Seed Exchange

Last summer was my first genuine effort at growing tomatoes. I cheated and bought small plants from the Home Depot. Nothing special, just run-of-the-mill roma tomatoes. The whole experience was fairly effortless, aside from those pesky caterpillars with the spiky horn on their head. I think they should be called devil worms, but the official name is Manduca quinquemaculata. Perhaps you've had the misfortune of seeing one. Most gardeners suggest the best defense is picking them off by hand. Unfortunately, I cannot touch them for fear of either being poked by that awful horn or accidentally applying too much pressure and squishing their guts out. The latter would spin me straight into a wobbler, assuming the guts come out all green and gooey. When we were were youngsters (living out on the rural route), John and I would walk down to the pond to go fishing. Once this kid got a hook in his eye, but that's another story. I never made it to worming my own hook. I hate touching wormy-squishy things. They're never actually dead you know. They just grow new parts and keep wiggling. Yuck.

Anyways, wigglers aside, I got the idea of starting tomatoes from seed from Casey's master gardener of a grandpa last summer. After one of our Sunday morning visits, he sent us home with a large heirloom variety from his backyard and told me to dry the seeds out on a paper towel and drop them in a little soil come spring. Well spring is here and the seeds are germinating. So far no snags. Just put them in some soil and left them to cook on top of the refrigerator. Should be interesting to see what comes up. Well, I'm sure they'll be tomatoes, but you know what I mean.

Some of you may be surprised by my interest in tomatoes. It use to be that ketchup was the only form of tomato I could bear to choke down. A summer trip to Italy, where the tomatoes taste like candy, changed all that. You've never had a better tomato than an Italian tomato. It's near impossible to find a tomato as good, but I've found the trick is you have to grow your own—vine ripe, never refrigerated, the uglier the better. Have you had an exceptional tomato lately? Let's swap seeds! Dry the seeds out on a paper towel and drop it in the mail. Don't bother with any ordinary varieties. It needs to be something unusual. The more exotic the better... maybe something striped or purple or just extra tasty. I'll be waiting, trowel in hand.

Bend and Snap

Casey and his nose were the break out stars of the first posting and why shouldn't they be?! It's a great nose in serious danger! So, today we'll give the people more of what they want, but understand it's been no walk in the park hanging out with Stitch this week. The first few days (by doctor's orders) he wasn't to bend over or lift anything. This came to encompass trash detail, litter box scooping (bending over to scoop and lifting of tiny bags cat poo) and anything else that suited his fancy little nose. The simplest of undesirable tasks were miraculously transformed into a potential lift or bend. So I humored him, lifting and bending to his every whim. It brought back fond memories of the bend and snap of one, Miss Elle Woods. Tomorrow his meticulous bandage application, along with my bending and lifting come to an end. Stitches are scheduled to be removed tomorrow at 11:00 am. While they're at it, I'm hopeful the doctor can remove the teal fanny pack that seems to be surgically stitched to his waist. All joking aside, he's been an excellent patient this week.

Forward Thinking

This morning I got one of those emails where you to answer a bunch of questions about yourself and your favorite things. I always kinda like them. Not so much answering, but the reading of other people's responses. In particular, I learned CJ likes Sharp White Cheddar. Had this email never circulated, it could have been years before I learned this tantalizing bit of trivia. In my response I had to list four things to look forward to in 2008. There are so many things to look forward to...these are my top picks:

1. Casey without nose cancer. Don't be alarmed. If you're going to have skin cancer, he has the one you want to get. Basal cell carcinoma. He hopes to be rid of it with a few swift strokes of the doctor's scalpel. We'll see if he still has a nose left.
   
   
2. The arrival of the newest member of the Koteen family, a rowdy Rhodesian Ridgeback (yet to be named–accepting suggestions). Look for her in August sometime, mother dog and mother nature permitting.
   
   
3. We'll finally have a lawyer in the family. JM has reached the finish line. Let's keep our fingers xx for his bar exam. I think he'll make a fine lawyer. Before you all get started with the lawyer jokes, I must warn you that he's not intending to be just some old run of the mill lawyer to add to the garbage heap. JM is planning to be a defender of the people. Well, the people in prison or should we say "incarcerated." He'll probably help you out too even if you're not confined to a state or federal housing facility.
   
   
4. Now this one may sound silly, but I plan conquer the soufflé this year. Yes, gather round for some fluffy, warm toasty brown perfection. This weekend I will venture out with the intent to buy a soufflé dish and from there I am committed to the task. According to my friend Molly Wizenberg (I use the term "friend" loooosely) it's a piece every home cook should be proficient at and apparently it's not that tricky. Unfortunately, the same has been said of orchids and I have had to bid farewell to far too many of those persnickety bastards. Do stay tuned...