Springtime Favorites

Some days I think I'm an old soul.  I just took the "Old Soul Test" and scored 85%.  I love the past.  I enjoy history.  I like the in's and out's of families.  I like how things came to be.   I enjoy people's stories and ventures.  I like considering life, the world, the sky, trees, breezes, animals and how it all fits together.  Or doesn't.  For example, I see flowers and am quickly reminded of my past.  Where a particular type of flower grew, or whose garden it was in, or the smell of it, or the time of year that it bloomed.  I think of porches with pillars.  Or lemonade.  Or the heavy scent of fresh grass after a cool night.  It is at this time of year, May, when I have a long list of favorites.  Memorial Day was always a time to gather flowers from our yard, put them in a dinged-up old galvanized bucket and take them from grave to grave at Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.  These are my Top 4 Most Favorite flowers.  I do have many others but these are my most favorite:

DOGWOOD -- We did not have these in Boise growing up but I do have them in Portland now.  They are in full bloom right now in all shades of pinks, reds, whites, creams....amazing.  I love how their trunks are so dark black and the blooms stand out nicely against the trunks. 

IRIS -- For some reason, we sometimes called these "Flags" -- I think because Memorial Day stood also for flags on the many graves at the cemetery.  These have such a gentle, sweet scent to them.  And they are so pretty and unusual. 

LILAC -- Oh boy, these always grab my attention...over and over.  The giant variety of colors.  From whites to pinks and differing shades of purple.  And so so so so sweet.  The giant bushes of lilacs remind me of grandma for some reason. 

PEONY -- Delicate and complicated.  Like me.  So heavy are the buds that they fall over sometimes from their long stems.  There's nothing like a vaseful of Peonies. 

The Best in Summertime Food

What is it about truly good food that turns me on? I mean, there are times that I get actual goosebumps over seeing or tasting a particular food. To see what someone has artistically put of themselves into a meal -- what they've created and developed -- makes me happy. And there's nothing like vegetables straight out of someone's garden. So, when we found ourselves around the table with my family in Idaho last weekend, I was more then happy to devour a whole plethora of home grown foods including juicy ripe tomatoes sliced with ribbons of basil straight off of the plant and sweet corn with butter and salt. I could have eaten them all night long. And to see my mom's bouquet of sweet peas on the kitchen counter reminded me of growing -- when she would plant a whole wall of the sweet peas with little strings running up and down the wall for the plants to grow on. The flowers are so sweet with fragrance. It reminded me of summers gone by.
And then, on our last day there, it hit me....my mind started whirring, thinking, wondering..... I grabbed some green tomatoes from the vine, tossed in just a little fresh ripened red tomatoes, a bit of summer peach, a finely diced jalapeno, basil, salt and pepper, olive oil, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to create a sort of salsa. I piled it inside of a pita bread sandwich but it could just as easily been served alongside a charbroiled chicken breast or piece of fish. Or with warm tortilla chips. It was delicious and disappeared quickly.
And should I mention the homemade peace cobbler -- warm and straight out of the oven -- that we finished off our meal with? See, there are some horribly redeeming qualities about Idaho.

Sharp Knives Do, Indeed, Cut Well

New March 2008 Audio Greeting Now Available .... Upper Left-Hand Corner!

In spite of a great weekend with Dave from Blogography, I ended up nearly slicing off my thumb last night. I'm on the way to the doctor this morning to get it bandaged properly. You'll remember that I got a brand new, very sharp, knife set for Christmas. Let it suffice to say that it does, indeed, work well. There was one hell of a lot of blood leaving my body last night as I was preparing a yummy, delicious dinner (which hubby had to finish up for me while I suspended my hand up in the air above my heart level). I had grilled whole red and orange peppers on the grills -- charring them just slightly and leaving them with that smoky taste. I was stuffing them with: potato (microwaved first), onion (sauteed in the skillet first), cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, drop of V-8 juice, brown lentils (boil for 30-40 minutes first), dried apricot, chopped almonds, paprika, and cumin. Baked 40 minutes after the stuffing. The salad was going to be: avocado, orange, cherry tomatoes, red onion (that's when the trouble all began with the knife taking off the end of my thumb and the nail too).
Check out a few of my photo sets that have new pictures in them:
Mason
Sauvie Island (including amazing shots of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood)
Seattle-Vancouver Trip
Late winter is well under way here. Daffodils and crocus are blooming, forsythia starting, and pink and white flowering cherry trees. I do have to say, Portland is the place to be in the springtime. We'll be adding azalea and rhododendron to the mix in April and May. It's quite a show.

The Good and The Bad

The good always comes with the bad, doesn't it? So, when I saw this early yesterday morning, I was elated and I knew you would be too. It's not long, my friends. Life will soon be returning to the earth, although I find it more than a great place to spend the winters on this earth.

And after that good news, here's a little giggle for you. I mean, what is this kind of shit flowing out of a perfectly good Baptist minister's mouth? It's so totally bogus that it's like there are two or three people inside of him trying to get out. But after Super Tuesday, I guess we don't have to worry so much about another talking mouth like Huckabee. I can't stand any more time with a Baptist-Minister-Turned-Wanna-Be-President-Politician personage. As Donald Trump would say, "You're Fired Huckabee." Um, buh bye.

Mike Huckabee: "I believe that all men are created equal."

Bullshit, Mike. You and I both know full well that you don't believe that. And on that note, we'll bid you farewell.

Matthew McConaughey and Me in Las Vegas and San Francisco

I shot these pics of Matthew's BB and mine on a recent trip. Guess whose is whose. I admit, it's hard to tell the difference. And don't miss his hot pics in People Magazine.

Here are a few pics from Las Vegas......you can't believe the development, condos, and hotels that continue to be built. Here are more Vegas pics (nothing of the really touristy areas, which is not my gig at all).

And a week or so before Vegas, I went with a few friends on a whirlwind day tour of San Francisco -- with heavy emphasis on the Castro. You'll see all of the pics here. What a cool, fun place. Did I happen to mention the pitcher of Sangria at Luna or the warm sun on our heads while we had a drink at Cafe Flore?
















If you're still reading this, you can see some awesome pics of flowers in our yard here.....Peonies are one my all-time favorites.

The Old Bucket

Last Friday, I attended an excellent writing workshop for gardeners. Now, don't get me wrong....I am as giddy as the next teenager about sitting in a beautiful garden with a glass of viognier or cup of hot Starbucks in the early morning. However (big "however"), I don't really like gardening (the act of) very much at all. I like the fun stuff -- but, please honey, leave the manual labor to someone else. If I break a sweat, I'm a mess. So, back to the workshop....It was a really fun day. Ten of us with topics such as your earliest garden memory, your favorite gardening tool, what do you see outside right now, favorite gardening book, favorite flowers and vegetables, gardens that have made an impact on your life. We looked at lots of inspiring poetry and essays and did plenty of writing (have any of you written anything by hand lately, no computer??). It was held at the Northwest Viticulture Center a few miles west of Salem, Oregon -- far up on a hillside where we could look out and see the Willamette Valley. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and a perfect spot to spend the day. Vineyards, forest, fields, tons of trees and birds. We laughed and cried. It's amazing the impact that gardens and the outdoors plays on a person's life. It was only when we took the time to really explore it that we discovered that. Since I had no favorite tool to take with me (remember, I'm no Martha Stewart), I chose to write a bit about an old bucket that one person brought. I'll include that piece here:

I think it was older than she was -- and probably as strong. Incapable of leaking water except as a result of a dramatic accident or damage.

The metal bucket had been around a very long time. The handle squeaked loudly. I think it had been used to carry water, stand on to reach tall shelves, toss yard clippings in, gather apricots from the tree by the gravel drive, and bring in kindling to start a fire in the wood stove.

But today, it was filled with cold water from the old hose by the well. "Not too full now," she yelled at me from the kitchen window of the old farmhouse. Someone, I don't remember who, was already busy picking an armful of flowers ...peonies, iris, lilacs. The old water bucket never looked as stately and proud as when she was filled with well water, fresh-cut flowers, and loaded into the trunk of grandma's red Mercury Comet, circa mid-1960s.

And so, off we went -- many Memorial Days -- to place bright flowers of remembrance at the granite stones of family gone before us.

The bucket returned home, in all of her beaten-up glory, empty, well used, and ready to perform her next priceless task.

May Day Yard and Garden Tour

UPDATE (3:28pm PDT): Look here for some really cool pictures of the hail storm that passed through about an hour ago....check out the little Hawthorn tree blossoms in the hail stones.

I had originally planned on posting this yesterday...right on May Day 2007. But I discovered that YouTube only permits files up to a certain size...and this one is larger than that. So, this one is from blip.tv. It may take longer to load, be patient. I also can't figure out why the video stops every so often. Help! If you're struggling to see it, try this link: http://blip.tv/file/217087/
I wanted to take you on a little tour around our yard and garden. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to listen to the May audio greeting on the left side too.

Click To Play

Yard and garden tour, May Day 2007