Mid-March: Daffodils, Baking, Babysitting

 

Last week I bought two bunches of tightly furled daffodil stems from the grocery store. They didn't look like much when I put them into the vase, but in a day or so they opened up into a cheerful, bright bouquet. 

There are fields of daffodils in our area and the growers fear that much of the crop will be lost due to lack of pickers. Normally, foreign workers do the picking and not as many have been allowed into Canada this year. A callout to locals wanting work resulted in just a few replies. It's hard work, cold and backbreaking, to cut daffodils. 

Daffodils brighten up my garden just now, but mostly the tete-a-tete variety. I hate to pick them and deprive myself of the view from the kitchen window. 

Sourdough bread loaves cool on the counter. You might notice that the far loaf has the end cut off. The two of us each had a warm slice slathered with butter. Is there anything better? 

When feeding sourdough some is discarded. I hate throwing it away, and so does The Zero Waste Chef. Here's a recipe using the discard to make waffles. The sponge rises overnight, so on Saturday morning we enjoyed fresh waffles with blueberry-peach compote that I'd preserved in the summer. The waffles above are destined for the freezer and are easy to pop into the toaster for a quick treat. 

As the days lighten (isn't it wonderful?) I find myself craving more vegetables and fresher tastes. I made a cucumber-tomato-onion-jalapeno chopped salad that kept well in the fridge for a couple of days. The dressing is sour cream with minced garlic, lemon juice, fresh parsley, and salt and pepper. Easy.

My maternal grandmother died when my mother was not quite 16. She had 10 children - my mother was the eldest and the youngest less than a year old. The bowl above is one of two that remain from her dishes. I have two plates, as well. My mother recalls going with her father to the store to purchase this "breakfast set" as a Mother's Day present for her mother. It's made by J & G Meakin of England, probably from the very early 1940s. 

The gold is worn and the dishes have been well used, no wonder, with 10 children! 

My grandfather later married his deceased wife's sister, and she is the one I remember as my grandmother when growing up. 

I've made this recipe twice since I found it in the latest issue of My French Country Home magazine. Roasted carrots and radishes (I added some beets) on a spread of yogurt, topped with toasted almonds, lemon zest, and green onions (I used chives as they are coming up in my garden). Yum!

While in a thrift store I found this little pink purse. When I brought it out Iris' eyes lit up and she knew just what to do with it. Perhaps she is saying, "Nana, let's go shopping - I spilled something on my dress." 

In the cul-de-sac where we live a plum tree is bursting with blossom just now. White froth and blue sky make things feel very hopeful and spring-like. 

Today is Sunday, 3.14 - pi day, so I baked a pie. It's cooling on the countertop. It's a Kentucky Derbe Pie, a recipe given me by a friend many years ago. Rich with pecans and chocolate, a little slice goes a long ways. 

Wishing you all a very good week ahead. 

Turning a Corner

Just yesterday, in the late afternoon, I noticed that the sun had moved. It inches around our house throughout the year. We see the setting sun from the front windows during the winter and from the back windows in the summer. I know that it's not the sun moving, but from our earthly perspective it's the sun that seems to tilt and shift rather than the Earth. 

I like Spring, but it's not my favourite time of year. Such capriciousness - one day cold, the next warm-ish, and often with a wind that drives through to the bone. Dickens wrote, "It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the cold." 

We met some friends for coffee down in Oak Bay today. Such beautiful blue skies. A few prunus trees are beginning to blossom. Halyards clinked and masts swayed in the marina. 

After coffee we took a short walk so Tim could get a closer look at a Trimaran washed up on the rocks, probably by one of our storms. Don't let those boats bobbing about fool you - the wind was sharp and biting. 

I spent some time wandering around the garden in the late afternoon. A couple of little Bushtits darted around the bird feeder, diving in for a quick nibble, then darting out again to land on a nearby rosebush. Such agility to miss those sharp thorns. 

This semester at school is an easier one, with courses I've taught before and delightful students. I've had more time for home pursuits like reading and sewing. It's lovely. 

A bunch of tulips has given enormous delight over the past couple of weeks. They have gone from tight buds to fully open flowers with curling fringed petals seem to turn to silk as they age.

In my garden again, tiny Tete-a-tete Daffodils sprang up to brighten a few corners. I can see them as I work in the kitchen and they remind that in spite of the continuing chilly temperatures, the season has turned the corner and Spring is almost here. 

Is Spring's arrival soon in your area? 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf. 

Warming meals and bright flowers

In contrast to last weekend away, this one, also delightful, was spent at home. I puttered in the kitchen on Saturday, making vegetable soup, yogurt, and cabbage rolls. 

Making yogurt is a new thing for me. I've been trying to minimize the plastic in our home; making yogurt eliminates a big tub every week. I use the oven light in my electric oven and it works so well and is so easy that I wish I'd started long ago. 

Chillier than normal temperatures persist and many pots of tea have been brewed. A jar of honey and a bowl of teabags is handy on the counter top, and a vase full of daffodils is a cheery sight. 

I'm realizing now the stress of an extremely challenging class last semester. My current classes are delightful and I come home with enough energy in the evenings to do something other than collapse. I'm sleeping better, too. Stress is an insidious drain on an individual's well-being.

We missed the snowfall that blanketed much of our province over the weekend. Instead, a chill wind blew, but Spring's imminent arrival is evident in fresh green shoots on various shrubs, and in the appearance of sharply pointed tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulbs in the garden. 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life.  

This Week

From the kitchen window I see the snowdrops, white and green against the brown dirt. I pick a bunch from behind the porch where they are barely visible. In the warmth of the house, white petals fly upwards like nun's headdresses caught by the wind. Green circles and upside down hearts on the inner petals make me laugh. They seem incongruous with the snowdrops quiet elegance. 

I recently finished this book, won in a giveaway from Golden Hours. I was eager to read it, from a number of reviews I'd read, and did finish it quickly. I kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't. I found the setting idyllic, the premise enchanting, but the characters sadly lacking. The "Man in the Wing Chair" seemed arrogant, and the tone of the book didactic. 

I did like the concept of an ideal marriage including marrying someone "better" than yourself, in the sense that one's ideal mate has different and admirable qualities than oneself, hence the attraction. 

If you've read it, I'd be interested to hear what you think. 

I've been sewing this week. Clothes. For myself. I'm having a lot of fun. I belong to a site called Pattern Review. It's a great site for checking out others' experiences with sewing patterns, and reading articles about sewing. They host a variety of contests throughout the year, and I've joined a few in the past. The goal, for me, isn't so much to win, but to push myself to finish a number of garments within a set time period. This one goes from February 1 - March 15, with the goal of sewing six garments: 2 bottoms, 3 tops, one topper (jacket/vest/cardigan). I've got two complete at this point, one top and one pair of pants. We'll see if I can keep up the pace and finish. 

This week, we've had sunshine. Oh, it is so wonderful to see. Today, the late afternoon sun illuminated the spring bulb pot on the front porch. Golden daffodils made even prettier by the sun. 

Are they not the cheeriest sight? 

If you want to watch poetry in motion, watch this young woman, Li Ziqi, design, dye fabric, and create a flowing dress. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole when I discovered her other videos depicting traditional Chinese ways of making paper, foods, cosmetics, and more. Fascinating. There is no narration, only music, but it's beautiful. 

Yellow is IN!

Sunny yellow. Not my favourite colour, but very welcome these days. 

I peeked under the cloth covering the lemon tree, wondering how the tree had fared during our longer and colder winter. Such delight to see these lemons that slowly ripened in the cold and darkness. They are smaller than usual, but I noticed blossoms and little green lemons on the tree, as well. After picking these, I covered it up again until May or June when the days are reliably warmer.

Two bunches of tight daffodil buds came home with me last weekend. They've opened into a cheerful bouquet for the kitchen table. 

As I look out the kitchen window, I see these yellow beauties, miniature daffodils, nodding their pretty heads. Spring is well on her way!

More yellow! The forsythia is getting ready to burst into gold.

I cut some long branches of forsythia for a blue vase from Spain, made from recycled glass, that I recently found. I expect the buds will open this weekend. They don't last long indoors, but are so pretty for a short while. 

What's the IN colour around your place these days?

Linking, for the last time, with Five on Friday, hosted by Amy of Love Made My Home. I've gotten to know quite a number of blogs through this link up, blogs that I now follow. Thank you, Amy!