tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post7815690215554563390..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: Born too lateSheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-64099033762143067832013-04-07T21:35:30.674-04:002013-04-07T21:35:30.674-04:00They say, if you have to pick between an east wind...They say, if you have to pick between an east window and a west window, to pick east. But south is always best if you can swing it.<br /><br />Good luck and I am eager to hear how it goes.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-87897283773624343562013-04-06T23:54:20.542-04:002013-04-06T23:54:20.542-04:00+JMJ+
You know what? The balcony is actually fac...+JMJ+ <br /><br />You know what? The balcony is actually facing southwest, not south, and more west than south. =P My aunt, who is home all day, said that it doesn't get much sun until mid-afternoon. <br /><br />I <i>do</i> have an alternative window that does face south, but my pot will have to be a bit smaller than I originally thought. <br /><br />Expect some blogging on this! =PEnbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-24498999992527260142013-04-06T20:59:27.040-04:002013-04-06T20:59:27.040-04:00Yay! Go plant your garden! Best of luck!
Odds a...Yay! Go plant your garden! Best of luck!<br /><br />Odds are, your seedlings died because they were sick when you bought them. It's very likely not anything you did... though I'd be happy to hear your play-by-play if you like.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-88586190016489780922013-04-06T17:12:36.189-04:002013-04-06T17:12:36.189-04:00There have been seeds that seem to have been sever...There have been seeds that seem to have been several thousand years old and sprouted quite cheerfully; We should be suspicious of those seeds you still have, but because of the previous crop failure and not because of the intervening time.Belfry Bathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00514867101036143597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-4004145363376525952013-04-06T10:42:24.165-04:002013-04-06T10:42:24.165-04:00+JMJ+
Actually, I have tried growing things from...+JMJ+ <br /><br />Actually, I <i>have</i> tried growing things from seed. Nothing ever came up . . . and the two seedlings I bought died on me. =( If I gave you a full report, I'm sure something in it would make you slap your forehead and say, "You did THAT? <i>Why???</i>" <br /><br />But in the spirit of my "TBR Promise", I'll take your challenge in the spirit with which it was thrown down. I do know where to get pots and soil, and I still have some seeds from last time. (Can they still be used if they're about two years old?) My family has a south-facing balcony that should do. Give me a week and I'll start my "gardening diary." Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-19403249636070387192013-04-05T21:10:45.435-04:002013-04-05T21:10:45.435-04:00This is why everyone should go camping once in awh...This is why everyone should go camping once in awhile! The knowledge that you can, in fact, cook over a fire (and not just pork and beans from a can) is very confidence-boosting. I also really wish I knew how to build a shelter, so maybe that should be on my "list" of essential skills to acquire.<br /><br />I always wanted to be on those shows, too. I watched some of "1900 House" about a decade ago, and I was so jealous of the people who got to do that!<br /><br />You do not need confidence in your abilities. You need a flowerpot and a seed packet. Seriously, just plant stuff. Even total ignorance isn't likely to make you kill more than half of it. If 10% comes up and lives, that's free food for you, for virtually no effort. I recently read the quote, "Growing your own food is like coining your own money." Only, of course, better in every way, because what you can grow, with NO skill, is more delicious than what you can buy at the store!<br /><br />If you have even a south-facing window, you have no excuse not to be gardening. Go for it.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-52770069999577522542013-04-04T13:58:09.388-04:002013-04-04T13:58:09.388-04:00+JMJ+
What you've written about the Middle A...+JMJ+ <br /><br />What you've written about the Middle Ages reminds me of the Ingalls family. Ma could do <i>so much</i>!!! <br /><br />As for what <i>I</i> can do . . . Sometimes I wonder if I can even call what I do "cooking," when I wouldn't be able to cobble together a functional oven or cook anything over an open fire. Is it even a skill if someone else did the <i>really</i> hard work for me? (I remember reading the part in <i>A Secret Garden</i> by Frances Hogdson Burnett where the children bake eggs and potatoes by burying them in the ashes under a fire. There were no instructions: Burnett probably figured that her readers would have someone around who could teach them how to do it--or that that they had already done it and knew what she was talking about. I'm <i>so</i> envious!) <br /><br />There's a BBC series (if I remember correctly) in which a town gets to experience what it is like to eat as if they lived in certain past eras. So on "1940s Week," for instance, they get to line up with their food stamps and have their measley rations weighed out for them. The Medieval and Victorian episodes were especially interesting, inasmuch as all the food was prepared using the same techniques from those time periods. Yes, down to the butchering of the animals! I watched a few episodes and wished I lived in that town, just so I could have taken part in the show. <br /><br />But without the support network of an entire town (<i>and</i> enthusiastic TV producers), would I go to similar extremes to eat what Michael Pollan calls "real food"? Probably not! The most I'm hoping for at this point is to have some success <i>growing</i> something from seed . . . or even just success not killing a plant someone else has grown. =P But if I had more confidence in my abilities, then you can bet I'd have one of those vertical gardens fit for apartment dwellers by now! I <i>love</i> fresh vegetables, but they're just so expensive to get from the store.<br /><br />PS -- I love the Cracked.com link! ;-) Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.com