A homely* kind of day

I'm off work this week thanks to Winter Break. Besides appointments with the dentist and doctor (both simple routine checkups) I didn't make any plans, other than just enjoying myself doing whatever I wanted. So far, it's been really nice. 

On Saturday morning I met up with two friends from book club for breakfast. The place we went has the most wonderful Eggs Benedict, a favorite of mine, so of course that's what I ordered. The next day, I made a big batch of homemade vegetable soup, which has been simmering on low in the crockpot more or less ever since (it's had one overnight in the refrigerator). Today the weather's turned frigid again with the possibility of freezing rain and snow flurries tonight, so we're looking forward to that soup. And as I type this, two loaves of homemade bread are just about done baking. Between the bread in the oven and the soup simmering in the crockpot, my house smells wonderful right now.

Added a little while later while finishing this post:

I added an egg wash and sesame seeds to the bread this time. I hope it tastes good!

In other news: I am a domestic goddess!! HAHA. :) No, but seriously, in between making the bread, I finished a knitting project! I've been wanting to start knitting again, but it had been a loooong time, and I wanted something quick and easy to start with. Gregg has been pestering me for a while now to make him a new hat, so that's what I did! Nothing's any quicker and simpler than a hat and I didn't even need a pattern. I'm happy with how it turned out, and he really likes it. It's thick and warm. Just in time for our winter weather over the next few days!

I only talked him into letting me take his picture by telling him I'd take a side photo. I don't know why he hates having his picture taken, but he does.

To finish off a good day, I have book club tonight. That's always a fun time and I'm looking forward to it. I'm only about halfway through the book, but I'm not that invested in it, so I'm not worried about finishing. Seeing my friends is the main thing, although the drive home might be a little bit icy. Depending on the weather I may need to leave a little early, but I hope not.

Have a good night, friends!

*Homely in the British sense.

January 1st

Happy New Year everyone!

It's a crisp, blue-sky kind of day. I've got black-eyed peas simmering in a crockpot with the leftover bone from the Christmas ham, and we'll have some sort of greens to go along with them. I actually bought two nice bundles of collards, but if I decide to not bother with them today, I have some seasoned collard greens in a can I could heat up. It would certainly save time and effort. I also need to bake a couple of loaves of banana bread to use up some overripe bananas languishing on the kitchen counter. There's a container in the fridge with chopped pineapple leftover from the weekend, so it may end up being pineapple-banana bread. 

So for me today, I'm planning a little bit of cooking but not much else. I've also finally restarted a knitting project I began some years ago, and I may work on that for a little while. Gregg went out to clean aquariums at the nursing homes (so he won't get behind on them during his treatment). As for his treatment, yesterday was a bust. He got himself all nerved up to go have the first round, and when he got there found out he was mistaken about the day he starts. He actually starts tomorrow. That was a real letdown. He also woke up yesterday with a toothache, so as you can imagine, he's not having the best start to the new year. I told him we'll hold off for a few weeks and then have a small private New Year celebration. Maybe even that late winter/early spring weekend getaway we've been talking about...I have more time off coming at the end of February.

But for now, I'm off to stir the peas and then maybe take Miss Poppy for a nice long walk. George is asleep, so we'll let him snooze, and then later I'll take him out for his own (slower) walk. Georgie will be 12 years old this year and likes to take his time these days. He still loves his walks, though.

How the dogs spent New Year's Eve. I took both these photos shortly before midnight.

George went to his spot at the foot of the bed early on. He wasn't interested in staying up with us! Gregg went in and covered him up with one of his blankets. Look at that sweet boy!

Poppy stayed close by us in the living room, but it was past her bedtime, too. She slept like this until she got up to follow us to bed, finally. She's a good girl.

Around the house

It's really good to be at home right now, at the beginning of June and the beginning of my summer vacation. When I sat down and tried to decide what to write about today, I kept thinking of things going on around the house. Here's a bullet list of random stuff on my radar at the moment.

•  Poppy is growing fast and has assimilated into our household really well. I think she's about housebroken, too, as there hasn't been an accident inside in almost two weeks. (Knock wood). George is like a puppy again now that he's decided he likes her. They play hard all day, with frequent naps in between bouts of pretend-fighting.
• Speaking of growing, my garden is getting big and lush! I've ended up with a total of 14 heirloom tomatoes, 14 peppers (sweet banana, cayenne, and jalapeno), 3 cucumbers, two snow pea vines, and I'm still getting carrots. The lettuce was wonderful but it's gone now.
• I harvested my container of potato plants the other day. When I finally tipped it over, I wasn't expecting much. Imagine my surprise when 7 pounds of beautiful Yukon Gold potatoes rolled out! We ate a few the other night, steamed with butter and sea salt. Oh, were they delicious! I'll be planting a lot more potatoes next spring now that this year's experiment went so well.
• We saw a snake last night. It was a small one, curled up in the street in front of our house, and we gave it a wide berth when we walked the dogs past it. It was gone when we returned from the walk, thank goodness. It looked like a young copperhead but we didn't get close enough to inspect it very well. It's definitely snake season around here and we're careful to keep George and Poppy away from bushes and piles of vegetation when we're out and about. I know snakes have their place in the ecosystem, and I respect that, but I don't want to see them!
• There was also a big doe standing in our neighbor's yard last night when we walked past, and we see rabbits almost every night, too. 
• Bluebirds are once again nesting in the box in the backyard. Yesterday the pair were so busy, flying back and forth with nesting materials. There should be eggs in there any day now.

Poppy figured out how to get up in the hammock, and she thinks it's a good place to nap.

Potato harvest!

Purple Dragon carrots.

So far, so good with the garden.

And finally, my zinnias are starting to bloom. They're so pretty and cheerful!

Homebody

Cooler weather and rain swept into the area on Monday. After more than a week with everything baking in the hot summer sun from dawn to dusk and a mild drought still in effect, it was a very welcome relief. So far this summer I've learned that water from a hose can't compete with a good drenching rain for making a garden happy. Watering will keep the plants alive during the hottest part of summer, but rain makes them thrive. I'm beginning to harvest the earliest tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, parsley, and basil. The indeterminate heirloom tomatoes and the cantaloupes are coming along nicely. Then there's all the flowers I planted as a living mulch, the marigolds and nasturtiums. They're blooming like mad.

                            Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) and marigold blossoms.

I've been spending a great deal of time outdoors these days, even when it's hot. It's a pleasure to be off work and enjoying the garden, the porch, and the neighborhood at my leisure. This morning when we were out walking George one of our neighbor's cats came out to be petted. She's sensible enough to wait for Gregg to walk on ahead with George before trotting over to say hi. (George can't be trusted around cats, unfortunately). She's a sweet little creature.

I've only left home in the past week to go to the farmer's market or to the grocery store. Yesterday I cleaned and organized my pantry, tossing expired foods (thankfully there wasn't much of that) and rearranging stuff nearing it's expiration date so that it's closer to hand. I'm thinking about buying some bulk fruits and vegetables at the market (things I don't grow, like peaches and sweet corn) and then freezing and canning them for winter use. Everything is so good right now, at the peak of the season, and the prices are as affordable as they're going to get. I haven't canned anything in years, but I have all the equipment I need to do so. Having all this free time helps.

Today I mowed the lawn to surprise my husband. I can't wait until he gets home from work and sees it! We got a new mower this summer and it's much easier to use than the old one, plus our yard is small. It felt good to be working (and even sweating) outdoors. I've lost a few pounds from the extra exercise and I'm getting very brown from the sun. So far it's been an excellent summer.

On a more positive note...

I don't like having yesterday's post as the most current one on my blog. We can all get enough of the news elsewhere (and likely you're all as sick of it as I am) so I decided to kick off the weekend with a happier post.

First of all, I wanted to show you the beautiful holiday cards I got this year. I couldn't bear to put them away with the rest of the Christmas stuff at the end of December. I also kept out some fairy lights that I put around them so that they'd glow and sparkle at night.

Next, here's something else that's making me happy. My orchids and my Christmas cactus are blooming. The orchids are my favorite.

The weather has been wet and cold this week. On Wednesday morning while working from home I started a crockpot of homemade vegetable beef soup and let it simmer all day. It's been our supper for the past two nights, and it's maybe one of the best batches of soup I've ever made. Delicious, and just the thing for the kind of weather we've been having. This is comfort food at its best.

Last of all, this sweet boy. He loves basking in sunshine as much as any cat. On bright days he follows the sun through the house and parks himself wherever he can soak up a few rays. This was early yesterday morning.

Wishing you all a weekend filled with comfort, content, and the happiness that comes from the little things in life.