We also planted one of these in the yard a month ago and I'm just fascinated by it. It's called (as you might have guessed) a twisty baby black locust, which we got from Petree but came originally from Bylands Nurseries. The leaves have fallen off by now but the trunk is still very cool and I'm hoping it survives to next year. The tag says it gets fragrant white flowers and is hardy to Zone 4, which is about where we are, so crossing my fingers!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Twisty Baby Black Locust
We also planted one of these in the yard a month ago and I'm just fascinated by it. It's called (as you might have guessed) a twisty baby black locust, which we got from Petree but came originally from Bylands Nurseries. The leaves have fallen off by now but the trunk is still very cool and I'm hoping it survives to next year. The tag says it gets fragrant white flowers and is hardy to Zone 4, which is about where we are, so crossing my fingers!
Magic Casita in the Desert?
Since we updated last on here lots has been going on. We came down to New Mexico and surprisingly stayed! We've been here almost a year now, and since things are going well we went ahead and purchased a small casita about six weeks ago. It is hella old, the original part of the structure being built in 1870/80s and the other part about 60 years later. It had no plumbing or bathroom or water, although someone had put in electricity. It's wood heat, naturally.
We've been working hard to bring it up to modern living standards, or at least our living standards, but I thought I should post to the old blog so anyone who still receives the email updates can keep abreast of our progress. Plus, it's a way for me to record things, like what kind of apple trees I planted the week we moved into the place -- one Jonagold and one Haralson Semi-Dwarf. Did you know that you have to have at least two apple trees in order for them to produce? Faskinatin.
I've put up some photos of the cabin from when we got it here, and will update when I can to show our progress.
~K
We've been working hard to bring it up to modern living standards, or at least our living standards, but I thought I should post to the old blog so anyone who still receives the email updates can keep abreast of our progress. Plus, it's a way for me to record things, like what kind of apple trees I planted the week we moved into the place -- one Jonagold and one Haralson Semi-Dwarf. Did you know that you have to have at least two apple trees in order for them to produce? Faskinatin.
I've put up some photos of the cabin from when we got it here, and will update when I can to show our progress.
~K
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Alaska to New Mexico in the Dead of Winter
So, I lied. A little bit. I had meant to post our post-itinerary from the Alaska to New Mexico trip, and never got around to it. So I said I wasn't going to post anymore, but here goes. Don't go getting all excited, because I should really be quiet soon. Feel free to follow along via our photos.
W 12/24 - McCarthy to Anchorage via snowmachine, two flights, and a car. Dinner at Mike's. Subaru was waiting for us at Patrick's.
R 12/25 - Much lounging with Patrick's family. Introduced to Penn & Teller. I made a big breakfast for everyone.
F 12/26 - Mike took us around to get chains and look for tires. Ate at the Village Inn and did our grocery shopping for the trip.
S 12/27 - Departed Anchorage after getting studded tires put on car and going to DMV to get paperwork on car. Drove to Tok and stayed at the Totem Inn.
S 12/28 - Totem Inn's outlet didn't work, so our block heater didn't, well, heat. Car froze overnight and we had to have someone come out and give a cold start. Made it out by noon with the sun resting on the horizon, saw caribou on the drive, went through customs, and pulled into Whitehorse late that night. Beez Kneez hostel was kind enough to open up for us and let Link stay inside.
M 12/29 - Drove all the way to Fort Nelson, saw buffalo parked on the "highway," also saw moose. Ended at Traveler's Inn, dumpy little place but sufficient.
T 12/30 - Got to Prince George, saw deer on the way, ended the day with beers in Shooters, and took out two nights at the very accommodating Travelodge. Starting to feel civilized again.
W 12/31 - Lounged all day. Played chess on the little board that Patrick got us for Christmas (via a gift card), watched a Dinner Impossible marathon, I bought makeup at the drug store to "clean up," had a lovely New Years Eve dinner at fancy restaurant Cimo's.
R 1/1 - Time to head out again. Passes, animals, snow, more of the same. Got dinner at a Chinese restaurant not far (between 15 and 40 miles) north of Boston Bar, where we stayed in the atrocious Motor Inn. Atrocious.
F 1/2 - Got to developed civilization. Got bagel sandwiches at Tim Hortons, changed out the oil on the car, Jeremy had a panic when he "lost" his license and credit card (which he subsequently found right where he'd put them), we saw a bald eagle (in Canada -- we yelled, "Get back to America, you traitor!"), went across the border again (in Canada, fast food drive throughs carry dog treats, so Link got accustomed, and when we got to the customs agent, he got very excited in anticipation of his dog treat, and stuck his head out the window trying to get to the agent), stopped by mall to get cell phone, had coffee and relaxed in Chocolicious Cafe in Seattle (actual name may have varied), then had amazing dinner party with friend Teddy and her friends.
S 1/3 - Headed off to Portland. Took the coastal route. Stopped in and toured Astoria, and then got to Portland where Nate awaited. We went to his holiday party at Lorenzo's, and watched Ironman later.
S 1/4 - Nate cooked breakfast, we went out to Multnomah falls, then on a short brewery tour that night to Lucky Lab and Green Dragon. It snowed and was beautiful to see a city in white.
M 1/5 - Took breakfast from Cricket Cafe up to dog park, where we met Ender the dog, then went to the Rose Garden, then the car broke down on Burnside (still on, just wouldn't go forward or backward, like brake was on) only a half block from Firestone, which we could see but couldn't get to. Took an hour for a tow truck to arrive. Link had his first subway ride on the way back to Nate's place, and that night the boys watched Zeitgeist but its not my thing so I passed out.
T 1/6 - We awaited word on the car, playing Gamecube in the meanwhile. Turns out the hill assist malfunctioned, turning the e-brake on. Firestone was nice enough not to charge me to fix it. That night, Nate wasn't feeling well per his back pain, but his roommate Erich took us out to McMinnamin's, which is an elementary school converted into a series of bars and fun stuff (outdoor hot pool, whiskey room, billard room, boiler room). Crazy. Link played a lot with Erich's dog Milo that day.
W 1/7 - I cooked up breakfast for everyone before we left. We got some groceries at Winco as we headed east out of Portland, and enjoyed the drive over to Idaho. Stopped in Boise and stayed at a palace of a hotel (Rodeway Inn) for $40.
R 1/8 - Enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the hotel before heading off for the day. Closed out Utah at Grogg's Pinnacle Brewing, staying in the nearby Price at the Legacy Inn.
F 1/9 - Jeremy lost his brand new sunglasses and we saw more of Utah than we intended in the process. Enjoyed the last day of our drive, although as it turned dark and we turned onto the final road that would take us into Taos, we saw "Road Closed Due to Snow Drifts." So we had to go around the mountains, which there was no good way to do other than going 70 miles out of our way, tacking on an extra hour and a half to the trip. After so much driving, we just laughed and got on our way. Closed out our trip by meeting Jamison at Eske's in Taos for a beer.
And here are the photos. Thanks for coming along with us!
W 12/24 - McCarthy to Anchorage via snowmachine, two flights, and a car. Dinner at Mike's. Subaru was waiting for us at Patrick's.
R 12/25 - Much lounging with Patrick's family. Introduced to Penn & Teller. I made a big breakfast for everyone.
F 12/26 - Mike took us around to get chains and look for tires. Ate at the Village Inn and did our grocery shopping for the trip.
S 12/27 - Departed Anchorage after getting studded tires put on car and going to DMV to get paperwork on car. Drove to Tok and stayed at the Totem Inn.
S 12/28 - Totem Inn's outlet didn't work, so our block heater didn't, well, heat. Car froze overnight and we had to have someone come out and give a cold start. Made it out by noon with the sun resting on the horizon, saw caribou on the drive, went through customs, and pulled into Whitehorse late that night. Beez Kneez hostel was kind enough to open up for us and let Link stay inside.
M 12/29 - Drove all the way to Fort Nelson, saw buffalo parked on the "highway," also saw moose. Ended at Traveler's Inn, dumpy little place but sufficient.
T 12/30 - Got to Prince George, saw deer on the way, ended the day with beers in Shooters, and took out two nights at the very accommodating Travelodge. Starting to feel civilized again.
W 12/31 - Lounged all day. Played chess on the little board that Patrick got us for Christmas (via a gift card), watched a Dinner Impossible marathon, I bought makeup at the drug store to "clean up," had a lovely New Years Eve dinner at fancy restaurant Cimo's.
R 1/1 - Time to head out again. Passes, animals, snow, more of the same. Got dinner at a Chinese restaurant not far (between 15 and 40 miles) north of Boston Bar, where we stayed in the atrocious Motor Inn. Atrocious.
F 1/2 - Got to developed civilization. Got bagel sandwiches at Tim Hortons, changed out the oil on the car, Jeremy had a panic when he "lost" his license and credit card (which he subsequently found right where he'd put them), we saw a bald eagle (in Canada -- we yelled, "Get back to America, you traitor!"), went across the border again (in Canada, fast food drive throughs carry dog treats, so Link got accustomed, and when we got to the customs agent, he got very excited in anticipation of his dog treat, and stuck his head out the window trying to get to the agent), stopped by mall to get cell phone, had coffee and relaxed in Chocolicious Cafe in Seattle (actual name may have varied), then had amazing dinner party with friend Teddy and her friends.
S 1/3 - Headed off to Portland. Took the coastal route. Stopped in and toured Astoria, and then got to Portland where Nate awaited. We went to his holiday party at Lorenzo's, and watched Ironman later.
S 1/4 - Nate cooked breakfast, we went out to Multnomah falls, then on a short brewery tour that night to Lucky Lab and Green Dragon. It snowed and was beautiful to see a city in white.
M 1/5 - Took breakfast from Cricket Cafe up to dog park, where we met Ender the dog, then went to the Rose Garden, then the car broke down on Burnside (still on, just wouldn't go forward or backward, like brake was on) only a half block from Firestone, which we could see but couldn't get to. Took an hour for a tow truck to arrive. Link had his first subway ride on the way back to Nate's place, and that night the boys watched Zeitgeist but its not my thing so I passed out.
T 1/6 - We awaited word on the car, playing Gamecube in the meanwhile. Turns out the hill assist malfunctioned, turning the e-brake on. Firestone was nice enough not to charge me to fix it. That night, Nate wasn't feeling well per his back pain, but his roommate Erich took us out to McMinnamin's, which is an elementary school converted into a series of bars and fun stuff (outdoor hot pool, whiskey room, billard room, boiler room). Crazy. Link played a lot with Erich's dog Milo that day.
W 1/7 - I cooked up breakfast for everyone before we left. We got some groceries at Winco as we headed east out of Portland, and enjoyed the drive over to Idaho. Stopped in Boise and stayed at a palace of a hotel (Rodeway Inn) for $40.
R 1/8 - Enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the hotel before heading off for the day. Closed out Utah at Grogg's Pinnacle Brewing, staying in the nearby Price at the Legacy Inn.
F 1/9 - Jeremy lost his brand new sunglasses and we saw more of Utah than we intended in the process. Enjoyed the last day of our drive, although as it turned dark and we turned onto the final road that would take us into Taos, we saw "Road Closed Due to Snow Drifts." So we had to go around the mountains, which there was no good way to do other than going 70 miles out of our way, tacking on an extra hour and a half to the trip. After so much driving, we just laughed and got on our way. Closed out our trip by meeting Jamison at Eske's in Taos for a beer.
And here are the photos. Thanks for coming along with us!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Blog Suspended
It's been swell, it's been fun, but we're suspending the blog. Ok, not entirely fair -- I'm suspending the blog. It doesn't make sense anymore because we're not in Alaska at the Magic Cabin, and Jem's a hard cookie or a tough nut, whatever, to get the haikus out more than rarely. And since I'm writing so much in other areas, I have to reduce my obligations.
But if you think you'll just crumble inside not to see my wit and sarcasm manifest via the written word, please feel free to check out my other sites, several of which have RSS feeds:
Writing Kimberly
The Cultural Property and Archaeology Law Blog
Lawyer On! The Contract Attorney's Blog
Law Office of Kimberly Alderman
You are also welcome to keep up with us on Picasa. Or, hey, why not Facebook.
That's all, folks! Take care of yourselves... and each other.
But if you think you'll just crumble inside not to see my wit and sarcasm manifest via the written word, please feel free to check out my other sites, several of which have RSS feeds:
Writing Kimberly
The Cultural Property and Archaeology Law Blog
Lawyer On! The Contract Attorney's Blog
Law Office of Kimberly Alderman
You are also welcome to keep up with us on Picasa. Or, hey, why not Facebook.
That's all, folks! Take care of yourselves... and each other.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
High-End Manufactured/Prefab Green Homes & Eco Sheds
Always love to see what those crazy Northern Europeans are coming up with. Figured I'd share some of the highlight sites...
moderncabana.com
neoshed.com
kithaus.com
modern-shed.com
fabprefab.com
inhabitat.com
jetsongreen.com/prefab
openarchitecturenetwork.org
What's your favorite?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Plantings and Seedlings
Hello!
All is well here, and we're taking full advantage of the sun by growing some things (namely: Tomatoes, Spinach, Jalapeno, Thyme, Lavender, Cilantro, Basil, and Chives). To see our planting session two weeks ago and how our seedlings are doing now, check out these photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nomadtoes/PlantingAndSeedlings130091036AM#
Hope all is well out there in the world!
All is well here, and we're taking full advantage of the sun by growing some things (namely: Tomatoes, Spinach, Jalapeno, Thyme, Lavender, Cilantro, Basil, and Chives). To see our planting session two weeks ago and how our seedlings are doing now, check out these photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nomadtoes/PlantingAndSeedlings130091036AM#
Hope all is well out there in the world!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Funky Colmaplant.
I went to Petree's Nursey today and Sylvia helped me pick out some gorgeous plants. Here's the most bizarre--
Cylindricum. Or something. Its a specimen plant. That means weird. It is a variant of mother in law's tongue, which you've seen in office buildings everywhere. It grows in tube shaped. Coooool.
Cylindricum. Or something. Its a specimen plant. That means weird. It is a variant of mother in law's tongue, which you've seen in office buildings everywhere. It grows in tube shaped. Coooool.
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