A Story - "Muddy Waters " and Cedar Planter

A Story

Muddy Waters

When Laura's mother died, Laura had mixed emotions.  She felt she had lost her mother years before as dementia and frailty had taken over. There was something else as well. Her inheritance. 

 For quite a long time, Laura had been frustrated and annoyed at her husband. He didn't like to communicate, he didn't like to travel, he spent most Sundays watching sports.  Videos online said she deserved better. Why be miserable for her years of retirement? Her inheritance would give her the financial independence she needed to leave Lazy Len.

"Len, I'm not happy," she began. "I think I'll move into Mom's house."

"You want a divorce?" he answered sharply, more alert than usual.

"Well, a separation, I guess to start with."

Len studied her.

"You have been mopey lately.  Maybe time away would make you feel better."

That was it? He didn't care if she left? After 40 years this was all she got?

The next day, she began the process of moving into her mother's house. It was exciting to be stepping out on her own. She couldn't wait to be queen of her house.  Len didn't comment on the move.

Living  in the new house was glorious.  Laura decorated it in her style.  None of Len's mess got in the way.  She invited friends over for dinner and served the wine that she enjoyed.  She imagined that Len was probably eating frozen entrees.

One of her friends invited her to travel to Portugal with her.  They had a blast driving to small towns and sampling the local food.

The next year, her friend suggested they go to Portugal for two months.  She readily agreed. This time, however, the weather was rainy and they were stuck in their apartment for much of the time.  Her friend had an annoying habit of humming and expected Laura to do the cooking. Her friend, out of boredom, started online gambling and pressured Laura to join in. When Laura refused, it made for an uncomfortable tension. She decided not to travel with her friend again.

Back home, she saw Len once in a while at family gatherings. He even showed up with a girlfriend at one of them.  She wondered where they had met. Online dating? Laura didn't think she could brave that quagmire, but she wouldn't have minded finding someone. But looking around, no one seemed at all appealing. Where were the men that women like her deserved? She noticed her single friends weren't having much success either.

One morning, about three years after moving out, Laura lay in her bed and listened to the silence. It wasn't a peaceful silence, it was oppressive. She remembered how Len used to clang around in the kitchen making his breakfast and how the noise had bothered her. Now she missed it. Not that particular noise, but the noise that someone else living in the house makes. Had she made a mistake by moving out? Len wasn't a terrible person, just annoying and sometimes inconsiderate. She thought about what it would be like as she grew old. Lots of silence. Some people liked silence but she wondered if that was really what she wanted.

Living on her own had been refreshing at first, but now she wasn't so sure that she was any happier than when she lived with Len. 

When her daughter called to ask if Laura could stay with Len for a while after his hip surgery, she actually smiled.  She would test the waters.

My daughter gave me this cedar planter made by Cedarcraft, which is a US company, but this particular planter is made in Canada. It's 48" long and 22" wide.

Super easy to put together as the sides just slide into the dovetail slots of the posts.  No tools required.  I put it together very quickly. The top of the posts have black plastic covers to protect the posts from the rain.

A cute watering spout with a little floral float to tell you when you've watered enough.

The bottom of the planter is two plastic trays, one on top of the other.  The top tray has lots of holes so that excess water will drain into the lower one.

I'm excited to plant in the planter as soon as it warms up which probably won't be before early May. I plan on putting in herbs, a couple of lettuce plants and a bean plant.  I have a rabbit that frequents our yard so it will be great to have a waist height planter that he (she) can't access.

A Story - "Ballerina Tulips" and Pulmonaria, Daffodils, and Sweet Basil

A Story

Ballerina Tulips

The colourful pictures of tulips were very enticing.  Mom and I leaned close together studying the catalogue.

"My favourites are the scented orange Ballerina tulips," she said pointing with her arthritic finger.  "They're really special."

When I visited in May, Mom declared indignantly, "I watched the groundhog eat three Ballerina tulips this morning."

"Too bad,"  I commiserated.  "Maybe I should put mothballs around them, or get a motion activated squirter, or..."

Mom gazed out the window and sighed.

"No, I don't want any of that,"  she said quietly.

"He's cute and," she hesitated,"he's company."

Pulmonaria is so pretty and it is an early plant for pollinators.  Even though it was chilly here today (last night was -3C) and windy,  I saw a bumble bees buzzing around the pulmonaria this morning.  Pulmonaria likes to grow in part shade but on my property it's not overly fussy and tends to spread more than I would like. It's not too hard to get out though.  My soil is on the heavy side and I think they really like that.  I never fertilize it and it's always vigorous.  The leaves have fine hairs on them,  slightly prickly, so it doesn't get eaten by insects.
 

This clump of daffodils is interesting as I never planted plain yellow daffodils.  I had some doubles that I got years ago and I think they have reverted to their two parent plants - a yellow and a pale cream. I find it fascinating how some plants will revert over time. Anyway, all daffodils are lovely and cheerful.  They come back every year and multiply, and no little creatures like to eat them.

I started this basil from seed in January. Basil does very well on a windowsill even in the dead of winter. I am always surprised that it doesn't mind the chill by the window and the lower light levels. I have pinched off some of the top leaves to use in soup so it will branch out a bit more now.  

I accidentally bought some cinnamon basil (this is sweet basil) and I also planted some of it but I found the leaves had a strange chemically aftertaste that I didn't like.  I just watched The History Guy on Youtube and he had a video on saccharin  - the history and chemistry, etc.  Very interesting.   In the comments, some people said that saccharin tasted bitter to them and others said they liked the taste. I don't like the taste of Stevia. It's so individual how we taste things. I find cilantro tastes like the smell of skunk. Yuk.  If you haven't discovered The History Guy yet, definitely check him out .  He covers a whole wide range of history topics and produces them very well.

A Story - "Waves" - Spiced Carrot Sweet Potato Soup , dried Parsley

 A Story:

Waves

Life was so grey.  Work so dull.

Alicia hoped a Maine seaside holiday would recharge her.  Today the ocean, at high tide, was calm, and the hot sand had warmed the water enough to make it swimmable.  She swam lazily, the gentle waves rocking her, the saltwater buoying her.  But she didn't want to be lulled, she wanted excitement.

A plastic bottle, something inside, slowly drifted near her.  Curious she grabbed it and swam to shore.  She extracted a note: "The waves will find you, my special love.  Call:  Liam, 222-333-444

Alicia gasped and whipped out her phone.

Spiced Carrot Sweet Potato Soup

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3 medium large carrots

1 sweet potato

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Saute the chopped onion in oil or butter.

Add 3 cups water, carrots (peeled and diced), and sweet potato ( peeled and diced)

Simmer until the carrots and sweet potato are soft - about 20 min.

Add the ginger and cinnamon, salt and pepper, and simmer for another 10 min.

Blend with a hand blender or mash with a potato masher.

Ladle into bowl and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

This soup is creamy and smooth and taste a lot like pumpkin pie.

I like to dry my parsley in the refrigerator.  After rinsing it, I place it in a paper lunch bag or, in this case, some paper towel.  The parsley keeps its dark green colour while it dries. I find if I try to dry parsley just by hanging it in the air, it gets yellow.  In the fridge, it will take the parsley a couple of weeks to be fully dry. When I use a paper bag, I make sure that I don't overfill it. If I have lots of parsley, I use multiple bags.