Tag: crafty beaver

Marigold Merriment and a brand new look.

First, let’s point out the elephant in the room…. One Crafty Lady got herself a facelift!  I’m migrating all of my miscellaneous and antiquated blogs over to one superfine megablog, and it’s all right here.  Some things will be slower to join the party…. for example, Travelpod does not allow me to export my posts so I’ll be slowly, and painfully, copy-pasting them here over time.  Other than that, I shall introduce you to One Crafty Lady 2.0 with some thoughts on marigolds.

Marigolds are awesome.

They are pretty, easy to grow from seed (read: don’t splurge on mini-plants at the nursery, because they are seriously that easy to grow from seed), and hearty.  Another fabulous trait of the marigold is how easy it is to preserve seeds to grow next year.

You should only have to buy a seed packet of marigolds ONCE.

Or, just get some from your neighbor’s marigold plants.

Once the plant flowers and the buds dry out they should be easy to pick off of the stem. Inside that nondescript dried up flower is a magical seed pod.  Just give a little tug to the dried petals, and out come the seeds.

Lots of seeds.

One pot of marigolds will yield you about 4 pots of seeds for the next year, which is why it’s ok to pluck a dried up marigold out of your neighbor’s flower pot….

Big pointer:

Just make sure that you store those seeds in a paper envelope (not a plastic baggy) in a cool, dry place for the winter.

On Ravenswood

I’ve got Portage Park on the brain as we prepare for home ownership in a new neighborhood, but I think it’s important to take some time to reflect on the great years we’ve spent in Ravenswood. Being in a slightly undiscovered area of the ‘wood we’ve had the privilege of being walking distance from Lincoln Square, Andersonville, and the heart of the neighborhood, but tucked away in a little quiet corridor where yuppies and puppies are scarce and upscale, overpriced restaurants are non-existent. Here’s what I think I will miss the most about my block:

  • Garcia’s
  • The nice Indian guys at the little liquor store
  • Garcia’s
  • The odd demographic on the block of latinos, lesbians who can’t afford A-ville, and millionaires with babies
  • The Crafty Beaver around the corner
  • Three full store-fronts of knitting yarn. Actually, strike that. Arcadia just closed and I can’t say I’m all that surprised because, come to think of it, there was not very much yarn in there for three store fronts and the ladies were mean. But since neither impacts their new business plan as an online store, I wish them all the best.
  • and, Garcia’s
So long, old pal. You may be seeing me anyway from time to time, if for no other reason than to secure a late night burrito the size of my head with extra avocado. mmm.
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** You may not think this directly relates to the primary content of this blog, but fear not. Ravenswood is an inspired neighborhood of forward-thinking urbanites who cherish their neighborhood gardens, green home design, and post-industrial flair. It is a place where you can walk safely through alleys and find raspberries, pole beans and roses growing freely. It is the people of this great place that inspire me to grow things and make things and cook things and I will miss it. However, we are on to the next chapter of our lives, to a place where I don’t have to keep my bikes in my bedroom or ask my land lady if I can put a compost bin in my yard.