Will run for chocolate

Thanks to Kathy Jones, who got me running in January. I've really been enjoying our Sunday runs around Green Lake. And even though I did fewer than half the training runs on the plan Eric provided...it was still fun to run the Hot Chocolate 15K. Beautiful day! Great, gently sloping route. And the best company ever. Thanks to Amy for coming out to cheer us on! Below: Tristen helping me pick up my race packet and after the race.

Artisan door and Chris versus Seattle rains

In his never ending quest to declare victory over Seattle rains, Chris completed a shelter that we hope keeps water from leaking through our kitchen door this winter.

I always thought doors had little roofs to keep people waiting at them out of the rain. Turns out, doors have little roofs to keep rain out, because it's really hard to make a door that doesn't leak at all.

Nice job, Chris!

Worms eat our food scraps

We're so lucky in Seattle that nearly everything is either recyclable or compostable. All of our food scraps can go into our yard waste bin -- and it costs us nothing to have it carted away to the Cedar Grove composting facility.

The trouble is, we're gardeners. So inevitably we end up buying our own food waste back from Cedar Grove. I've noticed that, as the city composting program has flourished, the quality of compost from Cedar Grove has declined -- or at least, it seems drier and woodier than before. I hypothesize that the composting facility is getting a higher ratio of yard waste.

Meanwhile, our garden isn't half as productive as Shelly and John's. They separate yard waste from food scraps, maintain an above-ground bin for yard waste, and feed their food scraps to worms, using the worm castings to nourish their veggies. I decided to try their worm-bin technique to see if I can get the same results.

The kids and I took the wagon to Ace, purchased two 20-gallon bins, moved some plants, and dug two 20-gallon holes right outside our back door. Then Chris drilled holes in both the bins to let soil critters find our compost, sunk them into our holes (burying the bins makes them rat-proof), and mulched around them. We shredded newspaper for worm bedding and purchased our first batch of worms from neighbor Xander, whose family has been worm composting for years. We're now layering food scraps and shredded newspapers. When one bin is full, we'll start in on the next -- and let you know how it works!

Third grade

I'm feeling extremely grateful today for these incredible, healthy children. Tristen is super excited to start third grade: loves his teacher, his school, and learning. I only cried a little this year. :)


















P.S. Other first days.

32 pounds

We picked 32 pounds of organic blueberries at Barbee farms. The bushes were so full, the berries so ripe, that they just fell from the leaves into our buckets. After berry picking, we stopped at a river and jumped in. Then we came back and froze the berries in some 16 over-sized mason jars.

July in Alton

Many of my pix are still on my phone, but here are a few fun family photos we took at my mom's garden and in my brother's yard.

Strong family visit

Our Japanese cousins came to town! As usual, their visit was too short.