wordless wednesday

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commenter appreciation day

One of the best things about blogging

is sharing information.

Blogger and commenter:

it's like a two-way street.

Or maybe it's like leaning out the window

and calling to a friend across the way 

who is also leaning out the window.

I am so grateful to every reader

who leaves advice or shares an experience

in the comments.

I hereby declare a 

Commenter Appreciation Day

with special thanks to Boud, who sent me

straight out to buy a bag of grapes, because:

"frozen seedless grapes work exactly like candy"

And special thanks also to Sandra,

who immediately seconded this excellent suggestion!

With such enthusiastic endorsement,

I knew I couldn't go wrong.

So I bought two bags of grapes.

~~~

I am now extending the supply of frozen apple slices

by alternating with frozen grapes.

Life is sweet!

It's cold, but it's very sweet.

~~~~~

weekend mishmash

Have you ever seen the magical moment when snow begins to fall? 

Perhaps you are gazing out at an open landscape, thinking about this or that. Your eye is caught by one tiny bit of something drifting down. And you think, "Is that ash? Is it snow?" Then another bit drifts down, then a dozen or a thousand, or countless millions more. And at that moment, even if you have seen plenty of snow for one season, you still feel huge relief that it is snow. Because that much ash would be a bit worrisome.

This morning I saw the snow begin. Then I checked the online weather report to see if a significant storm is predicted. I learned that the current conditions were "heavy rain" and "21 F," which made me laugh. Isn't there an inherent flaw in that combination?

~~~

Lately, a few things on my laptop screen have made me laugh. 

Here's one:

It may be the 15th century.

And those may be sheep, not goats.

Nevertheless, every detail of that scene is so familiar!

I love the expressions, and the authentic positions of the animals.

And of course, the determined youngster with something to say.

Maybe every herd has a Tsuga?

I hope so.

~~~

Now this is a sensible height for an oven!

If only I could find one of these, I wouldn't need a wall oven.

Not that I need one. Not at all. 

This weekend, I've been gathering recipes for oven-free breadmaking. (Doesn't "oven-free" sound nicer than "ovenless"? Liberating! No need to rush the oven replacement, no sirree!) I hope to become an expert a competent flatbread-maker in the weeks ahead.

But I'll tell you what: if you don't have a few hours to spare, you might want to avoid searching for recipes on the informative and inspirational rabbit-hole of Pinterest. One interesting image will lead a board (that link is to my Pinterest boards) then maybe you decide to click through to the original blog or YouTube video or website...and suddenly it's really, really time to get outside and unload the hay before nightfall, you lazypants!

~~~

Along the bread-lined way I've collected recipes for lots of other things. (Note: these links will take you to the site with the actual recipe, not to Pinterest.) Desserts from the days of WWII food rationing. Soups and stews from many countries and cultures. Crockpot chicken dishes to replace my standard (but totally unnecessary!) oven roasts.

  

As you might imagine, I always go for simple recipes, with few ingredients and a short list of instructions. Even so, an occasional recipe presents a challenge, like the one that calls for "one and a half eggs"... 

"Say what now?" 

...or the instruction to "line a large pot with a thin layer of vegetable broth."

~~~

Speaking of vegetables, my 2014 garden seeds are now in a bowl in the kitchen, where they make me smile several times each day. Every now and then, I move the bottom packet to the top. Today, a switch from broccoli, which I hope will be more successful than the 2013 cauliflower experiment:

...to a variety of kale which I hope will work in caldo verde. Because seriously: I have tried and tried and if I can't duplicate the remembered flavor with this kale, I suppose I will have to go back to Portugal and collect some seeds by the roadside.

Still plenty of time before planting, as you can see by the intrepid hens. At least the snow has melted down enough that they are happy to go outside again! This winter is the first time ever that the hens have chosen to remain indoors for even one day, let alone days on end. I'm so glad they are venturing out as usual now.

The tulips are becoming fragile, but are still so precious. 

I will probably be refreshing the water in the vase when the petals have dropped and all that's left is the green stems, and yellow stamens and pistils.

Because green and yellow are colors, and colors are not to be squandered these days.

~~~

I hope you are enjoying a colorful weekend! 

~~~~~

wordy wednesday

I'm trying to pay attention to the small things.

The weather is a big thing.

I am trying to pay very little attention to the weather.

For example, I am trying to make good, healthy things to eat,

even when I don't feel like bothering.

Fresh organic eggs, rice, cheese, gently cooked in butter. Yum.

~~~

Fortunately, I have many daily reminders from the other critters.

Pay attention!

Here is food! Let's eat.

Here is a moment of sunshine!

Quick! Get inside the sunshine.

Then relax.

Enjoy.

The Black Jersey Giant and the Rhode Island Red.

~~~

Also: the treats these days are Really Good Treats.

Remember all those apple slices I put in the freezer in November?

Remember the Macintosh and Winesaps, carefully preserved

for experiments in winter baking?

(Remember "baking"? A moment of silence for my oven, please.)

Well, guess what!

It turns out, a little bowl of apple slices frozen in November

is just about the best snack you can imagine in March!

They even smell like fresh apples. Ahhhhhh!

~~~

And because I know (I do know) that soon the days will be chockablock full of seasonal tasks that Will Not Wait, I am taking this "opportunity" to do a lot of indoor tasks. 

Long overdue tasks, most of them. 

This strange view is the space behind the washer and dryer.
It is now the cleanest space in the house.
This little project took hours.
It seemed worth a commemorative photograph.
Just this once.

Cleaning, reorganizing, tossing, donating.

I've started putting a few things on eBay.

Things that I'd rather not donate, for one reason or another.

Long-held-onto things. Nice things. Useful things. Specific-interest things.

Including - at last - the first steps in dispersing my horse-related library.

(There's a discreet link to the shop on the sidebar, if anyone is interested.)

~~~

In barnyard news: 

the 2014 cashmere harvest is...

bizarre.

"Sure, comb me! Take your time! Until I run out of oats..."

I have no idea what the end result will be, but at the moment I have one goat who is 90% finished shedding, and three goats who have barely started dropping about 5% and who wish very much that I would stop bothering them with a daily check.

The others are hanging onto every fiber, with no indication that they ever intend to shed at all.

Which is okay.

But it's also weird.

And if they all let go of massive amounts of fiber simultaneously,

especially in wet weather, I could be in for a challenging time...

but that is not the kind of thing I am focusing on!

No.

Living in the moment, me!

Look, tulips!

~~~

And now it's evening, and chores are done.

Time for a beverage.

I've recently moved on from hot milk and rum.

This is ginger ale with a splash of Cosmopolitan.

A Gingerpolitan?

Very refreshing. Probably make a nice Summer beverage, but why wait?

At least, that's Acer's approach.

~~~~~

did you miss me?

This has been a very quiet winter for Ms. Piper.

And that's why she has not appeared on the blog for a while.

I've not been getting very interesting pictures.

A typical day might include:

Breakfast, chores, playing outside.

Sleeping.

Tricks and treats!

Sleeping.

Keeping a close eye on things outside the windows and 

Barking Quite Suddenly and Very Loudly!

Acting as if the barking Never Happened.

Sleeping.

Getting the mail on the Driveway of Ice! Wheee!

Sleeping.

Observing indoor activities.

Helping with the laundry.

Chores, playing outside.

Offering to carry one of the empty feed buckets.

Running into the snow and hiding the feed bucket where it will never be found.

Looking really innocent and cute about the feed bucket thing.

Supper.

Sleeping.

 More sleeping.

A pleasant enough way to spend a day, but quiet.

And missing the long walks and woodland runs of Spring, Summer and Autumn.

So today, when the thermometer registered 30F (!!!), we took a ride to the little pond. I managed to get the car into a tiny little pull-out, and swapped my spiked boots (which I needed to get from the house to the car) for my knee-high muck boots (because the snow is still knee-deep), and off we went.

The condition of the snow would have made for pretty good snowshoeing, but honestly, snowshoeing with Piper? It could only indicate a Death Wish.

"Come ON! ComeoncomeoncomeON!"

There was much running, sniffing, rolling, digging. 

There was leaping onto and off of snow banks.

There was leaping and cavorting around companions, as well. 

And eventually, long after I was exhausted, Piper started to look a wee bit tired.

I very slowly took off my mitten and reached deep into my pocket.

And we instantly went from this:

to this:

The miraculous rejuvenating power of the Most Excellent Favorite Treat!

I have yet to discover the treat that can work a similar miracle on my own energy level.

But I'll keep looking for it.

~~~~~