A big pile of crap

This weekend was a much needed break from the drama at work. And it was awesome.

We kicked the weekend off early by seeing my cousin's band open for Pink Martini, a popular local band that just got back from a European tour. I was a little skeptical, seeing as I tend not to care for live music (the crowds, the smoke, the on-your-feet-the-whole-time thing). I met Ken at Pioneer Square and we walked a few blocks to the bar under the venue for a quick bite to eat. Then up the stairs to the Crystal Ballroom. I was amazed to see an open, airy ballroom with hardwood floors, leaded glass windows, chandeliers... as you can see here and here. (Note: this is also where Modest Mouse played a few months ago). I was impressed. We each got a 20 oz microbrew (Terminator Stout -- Brian, the link is for you) for $5 a piece and walked up to the balcony. Great view and if you get there early enough (we didn't), you get seats overlooking everything. We found a cushy spot to claim -- first standing row in the balcony. Talked to my cousin's dad for a bit (also my cousin -- his dad and my grandmother were siblings), then the lights went low and on they came. They did a great job opening (not like that horrible opener for Pinback a few months ago when Dave & Rob were in town). I actually enjoyed both shows. After it was over, we bought a CD and hopped on the bus which made a bee-line for our house. Having such an easy trip makes driving to such shows seem ridiculous -- it's free to take the bus ($1.40 for those without a pass), it's less than two blocks of walking (adding the walking distance on both ends), we don't have to look for a parking place and can drink without worry about driving. In short, I love that venue and would go back anytime. We had a great time.

We both worked Friday and then that night we walked to the Laurelhurst to see Sideways. We each got two slices of pizza and split a pitcher of porter from their nitro tap (adds nitrogen into the beer, making a 'creamier' beer -- think guiness or any other beer with the chargers in the cans). Enjoyed the movie very much... don't know if it deserved a 'best picture' nod, but that's another story.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Sunny and 70-75ish. Woke up to Ken already installing the undercabinet lights. Since the power was off in the kitchen, I ran an extension cord from the other room to make my coffee and a chai for Ken. Went on the back porch to see our weedy mess of a backyard. Even though I've been weeding back there for six weeks, there are still weeds popping up daily. We knew we wanted a garden and Ken already planted corn (!) and carrots in the narrow strip of grass between our house and the fence to the west. We already also planted some tomatoes, strawberries & sugar snaps/snow peas in the small "beds" I eeked out of the weed patches. But today felt different. Today was the day that our garden would be a garden. I found a place where we could buy compost+great soil from a local family-run company. Ken was heading out that way to pick up some electrical boxes for his project, so he swung by the place for me on his way. They filled Ken's truck to the brim with that sweet stink that plants love so much. Yep, a big pile of crap.

Meanwhile, I went to a couple plant sales in search of the lettuce Ken wanted and other goodies to plant. First one was a bust. So was the second. But the third one.... ooooh the third one -- it was amazing. About 40 local plant people (not companies) gathered at the spacious, open-aired fairgrounds to sell their plants. Could be a disaster in that you paid every vendor directly. But this sale was better than that. In addition to the plant stake that said what the plant was, there was also a plant stake with the vendor's designated number and the price of the plant. You picked up a wheelbarrow when you walked in, gathered all the plants you wanted and then when you checked out, they'd pull the yellow stakes and enter them into the register (i.e. vendor #41 = 1.50; #72=4.00... on and on). Then at the end of the day, all the vendors get their money. One stop shopping and everyone is happy... including me since I don't feel like I'm reaching into my wallet every five minutes. The plants were all reasonably priced. A ton of vegetables (although no lettuce). In terms of veggies, I bought 4 tomato plants (bringing our total # of tomato plants to (gulp) 11. Also bought a purple pepper, a bell pepper, some parsley, oregano, st. michael (?) basil, a zucchini, a yellow crook neck squash, a papaya pear yellow squash and a butternut squash seedling. They also gave to me for free another squash and a 'spooktacular' pumpkin. As for other plants, I splurged and spent 6 bucks on two of my favorite plants: a nicotiana and a heliotrope... both sweet smelling and a total luxury on summer evenings when the warm breeze spreads their fragrance across the porch.

When I get home, I put my new friends in the shade, change quickly and go outside to strategize. Decided I could create a bed down the left side... roughly 4x24 feet. Perfect. I stake the line with twine and start loosening the dirt with a spade so I can mix in the new composted soil. Then I hit it. Something hard. I excavate. Crap. There it is, a 1' diameter concrete sunken post hole right in the middle of our would-be garden. I call Ken out and he tells me it will likely be about 2 feet deep. I start digging and after an hour, the two of have the 3 1/2 foot demon pulled out. I continue loosening dirt in the bed, hoping I wouldn't find another. I didn't. We decided to use a railroad tie* to line the bed (raises it a bit, keeps out grass & forms a nice border). I remove the nails holding it together, cringe from the spiders living on its underside, and then Ken & I haul it to the backyard to the trench I've dug for it. It's a little too long and Ken uses the circular saw to trim it down. And in it goes. Perfectly. The two smaller boards also get cut and go to lining the bed filled with snap & snow peas. And now our borders are in. It is dark. I go in to research companion planting and determine our garden layout. Ken finishes installing the undercabinet lighting & cleans up around 2 am. We go to bed with the satisfaction of knowing how much things have changed for the better.

Sunday holds a lot of crap-moving for me. So we went to the grocery store first to get our groceries for the week. On the way Ken brings up wanting go go to Sears since they were having a sale on lawnmowers. So we detour. I guess I caved sooner than I thought since he picked out an inexpensive gas powered one that they loaded into the back of my car. The Sears detour meant I got to spend time in the garden section (that was the trade). Ken humored me and I picked out a banana pepper, a jalapeno, thyme & some spinach while he picked out lettuce & celery. Also picked out some marigolds & petunia starts as well as nasturtium seeds to spread through the garden (per the companion planting recommendation). Our quick side-trip took most of the morning. Now it was 1 pm and I still had a truck full of dirt to move. I fill the tilled bed with 3 inches of the sweet stink to prevent weeds. The only plants in there so far were tomatoes, which I covered almost up to the tops with more compost for better root development. Next I placed the potted plants in their new locations and when I liked the arrangement, sunk them in the dirt. Scattered some marigold, petunia, nasturtium & sunflower seeds and watered everything in place. Just finished reseeding the backyard with fresh grass seed when it started to drizzle. Perfect timing since everything will have a chance to get settled without major shock.

And that was our weekend. Exhausting yet exhilarating. I'm so happy and excited to see how the garden goes this summer. Our strawberries are already starting to show fruit. Many of our summer bulbs have pushed through the dirt. Our windows are now open 24-7 and we went to sleep with the sound of rain falling on the roof. It was a great weekend.


*Our driveway will be about a foot narrower come July since a developer is building a duplex in the empty lot next door and the property line comes into the tire track in our driveway. That means the pretty flower bed needs to be moved to get our cars in. I knew this project was coming, just hadn't gotten to it yet. The plants will be transplanted to a planting area I'm making under deck with lattice. However, that still left a big 26 foot railroad tie and two smaller 4x8" that line to bed to find new homes. Perfect.