Get Your Fruit Flies Drunk!

Since we have lived in Brooklyn (just over three years now!) we have been adamant devotees to the Park Slope Food Coop. Theo is convinced that it is from hence that we also receive our weekly crop of fruit flies. There can be anywhere between two and twenty of these little beasties circulating around our tomatoes on any given week and they drive Theo up-the-wall. He used to just sit around and swat at the things from time to time until he would loose his patience and have to do something else to maintain his sanity only to be followed by them into the next room.

Luckily earlier this summer Theo got really excited by a tip he got somewhere about getting rid of fruit flies. And I have to tell you, it works like a charm as well as being completely non-toxic. The recipe is a 1/2 inch of Apple Cider Vinegar and a drop of liquid dish soap in a small jar. (We use a small glass yogurt container which I recycled years ago because it has a narrow top with inward sloping sides, feel free to experiment but I think it's harder for them to get back out because of this making it a quicker process.) You swish it around a bit to get the soap mixed in, releasing a wonderful appley smell. Then you set the jar down and walk away. By the end of the day - no more fruit flies!

I just noticed our weekly crop of fruit flies needed tending to and within a minute here is what it looks like:

The way we think it works is it draws them in with the pungently sweat aroma and then they sit on the ledge (as you see here) for a while just drinking in the fumes. I think there is a bit of alcohol in the vinegar or something, I'm not exactly sure to be certain, but after awhile they can not stand it any longer and start to creep down into the jar. They do this several times but at a point the soap makes them loose their footing and ... oops. One fruit fly down. Enjoy!

How to Care for a House Rabbit - wikiHow

This is great! I have been wanting a cat or dog for a long time but our landlord (who lives below us) is allergic to cats etc. Maybe the House Rabbit is the best option yet. They seem like they'd be quiet and you can take them out for a hop!

House Rabbit here I come!

New Hair Cut

I got a haircut two weeks ago. I wasn't sure if I liked it initially but now I think I do. Here's the before and after:

Apartment Growing

For those of you that REALLY know me you know I love plants and growing things. I must have inherited this from my parents who live in a relative jungle, inside and outside their home.

Being that we now live in Brooklyn without any yard space it has been hard at times to nurture this side of my desires. Last year we tried to use our front window as a hot house for cherry tomatoes which was a disaster. We only got about 20 tomatoes off of twenty feet of tomato vines that were taking over the living room. This year has been much better.

I aimed my sights a little lower and stuck with herbs and flowering plants. I have propagated around 20 basil plants from seed which Theo and I harvest in late July to make our first batch of homemade pesto and have been picking them intermittently for recipes as needed. They are still thriving and growing stronger and with any luck they'll be able to continue through the winter! (Does anyone have experience with this?) At the same time I sowed some chives which were being strangled by the almighty basil until a couple of weeks ago when I put them in their own container and seem to be enjoying their new found freedom.

I have also been trying my luck with a gardenia since March which are known to be one of the most picky plants ever - especially when grown indoors. I have been combatting some spidermites with them which at one point were threatening my other plants. They are also very particular when it comes to watering and temperature. None the less I have successfully had a few rounds of the amazing flowers blossom for me. My last blossom was right before we went to Seattle for a week and a half during which time our landlord was watching them for me. I came home to a very badly burned and dehydrated gardenia which is so sad! The good news is that after soaking it well and trimming the dead sections out it has shown some pluck and is re-sprouting pretty little green leaves on most of the branches, so maybe for Christmas we will have some new blossoms again. Here's hoping!

When we moved here we scored some free plants from the woman we bought our bed from. One is a Croton plant (tropical with large dark green foliage that turns red and yellow in the sun) which bloomed last year. I didn't even know that kind of plant bloomed! And after being a single stalk for years looks have seven new buds along the stalk in hopes of "branching out". We also received an Easter Lily from the same woman which I have been dividing liberally for the last couple years and just bloomed for the first time! I am so excited!

Finally, last year for a graduation present Theo's mom bought me a small spiky begonia varietal. It is like a plant I had in Seattle before we moved and I had always loved. It looked very sad in the store when we got it but I knew what it was and with the care and love that I give it it now is at least twice the original size and has beautiful small salmon colored flowers that seem to continually bloom. It always makes me smile; It is my little crowning jewel.