Giddy Recycles!

Never one to waste anything, my latest recycling idea is quite brilliant, if I do say so myself.

As you know by reading this blog, H and I have two beautiful rescue kitties. Spike and Sluggo truly do light up our days and we love them dearly. Not a day goes by that they don't bring a smile to our faces or a hearty belly laugh with their antics. Not to mention that the cats always have the best seat in the house!

Now, the downside of having pets is the, how shall we say it, ahem, the "exhaust" created by them.

We purchase the clumping kitty litter in big 40 pound, plastic tubs, which unfortunately, cannot be recycled by our local recycling company. I have used these tubs for everything from yarn storage to compost buckets, but alas, they still pile up in the garage. What to do? What to do?

Last year, I began buying all my eggs in recycled cardboard cartons. As I used the eggs, I kept the shells in the cartons and then stored them all in the garage with the intent of using them in my flower pots instead of styrofoam peanuts in order to save on the expensive potting soil. Not only will the cardboard help keep the soil moist, but the eggshells add calcium and other nutrients to the soil. At the end of the season, the egg cartons and depleted soil could be conveniently thrown on the compost pile for next year's garden. Perfect!!

A couple of days ago, I found some really nice tomato plants at our local nursery and decided to purchase them even though it's too early to plant them outside, but I knew if I waited, I would not have the selection of these lovely, healthy plants.

In years past, I've not had the best of luck with growing tomatoes like I did when we lived in the warmer climate of Kentucky, so I decided that perhaps growing them in individual buckets would be best up here in Maine. Voila! The need for buckets presented itself and what a better way to recycle the kitty litter pails!!!

The tomatoes spend every warm spring day outside in the sunshine, but I'm able to put them back in the garage in case of an unexpected spring freeze. Once the danger of frost is over, I'll keep them in a warm, sunny spot outside.

And just what is this nasty looking tub of vegetative stuff?

Why, it's seaweed collected while on one of our favorite walks in Sorrento Harbor. This stuff has been sitting above the high tide mark on the shore all winter long and is perfectly dried and ready to be spread on the garden. It's full of lovely nutrients like potassium, magnesium, zinc, selenium and loads of other things good for the flowers and veggies. We'll be collecting more each time we go.

I've finally managed to find the time and left over building materials to create a small planting area on the sunny side of the house. The area was mostly sandy fill, so I added lots of composted cow manure and seaweed and then planted red and white onions and red and green cabbage. It will be interesting to see how things grow. Our friend, little gnome "Dopey", keeps watch over the patch.
We're finally seeing some color in the garden as the primroses are beginning to bloom.

The Rock Arabis is blooming in the middle of the vegetable bed. I'll have to definitely move it this year!
Pansies always bring a spring smile to my face....

However, the Italian Parsley seedlings look as though they need more sun.

All in all though, I'm so happy to finally be able to get dirt under my fingernails again!

A dirty life is a good life!

Hugs, Giddy

I'm Back!

The past three weeks have just flown by with way too much to do. We headed south to visit with my Mom and Dad and while we were there, H and I cooked up a storm for them. By the time all the slicing and dicing was said and done, we had about 75 meals cooked, individually packaged and squirreled away in their freezer.

H made a big batch of his yummy Chicken, Smoked Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo and a double batch of 15 Bean Soup.....

while I made Chicken Parmesan, Cube Steaks with Mushrooms and Gravy, a big pan of cornbread to go with the soup, and together, we made Chicken and vegetable stir fry and egg rolls.
We think Mom and Daddy were pleased.

It was a fun visit with them and we look forward to another one soon.

In the meantime, when we returned home, the weather had turned to springlike warmth and it was time to get out in the garden and get things cleaned up. To that end, we spent the next few days cutting back perennials, getting the deck furniture unwrapped, brought the deck fountain up, but didn't get it going yet, but did open up the pond. Gunther Gnome is holding up the water fall tube until I can figure out a new configuration for the water flow.

I transplanted the poor Japanese Maple that had been bent to the ground for the past two years from the snow plow. I think it will be much happier planted next to the pond.

Now what do the above potato, carrot and broken light bulb have to do with each other, you ask?

When I tried to use the oven, I discovered the appliance light inside had burned out and as I tried to unscrew it, it broke off. I attempted to use the time tested method of using a raw potato to retrieve the broken part but it didn't work. So, instead, I used the end of a carrot, which worked infinitely better! Just another little hint for the time you need to retrieve a stuck bulb.

The boys, of course, were not pleased that we had left them for a few days, but they were well cared for by our friends who looked in on them frequently. We got a few dirty looks from them, but they eventually came around to loving us again.

Spike just glared at us for a few minutes...........

while Sluggo just regally ignored us for a while.

I don't often air my Libertarian leanings, but unable to attend any Tea Parties on Tax Day, I protested by hanging a tea bag from the pocket of my shirt and emailing my representatives in Congress. I may be one lone voice in the wilderness, but each voice, like each vote counts!

And so, dear ones, as the sun sets on another day on the beautiful, rocky coast of Maine, I look forward to dragging myself back out to the garden tomorrow for yet another round of pulling weeds, turning soil and breathing deeply of the fresh spring air.


Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

And so it begins

Spring, that is. Yes, dear friends, spring has finally arrived here in Downeast Maine. The huge snowbanks are melting quickly these days and wee bits of green are emerging from the soil to greet the sun ever higher in the sky.

And the sleepy plants aren't the only ones to enjoy the warmer days. Even though there may still be snowbanks surrounding us, we Mainers take every opportunity to sit outside on sunny days.

A couple of days ago, we had a 50 degree, sunny day and I took the opportunity to do a bit of cleanup in the perennial beds. I raked piles of leaves out of the sunny side, but they were still frozen in the shady side. There is still so much work to do!

I've begun starting a few seeds. I saved all of the cardboard egg cartons over the winter and use them to sprout seeds. These have Italian Parsley in them and the directions said to keep them in the dark until they sprout, therefore, they are sitting in the closet as I write.


The Genovese Basil has already sprouted!

Whenever a bit of Jade plant drops off, I can't bring myself to toss it into the compost pile and now, I've got another "orphan" to find a home for.

Last year, I trimmed the Schefflera at the Clinic and rooted the trimmings. I gave all the ladies in the Clinic one and kept the runt of the litter for myself. The "runt" has grown quite nicely!

I over wintered the tradescantia "Purple Queen" in the background and it will be ready to set out around June.

Since most of the days are still chilly and rainy, I've been doing lots of baking, as well. I had a bunch of bananas in the freezer, so it was time to make Banana Bread again. However, since I like to experiment with recipes, I deviated a wee bit and added some good Ghiradelli cocoa, substituted dark roast coffee for the water, whole wheat for half the flour and voila!, I had a luscious Mocha Banana Loaf.

I was going to put in some grated orange rind too, but I forgot. Oh, well, maybe next time.

I also made pita bread for the first time. What fun that was to watch the dough puff up in the oven.

The recipe is from the "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book. I then cut the pita breads in half and each half into triangles, sprayed them with olive oil and baked them til crisp. Sprinkled with Seasoned Salt, they made a wonderful chip for dips!

The boys have been very good all winter long, so we got them a little surprise the last time we went to the pet store. They love their new perch and so far, have been sharing the top seat quite nicely.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

Spring Has Sprung!

And I, for one, am ecstatic and began the day with a colorful plate of fresh Florida strawberries I found earlier in the week.

OK, now that I've calmed down and faced the reality that March is not a spring month in Maine, it's time to at least begin planning the garden.

I had every intention of taking a few of the hardier plants out of the winter garden room downstairs and moving them to the sunny loft in the garage, where I've set up a potting/seeding station, however, when I went outside, I felt it was still just a wee bit too cold. Not to be deterred in my celebration of the Vernal Equinox, I ventured out and cut a few pussy willows that I had spied blooming while on my walk up the drive yesterday.

Just the thing for my Grandmother's vase.

Despite not being able to take anything over to the garage, I brought a couple of overwintered geraniums upstairs to clean them up by removing all the dried leaves and give them a nice watering and bath.

The one on the left has several buds just about ready to bloom, so I put them in front of the south facing sliding glass door in the bedroom so they can soak up the sun.

I also cut back the rosemary sprigs I had rooted last autumn. They look pretty puny, but with a wee bit of good old Miracle Grow, some sun and warmth, they will take off!


I've begun picking up some seeds as I see them on sale in various stores. These are just a few packets, but I have more than I need stashed away!

I'll start putting the cold hardy ones out as soon as we get back from our visit with my Mom and Dad.

Last Sunday, we had a nice warm day and decided we would drive over to Sorrento for a walk to our favorite beach and look for sea glass. Since the tourists have all been gone for the winter and we've had several stormy days, the pickings would undoubtedly be good.

And, I was right! The beach was loaded with glass, but I only picked up ones that were either unusual in color or shape. Brown is all over, but green, white and especially blue are harder to find. We left loads more for the tourists when they return this summer.

H was the winner of the hunt as he found both of the "bluey's!

We also headed over to Bar Harbor on Tuesday to wander the streets and see which stores were open. Most of them were still boarded up for the season, with signs out front stating when they would reopen, but we stopped in to Sherman's Bookstore to browse and then headed to Geddy's for lunch. It's always nice to visit off season and we like to look across the park at the Bar Harbor Inn and reminisce where our adventures all started and we ended up in Maine.

And now, for the cat segment of the post!

Sluggo, it seems, has found a new favorite spot sitting on top of the fridge. He's been looking at how he might make it on top of the cabinets, but I don't think he's quite agile enough to make it. At least not yet!

His Majesty, Spike, just looks bored with the whole thing.

And so ends our first exciting spring day of the year!

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

It's Thawing Out!

Finally! The weather forecast is showing temperatures in the high 30's and 40's for the foreseeable future. Yesterday, the high temperature was 52 whopping degrees and the sun was high in the sky! Whoohoo! I stood out on the deck, toasting the glowing orb with a nice glass of Merlot and soaked in the Vitamin D. I deliberately ignored the snow still on the ground. The birds were chirping, the squirrels were mincing about and all was right with the world.

However, we are still planning on heading south next January to visit with the kids and grandkids, and maybe miss a bit of the inevitable bad weather of winter. With that in mind, we purchased a nice traveling kitty condo for the boys.

And what a deal we got! This same item sold for $119.00 at Petco. We just happened to be at Ocean State Job Lots last week and found it for $29! Oh, how I love a deal.

Now, if the boys will just agree to enjoy their trip south with us. We've had the condo set up in the living room for a week so they could get accustomed to it. Even threw in a few of Spike's favorite treat of boiled shrimp, however, I think they still remain dubious.

Last night, the boys were entertained by Big Booda, the raccoon who was helping himself to the bird feeder.

I've been frantically knitting, trying to finish most of my UFO's (unfinished objects) and finally put the last touches on my cotton sweater.....


I also finished another market bag for a special person who likes to frequent Friday Green Markets. It should be on it's way in tomorrow's mail!


Last, but not least, we found this cute little guacamole kit at the Bangor Air National Guard Base Commissary. It has all the necessary ingredients; avocados, tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno and lime. All that for only $2.17! I'd show a picture of the resulting guacamole, but we ate it before I remembered the camera. DEELISHUS!

And now, I hate to run, but the sun is shining again! YAY!!!

Life is really, really, good.

Hugs, Giddy

Giddy's Got the Cookies!

Sigh! Will this winter never end? H and I have always loved the winter months, but this constant onslaught of nor'easters and bitterly cold weather is beginning to wear very thin.

So, what's a housebound gnome to do? Can't get my fingers dirty in the garden yet, so why not play with something chocolate to pretend they are covered in warm, wonderful garden soil.

As you may have noticed in many previous posts, I am a huge fan of Zoe Francois' baking. Her blog, Zoe Bakes is wealth of yummy recipes, helpful hints and makes great reading on a long, snowy day. The other day, she had a recipe for Chocolate Ginger and Grapefruit Biscotti. Perfect! H is of Italian heritage and I love chocolate, ergo, a great combination!

OK, I rooted through the pantry and unfortunately, I did not have crystallized ginger and no candied grapefruit. However, I did have a knob of fresh ginger in the fridge and some dried apricots in the pantry. Perfect!

First, I peeled and diced the fresh ginger, added it to a saucepan with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar and simmered it until the ginger was soft and the water had all evaporated, leaving a nice, sweet coating on the ginger. I let it cool while I added the rest of the ingredients, substituting diced dried apricots for the candied grapefruit. (see recipe on Zoe's blog).

After shaping the dough into two logs and placing on a parchment paper lined half sheet, I baked them for 35 minutes.....

I let the logs cool for about 1/2 hour and then, with a serrated knife, sliced them and returned the slices to the baking sheet, popped them back into the oven for 15 minutes, turned them over and baked them for an additional 15 minutes.

The resulting biscotti were deeeelicious dunked in a nice morning caffe latte or better yet, a nice glass of wine for a late afternoon break!

Next, H was determined to brave the cold and grill hamburgers. Would I please make some hamburger buns, he asked? No problem, says I.

I think I have this recipe just about down to how I like it. The trick is to make a very loose dough and handle it as gently as possible. The resulting buns are so superior to the ones you get in the store and hold up much better to those nice, juicy burgers.

The tiny Maine shrimp posted on a previous blog came in handy for a salad the other day.

Little Sluggo watched all the goings on from his perch in the kitchen window......

While Spike kept a close watch on Sluggo as he is often the first to find a fun time!


Give a cat a box and he's happy for hours!

And so goes life in the Great Frozen North! Spring is on it's way!

Life is good!

Hugs, Giddy