Layoffs and Lotusland

I was laid off last week. It happened the same morning I saw this headline. If furlough days (pay cuts for all, due to slashing school days--and teacher prep days) go through, positions will be added back. Or else class size goes up to 40?  I half-expected it...It is based only on seniority, not evaluations. I feel supported and appreciated and get great marks on my observations. Sadly, it isn't up to my boss. I told a mom volunteer in my room and she teared up. I really do love the teaching part. So much uncertainty about the future makes me a little weary.

I am still determined to do my best. Still not sure how to do this and have a balanced life. I worked 12 hour days 3 out of five days last week which left me exhausted. Now, I'm headed to a coffee shop to do report cards on a Sunday.

On a happier note, the weather has been incredible. And, I finally visited Lotusland. Lotusland is the private, historical estate of a 6x married opera singer. It is 73 acres composed of smaller, detailed, themed botanical gardens. It is located in nearby Montecito, where Oprah, also has an estate.

Lotusland happens to be featured on the cover of Martha Stewart this month.
Check out the 10 page spread. 

It was SO incredible. I wrote Visit Lotusland on a now-tattered post-it before I moved here. I was in awe and very moved by the beauty, drama, and detail in every direction. We got a private tour--the only other person on our tour was a guy on a board for a garden in Walnut Creek. We all asked many questions; the plant enthusiast(s) and the scientist. Our retire-ee guide said, "Well, this is just so fun, I love it when I get smart people." I felt flattered and the pleasure was mine.  More picture and posting on this excursion soon.

Happy March

My cousin is getting married.  In Yosemite. Our Aunt did a portrait of her and her intended for the invitations. Aren't they beautiful?  My cousin is also my BFF and a fellow loner Californian with me. The rest of our very close-knit family lives in Hawaii or Maryland. I get really sad when she leaves the state, even though she's five hours North. My San Francisco neighbor. Hi Jan! Love you! Can't wait to celebrate you and yours and ours.

I used to have a community garden. It was an obsession since I was underemployed and really like plants and eating vegetables. I gave up my garden lots. I saw it recently...they hacked the rose bushes into stumps in the ground--it is horrifying.

Recently, I decided to grow some with my kinders. Sprouts have sprouted! Also, I read The Lorax to the kids today and teared up and we talked about how they are the future of the world and How YOU DONT NEED A THNEED even though TV will tell you you do. You do NEED clean air and water and trees....and then I talked a little smack about LA and the 8 lanes of traffic each way and smog and we wondered if they used to have barbaloot bears or swamiswans before it was all cement. 

March came! It was windy. We marked the Start of Spring, Day Lights Saving, Spring Break, St. Patty's day, and Dr. Seuss' birthday on the Calendar.

My blogs aren't very polished or organized. Sorry. I'm aiming for quantity > quality. Hope it isn't showing too much.  Thank you for reading, readers.

Restorative Weekend

 

 My four day weekend was very satisfactory.

I did so little. I puttered around. I woke when I felt like it. I experimented in the kitchen. I played with my plants. I made space and parted with stuff I don't need...a couch, bags of clothes, a rug. I selected fresh food and bright flowers at the farmer's market. I sat in the sun and drank coffee with A. I read in bed in the middle of the day (A Game of Thrones, Book 2). I noticed cute dogs (everywhere) Note: I may have the dog version of the baby-bug...some people feel pangs of longing for children, I feel them for canines.

I went to the beach, of course.

Bounty: In my fridges, on my counters, and in Andrew's ceramic vases.

I went to yoga. I wandered through the garden store and felt the comforting/familiar draw of a farm life. I wept through "The Descendents" set in my beautiful Hawaii heart-and-homeland.

Slow food. Warm food.

Put up my Instagram collage!

Fam life attracts me (and repels me).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This wilty looking 3rd-hand dendrobium rebloomed. I am awestruck.

At work today, I was happy to see my students smile and laugh. I took time to really notice them and practiced being a careful listener. There was time today to be scientists/historians/writers/performers/readers/thinkers and garden-growers. I felt fulfilled.

Making Coffee on Maui

My dad lives on a coffee farm.

I love the meditative practice of coffee-picking...pop those little kernels out.  The fruit actually tastes kinda good.   Throw them in a bucket of water, soak for days, then dry them in the sunshine.

Roast in a popcorn maker....and Voila!

Grinding time! 

Summer Season

It's fava time again. I planted them a season late
but they are still a go.

Purifying white sage, bundled from the garden.

 

Peaches for me...

I buy the Very Ripe and Slightly Bruised at the Farmers Market for $1 a pound. Then I chop them up for a peach fruit salad. My favorite breakfast these days: A brown rice cake, layered with raw almond butter ("rawmond" butter--way tastier and nutritious than roasted), and topped with farmers market peach or strawberry slices. Yum.

Early Summer in the Garden

 

Dainty, delicious daffodil-yellow squash.

Ruddy red-green rhubarb--my first batch ever!  Looking forward to strawberry rhubarbness all summer long...

The zucchini monster is welcome in my garden.

Forget-me-nots for remembrance.
There's something amazing about a blue flower.

Cockle Shells

Whelks and sea urchins are welcome plant-box clutter.
There is something extremely complimentary about plants and shells.

William Wallace Denslow's rendition of the poem, 1901 (via Wikipedia)

The sunset reflects the iridescence of this shell.

I Believe in Compost.

On an evening stroll to the compost heap.

My weekly trips to the Farmer's Market and propensity for arranging flowers lead me to produce my share of green waste. Though I grew up with a compost bucket in the country, I used to think it wasn't the wost thing to throw out plant waste. Won't that banana peel just help the gnarly plastics break down faster in the landfill?  Actually, no.  It produces greenhouse gases since it doesn't have the opportunity to breakdown naturally (with oxygen).   One website claims "Recycling green waste as compost could match the environmental benefits of converting it into renewable energy, in terms of CO₂ savings, according to new German research."

The selfish reason to compost is the incredibly rich soil it creates. It's organic as well, not as risky or expensive as the petroleum-byproduct-conventional kind. Separating food waste also makes your trash way less gross. Coffee grinds, egg shells and veggie scraps are potent compost fodder. Conversely, citrus is a worm repellent and takes forever to break down. At home on Maui we consistently had avocado trees growing out of our compost.  Here I've had volunteer pumpkins erupt from my heap. 

 
School Lunch, 2010.  

I included this pictures because next year the schools in my district will start composting!  But why-oh-why do we still have both non recyclable styrofoam trays and waxy milk cartons?  I am impressed by how generally healthy the school lunches here are: variety of fresh fruits and veggies in a generous salad bar (jicama or jalepenos are surprisingly popular) and a not-always meat-centric entree. Kids eat good food when they are exposed to it.  It is the kids who bring lunches who concern me most.  Packed in a single meal I've seen:  Koolaid, chocolate pudding, Hostess cupcakes, and a few Ritz crackers.  Yikes.

Culturally and lifestyle-wise I'm pretty green. But it's not really due to a golden heart or noble-mindedness. I'm a product of my culture like anyone else. Living simply and on a real budget just leads to a less wasteful lifestyle. I am a actually a lazy do-gooder, relatively casual in my consumption, and don't do my best in this area.  Probably as a result from recent fieldtrips I've gone on intended to educate my 5-year-olds, I'm feeling committed to doing better and more. The Surfrider Foundation and local Art From Scrap are organizations that do an excellent job in promoting reuse and recycling--get involved!  I'll be making an effort to be more conscious about recycling, composting, and buying/producing less waste.

California Succulents

Pink and Green are especially lovely when found in nature together.  I love how water beads up on these water-retaining leaves. The fleshy appearance of these cactus-like plants is very refreshing in a not-overly-green landscape.

I found a use for a funky-Andrew-made vase with a cracked bottom: a ready-made planter! You can easily create new succulent plants by breaking off any new growth and sticking it in some moist soil.  They require minimal watering. Over-watering will cause the stems to rot and the leaves to wrinkle up and fall off. They are pretty effortless in the arid climate of California.

This made me laugh. Proof of how easy succulents propagate. To anyone who believes in black thumbs here is proof that plants WANT to live. A single succulent leaf (is that term right?) got caught in the cracks of the rooftop adjacent to my porch area. Now we have a lovely little jade plant growing itself next to a faded old tennis ball.

Patio Tomatoes

Fuzzy canary-colored tomato blossoms preview
delicious sandwiches to come.

Patio tomatoes are great for apartment dwellers. Find a sunny spot on your porch or doorstep because this compact variety was bred for containers. Though I have 12 huge tomato plants growing happily in my outside plot I can't help also having one waiting to greet me when I come and go.

The first tomato!
Pink geraniums, pictured in the shadows,
also love this time of year.

May Play

Artichoke season is upon us. I am growing them as a substitute/replacement/barrier to the awful thistle weeds in the garden. I am hoping for a harvest before long.

Now the stone version: A hummingbird was having a blast playing in a fountain at the mall. A happy moment for us both.

Sweet pea season again. They are prolific in our school garden and I make a point to distribute them to each classroom and the office. I have my own bounty at home. I never tire of them. Can they grow in Hawaii? Could I get them to bloom this August?

My 23rd Birthday. The date is now set for marriage: 8-9-10. I am partial to this man. I am partial to the number 9. August 9th is also my grandmother's birthday. I am having a lot of fun arranging and dreaming about the fun and happy details.

More Signs of Spring

Lunch dates in the garden.

Feathered friends gather nesting fodder.

Impromptu bouquets.

Asparagus--eat it raw when it's this fresh.

Kinder Garden

Sweetpeas for everyone!
Everyone is a sweetpea.

California Poppies= Social Studies.

Cabbage Patch Kids?
They have no idea what I'm talking about.
Though it is shocking how much they love eating it.

Isn't she pretty?

Seed & Feed

This is why I plead to stop at the gardening shop.

Just look at these chubby hens...

Life is better at small local garden shops.

To Market, To Market..

 

Sundays are about buying fresh food.

 

And flowers.

So grateful for the access to good food.  I've been gardening with kindergarteners the last few weeks and it has been a joy to share the love of fresh real food and its source.  So far the top hits have been lemon thyme "smells like lemonade," wild mint, and broccoli florets right of the plant.