All Things Warm and Cozy

"Be a good human being, a warm-hearted affectionate person. That is my fundamental belief. Having a sense of caring, a feeling of compassion will bring happiness of peace of mind to oneself and automatically create a positive atmosphere."

~ Dalai Lama

The sun continually played tricks that day.  Out- beautiful, bright sky.  In- cloudy, gray haze.  The breeze blew gentle and calm while a hush fell over the ground.  A storm was approaching.  I could feel it in my bones.

Feeling the need to play in the garden, I grabbed my white gathering basket and set out with the task to harvest my jalapenos.  "Why not begin preparing and storing for the autumn and winter chili-eating, football watching season?" I silently wondered.

And with that, I gently plucked a few dozen spicy little peppers and began slicing and dicing.  The aroma proved potent and had me yearning for all things warm and cozy.  

So as the jalapenos found themselves hibernating in the freezer, and the sky turned a bit more gray, my locally farmed alpaca yarn emerged from it's safe and secure home in my yarn cabinet.  "Mitten knitting time," I thought.  "Why not really kick-off these winter preparations?" 

 While the rain streamed down the windows and the puppy burrowed under the bed, I lost myself to an old afghan and the gentle rhythm of my knitting needles.  

One mitten down, one to go.

On Preserving and Keeping

“The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change, for happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up.”

~Charles Morgan

Sometime this winter, when icicles hang from the eaves and snow piles high on windowsills, I will find myself grateful for this day.  As a matter of fact, I'm betting that I'll be thankful in early autumn, when I officially begin my soup making, sauce craving, and winter comfort food craze. 

As I flit about the kitchen (clad in warm slippers and flannel pants), adding basil or rosemary or parsley to the bubbling kettles, I'll remember today. 

The extreme heat and humidity shall rush to the forefront of my mind and I will recall (with happiness) the day I gathered and harvested my herbs while wiping sweat from my forehead and squinting my eyes from the sun. 

I'll think about the little gnats that swarmed around my face, the butterfly who danced on the daisies, and the finches that sang and hopped along the edge of the patio.

Inside the freezer, on the second shelf, my herbs are hibernating, preparing themselves for another time, another season.

And the beauty of it all is that these herbs (chives, oregano, sage, parsley, basil, thyme) began as small seeds, sunning themselves in the warmth of my window.  

 From spring to winter, the magic continues.

I'd Have Bet Against It

"When you are through changing, you are through."  

~Bruce Barton 

Up until about a year ago I'd order everything like this:

"I'll take the tossed salad, hold the onion, please."

"I'll have a veggie sub, on wheat bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and pickles.  No onions, please."

As a small child young adult, I would browse through recipes and think to myself, "Mmmm, that looks delicious.  Too bad it has onions in it," and then, sadly, I'd flip to the next recipe while cursing the recipe designer for ruining everything good with a slimy onion.

Well, well, well.  

I don't know when the shift occurred, but sometime in the last two years I became very fond of the onion bulb, proudly requesting it on by submarine and salad.  "I'm such the culinary explorer," I silently declared. (How lame, right?)

I look back over my childhood and can vividly recall the piles of little onions and "green things" that would accumulate on the side of my dinner plate.  I can hear my mom saying, "You can't even taste them, they just add flavor."  And, I remember pushing around "onion-y" meals and trying to hide them under slices of bread- very, very sneaky of me.

Therefore, the realization that I truly enjoy, albeit willingly add onions, scallions and chives to my recipes comes as an honest-to-goodness surprise.  I never would have thought.  

And, I never, ever, in a million-gazillion years would have imagined myself planting, cultivating, and harvesting them in my own garden.

My inner child is so angry with me.

Starting From Seed

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree, yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."

~The Bible 

I started on St. Patrick's Day weekend.  

Ever so thoughtfully, I purchased my seeds and planed how to arrange them in the rows and rows of squares.  I made sure to place the seeds at the proper depth and to provide the perfect amount of water and sunlight.

Somehow (somehow), it worked.

Truth be told, I'm very fortunate.  As it turns out, the window in my classroom practically creates a greenhouse effect for my precious seedlings and plants.  Combine the abundant light with a well-placed heating vent and I have the perfect recipe for germination.  

See, I wasn't kidding about the fortunate part.  Lucky me.

Therefore, about a month ago, a brought these munchkins home, as to acclimate them to the outside temperatures.  You see, it's very important to gently introduce seedlings to outside temperatures and conditions.  To have re-potted them and placed them outside would have stressed their fragile stems, leaves, and root systems.  

As you can imagine, it proved quite the theatrical number as I would run outside, in the dark, in my pajamas to bring them in for the night.  Because, as you can probably imagine, it wasn't until I was snug in my bed with the pillow perfectly fluffed and the warm quilt tucked under my chin that the notion hit me--"The herbs!"

Typical.

All of my antics wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the sweet old lady who lives behind us. You see, she lives alone and has 24 hour care and a constant stream of nurses watching over her-- who never sleep, just so you know.  I don't even allow myself to imagine what they must think of me.

None-the-less, the herb garden is in full swing.  I find particular delight in it this year, as almost everything I have planted I grew from seed.  

Let me just tell ya something.  Seeds, although more tender and difficult, are much cheaper than plants.  You can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be repeating this seed planing thing next year, and the year after that, and the--well you get the idea.

 This hummus- a crazy, improvised recipe- goes down as the first of many delicious treats from my little herb garden.  

Sprouts!

"Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's critical to know what it was."

-Anon

Sadly, I spent an entire weekend scouring our local stores for the ingredients needed to begin my baby bean sprouts.  I went everywhere, from big chain stores to local mom-and-pop joints.  At each place I would inquire about sprouts, and at each location I was given an ultra weird look and directed to a humongous display of seeds.  

I had officially given up my search and resigned myself to the Internet, where, thanks-be-to-God, I can somehow manage to find everything my little heart desires.  I won't even complain about the shipping costs, as it often beats the expense of gas and the other things I end up purchasing for myself along the way, like, say, Starbucks. (I try to resist...really...honestly.)

As it turned out, my Internet search, although fruitful, wasn't necessary.  In a practice of patience and a leap of faith, I decided to wait a few more days with the deep down, cross-your-fingers kinda hope, that I would be able to find my sprouts.

And, (gasp) wouldn't you know, that I found me some bean sprout seeds and an amazing set of sprouting lids at a health food store in Ligonier?

Want in on a little secret?  

Growing these lovely bean sprouts turned out to be one of the easiest things I've ever done.  

They are super healthy and pack an insane amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants into one's diet.  And- big bonus- bean sprouts, as it turns out, are extremely high in fiber and are one of the few foods that fall into the category of  a "complete food".  

Add them to salads, top a pita with hummus and sprouts for a delicious lunch, heck- eat them plain.  

I'm telling you, you'll never turn back.

Filling Up On Sunshine

"Anyone's life truly lived consists of work, sunshine, exercise, soap, plenty of fresh air, and a happy contented spirit."

~Lillie Langtry

Working all day has it's perks.  I can't complain.

But, when I am away from my little green babies, I worry about them.  

Are they warm enough?  Are they getting enough light?

I do what any loving mother would.  I rush home, open the west facing front door and run to gather and place all my seedlings and herb babies in my make-do incubator and chlorophyll inducer.

Even Charlie participates in the frenzy.  

I might be wrong, but I think she's under the impression that if she sits in the window long enough, she'll grow too.  

At least she's optimistic, right?

Just Because

There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate. 

 ~Robert Brault 

Because the sun was warm and beautiful and shinning, and because my "to-do" list lacked "to-dos" (huge lie), and because I had a small bag of potting soil, and-- oh yea-- because I had these tiny pots stashed in the top of my closet.... 

...I decided to plant.

And then, after filling three little pots with dirt and chamomile and sage and tomato seeds, I took a gander around the lawn, evaluating the state of blooming affairs.

 Much to my delight, the $0.50 peony bulbs I purchased last summer on clearance sale in a tattered, falling apart bag, have emerged, stretching towards the sky and, dare I say, even boasting one small magenta bud.

I never would have thought.

See the little cluster of yellowish ground cover? 

You do?

Good.

I just saved myself a good $20 at the greenhouse.

Why, you ask?  Well, wouldn't you know that this stuff goes for about $3.75 per four inch pot.  Insane.

Ever the frugal girl, you'll never believe what I did.  No, I didn't steal or pinch off a clipping.  Shame on you for thinking such a thing. (tisk-tisk and batting eyelashes) 

Rather, last fall as I emptied my pots and cleaned the patio for the long winter stretch, I pulled a clump of this Creeping Jenny out of a flowerpot and threw it to the ground.  Yep.  That's it.  I swear.

Now, I can spend those pennies on something more fun this year- perhaps some eggplant seeds? Or another  Stevia plant?

Time will tell.

Oh, the lavender survived!  It survived!  

Again, more garden amazement.  This little plant friend proves, yet again, that passed-over greenhouse garbage shouldn't be ignored.  

Last year, after paying less that $1 for this sweet herb, I planted it, watered it, and cared for it, all the while watching as nothing really happened.  Then, during my fall clean-up, I cut it back, saying a little wish for it and hoping that it would survive the winter.  

Would ya look at that new growth?  

 Miracle.  For sure.

Easter Bunnies

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous." 

- Aristotle

 

Nestled underneath the protective branches of Terrance (the tree in the backyard-- yes, it has a name) and hidden among the lush myrtle lives the sweetest family of baby bunnies.

Just in time for Easter, these darling babies prepare to embark on the most wonderful of lives in this neighborhood.  The grass is green and soft, the flowers grow abundantly and the people are pretty nice, too.  (Most of us don't even mind a nibble or two of our gardens.)

What a perfect miracle.  What perfect little blessings.

Sunshine Discovered

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."

~Luther Burbank

Take a walk through our lawn with me, won't you?

I just made a cup of green tea and I'd be more than happy to brew one for you, too.

We'll stroll and shuffle our feet and gaze upon the new blossoms, chatting about the lovely, vibrant colors and the softness of the petals. 

We'll pause to sip our tea, savoring the flavors of fruit and chamomile. And then, before we know it, we'll find ourselves investigating something else- remarking, perhaps, on the yellowish hue or the subtle details that comprise a primrose.

I bet we find ourselves saying that if we could have it our ways, the forsythia would bloom all summer.  After all, it's so darn pretty.

Why, we'll most likely remark about the weather and how glad we are that the sun has decided to emerge.  

We'll comment on how the winter was insanely mild.  And, if we're honest with ourselves, we'll also talk about how much we missed a good old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness blizzard.

All the while, a little puppy will play at our feet.  We'll see squirrels zig-zag across the lawn, over the fence and up the trees.  Robbins will peck at the damp ground and work to gather nesting supplies.

All around us life will emanate.

Beautiful Dichotomy

"Infinite diversity in infinite combinations...

Symbolizing the elements that create truth and beauty."

-Unknown

The planting has commenced.  

Spring is here.

Ground and Sky

Earth and Water

Differences depending on one another.