Elizabeth & Brendan

This is hilarious and kind of cute (the ducklings).

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/boston/backbay/bbgallery/statues_bruins/

And now we are trying to figure out how to keep Eli from running through it when he is barking. Tonight we have put a fence up on the back end but not sure that is enough. We will see.

Here is the garden all nice and planted.  We have planted:

• Cilantro
• Bell peppers (green and orange)
• Hot peppers
• Beefsteak tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini

Here is Jerry the Gnome under the tree.

Here is Gil the Gnome by the willow tree.

Eli with Gil the Gnome.

Here is the new hydrangea that is doing well except on the really really hot days.  It gets too much sun so I have to water it a bit more but other than that it is thriving.  Our neighbors gave us a great article on taking care of the hydrangeas in “This Old House” magazine.  It is a really good magazine and I may soon replace People with TOH.

You will notice a bump to the left of the hydrangea.  This is my attempt to grow raspberries like Grandpa Thienel.  If my garden is half as good as his, I will be mighty satisfied.

These are some dahlia sprouts.

Eli has taken to hiding in the evergreens.  Here is coming out of the hole.

This is a wider shot of Eli in the hole.

On Saturday we did a big Home Depot trip to get fill for the garden.  Our car had a nice earthy smell with the peat moss, soil, and manure we had.  Once we got home, Eli wanted to play.  So we let him on the deck with the gate closed while we hauled the bags (many bags) into the yard.  Eli was whining.  He wanted to come out with us.  He then was trying to get to us through the fence.  Below is a picture after he let out a long whine and laid down.

…five different routes to the office.

This past week was an experiment in commuting.  The first day I had no problem getting there but I had to go through Harvard and I wanted to avoid that.  Harvard can get backed or it can be fine.  You never know. So I spent the next few days trying to figure out how to get to the office via the back roads of Harvard.  On Thursday I thought I had it all figured out but made one wrong turn and 10 minutes were wasted.  But alas, on Friday, I figured it all out.  I just hope I remember what I did on Tuesday.

I also learned that you can’t turn left into Harvard from Mem Drive which made the first drive home difficult. Blerg.

Day 2 at the job and so far so good.  I am in a lot of trainings and have been exhausted at the end of the day.  I am so looking forward to this weekend so I can continue with the gardening.  I have seen some growths that do not look like weeds.  And I am pretty excited!!!

I think the gnmes will get a home this weekend as well.

On Friday nigh, Brendan and I went to dinner at the British Consulate.  For reals.  I had found out about eat boston which is a concept of a pop-up restaurant.  Meaning, a restaurant pops up when there was not one.  The web site describes it as:

“Eat, our Pop Up restaurant, is opened in various locations around the city just about once a month. Our goal is to create a fine dining restaurant experience in a non-restaurant environment. As these experiences happen most often in thriving businesses, our challenge is to make this change in a matter of an hour.”

So they had their first one on foreign soil at the British Consulate (which is also in the same building as Brendan’s job).  And since it was my last day at work, it seemed like a good night to go.

The menu and commentary

First
Seared foie gras and crumpets. Maple gel, HP powder, pickled berries, lemon butter

OMG – the foie gras melted in my mouth and the lemon butter on the crumpet was delectable.  A true Brit at the table wanted the crumpet to be crispier.  I didn’t know any better and it was delicious.

Second
Chicken korma soup with curry leaves, green garlic and fiddleheads
I do not like curry but I liked this.  I didn’t love it but it was tasty.

Third
“English breakfast”
Earl grey tea smoked duck bangers with bubble and squeak, griddled tomato and fried local egg
This was one of the tastiest meals I have had in a long time.  The duck sausage with brussel sprouts and potato mixed with egg was sooooo good.  Really good.

Main
“Fish and Chips”
Local Dayboat Cod, brik batter, crispy fried parsnips, leek cream, citrus and basil tartar sauce
This fish was amazing in some sort of flaky paper-like encasement.  The fish melted in my mouth.  And I don’t care for white fish usualy.

Dessert
Sticky Toffee pudding

Like a spice cake – not sticky at all.

From the website the dinner : “Also featuring Greylock Gin cocktails from Berkshire Mountain Distillers, lovely beer from Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, wine from Bear Flag Wine, and flowers from Bittersweet Gardens. Cocktail hour performance by musicians from A Far Cry, with support from Opus Affair.”

I really cannot wait for the next one.

Here are some Eli pictures!!

Back before all the rain, we had some really warm, beautiful days.  Eli loves to sit on the deck, sunning himself.  When he comes back in half of his body is warm from the sun and he is really happy. 

Here Eli is being cute with Pig.  He was playing with Pig and I guess decided to sleep on him instead.  We noticed Pig had some “issues” and it looks like Pig will be needing to visit the hospital for some open heart surgery.  It should be routine and fairly okay. 

All of this rain seems to make the weeds grow in the yard.  While I love our yard, the amount of weeds can get overwhelming.  And of course I won’t spray chemicals on the yard because of the dog, the vegetables we plan to grow and don’t want the chemicals to enter the water supply.  My only hope is to try some corn gluten.  A co-worker told me about it – apparently it stops germination.  But it stops germination for everything so you cannot use it in areas you want grass or flowers to grow.  And actually, we have a fair amount of space where we don’t have grass and don’t plan to plant flowers.  So hopefully this will work and I can cut down on my weeding time.  Or Brendan can help me one day.  Either one.

I am also paranoid that the lilac bush isn’t going to transplant well.  I can’t tell if it is drooping from the rain or the lack of root growth.  I guess if this is my biggest problem today then I am doing okay.

Things I am learning:
1) Gardening is physical labor.
2) Gardening takes a long time
3) Gardening is tricky.

It is tricky because you don’t know what is going to come up and what isn’t. I am planting these things hoping they bloom. I think some of them will but probably not all.

We planted moss phlox where holly once stood. It will grow and spread and fill in nicely by the walk way and evergreens.

I planted another hydrangea bush on the one side. I will try to get them to be similarly sized in a few years.

I also planted a lilac tree and several flowers: dahlia, hyacinth, and ranunculus. You can see the lilac but will have to wait on the others.

We also found a flower box in the shed so we added some color to the front of the house.

I planted peonies as well but didn’t take a picture. Yet

The gnomes do not have a permanent home but I hope to put them out next week. Stay tuned.

Inspired by Kristin to get a garden gnome. We got 2. One is named Gil and one is named Jerry. Guess who is who and why.