Canning it

It's not kinfolky around here. Not pictured -salsa, poire belle Hélène And dried peaches. Tomorrow there will be more peaches to dry and one more batch of salsa. I'm knackered. #100daysofsummer #232/365 #2015yip #theyearthatis2015 #f52gram #canvolution

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 21, 2015 at 9:49pm PDT

What I accomplished today in the world of preserving -

Dried Peaches
Salsa
Plum-Apple Chutney
Poire Belle Helene - pear and chocolate spread
Tomato sauce

The damage -
one minor cut to my hand

The upside -
no pepper burns
no cracked jars

I love and hate canning this time of year - it is warm during the day, but the time the last batch of salsa that goes in the canner, it has cooled off enough to make it pleasant to be in the kitchen. I'm happy to say that after tomorrow's  next batch of salsa and the remaining peaches, I'm done preserving until the apples come in and we're inundated with another crop of tomatoes.

Last year, we did a pretty decent job of eating through most of our stuff. I'm starting to distribute the last of the marmalade and jams from earlier in the year and I'll make some effort to enjoy the remaining stash from 2014. This year, my goal is to have nothing go to waste.

In my desire to Kon-Mari my stash and make my canning a more pleasant experience (read: no longer dread), I'm thinking we'll skip peaches and canned tomatoes as neither give me joy.  Salsa gives TH joy and is easy to make and I would stand each jar of chutney up so that I could admire it before diving in and devouring it.

Summer's bounty

Ack. #nofilter

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 20, 2015 at 10:19am PDT

The harvest and preserving season is upon us and this year I promised myself not to get carried away. 

Easier to say than done.

I see salsa making in my weekend plans and peach drying and some plum chutney.

Don't get me started on the tomatoes.

Weary

Closed. #dailyernest #bassetsofinstagram

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 19, 2015 at 10:25am PDT

We grow weary of the weather and talking about it. Apparently tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 70s and I have a date with some mildewed squash leaves and quack grass.

Thank goodness.

Around the bend - the editorial calendar

The Garden at Great Dixter is a good place to take a nap, but it is not Paris. Highly recommended. 

I had some choice things to discuss today, but since today is nearly over and I just got around to writing, it is going to wait.

Maybe I need to start writing earlier in the day. Maybe I need to stick to my awesome, yet slightly out of season editorial calendar.  Why do I even need an editorial calendar?

Patterns are good. People like to know what is coming. The notion of expecting the unexpected is a in theory, much like when you hike and come across a marmot, but you knew that a waterfall was around the next bend because you were bright enough to look at the map before setting out. 

Editorial calendars set patterns– whether it is a Tuesday travel post or a weekly series of productivity hints that culminates a set of recommendations.  As a reader, you may have an inkling that Tuesday’s post may feature my suggestions for dining in Paris, so there is that waterfall you are expecting and sometimes you get the marmot that appears out of nowhere, like where I would go to take a nap in Paris when my hotel room is too far away.

I’m working hard to get to the waterfall over marmot in terms of creating interesting content without boring you to death or myself because I am struggling to figure out what to write.

When I walk the dog, talk to TH or look at my pathetic lawn (blog post soon), I get ideas for things that I would like to write about. Unless I write them down on paper or send myself a message immediately, those thought vanish into thin air only to be retrieved when something random comes up.

This is not the best way to operate.

So, back to an editorial calendar I go – nothing seasonal or kitschy, but something that works for me as a way to set patterns so that you can expect to see that marmot frolicking in the waterfall around the next bend.

Blue Monday

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 17, 2015 at 8:06pm PDT

Happy Monday. 

My Mac picked up some weird malware that hijacked my Chrome browser and it took me nearly two hours to figure out how to tackle it. I’m not sure I did the right thing, but I reset my Chrome settings, installed some malware software remover  that was recommended. I ended up ditching Chrome and removed the application. I may go back to it, but not until I’m certain everything is copacetic.

While I was trying to extract myself from this irritation, I realized that I could work unplugged and get more done with less (distractions). Why do we have this deep seated need to read status updates for things that only serve to muddle up our thought processes?  Why bother checking mail on your laptop when you can do it on your phone and be done sooner.   Why bother checking your mail at all?

Many companies are abandoning email all together and using tools like Slack or Hipchat to communicate internally and share assets via these services. I’m still not convinced that this is a way to conduct all communication or work, but how lovely it would be if you could unsubscribe from threads of conversations that you don’t really need to be part of  or tell the world you are away with a emoticon of a sleeping koala bear?

We tend to say the same things when we’re communicating by email as when we talk to our colleagues. While some things bear repeating, if this information was delivered quickly via a internal messaging system, questions could be answered quickly and succinctly and we could use that five minute water cooler conversation talking about solutions instead of setting up the scenario or problem we’re trying to solve.

Why is it that we’re so fast to answer a text and so dread answering email?

I’m going to try this unplugging while working for the rest of the week – maybe I’ll see a rise in my productivity or at least a decrease in my dislike for the sharing aspect of the web.

Miles from our home

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 16, 2015 at 9:03am PDT

I never get tired of this image, this falling down outbuilding around milepost 93 towards Ellensburg. I drive by it a few times a year and every time I appreciate it even more - no matter the season, no matter how fast we're going.

My guess is that most of us have place much like this - whether it is seeing the wind turbines in Altamont, the Space Needle as you drive from the south into Seattle,  the first sight of the Battersea Power Station on train towards London, a house or garden that we pass daily that reminds us that we're nearly home.

These are the places that remind us where we're rooted and where we want to go.

I'm not going to lie to you. I have been a lot of places this year and I still have the hankering to leave again, somewhere familiar but somewhere I can always find something new to discover.  There is comfort in the familiar, no matter how far from home we are.

Happy Sunday.

The wanting, the waiting

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:09am PST

Waiting room - Terminal 2F, Aeroport Charles de Gaulle, November 11, 2014.

I'm in love with these chairs and want them.

 I also realize that although I want them, I don't really need them.

They are the same ones that one sees in Parisian parks, so they are even more lust-provoking in my heart and mind. They are also on sale - but not the exact style I want. So I'll wait, somewhat patiently until the right style comes along.

Waiting is hard. Waiting is something I'm terrible at and waiting is something I need to learn to be better at. I'm not of the mind that all good things come to those who wait, because that is not the way the world seems to work now.  It is more like the "early bird acquires the worm and fires all the worm's besties and shelves the worm's technology".  Its a worm eat worm world out there.

I'm glad this week is coming to an end.  I'm looking forward to the following week and hoping that it brings less waiting and more action.

Deluge

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 14, 2015 at 2:01pm PDT

Seattle is happy. The rains came today.

Happy Friday.

The rescue

Thankful for friends that drop off nectar to spice up my boring dinner. #100daysofsummer #2015yip #theyearthatis2015 #225/365

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 13, 2015 at 8:59pm PDT

Sometimes you have to thank the friend  who shows up on your doorstep bearing directly from the oven-  roasted tomatoes, some of which he picked from your garden. It makes your dinner of toast with feta cheese much better and for this I am grateful.

Recipe can be found here. 

This recipe with a bit of florence fennel thrown in for good measure was a staple of my time in Rome. It was a great way to get rid of bits and bobs and was great on bread or pasta. I can't wait to toss this bunch with pasta for dinner tomorrow.

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 10, 2015 at 5:07pm PDT

And this on quarter of the tomatoes we've harvested. If tomorrow's forecast hold true - I'll be able to make sauce and not die of heat stroke.

The non-work day

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jun 5, 2015 at 8:58pm PDT

It is nearly 7 pm and I'm knackered and I'm not quite sure what I did today.

So far --

• Worked out at the gym
• Checked on parents (they say hi!)
• Picked tomatillos at p-patch
• Dropped off library books
• Picked up stuff at drugstore
• Went to grocery store  
• Arranged a meeting for next week 
• Worked on AMS Program planning 
• Brought laundry in due to approaching thunderstorms 
• Cooked a million things for the next few weeks (chile sauce, enchiladas, fig jam FTW)
• Tried to walk dog
• Cleaned kitchen after cooking all the things
• Raked and general garden clean up 
• Tried  to walk dog
• Met with garden gate designer for final install 
• Finally succeed at walking dog (pre-listing this because I really want the dog to walk)

It can get lonely at home. The dog is great company, but I feel that unless I get something concrete done towards the goal of finding a job, the day is a bust. Writing out what I have done makes things better, but I still wish I that all things accomplished towards making my life saner are good things.

While I enjoy human contact, I realize that I can power through my list if I limit my own interactions with the world - sort of my own heads down time - no social media, not running to Google every time I have a question and trying to run errands and perform tasks in a logical order.  I guess is it much like the ideal workday - Say hello to the dog, have a cup of coffee, power through the tasks, eat and repeat until it is time to call it a day without having to attend a standup or eat bad teriyaki at your desk.

The problem with working at home and doing home work is sometimes it is hard to know when end the work day. Even if you break off to have dinner, talk to your sweetie, spend time together walking the dog, it always seems that there is something left to do.

I'm trying to stick to my list and when it things are crossed off, I'm done.

There will always be more waiting for me in the morning.

And the dog just rang to go out.

Finally.

Right Place, Happy Plant

THIS is why we stopped planting street trees in #seattle . #hipsterurbangardeninggonebad #srsly #witherthestrawberries

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 11, 2015 at 7:35pm PDT

Friends, I come you today with one thing on my mind other than the vile weather we're still having.

We're in a drought and we've been asked to cut back our residential water consumption by 10%.  This really shouldn't be too hard without having to resort to showering with another person.  Here are some easy to implement suggestions -

• Shorten the time you run the water in your shower/bath by 20% by simply turning off the water when you lather up and shave your legs. 
• Turn the water off when you brush your teeth. 
• Run full loads of laundry and ditto for the dishwasher.  
• While it may be gross - refrain from  flushing  after every pee (at home) but still wash your hands.

For the love of Pete (whomever he might be), don't stop watering your vegetable garden, the one you ripped out your sod and cut down that street tree to put in your parking strip.  The same one you spent so much time and money talking about installing, waiting in line at the Tilth sale, instagramming and blogging about.  Those beds need to be watered and tended until the crops are done producing and you've pulled out the last wizened tomatoes plants from those really expensive cages you bought (to instagram, natch).

All plants require water as  they become established. Seeds need water to germinate,and need moisture to establish roots, Judicious watering plumps up those tomatoes, beans and strawberries you desperately want to eat.  Most imporantly,  everything needs to be planted in the right place and in the right containers.

The picture I took today was in our neighborhood.  I'm sure the person who planted their parking strip had the best of intentions, but something got in the way of their regular watering and tending of their strip garden.   It kills me to see a huge patch of strawberries dead - maybe from the lack of water, maybe because they were planted in full western exposure and probably because they were planted in a metal trough which baked the poor plants.  It was likely a combination of all three of these things.

In my dream world, I would own a large pumping truck full of water and I would go around with my minions in the dark of night, watering all these poor beds and on occasion performing interventions and removing blueberry and gooseberry plants from unsafe homes and rehoming them in boggy areas where they can fruit in peace. 

There is a great concept - Right plant, Right place and even I need a refresher course on how important placing plants with the same growing requirements can help conserve water and your time because you are not having to adjust your watering schedule or tempo from one plant to another.

Yes, I sound like a crank, but do it for next year's strawberries.

Taking no prisoners

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jun 3, 2015 at 6:12pm PDT

Imagine if you stopped watching TV or surfing the net - you could do this to all your books!
I'm on the war path against my own complacency.

In the past, I've been willing to let a few dollars slide here and there because I couldn't be bothered to deal with the Customer Service reps or pushy salespeople desperate to upsell my already shoddy telecommunication services.  After my 2013 experience with Megapath cutting our DSL service because they just couldn't be bothered to deal with residential customers and neglecting to tell us this crucial bit of information until after they cut our service.

Four tiers of support tickets over one week to find out that they had just decided to disconnect our service and leaving us without internet.  Here's a tip - don't bother with Megapath.

We finally bit the bullet and installed cable.  The deal sounded good at the time (TV and moderate internet speeds) for about the same price we were paying for shoddy DSL.  We never used our cable to watch TV and the internet was faster than with DSL.  Over time,  our promo expired and our good deal went to a meh deal and then month after month, our bill crept up until it was approximately 100% more than our initial price for the same features.

Meh indeed.

I'm now toying with cutting the cord or dropping Comcast in favor of a new DSL provider. We are not in an area that is going to give us good DSL speeds, so no matter what we pay, we're limited by our phone line.  We never use our tv for real-time entertainment and stream most everything we watch using Amazon, Netflix and Hulu on Apple TV.

Ditto for our cell phone coverage - our bill has gone up over the years - partially because TH switched to a smart phone and partially because my work phone subsidy no longer exists.  I am using different sites to compare plans and pick one that will save us a few dollars without giving up too much.

My warpath may end up saving me 80 bucks a month or nearly 1000 bucks a year (you do the math) and that may just be worth all the deep breaths and polite conversation that it will take.

The lost weekend

Some days are better than others #theyearthatis2015 #100daysofsummer #toofuckingtired #2015yip #214/365

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 9, 2015 at 7:14pm PDT

Ever had a weekend that seemed like it was going to be full of excitement and just ended up meh. 

One would think with the amount of sun and fun we're having here in the 98105 that this weekend would be no exception.

It was.  Thanks to a lovely set of clouds and precipitation that did not appear.

I'm talking a lot these days about the weather and it seems to be taking a toll on my patience.

I did get two books read - neither of which I will recommend, my vexing needlepoint completed and a lot of big pruning done. At least my once very sunny back yard beds will be more like partly shady beds.

 I heard a little of this on NPR this morning and I'm putting this book on hold stat.

I'm fascinated by the connection with how trauma, triggers or emotional distress earlier in life causes people to hold on to things both physically and mentally. It also makes me wonder if the KonMari will only work for really happy people who have no issues or think they don't. In any case, Mess looks like an awesome read.

The upcoming week seems to be much of the same old, same old and I'm getting tired of it.

In honor of National Cat Day I present to you Ernest basset. He'll stay out of your cat's way today and everyday. #respecttheclaws

... #tothenorth #theyearthatis2015 #2015yip #100daysofsummer #192/365 #visitorcas #sanjuanislands #visitwashington

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jul 17, 2015 at 9:54pm PDT

I am whomped, so I can't really say anything coherent. I was already to post about memory triggers and then poof - I lost it. Ha ha. I drafted it, but it is just going to have to wait. The weekend does not wait - gardening, dog walking, parent wrangling, knitting, some thinking and as always the to do list. Have a great one. love, nm and e.

Foodie Fraudster: The diary of a vegetable avoider

When you have two back to back trips, things happen. #theyearthatis2015 #2015yip #100daysofsummer #hangry #197/365

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jul 22, 2015 at 8:44pm PDT

This summer I've craved approximately four foods and could  do eat them day in and day out just like a four year old.  My diet consists mostly of peanut butter filled pretzels, hand tossed margherita pizzas, cold watermelon and ripe peaches.  For someone who waxes poetically about eating locally,organically and keeping things healthy, this seems like a pretty lame and not very balanced diet.

Why is it that I can't seem to get into cooking or eating anything that I have growing in my garden. Is it like the cook who can't eat her own cooking after being in the kitchen all day? Is it that the soil prep, tending the crops and then harvesting them turns me off of all the vegetables we have grown?

I don't know.

I feel like a foodie fraud.

Tomorrow is another day and I'm out of peanut-butter filled pretzels, so I'll eat carrots instead.

The sounds of silence

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jun 20, 2015 at 8:12pm PDT

If you are ever in Ketchum, Idaho and have a hankering for a decent glass of wine and flatbread (what is it with flatbread?), do stop by Enoteca.  You won't be sorry. 

I'm sitting here listening to rain on the roof. Yay rain! It rained on our walk home from dinner tonight. I love the smell of first raindrops hitting the pavement, the promise of our rain barrels filling up and our poor lawn getting a drink it so richly deserves.

One of these days lawn, one of these days.

TH passed this article off to me today and I am glad to see that others are not willing to put up with the  noise/din in restaurants any longer and are getting up and walking out.

Diners refuse to be silent about noise.

I know it is cool and designerly to have hand hewn tables made from the wood of a million buildings that have been demolished in the name of progress in one's restaurant, but tasteful soft furnishings do make for quieter restaurants. One of my favorite rooms, Restaurant Nora, in D.C. hangs lovely handmade quilts on the walls to keep the noise levels to a moderate level. I am glad restaurant reviews in the NYT are now rating restaurants based on their noise levels and online reservation sites such as OpenTable allow you to select dining spots based on their noise levels (hint: search for restaurants with quiet conversation).

As much as I detest carpets in restaurants, it makes things so much more quiet. We recently ate at ABC Kitchen in NYC. I loved the food, but by the time we left, I was completely hoarse from having to raise my voice to be heard. What is it about this frenetic pace and level of noise that makes dining seem so cool? I'm not sure it helps my digestion and it certainly doesn't make me want to stay longer and eat more. Maybe that is their intention.

If you have to text your dinner date to tell them something, you best consider finding somewhere else to eat.

 nm

The hard thing about hard things

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jun 21, 2015 at 10:03pm PDT

Hardships come in many forms, this is definitely not one of them. 


This may seem like a ridiculous post, but I've been thinking a lot about what makes something "hard".

Is it a relative thing? Is one person's hard different from another person? I think yes.

Is hard something that might solve itself? If you are lucky.

Is hard something that might get resolved or made easier if you ask for help and admit that you are struggling?  Yes, but it is difficult.

 Is it worth enduring something hard or instead decide that it is easier to take the easier way out?  Maybe.

What compels someone to take on someone else's hardship? Don't let me take you there.

What does it mean to be hard on yourself?

For the last few months, I've been asking myself all of these questions and more.  I wish like heck I could find the answers.

Do-overs

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 3, 2015 at 8:20pm PDT

I 'm beginning to dread Monday and for the opposite reason that most people dread them.  I expect to be getting up and going to work and instead I spend my Mondays job hunting, networking and hoping that this is the last Monday that I have to job hunt.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

Routines help - gym, dog walking, endless watering, writing lists, acting on the actions on the list, trying to stay upbeat and not let the negativity crawl into my head.  I'm not a Pollyanna, but I do believe that what you set out to do at the beginning of the week impacts how the rest of week goes.

This Monday started out well and went downhill fast, most of it self-inflicted and through all the outside feedback I received and a little self-reflection I did while WATERING, I've decided to ask for a do-over for this Monday.

Tuesday has got to be better.

On a happier note, my winter coat arrived and it was only 83F outside and 76F inside when I tried it on. I love it and it matches my new blue Vans.

Over and out.

Sunday wrap up

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jul 3, 2015 at 6:12pm PDT

For five seconds it felt like we were starting to a cooling trend in the 98105. Alas, we're back to a muggy 86 degrees for our high today.  It was a good day to stay inside and edit book chapters and read a few books.

I picked up a Kindle Paperwhite last year and I really like it, especially for travel. I do miss the feel of a book. Thumbing through a kindle via the notes is just not the same as thumbing through a book to find that bent corner or that check mark by something that you wanted to remember.

Books are also awesome places to stash boarding passes and receipts, try doing that in a Kindle.

You can judge a book by its cover and you will likely remember what you were reading if you could see the cover and it will spark your memory - the why and how you came about to select the book and when if you were to physically handle it.  My memory is often jarred by place and tactile sensations and the Kindle doesn't give me that pleasure.

My reading these days is all over the place - I'm reading a little about vegan main courses to get inspired for the fall,  a bit of gardening how to and lots of fiction.  This weekend I read a book that was a fast read but my guess will stay with me for a long time - Alex Shearer's  "This is the life" is an amazing and short read about the relationship between brothers and how it changes as the younger one takes care of his older brother as he undergoes cancer treatment.  It isn't a Jodi Picoult kind of book, but it will make you learn to accept that life is what it is - you can work to make it better, but sometimes you just have to accept your choices and make do.

Read it.

And after that, go visit my favorite bears fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska. They are pretty busy right now.

What are you reading this summer?