A Closer Look at Ottoman

Lithops "Weslie Marie"

Lithops belongs to the Aizoaceae family, and everything I've seen from this family is from Southern Africa. I love Lithops and they need a lot of sun to grow which can be challenging in Oregon. I've had this guy for about a year (which is pretty good because I killed the first one). What I do with all the members of Aizoaceae (which is working where I live) is to keep them in the sunniest window I have from early fall to early spring (which is when they grow and need the most water), then put them outside in the sunniest spot the other half of the year. I've found that I'm having to water them quite a bit right now because it's been so hot and dry.

Anyway, this Lithops doubled in size since I got it:

It used to be just one half. What happens is two grow inside one of them and apparently use the nutrients from the old one which starts to shrivel up around the new ones until it's a papery skin (see to the right of the plant). Therefore, if all goes well this winter, I should have four of these cute little guys next year!

Oh, and these plants need a deep pot because they have a tap-root, and they (and the "split rock" from this post) need a lighter, more well-draining soil than typical succulents!

It's Famers' Market day, yay!

A Peculiar Wildflower in the Pot

You may recall that I have a little terracotta pot outside my apartment that I decided to grow wildflowers in (okayl, my partner did). Well, there is a new flower that is blooming that is quite peculiar. Check this out:

The center is a beautiful purple/burgundy, but here's what is so peculiar:

I thought that this flower was going to be purple, but little yellow petals start growing around the center; I thought they were just the green parts you can see here that die off and then the flower would open to be purple (I guess I didn't inspect it very closely). Very interesting!

This plant sort of reminds me of Purple Coneflower; I wonder if it grows the same way?

So, on to crafts...the supplies I ordered are in - yay! I'm so excited!!! I'm guessing I'll have one of these new pieces completed and ready to list in the shop by early next week (unless, of course, something unexpected happens).

Happy Tuesday!

Asian Meatballs with Dipping Sauce

I made some Asian meatballs with dipping sauce the other night by adapting this recipe because I didn't have all the ingredients (it was an on-the-fly decision to make these), I don't eat veal, and one of my guests has a sesame allergy. So, here's my version:

1/4 c. milk (I used 2%)

1/4 c. corn flake crumbs (I would normally use bread crumbs, which is called for in the recipe, but I didn't have bread crumbs on hand)

1 lb ground beef (you could use 1 1/2 lbs of "meat," which is what the recipe calls for)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and diced

1/2 tsp salt

several basil leaves, chopped (I would have used more if my basil plants were in better shape)

5 tbs soy sauce

4 tsp olive oil (I would use the sesame oil as the recipe suggests if I made them for myself, but olive oil worked great)

the juice of one lime (I'd use two if the lime were wimpy)

2 tbs water

2tsp sugar

1/2 tsp. powdered ginger (this is my addition...you can also add some freshly grated ginger!)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 500°F.

Pour milk over corn flake crumbs in a large bowl and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add ground meat, egg, water chestnuts, salt, chopped basil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons oil, and powdered ginger and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape meat mixture into 12 balls and transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together lime juice, water, sugar, remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.

Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.

I made these again last night because they were so good! Sorry about the lack of pictures, it's easy to forget to photograph something edible when you want to eat it badly!

Happy Monday!

Bowiea volubilis?

In this post, I mentioned that I would post a picture of my other hanging plant that is also a succulent. This one holds water in it's root system (keep in mind here that I'm not a botanist or horticulturist). I believe it's a Bowiea volubilis or "Sea Onion." Apparently, it's poisonous (I just found this out while trying to find out if it was labeled correctly). I've had this plant as a hanging plant in my home, but I've seen pictures of it growing on structures,  and I think I'll transplant it after the foliage dies off in the fall and grow it up out of little hands' reach. Which reminds me, this plant dies off in the fall and you don't water it until spring; it grows super fast and you have to water it pretty regularly during the growing season (I have three sprouts growing on mine, and I was going to have three more, but I didn't get to watering it in time and they died off). Here's a look at this interesting plant:

I wonder if this plant was the inspiration for Algue? What do you think?:

By the way, I LOVE Algue!

Surprise and Bloom Two!

A couple of days ago, when I opened the lid on my son's sandbox, we noticed a cocoon attached to it! I have no idea what species of moth or butterfly it is, but we had fun taking about that it will turn into a butterfly. Check out the little "string" that wraps around the cocoon to help hold it to the lid:

Also, my Baby Toes is blooming again, and I said I'd try to get another shot of it because the last one was taken with the camera on my partner's phone. Here it is:

It's been really hot here, and it's been difficult to keep even my succulents hydrated; notice the slight shrivel on the tops.

We also went to the farmers' market today and among some of the usuals, got a cantelope and some sweet little strawberries - yum! I'm hoping next year to be on the ball and grow some strawberries!

Happy Thursday!

Made to Order

I've decided to make all of my Moss hair accessories made to order in the shop; that way I can list more (if you like to wear two barrettes in your hair instead of one, for example, or for gifts), yet be able to work on new ideas and set those new projects aside when I get an order.

I also listed four Moss Bobby Pins in the shop because I have sold four at once to a customer - they make great adornments to a bun!

Happy Wednesday!

String-of-Pearls...

or senecio rowleyanus is a plant that my mother's mother had while I was growing up and I always thought it was so neat. I've had a difficult time finding this plant locally, though I'm sure you could easily find one online; my parents got me this one for Christmas.

String-of-Pearls is a succulent (and a hanging plant) and my mom has one that is larger than mine that has been in bloom since she got it (like over a year ago!); I haven't managed to get mine to bloom, but my mom is in a warmer climate probably more suitable to the plant and can keep hers outdoors year-round while mine is indoors. Here's a look:

I have another succulent that is a hanging plant (I'll share soon) -  it's very different than String-of-Pearls - it holds water in it's root system rather than in it's "stems;" very cool!

Happy Tuesday!

Moss Brooch (V2) 1

I'm very excited to have gotten a V2 Moss Brooch done! I think it turned out really nice:

I'll be listing it in the shop shortly.

I plan to get all my moss items available in my shop done in V2, but it will be a slow process because I have so many other things to do too! I have the "secret" items that I keep mentioning on order through a local shop and it should be here in one to two weeks (it's so hard to be patient when I want to start something new). I've also got some fine art in the back of my head and I have to source out supplies for that also!

I hope you had a nice weekend and happy Monday!

Comment Change

I'm changing the way I respond to comments on my blog; until now, I've mainly been responding by commenting myself. However, I realize that those of you who comment don't always check back to see that I have responded and I want to make sure that I connect with you. I really appreciate the time that those of you that have commented have taken to let me know that you like what I have to say - thank you!

I hope your weekend is going well and it's not as hot where you are as it is here (it's been over 100 degrees the last few days - yikes)!

Tayberry Jam?

My son and I went to the farmers' market today and my partner put in a request for jam (preferably berry). So, I went to the Pennington Farms booth and got some tayberry jam. Now, I knew that Pennington Farms sold tayberry jam, but I didn't know what tayberries were, so I checked on Wikipedia; apparently, they are a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry - yum!

Another nice thing is that you can buy sugar sweetened jam, or I opted for the organic agave nectar sweetened jam!

Speaking of blackberries, we have loads of them here in Southern Oregon, and they are now ripe! We love to go blackberry picking, even though they are so invasive and impossible to remove (think bamboo), and my son loves to eat them (he's too young to pick - they are SO thorny). I'll try to get a pic of the crazy blackberry bushes to share with you soon.