Just saw "Julie and Julia", starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, with my 12-year oPd granddaughter. She enjoyed it; I loved it. When I read some of the reviews in our local paper, I was disappointed, but went to see it, anyway (I am a Streep fan). I'm glad I did; I left wanting to read "My Life in France", and try recipes from "Mastering the art of French Cooking".

Several months ago I read Julie Powell's. It dealt with Julie Powell's side of the story. The movie incorporated Julia Child's life, and I really enjoyed this treatment, by Nora Ephron. She did a great job of merging Julie and Julia's books.

You know, I actually saw Julia Child's kitchen in the Smithsonian museum. Today, looking at Julia and Julie's kitchens made me miss my kitchen, before Katrina. I miss my pastry cutter, my mezzaluna, my huge rolling pin, and on and on... I mentioned this to my sister, and she reminded me of my post-Katrina "living a simpler life" lifestyle vow. That doesn't make me miss my gadgets any less.

Can a movie contribute to vicarious living? YOU BET!

Regenerated Spirit

Below is an excerpt from a note to my son. It is amazing what a little bit of encouragement can do, so don't hesitate about sharing a good word with someone.

Just came in from the "Back 200" (sq. ft., not acres). :-)

I guess you could tell that I was feeling a bit discouraged about my garden when your visited. But, I enjoyed so much you telling me about your co-worker's and neighbor's gardens. I also got a pep talk from my book club members. And your hands-on help with the weeding, and everything else, helped tremendously. Since then, I hired a young man who helped me to get my yard sculpture (the "Fleur de Lis") to a manageable point, and had him to haul away all of the excess concrete. Also, the soaker hoses and sprinkler for the front lawn have made life so much easier. This morning, I've noticed that things are greener, and new growth is forming.

Sending some pictures that you might want to share with your co-worker, he may have some tips for me.

My compost bins are black-painted 12-gallon screw-top containers, with holes drilled every few inches. The newest composter is open (to dry a bit). I add refuse daily, and every few days, I lay each on its side and roll it through the yard (for mixing and aeration). The newest composter is open (to dry a bit). Yesterday, I opened it, and it was actually steaming (that's a good thing!). I just ordered a "Sun-Mar" rotating composter. Can hardly wait for it to be delivered! You can harvest finished compost even as you are adding raw materials. If it works ideally, I'll no longer have to wait for a cycle to complete, and have a bin out of commission.

The compost tea is made up of 1/3 container (3-gal. bucket) of completed compost, and water filled to top. I steeped it for four days, then strained it into these vessels. I need to transfer it to smaller jars. Before using on plants (spraying leaves or watering), this tea still has to be diluted to "weak tea" color.

My cistern holds 110 gallons of roof shutter-drained water. These are dry at the moment - no rain lately. The last rain produced 43 gals. in 28 mins. ( and this from only approx. 300 sf. of roof). I have two more barrels that I want to install soon.

Was going to send one of the of the yield from those grey shallots that I purchased from "Curry and Sons", when I last visited you, but out of space. I planted about 16 sets, and each produced about 5-7 bulbs. I think we've eaten more than half the crop already; I have about 50 bulbs left that I'm going to dry and platte up for hanging.

Back...For a While

Can't believe I haven't posted since Dec 2009! Been very, very busy.


Took classes with People Program in New Orleans and Metairie, LA. Took 2 art classes, and sold 2 watercolors! Will post them later. Also, classes in jewelry making and quilting. Working on some "inventory" jewelry, and 2 quilts.



Doing clothing alterations, and sweater repair, for a lot of the people I've met in the program.


Have been working a backyard vegetable garden, since last August (I think), and keeping a journal of my efforts. Winter garden produced so much greens (mustard, turnip, & collards), broccoli, and chinese cabbage, that I purchased a small chest freezer to store some of my bounty. This summer, I have approximately 50 varieties of vegetables (tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, potatoes, herbs, fruit trees, etc.).

My New Cistern

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I set up a rain-harvesting cistern in my back yard. We cut one of my downspouts, attached an 18" flexible piece to the bottom, and inserted the open end into a 50-gallon sealed drum. The drum was placed on a 20" high platform of concrete slab and cinder blocks. Before we placed the drum in position, we attached a spigot 3" from the bottom, and an overflow pipe 3" from the top.

Last night we had thunderstorms. I don't know how long, or heavily, it rained, but the cistern has collected approximately 18 gallons of water. This was collected from two 12'' sections of gutter, and one of those sections had another downspout at one end, so a good bit of water was lost. If I close off that downspout, I'll can stop the water loss, and gain another 20' of gutter attached to the other side. Even if I don't do this, I think I'll be able to easily fill the one cistern, and maybe attach another one for the overflow. I'm very please with the results.

Thanks to Clarence Edwards, for helping me to get this constructed. And, thanks to Anne Baker, of www.neworleans.com, who gave the "Organic Gardening Workshop, at Mat & Naddie's", on Nov. 22, 2008.

Below is a picture of my cistern. The concrete on top is a temporary weight. You can see the collected water, the 1/3 bottom section of the cistern (grey appearance). We installed an overflow at the back top of the cistern; I plan to install another barrel to collect the overflow, with an overflow of its own (since this one collected 18 gallons during one rain session!). And, yes, I do plan to stop at 2 (I think). I don't want to scare Clarence away --- I may want to build some chicken coops --- JUST KIDDING!

I've also included an audio, with commentary (3 min.), of the first rain water being collected (12/09/08; 11:21 PM). Tell me where you can find this kind of entertainment! I didn't realize how large the file was, so I hope it works. I tried to get my camera as close to the cistern as possible; the external noise is rain still falling, wind, and my lens cap hitting the cistern. I give visual reference that I can see on my camera, but it cannot be seen on my computer; sorry sbout that.

I apologize if this bores some of you, but I find this positively fascinating!!!

Gardening/Composting Progress

Just bought two 12-gallon buckets from Continental Supply House, Inc. (253 Iris, Jefferson, LA. 70121). They're perfect for my composting. They're white (I may paint them black for heat retention), and have screw-on tops.. To prepare one for composting, I drilled 3/16" holes, at approximately 4" intervals around the top and bottom. I drilled each at an angle to let in air, but keep out rainwater, since compost should not be very wet. I've already filled this bin (I had a compost "pile" in the corner of my garden). Now, all I have to do is turn the bucket, every 5 days, and I'll soon have compost. By turning, I mean that I lay it on its side, roll it across the yard and back; then I stand it upright again. I already have another pile started. When it gets to a sizable amount, I'll transfer that pile to the other bucket. If the composting in the first bucket is not complete, I'll have to buy a third bucket, but I'm stopping at 3; hopefully, the composting cycle will only require 2 buckets.

Added some peat moss, manure, and store-bought compost to about 15 feet of garden. I put in the leaf lettuce that I bought in Lake Charles. I also put out all of my collards, mustards, and the rest of the turnips. I really didn't have enough space, so I put turnips in other parts of my garden; I'll have to draw myself a map if I keep putting things in).

I also have a holding bed. It's a small area that can hold small, young plants until space becomes available. Its crowded, with about 14 or 16 mustards in a 1-foot square area, but they'll hold until I can get some more space; I have about 10 more feet along my back fence. Then I;ll have to start making beds in another area, until the whole yard is garden.

See pictures below of composting containers, new temporary compost heap, young cabbages, small holding area (in broccoli bed):

How My Garden Grows

My vegetable plot is located in my backyard. Right now, it borders my privacy fence on two sides. The true back plot is 46' long, and approximately 2.5' deep. The side plot is the same depth, but 20' long. Where the two sides meet, I've set up a 2.5' X 2.5' corner compost area.

My herbs are planted in double-holed cinder blocks, with the holes serving as the "pot" for each herb. This allows me to have approximately 12 plants in a 2.' sq. area.

Right now, I'm doing deep-bed gardening, where the soil is never compressed by anyone stepping onto the turned soil. To facilitate this, I'm using some bread racks that were given to me by the owner of "Mat and Naddy's", a restaurant located in the Riverbend area of New Orleans. I can lay them on top of the plot where they distribute my weight over a broader area, not allowing any concentrated compression.

The bread racks do double duty by converting my handtruck into a wagon, one rack forming a flat platform on which I can carry heavy, or multiple items. I can also use the racks as templates for evenly spacing seeds, or seedlings, in the plot.

All summer long, I've been broadcasting composting materials throughout the garden, going from one end to the other, placing fruit and vegetable scraps in three feet of garden , then moving to the next three feet for the next addition. Early on, when I went back to the first spot, the material was already incorporated into the soil (this was the dead heat of summer, and heat helps!). Well, now I'm accumulating more composting material than I can broadcast, so I'm starting a compost pile. It's doing quite well, but I know I will soon have to put it in a container to mature, and start a new pile. I must say, though, that I'm liking the composting; there's such a science to it. There's a certain formula, brown to green material, nitrogen to carbon, and wet to dry moisture level, but oddly, each composter's formula is different. Making it work is the intrigue. Seeing the results is the beauty.

I have a 50-gallon plastic drum, with a sealed top. I plan to set up a water cistern to collect rainwater that drains from my roof.

So far, I have not used any insectcides. I'm following the advice of some gardening books that I purchased at a used bookstore in Atlanta. I know I'm going to lose some of my veggies (I already have), but I'm trying to hold off as long as possible. I can tell you, though, I don't like hand-picking caterpillars.

All in all, though, I like how the garden is progressing. I'm learning quite a bit, even if it is by trial and error.

My Garden Plot

I just bought some french shallots and chives for my garden. I only bought one 4" pot of each. The chives I will plant as it is, but I think I can divide the shallot and, if I am reading gardening advice correctly, I think each shoot will then produce multiple "fingers". Once I pull the plant from its pot, I'll know whether I want to divide it.

My vegetable garden has broccoli, cabbage, turnips, carrots, mustard, collards, several varieties of onions, two types of garlic, and two rogue plants (cantaloupe and tomato) that grew from my compost pile (did I mention that I like composting?). My herb garden consists of rosemary, parsley, basil, thyme, chocoalate mint, chives, oregano, sage, and celery.

Right now, I'm in Lake Charles, La., visiting my son and his girlfriend. We visited Greengate Garden Center, and I bought some leaf lettuce, tarragon, Chinese cabbage, and spearmint. These will go in when I get back home.

My vegetable plot is located in my backyard. Right now, it borders my privacy fence on two sides. The true back plot is 46' long, and approximately 2.5' deep. The side plot is the same depth, but 20' long. Right now, about 2/3 of my plot is planted. The other soil in turned, but I want to amend it with some peat moss, compost, and manure.