Sunday Dinner

After a pretty steady diet of fast food/takeout for the last year or so, it is nice to get back into the kitchen again. I decided that I would start making a more elaborate Sunday dinner to try out new recipes from the pile of cookbooks that I have collected. Today's meal was cooked from the Jamie food magazine, from Jamie Oliver. It is Empire Roast Chicken, Bombay Potatoes and a Carrot Ribbon Salad. The chicken and potatoes are both made with Indian spices, and the salad has mint and cilantro in it. Overall I think it was a success, though it all needed a little more salt. We have been trying to eat more curry since we read a report that it is beneficial to brain health. My brain certainly needs all the help that it can get. :) It is truly lovely to sit down for a great meal with my family on a weekend afternoon. The Gnomeslayer helped to mix the marinade with me, and peeled the carrot ribbons for the salad. She loves to help in the kitchen, more than she likes to actually eat the food that we cook though. But she loves to sample bites of everything, so I think she will eventually get more adventurous with her eating. :)

Return From Lunch

I have been taking college classes after work, and eventually online since 1998. At first I took them for a challenge, but eventually I started pursuing a degree. The stress of working, taking care of a household (and eventually a baby), and studying began to take its toll. There were many times that I wanted to quit, thinking that a degree was not worth the problems that it was causing. After getting laid off from work last year, and trying to job search without a Bachelor’s degree, the importance was reinforced to me. And now, finally, I have completed my last classes and am awaiting graduation. My brain, once numb and strained, has started to slowly wake up again. I can’t put it into words quite as well as Sue Hubbell, one of my favorite authors. Her writing was about the time after her husband left her, but I found it to be an appropriate description of what happened to me with the classes:

“And for a long, long time, my mind didn’t work. I could not listen to the news on the radio with understanding. My attention came unglued when I tried to read anything but the lightest froth. My brain spun in endless, painful loops, and I could neither concentrate nor think with any semblance of order. I had always rather enjoyed having a mind, and I missed mine extravagantly. I was out to lunch for three years.
….
One spring afternoon, I was walking back down my lane after getting the mail. I had two fine new flowers to look up when I got back to the cabin. Warblers were migrating, and I had been watching them with binoculars; I had identified one I had never before seen. The sun was slanting through new leaves, and the air was fragrant with wild cherry blossoms, which my bees were working eagerly. I stopped to watch them, standing in the sunbeam. The world appeared to have been running along quite nicely without my even noticing it. Quietly, gratefully, I discovered that a part of me that had been off somewhere nursing grief and pain had returned. I had come back from lunch.

Once back, I set about doing all the things that one does when one returns from lunch. I cleared the desk and tended to the messages that others had left. I had been gone for a long time, so there was quite a pile to clear away before I could settle down to the work of the afternoon of my life…”

(Sue Hubbell, A CountryYear, 1983)

In my case it wasn’t grief and pain that my mind had retreated from, just an overwhelming workload that suppressed the curious and artistic side of me. Toward the end, when I was working full-time and carrying a full-time course load, there wasn’t room for more than barely function in the necessary departments. But now I am back from lunch, and ready to move on.

And if you have never read any of Sue’s books, I would highly recommend that you check them out.

Tuscan Sun

My garden is covered with blooms now, including my latest rose 'Tuscan Sun'. The buds are a beautiful terra cotta color, lightening to peach as the flower gets older. It is definately the burst of color that my front flower bed needed. We got some gardening done this weekend, including finally getting our new raised bed put in, and getting the tomatoes and peppers planted. This weekend we will be getting the other half of the bed filled in with dirt and planting the direct seeded plants. The brief cooler spell was nice, since it turned almost to summer temperatures when it was still March. Yay for spring weather!

Stolen Moments

It was a busy morning (relatively speaking), and I took a break from dropping off my daughter, cooking lunch, catching up on paperwork and listening to my favorite radio show. I stepped out in the back yard to take a look at the skies, and see how the garden is doing. Storms are moving in, and you can feel the heaviness in the air, and the wind that reminds me of what is coming. Flowers are blooming all over in the garden. Rosebuds are swelling, and showing glimpses of their petals like ladies petticoats peeking out from under a skirt. Ahh, the growing season, how I have missed thee. Moments after stepping inside I hear the raindrops start to fall on the roof. I wish I could sit down and do something quiet while I enjoyed the sound, but alas I have to get ready for my workday.

Time to Work

We finally were able to get outside last weekend, and get some cleaning up done. It seems like we have been having rain most times we were off, so it was refreshing to get the gardening gloves back on. My husband got in the first grass cutting, and the Gnomeslayer and I did some garden cleanup and weeding. I have rather modest garden plans for this year, because I am in the homestretch of finishing college, working odd shifts, etc. I don't really have any plans *snort* of planting anything, but I have noticed a few volunteers springing up that I need to find a place for. And it was nice to be outside before the mosquitos have made an appearance too. I even felt stirrings of getting the pond liner down from the attic and giving water gardening a try again. Funny how things can never stay simple for long.

More Rain

It is still raining, and has been for most of the week. It is actually flooding in quite a few places, because the ground is so saturated. There were a few roads closed yesterday when I was trying to get back home from errands, and I had to divert a couple of times. I love rain, and it is good to get it, but I am really tired of everything being soggy. This weekend is supposed to be sunny, but the temperature is supposed to drop. Hmm...warm and rainy, or cold and sunny. :) And yes, that honeysuckle is blooming in my garden right now. It has definately been a crazy year.

Rain Garden in Winter

One of my favorite things about the garden in winter is that things you wouldn't ever notice in summer take the forefront. These are the seedheads from my 'Violet Queen' Monarda. The plant is stunning when in bloom, and I left the seedheads on because I am a lazy pruner. But also so that anything that might need to eat some over the winter would have a chance to do so. I can't wait to see how it will do this year, when it is established more. I do have to say that I have had to keep it from spreading and eating its neighbors. I can only imagine how big of a stand it would make if left unchecked.

Rugged Soldiers

It has been a beautifully warm weekend, can't complain about 60 degree weather in January. Unfortunately it rained today, so we couldn't get out and enjoy. My creeping phlox has a few rogue blooms here and there, my rugged soldiers that give me small glimpses of spring in the wintertime. Nothing like the carpet of flowers that it will be in April, but just a reminder that spring will be here before you know it.

Splash of Color

I love my flowering quince, it is so cheerful at a time when there isn't much color going on. It is planted along our front walk, so I get to see it every day. As with everything in my garden, I got a mutant. It was supposed to get 36", and it is already reaching the gutters on the house. I hate having to prune it back so severely every year, but I haven't had the heart to dig it up.

Ewe Got Broken

I took the Gnomeslayer to the yarn store with me yesterday to pick up the last skein of yarn that I need for my shawl that I am crocheting. It isn't my first choice to take her with me because she starts pulling all of the yarn out and I have to keep her out of things. I usually stop by on my way to work, but I wasn't going to have time so we went earlier.

We made it through the shopping, and were checking out when her hand flashed out and grabbed one of the wooden sheep from the counter. She was wearing gloves, the sheep slipped, fell to the floor and its leg broke off. So I bought it. The nice lady said I didn't have to, but I really did. It is from a local woodcarver, Charlie Thomspon. While I thought it was cute, I wouldn't have spent money on it, but now it is mine. So now the sheep is on my counter, waiting to be repaired.

So it looks like the Gnomeslayer will be gaining a new title, I just haven't decided what it is. Maybe the Sheep Shearer, seeing as how her leg got sheared off. ;)

Surprises

I love to go walk around in my garden in winter, because I can almost always find some little blooms here and there. Yesterday I noticed a tiny flower on my Siberian Wallflower. I just planted it this summer, and it has already been growing quite a bit. I am almost worried that it is going to take over the corner that it is planted in. I may have to do some readjusting of plants next summer.

A Bright Spot

When our daughter was born, we planted two Mountain Ash trees in the backyard. One died the year after we planted it, but the other one is still growing. The Alabama climate doesn't seem to agree with it too much, because the leaves drop off in the summer and come back in the fall. The leaves were still green up until December, and finally started turning red a couple of weeks ago. The tree is now well over my head, and will hopefully grow to be big and strong. It is nice to still have a patch of red in the middle of the winter tans and greys.

Southern Exposure

Every year I look forward to getting the new Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalog. I have been getting it for years now, and it is like seeing an old friend again. When I first started getting it, the catalog was black and white. Now it has a vibrant, colorful cover and color pictures. They also seem to have a fondness for garden gnomes and frogs that I heartily approve of. SESE is based out of Virginia, and the seeds are appropriate for the Piedmont area. We don't have those same conditions here in Alabama, but there are still many things that will work. I have already ordered my seeds for this year, but I may have to look through and see if there might be one or two things that I just HAVe to have in my garden this year.

Goodbye 2011

To tell the truth I am happy to see the backside of 2011 leaving. It was a year of extreme lows in many ways, though it is ending in a pretty okay way. We both have jobs, everyone has their health so far (knock on wood), we have a roof over our heads and food on the table. We are so grateful for our blessings, and our wonderful friends and family that love us.

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee;

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Numbers 6:24

P.S. Thanks to the Tasmanian Minimalist for the bird ornament idea.

Toasty Toes

One of my Christmas presents this year was a lovely pair of Angora rabbit hair socks. I L-O-V-E them, and wish that every pair I had was like them. They are so soft and beautiful. And so warm that even I, of the perpetually cold feet have toasty toes now. One day I would like to knit my own Angora socks, but for now I will enjoy someone else's work. :)

What's Blooming - Christmas Edition

I went poking around the garden today, to see who is still hanging around. We have had some weather down into the 20's, but I still have a few plants that are soldiering on. The Blue Bells of Scotland are still gracing my front walkway, and I finally got a picture that captured their lovely color. Most of the time they come out looking white, but I guess the day was overcast enough to stop some of the glare coming off of them.

More surprising, my Peppermint clematis has blooms all over it. It retreated in the heat of the summer, but seems to be loving the cold weather. I don't remember it ever blooming in winter before, but I'm definately enjoying the show (and the 60 degree weather!)

Food Rescue - Malted Milk Balls

We are trying to reduce our food waste, so I have been trying to find creative ways to use food before it goes bad. I have been going through the pantry to find things that need to be used up. Today's subject is a bag of malted milk balls that we bought at Fresh Market. I bought them for the Gnomeslayer to try, but they had a really thick chocolate coating on them and she didn't like them. I didn't either. So they have sat in the pantry for a while now, until we get desperate for chocolate and eat one.

I remembered I had a recipe for malted milk ball cookies I saw in a magazine, so I decided to give them a try. I only had about a cup of the malted milk balls, so I had to reduce the ingredients. I used my Cascadian Farms morning bowl of fiber cereal, which is a mix of flakes, bran and granola. The cookies turned out great, crispy around the edges and soft in the middle. I highly recommend them.

Malted Milk Ball Cookies

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 Tbs. cooking oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. plus 1 Tbs. flour

1/2 c. bran cereal

1 c. malted milk balls, crushed or finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir until well combined. Beat in eggs, oil and vanilla. Add flour and stir until well combined. Add in the cereal and malted milk balls. Drop dough in 1 1/2 inch balls, 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

The Next Big Thing

I have a lot of interests. It isn't quite ADD, but my attention span for doing things is extremely short. So much so that if I am going on a trip I have to bring several types of books, crafting projects, word puzzles etc. so that I don't get bored As soon as I start doing one thing I start thinking about the other things that I could or should be doing.

I love music, and I have very eclectic tastes. There isn't much music that I just do not like. I love Celtic, Rock, Blues, Classical, Ragtime...you name it. I took piano lessons for quite a few years when I was younger, but stopped when I was a teenager and hadn't played since then. Five years ago when I was traveling for business, I bought a guitar so that I would have something to do in the hotel. I didn't have time for lessons, so I bought some books to teach myself. I blundered around by myself for a few years teaching myself, and finally took some formal lessons last year. I have bought countless songbooks in different genres for the different songs that I want to play.

And the problem is that all I can think of is the other instruments that I would like to play. I'd love to play a violin, harp, flute, mandolin, maybe even take piano lessons again and get a piano. Since I taught myself guitar, I have a lot of bad habits that I need to break, and basics that I skipped and need to learn. If I started a new instrument, I could start out "uncontaminated" and work my way up, and really learn. Or so I tell myself.

But in many ways, the guitar is a perfect instrument for me. I have a lovely Seagull guitar that has a warm, beautiful sound. The guitar allows complex arrangements that many of the other instruments do not. And it is light and portable. It is also quiet, so I can practice at night when I get home from work without waking everyone up. You can play a wide variety of music on it, and sheet music is readily available for it.

So to start my goal list for next year, my goal is to work and practice at learning my guitar. I will practice every day, and try to apply some discipline to myself. And I will jerk myself back every time I start to daydream about the next big thing I could be doing.

They Are Watching

We were sitting at the breakfast table, eating our weekend pancakes when I happened to look at the treeline in the backyard. It was filled with birds on every available branch. I grabbed the camera and quietly opened the door. It was mayhem! The noise was deafening of birds calling back and forth to each other. Of course as soon as I closed the door the birds took off, so I had to stand there for a minute or two and give them time to settle back down again. Unfortunately there weren't as many in the picture I got, but there were still quite a few.

I'm Not Crazy After All

I was waiting patiently for my Tuscan Sun rose to come in, or not so patiently. The estimated shipping date I remembered had long since passed. I went through my e-mails to find the order receipt and number so that I could check with Jackson & Perkins. And I couldn't find one. At all. So I went through all of my e-mail folders, looked everywhere and didn't see one. I figured that I must have lost my mind and "meant" to put in the order but didn't actually submit it. Too bad, I guess I'll get one next year. And then I went out this morning and guess what was on my doorstep? I opened it up, and it even had flowers on it, which I have never had one show up with. Looks like it's going to be a beauty. :) And now I know I'm not crazy!