Apartment Gardening

Joe's been aching to start reading some Harry Potter, so I traveled a coupled blocks eastward to the Cleveland Heights Public Library the other day. Excellent library, having been just recently revamped the facility has a modern, sleek feel, a user friendly self-check out system and an immense catalog of materials. Bueno. I even fished through their healthy collection of classical CD's, almost comparable to OU's own Music Library stash....

But alas, I did indeed find the Harry Potter book and also brought home a couple of magazines, CD's and....a Seinfeld DVD. Season 8. This library is GREAT!

One of the magazines that caught my eye and eventually trotted home is titled "Organic Gardening." I thought it'd be a good one to fish through and soak up while dreaming of a garden of my own. When I came across page 12, I was indeed enlightened.

Did you know....

That you can harvest your own green onions in your windowsill?? I had no idea and never heard of anyone doing it, put page 12 says you can, so I did it.


It's easy. Use green onions that have healthy while roots attached to the bulb. With a knife or scissors, remove all but a short piece of the green top for cooking. Then get a pot with drainage holes and fill it with some potting soil. Plant the entire onion, leaving the short green top above ground. Place in a sunny windowsill and water once a week or when the soil feels dry. Harvest new green shoots with scissors and continue to leave the onion in the soil. With each new growth, the onion will taste more potent. You should also dress the topsoil with some sort of a compost after each harvest to keep the soil healthy and onions tasting great.

The pics above were taken only after 1 day of planting and you can already see the growth. Even if you don't eat green onions enough to suffice your own mini garden, at the least, the little pot of scrumptious delights is an easy and cheap houseplant for you and your kitchen!

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Choose Your Own Adventure

Scenario A:
Joe and I decided to be a little adventurous. We headed south to Cuyahoga National Park, about a 45 minute drive south from Cleveland and took advantage of their hiking trails.

Scenario B:
Joe and I went for a Sunday afternoon walk. We trotted about 100 yards south to the end of our street and hiked around the Shaker Lake ravine.

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All hail the brass section

Joe and I enjoyed two consecutive evenings at the Blossom Music Center, the Cleveland Orchestra's home for the summer months. Niched in the lower portion of the Cuyahoga National Park, Blossom's outdoor amphitheater hosts chirping birds nesting in tall leafy trees, avid wine drinkers toting their exotic tempranillos, children having fun rolling down the soft and cool lawn grass, aromatic picnics, and wonderful music.

Saturday included Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and last night, the orchestra brought to life Bruckner's Symphony No. 9. Both, amazing. It was a first to hear a live quartet of Wagnerian Tubas play in the last movement of the Bruckner. In last night's performance, very tastefully done.

A couple of shots from Blossom.

Mmmm. Watermelon, asparagus, and cherry-apple chicken sausage from that lovely Westside Market.

We're trying to score tickets from Mr. Sachs again for this upcoming weekend. Tchaik 5, baby.

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Bottom of the 9th...

Joe is in week number 3 of training at work, and he's up to his eyeballs with having to process and store everything you ever wanted to know about mortgages. I am very thankful for Joe's continuing expertise in this field, as when the time comes for us to purchase our first house, we will most definitely not be tossed around by an eager banker trying to reap his rewards at the expense of our youthful optimism.

This past week, Joe and his team members were unleashed to the phones and got to do a little calling to test the skills they have learned thus far. A simple, "Go get 'em fellas" and they were off to the phones dipping their green toes into the water. After a week of calling and giving it their best shot, a surprise "awards ceremony" arose Friday afternoon. To the one who had performed the best, pulling the most credit reports, spending the most time with the customer, an award was given...2 tickets to the evening's Indian's game, circa 20 rows behind the dugout. Posh.

So where did we go last night? The Indians game indeed. Joe was the who earned the gold sticker.

We played the Kansas City Royals and fought it out for a 5-4 win. We were ahead by 1 (4-3) from the 5th inning all the way to the 9th, before the Royals scored one to tie it up and leave it to the Indians to make it or break it. Sure enough, Rouse comes up to bat, hits a double. Crowd gets on their feet. Garko comes up to bat and hits a game winning single to center field to carry Rouse home for a 5-4 Indian win. It was pretty thweet.

After Friday night games, a solid 10 minute firework show entertains the audience with oooohs and aaaahs, illuminating faces both young and old. A great way to end the high energy evening.

Go Indians!

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knit 2, purl 2

Believe it or not, this is my first finished knitting endeavor. I picked up learning how to knit 'dem stitches last Christmas break and started to knit a couple of scarves....but never really finished either of them. After the crazed auditions for grad schools, marriage and graduation, I decided to start a new project....

After a couple of months of off and on knitting, Christmas stocking #1 is complete! I must say I spent some time watching online knitting instructional videos to help me with some tricky knitting techniques required around the heel and toe, but all in all, it's a very doable project even for a novice like me. You can find the pattern here.

Now for stocking #2...

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Feast your eyes....and your belly

Went to the Westside Market again. This place is fantastic. A a large indoor market building houses items that generally need to be chilled, such as meats, poultry, fish, dairy, ect. then there's an outdoor market that wraps around the indoor building that plays home to all of the tastiest and freshest produce around these parts of C-Town. There are about 50 different produce vendors from choose from....oye veh. But after doing some talking and asking with the vendors, I think I've found the one where I'll be shopping...The Basketeria. They go out to local Amish farms, which there are very plentiful just south of Cleveland, pick the veggies themselves and bring 'em for us city folk to enjoy. No pesticides, no goofy wax on cucumbers, just plain ol' goodness. And the best part, it's way cheaper than going to your local mega grocer. A big bunch of lively green asparagus for only $1.00?!?! Sign me up.

Here's a glimpse of the outdoor produce area.

The indoor market.

A little shop that sells chocolates from allllll over the world. Dangerous.

Hand-made pastas.

Chickens.

Cows.

Last time Joe and I were at the Market, we found a vendor selling whole pigs. I was eager to catch a snapshot of the piggies, but, they had already been sold. Perhaps next week.

But anywho, go out and find your local farmer's market. There's always something to please.

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Living

Here we have the "Cedar/Fairmount District". Joe and I live on a street that intersects the area and can walk to the many offered amenities within 5 minutes. Yes....this is where the coveted gelateria resides...

BUT!

The other night, Joe and I whipped out our newest gift we received just prior to leaving Sooner Country. Behold, the Cuisinart ICE-20.

This double insulated, 50-watt, cream churning beast will make any frozen dessert your heart desires. Yes, even...gelato. But to test the reins, we decided to go for something basic for the first run. Joe and I mixed up a tub of unadulterated yogurt, a carton of whole milk, a couple of tablespoons of honey and a teaspoon of vanilla to create our very own homemade frozen yogurt. Yummmmm. You mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl, put it in the ice cream machine for about 20-30 minutes, then voila, perfect frozen yogurt.

On top of our new delight, we ladeled some homemade blueberry syrup we had thickening up in the fridge. Blueberries up here are so cheap! Only $1.50 for a pint. We even made fresh blueberry pancakes last night for dinner...coupled with strips of Amish bacon we bought at a MASSIVE farmer's market yesterday. I'll try to take my camera the next time I go.

But yes, the frozen yogurt was fantastic and is now a regular evening treat after dinners. Next on the list...pistachio gelato.

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