A special CSA post

This week's CSA posting is extra-special. There's a photo!

Just check out the goodness. Radishes, bag of arugula, cabbage, two bunches of broccoli, two baskets of strawberries, three beets, four red onions, 6 eggs. And you see that bundle of leaves at the bottom? That's a basil plant. With its roots in water, I'll get fresh basil for the next two weeks.

Of course, trying to fit this haul into my fridge helped force me to find creative ways to eat some of last week's produce: both rainbow chard and kohlrabi leaves featured prominently in dinner. I've also finally finished the bunch of radishes from two weeks ago. While I've been reading that one can eat turnip and radish greens, I've yet to steel myself for the plunge into doing so. However, I dare say that it'll happen eventually, considering that I'm already eating beet and kohlrabi greens.

With now six beets and a head of cabbage residing in my fridge, plus the onions on the side, all I need is my Mom's special Christmas borscht recipe and I've got a fabulous soup ready for the simmering. Christmas in July!

Some sewing was performed this evening, after total laziness the past two days. I finally (after, seriously, about 10-12 months) hemmed a blue linen shift dress, so it is now finished. I also stitched the major seams in the bodice and lining of my practice Regency dress. Photos to follow.

I can see the moon through the tree branches outside my window. Definitely time to head towards bed. Good night!

Farmers' Market Haul

Saturday morning was yet another good day for shopping. I started as usual with Fifth Crow Farm, for pastured eggs and baby lettuces. Then it was down to the citrus pusher (long story) where I picked up navel oranges and a couple of avocados. In the next aisle I bought sauerkraut, a 4-lb bag of raw almonds (for making almond butter! and because it is more economical to buy them in bulk and just store in the freezer), and grass-fed cow and lamb parts. Eventually I finished filling up my bag with potatoes, onions, cilantro, asparagus, cucumbers, dill, cherries, and salmon. A very diverse collection, which required two trips around the entire market to find everything and compare prices.

I was actually very proud of my boyfriend. On his earliest visits to the market he would come home with salsa, pumpkin bread, ravioli, etc. That is, all prepared foods, and basically no vegetables. This time he bought for himself some strawberries, bell pepper, onions, potatoes, and asparagus. To be healthier, he's cooking for himself. Apparently there were a few glitches in the actual cooking plan last night, but yay for him for eating his own, fresh food instead of ordering pizza.

We watched the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet "Sense and Sensibility" on Saturday night, and now my brain is filled with simple empire-waisted dresses. It's already thinking about which fabrics in my stash would be suitable. Of course, I've got a lot of sewing already on my list before I can branch off into the Regency styles, but I expect they will begin to get worked on later on this summer.

Yesterday was the "Bay to Breakers" race in San Francisco. Normally it registers in my boyfriend's brain as "can't drive north today", but since he has a newcomer, me, to show everything off to, we ended up heading down to the park to witness the race aftermath. Tons of people, in very silly costumes, and sometimes no clothes at all, turn out to see and be seen. Fortunately it was a very pleasant, sunny day, and I can think of no better way to spend a Sunday than strolling through a park. We even saw five bison down in their paddock. All told, it was 2 3/4 hours of strolling, covering 6.7 miles.

Spring Cleaning Urge

I've had the urge recently to do some thorough cleaning at home. Really scrubbing down the sinks, vacuum the floors, maybe even rearrange the furniture. Haven't had a chance to actually do it yet, but perhaps Saturday will give me an hour to devote to the cleaning that ordinarily gets shrugged off.

Today I've had a major feeling that my house is too cluttered. I have too much stuff; it's getting in my way. I want to take a look at those boxes of papers and projects that "I'll get around to" and decide whether I really want to. I mean, it would be tons of fun to do my own bookbinding, but am I actually going to do it? If not, should I really be holding on to all those masses of printed sheets I could just recycle instead of them taking space all over my living room?

I think I need my former roommate to come up and visit me so that she can help hold an intervention, like we've done with each other before. I'll even hold off until Passover week, so we can have a little seder together. :)

Of course, part of my desire to clean up the clutter is so that I'll have more room for working on projects. I haven't done any costuming in a while, and I've got a list of things I want to make. Some are for Pirate Fest, some are for balls, some are for my sweetie. My sewing setup as it is right now is rather cramped. Having a more open, welcoming space would be very conducive to more sewing.

I've also been thinking about spinning wheels. Actually fabulous visions of me sitting down to a spinning wheel in a nice homey room and getting a lot of meditative spinning done. :) First I want a book that explains to me how all the components of the spinning wheel work together, so I understand it better. That way there's a chance I could find an "antique" wheel on craigslist and know whether it could be operational or not. Then I can start in on the bags of fiber I have appropriated through the years.

How about you? Does the spring make you want to clean or start all kinds of new projects?