Yes, and thank you for asking!
The Mr. took over my office (plopping his laptop right in front of my sexy iMac), so I literally have not been able to make it to the computer to blog for you. Yes, I have an iPad, but the blogspot interface doesn't let you upload photos directly to the blog (or I haven't found a way) unless you put them on Picasa first... which I didn't want to go through that hassle.
Soanyways...
February 27, I took some photos of my garden. At that point, it was just one box of things I had planted in fall 2012.

Fall planting (other than garlic) really gets short shrift in my garden. Sweet onions, carrots, broccoli, some leeks, all the hardy brassicas... these can all get planted in the waning days of summer. But what I usually do is throw my seeds into this box, and whatever grows, I eat it in spring. I know. But, this was Chinese cabbage from seeds I saved myself; the problem was the cabbage was a hybrid. Some seeds turned into the "dad" plant -- a short pac choi-looking thing, and some turned into the "mom" plant, which you see here. This plant cooked up OK in a soup, but it had these awful spikes all over it. I won't be planting those seeds again.
I could garden for a million years and never understand carrots. When I plant them in spring, water the hell out of them, totally baby them, I get nothin'. These seeds (from my own plant) were literally tossed into the dirt, and here's a carrot. Best carrot ever? No. Free carrot, though.
Arugula (again saved from my garden) is an easy plant to grow. I need to buy mesclun seeds to mix in with it (or just buy mescaline, and then I wouldn't care what grew and what didn't). These plants are 3" tall now.
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| "What's in here?" |
That's kale in the back and along the front. Those kale plants are now 2 feet tall. I need to make some soup.
Then in March we flew to Arizona to see two spring training games. This was even more awesome than expected, because there you are seeing your favorite teams in stadiums that hold 10,000 fans (as opposed to 40,000). At Camelback Ranch, which is the home field for the Dodgers and White Sox, you can ask the players to autograph hats, balls or t-shirts for you before the game. At HoHoKam, the Cubs' spring training facility until next year when they move to a new ballpark, Hall Of Famer Ferguson Jenkins (and other famous retired players) will sign autographs for you all through the game over near the food area. Both the Dodgers and Cubs won the games we saw.
As you can see, these parks are much smaller than a Major League park. I mean, Dodgers Stadium holds 52,000 people; by comparison, this is much more intimate!!!
There is a Dodgers side...
And a White Sox side! (The gift shop is split in half)
This was my favorite part, though: any Dodgers fan knows a Dodger Dog is the only dog to eat at a ball game (unless you're a vegetarian, like me), but what about those poor Sox fans? Chicago dogs for them! No, I have no idea what a Chicago dog is. Maybe a brat? Or a sausage? I had a pretzel.
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| You're welcome! |
The next day we saw a game at HoHoKam. Since this is the last spring the Cubs will play at this park, it was nice to catch one game there. The Oakland A's will be taking over, and the Cubs are moving to a new park being built for them.
Seeing a Cubs game is always a treat for me. Not just because I'm a Cubs fan, but -- living in baseball-free Crapville -- I'm pretty much the only Cubs fan around. There's a guy who works at the Grange, and someone who drives around with a Cubs logo on the hood of his car, but when I go to a game... EVERYONE is wearing blue! They all know what the ivy and scoreboard look like at Wrigley. They all miss Ron and Harry Caray and revere Fergie, Ernie, Billy, and Ryn-O. They all know what it's like to be a Cubs Faithful. It's a neat feeling to be surrounded by people who have loved (and felt the pain of loving) the Cubs far longer than I have.
Again, this is a much more intimate feeling than even the Friendly Confines of Wrigley. That green board is not a hand-turned scoreboard, though; it's just the back of a place to buy hot dogs and beer. And, yes, they sell Old Style. And, no, I had a couple gin n tonics.
In fact, over by the mixed drink booth (and a margarita stand and a place to get these awesome stir-fried veggie bowls) is the autograph booth. You pay a fee (100% of which goes to the Fergie Jenkins Foundation/Cubs Cares Charities), and you can get a signed baseball from Ferguson Jenkins. As you can see, other Cubs players (and other teams' greats -- hello, Gaylord Perry!) will sign things too. Shanti got me a signed baseball last year. And Ryan Manies got me a photo signed by Andre Dawson photo last year. I really need to put my Cubs shrine together...
This is the view from the hill beyond right field. Just like Wrigley's famous bleachers, the hills in right and left fields are very popular. These areas are cheaper than the seats, there's food vendors nearby, and your children can run rampant. I spoke with a beer vendor who worked this section; she had NEVER been inside the park itself. **shakes head and wanders off**
This is the Delman family (or at least 3/4 of us). Apparently, the bright Mesa sunshine was too much for whatever setting I had my camera on. I don't remember the shadows being so dark...
You may be wondering why the Cubs would want to leave HoHoKam Stadium after playing here since 1979. I think this handwritten sign says it all. This electric box is hooked up to the electronic scoreboard above. "It may not work again." Yeah, I'd be ready for a new park too.
I think that's enough for today. I have free use of my computer tomorrow too, so we'll take a look at some goings-on in the kitchen and the new foster pup!