Weekend project runs amok!

Re-doing the south bedroom was supposed to be a 3-day weekend thing. Install a ceiling fan, replace all the switches & outlets, shampoo the carpet, paint & make new drapes.
It took most of Friday just to get everything out of the room. Gemini was doing yardwork, when he wasn't busy chasing chickens, cats & dogs all over.

Here's a look at the entire bedroom, spewed out all over the living room. Chaos!

The minty-celery green was just too pale for that room. It gets full sunlight, even in winter, and needed something dramatic.

Same corner with partial paint & new ceiling fan. The trim, including the tiny bit around the ceiling edge, will be a dark bronzy-brown.

Another view, partially done. The room is so small that it's hard to get a picture showing perspective. The closet will stay the light green color, as a memento, and because it's a pain to paint it. There was a spiffy beaded curtain with a bright yellow sunflower painted on, but we'll replace that with a plain dark wood beaded one.

Painting done but for the trim. We just got the bottom trim done so we could shampoo the carpet and start putting furniture back in. We ran out of weekend, so we'll finish the trim painting and get the drapes done hopefully this coming weekend.

The kitties enjoyed a slumber party during the mess.

We also secondaried our first-ever batch of grape wine. A neighbor gifted us with buckets & buckets of grapes last fall, and we made jam with some and wine with the rest. Wines made from North American wild & hybrid grapes are often said to have a "foxy" quality. Whatever they call it, it's pretty darn tasty! We'll try more in about 6 months.

Our batch of chicks should arrive this week, and the bees not too long after. The garden is underway as well. Busy times, but we're planning to check out opening day at the Bellingham Farmer's market April 4th, and seeing Dan Savage at WWU later that evening.

Meatloaf a la Spring

Couldn't resist sharing a picture of our tasty Sunday dinner. Equal parts ground beef & pork, chopped green olives, onion, egg, cracker crumbs, salt, pepper & A-1 sauce. The mashed potatoes are from last year's Island Sunshine potatoes (so far the best variety we've ever grown) with plenty of sour cream mashed in. Leftovers are just as tasty as the original dinner!
The picture above is of Copra onions, a popular storage variety that we're trying out this year. Last year's onions finally ran out in mid-March, and these should be even more prolific with an early start and heavily compsted soil. We started seeds under a lamp in the house, then moved them to the greenhouse, and finally out to the garden last weekend. Hopefully they will settle in enough to weather late frosts, but we can always start more if need be.

Territorial Seeds says this about them:

"When all your other stored onions have turned to powder, you'll still be enjoying Copra. Our best storage onion and the unequaled leader in hard storage types. Adapted to long-day areas, it is a medium-sized, round, dark-yellow-skinned onion with ivory flesh. The thin necks dry quickly. In storage trials, Copra was as sound and flavorful in the spring as when freshly harvested in the fall. High in sugar and moderately pungent, Copra makes excellent French onion soup. "

Those pretty spuds above are a brand new variety developed by Wood Prairie Farms called Prairie Blush. It has won a Green Thumb Award from the Mailorder Gardening Association as one of the top six introductions for 2009. It is a mutation of Yukon Gold with a little denser, moister texture, aside from the lovely pink blush. If you want to read just how this tattie was discovered and developed, check out this fascinating article, One potato, two potato, three potato ... SCORE , from the Portland Press Herald.

We've pretty much decided on our favorite spinach variety after a few trials - Baby Leaf Catalina, from Renee's Garden seeds. The flavor stays sweet, they don't bolt as fast as the other varieties we tried (Bloomsdale), and so far they aren't bothered by any pests. We've got some starting under the lamp indoors, along with the first chard & lettuce seeds of the season. As they sprout, we'll move them to the greenhouse to grow more before planting them out. Then we'll keep starting more veggies as the weather warms up. Next on the list after greens are white and purple kohlrabis, broccoli & beets.

And as usual, the cats of Seven Trees are incredibly excited by the whole gardening experience...I don't know how Magnus gets into those pretzel positions!