Monday, January 1, 2018

Happy New Year!

With only 77 more days until the first day of Spring; if this is a sign of things to come, count me in.

The reality is that even though my front yard is seemingly filled with birds I have come to recognize as signs of spring, it really is still winter in the Ozarks. In fact, winter really just began less than two weeks ago. We all know how annoying it is when Walmart puts out Christmas decorations before Halloween, but I just can’t help rushing the season—this season.

Granted the days are getting longer, even if the change is almost imperceptible. But what quite apparent is the appearance of Eastern Bluebirds, Robins, and even a Cedar Waxwing, the first I have seen here in all the 14 years we’ve lived here filling the front yard. Turns out it was just warm enough with the sun shining brightly to melt a little of the ice in the bird bath.


CHMusings bluebirds and robins
Flashes of blue filled the front yard as dozens of bluebirds flew from one tree branch to another, resting awhile on a tall bush before returning to the bird bath again and again. While most of them relished the drinking water supply, some felt the need to do their own version of the polar plunge as they plopped into the middle and played in the water. It is always great fun to watch my feathered friends, but to see these springtime birds frolicking in the water, well, the sight made this season so much more bearable as we await my favorite season of all—Spring. It won’t be long now.With only 77 more days until the first day of Spring; if this is a sign of things to come, count me in.

The reality is that even though my front yard is seemingly filled with birds I have come to recognize as signs of spring, it really is still winter in the Ozarks. In fact, winter really just began less than two weeks ago. We all know how annoying it is when Walmart puts out Christmas decorations before Halloween, but I just can’t help rushing the season—this season.

Granted the days are getting longer, even if the change is almost imperceptible. But what quite apparent is the appearance of Eastern Bluebirds, Robins, and even a Cedar Waxwing, the first I have seen here in all the 14 years we’ve lived here filling the front yard. Turns out it was just warm enough with the sun shining brightly to melt a little of the ice in the bird bath.

Flashes of blue filled the front yard as dozens of bluebirds flew from one tree branch to another, resting awhile on a tall bush before returning to the bird bath again and again. While most of them relished the drinking water supply, some felt the need to do their own version of the polar plunge as they plopped into the middle and played in the water. It is always great fun to watch my feathered friends, but to see these springtime birds frolicking in the water, well, the sight made this season so much more bearable as we await my favorite season of all—Spring. It won’t be long now.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Before and After

I couldn't be more thrilled with this project. It is something I've wanted since we moved here 14 years ago. There is still more work to do to complete the bathroom, but the hard part is behind us. 


I have been enjoying the luxury of a hot bath before bed. In cleaning out the closets for this project, which was a massive undertaking, I found all kinds of bubble bath and scented 'this and that' I didn't know I had. 

It is all about the mood. Some nights I smell like a fruit bowl. Other nights, I feel like I've been strolling through a vineyard or played in an herb garden. Some nights there are bubbles; others, just a fresh, clean scent. Still other nights it is all about the health benefits of a soak in vitamin and mineral salts. No matter, it is all good. 

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Clearing out and cleaning up

I'm going to get a new bathtub

For the past several years, I have wanted to have a bathtub installed in the master bath. It is plain to see in this photo, at left highlighting the tile I had recently installed, that the shower is very small and rather utilitarian. 

I wanted more, so it is time for a change.

For years I have been saving for this project. I have devoted hours contemplating every possible option, including gutting the room and starting with a blank floor plan. While that would have been the simplest solution, it would also have been the most expensive, making it just not practical.

So, I opted for the easiest option, knocking out the wall behind the toilet and turning the toilet 90ΒΊ to the other wall. That would open up the room for a standard size, of course jetted, tub, the only item on my current bucket list.

This would not be easy for me, since behind that wall is a bedroom closet, a
secondary space where I keep quilting supplies and other artsy goodies like buttons, batting, lace, ribbons and other sewing needs. The picture at right is deceiving because it doesn’t show the entire closet. There is a lot more crammed into the space.

Fortunately, there is another bedroom closet, so this one is not exactly vital, except when I try to figure what to do with what is there.

This past week, I set out to clear out the closet, and at this writing, it is empty. Thing is, I have filled my house with piles of stuff that seemingly has no place to go. My solution, clean out all the other closets and get organized.

Getting organized is a project in itself, But it is one that is rather satisfying when completed. At least I can attest to that once it is finally completed. I admit I am well on my way. So, I spent the week cleaning out three closets at a time, the bedroom closet, the hall linen closet, the main bathroom linen closet, and even the laundry room, just for good measure. The bathtub will be installed in two days; the closet is now empty, the hall linen closet has now been deemed the artsy room, and the bathroom linen closet now contains all the towels, sheets, and other such items, with room to spare.

The older I get, the more I realize the adage that everything has its place and everything must be in its place. Unfortunately, I’m not quite there yet, but it is coming along. The garage sale items are piling up and there may be one or two extra trash bags, but I’m on my way.

Before long, I’ll be able to ponder solutions to all current and future problems while I soak in the hot, swirling water, as I take in the aroma of scented candles and sip some wine. I’m just sure this will make my brain more efficient, my body more relaxed, and my temperament greatly enhanced. For now, it’s bBack to work!


Saturday, November 18, 2017

I struggle no more

The perfect omelet is now in my grasp.

Isn’t this Denver omelet a thing of beauty?

I couldn’t be more pleased. This is actually the first omelet I’ve had in some time. I just stopped trying to make them because they always came out messy and unappetizing. That is, they used to, until I bought new All Clad non-stick skillets. I could not be more pleased with these pans.

No matter what the endeavor, good tools are essential. The same holds true for cooking. I finally decided that if I was ever going to work on my culinary skills, I had to give myself the best chance, even though I doubt I will ever be a great cook. I can follow a recipe, but I lack the imagination to just ‘come up with ideas’ that make a dish exciting and delicious. That’s OK. There are so many recipes out there, that I suppose I don’t need to go that extra mile.

By the way, this omelet was delicious!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Bringing the outside in

It is always a sad time when I have to bring the plants inside for the winter. On the other hand, it is nice to enjoy the ‘outside’ plants indoors.

While I didn’t have a plethora of plants this year, there were a few that are already doing quite nicely inside.

I love petunias and I hope I can keep this plant alive long enough to plant it outside again next spring.

In the meantime, I plan to enjoy this pretty purple petunia on my back porch. There are actually a couple of plants that are blooming, so the odds are pretty good that I’ll have petunias next year.

That just makes me happy.

I grew these in a pot on the deck where they did so much better than they ever did in the ground. I need some major soil amendments to be able to grow any flowers in what I hope will one day be a perennial garden.

I’ve always thought the purple coneflower was the perfect flower with its simplistic form and perfect color—my absolute favorite.


I still have a pot of the pink begonias that I dug out of the ground two winters ago. They have been simply thriving in our south-facing sun porch.

I hope to be treated with hot peppers all winter long.
Then last but not least of my noteworthy selections, is the Serrano Pepper plant that is still producing. I wasn’t going to leave that outside to die. So I brought it in as I have done in the past.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Great fall breakfast

There is no better way to start out a dreary autumn morning, than with a hearty breakfast. This morning, I made my all-time favorite. I could eat this for breakfast, or for a snack, or for dessert even. It is just that versatile and that good. It is Big Apple Pancake.

The version that I make is an adaptation from a recipe by Gale Gand, the pastry chef who delighted us with her delectable goodies on the Food Network’s Sweet Dreams in the early 2000’s. For me, she took the intimidation out of baking. She made me think I too could make delicious deserts. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

3 tbsps unsalted butter
2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced ¼” thick
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 tsp granulated sugar
Pinch salt
½ cup milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 450ΒΊ F. In a large ovenproof skillet (preferably with curved sides), melt 2 tbsps of the butter over medium heat. Add apple slices and cook, stirring until tender; about 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsps of the brown sugar and stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, milk, and flour. Pour this batter over the apples in the skillet, transfer to the oven, and bake until puffy; about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and remaining 2 tbsps brown sugar. Cut the remaining tbsp. of butter into pieces. When the pancake puffs, remove from the oven, dot with butter, sprinkle cinnamon sugar, and return to the oven to bake until browned, about 10 minutes more. As the pancake comes out of the oven, squeeze the lemon wedges over the top. Serve in wedges right out of the pan.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Binge-watching Australian television is the best!

Simple Map Australia Stock Illustration 148309007I keep telling my husband we should move to Australia so we can just sit down all day to watch TV. Their programming is wonderful, rather like ours used to be.

Since John became disabled, we spend lots of time looking for something we can watch on television. We’ve binge-watched all kinds of programs, starting with Breaking Bad. Since then, we’ve watched Madmen, Longmire, House of Cards, Ozark, and probably many others that fail to come to mind at the moment. This is such a great way to watch television.

As a baby boomer, I grew up with television. It is part of who I am and therefore, part of my comfort zone. I fondly remember the days when there was a moral to the story, happy endings were believable and hopeful, and commercials didn’t interrupt the on-screen drama, practically in mid-sentence. Characters were always important to me. Back in the day, there was no such thing as violence, and sex; Lucy and Ricky never even slept in the same bed.


My first experience with Australian television was probably last year when a friend recommended McLeod's Daughters. She knew I was a fan of Heartland, a Canadian-based family now in its 11th season. I started watching it on Netflix and was hooked from the first day. For me, it is the horses that first attracted me, not to mention the characters, and story line. Heartland remains a favorite of mine.

It must have been the horses. I’ve always loved them, even though sadly, I have had very little interaction with them in my life. I’ve sketched them, painted them, and admired them as they graze in nearby fields. I’ve even ridden them a time or two. I always enjoy them on television and in movies. I’m drawn to them and have seen every horse-movie on Netflix-even the really hokey ones.

There is a similar theme in McLeod’s Daughters, which is about the daughters of the late Jack MacLeod who operate his ranch in Australia. From the first episode, I absolutely fell in love with this series. By the time I finished all 8 seasons, I felt like I knew these people. I laughed with them and I cried with them. This show is available on You Tube, since it originally ran in Australia from 2001 to 2008.

I was so taken with MacLeod’s Daughters, that once it ended, I felt a little lost. I started watching it again from the beginning. I called it “my happy place,” especially the first few seasons when the characters seemed to be at their very best. During the summer nights when it was too hot to go outside and absolutely nothing was on TV or I didn’t feel like watching another movie, I sat down to watch my favorite characters.


Since then, I’ve found several other Australian shows to watch. John and I have enjoyed them. On Hulu, we watched 7 seasons of Offspring, a light-heart, really funny show about an obstetrician named Nina Proudman, who came from a very wacky family.

I wasn't completely smitten with this show until about the third episode, and then I was hooked. It just kept getting better.


We also watched three seasons of Rescue: Special Ops. This was, as its name implies, Australia’s version of a medical/emergency drama that began in 2009. 

It was available for viewing on You Tube. It was easy to like these characters. Just the concept exemplifies heroism. And the episodes seemingly got better and better every week. 

Interestingly, I chose this show because the characters--the fictional characters that is--since I read that some of the cast members from McLeod’s Daughters’ had a role in some episodes. Sadly though, the final season ended abruptly.


And finally, another Aussie show that captured my heart was 800 Words. This show, currently in its third season, is about a recent widower who takes his family from Sidney to a remote town in New Zealand to flee memories of his late wife who he misses. What he finds in the little town of Weld is sometimes enchanting, and sometimes zany, but always entertaining. He writes a column for a newspaper in Australia which is always 800 words long.

I don’t know what it is about Australian television, but I admit I’m hooked.