I am just inside after watering the garden and chasing Rowan around with the hose. I’m finishing a cup of coffee Will made for me, and thinking about how beautiful the weather is, and about the Tabebuia trees around town that are beginning to bloom pink and yellow. I’m excited that today we saw our… Continue reading Monday Notes Around the House
We have started the slow but rewarding work of landscaping our backyard. Over the weekend we cleared out an old woodpile along the fence, and discovered a pair of black racer snakes guarding a clutch of eggs. The children walked along the yard taking turns with a magnet wand to pick up any old nails… Continue reading On gardening and growth spurts
I’m looking outside the window at my neighbor’s orange tree, heavy with hanging fruit that is almost ripe enough to eat. A man rides his bike slowly through the street. He, like many others this morning, is bundled in layers to ward off the cold. I hear his tires come to a halt, and watch… Continue reading Friday daydreams
Sunshine cuts through the morning fog as noon approaches. I let it warm my face, neck, and the hollow between my shoulders as I sit with my head tilted back, palms touching the earth in our backyard. Rowan is playing at his water table. His shirt sleeves and pants are rolled up in thick bunches… Continue reading Midweek Notes
We slept through last night’s rainstorm. The children woke up with the morning light, and as I rubbed the last sleep from my eyes I was glad to have scheduled breakfast delivery. I put on a Beatrix Potter “The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends” DVD while we waited for our bagels, hot coffee, and… Continue reading Notes from a peaceful Saturday
This morning we visited a sunflower field on 5K Farms in Plant City. The strawberries growing in the adjacent field are still ripening; until then, the flowers are available for u-pick. The weather was crisp and beautiful with a high of 61 and a low of 47. All around us was a sea of yellow… Continue reading Sunflower Sunday
My parents came for a visit today, and we had a nice low-key Saturday together at home. We picked up a hot lunch from Mister Fish that included fish sandwiches with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard alongside fries and slaw. I think several people had the same idea, because the pickup window was crowded with… Continue reading Saturday in the house
David Bowers’ Real Irish Food: 150 Classic Recipes from the Old Country has gradually become one of my favorite cookbooks. I fell in love with all things Irish when I met my husband, who is American but has Northern Irish and Scottish ancestry. Dinners of chips with malt vinegar and a Guinness enjoyed in a… Continue reading Thoughts on Real Irish Food by David Bowers
In her book titled Home Cooking, author Laurie Colwin writes that “cooking for oneself reveals man at his weirdest.” People lie, she says, when asked what they eat when they are alone. Colwin explains: “A salad, they tell you. But when you persist, they confess to peanut butter and bacon sandwiches deep fried and eaten… Continue reading On matters of taste
In The Kitchen Last week our kitchen was filled with nourishing meals like a garden kale, sweet potato and chickpea skillet, one pan caramelized Brussels sprouts with bacon and onion, and a quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, parsley and currants. As the weekend approached, our meals became whatever we could throw together —… Continue reading Late January Notes
The Wren's Nest 