Daffodil Tuesday

It's week 3 of daffodil watch here in central Jersey and we are incredibly close to a bloom. We're at the moment of early spring when things are just about to burst forth. The grass is suddenly greener and all sorts of bulbs are pushing through the soil. The trees are still stark with the look of winter but you can feel that's about to change. The air is – literally – filled with the promise of spring.
Which might very well explain all the sneezing.

The State of my Garden

The soil has been warmed up over the last few weeks and a recent rainstorm meant that things were good and wet. It was the perfect weekend to get outside and do some work on the garden. There is a reason that New Jersey is known as the Garden State, and it has a lot to do with the lovely growing conditions and rich soil in our corner of the mid-Atlantic coast.
I do my best to further enrich my garden. Over the winter, I use the garden patch as a nice big compost pile, mixing kitchen waste layered with soil and leaves to create a nice rich nourishing mix for the garden patch. This past weekend, with the aid of my friend T and the garden tiller my father sent me as a surprise gift, I set to work getting the garden patch ready for the spring planting season.

In previous years, I have turned the soil by hand. It's a tough chore and not the best way to get the garden ready. A tiller is much more effective. My knowledge of machinery of this sort is best characterized as limited, so T's help was needed; both to get the machine running and to keep me equipped with 10 fingers and 10 toes (not to mention take the pictures!).
Next week, I'll give the patch another once-over with the tiller and then I will plant the seeds for my early crops ---- lettuce, radishes, carrots, and cilantro. It will be several more weeks before I have any goods to harvest. But a patient gardener is always rewarded for her time. I can wait.

Imposter

Tiger and Lucy are indoor cats. Their only acquaintance with the outdoor world comes from time spent in the windowsills (and one dreadful escape). I sometimes worry that they are missing out on the pleasures of nature, but the risk that they would get hurt outdoors, while probably not great, is more than our hearts can endure. So they live in an indoor world.

There is a large cat with outdoor privileges in our neighborhood and he is fond of paying us a visit. We call this cat The Imposter (we once mistook him for Tiger and nearly escorted him indoors before we realized our mistake). Last weekend, The Imposter sunned himself on our back deck (he's there by the steps and the Christmas tree stand...don't ask) and it like to kill Tiger and Lucy, who stood at the back door and meowed up a storm.
We re-assured them of their hold on the iron kibble bowl and soft laps in our home and they relaxed their vigilance. The Imposter finally strutted off to torture someone else's pets.

Food Friday: Oven-Toasted Sandwiches

All those food ads that air during basketball games can provide a creative cooking girl with some inspiration. And that is the case for today's offering, an oven-toasted sandwich. This sandwich can compete with any sandwich you'll find out there. And mine will taste better and be less expensive. So take that, un-named corporate sandwich maker.

The ingredient list here is a rough approximation. You could add or subtract additional ingredients as dictated by what's hanging out in your pantry or whatever you crave.

1 loaf of crusty bread, preferably fresh (I used a loaf of Italian from Wegmans)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ pound Genoa Salami (you could use something different, according to your preference....or go meatless)
½ cup each finely slice red pepper, green pepper, & onion
½ cup coursely chopped mushrooms
oregano, salt, & pepper to taste
1 clove of garlic

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the bread in half through the center and then decide how many sandwiches you will make. My loaf of from Wegmans made 5 generous sandwiches. Lay the halves side-by-side on a baking sheet lined with foil (for easier clean-up). Lightly rub the bread with the clove of garlic and then place a layer of salami on each side. Layer on the rest of your ingredients so that each side is roughly even. Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Add a dash of oregano, salt, and pepper.
Place the sandwiches in the oven for 12 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted and a little broiled. Place the halves of the sandwich together, put in on a plate, sit down in front of a basketball game and open wide. Tasty!

Foul Trouble

Last year, a very kind neighbor gave us a basketball hoop. We placed it in the driveway and it got a good deal of use. I liked to play because, though I was cut from the 5th grade basketball team, I had a little game when it came to playing an 8 year old.
Fast forward to a year later (and several inches taller), and JT's game has improved. Mine is sadly the same and so I've started to lose in our match-ups. He's got plenty of smack talk and an aggressive style that might be seen as foul-rich by a less lenient playmate.
Fortunately, he plays with his Mama and she's a notorious soft-touch for 9 year old boys.

Sign of the Apocalypse

For the big sporting weekend, I stocked up on the sort of nourishment one requires to watch endless hours of basketball: Cherry 7-Up. I grabbed a big bottle off the shelf at Target, brought it home to chill, and then served up a glass on Saturday night.

At which point I realized that it did not taste like the fizzy sweet concoction that I had come to expect. It would seem that the nice people at 7-Up loaded up my soda with anti-oxidants, in a bold attempt to make my tasty non-nutritional soda less non-nutritional. And, sadly, less tasty as well.
Memo to 7-Up: When I want antioxidants, I will eat the fruits and vegetables that naturally provide them. And if I am turning to soda for my antioxidants, then let's be completely honest: I'm screwed.

My friends, this is a sign of the Apocalypse.

Daffodil Tuesday: week 2

We've had a few warm days in the last week, though we've also had some cold (including below freezing temps for the past two nights). There's no question that the daffodils and I much prefer the warmth.

Spring Finery

It is either a function of my resourcefulness (or perhaps my obsession with lots of quality bed linens) that the bedding in my home changes on a seasonal basis. The very depth of winter finds JT and I sleeping in flannel-sheeted nests with thick blankets and down comforters encased in flannel duvets. I usually have another down quilt on top of my down comforter (which I refer to as doubling down....a pun of a phrase that always reminds me of the grandma who taught me to play Blackjack....but I digress). This bedding combination allows us to survive the frosty temperatures of the Jersey winter (temperatures made even more frosty by the fact that I set the furnace to 55 degrees over night). It also makes for some very soft and comfy beds.

With the coming of spring, we gradually peel back the layers of bedding. Last week, JT's down comforter and flannel duvet were washed and placed in the attic for the next few seasons. He still has his flannel sheets and a blanket to go with his spring quilt.
Because I am not JT the human heater, I still have my down comforter on the bed, but I got out a yellow poplin duvet and a less heavy quilt so that my bed is ready for the warmer weather.
The guest bedroom also gave up the flannel in exchange for a spring quilt. The beds look comfy and fresh all dressed in their spring finery.
Reviewing all of this rather makes me wish for a nap. There seem to be plenty of cozy options available.

One Tough Cookie

Last August, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop for teachers taught by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, is a hero of mine from my high school days. Her politics are not nearly as liberal as mine, but her pragmatic, no-nonsense approach and Western outlook were incredibly appealing to me then (and now). When O'Connor joined the Court, I was a high school student and a young woman increasingly aware of the boundaries and limits society set for its girls and women. As the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, I saw her appointment as a much-needed change and a sign of the progress girls and women would enjoy in my lifetime.

O'Connor is fiercely independent and though she doesn't call herself a feminist, she is keenly aware of the need for justice. In my view, her most important Supreme Court opinions (among them, Lawrence v. Texas and the University of Michigan affirmative action decision, Grutter v. Bollinger) have demonstrated her support for the powerful ideal of equal protection under the law. She puts it well in this interview in the New York Times magazine. I am unabashedly a feminist and I would guess that my willingness to embrace the title has to do with my age and generational identity; O'Connor may not call herself a feminist but she and I share a very similar worldview.

These days, as an active retired judge, O'Connor is at work on civics education, a subject dear to my heart as well. When I studied with her last summer, the focus of the workshop was to deepen our understanding of the importance of an independent Judiciary in the American federal system of checks and balances. She has since unveiled a website on that same topic. O'Connor's no-nonsense work on behalf of lasting ideas is a powerful testament to the very power of those ideas. I encourage y'all to check out her newest project, Ourcourts.org.

Real Life Conversations with JT: Disfunction Edition

The backstory: The arrival of March Madness has meant that we've been watching a lot of basketball on the television. And sporting events on the television means advertising. Lots of advertising; much of it directed toward basketball viewers of the XY chromosome persuasion. So we've seen plenty of ads for cars, beer, and pharmaceuticals of particular value to men. Among them was the Viagra ad we saw late on Thursday night, after which the following conversation ensued.

JT: I don't even know what that's for.

Mama: Do you want me to tell you?

JT: Is it for peeing too much?

Mama: No.

JT: Is it for needing to poop?

Mama: No.

JT: Well, what, then?

Mama: You know how I've explained to you about sex? (Note to readers: he once asked how babies are born and I provided a brief, age-appropriate explanation).

JT: Say no more, Mama, I don't want to know.