In medieval times they used to arrest and harshly punish poachers in the King's forest.  Or any royal personages property, for that matter.  The term poacher comes from Old French "pocher" to thrust, encroach upon.  Those poachers were hunting for game, or at least fish.  Today, if you are a gardener, you must also be vigilant against poachers.  The insect variety.  They are everywhere and they appear instantaneously when you set out those beautiful petunias or those lovely green tomato plants full of the promise of a summer of lucious fruit.  They havn't gone to the same school as you have, because their data is that those plants are their grocery store.  They think that my tomato plant is the blueplate special down at the local diner.  They think that it is full of wonderful food for their babies.  They must think that I am the giver of all good things for their species.  But they give nothing in return and they do not give thanks.  All they do is eat and eat and eat and eat and lay eggs and then eat some more.  They are the insect poachers who are supporting all of those chemical companies whose products line the shelves at the garden store.  They are the nemesis of every gardener and they must be stopped if you want to maintain the beauty of your roses and petunias and reap the harvest of the vegetable garden.  I do not want to give my hard earned money to the chemical companies, since they are the same petrochemical firms involved in drug manufacture.  So I have my own homespun methods which I have learned over the years and which are pretty successful in the battle against the Insect menace.  The first has to do with the aforementioned petunias.  These are flowers which grow in healthy profusion and extraordinary color displays, and I have them in several pots around my patio.  The only problem is they are the favorite snack of snails and slugs.  You can tell that those guys are around when you walk out in the morning (slugs and snails dine at night), and there are great gaping holes in every petunia petal around.  They have munched and munched all night long and then gone to bed fat and happy.  You can usually tell that they have been there by their slime trails, but sometimes those have dried up by the time you get there.  If it is slugs (no shell), you never see them during the day.  Snails are a bit easier to unearth because of the shell.  In any case, I remembered an old wives trick that I had read about in a Heloise book a long time ago.  The only thing the slugs like better than petunia leaves is beer.  I guess that they are basically an alcoholic breed.  So you put a pie plate full of beer out in the midst of the petunias before going to bed.  In my case, I put it on the edge of the pot.  When I went out to survey the damage this morning, there were (count them), 16 little slimy grey slugs drowned in the beer.  They had been attracted, drank their fill, passed out and drowned.  This is an inexpensive and totally organic method to catch your slug poachers and provide them with a last meal before their execution.  It's either them or my petunias.  A no brainer! 

As for the tomatoes---they were looking great, growing like topsy, already outgrowing their cute tomato cages.  I have them in large pots and they are fine with that as long as they get fed regularly.  Yesterday, I noticed that some of the leaves were curled and a bit shriveled.  This did not look kosher, so I went to get my glasses in order to investigate.  I took one of the curled leaves and opened it up.  Low and behold, I had uncovered an egg den.  There were two little wormy things and a bunch of tiny tiny black eggs.  This was disaster in the making.  The exponential possibilities of those eggs boggled my mind.  The number of tomato worms they could produce could ruin my plants and put the kabosh on my tomato crop for good.  I went into action and clipped every one of the curled leaf cocoons.  These insects make their home in their food supply.  How clever can you get?  The best defense is to nip it in the bud, so to speak.  And that is what I did.  It was an assault on their survival, but again, it is either them or my tomatoes and I worked hard to get those tomatoes planted and am looking forward to my harvest.  I understand that all living things have a right to live, and I am willing to give a little of my largesse to the insect population, but they cannot be allowed to get the upper hand, ever!  Today, those babies are just a memory, and my tomato plants are looking peaceful and happy.  This is the best defense is when the worm (not earthworms, they are our friends and partners in organic gardening), is just setting up housekeeping.  Remove him and his family and put them in the green garbage can to fend for themselves.  This may require a bit of a magnifying glass and close up searching, because they are sometimes very well camouflaged.  You need to examine your plants almost daily because they arrive and start the devouring process almost immediately.  But if you are vigilant and don't let them get a foothold, you will be the victor and to the victor go the spoils, beautiful, ripe, yummy tomatoes in everything from sandwiches, salads, ratatouille, omelettes, soup, and of course, your favorite pasta sauce and salsa.  Bon appetit!

For a long time I stayed away from Ebay.  It just didn't interest me.  I didn't want to take the time to learn how to do it, and I didn't want to be tempted to buy a bunch of unnecessary junk which was what I thought you got on E-Bay.  A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a home security system.  We live in a secluded area and it seemed like this would be a good thing to have in place.  The one I was interested in had been recommended to me as available at Radio Shack.  When I went over there, they told me that they don't stock them anymore.  Then I went to Lowes and they had one which looked o.k., but it cost $190 and that was without the additional door/window sensors that we would need which would bring the cost up to closer to $300.  That was not acceptable, so I broke down and took a look at E-Bay.  They had one and it looked like I could get it for closer to $75, at least for the basic system.  This was the Radio Shack model which was what I really wanted.  So I put in my first bid.  There were only 2 days and 5 hours left.  The excitement was mounting, until I got the e-mail saying I had been outbid.  Damn!  So I bid again.  2 hours later, I got the same message, outbid again.  What was going on?  Why were there so many people interested in "my" security system.  I was not going to be shut out!  I bid again.  I was the high bidder.  It felt good.  I was getting into the heat of the game and it was still a major bargain.  Time was running out.  It looked good.  I was already planning where the sensors would go.  3 hours to go, I was still the high bidder.  2 hours and 10 minutes and counting.  I started to feel like a winner.  less than an hour....and things are looking good.  I needed to go out to the store.  I was still high bidder, by $1.00.  Was it enough?  I said to myself, those guys aren't going to want to spend that much.    I'll be back before it's over.  I'm back.  12 minutes to go.  I'm winning, winning, winning.  Then the phone rings.  Stupidly I pick it up.  It's my son Mike.  He starts talking about something or other and there are only 3 minutes to go.  But I don't realize that.  I get a little confused when they use military time.  Suddenly, I see the message "You've been outbid".  Oh no!  How could that be?  I can't lose now.  I start to bid again, and Mike is talking about his new keyboard and I can't do two things at once.  .  I don't act quickly enough and there it is ---the dreaded "Auction ended" message.  O my God!  I lose by $1.00!  How could it happen??  I can't believe it, I had it,  ....and then.... I lost it. 

What is there about roses which is so special?  Why do men send them when they want to really impress the girl, or make up for the big indiscretion?  A dozen roses is good, but 2 dozen is even better.  Long stemmed are considered the most impressive and the more fragrant the better.  Unfortunately the ones you get nowadays at the florist hardly smell at all.  This is probably because they sit in that refrigerator all day (poor things), embalmed and propped up with wrapping and preservatives.  If you want to really smell a rose, you have to grow it.  You have to nurture it and hose those pesky aphids off, and feed it and listen to it and be a friend.  That may sound really dumb, but roses are the queen of the garden and they deserve that title.  There are short ones and tall ones and rambling roses and climbing roses, but they are all dignified and majestic and yet, need a friend to take care of them.  That is not to say that they are not hardy.  Actually they are extremely hardy and tenacious.  Last year when my mother passed away, I rescued the rose bush which I had given her for mothers day the year before.  It had languished on the balcony during her illness and only got watered occasionally.  It had dwindled down to a shadow of it's original self and was pretty brown and ugly.  Well, I brought it home and repotted it and gave it lots of organic rose food and a nice roomy pot in which to grow and it thanked me a hundred times with lovely red blossoms.  I pruned it back during the winter months so that it would gain strength for the new season and it took off as soon as spring had appeared and now it is actually taller than I am and continuing to grow.  Roses respond really well to love.  I don't have a rose garden,  because my yard doesn't lend itself to them in terms of light and space, but I have my guys in pots on the patio and they are perfectly happy there.  They are a microcosm of life I think.  I watch one bud turn into a beautiful young blossom and then a mature bloom and finally an aging veteran.  As I watch the life cycle end, I observe another new baby bud appear and start it's cycle of growth, I have a sense of the vast power of the life force.  In Scientology we call that theta.  It is intensely gratifying to feed my charges and see that spurt of growth as they accept the nourishment and marshall their strength to give me another wonderful crop.  I try to get the most fragrant roses I can because I go outside to give them a sniff whenever I feel a little down, or want to clear my head or just want some energy.  Their fragrance is always there for me, although at different times of day it is more intense than at others.  I guess they are fully awake when the sun is on high.  I inhale their richness and feel the gorgeous living silkiness of their petals and observe their breathtaking colors and shapes and I just know that while there are roses to love everything will be o.k. 

The best thing about resale shops is the feeling of winning the game when you snag a great deal on a gorgeous, unusual outfit and then get lots of compliments on it.  the question is, do you say you got it at a resale shop, or do you let the complimenter think that you paid the big bucks for it.  I usually do tell them, but not all the time.  Sometimes I say, (based on the label), "yes, it came from Abercrombie and Fitch", or "Lord and Taylor", or Saks, or wherever.  You have the double whammy, of getting something you really like, and not paying a lot for it.  In some cases, you paid very, very little for it.  I got a pair of Ecco sandels the other week at the Huntington Collection.  (It sounds very fancy, but is definitely, a high class thrift shop).  I didn't even realize how good they were, but since i know that Ecco's cost over $100 retail, I knew they had to be a good buy for $2.00.  I was in a hurry, so I eyeballed them and decided they looked like they would fit.  They are by far, the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned, and what's more, they look great.  I am a happy shopper! 

This week I was visiting Clearwater Florida, and discovered a new resale shop here.  Joannes has very nice designer stuff at reasonable prices.  I came away with 5 tops for less than $30.00, and felt like I had had a big win.  The joy of shopping resale (never retail), lives on.  I just need to figure out how I am going to fit everything in my already stuffed suitcase.  Happy shopping!

Most people tell horror stories about their kitchen remodeling cycle.  "It took three times as long as we thought", "it cost us a fortune going out to eat", " the contractor disappeared with it half done", "they sent the wrong cabinets", "the floor doesn't look anything like what it did in the store".  It could go on and on, unless you do what we did.  We were our own contractor.  Although it requires more research and time on your part, it is well worth it in the end result.  You do have to find the right tradesmen to do the work.  You have to interview them, you have to compare bids, you need to read articles and research on the web to find exactly what you are looking for, and yes, you probably will have to go to several kitchen showrooms and flooring stores.  Being your contractor gives you control.  It gives you the ability to make the decisions without anyone telling you what to do with your project.  Control is very important.  It is not a short project, but when you stand back and see the realization of what you have been discussing and sketching and envisioning, and it is just the way you expected it to be, it is really an accomplishment.  The kitchen we designed is very unassuming and small.  It is a galley kitchen, and unless we had wanted to spend a lot more on changing the footprint and structure of the house, it had to remain a galley kitchen.  Galley kitchens are very efficient and as long as there is only one person, (or maybe two) occupying the space it is the best layout for having everything close to hand, without the requirement of skates to get around.  We chose light colored (celadon which is sort of a light sage green) cabinets, and a wood floor.  The best decision we made was to change the window and door out to bring in more light, and give it the "country kitchen" look we were going for.  If we had left the old aluminum sliding window, which would have saved around $1,500 we could not have gotten "the look".  Adding the door brought the outside (we have a lot of outside) in, which makes the whole house seem larger.  I am not an interior decorator, but I have learned a lot from this endeavor.  Most important is to stay true to your vision and do the work required to keep that vision within your budget.  A house is just a house, and there are a lot more important things in life.  But, while you are working on the more important things, it sure is nice to walk in and be able to enjoy a lovely space while you're cooking dinner.  The kitchen is a great success.  There are a few details left to finish, but we are enjoying every minute of it.  It was worth every day we had to wash dishes in the bathtub!

What is going on around here?  It is not supposed to be 90 degrees in the middle of March.  Not even in Southern California.  It is supposed to be cool and cloudy and rainy.  But NOOOO.  The sun is shining and it was so hot today that I had to turn the air conditioning on for two days in a row.  The windows have been open at night and my daffodils who were all in bloom or about to, just shriveled up and died, poor things.  Their moment to shine was cut short by the damned hot air.  This is not O.K. with me.  Those bulbs had struggled to come up out of my rocky dirt, and were doing great. --- only to be cut down in their prime.  I protest LOUDLY!  I want------no, I demand rain.  Rain makes it cozy to sit before the fire and watch TV or read.  Rain keeps the garden growing happily.  Of course, it keeps the weeds growing happily also, which means that they will be 3 feet high on our hill which means a long day for my honey and his weed whacker. 

Oh well.  It could be worse.  I was talking to a lady from Tahoe today.  She said that the snow is up to the second story window at her house.  Hard to believe that it could be 90 here and total winter there, and we are in the same state!

We are now on the final stretch of the kitchen saga.  The cabinets are in and they are gorgeous.  I was worried that the sage/mint green might not work out, but it is actually quite fabulous.  The pewter hardware is perfect with it, and the crown molding makes the ceiling looks much higher, which is good, because no one can call our house a "miner's shack" anymore.  Not with that crown molding.  I don't think I've ever had real crown molding in any of my kitchen's before.  It makes me feel like royalty!  Yesterday, the wood flooring got installed and it is the difference between night and day.  We had a linoleum floor which had died long ago.  It had been sort of tacked down by the previous owner to cover the even worse linoleum floor put in by the original owner.  That floor had the unique ability to maintain a dirty facade no matter how hard I scrubbed and scratched.  I did not even wish it farewell.  The new floor is cinnamon maple hardwood flooring.  Not too shiny, but with a beautiful satin finish.  It is really sensational.  It is so beautiful that it makes you want to get down and caress it.  The fact that it is continued into the living room makes the whole space look larger.  The eye just sort of follows along.  The guys who installed it worked their tails off, and did a great job.  We saved a bundle by being our own contractor.  The installer was recommended by our realtor and he charged a lot less than the other guys we talked too.  By ordering the flooring over the internet and getting the right installer we saved around $2,000.  This was a win!  The next step is to have the countertop installed, then the appliances, and as the last step, the sink gets hooked up and we will once again have a kitchen.  Yay!  The Kitchen Saga continues.

The kitchen is coming along nicely.  Actually, it is coming along so well that I keep waiting for the axe to fall and the problems to start.  The cabinets are mostly in, they will finish it tomorrow.  They are beautiful, and there is only one cracked cabinet window.  The cabinet guys are GREAT!.  They could not be more professional or pleasant, or, (most important) reliable.  I keep hearing horror stories about contractors who walked off the job, or never showed up after the second day.  These guys did the drywall and even asked for the shop vac to clean up afterwards.  I've heard of people who have been without a kitchen for 9 months.  What could they have been doing wrong? 

We finally found the perfect stone for the countertop.  It is called Jade Green honed slate.  We didn't want granite (too formal), or engineered stone, corian, Ceasarstone etc., (too unnatural looking).  We wanted a very natural look, but everyone told us that what we wanted would be too hard to maintain, or keep clean, or whatever.  Finally, we decided to ask the installer who said that he would seal it and it would be plenty durable, so we got just what we wanted.  This was another example of putting the postulate out there and holding it no matter what kind of counter intention we got.  They make a template for the countertop and then it takes around 10 day to fabricate it, so the template will be taken on Thursday, and while we await it, the floor will go in.  The last step is the range and range hood which will be done by the electrician who replaced the guy who didn't show up and who turned out to be a master craftsman.  then the plumber comes to hook up the stove, frig, and gas range.  I guess I'm gloating but I really am pleased with how we have made this thing go right.  Problems could still crop up, but at this rate, I will be cooking up a storm within two weeks, which may just be a record for completing a kitchen renovation from demolition to end product. 

Well, the thing I have been not confronting and dreading has finally occurred.  My kitchen has disappeared, been demolished, is kaput!  This, all at the hands of my husband who has had a wonderful time with his crowbar, sawzall, sledge hammer and whatever else you use to demolish a kitchen.  Don't get me wrong.  This is a good thing.  It is the first step in the renovation of our kitchen.  We are turning an extremely ugly (and small) duckling into a pleasant, modern and much more enjoyable (although still small) cooking space.  We have been planning it for awhile now, thinking about how to keep within our budget and yet get the product we desire and need.  The first way we decided to save money was to be our own contractor.  When you hire a contractor they charge you around 20% of the overall job to make the calls to get the various trades together, coordinate them, and make sure that they know what the plan is and where they fit in.  I figured, I'm pretty good at calling people, interviewing them, negotiating, and pleading if necessary.  So we have gotten together our team:  kitchen designer (she drew up the plans which was pretty simple as we were not adding any square footage), plumber, electrician, cabinet installer, window installer (same as cabinet guy), drywaller (also same as cabinet guy), floor installer, and range hood installer (same as plumber).  Juggling these guys, (actually just reaching them) is a challenge.  But worthwhile as it definitely saves some bucks. 

The other day the plumber came to get the pipes ready and install the gas line for the range.  Right now I have an electric one and gas is much more to my liking for the stove.  The oven is still electric.  The good news with that was that when he crawled under the house he found an already existing gas line (must have been one there once), and was able to just clean it out and reuse it.  That saved us about $250.  Yayyyy!

I saved about $1,000 by ordering our wood flooring online.  We had found what we wanted in the local store and then I went searching to see if I could beat the price.  I found it at www.ifloor.com for $1.00 less per square foot, and now have 20 boxes of Bruce cinnamon maple stacked up in my living room waiting for the correct moment in the kitchen cycle for installation. 

We are increasingly threatened by pollutants in our environment, especially our food.  Genetically engineered foods are infiltrating our super markets.  Who knows what havoc those altered genes will wreak on our bodies in the future and on our children's and future generations.  What about all of those hormones fed to the cows, pigs and chickens we devour without asking any questions?  A normal chicken takes 22 weeks to become full grown.  A chicken on growth hormones takes 6 weeks.  Do the math.  They are putting that stuff into their feed so that they can slaughter them and get their profits much, much faster.  This is the reason that England has banned any meat products from our country.  We are totally polluting our food chain!  Then there are the numerous hormones and pesticides rampant in our fruit, vegetables and grains.  Soy products are almost all genetically engineered. 

Our bodies are inundated with these toxic poisons on a daily basis.  If you eat at McDonalds, Jack In The Box, Taco Bell, any of the fast food chains at all, you are most likely awash in more synthetic hormones, antibiotics, and weird junk than you could ever imagine.  So what do you do if you want to fight this toxic tide and avoid all of these substances which threaten your health on a daily basis.  You go as organic as possible.  You do not buy meats, poultry or fish at a regular super market.  You are asking for trouble.  If you don't want to become a vegetarian, (which has dangers of it's own), there are two stores where you can feel safe in the Glendale/Eagle Rock/Pasadena area.  They are Whole Foods and Trader Joes.  Whole Foods meat department has always been an oasis of sanity for the shopper who is trying to find safe and wholesome meat products.  Their meats, chickens and fish are guaranteed to be hormone free and are usually fed organic feed.  These products are MUCH safer than what you will find in Ralphs.  They are more expensive, but when it comes to your family's health and safety, SO WHAT!