Back to School

The second half of the school year begins later this month, when we officially hit the mid-point of the year, though it might as well be today, when I return to school.  

No matter how much the cold weather tries my patience, come January the school year always starts to fly past.  By now, we’ve hit our pace and the students understand expectations.  February’s shortness speeds by and before I know it, March and two weeks of Spring Break will have arrived.  Then it’s April and the prospect of balmy weather, flip flops, and relaxed Summer days are squarely on the horizon.

The last two weeks gave me the chance to rest up, read, and otherwise celebrate and relax.  It was a well-earned and much-needed respite.  Now that school is back in session I am ready to go.

Front Porch in January

Though we’ve yet to sink into an extended Winter chill, the front porch knows that it is likely coming.  Winter’s starkness makes the rest of the seasons that much more pleasing and this month’s porch decorations echo that theme.  The table has pinecones and a string of fairy lights that will come on at twilight, to brighten the darkness.

The flag welcomes wildlife to our yard, where we are sure to fill the bird feeder and look after squirrel dining needs with an array of stale crackers, bread, and peanut butter when T is feeling generous.

The front door wreath is simple.

Setting out plants and decorations on my front porch is one of the things I most enjoy as a new month beckons.  This porch welcomes us every day and reminds me that that the comforts of home are found here.

Obituary for a Dishwasher

On Saturday, December 28, my dishwasher died.  Strictly speaking, it passed to the great appliance beyond sometime the night before.  I started the dishwasher before I went to bed on Friday night and when we opened it on Saturday morning we found that the water pump had failed.  Fittingly for this workhorse of a machine, it had spent the past 10 days being run 3 to 4 times a day, to keep up with our busy holiday season.  It was never pretty but it always got the job done.

This beast of a Whirlpool machine joined the family in May 2005 when I moved into Sassafras House.  The previous owners had taken their shiny new dishwasher and given me this well-used transplant from their new house.  From the outset, it looked rough, with dents and scratches that suggested it had been in more than one fight.  The push button start mechanism was already worn through and that was the clue for how to start the machine.  But start it did and for years to come, it got the job done.  

In 2005, it was no Spring chicken, though it washed like a dream.  Inside it looked a little rough.  Over the years that appearance continued to decline as it began to rust and shed parts.   

When I first started it in 2005, I figured we’d ride this dishwashing wave as long as it lasted.  That it survived another 14 years is a surprise.  But golly did this beast earn its keep year after year.  For its faithful service, I offer a hearty and grateful thank you.

A new one has been summoned and installed.  Like the last dishwasher at this house, it’s a Whirlpool. Also like the last machine, we plan to enjoy it for a very long time.  Welcome aboard, washing beauty.  We already love you.

Front Yard Flowerbed in January

This year’s first-of-the month garden feature is my front yard flowerbed.  I see it every day from the front window and over the porch railing.  In the late Spring it is splendid.  

This time of year is not the finest view, though please note that the ivy, badly in need of a trim, continues to thrive in the cold.

This flowerbed is inside the retaining wall by the side of the driveway.  In season, there are hostas, an assortment of daffodil and tulip bulbs, and pink azaleas.  In the front yard are some evergreen bushes that T has disliked for years.  Now that they are dying, they are slated to be removed in 2020.  This will please T and result in a better looking front yard as well as friendlier neighbors in this flowerbed.  I’m excited for the changes that are coming and will be sharing them all year long in 2020.

A Lucky New Year

Black Eyed peas for good luck in the New Year are an absolute requirement for my celebration.  Usually, I make a bowl of Texas Caviar to meet our good luck needs —— it’s a dip that features black-eyed peas but my recipe makes a heap.  This year, we had a smaller celebration and so I made Zannie’s Dip, a hot black-eyed pea-based dish that served our good luck purposes and was delicious to boot. 

I love a tradition that reminds me of so many memories.  Black eyed peas does just that.  That it tastes delicious is just gravy on a tradition.  Happy New Year, Y’all! 

New Year’s Eve Tradition

Fact:  My greatest culinary powers lie in the realm of appetizers.  I put out a spread.

Additional fact: It’s delicious.

I’m drinking quality bourbon, kissing my sweetie, and counting my blessings.  That’s a Happy New Year!

December Book Report: Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

David W. Blight’s thorough and thoughtful study of the life of Frederick Douglass is a heavy lift - literally.  At more than 750 pages, it’s not a quick read.  But it should be essential reading for our nation’s civic well-being, especially now, when our leadership’s collective ignorance about our racist history is so damaging to our ability to move forward together.

But I digress and that’s not fair to Frederick Douglass., whose incredible life and words are at the center of this book.

Born enslaved to a mother from whom he was separated before he ever had a chance to know her, Frederick Bailey learned to read thanks to Sophia Auld, a kindly slave mistress who had a fondness for the young boy who worked for her family.  When her husband learned that the enslaved boy had been taught how to read, he angrily ended the lessons, telling his wife that Frederick the reader was now, “forever unfit” for life as a slave.  The lessons stopped, but Frederick continued to read.

By then, the enslaved child’s fondness for and joy in reading was a settled fact.  In the coming years. as he was frequently denied the ability to read, Douglass’s fury about slavery would grow.  When he made his escape to the North at the age of 20, his ability to read helped him to make the journey successfully.  For the rest of his life, words that he read, spoke, and wrote would be at the center of Frederick Douglass’s existence.  His enduring importance and influence in this nation is a direct result of the words that fed his reader's soul and then poured from him.

The power of reading is not the only lesson to be taken from Blight’s amazing portrait of Douglass.  The book is a discourse on Douglass and his many contributions to the freedom that America celebrates.  There is abundant and shameful irony in the fact that those freedoms were given much greater meaning by a man born into slavery, and that reality was never lost on me as I read about Douglass’s life and his contributions to our national history.   My copy already has multiple pages marked to use as I teach about Douglass later this school year.

But to me personally, one of the most poignant aspects of Douglass’s story is in the simple power of reading.  I was a late reader as a child.  When the spark finally caught in the third grade, I was consumed by it.  Reading became my most absorbing passion and it opened worlds for my imagination.  I am a history teacher and thoughtful citizen because of the books I read.  Reading informs the person I am and the person I try to to be.  In so many ways, books fuel my world.  To know that Douglass’s world was similarly inspired by the power of the written word is thrilling.

As thrilling as the story of Douglass; as thrilling as the power of this incredibly important book.  In my mind, it's required reading for this nation.

Winter's Lights

In the post-Christmas days, as the amount of light in our days lingers at barely 9 hours, I find comfort in the twinkling lights that glow in my home.  There are lights on the front porch.

A string of fairy lights in a glass hobnail jar is tucked among the plants that have come inside for the frosty season.

There is candlelight throughout the house in the form of glowing electronic candles that I enjoy immensely; they are a cozy pool of light that make Winter’s darkness less daunting.   A candlestick shines in each of the front windows.  I've tucked another into a metal house that sits by the front window.

In the dining room, another candle flickers in the hurricane lantern.

Winter’s short, dark days can sometimes darken my mood.  I consult my sunrise/sunset calendar and remind myself that the daylight will eventually begin to lengthen.  But it’s the tiny lights in the house that provide the most comfort in these dark Winter months.

That's happy!

A Happy Christmas

We had a busy holiday at Sassafras House.  My parents are visiting, JT is home, and the little kitchen was put to the test.  In the midst of all the busyness and conversations, I enjoyed the quiet of lighting the paper bag luminaries that are a Christmas Eve tradition in my town.

On Christmas Eve, I paused to admire the tree with its twinkly lights and pretty packages.

Playing Santa is always a treat…

…even if my “believer” is rather large.

Tiger enjoyed his cat nip treat.

It was nice to have my parents at the table for Christmas supper.

It was a simple day of happy traditions and I enjoyed it very much. 

That’s happy!

Santa!

Every Christmas Eve, Santa drives through our town accompanied by an assortment of the emergency vehicles that the town possesses.  It’s New Jersey tradition, one that I always enjoy.  When JT was a little boy, the excitement of Santa’s trip through town could barely be contained.  These days, I am charmed by the neighborhood children who come out to wave.

I never grow tired of the joy that Santa brings and this year, watching on my front porch with my parents, it was a special treat.

I believe.