Peas, sir. I want some more.

Last year, we planted peas in our balcony garden. We followed the instructions on the back of the packet of seeds. "Sow 10cm apart." My coworker was appalled. He never follows that. Apparently we should have sown the whole darn packet and packed the peas in as much as we could.

This year, we used the rest of the packet of seeds from last year and we also planted a whole other packets. 4 times the seeds as last year!

We'll see how it goes. I feel like there was some method to their madness when they provided a guideline of sowing distances, but I guess there's only one way to tell.

From garden

They started sprouting after the intense rainfall that we received just over a week ago and are about three inches tall now. There doesn't appear to be as many little sprouts as there were seeds, but I'm hoping for lots more in the next few days!

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My very own Green Gables

Okay, so I don't have a Green Gables.

I have a greenhouse.

From garden

But "gables" rhymes with "stables" which is essentially a "house" for animals. So I've come as close as I can to having my own Green Gables where in my imagination, I am Diana Barry (since I have black hair) and I'm spending time at Green Gables with my bosom friend, Anne.

I apologize for the misleading blog title.

I must also apologize for implying that I have my own green house; it is, in fact, not "my very own". Quite the opposite, actually. It's a community-shared green house.

A month ago, I ordered a copy of "Grow Great Grub" by Gayla Trail, author of super-awesome-blog: You Grow Girl. On her blog, I learned of an opportunity to share some space in the community greenhouse in downtown Toronto.

From garden

Dustin and I are in charge of going to the greenhouse every Monday to water the seedlings. We all take turns. Isn't it all so harmoniously charming?

Although we have limited space in our balcony garden, we went nuts and got seeds for anything that we would enjoy having an abundance of. We would worry about the space later.

We planted some zucchini (this one's still got the seed stuck to it):

From garden

some cucumbers:

From garden

and to make my mom proud, some Chinese Veggies (菜心):

From garden

We also planted some garlic, basil, dill, and cherry tomatoes. All in the greenhouse. It's incredible how quickly everything grows there. Gayla was smart and got us a shelf in the sunny corner.

From garden

In a couple months, all our little babies will be big enough to leave the warmth and shelter of the greenhouse and enter into the real world. Some will not make it out the door; others may perish in the harsh (and unpredictable) conditions of an Ontario Spring/Summer, but the strong will prevail and fulfill their destiny to be cooked into something unfathomably delicious!

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Spring Birdie Sling!

Spring came early! I think it was trying to make up for how long it took me to make a birdie sling for my friend Debbie. Sometimes I don't meet -- er, find the perfect fabric for a very long time. I feel a little like a matchmaker: Emma Woodhouse... but without all the drama... I do sometimes feel as though I've chosen to give away my Mr. Knightly... I digress.

From sewing

My sister actually found this beautiful Amy Butler fabric of springtime greens with a touch of pink. I paired it with bumblebees and lined it with pears. It is my first official birdie sling that is "handmade & dunwell". Doesn't it just scream spring?

From sewing

From sewing

The great news is that I have enough fabric left to make myself a shirt. I'll have to remember never to wear the shirt around Debbie...

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