Urban Gardening: Butternut squash

We got our first squash of the season today. I'm excited by the amount of flowers and young squash we're seeing on the vines. Fingers crossed that the dog days don't kill it all. This week is supposed to be absolutely brutal.

It's Gary Gygax Day

I wrote what follows on the occasion of the passing of Mr. Gygax in 2008. Felt it was worth sharing again here in honor of his birthday.

Happy birthday Gary. Wherever you are.


It could just be my perception, but the Grim Reaper is once again working on the belief that three is definitely a charm. Over the past few weeks that venerable specter of doom has taken from this world three men who have had a nearly indescribable impact on my life—E. Gary Gygax; Myron Cope; and William F. Buckley, Jr.

Yes, I know, on the surface these three men seem to have little in common—and even less to do with strategic communications. To me, however, their impact has been plenteous. They fueled my imagination, prodded me to embrace erudition, and gave distinctive voice to my passions.

As a youth, I would immerse myself in fantasy worlds spawned by the tomes of Mr. Gygax. Rolling oddly shaped dice (including some that didn't really "roll"), my friends and I would explore worlds that were rich in substance, culture, diversity, and (perhaps most importantly to pubescent boys) carnage. It gave us the opportunity to be heroic as well as wildly imaginative. We would explore the unknown. Save those who couldn't save themselves. Battle the forces of evil. Stand together as comrades—despite having disparate races, classes, and even alignments. Despite the worries of some adults, who would decry the games as gateways to the occult, we never wavered from our outlook that a small band could pull together and change the world.

As a young man at Yale, I discovered that words could be used precisely. Reading through Mr. Buckley's writings, I could feel the purpose and power. Words were wielded as precisely as a surgeons scalpel, rather than randomly bludgeoning anything nearby. While I never agreed with his politics, his panache has always roused a sense of admiration. He seemed unwilling to compromise his vocabulary for the sake of his audience. Rather, he expected his audience to increase their own capacity for understanding. Was this arrogance? Most likely. But it also brought intellectualism to bear when passions alone wouldn't be enough to sway someone's thoughts.

As a child of 4 or 5, I became enamored of the Steelers. It wasn't until many years later that I discovered their radio voice—Mr. Cope. (Having never lived in Pittsburgh, I was not exposed to him until the Internet allowed me the opportunity.) I knew of the Terrible Towel, and it's inventor. Until I heard him broadcast a game, however, I didn't realize someone with an atrociously distinctive voice could speak for my fanaticism so clearly. I even began to mute the television and listen to Myron call games whenever I could (blackouts permitting). It is still his voice I hear when the Black and Gold are in the midst of battle.

I owe each of these men. Gary for helping unleash my imagination in positive ways. William for emboldening my use of language. Myron for reminding me that amazing results can be uncovered in the most unexpected of places.

May they all rest in peace.

Teaching TheKiddo™: Lesson 8

"If the winds will not serve, take to the oars."

You'll hear a thousand variations on this in your lifetime. The most common will be, "There's more than one way to skin a cat." Regardless of how the proverb is presented it always means the same thing—persevere. There is always another route to your goal.

I don't know what your goals will be. I simply know that there will be times that the wind stops blowing and you feel becalmed, as though you're drifting slowly through the horse latitudes.

Whenever you seem to have reached an impasse, stay calm. And think. There's a solution. There's another way.

Even several thousand years ago in Rome they understood that when the sails of their ships weren't full of air, they could grab the oars and paddle like mad. It may take a little more work than you'd like. It may require a lot more effort than you had planned. It may leave you exhausted. 

It will, however, also get you to your destination.

Repotting Day At Calloway's

We received some advice and help at Calloway's Nursery regarding the potting of some house plant. We also learned some lessons about creating a fairy garden for TheKiddo™.

Urban Gardening: Today's Harvest

It has been a good year for the garden. The exception is anything from the squash family. Nothing seems to be living long enough to produce. Happily, we still have plenty to enjoy.

Today's haul includes beans, basil, thyme, rosemary, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Unlike last summer they are all producing well this year. We'll be having some yummy bruscetta tonight. And it looks like TheBetterHalf® and I will try our hand at making pesto.

I'll share recipes later.

Urban Gardening: Your Turn

On Friday, June 22, 2012, I'll be at our community garden enjoying the company of other gardeners. If you're interested in gardening, want to support community gardening efforts, or would just like to come hang out and enjoy the fresh air, you're more than welcome to join us!

Urban Gardening: Quick Pickles

So, I promised an update about the initial pickle experiment. Well, as TheKiddo™ has become fond of saying, "Oh Em Gee"!

We made a jar of sliced pickles and a jar of spears. These are scary simple to make as you'll realize when you read the recipe below. And so very tasty. 

How tasty? Less than 48 hours after we began the pickling, the jar of spears is almost empty. And that includes the 24 hours we didn't touch them as they pickled.

Since our inaugural efforts, I've naturally hunted down several more recipes that I'll want to try including some that actually take a fortnight for the pickling process. At this point, however, I may just vary the seasonings as we move through our cucumber harvest.

Our first two jars of pickles were created using something TheBetterHalf® spotted in the July/August issue of "Everyday Food." It was in the letter from the Editor In Chief, Sarah Carey. (As a side note, I happened to find her YouTube channel while writing this post. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of cooking.)

The recipe as I wrote it in my cooking notebook is:

Toss one pound (1 lb) of sliced Kirby Cucumbers with two tablespoons (2 T) coarse salt. Chill for one hour. Rinse and drain. Combine one cup (1 C) each water and white vinegar, one tablespoon (1 T) pickling spice, two teaspoons (2 t) salt, one (1) clove garlic, a few sprigs of dill, and one tablespoon (1 T) sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add cucumbers and chill in a quart container overnight (or up to one month).

A few additional notes: 

1. I'm not sure what kind of cucumbers we used, because I don't recall what we planted in
our garden. 
2. The pickling spice we bought in the bulk spice and grain area at Central Market. Whenever you're looking for spices in Dallas, go there. 
3. Using more than one clove of garlic is recommended by yours truly.
4. Many of the other recipes I've found call for the use of red pepper flakes (approximately one-quarter teaspoon per pound). Our pickling spice had lots of black peppercorns in it, so I didn't add the red flakes. I probably will for the next batch.

Now, go out and grow some cucumbers. Then turn them into delicious pickles. You can thank me later.

Urban Gardening: Pickle Time

We have picked a wide variety of fresh vegetables from the garden so far. Yesterday, it was cucumbers. We don't eat a lot of cucumbers in our house. We do, however, like pickles. TheKiddo™ is the lone exception, and I chalk it up to her age.

We're currently testing a refrigerator pickle method. Granted, they'll only stay good about a month. That means we'll need to find a canning method, as well.

I'll provide a recipe once we see how they are.

Kindergarten Graduation

TheKiddo™ has completed her Kindergarten year. At the ceremony, she received a variety of awards for her academic accomplishments. It was definitely a moment of bittersweet pride. Like all dads, I want her to stay small and protectable forever. This was a reminder that such a dream will never be real.

I can't put her in a bubble, or encase her in amber to never change. All I can do is try to teach her the lessons I think will help her have an incredible life, then offer my guidance along the way. I'll watch her stumble. I'll see her make mistakes. I'll wonder time and time again where I could have been better.

I cannot, however, live her life for her.

There is a flip side to the moments that make me wonder. There will be moments, like graduation, that make me swell with pride.

I'll see her excel. I'll watch her win. I'll cheer her attempts and victories as loudly as I can. And I'll wonder what I did right that helped her along the way.

In the midst of enjoying her success, and marking this milestone, I repeatedly stumbled over the fact that many of the other parents, including TheBetterHalf®, referred to the ceremony as a graduation. I have a hard time using that word. She'll be at the same school next year, after all. So she's not really graduating from anything.

I did my best not to be a curmudgeon about the use of the word. I'm sure I failed at it many times.

The fact that TheBetterHalf® thought of it as a graduation, however, led to some incredible decorations. She (with a very little bit of help from yours truly) painted pots to be used as little chalk boards. And she then planted flowers donated by our favorite garden in them. She also created special potted plants as gifts for the teachers.

Some days I think she's the creative one in this relationship. I just happen to get paid for mine.

Birthday party at Jumpstreet

I admit it. I'm not a fan of birthday parties at corporate locations. They're rushed, impersonal, and over-priced.
I've felt that way since the late 1970s when I attended a birthday party at a McDonald's for one of my second grade classmates. Jumpstreet certainly doesn't alter that opinion.
It smells like a gym. The psychadelic carpet hides stains (so I have no clue what is coming into contact with TheKiddo's bare feet), and pains the eyes. It's also scary to see the number of parents who lose track of their children. Not fun to watch them running around in a panic.
The music has been the one redeeming quality: Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin are the ones that stick out most.
All in all, I would much rather run around a park, a zoo, an arboretum, or even a museum. At the end of the day, it's not my party. And I'm glad to know I can rule out one more place for future parties.

Kid's Workshop at Home Depot

The first Saturday of the month is always full of fun free things to do in Dallas. Today, TheKiddo™ and I took advantage of one of them. We went to Home Depot for the Kid's Workshop.
Today, the craft is an organizer for Father's Day. We had a blast. I highly recommend it.