Horseradish

Freshly harvested from out back, the root is soaking to get rid of some of the dirt that clings to all the crevices. Rather octopus-like, don't you think? We planted it two years ago, and this is the first root we've dug up.

I remember (many years ago) when our across-the-way neighbors in western Mass. asked if they could dig up some of the horseradish in the field between our house and the church. We didn't even know we had a patch of it! Turned out, we had a lot of it.

I'll never forget the wallop it packed after we ground it up in the food processor. One whiff almost sent us reeling. According to Nikki Duffy in River Cottage Handbook No. 10, Herbs, these fumes "(thiocyanites, if you want to know) are highly volatile, however, and soon lost. That's why freshly grated horseradish, mixed into an acidic stabilising medium, always tastes better than any that's been grated and stored." Her basic method "is to peel a small section of root, grate it ([she uses] a fine Microplane grater) and immediately combine it with enough lemon juice to make a damp (but not wet) mixture." Which is what I'll be doing later today.

A girl's gotta have a guide

I have a rather interesting memoir/collection of notions of recipes that is quite enigmatic. Mary Ann Caws's Provençal Cooking is her account of her time in France and her friendship with the poet René Char, some of whose poems she translated from the French (published by Princeton U Press). In fact, she says that Provençal Cooking was "deeply influenced by the poetry of Provence itself, as well as the poetry of René Char." What does this have to do with The Busy Girls' Cookbook? Ms. Caws mentions it: "my preference for speed, informality, and spending time with the mountains [of Provence] or my guests may be a direct product of too heavy a reliance on one of my first loves in the kitchen, and which I still recommend wholeheartedly: The Busy Girl [sic] Cookbook." So of course I had to track it down. And I thought you'd like to see some of the suggestions/recipes/artwork/typeface used.

dun, mousy, slaty, etc.

General damp, overarching gray Sunday afternoon. Visited the garden w/D; leeks soldiering along. Rabbits/deer must be enjoying all the lovely chard. Still, it lives.

Need to get over to the other blog and work on it, get it going. I really think it has potential, but right now that reads as inertia.

Because of the wonders of the Internet, we can talk to L on the phone, calling from Paris. Somehow, it costs nothing. I don't understand a bit of it. I remember many years ago not being able to call home from England because the cost was astronomical. What a lonely feeling that was.

Midway through making Indian lime pickle in this shot:

It's now actually completed, but I haven't had the courage to taste it yet . . .

Timber . . . not with a bang but a whimper

Today is the day. The Christmas tree must come down.

This is the reason I don't like to put the tree up in the first place. Taking the ornaments off is the saddest, dreariest activity. Ever. The holiday is over. It's wet, gray January. And really, what is there in the offing?

Adding up the accounts for the taxes.

Valentine's Day.

That's about it, really.

I look at all the ornaments, and we now put up only those that have been made by someone—mostly Helen's, but lots by Lucy, and others (some by me) and I think of time disappearing. Other Christmases with lots of relatives around, who no longer are here . . . Argh

All right, enough being maudlin.  Time to get down to business.

However, I may have to break my austerity pact (just this once) and buy two skeins of Madeleinetosh Tosh DK (they're on sale, and I can make the Honey Cowl x 2; presents!).

But maybe I can restrain myself.

Up, up, and

away . . . Right now, L is en route to ORD, then to CDG, landing tomorrow. It is v difficult to get up at 0300, although I'd say we all managed rather well, and before the alarm buzzed, too. D drove her to the shuttle which took her to the regional airport.

Will report back later, but man I'm tired, and I'm not going anywhere (except to clean someone's room and do a mountain of laundry . . .)

Betty C and Meredith: I will keep you posted on my plans, though I just heard this a.m. that plane fares are supposed to rise 8 to 12 percent this year.

Bagels and Books

L had to find a guide book and a French/English dictionary to be ready for next week. I had an Earth Fare coupon for a 4 lb bag of Valencias. Conveniently, the bags of oranges were right there at the door to the right as we entered. So that was that.

However, the scent of freshly fried bacon was in the air, and L was directed by it to the breakfast bar, which contained four or five white-paper-wrapped bacon, egg and cheese bagels. How could we resist? Upon unwrapping one, we were treated to thick-cut bacon (and plenty of it), real scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese. On a real (for these parts) bagel. Delicious. So big, we shared one.

Thus fortified, we headed to B&N for the above-mentioned books, and then I dropped L at New Moon so that she could meet a h/s friend.

After that, I headed to the library, where I found that  The Middlesteins was still on the shelves, probably because it was shelved in the stacks and not with the New Books.

I didn't particularly care for The Kept Man, but this got such a good review, that I'm looking forward to it.

A perusal down the New Books shelves brought this to my attention: Care of Wooden Floors. I'm hoping I like it enough to finish

The newest Ina was also on display. And Mrs. Pringle of Fairacre, by Miss Read was also a New Book, surprisingly enough. Always, as Kirkus Reviews says, "a soothing oasis of tidy living for the frazzled reader weary of an untidy world."

So far, a calm, productive, satisfying day

Telling the Bees

Noodling around on YouTube, I discovered this mesmerizing pairing of images and the haunting music of Telling the Bees. and this, a companion:

Paris to the Moon . . . or Something

Yes, L is off to Paris for the semester. So many unknowns still, though. Where will she end up living? There is the problem of the cell phone. What service? How much to pack? What? There is the tricky problem of what kind of shoes (how many pairs?).

She's not taking Air France, but this photo will have to do. She has gotten around quite efficiently the past few years, so she's a seasoned traveller.

I'm wondering how much it will cost to get around. Will she live near enough to her classes so that she can walk?

More to come!

New Year's Cactus

I hope that 2013 brings an end to much bickering and divisiveness, on many levels. 

 Happy New Year to all.

I noticed the blooms and bud and took the photo on January 1, 2013.

Not ANOTHER New Year's Eve post. Certainly not

I do resolve to change certain habits, for instance, sitting hours on end in front of the computer, without getting out for a walk. This is my priority: move. Editing on the desktop isn't even as active as the old paper-pencil variety, although I can still heft the Webster's 11th one handed. Spending the better part of a morning or afternoon getting to/participating in/returning from Pilates or yoga is something else I really need to consider. Is all that time really worth it? And the money? Especially when I can practice yoga here with a bit of discipline. I'm also trying my mightiest to stick with my resolve not to buy any superfluities that I brought up on an earlier post. There is so much stuff here: books, CDs, clothes, shoes etc. etc. that should go off to the second-hand bookstore/Goodwill/wherever else to be gotten rid of. All in all, I want to lighten my load, physically around me as well as on my person.

Blogs

I've got to say, I'm really enjoying getting back to reading blogs. Writing? Well, maybe, but reading a bit of what someone is really thinking about is quite a treat.

Christmas Eve

The way in Heath . . . Commonside. Merry Christmas

What fresh Hell is this?

Why, it's putting up the Christmas tree! yes, tree from Ace Hardware, soaking up water for a week, upon entering the house shed practically every needle it had. Also, the stand we've had forever failed to hold the tree, because its trunk is too narrow. Of course, if we had put the tree up last week, we would have known this. But D, well, you can guess that he prefers to wait until the last minute. So at the 11th hour, out goes D to Whole Foods for a natural regional tree. Good! Then, we wrestled the tree into stand. Stand does not hold because it is bent all out of shape and giant screws screw toward space between stand and tree rather than tree itself. So it was not slender trunk, but stand itself that was to blame. D, out again, gets NEW stand. Upon returning, he says he'd rather wait until "later" to put tree up. Tree is up.

Countdown . . .

haircut today, a razor cut that G learned in NYC. My body may be in the mid-South, but my hair is Downtown. Off to Cincinnati on Saturday. Poor old Remus is consigned to the kennel for 3 nights (no snoring under the sheets for her!), but L wouldn't hear of D driving alone through the wilds of Kentucky. Not that I'm much use; I tend to panic on the highway, and end up driving at an appalling 45 mph. D knows someone who had a sales territory out West and refused to drive on a highway for similar reasons. It took days and days for her to reach her clients because she would take only secondary roads. Such is the life of a neurotic. Tomorrow the tree is going up and the lights are going on it. Then L can decorate to her heart's content when we get back.

Just musings

Bay

Pulling the final (maybe) leaves out from underneath and inbetween the prickly leaves of the ugly ivy-ish plants along the garage [how did this last bit get left out?]. Whoever thought foundation plantings were a good thing?
Soul was out front in solidarity, rolling around in the dust in the driveway, acting very spry.

There is some mysterious work being done on the foreclosed house next door, vacant since 2010 . . . Still, I'd rather the weather be less fall-like and more wintery, although D is heading up to Cincinnati to rendezvous with L Saturday/Sunday. Maybe I should go; I'd rather not.

New Year's

Betty C. asked if I was getting the blogging bug again. Yes, I am. FB is nice, but it's too immediate, and especially now I find myself either posting something I wish I hadn't or not posting at all. I think I like this blank page better, and visiting other blogs, though some of my regular reads will have to wake up and do some posting jumping-jacks to get back in the fray. I know it's hard to shake off the creakiness of posting one's real thoughts. I was looking around at my accumulations of, mostly, books since moving here in 1999. Really, there is no excuse for it. Amazon is like opening a vein. Argh. So, whilst vacuuming the stairs this afternoon, I had a chance to think about 2013 (not liking that 13, but ...) and I'm going to play a little game with myself. No purchases that aren't necessities in 2013. None. No books. No magazines. No mysterious lotions/potions from DHC. Nothing. And, since Everyday Food ceased publication, every time a subscription comes due, I'm not renewing. That is my thought for today, on the cusp of Christmas.

yes, this is what I like

Sequentia; group founder is an Oberlin graduate.

Yawn, Stretch . . .

Some Carnival Band for you. Personal to Helen: Thank you for the lovely note, and encouragement!

Scarf

I am determined to finish this thing for L, so she can wear it this winter. However long it is on Sept. 30, is how long it will be. Right now it is as long as I am tall, which is to say 5'2''.

The pattern is one that I discovered on a 2004 Sheep in the City blog post. I'm knitting up Malabrigo worsted weight Velvet Grapes on size 11 needles. I'm into my second skein.

Fall Around Here

 Yes, the melons themselves; finally. Very cantaloup-like in texture, though not as sweet. JGH, we got maybe eight or nine! Next year, I'm planting more. It was the right combination of intense heat and rain that really allowed these to take off. Sometimes, things work out.

Unfortunately, it was a banner year for the Mexican bean beetle, so we got very few beans.

Tomatoes also were a bit disappointing. Lots of peppers. Canned 4 pints of tomatoes, though. But still . . .

Below, you see the small plants we got last Saturday at Crabtree: kohlrabi, leeks, Bright Lights chard, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuces. I think they are still a bit small to be planted, and we're forecast to have a drencher on Monday, so maybe next weekend. I hope they don't become rabbit or deer food.