Shhhhhhh – whispering now …..

I have been sneaking plants outside.  Yes, sneaking – one or two a day.  Nothing big.

BECAUSE, I cannot stand it any longer – having plants in the house and garage!  

The plants are not very happy with being inside as well.  

I’m being quiet about moving the few to the outside because I firmly believe, whomever it is that controls the outside thermostat, will notice and turn the temps right back to 30°.  Then, I’ll have to move everything back inside.  Haven’t moved anything big or heavy – none of the plumerias.  Haven’t moved anything really cold sensitive.  Haven’t moved any of the seedings.  None of the succulents.  Just a few things.  Yeah, yeah - I know - just February - still winter.  Shhhhhhh.

Today, it’s supposed to be in the low 70’s.  Nice but very overcast and threatening rain.  Tonight it’s going to be in the middle 40’s – chilly but ok.  Tomorrow, ick, it’s going to be a high of 45° and overcast.  Then, it’s supposed to rain, possibly for all of February.

Right now, my yard is abloom with flowers!  Little teeny-tiny flowers.  Nothing I want blooming.  Weeds – sigh.  I am fearful that the weeds, loving the cool temps and rain, will get to be thigh-high in no time.  Of course I could look at it more positively – many of the weeds are considered edible and medicinal.  

Pass. 

  

Ten Petal Anemone

Birdseye Speedwell - A Plantain

Chickweed

Henbit

Wood Violet

Take care.

 

Dandelion

I’d like to say

……. that I enjoy reading poetry.  But – for the most part – I don’t.  Tends to be a bit tedious.  I did go through a period when I read everything Edgar Allen Poe wrote, poetry included. 

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, …….”

Didn’t we all?

I did read The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer --- because I had to ---- in High School.  And, I had to memorize a section and recite it before the class (there were a goodly bunch of us that had a section to recite).  It was a v-e-r-y painful thing BUT, I still remember my section -

…..And specially from every shires ende

Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,

The hooly blisful martir for to seke

That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.

Now, if I’m going to read any type of poetry. Let it be light and fluffy, like …

A Light in the Attic

   By Shel Silverstein

                 Peckin

The saddest thing I ever did see

Was a woodpecker peckin’ at a plastic tree.

He looks at me, and “Friend,” says he,

“Things ain’t as sweet as they used to be.”

Great Big Ugly Man Came Up

And Tied His Horse To Me

   By: Wallace Tripp

I eat my peas with honey,

I’ve done it all my life,’

They do taste kind of funny,

But it keeps them on the knife.

Or how about this ...

O Frabjous Day!

  Edited by Myra Chon Livingston

… from a Cornish Litany

From Goulies and Ghosties,

And long-leggity Beasties,

And all Things that go bump in the Night,

Good Lord deliver us.

Take care

I've had a long day working on my genealogy.  Just trying to put names and family units together.  I'm having trouble getting things to stay where I want them so .....

I am going to turn off the computer and go into the other room and do something else.

Time Travel

You know, Time Travel is possible.  Yesterday I was neck-deep in the 11^th century.  

My goal yesterday, which I did not achieve, was to clean up some of my genealogy files.  I started with the HARDIN family and Eadnoth.  From Eadnoth, the line is traceable through the Hardins to Storms to Sims to Bace to Abbott.  Whew!

Eadnoth (1024-1068) ”The Staller (master of horse) and Constable” of Somerset, may have been a son, legitimate or not, of Svend II, Estridsson Ulfussonn King of Denmark 1047 to 1076.  Or he may have been a son-in-law or someone with an active imagination.  You can find pros and cons on any and all paternal choices.  But, no one really knows. 

One of the things that is historically supportable is that Eadnoth served three kings – Edward the Confessor, Harold II, and William I (the Conqueror).  Because I like to include historical information of the times, I did some research on Harold II (having some general idea on the other two already). 

Harold (1022-1066) was a son of Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, and nephew, by marriage, to King Canute the Great of England and Denmark.  Harold was actually only king for 10 months or so because he was killed at the Battle of Hastings by the armies of William the Conqueror. 

It was really interesting and I learned a lot about his grandfather Wulfnoth Cild, thegn of Sussex; Godwin (his father and very powerful Earl of Wessex); Sweyn Godwinson (his older brother – a real bad ass); Edyth Swannesha (consort of 20 years and mother to most of his children); Ealdgyth, daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia (wife of 10 months and then he was killed). 

Then, I refreshed my memory on just who the Anglo Saxons were (as they are mentioned numerous times in the historical texts).  They were the Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes that lived along the coast of what's now Holland, southern Denmark, and a little of the German coast in between.  And the Normans ????  They were Vikings that bullied the Frankish (French) king, Charles, into giving them a large amount of land in northern France.  And, they all invaded England.

Next thing I knew, it was 5pm and Morgan was waiting for her dinner.  I never got off Eadnoth.  But, I did learn a great deal. 

Take care.

Gilly Flower

Moon Magic

So, last night we had our final Supermoon, the largest and brightest of the trifecta plus it was also a Blue Moon and a Blood Moon.  

Superstitions, myths, and folklore aside, all three Supermoons grabbed the world’s attention for a while.   

 

3 Dec 2017

1 Jan 2018

31 Jan 2018

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door.”

Take care

Meltdown. Aaarrgghhhhh!!! In with the good air; out with the bad.

So, yesterday I had a complete meltdown.  The cause --- several hours’ worth of pointless conversations (and being on hold) with Centerpoint Energy.  I think there is a problem with my electric meter and Centerpoint doesn’t care – about the meter or about customer satisfaction.  They don’t care because in my area – they are the only game in town for servicing meters, lines, poles, etc.  And, it shows in how their customer service (a very loosely used term) people interact with unhappy customers (me).  By the end of the phone calls, I burst into tears, stomped around the house, and my blood pressure jumped up to a scary couple of numbers.  I resorted to my “drug of choice”.

Tension Tamer Tea and
Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Therefore, today, I am going to talk about growing things – pretty growing things – pretty and useful growing things.  In with the good air – out with the bad.

I have Althea’s growing in my yard.  I have two but one is hidden amongst the ginger, so really, I just have one.  Mine is not a pretty plant – it’s old, shrubby, about 6ft tall with woody branches that stick out from ground to top.  But it blooms and makes pretty flowers. 

Althea or Rose of Sharon, is a member of the hibiscus family.  It grows just about everywhere (zones 5-10) except maybe the most northern states where the snow is deeper than I am tall.

The name, Althea officinalis, originates from the Greek word, altho, meaning to heal.  The leaves and roots have been used for digestive problems, coughs, and inflammations.  The plant is also edible – cook the roots along with onions as a side dish.  Tender leaves can be included in a salad along with the flower.  Some Althea’s produce a round flat “fruit” called cheese (yes, weird – don’t know why), which is also edible.  But mostly today, this shrub is planted to attract hummingbirds and butterflies and generally add beauty to your yard.

It’s very easy to propagate from cuttings.  Just take a cutting from an existing shrub – a stem that will bend in your hand, crack and break.  Chose a stem with at least two sets of leaves.  Strip away the bottom leaves, dip the stem in a rooting hormone and put it in a pot filled with perlite or peat moss.  Keep it in a warm moist location (I put cuttings in a plastic ziplock bag) and wait until roots start forming.  Ta-da! new plant.

They like sunny locations best but are pretty good about growing anywhere and in any type of soil plus it’s drought tolerant.  It handles our heat and humidity well and I’m told also grows nicely in cooler climates.  While they can get as tall as 10ft, they can be easily pruned as required.  Hint – if you are going to prune your Althea, do it in late winter.  It produces flowers on new wood.

Oh – and something else – Althea has a very fibrous wood and can be used to make rope or twine.  It’s also been used in papermaking.  Plus, the flowers produce a blue dye.

Lets see – medicinal, culinary, fabric dying, cordage, and beauty uses – all from the Althea.  Good choice for any yard.

Take care.

“Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need.” ― Julia Child

I like to cook and I have real cookbooks in addition to the antique ones.  Not too many though.  I have a good friend that has an impressive collection and I’d guarantee that she’s read each and every one.

While I have read through my real CBs, I seldom use any of their recipes.  This is what I use.

And, I’m sure every person alive that cooks has something similar.  A place they put all the recipes they’ve gotten from friends and family, cut out of a newspaper or magazine, or copied off the internet.  Originally that book was two of the same size – 50 years of collecting.  Last year I went through my 2 books and winnowed them down to just one. Then, I reorganized it and can actually find the recipes I’m looking for – yea!

The CB I use as a reference book the most?  The Freezing & Canning Cookbook by the Food Editors of Farm Journal.  It starts with Slick Freezing Tricks and ends with Curing Meat, Poultry, Fish and touches on everything you might want to do.  It covers a lot and has always been handy on my kitchen shelf.

The funniest CB I’ve ever read?  Oh, no question – The Sweet Potato Queens’ Big Ass Cookbook and Financial Planner by Jill Conner Browne.  There are some v e r y appealing things in that book and I’ve been, oh so tempted many times, to make Pig Candy.  I mean, bacon and brown sugar – what more could you ask for.

The prettiest CB I have is The Spice Cookbook by Avanelle Day and Lillie Stuckey – A Complete Book of Spice and Herb Cookery - Containing 1400 Superb Recipes for Traditional American and Classic International Cuisine.  It has the prettiest artwork.  I’m not a fan of photos of food.  Just doesn’t do a thing for me.  First of all, my result doesn’t necessarily look like the professionally photographed item made by a professional chef in a professional kitchen that has all the toys you could ever want.  And I think cooked meals lose their appeal in a photo – no aroma, no dimension, -- just a flat photo.

As I said, I like to cook.  And, I’m a bit of an inventive cook.  So, the recipe calls for something I don’t have – well, what can I substitute???  Sometimes it works just fine.  Sometimes, not so much. 

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” ― Julia Child

Take care.

Cook, Cooker, Cookery

So, I like cook books.  I’m fortunate enough to have a few that belonged to my great-grandmother, Margaret Laura Hudson Abbott.  And, then, I’ve collected several others from the late 1800’s.  They are fun, interesting, and often difficult to read.  I don’t recognize all the ingredients sometimes.

Just a small history lesson first –

Martha Dandridge married Daniel Parke Custis in 1750.  He died in 1757.  They had four children, two of whom died in infancy.  Martha Dandridge Custis then married George Washington in 1759.  You know who she is.

I have a reprint of the Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery.  While the book itself is relatively new, 1980, the recipes are not.  The inside fly page says, “Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats; being a Family Manuscript, curiously copied by an unknown Hand sometime in the 17^th century, which was in her Keeping from 1749 to 1799 at which time she gave it to Eleanor Parke Custis, her granddaughter, on the occasion of her Marriage to Lawrence Lewis.

To make Excellent Fritters the French Way

Take a pinte of flowre & add thereto some cheese curd broaken small, & 6 eggs beaten, & about y^e biggness of an egg in marrow shread small, mix these well with halfe a pinte of white wine, & some sugar, & a little salt, & add to these some apples shread, & preservd leamon pill, & other suckets, then melt some fresh butter in a frying pan, & fry them in little lumps about y^e biggness of a walnut or less, & strow on them when they are servd up some sugar, & cinnamon, If you please.

Interesting.  There are also recipes to Stew Lamparies, Boyle a Carpe in its Blood, and Make Strawberries come Earley. 

The Modern Cookbook, 1880, gives all sorts of recipes along with basic household instructions.  Carving – beef, veal, mutton, pork and venison.  To Make Soap.  A section Pertaining to Plants – “To kill the green fly or plant louse smoke the plants with tobacco”. Tells how to make cement for a cracked stove using silicate of potash and ashes.  How about a hair tonic “Two ounces of tincture of cantharides (A poisonous, blistering preparation made from the powdered, dried bodies of the beetle Cantharis vesicatoria), half a pint of Jamaica rum and one pint of rain water.”

The New England Cookbook, 1900, offers recipes from Mock-turtle Soup to Butter Taffy.  It also gives directions on how to serve a meal properly – “Square end tables are now the proper style.  They should be sufficiently roomy to wholly avoid crowding.  A spotlessly white table-cloth should be spread, with padding under it to deaden sound and make a softer appearance …….

And, last for this posting, is the Jewel Cook Book, 1890.  “A Compendium of USEFUL INFORMATION Pertaining to Every Branch of Domestic Economy.  A Manual for Every Household, also A BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE and Guide to Rapid Wealth.”  Wow – what more could you ask for in a book.  It has just too much good stuff to include now but maybe later.

Take care