‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Annie Dillard
Happy day-after-Thanksgiving! Black Friday shopping lust is in full swing for many…all the more reason to stay home, sip tea and spend time in the indoor garden. It was a day of “firsts” for the garden today. I cut the first of the lettuce to use on turkey sandwiches for lunch. How strange to snip lettuces in the spare bedroom and carry them to the kitchen! It was fresh, organic and just wonderful!
I also observed the first “pest” in the garden. A small fruit fly buzzing near the tomatoes. It was easily taken care of but a reminder that indoor growing has it’s own cares and concerns. I followed the discovery with a spritzing of chamomile tea on all of the seedlings to deter any chewing insects. The Chinese broccoli (Kailaan) needed re-potting today as well so there are five more pots on the shelf this afternoon. The rest of my puttering today consisted of bottom-watering/fertilizing nearly everything except the okra. I was pleased to see the Five Color Silverbeet (Swiss Chard) has emerged, I love the bright colors of the stems and chard is one of my favorite greens.
Kailaan seedling.
Bright stems of Five Color Silverbeet.
With the garden chores completed I had time to look through my knitting patterns. I’m making more fingerless mittens for my daughter and her friends this year. They were quite popular last year when she gave them paired with a contrasting pair of stretch-knit gloves to layer underneath. They’re perfect for gift giving, too, one skein of bulky yarn makes two pair and they knit up quickly. I need to make myself a few pair for spring garden chores, they keep my hands warm but my fingers are free for planting peas etc.
Wear alone or with a stretch-knit glove underneath.
Not to be left out, the kids were crafty this afternoon as well. Paper ornaments and hand-stamped garden markers were easy to make and they enjoyed matching them with the recipients. They even picked out seeds for a “children’s garden” as a gift for a family friend to plant this spring with her new grandchild.
It was a nice way to spend a dreary and cold Friday here in Rochester. I admit I’d rather be home than fighting off angry mobs of shoppers anyday. The good news is… so would our kids!
