Photo-a-Day: Week 18

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Who do I think I am?

I'm not sure I even recognize myself anymore. I am a self-proclaimed black thumb. If there were a post office for the plant world, I would be posted on the wall as Public Enemy Number One. I could not even keep a Christmas cactus alive, folks. A CACTUS.

Then, last summer, I got the wild hair (and a kick in the pants from my husband) to start a tiny herb garden.

When that didn't shrivel and die, I allowed him to talk me into planting some mums after our wedding (after I went on and on (and on) about how much I loved them as part of our ceremony decor on the fourteen year hour drive back to Florida). Somehow, for reasons I have yet to determine, they also survived my tending.


Now, all of a sudden, I have snapdragons

and dianthus


and dahlias

and cosmos

and African daisies

and marigolds bringing color to my flower bed.

(To be fair, the snapdragons are on their last leg, but that isn't my fault. They have simply run their course, being a cooler weather flower, and the weather is most assuredly not cool here any longer!) Not only that, but I have transplanted my poinsettia, some potted tulips and a couple of Easter lilies from a year ago. To date, one poinsettia is still alive (the other sustained damage from an overzealous armadillo); the tulips actually re-sprouted and had amusingly tiny blooms, despite the fact that I was warned that tulips do not grow from bulbs in Florida because we don't get the deep freeze they need;

and the lilies sent up new shoots that now sport fat buds that I am hopeful might actually turn into flowers soon!


My herbs have continued to produce. I am now on my second planting of basil, after the first reached the end of its life cycle. The parsley, which I was originally convinced was dying, is still sending up new shoots to replace those I pinch off for recipes. And while I could not get my chive seeds to germinate, the seedlings I planted seem to be growing.

I/We have coaxed a stupid number of cherry tomatoes off a plant that is a year old now--after getting only one or two at a time for months and months, last count says there are 41 little tomatoes in various stages of growth--

so I ventured into the realm of miniature sweet bell peppers, and that plant is loaded with mini peppers.

T built a small raised bed behind the screen porch that is now home to two full-size heirloom tomato plants,

a tiny cucumber plant,

a yellow summer squash plant that is growing like it's possessed,

a zucchini squash seedling that T got to germinate from seed,

and a half dozen tiny green onion shoots that poked through the soil over the weekend.


But I digress. Back to those mums.

Not only did they *not* die, after being in my care (and after several prunings I thought for sure would spell their demise) over the past seven months, but they have never stopped blossoming and have taken to sending up satellite plants! (Look just directly below the large plant, there are two separate baby mums there!)

And here is where I really stop recognizing myself.

I DUG UP THOSE OFFSHOOTS AND TRANSPLANTED THEM. *Three* of them.



(Hmmm. We could use some new mulch.)

And then I took it upon myself to attempt to nurse this sad little dainthus back to life. He never really appreciated being transplanted from my planter into the actual ground. Who do I think I am??


And now, we wait and see just how successful this venture turns out to be. As I have been taught over and over, during the past ten months, only time and patience will tell.

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TV Loves and Hates: May 5, 2013

Disclaimer: I tend to be fairly behind on my tv watching. Even so, consider the fact that there could be spoilers ahead if you're even further behind than I am. You read at your own risk!


**Giancarlo Esposito in his role of Neville. He acts circles around the rest of the Revolution cast.

**Elementary, "Snow Angels" (ep 19). The whole thing. My favorite episode by far.

**Along that line, I thought Body of Proof, "Fallen Angel" (ep 6) was brilliant.

**Mark Valley on Body of Proof. I am officially sold on the new cast.

**Chicago Fire, "A Coffin That Small" (ep 19) made me cry. In a good way. This show *finally* made me feel something!

**Amy reconditioning Sheldon's need for closure about killed me. And then when she left and he finished everything anyway. So darn funny! (The Big Bang Theory, ep 21)


**The problem with Revolution is that they keep killing off characters before I have a chance to get attached to them. Results? I am completely apathetic when one of them dies. I would have to imagine they want something like that to be shocking or create some kind of emotional response. It simply flat lines.

**The whole soapbox derby-feud thing with Grandpa on Blue Bloods. (ep 20)

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Flower and Garden Fest 2013: Round Four

Ah, yes. The final round. The smattering of dishes I haven't yet tried that  are all over the board and a little difficult to plan "in meal order," so I just eat them as I come to them on my circle around the lagoon. I had some company for this trip. T was along for the day, to enjoy some Epcot and some time together (and to renew his Annual Pass).

First stop ahead!

HANAMI

Frushi (fresh strawberries, pineapple and cantaloupe, rolled with coconut rice, atop raspberry sauce, sprinkled with toasted coconut and garnished with whipped cream).

I had a pretty good idea of how this was going to be and I was right on target: light, fresh, sweet fruit. Nice and cool. Coconut rice was interesting. Nothing all that adventurous, but very tasty.


Definitely still plenty hungry. Lucky thing, the next stop is close by!

THE SMOKEHOUSE: BARBECUE AND BREWS

Rocky Road Brownie Mousse.

Don't allow the word 'mousse' to fool you. This was some serious dessert. Rich and dense and not for the casual chocolate fan. The chocolate had the intensity and semi-bitterness of dark chocolate, which was a pleasant surprise for me. All the different textures and contrasts in color made this one a lot of fun to photograph.


After all that sweetness, it was time for some real food.

PRIMAVERA KITCHEN

Lasagna Primavera (spinach lasagna, green peas, zucchini, mushrooms, broccolini, bechamel and fresh tomatoes with garlic and basil leaves).

Lots of bright colors and flavors from all the veggies. The tomatoes were my favorite part though. They weren't hot (in temperature), like a tomato sauce would be, but were just warm and spooned over the top, not baked on there with the rest of the dish. It was a pleasant riff on the classic lasagna, which felt just right for spring!


I was starting to get a little full (the brownie and the lasagna were both larger portions than their photos might lead you to believe), so off we went again, this time with a beverage in mind.

FRUITS BY THE GLASS

Mango Mama, Mango Wine from Florida Orange Groves.

This was an interesting contradiction in flavor. It was sweet and peachy (often the taste that comes most quickly to mind, for me, with mango), but it had that tart aftertaste, similar to that of grapefruit. We found a shady spot and I sipped until it was gone and we were ready to move on.


Final destination, contemplated during aforementioned sipping. I knew I had room for only one more taste, so this had to be given careful consideration.

THE COTTAGE: SAVORIES, TRIFLES AND TEAS

Chocolate Trifle.

Thank goodness this little treat was just a few mouthfuls. It was rich and decadent. Lots of chocolate flavor. The best part: the little round "crunchies" on top! The most delightful part: that triangle of chocolate with themed printing on it!


Whew. Mission accomplished! Only a couple of menu possibilities that I just couldn't squeeze in (the Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Pineapple Promenade and the Tacos de Carnitas from Jarin de Fiestas). I thought this was a fun addition to Flower and Garden Fest, with fresh, festival-appropriate menus, and I really hope they give it an encore in 2014!

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Snapshot from Along the Broken Road: April 2013

A photo of me:

I really ought to hand off my camera to T every so often so that every photo of me isn't of the low-quality iPad photo variety.

1) Candle scents this month:
French Vanilla. Honey Blossom. Clean Cotton. Blueberry Scone. Midnight Jasmine. Soft Blanket. Fluffy Towels. Tulips. Coastal Waters.

2) What I am reading this month (you can find me on Goodreads!):
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever (Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard) - All I can say is wow. I had no idea how much I didn't know. Such an incredible book. I needed something easy next, while part of my brain was still chewing on the last book, so I went with the next book in one of my cozy mystery series, Fruit of All Evil (Paige Shelton) - Easy, fun, not much thought required, exactly what I needed. Then I decided to try out a new-to-me cozy mystery series, since I had it on request from another library in the county co-op and it was finally my turn to read Mistletoe Murder (Leslie Meier) - Another easy, quick read, and I will definitely read the rest of the series. That puts me at seven books completed toward my 2013 challenge to read 25, and right on target! I am about 60% done with another cozy mystery request that came in from another branch, Formula for Murder (Diana Orgain), which I should have finished by the weekend.

3) Three things on my mind:
1. This post about not waiting. It's ok to save something for "special," but if special never comes, these opportunities get wasted. It's ok to celebrate the everyday, to let something special *be* the reason the day is special, because it's better to enjoy while we can than to lose the chance all together.
2. The Boston bombings.
3. The people who shape us, who give us foundations, who contribute to the framework of our lives in ways we don't appreciate until we gain a little experience in life. And how we don't thank them enough for the role they played.

4) Movies I saw:
Ha. A movie. I can barely keep up with the DVR, between new tv episodes airing and baseball season, when the Sox have had a whopping two days off all month. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm not keeping up with the DVR either, but that backlog will come in handy during the inevitable off-days and rain delays.

5) Calendar image for the month:
This image just speaks peace to me.

One of the most beautiful (manmade) sights in the world.


6) New recipes tried this month:
Cheddar Jack Creamed Spinach. Potato Soup. Chicken and Wine over Parslied Pasta.

7) Restaurants where I ate:
We didn't eat out all month. Not even once. Crazypants.

8) Five things I am loving this month:
1. Baseball is back!
2. Using fresh herbs from our garden. Chives and parsley and basil!
3. Watching the tomato plant pop out blossoms like gangbusters!
4. We got an upright freezer! I love that we can stock up now and not be at the mercy of the smaller freezer that's part of the refrigerator.
5. We changed laundry detergents. Tide Original Scent makes me happy.

9) Three goals I had this month and three goals for next month:
1. Flip through all of the current issues of my magazines, plus at least five more from The Stack. (I got through the new ones, but no more.)
2. Scan 25 more old photos. (Not a single one. Fail.)
3. Do one Pinterest project. (Nope.)

Well then. I did actually accomplish things this month, I swear. I suppose three consecutive weekends doing Flower and Garden Festival cramped my indoor productivity. I'll try again.
1. Flip through all the current issues of my magazines, plus at least three more from The Stack.
2. Scan 25 more old photos.
3. Move my sweaters to the cedar-lined chest and find a more permanent home for my boxed wedding gown.


10) This month I looked forward to:
I feel redundant, but in our house, there is much anticipation for the start of baseball season. It really cannot be overstated.

11) Something that made me cry this month:
The scenes in the immediate aftermath of Lincoln being shot (in the book "Killing Lincoln"). I *never* cry while I read. I get sad, and once in a great while, a tiny bit teary, but I actually wept -- as in had to wipe tears off my face and from my eyes in order to continue reading -- while reading about the medical attention Lincoln received in the theater and how they carefully carried his failing body to a clean boarding room down the street, because the President of the United States should not die on the dirty floor of a theater.

12) A photo I took this month:

A favorite from Flower and Garden Festival. The soft, filtered sunlight gave these begonias just a beautiful glow.

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