continue to update you on the progress we make, and look out for an invite to our house-warming. I'll talk about the garden in a couple days once I've seen where it's at. (Bell peppers are still a no-show! Can you believe it? How rude.)

Hannah

Everything's Growing Well

HOUSTON, WE HAVE TOMATOES! I can't believe it, but after picking off all the tomatoes with blossom-end-rot, things started to grow sans buttspot. I can barely relate my joy in words. Picture me doing a little dance around the yard because that is what I did.

Pictured above are a few ripe Green Zebras, and ohmygod let me tell you, they taste incredible. Justin Jones, if you are reading this ever, you are a liar. Green Zebras taste just like any other absolutely delicious garden tomato. Also, I think they are prettier and have the benefits of being organic heirlooms. Not to say that my red tomatoes aren't just as delicious. they are slightly thicker-skinned and are growing pretty nicely now.
We also have squash now. One day we didn't, the next...bingo. I haven't checked in a day and a half so I bet these suckers are even bigger now. I was just told yesterday that squash blossoms make for some good eatin' and that I ought look up some recipes online for them. Only like, 4 minutes later as I was reading in Plenty-Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet the authors gave a recipe for Squash Blossom Soup that sounded pretty good. They said they're good dipped in egg batter and fried as well (but what isn't good fried?). This all happened while I was working the door shift yesterday at the Zoo Bar FAC (Friday Afternoon Club 5-7pm) and it seemed everyone had some input. Willie said I could pull the blossoms off once there was any sign of squash and it'd still grow just fine. Dianne and Sherri were skeptical. So, perhaps if there are still any blossoms when I go garden tomorrow I shall gather them and give them a try.

Squash Fower Soup

(Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon--authors of Plenty

1 TBSP Butter
1 Onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 Squash Flowers
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Hot Chilies, ground
5 Cups Seasonal Vegetable Stock
1 Egg, beaten

Chop squash flowers, including any attached stems. Melt butter in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and turning golden. Add garlic and flowers and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in salt and chilies. Add soup stock and bring to a low boil. Slowly pour in beaten egg. Remove from heat and cover until egg is cooked. A recipe from Mexico City to the world.

I am thinking I'm going to give it a try provided I have the neccessary squash blossoms. Will report back on whether or not squash grow once you pluck the flower. And, nothing to report on bell peppers...yet. They are (and have been) flowering, but little more.

Another note of note, I had a good haul from the farmers market today and am making a lovely salad for lunch...and dinner...and possibly lunch and dinner again tomorrow. It is nearly all local (my favorite salad dressing is Annie's Sesame Shitake not from hereabouts). Bell peppers and salad mix from Shadowbrook farms (near Denton), red onion from a lady that lives right outside Lincoln, eggs (hardboiled) from near Lincoln too, Tomatoes I grew, and cucumber from a friend's garden. Very exciting and incredibly good.

That's all I got for today. Tomorrow morning I am weeding...which is unexciting and sweaty. And then I am studying math for my ACT retesting (which is infuriating and I don't want to talk about it.)

Take care everyone,
Hannah

Blossom.End.Rot

Between the Thespian Festival in June and the Zoo Bar 35th anniversary Festival I have become a terrible blogger. With no festivals or trips in sight I promise to be a better blogger and a better gardener.

Now, onto a matter of extreme importance, I have a problem...or rather, my tomatoes have a problem. I believe the term is "blossom end rot" and above is what it looks like. I think the soil has too much nitrate from a layer of pigeon poop layed down last year. The plant's leaves are yellow-brownish and all the fruits have this funky brown circle on their booty.

There are still some fruits without the brown spot on the celebrity and I think maybe it can be saved if I can figure out the right thing to add to the soil. It might not even be the nitrates at all because my bell pepper plant still looks good and my squash are blossoming nicely:

Now, I can also happily report on the status of my Green Zebra heirloom plant. It's growing large and covered in little stripey mini-watermelon-like (in appearance) tomatoes. I did notice that one had the spot on the bottom, but that could just be because it fruited early. I planted the Zebra in Matel's perennial bed which she informed me she never covered with pigeon poop...so really, it only goes to say...nitrates be damned--unless the soil is lacking them, do not add them. A Ph test is a good way to tell and I plan on getting over there tomorrow morning to do the neccessary leg work.

I really hope that my friend Justin (who orginally told me Green Zebras taste awful) is wrong because it's very possible that these little mutants are the only tomatoes I'll be eating from my garden this year.

On a different note (and oh man, forgive me if I sound preachy--it's unintentional), in the time since I last blogged I've spent a lot of time reading Barbara Kingsolvers Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - A Year of Food Life about her family's efforts to eat only locally produced (in almost all cases, on their small-very small farm in southern appalachia) food. It is a well-written, always interesting, funny take on farm life. I liked it so much and am so moved that I've decided I'm educated enough to eat meat now. My views have evolved so much over 13 years of vegetarianism I never would have thought I'd want to. That's not to say I'll start ordering steaks or getting the pepperoni pizza or anything like that. I plan on only eating "pasture-finished" meat (which probably won't include red meat anytime soon anyway--I don't think my enzymes could handle it). "Pasture-finished" is the difference between an animal that ranged freely it's entire life and subsisted on a diet of mostly grass and an animal that was raised on a CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation). I guess it just comes down to me having a better understanding of where food comes from and really learning to respect that cycle not curse it.

"When you kill a beast, say to him in your heart:
By the same power that slays you, I too am slain, and I too shall be consumed.
For the law that delivers you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.'"
-Kahlil Gibran

It's just where I'm at right now. The book is really full of great gardening advice too (though nothing about blossom end rot!) and any gardener would enjoy it. I started reading another book on the subject, Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope- A Guide to Mindful Eating which is already proving to be another well-written little trove of knowledge.

Okay, until next time.

Tomayto Tomahto

You know, a lot of people have gotten spooked by this tomato recall and I can't help but think about it in terms of what happens to this fruit while it travels some 2,000 miles or more that it mingles with feces and becomess dangerous to eat? Why are we willing to risk our health to have certain foods year round?

When put this way I really need to take better care of my tomatoes, but time has been a real crunch the last 2 weeks and I haven't even gone to check on them after the rounds of severe weather. Tony assured me that the storms would only make my tomatoes stronger, but I still worry about them. Matel has more than once told me I need to come over, weed, and get my cages up to protect them, which makes me feel like a negligent mother the tomato social services are keeping their eyes on. Also, apparently my green zebra is fruiting! I'm going over tomorrow morning to take care of all my babies--I won't have them taken away! Hopefully Dad is up for bringing the cages...haven't heard back. Oh! The herb garden I've got on my front porch is rocking! The Dill is huge and I've been tossing some basil leaves into my salads! How nice! I think I'm going to have to transplant the basil and the dill--they don't seem to want to share space with the rosemary and chives (neither of which I know what to do with...so if anyone has recipes or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!).

On the tennis front, not a lot is happening as of late. A few weeks ago Dave informed us that the summer schedule will begin and he wasn't sure when we'd be able to have class. This has really been bumming me out and I'm going to call him today and try to get some weeknight worked out for everyone. Lately my weeks have been incredibly active even without tennis...Sundays and Mondays I spin, Tuesdays are ultimate frisbee, Wednesdays and Thursdays I run... I think it'd be nice to get tennis back in there somewhere to keep it fun. I've been trying to enlist friends to practice tennis with me so I don't lose any skills I may have acquired (doubt doubt)and tonight I was going to play doubles with pals Isaiah, his twin Drew and Melody...but Melody canceled this morning and now I don't have a partner. BLAST! So if you read this today and want to be my partner, call me.

It's hard to blog when there's nothing to blog about, but that keeps me in the projects...I find myself setting up games or reading books so that I can write something. Finishing up Animal, Vegetable, Miracle --so good. I think I'm going to order a copy of The 100-mile-diet that Lily suggested. All this reading about local eating makes me feel slightly guilty when I don't. It's just so hard in the midwest. Again though, risking health, taste and jobs is a really high cost I'm not sure I'm willing to pay.

Always hoping it's interesting and informative on some level,
Hannah

Busybee

This has been a nutty week. I've been working much more than I'd like to (not actually true I guess since I signed up for the bar-tending shifts voluntarily) and haven't had much time for the internet, which my inbox is reflecting.

I did, however, get a chance to garden. Last weekend mom helped me plant some tomatoes, basil, bell peppers, and squash in Matel's garden. I planted 4 different types of tomatoes: Better Boy, Jet Star, Celebrity and an heirloom Green Zebra just for giggles. I would have liked to plant a better heirloom than that to show mom that they aren't "disgusting." I have been told by lots of people (now that it's in the ground) that the Green Zebra tastes awful but looks cool. Great. I wanted to plant all heirlooms since I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (about her family's efforts to eat completely local for 1 year--the book is really really good so far). She goes into great detail about Monsanto ("Monsatan") and the seed companies which are pushing many breeds of plants into extinction. Mom just wants some damn tomatoes this year and I understand. Next year though...next year I'm doing heirlooms from seeds since I have a couple friends willing to save me a few from their crops.

Another project I'm undertaking this summer is learning to can. Mom is a pro at it and was nice enough to promise some lessons. Tony (my boyfriend) is also interested so that'll be good. A couple that cans together...eats canned food together every winter... ahem. hm.

This weekend I'm headed to Boulder, Colorado with some friends from work and I'm running the Bolder Boulder 10k on Monday. I'm absolutely not running for time- just fun, but wish me luck! I'll get some good pictures up next week!

Happy Holiday!

"You're getting a lot better at not sucking so much!" -Rachel Black

Sorry it's been a little while since I last posted. What I thought was seasonal allergies has actually turned out to be some mutant strain of the cold virus that I absolutely cannot shake. I haven't been able to do much but work all week (and even then, it's been rough goin's).

Our lesson last week was really fun. Matel couldn't rouse herself in time, but my good friend Lily came along. She is something of a natural at pretty much everything so it didn't take long before she was swinging at the same level or better than me. However, Dave reaffirmed my belief that I finally understand serving. He said I was "on fire." Yes! Something!

(Lily above)

(Ace!)

Halfway through the lesson, Dave called over this young lady, Dominique (probably 10 years old...maybe 12) to hit some balls with us. She was incredibly good, and fast. She was very focused on her form and I actually learned a little something watching her. Says I to Dominique,
"Wow, you're really great!" She shrugs. "No really, how long have you been playing Dominique?"
"Um...since December I think." She never takes her eyes off the balls Dave is continuously hitting at us. No time for small talk for this girl.
I later remark to Dave about Dominique's skill and he replies, "oh, she's been playing a long time." "ACTUALLY DAVE, no. Since December." "Oh, well yeah she's good."

Our friend Rachel Black showed up about the same time the prodigy started playing with us. She came to heckle and take pictures (and to hit on Dave who happened to be the assistant coach at LHS when Rachel played tennis there). This coming Saturday after our lesson she's going to come hit some balls with us at the UNL courts.

Again, most of the pictures turned out slightly blurry...but the tall guy to the right is Dave. One thing I really liked about last week's lesson was that he got us running for balls. That was really fun and helped us to see where different hits come into play. Maybe this week he'll have us hitting to each other? That'd be neat.

On the gardening front, I haven't done much. The weather has been less than inspiring on the weekends. Nice and warm in the middle of the week, rainy and cold on the weekends. Ridiculous and rude of mother nature to say the least. Next week we're going to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for a friend's wedding and hopefully by the time we get back the warmth will be here to stay and I can start planting. I know I should have started the lettuces already, but like I said...less than inspired. I'm going to scan my garden plans in sometime this week so you can all see what's going to be growing on this summer and make a few dibs on some of nature's (hopeful) bounty.

Til next time,
H

Sometimes things don't go as planned

I think it's important to realize that just because you planned something doesn't mean it's going to happen...and if it doesn't happen, you can't just give up on it ever happening. I didn't run last night. Tennis practice came first and we ended around the same time the sun was going down and I don't neccessarily feel comfortable running around my neighborhood in the dark (with good reason).

So, I went to bed early in hopes of getting up around 7 this morning and running then. (HAAAaa, good one). I absolutely can't seem to run when I'm cold but now that it's getting warmer in the mornings, it could be a possibility that I'd get up and run. I wouldn't be worrying about running the 10k if it were here in Lincoln, but since it's up in the mountains I'm a little wary. At any rate, I'm in good shape and I guess I'll just have to squeeze the runs in when I can and not worry about my time. (not that I really do)

Last night's tennis practice was fun. We brought along our friend Kari (above) and Matel (below) had bought another bag of balls this time so we wouldn't have to run around picking up the 6 we had before. Matel thought she ought to show Kari some form

Always step into your forehand with your left foot (unless, of course you're left-handed...or maybe not...maybe you still have to play like you're right-handed? Our instructor Dave does, but he's also a pimp so...*shrug*)

There are so many small things to think about when you're working on your form. Keeping your wrists firm, not scooping or swinging at the ball but rather, moving your feet to get to the ball and follow-through on all hits. Follow-through is hard to remember when you're mid-play but it is very important for control and aim.

All of these things were floating around my head the whole time but I could really only grab one idea at a time to put into practice. Of course, I'm sure that once you get better this all comes very naturally. Already I can differentiate between a good hit and a not so good one, but making them all feel like good hits is tricky. Last night I made some progress in my serve. It's all about where you toss it and waiting for the right moment to swing forward and hit it just so. I think I know where this spot is and I can't wait to practice serving more.

That's where I'm at in the game. We took a lot of photos last night but they were pretty blurry. This was my best action shot, though I'm pretty sure it's bad form to approach a forehand holding the racket with both hands...

My balls are hanging out--how embarrassing.

Saturday we have another lesson. It could be a little hairy considering Matel and I plan on staying out late Friday to see the Bel-Airs at the zoo (9pm $8 cover)... but I'll bring my camera anyway and get some good shots.

Also, this Sunday is my "say no to everyone" day. Where I say no to anyone's plans that are not mine. I'm going to spend the afternoon clearing out the garden and turning it over. Hopefully it's very sunny and I can soak it up.

Til next time,

H

Not that I'm a Runner, Really

I enjoy running, I enjoy the zen that comes after 3 miles when you just go and are no longer only thinking about your aching shins, or ankles, or knees...I just can't do it on the treadmill. I don't get the zen when I'm thumping along on the road to nowhere, creepy men stopping by the window watching, other treadmill runners continuously checking my progress. Uck. I've been doing it, but not enjoying it. I go to 2 spinning classes a week at the YMCA and that's fun (I have NEVER gotten that good of a workout on my roadbike outside), I like lifting weights in the weight room upstairs at the Y too.

Point is, this evening I'm going on my first outdoor run of the season (I freakin' better seeing as how I'm running the Bolder Boulder 10k Memorial Day weekend), followed by a little tennis practice with Matel. We've been going to the UNL courts on 17th and Vine. They're nice, well-lit and there are lots of people playing that we can watch and learn a little something from. Or, more gratifying, the other suckers playing that are worse off than us.

We didn't go to a lesson last Saturday because our instructor was in Kansas City doing something. During our second lesson he couldn't believe how much better we'd gotten over 1 week. "Have you guys been practicing" "No Dave, we haven't" "Well, wow! Good work!"
Though, it's one thing to practice with Dave hitting hundreds of balls at you for an hour and constantly praising and whatnot...it's a fish of a different color to practice just the two of us and 6 balls. Exhausting, to say the least. Maybe, tonight we'll actually succeed in volleying more than 3 times.

Wow, this is getting very long, so I'll save my little gardening talk for the next entry (which will be sooner than last time--I didn't mean to get behind). Also, I promise more photos next time...I'm not used to carrying my camera around. Should be, but am not.

Wish me luck on the outdoor run (I can do 4.5 easily on the treadmill, so I figure that translates to 2 or 3 in the great outdoors)! Happy Earth Day everyone!

Hannah

Tennis-ass

My right butt-cheek aches. So do my shoulders, biceps, forearms, and hands. My good friend Matel has become my accomplice in the tennis mission, and I think she'll agree that it is quite the undertaking. We had our first lesson yesterday and though I didn't really even break a sweat during the 1 hour lesson, I began to hurt pretty much 25 minutes into it (which isn't really a good sign...day after aches are always expected, same day aching? Surprised to say the least).

The first embarrassment of the lesson was that I had a child's racket. HA, I had thought it seemed small. Dave (our instructor) let me use an adult's for the day. My ego was bruised, but at least I hadn't claimed to be anything more than a beginner.

When you're a beginner they have these foam balls the size of softballs that you volley around to better practice your swing and form (moves much slower). They also have tennis balls that have a little less air in them, mostly for the same reason as the foam balls, but they bounce. We learned our forehands, backhands, lobs, and serves with those. When Dave gave us a couple shots with real tennis balls they felt super heavy and our serves suffered (well, mine did--Matel's actually something of a natural I think...I thought I'd be good since I watch so much tennis on t.v, but my osmosis-learning theory is stupid). Dave said I'm very "wrist-y, like a raquetball player" and I'd find myself self-correcting, but unable to remember to keep my wrist firm while also focusing on my follow-through.

After the lesson, we went to Target to get me a real racket. We'd gone earlier that morning to get Matel one (she chose a Wilson Slope racket--mostly because it was pink and supports the breast cancer society...we both bought the matching pink tennis balls too because they're cute), and now it was my turn to choose a racket. I bought a Wilson racket too (brand recognition in action), but I chose the one I did because it had a picture of Roger Federer (my celebrity man-crush) on it and it reads "Federer" on the side.



No one hate on that.
I haven't played with the racket yet because of aforementioned uber-pain, but I'm sure it's perfectly adequate for me. I've read a lot about Prince brand rackets in a couple magazines, and it Tennis really holds my attention and passion, maybe I'll make an investment. *shrug*

That's all for Tennis. The only real step I've taken toward my garden is that I'm ditching the "ride-to-Denton-every-morning" plan, and I'm going to take control of Matel's garden. It's a good-sized space for a starter garden, and she's already laid down some pigeon poop on it. Excellent. I still need to tell Marty and Rachel I'm ditching out on them...but if I want to be realistic, I might enjoy biking 40 miles a day for 3 days but then I think it'd become a real time-sucker considering I work at noon everyday. If I had a car, it'd be doable. But, then I'd have a car.

Matel and I have practice Tuesday night, I'll let you know how that goes.
thanks for reading,
Han

Blog Project

Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm a chronic project-starter. Rarely a project-finisher. The other day I realized just how many plans and ideas I had in my head that I intended to start this spring. I am very good at beginning projects, even the planning isn't so bad...it's the follow-through that really sucks. Call it a short attention span, call it multi-tasking to the max... I don't know--I can't even finish a sentence. This is a problem of mine and one I plan on fixing, and perhaps this blog will help me. Here's where you come in reader, I need encouragement, tips, and the occasional scolding in my endeavors. I list the projects and detail the progress I make toward each little goal. You get to laugh at my failings (because I usually do), and celebrate in my triumphs (hopefully there some sort of triumph involved). Before you become really disinterested, let me tell you what I have planned this spring/summer/fall...

Project 1: Tennis Lessons. I have always loved watching tennis, and now I want to play. I'm not entirely sure what an adult beginner can do with tennis lessons, but I'd like to get involved in some sort of competitive sport. I like running but I'm not really any good at it on a competitive level. I am very good at ultimate frisbee, but until I go to school, there's really no way to play that for any glory either. (here's where you can tell me what people do with tennis skillz, or where you challenge me to a match or something)

Project 2: My very own, very first, I'm in charge garden. I've been spending a lot of time reading about gardening, gardening practices and tips in this big book I've got about homesteading--but I don't really know jack-diddley about gardening and probably won't learn anything until I get my hands dirty (literally). Initially the garden was going to be on my friend Anna's family farm out near Branched Oak Lake, but there's really no safe bike route out there, so it's not very practical for me. My friends Rachel and Marty offered up the gardening plot on their farm for me to use and I accepted. Their farm is equally far away (near Denton), but it's on a bike path and I think I can make the trek most days of the week. I'll just have to drag myself out of bed--which I find to be much easier when the weather is warm. I'm going to do some soil samples here pretty soon and decide what is best to grow there, etc. I'll keep you updated, and please, anyone who knows anything about gardening, chime in anytime.

Project 3: School. Oh, yeah, school. This fall. I just have to... a.) get transcripts, b.) apply c.) pay d.) take compass test (apparently, my ACT scores don't count after 5 years... ) e.)rock.
I don't know what I want to do, I just know I have to get the general crap out of the way and then figure it out. Maybe I'll be a pro-tennis player and horticulturist. We'll see.

Project 4: I guess this blog kind of counts as a project itself. I plan to include lots of pictures and whatnot. I mostly just need a means of being held accountable for what I'm doing, and a sort of creative outlet for all of it. There are more projects in my head, but, like in reading I try not to read more than 4 books at a time. Just too confusing.

Thanks for reading and look forward to a new layout (it's been tricky for me), lots of pictures and, hopefully, an accomplishment or two.

Yours, Hannah