Amaryllis, week 3

We’re still in a holding pattern here in amaryllis land.  I’m not yet prepared to fret, but given our dreary weather, a little floral action feels long overdue.

I hear that patience is a virtue.  I’m working on it.

The Front Porch

A few years ago, I made it a goal to have a front porch worthy of the cover of Country Living magazine.  Though the magazine's photographer doesn't seem headed to my neighborhood any time soon, I think that my porch is a pleasantly welcoming entrance to Sassafras House and that's exactly what I had in mind, so the project is feeling like a success.  Each month, I change up some details of the porch because that sort of thing makes me happy.  This year, I have decided that I will post photos of the month's porch.  Today, you see the porch in a (mostly) bare form.  These pictures were made on January 2nd, in the bitter cold (it was 25 degrees with a breeze) and just in advance of a major snowstorm.  I wanted to leave the holiday lights up for the snow because twinkling lights and falling snow are an awesome combination.  Also, my labor force for light removal has a mouth and a Twitter account and might very well expose my labor practices if I ordered him out in such conditions.  But the lights are seasonal for Christmas and aren't always present.  The porch measures about 15x8 at its widest.  Below is the view to the right from the front steps.

The flag pole to the left is used most months of the year, sporting a different seasonal flag.

One side of the porch has a cast iron pedestal table that I inherited from a neighbor who was moving to Florida and didn't want to carry away her heavy front porch table.   The top of the table is lino (I have no idea who did that), but the bottom is lovely.  I cover it with round tablecloths that I find on sale racks and at Etsy shops.  I have quite a collection and, depending on the season, I add additional items to the table.

Near the table is a weatherproof box that I use for storing outdoor shoes and assorted porch detritus.  I used to use an open basket but for Christmas my parents gave me this tidy box and it’s a welcome addition to the porch.  This view also give you a sense of the expanse of the space.

Just by the front door is a built in cabinet for milk deliveries.  We don’t get milk at the front door anymore, so I use it for garden detritus.

The other side of the porch has a weathered rocker and a little table.  When the weather is nice, I sit out here to enjoy the outdoors.  For the winter, this corner of the porch also has my front yard flower boxes.  I have planted them with pink tulip bulbs and later this year they will be a first happy sign of spring.

We enter our home through an old-fashioned paned glass door that charmed me from the moment I first saw this house.   It's painted a smoky blue (Benjamin Moore's Alfresco) to match the shutters and trim on the house.  I hang a seasonal wreath on the door, but here is the blank canvas with the mailbox by its side.

The bare bones of the space now established, later this week I will post pictures of the porch decked out for January.  Then, each month, I'll post pictures of the month's porch updates.  Before we know it, outdoor sitting weather will have arrived.

Amaryllis Weekly: Report # 2

By now, the entire world is weary of the complaints of first world Americans subjected to the cold that is the polar vortex.   So I shall let that matter be and speak only on behalf of the amaryllis, now in its second week and not really enjoying the polar chill.

It’s secured a new location, on top of the pantry’s radiator and absorbing the morning sunlight.  The blooms, they will begin.  But not this week.

Real Life Texts with T: Cagney & Lacey edition

The backstory: Hulu put 144 episodes of the old Cagney & Lacey TV show in T’s queue, thus leading us to suspect that Hulu  know some things about her lifestyle, if you know what I mean.  Over the weekend, she watched one of the episodes.

T:  It’s very dated and they smoke a lot. They also don’t wear seat belts in the car and maybe it’s so old there aren’t any yet…we seem uptight and uncool in the future.

Me: At least we have given in to our lesbian impulses.  They had to smoke and take risks because they were in denial.

A Return to our Regularly Scheduled Program

Last night, for the first time in more than two weeks, I set my alarm.  I woke up this morning at 5:30, before the alarm went off.  That’s a good sign because it means I am heading back to school well-rested and ready for the challenges.  

My winter break, time off that I desperately needed, left me feeling re-charged and refreshed.  Though my to-do list remains incomplete (doesn't it always?), I completed some projects and enjoyed some relaxation.  I spent some quality time with a cat on my lap and books and garden catalogs at my side.  I reminded myself that there is power in slowing down and taking it easy.

I dreamt about school last night, so I know that I am ready to return to the energy and excitement that is Middle School.  I’ve got some 6th graders to catch up with and some interesting projects for them to complete.  I’m ready for their questions, curiosity, and enthusiasm for the world.  Bring it on!

Squirrel Antics

I like squirrels because they are cute and industrious, but I am not sure that I would call them clever.  Case in point: 

My backyard squirrel, Pesky, found this corn in the neighbor’s yard and brought it home to my yard for his New Year’s Day feast.  This happened before the snow storm but even so, he couldn’t bury it because the ground is frozen hard.  So he stored his corn in my flower pot, where no other squirrels will be able to see it.  This probably won’t end well.

He’s also hard at work on a nest:

Here again, his real estate choice seems somewhat suspect and fairly unsafe.  But he’s the squirrel in this relationship, so I will yield to his judgment.  In the snow, his corn and his nest was covered, so the end of this story remains a mystery.  Take care, Pesky.

This is Becoming a Thing

For the last two years, I’ve taken the ornaments and lights off the Christmas tree and then set it on the back deck just in advance of a snowstorm.  

The piney boughs fill with snow and look quite lovely.  There is just something magical about snow on evergreens.

Even when I have to shovel and otherwise deal with it (and this time, the extreme cold), I find snow beautiful and charming.

Food Friday: Texas Caviar

It is a Southern tradition that a heaping serving of black eyed peas on New Year’s day will help to secure good luck in the new year.  Though I live in yankee territory these days, I love this tradition and always serve some black eyed peas to start the year.  This year’s black eyed peas are a recipe I first learned about when I lived in Tennessee: Texas Caviar.  Over the years, I’ve adapted my version to include black beans, corn, and tomatoes.  You’ll need a big bowl to mix it up some good luck for yourself.

Ingredients

1 can of black-eyed peas

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn

1 can of petite diced tomatoes (I use spicy, if they are available)

1 can of diced Ortega green chiles

1 green pepper, finely diced

1 medium red onion, finely diced 

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

juice from half a lime

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

dash (or 2!) of cayenne

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Drain and rinse the black-eyed peas, black beans, and corn.  Drain the tomatoes.  Then get a big ole’ bowl and mix all ingredients together. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos Scoops.  It could also be served with quesadillas or in a lettuce wrap.  No matter how you choose to serve it, Texas Caviar is a delicious way to secure your good luck for 2014.  Y’all get to work and make yourself some today!

Amaryllis: Week 1

Each day, I turn the bulb a one-fourth turn and look eagerly for a sign that the bulb has come to life.  So far, my amaryllis is still at slumber.

But I know that the first lesson of gardening is that good gardeners are patient gardeners   So I will wait and embrace those lessons once more.

January 1, 2014: Dogwood Tree

 I am the sort of woman who has a bucket list of the trees I'd like to grow someday.  It's a long list and I will need acres of land to eventually fulfill this goal.  Until then, I enjoy all the trees in my care.  There's the enormous oak in my back yard, known to us as old man tree.  It’s the king of the backyard, because of its sheer size and majesty.

There are my dwarf fruit trees: two apples, a pear tree.

Last year, I added tiny peach tree to my collection.

There is a maple hidden in the darkest corner of the yard.

And there is my dogwood tree.

I see this dogwood every morning as it is directly outside the windows in both the kitchen pantry and the downstairs powder room.  The very first winter I lived in this house I made a picture of the dogwood in the winter snow; it remains one of my favorites pictures.

The tree has grown much taller over the years.  Because I see it every morning and I am the sort of woman to stop and admire her trees, the dogwood is my marker for the changing seasons.  From the dogwood, I will get my first evidence of spring and then fall, two seasons that I always eagerly anticipate.   Right now, on a cold January 1st, the dogwood is at rest for the winter.  I admire its graceful limbs and it's steady presence in the yard and I look forward to its changes in the seasons ahead, which I will share on the first of the month for 2014.