Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
First the Rain, Then the Fog, and Today... Oh, the Sun
"An absolute patience.
Trees stand up to their knees in fog.
The fog slowly flows uphill.
White cobwebs, the grass leaning
where deer have looked for apples.
The woods from brook to where
the top of the hill looks
over the fog, send up not one bird.
So absolute, it is
no other than happiness itself,
a breathing
too quiet to hear."
~Denise Levertov~ The Breathing
And then this morning, as if I had wished into the heart of Mother Nature for many days on end, it happened. The Sun greeted us, on the porch, as an old friend that comes unexpectedly after a long absence....
Bright, blinding sunshine that lit the damp, dead leaves with transparent hope.
Everything seemed joyful and more precious because of this life giving orb in the morning sky.
I told you that the garden ladies would smile....
Do you see it? That small curve to the corners of her mouth?
The faint difference in her demeanor?
The wonderful feeling of warmth and peacefulness?
Yes, the is what the sunshine does in Winter.
And then... I'm sure I saw this rabbit wink at me.
Talk about happiness.....Oh Freckles, does the sun feel good?
Brownie stood in the goat house doorway for the longest time with Bart and then he came over and rubbed his head against the fence. I know he has been the most miserable of all. Do you see the upturned corner of his mouth. That's like a silent meow.... He's such a drama king.
And then.... Murphy, my magic goat, came over and nibbled on my fingers, looking straight into my eyes. He said, " Thank you Farmlady. This is an auspicious day. A day of sunshine and happiness."
With goats, you always want them to think that you are the creator of the sunlight and of food, so I just replied...." You're welcome, Murph'."
It was a bright and beautiful morning.
Trees stand up to their knees in fog.
The fog slowly flows uphill.
White cobwebs, the grass leaning
where deer have looked for apples.
The woods from brook to where
the top of the hill looks
over the fog, send up not one bird.
So absolute, it is
no other than happiness itself,
a breathing
too quiet to hear."
~Denise Levertov~ The Breathing
Everything seemed joyful and more precious because of this life giving orb in the morning sky.
I told you that the garden ladies would smile....
Yes, the is what the sunshine does in Winter.
With goats, you always want them to think that you are the creator of the sunlight and of food, so I just replied...." You're welcome, Murph'."
It was a bright and beautiful morning.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Rain, rain... go away....
Come again another day....
The sun was trying so hard, this morning, to break through the fog and mist.
The garden ladies have no flowers to smell...
They are being so patience. The dampness is invasive and the beautiful green hair of the ivy lady's hair has turned brown and drips with rain. It's time for some sun... just a day or two.
Yesterday I was getting "cabin fever", so in spite of the rain, I put my rain shoes on, grabbed my coat and drove to Amador City.
As I have said before. This is my favorite little foothill town.
There weren't many folks walking around. The stormy weather discourages visitors. This is when I love to get in the car and drive. It was time for a visit to Sandy at her Country Living store. I parked right in front and went in. Sandy greeted me like an old friend.
Her shop is the most wonderful store in the foothills. It has vintage/ antique things, candles, dried flowers, wonderful light strings, aprons, and , always, music that makes you feel so good....Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Women of the 40's, sometimes classic 60's .... all making the ambiance of this charming store even more wonderful. Sandy has started carrying sheep wool and I bought some lovely, natural and curly wool and some that she had dyed. Plus a Christmas thermometer... just because. All her Christmas things were on sale.
I bought a few other things but I can's say what they are because .... someone has a birthday coming up next week and there will be presents....
While I was there I met a woman who is a mixed media artist. Her name is Linda and her business is called TIZZY. The three of us talked for quite a while and exchanged cards.What fun to stand around and talk about things and ideas that others have in common with you. Sandy has no idea what this afternoon in her store did for my psyche.
If you ever get to Amador City, please stop into Country Living. It's a wonderful place that will lift your spirits and I guarantee you will find something you can't live without.
I drove back home, feeling so much better. Everyone needs to go out and get a different perspective once in a while. This was better than a shot of antibiotics.
I came home and made some Chicken Pesto Soup with Veggies.
The rain continued all evening but it didn't seem so depressing. After dinner I felted some of my new wool, read a new book on felting (a gift from the Prospector) and knitted myself into sleep on the couch. It was a good day.
This morning the sun has arrived ( well, it comes and goes.) and I'm going out to see if the garden ladies have a little smile on their faces yet. It's very subtle. Just a small difference but I can always tell when they feel the sun on their lovely stone faces.
The New Year begins....
There weren't many folks walking around. The stormy weather discourages visitors. This is when I love to get in the car and drive. It was time for a visit to Sandy at her Country Living store. I parked right in front and went in. Sandy greeted me like an old friend.
Her shop is the most wonderful store in the foothills. It has vintage/ antique things, candles, dried flowers, wonderful light strings, aprons, and , always, music that makes you feel so good....Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Women of the 40's, sometimes classic 60's .... all making the ambiance of this charming store even more wonderful. Sandy has started carrying sheep wool and I bought some lovely, natural and curly wool and some that she had dyed. Plus a Christmas thermometer... just because. All her Christmas things were on sale.
While I was there I met a woman who is a mixed media artist. Her name is Linda and her business is called TIZZY. The three of us talked for quite a while and exchanged cards.What fun to stand around and talk about things and ideas that others have in common with you. Sandy has no idea what this afternoon in her store did for my psyche.
I drove back home, feeling so much better. Everyone needs to go out and get a different perspective once in a while. This was better than a shot of antibiotics.
I came home and made some Chicken Pesto Soup with Veggies.
This morning the sun has arrived ( well, it comes and goes.) and I'm going out to see if the garden ladies have a little smile on their faces yet. It's very subtle. Just a small difference but I can always tell when they feel the sun on their lovely stone faces.
The New Year begins....
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas is.....
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A walk outside between storms
"It was a happy thought to bring
To the dark season's frost and rime
This painted memory of spring,
This dream of summertime."
To the dark season's frost and rime
This painted memory of spring,
This dream of summertime."
"But welcome, be it new or old,
The gift which makes the day
more bright,
And paints, upon the ground of cold
And darkness, warmth and light!"
The gift which makes the day
more bright,
And paints, upon the ground of cold
And darkness, warmth and light!"
Flowers in Winter by John Greenleaf Whittier
(Only two stanzas of a very long poem.)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Feeling Better and Makin' Cookies
Saturday morning I was feeling better so I baked some cookies....
This is called the Ultimate Ginger Cookie. It's one of Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa) recipes. You can find it on the Food Network website and a lot of other places because it's a very popular cookie.
I watched Ina make these on her cooking show a few weeks back and decided to try them. I bought the crystallized ginger and then got sick. Saturday was the first day I felt like baking again so this is what I decided to create.
The only changes I made to the recipe were to reduce the amount of ground cloves from 11/2 teaspoons to 1/2 teaspoon, (I wanted GINGER cookies not CLOVE cookies.) I increased the ground ginger to 1 tsp. from 1/2 tsp. and when I chopped the crystallized ginger (very finely) I only had 1 cup instead of 11/4 cups that it called for.That was plenty. Almost too much. I think a half to three quarters cup would be fine.
I used a size 40 scoop and refrigerated the dough for about a half hour to stiffen it some. It's very soft dough. Then I dropped the scoop of dough right into the sugar and carefully rolled it around. This dough is sticky so you don't want to handle it very much. When it's covered with sugar pick it up and put it on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
I pressed each scoop with a fork (like peanut butter cookies) and bake for 13 mins. This is where I made a slight mistake. I only baked them for 11 mins. They looked done because they are so dark in color. I think I should have baked them the full 13 mins.
They came out crispy on the outside and moist on the inside but today they are soft all around. I think they needed the extra minutes to stay crispy. The sugar gives them a shine on top. I would like to try a decorative sugar that's bigger and doesn't melt in as much as regular sugar does to see how it looks.
After a taste test, the Prospector and I agreed that this cookie was a keeper. They were delicious. The recipe made about 30 cookies.
You don't need "kosher" salt. I don't even know what that is. I thought salt was salt. Although, it may have to do with plain or iodized. I don't know. Just use what you have in the cupboard.
Follow the mixing directions to the letter. Don't use butter instead of oil and cook them for the full 13 minutes.
Now... enjoy them. They are even better the next day. We had one for BREAKFAST yesterday. All those spices kind of shake hands and start dancing together overnight. The flavor blends and "marries". ( This is a relationship that deserves a poem, Chef E.)
I took a nap after the cookies were done. Still not back to normal but, oh, I feel so much better. Maybe it's the GINGER.
Have a good week before Christmas and Bon Appetit!!
I watched Ina make these on her cooking show a few weeks back and decided to try them. I bought the crystallized ginger and then got sick. Saturday was the first day I felt like baking again so this is what I decided to create.
The only changes I made to the recipe were to reduce the amount of ground cloves from 11/2 teaspoons to 1/2 teaspoon, (I wanted GINGER cookies not CLOVE cookies.) I increased the ground ginger to 1 tsp. from 1/2 tsp. and when I chopped the crystallized ginger (very finely) I only had 1 cup instead of 11/4 cups that it called for.That was plenty. Almost too much. I think a half to three quarters cup would be fine.
You don't need "kosher" salt. I don't even know what that is. I thought salt was salt. Although, it may have to do with plain or iodized. I don't know. Just use what you have in the cupboard.
Follow the mixing directions to the letter. Don't use butter instead of oil and cook them for the full 13 minutes.
Now... enjoy them. They are even better the next day. We had one for BREAKFAST yesterday. All those spices kind of shake hands and start dancing together overnight. The flavor blends and "marries". ( This is a relationship that deserves a poem, Chef E.)
I took a nap after the cookies were done. Still not back to normal but, oh, I feel so much better. Maybe it's the GINGER.
Have a good week before Christmas and Bon Appetit!!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Slow Down for a Moment and Un-Grinch
" Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot,
but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville - did not.
The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season.
Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
Or it could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
may have been that his heart was two sizes too small. "
"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags."
" He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
"And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say
that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.
And then - the true meaning of Christmas came through,
and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!"
" Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer.
Cheer to all Whos far and near.
Christmas Day is in our grasp
so long as we have hands to clasp.
Christmas Day will always be
just as long as we have we.
Welcome Christmas while we stand,
heart to heart and hand in hand."
I'm feeling a little better today. This was a bad Grinch like bug.
Please try and enjoy the days before Christmas.
Take time to bring good cheer to someone... smile at a stranger, call a friend.... and when there is a moment, sit down with a cup of tea and close your eyes. Think good thoughts and say " Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer, Cheer to all (Folks) far and near."
Thank you Dr. Seuss for reminding us what Christmas means and showing us that even when we feel like a Grinch we can change our attitude.... simply by giving something of ourselves.
Christmas Quotes – Dr. Seuss – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
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