the domestic sphere

my dalliances with all things domestic






7/23/2007



changing gears


Things are afoot here in the domestic sphere. I have just completed the final readthrough of Knitting Patterns for Dummies. My marked up pages are on their way back to my editor and all the sudden, I don't have anything that I must be working on. I've got a few tech editing projects in line and ideas germinating in the back of my head, but I've been doing some recreational knitting, and even.... not knitting.


Still, the design center of the brain never sleeps and has turned its attentions to my backyard. Many things do not like to grow here in our desert-by-the-sea. Or rather, everything likes to grow here if you are willing to give it water and fertilizer and tend to it.

Our front yard, I've let "go natural" for the most part. Some sturdy plants like New Zealand flax and yucca, agave and aloe... anise and milkweed for the butterflies.... and whatever flowering weeds are willing to grow there. Mainly, Mexican primrose which blew in and decided to stay. I whack things down when it gets out of hand, and I throw rocks and bark chips in the empty spots.

The courtyard and I have also come to terms in Mediterranean sort of a way. It's bricked, with a big table and a rocking chair. Lavenders, rosemary, bouganvillea. A jasmine vining up the porch. A small orange tree and an enthusiastic volunteer fig. A few geraniums in pots. A pleasant spot. Bright and sunny. But because it's in the middle of the house, you don't feel tucked away in a quiet spot.

The backyard, however, is more private as only one room has any view of it, and it has the most shade. Still, it has mostly potential at this point. And dead grass. I've got big plans, plenty of graph paper, and an incessant need to check craigslist*. Stay tuned.


I have discovered from craigslist that many people seem to prefer "rod iron" to "wrought iron" -- so if you're looking for some, stick to "iron".






posted by kristi at 7/23/2007 11:16:00 AM
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