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Author: CJ

Seeds seeds and more seeds

Seeds seeds and more seeds

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Last week I was listening to a podcast from Margaret at awaytogarden.com where she talks to the Associate Director of Gardens and Grounds at the Jefferson Foundation. Did you know that Monticello has an online gift shop? Where you can order seeds and other garden things? I’ve got a few things from them on the way. I also bought seeds from Baker Creek. This is a small problem because I don’t actually have any garden space yet. Although I’m hoping to get at least one, hopefully two raised beds in ASAP. March, maybe April? Still some time left to plan and dream before I can actually do anything.

I got a few houseplants to add to my living room slash greenhouse. What I have learned through this effort is that something like 98% of houseplants are toxic to cats. I suspect there are varying levels of toxicity and a lot of them would actually be okay with minor amounts of munching, but since I have the list, might as well use it. Knowledge is power, or something. So far I have a fiddleleaf fig (which *is* listed as toxic, but it’s on the kitchen island where the cats don’t go), a rubber plant, a lemon tree, a peperomia (birthday gift from my sister years ago), a Norfolk Island pine (which I’m hoping will function as my Christmas tree someday), a parlor palm (which has gotten chewed quite a bit), and a purple passion vine, which I had to put in a cat-free zone because it’s little and apparently very tasty. I also have five adult African violets and five baby African violets (which I actually think are at least ten plants…. I need to be more aggressive when separating them) that I propagated from the adults. I also have the world’s oldest pothos, which my cats *have* chewed on and suffered no ill effects. It’s a beginning.

New Year

New Year

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It seems like 2016 was a weird year for a lot of people. I guess it was for me, too, although there was one very big positive in the resolution of a situation that has kept me in limbo for the past couple of years. It was resolved in my favor, which feels really good, after all the bullshit. It stinks when someone decides to take their problems out on you, but if you keep paddling, you’ll come out on top.

So I have a new house now, that I built. The benefit of having lived in a lot of different places is that you know what you like and what you don’t. I’ve lived downtown, and while it’s nice to be walking distance to stuff, your neighbors are really close. I’ve lived in super remote areas, and while the privacy is nice, having to drive at least an hour for everything gets old pretty fast. I’m in sort of a happy medium now, in a rural area but half an hour from a good-sized city. The city is big enough to have everything you want and small enough that you can find it.

I have a lot of space now, I have all the finishes I wanted, I have lots of natural light and some acreage.

I finally have a sewing room again and while I’m still unpacking I am looking forward to getting into some serious creating in 2017.

Acreage means there will be lots of gardening. Vegetables, flowers, trees, chickens…. so exciting!

So there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming year. I traveled a lot this year and already have some booked in 2017. This blog is sort of a new beginning, as well. I don’t know why I am so drawn to the blog life, but apparently I am. Self expression is important and I guess this is one way I like to do it. I like documenting the results of my creative efforts, as well. If no one reads it, that’s fine. If someone reads it, even better. 🙂

Humidification

Humidification

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I am pretty sure that the cold I’ve acquired is due to low humidity. I moved into my new house four weeks ago and have definitely noticed a difference. I loaded up on Alka-Seltzer cold meds for a day and that knocked the cold back, but now I’m working on increasing the humidity in my house.

I got a good-size humidifier a couple of weeks ago but that seems to be barely helping. I have essential oil diffusers that put off a little steam, and my aquarium’s water level goes down pretty quickly. I scattered a few bowls of water around the house, but what seems to be helping most is my slow cooker, full of water and set on low (with the lid off, obv). I left it like that when I went to bed last night, and when I got up this morning, the humidity was up to 32%.

According to various things I have read on the internet, indoor humidity should be around 45-55%. I doubt I will ever get it that high, but at least I don’t have to worry about it getting too humid, which has its own set of problems.

I have also read that house plants help increase indoor humidity, which is all the encouragement I need to get more plants!