Science experiment: The Magic Continues!

Before I say anything else, Happy (belated) birthday to my beloved sister Andrea whose birthday was this past Monday (I know, I know... I'm still getting used to these scheduled posts) and also my awesome brother-in-law Cal who celebrated Friday!  Apparently January is the month for middle children :)  Hope it was lovely!

"Smiley Riley"

So you may or may not remember the succulent experiment.  Well, it is ongoing.  To refresh your memory, here is where we started out:

Pretty cute.  Approximately 7.5 months later (those pictures were taken from a post on May 28, 2013), here is where we're at today:

I have to be honest, I thought they would grow a bit faster.... but all in all, success!  The most prolific plant has been the Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi (that tall one at the end):

But some of the Echeveria have been doing pretty well too, particularly these ones in a separate pot:

Have I mentioned I love my new camera?  Oh, I did?  I love my new camera

There are a few others with varying degrees of growth.  Interestingly, the leaf from which they sprouted is still plump on the separate pot Echeveria which has less drainage and more moisture, which makes me think that watering the plants more may be the way to stimulate better growth on the others.

Echeveria with a Kalanchoe sprout

Two Echeveria

As a side observation, my Crassula perforata in my kitchen window have doing something interesting.  Here's a view of the kitchen window situation (it's a bit of a situation... I have some cleaning up to do):

Here's a view of the succulent pot I planted on my own:

Bit of a mess.  And the Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi grew a karate-kicking side root for some reason

And the Crassula perforata grew up under a pot on the second rack, causing them to bend sideways...  And sprout roots?

How weird!  I wonder what made them think they had ground underneath.  Was it the fact they were sideways?  The fact that there was a rack below them that they could somehow feel?  The fact that because they were under something else there was less light from above? 

And how interesting that it could sprout roots while still continuous with the rest of a long piece of plant.  Peppermint and strawberries too can put down roots distant from the original plant base (runners or "stolons") to the degree that they can be very invasive (here is even a whole how-to on destroying invasive strawberries) ... something similar?  Well, I couldn't find too much information on my plant, but I did find at least one source stating that when certain types of Crassulae grow a bit, they can sprout roots from the stem which one should "consider putting in soil" (reference the Crassula "baby necklace").

Pretty fascinating.  That pot is getting a bit unruly anyway.  I definitely will be trimming down some of the stalks and making attempts at repropagation. 

If this experiment has taught me anything, it's that anyone can repropagate succulents!  It's easy!

While we're on the topic of discovery, I would like to share something I discovered this week with you:  Pickle of the month club with "indie" small producers by Mouth

Coming up with this as a Christmas present was one of my finer moments.  But even better is the fact that these pickles are really awesomely delicious (coming from the non-pickle fanatic in the relationship)!

3-4 jars per month. This month: dill spears, sweet pickles, spicy pickles, and pickled green beans. Perfect mix!

So I share this with you because it is a tried and tested gift idea.  You're welcome.  This is how you make pickles:

And here is the happy result:

Anyway, I hope you all have an awesome week!  To get a headstart, I invite you to play this song and bad-dance around your kitchen.  I will now too, so we can do it together.  Ciao!

And when I am sad, I eat cake...

So this past week, we found out that our landlord is selling our townhouse that we have been living in for the last two years.  Kindly, he offered to let us have first bid on the place, but given that we anticipate wanting a bigger place pretty soon, we declined.  

So we gotta move!  

This is sad for a few reasons:
1. We have to move.  I hate moving.  More accurately, I hate packing and unpacking.  It's the worst.
2.  We have to move out of this place, which I so treacherously scoured the internet 2 years ago to find, with such glory when we did find this place, in Santa Monica with the biggest, nicest patio I had seen in a rental property.  I now consider anything less in outdoor space unlivable.
3.  Because we are moving soon and may or may not have a place to put all my plants, I can't buy any plants or plant any plants in good conscience, until we're settled.  

And of course, it's hard to uproot what's growing...

So while I've been handicapped in the gardening front, I have been baking.  3 cakes/loafs/breads in the last week, in fact.  Here's a couple:

Cranberry-orange-hazelnut loaf

As a side note, this is what cranberries look like on the inside:

Fascinating

Mocha bread

This actually collapsed 10 minutes after taking this picture because it apparently was not fully cooked, but I will not post a picture of that sadness.

Anyway, obviously, this is not the end of the world and I'm trying to see all of this business from the positive angle, because you know, happiness and optimism and all that:
1. We could save money
2. Ending up in a not as nice place might actually motivate us to become grown-ups and buy a place
3. Who knows, we could end up with a nicer place (oh la la)

Plus, how can I really complain?  Santa Monica is so lovely.  Here's some photos from my grocery trip detour today:

I love you Santa Monica

As an aside, to continue on the note of happiness in 2014, I’ve noticed I do a lot of whining.  This apartment business is a good example.  And while I am in no way comparing my mini-inconveniences to the back-story of these inspiring people (I mean this as a total aside), this week, there are two pretty awesome people that I learned about.  

The first is Jiro Ono, subject of Jiro Dreams of Sushi and now 86 or 87 year old chef at the 3-star Michelin sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo.  Here's a link to the trailer of the documentary which was quite excellent (I just watched it again and I am so hungry now).

Here is a quote that gives at the beginning of the movie:

"Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably."

As a side note, Jiro's beginnings are humble -- he was kicked out of the house at age 9.  In his youth, he started making sushi, and never looked back, still aspiring to be better (even though he is considered by many to be the best).

And the second is Aimee Mullins, athlete, model, actress, speaker of this TED talk and this TED talk and... bilateral amputee.  She has transformed her disability into, for her, potential ("I don't feel disabled").  She's amazing.

I read about this and wonder about my own potential if I just change my way of thinking.  What could I achieve in my field?  What expertise could I build outside of work if I just put my mind to it?  What if I just spent a little less time on the internet and in front of the TV!

It's just a thought :)

I know the last two weeks have been a little hodge-podgy.  Less gardening.  More feelings.  (Yes, I am made of "billions of cells and millions of feelings", thank you Mindy).  Not enough plants.  In the upcoming months, there might be more general gardening and plants, more food (after all, gardening is so intricately linked with cooking!), and the like because I won't be getting as much dirt under my fingernails.  But for next week at least, I plan to talk straight plants again.  Here's a preview...

Baby succulents!

Until then, Let the Sunshine In!  (Unless you're somewhere cold, then maybe turn on a heat lamp... or come visit me!)