Fall is certainly here -- we have seen the last of the hot weather and I think that very soon it may even freeze at night.

So yesterday Brian and I spent a few hours breaking down the vegetable garden. We pulled out everything but the acorn squash -- which has produced a couple of grapefruit-sized gourds so far.

The tomatoes, which I thought in early summer would be a smashing success, kind of failed. And here is why:

+ The three plants grew incredibly large and tall, creating too much shade for the inner and lower fruits. This also made the stalks/stems too long for nutrients to actually reach all of the tomatoes. They were all over six feet at their highest. Needed lots of support to keep from collapsing. This was probably because they were in a very sunny area, in very rich composty soil, with unlimited root space in the ground.

+ Birds took to eating the fruits as soon as they began to turn color. >:(

+ Did not get enough water or food from me. It was hard to keep up as I got pregnanter. Could not do any pruning, etc.

So. Yesterday I plucked about five pounds of green tomatoes and put them in a paper bag. Having done this a few weeks ago, I know they will ripen to perfection. Pity they could not ripen on the vine.

Learnings for next season: Instead of a raised, ground garden bed for tomatoes, we will purchase some oak half wine barrels, which will give the plants enough room, but not too much room. And they will be easier to access. One plant per barrel. More watering, feeding, and pruning. Netting if the birds become an issue again.

Good news is that when the tomatoes did survive to ripeness, they were amazing.

Other takeaways from Veggie Garden 2009 for next spring:

+ Plant carrots earlier, and continue to plant in rows every two weeks, so that we can have carrots all summer.

+ Skip the radishes; not really worth it. Same with sugar snap peas. Peas are only worth it if you do a whole field of them. But they are very easy to grow, anyway. Might be fun for the baby... hmm we'll see.

+ Do cucumbers again, but only one variety, and do them in barrels as well. They creep along the ground and get tangled without enough attention. Produced yummy fruit though.

+ Skip the peppers; again, not worth it when you yield a SINGLE pepper on each plant.

Next summer I won't be pregnant so it's going to be much easier to keep up with the garden. When summer falls in your final trimester and you can't even put on socks, it's not really possible to pull weeds or plant anything.

Any suggestions for other worthwhile edibles to grow would be great. Summer squash, maybe?

Finally started reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth today on the way home (I've had it for months now, wanted to wait to read it until we were getting close). So totally inspired, empowered, and calmed by the natural approach to the most natural thing in the world. I could gab much more about this but it would bore most of you. Let's just say it's very indicative of modern America's culture of fear when people are shocked, dubious, or impressed that I intend to actually give birth without drugs.

Picked two red tomatoes tonight from the garden, the first of many to be sure.

Think I might paint some of the nursery tonight. Also there's a ceiling fan spinning in there so it's a nice room to be in.

Sleep is becoming very choppy. The heat doesn't help. I have taken to wedging a small pillow under my belly as I lie on my side to give it some support so it doesn't feel like it's drooping down onto the mattress. If that makes sense. And I have to be careful to stay on my side and not lay on her, which annoys her and makes her squirm around. And I can't sleep on my back because it's harder to breathe. Oh the humanity! But I manage a series of naps throughout the night, interrupted by several pee breaks. After she's born there will still be sleeplessness but omg I will be able to lie on my back or tummy again...

Dinner tonight was a green salad and cous cous with chicken.

In the salad: mixed summer greens from the farmers market, grown here in town; carrots from my garden; cucumber; radishes; homemade vinaigrette.

In the cous cous: sugar snap peas and mint from my garden; cherry tomatoes; toasted pine nuts; golden raisins; sauteed chicken breast; chicken stock; multicolored cous cous; zucchini; plain yogurt.

Healthy and nice for a very hot evening.

Now I need a shower.

Today I paid for a pedicure. I can no longer comfortably reach my toes, and it was nice to get a pampering foot soak/scrub/massage. I brought in a polish I just bought, it's a new Chanel color that is best described as red wine with subtle sparkle. I love it. And their polish has the tendency to be indestructible, so I'll be able to leave this on for a month or so.

I'm so tan right now and I hate it.

I made red mashed potatoes with dinner tonight. It was actually super easy. Though next time I'll try with the ricer instead of the hand masher. We ate dinner out on the back deck.

This afternoon we went to see "Away We Go" and both loved it. The main character is six months pregnant, so am I. Though she looked much larger in the belly than me. But hey, every bump is different. And it was doubtlessly a prosthetic. Brian and I really identified with much of the movie. Mainly the pregnancy stuff I guess, and nervousness over imminent parenthood. The baby kicked me frequently during the film, I think she heard the music. I put Brian's hand on my belly once so he could feel.

Brian just finished building a string cage around the voluminous tomato plants. Hopefully that will contain them for the rest of the season.

Here are some carrots I pulled a couple days ago. They were very sweet.



I am going to hire a doula for the baby's birth. I get the feeling this will be an invaluable service for us, especially as first-timers.

Tomorrow I kind of want to relax around the house and do not very much. I just started reading The Brothers K and so far I like it. It has lots of baseball talk. Maybe I'll just read in the afternoon when it starts getting really hot.

Here is an awesome photo:



Oh and I went to Sephora a couple days ago and got a bunch of Boscia samples. So far I really like them. Nice smell, sinks into my skin, not reacting poorly. Hmmm. This could be a very good discovery.

Mandatory unpaid day off today. Fortunately the weather is perfect, and my cough has slightly diminished. I started my day by going to the OB clinic to do the blood draw for my glucose test. Do I have gestational diabetes? Probably not, but it seems that the test they do for this condition is notorious for lots of false positives. I don't look forward to that.

I went to the mall following my appt and just wandered around for a while. Eventually I found a lightweight nightgown that actually fits my giant tummy. I also picked up another couple of bras, these with no underwires. 40D, bitches. I really do not feel like they are that big. But I have always been a small C. I also don't feel like I have gained over thirty pounds, but apparently I have. Sigh. What I get for being small and skinny to begin with, I guess. And my body's proclivity for hanging on tightly to every single calorie. Not to mention that fact that I simply cannot do cardio exercise anymore. It's an effort just to climb the stairs.

I went home and watered the garden. Our tomato plants are ridiculous. They are now as tall as me, and the branches are starting to droop with clusters of green fruit. There seem to be hundreds more yellow flowers waiting to turn into tomatoes. We'll need to bring in a structural engineer to figure out how to prop these things up; there seems to be no end in sight to their fecundity. They are casting a shadow over my two little pepper plants.

The cucumbers are also flourishing wildly. At their base, they have sprouted big flowers and a few prickly baby cukes. The leaves are wide and green, and long viney tendrils are climbing from the garden wall.

Same for the acorn squash, my only fall plant so far, which is also extremely healthy. I'm actually a bit worried this one will start to take over. Fortunately it's right next to the radish bed, and I have decided to stop planting radishes to make more room for the squash.

Last year's tomatoes were pitiful. I blame the cold spring/early summer, the amount of daylight they received on the front of the house, and the fact that they were planted in crappy, small pots.

This year's crop has a lot going for it. I began with good (and cheap) starters from the farmer's market. I planted them in May in a raised garden bed -- on the sunniest side of the house -- that had been fortified with our home-cooked compost. June was extremely hot, and I watered the garden almost daily. I've given the plants a couple of epsom salt treatments. Now it seems I may need to prune some of the fruitless branches back, just to take some weight off. I am so excited for these babies to start to turn red.

Need to pick the sugar snap peas again, too. And I harvested six carrots the other night. They were awesome. I peeled them and ate them with some hummus. These two crops I just planted from seed packets. Very easy and cheap to grow. Though I wish I had sown the carrots in continual two-week phases. I won't have any new ones for a while after I pick my first row.

I guess that's it for my garden update.

I should update this thing more often. I know hardly anyone reads it, but it is nice to have a little record to look back on, for my own personal use.

Baby has been kicking a lot, in fact she is right now as I type. She's having a great time in there.

+ A couple of days ago, I pulled the first carrot from our garden. It was about five inches long, pale orange, and delicious. My dad was over at the time, helping us out with our front porch staining/sealing project, and when I brought the carrot over, he said "let's eat it!", rinsed it off with the garden hose, and took a bite. I had a bite and said "now that's a carrot!" I am going to let the rest of them mature a few more weeks. Now I wish even more that I had sowed them in cycles. The next round won't be ready for two more months, boo. Oh well, live and learn.

+ Speaking of the garden, let us watch my tomato plants explode: May 2 | June 7 | June 28. We are going to need to supplement our puny tomato cages with scaffolding.



+ So I am now getting heartburn at night, regardless of what I've eaten for dinner. This is cured by sleeping in an upright position, like the elephant man. I go to bed propped up on three big pillows, with another under my knees. It's going ok... I can sleep that way. But maybe I should find some OTC medication for the heartburn. I know it's because my stomach is working at that time and being compressed by my uterus, and is throwing acid into my esophagus. Or something. Anyway, then I get up at 2am to pee and can pretty much lay on my side after that. It's a good thing I love this baby so much.

+ Her stroller & car seat will arrive tomorrow!

+ Last night was a night I have waited a year and a half for. We FINALLY got rid of our awful, ugly black kitchen sink and crappy faucet. I have hated that sink since we moved in. I actually dislike all of our black appliances, but the sink was the cheapest to replace and the one I hated the most. A black sink hides dirt and stains and filth, so you don't realize how gross it is until it's REALLY gross. A black sink is a big black hole in the countertop. A black sink camouflages black knife handles. It makes a room darker. Man I hated that goddamn thing. We went to Home Depot and replaced it with a beautiful, sleek, glorious Kohler white enameled cast iron sink. I am in love with it. It's not totally hooked up yet; Brian is going back to get new drain fixtures since the old ones are nasty and falling apart.

In the process of putting in the new sink, we realized that the kitchen windowsill ledge was interfering with the installation of the new faucet. It stuck out so far that it actually impeded the setting of the faucet into the sink. Well, we're homeowners now so, hey, let's just rip out that ugly window sill anyway. So, we did. In its place, I am going to install a pretty row of white ceramic tiles. Wheee!!!!!!

I think if we had the money I would replace EVERYTHING in that kitchen. Appliances, cupboards, counters, floors. Everything. Alas, we donut have that kind of cash. Someday though. Re-doing the kitchen is one of the best places to add value to a home, dontchaknow.

+ While riding in the car on the way home the other day, the baby kicked me so hard that I actually watched my shirt fabric pop up. Hee.

+ I made a carrot cake last weekend. Unfortunately it was not quickly consumed and I am depressed about the leftovers going to waste. Must plan better next time and do cupcakes. Though it was fun to try a layer cake. I took many helpful hints from Martha Stewart.

+ Three day weekend to-dos include: finish up install of sink, clean up kitchen mess. Maybe polish up old sink and see if anyone on craigslist will take it away, cheap. Work in the garden. Work on the future nursery a bit. Practice installing car seat base and removing/replacing car seat. Go to lovely Lynnwood and have lunch with mom, as well as visit Babies R Us to view some registry items in person (no we are not registered there, but Amazon doesn't have a physical store...). And hopefully do some grilling.

+ Finally, check out my adorable dog, blinking in the sun.

Planted these from teensy seeds six weeks ago.

Though it's really week nine, but whatev.

We went to my first OB appointment Friday and my doctor used a special amplifier on my abdomen to allow us to hear the fetal heartbeat. whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh! it said. Best part of the exam.

Doc also said I need to basically graze all day, and load up on protein and fats to keep nausea at bay. So cheese, yogurt, lean meats, nuts, etc. I am now able to eat more foods, so I need to pace myself a lot better. Friday night I literally ate pickles and ice cream (not at once).

Did you know there is something called a "push present"? It was invented by greedy mommies who think they deserve diamonds and expensive handbags as a gift from their husbands for delivering the baby. It is really called that, too. Disgusting. There are threads about this on one of my pregnancy forums. Fortunately a lot of women share my view that this idea is extremely distasteful. One woman started a thread about how mad she was at her husband for not giving her a card and push present after the baby was born. Lots of people responded with, "um isn't the BABY the 'push present'?"

I thought I might be showing already, but turns out I'm mainly just bloated. I need more water.

Yesterday we finally started building our backyard vegetable garden. We got 36 cinder blocks and are building a 16" high stone wall in a square, which will be filled with a raised bed. The cool part is that the holes in the middle of the blocks will be filled in with dirt and I will plant herbs there -- the kind that keep pests out. I need to know a few of these besides onions. Anyone?

I started my seeds on Saturday: tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, parsley, basil, thyme. Carrots and radishes will be started outdoors.

My biggest tomato plant broke in half last night. It was too heavy to bear the weight of all the fruit. The stake it was tied to was not tall enough.

So I'm left with a large heavy stalk with a dozen unripe tomatoes on it. I put it into a jug of water. Is there any way I can salvage the fruit on this plant? I am so sad about this. This was my best tomato plant.

Update: Ok so for now I have picked all of the big tomatoes on the vine, leaving them on stems, and placed them into a brown paper bag and into the pantry where hopefully they will ripen in the dark. Good idea? Or should some go on a sunny windowsill?

This morning, after the rain stopped, I took pictures of what is blooming in our garden... ( Read more... )