The movie theater is NOT your living room.

I guess enough said. It drives me so crazy though. Really. Do you really need that giant tub of popcorn and a tray of hotdogs? Oh yeah, don't forget the mega soda. And don't forget to slurp on it during the quietest part of the movie, you know, the part with only important dialogue and no music. I know it's an outing people, but come on. Years ago, I went to that small theater over on La Brea and a guy actually had the nerve to plop in a seat behind me, open a (loud) styrofoam container of (smelly) wings and chow down. Sigh. A long time ago I remember thinking the DGA was so snooty to not allow food or drinks during screenings. Now I totally get it. Nothing like being taken out of a movie going experience by the girl next to you struggling to get that last piece of caramel popcorn. How about this foreign idea - eat before you leave your house? Or maybe even better yet, how about just staying home.

RIP Patrick

He sure had a sense of humor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgEVUWIwNLw


and so does the guy who is walking around with this tattoo...

The government can't run anything!

who says the government can't run anything successfully?  take a peek at this person's entry.. fantastic.

http://humidcity.com/?p=2429&cpage=1#comment-254679

You can see a death panel from Alaska!

Yep - thanks Howard Dean for trying to break it down - at least a little. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-dean/the-medias-treatment-of-p_b_255878.html

It's what's NOT for Dinner

Wow. Leave it to my hometown paper to run a recipe like this.   Thanks to my "research department" back East (AKA, my mom!) for continuing to provide me with quality news clippings for the past, oh, 15 years!

Bon Appetit!

bliss

Isn't it funny when, for a small moment, you realize that everything is okay. When the chaos you think you see isn't really chaos- when the noises you think you hear don't really sound that bad - when you tear out a page and realize it's great to start anew - when all the travelers on this ship read the same menu as you - when you can smile, nod, not say a word and start over.

EarthBox fun...

I have always loved the tomatoes from my dad's garden.  Living in the city surrounded mainly by concrete, I've grown to believe that I could never have my own garden. As an apartment dweller, I often miss the large backyard I grew up with as a kid.  People living below, above and beside me make me feel like a rodent at times.   But after a little research, I realized not only could I have my own little "garden" sanctuary, but I could also plant and enjoy some yummy vegetables too.

I began by researching different types of container growing.  There are many, trust me.  I ultimately decided on the EarthBox.  I couldn't seem to find any stores on the west coast that carried it. Although I'm sure you could make one yourself if you wanted to, I ended up buying mine on Amazon for about $50 bucks.  I wanted to try to grow some vegetables without a proper garden, and so far, it's working.  It's very easy and I just ordered my second Earthbox.  

The Earthbox's design helps reduce water evaporation (you place a plastic cover over the box throughout the entire growing season). The bottom of the box contains a reservoir which lets plants consume only the water they need.  And even better, with the reservoir, the plants cannot be over-watered or under-watered. This overflow system is key to growing healthy plants.  You can find out more info at Earthbox's website www.earthbox.com

Here's what I did so far:

Since I'm starting with tomoates and they need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, I found the sunniest spot on my patio. The Earthbox comes with wheels so you can wheel it around to the sunniest spots during the day (great for the unemployed).

Earthbox's website explains how many seedlings you should plant per box.  Since tomato plants can grow a little larger and their roots can spread, they suggest only 2 seedlings.  On my dad's suggestion, I've decided to plant Early Girl tomatoes (the growing time is a little shorter than other tomatoes and the yield is usually good) and Better Bush tomatoes. 

First, select a potting mix.  I decided to try an organic mix I found at Lowe's. The Earthbox comes with a special fertilizer so you only need the mix.  Be prepared to mix it with water to create a moist mixture.  I just mixed a bit at a time in a bucket.  


Place the plastic reservoir system at the bottom of the Earthbox and the watering pipe in the hole - very easy stuff.

Next,  pack the two rear corner cutouts in the screen (top left and right) with moist potting mix.  Make sure it's potting mix and not potting soil.

Once the two back corners are filled pour water through the fill tube until it runs out of the bottom overflow hole .  You will water your plants through this tube throughout the whole growing season. 

Now it's time to start adding the moist potting mix on top of the screen until the Earthbox is half way full.  It is fine if some of the mix falls through the screen.  Sprinkle the mix with water and pat down, particularly above the 2 rear corners you first filled.

Now fill potting mix completely to the top.  Since I am going to plant tomatoes, it instructs to mix 2 cups of dolomite or hydrated lime into the top 3-4 inches of potting mix and resmooth (the Earthbox comes with a package of dolomite, which is great).  If yours did not, check the website for suggestions. 

Now it's time to add the fertilizer.  Placement of the fertilizer depends on what you are planting.  Since I'm planting tomatoes, I am to dig a small trench towards the front of the box and add the fertilizer.  Many Earthboxes come with a dry granular fertilizer.  If yours doesn't, read the instructions on the site.  It recommends that you don't use a fertilizer that requires mixing with water or any other water-soluble brands.  

Next, I placed more potting mix over the fertilizer.  Now it is time to cover the Earthbox.   The Earthbox comes with 2 fitted plastic covers. You only need one. The other is an extra.  The cover fits the box just like a shower cap.  There is a black side and a white side. Keep the black side up to attract heat and lock in moisture.  Keep the white side up only if you are in desert climates. After placing on the cover, cut 3-inch X's in the cover to plant the plants.  Make sure you cut as far away from the fertilizer strip as you can.   

Next, through the X's cut, dig 2-3 inch holes to plant your seedlings or seeds.  Place one plant per hole.  Just this one time, you will pull back the "X" flaps in the cover in order to water the plants.  Put the cover back in place and then water through the fill tube.

Water once every other day while the plants are small and then once a day when they begin to grow.  Again, the great thing is you can't over-water them.  I tend to over-water everything so this is one reason why I love the Earthbox so much.

After about a week and a half, I noticed that the plants were starting to grow - and pretty quickly.  Here's a week and 1/2 after planting.  

Early Girls:

Better Bushes:

Here we are at exactly 3 weeks.  The Early Girls have grown so much.  I staked both plants (even though I read that bushier tomato plants don't necessarily require stakes).  The EarthBox does sell a staking system. It is sort of pricey and according to many reviews not too sturdy or even worth it.  I bought two dowels from Lowe's for 99 cents each and used an old t-shirt to tie for support.  As you can see, I already have some yellow flowers that will soon (and hopefully) grow into yummy tomatoes.  I will prune the Early Girl in a bit (to remove the "suckers," the stems and leaves that aren't producing any flowers).  So far everything is looking good!

Early Girls:

Better Bush:

I'll check back in in a few weeks.

Ok - I'm back. Thought I'd do an update since it has been awhile.  (May to be exact)  - My plants have been thriving.  A few weeks after my last post I noticed the flowers beginning to fall off and tiny tomato buds were appearing. Pretty exciting stuff (I know, sounds sad that that is exciting to me, but it was!)

Here they were a few weeks after the above post:

My parents kept telling me that I would have some tomatoes by the 4th of July - and turns out they were right.  Here are the plants just before the 4th of July.

And here we are - The 4th of July. We made veggie burgers and were able to use one of the tomatoes. Unfortunately, it was one of the smaller ones but bigger tomatoes were on the way!

And finally - here we are on July 5th... Many more tomatoes on the way too. Looking forward to it. Again, don't be discouraged if you don't have a backyard - I was initially, and then I discovered the world of container gardening. Tomorrow I'm planting lettuce, parsley and anaheim peppers - and all in containers! Enjoy !






August 1, 2009
Well, I went out of town for a little over a week. I didn't water my tomato plant - came home to a plant with a little brown foliage but LOTS of tomatoes. I picked 40 tomatoes this morning! Overall, I think I will end up with almost 100 tomatoes! (maybe 70-80, but there are still a few more on the way) - I can't say enough about the Earth Box. Now is the fun part where I get to call some folks and try to do a trade with veggies.