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“What’s that restaurant like?”
“How about that place, is it good for brunch?”
“Maybe we should go there for drinks, have you been there?”
The answer is no, people. No, no, emphatically no. Not because I don’t like going out — I do, very much. But we’re at the moths-flying-out-of-wallet stage when looking at an entertainment budget, and so all answers are going to be along those lines. If it costs money, I don’t know anything about it.
I started more optimistically. When my contract ended last year, I thought The Hobo Kitchen would be a cute little way to figure out how to cook economically. But as time’s gone on, it’s morphed from a kitschy concept to a genuine way to keep myself solvent and fed. And that’s why anyone reading this is going to be subjected to a whole new level of “why is she so weird?”.
Namely, I have started a pretty industrious go at container gardening.
The available space: three sunny windowsills, one shaded windowsill, and a fire escape with a pressed metal sign on it where the words “$10 fine for obstruction” are barely legible under layers of weatherproof paint. I believe this sign to be approximately 100 years old, but will be taking that posted fine as gospel if anyone comes knocking at the door.
| Vegetables | beans, carrots, lettuce mix |
| Herbs | oregano, chives, parsley, basil, lemon basil, thyme, sage, mint, rosemary |
| Flowers | black-eyed susans |
The garden’s prospects: dubious, at best
But here’s the thing. Anyone who’s been jobhunting for more than a few months knows that it can develop into a soul-sucking, monotonous slog. You wake up every day, you drink your coffee, you check your inbox, you search sites all day while worrying about bills and deadlines and timelines and rent, and then you go to bed. When you’re in a 600 sq foot apartment, that can do funky things to your mental health.
So when I bought a $1 black eyed susan kit at a discount store, I didn’t really anticipate how bloody cheering it is to actually have SOMETHING in your life progressing on a daily, visible basis. Also, it is a lot cheaper than therapy or alcohol.
You’ve been warned, here we go. Part container gardening odyssey, part the stuff I manage to cook that doesn’t break the damn bank. Bon appetit.