OVERNIGHT!

Look what showed up today!

It’s the white peony! I think it’s the earliest it has ever bloomed.  I wish you could smell it!

Oh, and something else showed up in the driveway today, too!

Last night at dinner, Ashley mentioned that she was getting emails from the Honda dealer where they bought their CRV and the lease rates were very, very good.

Husband has had the “new car bug” for some time now, but just hadn’t really wanted to take on a car payment.  But, these rates were too good to pass up.

So, he called a guy and went to see him this morning, et voila!  It’s atomic blue metallic – cute name for the color and, best of all, it’s a hybrid!  And, it plays Husband’s IPod through the stereo!

Happy New Car, Honey!  We are all very happy for you!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE……..

A week or so makes when things are starting to grow! Just thought I’d show you how quickly the peony grows – I think if you had the time to just sit and watch, you could see it grow. Yesterday was so warm that I actually turned on the air conditioner in the car as I ran errands. What a baby!

Here’s the pink peony – last week you had to look closely to see the pink buds poking out of the ground. This is an “old” peony – it’s been giving salad plate size blooms for a few years now. They are just stunningly beautiful and. as my hairdresser says, smell like roses would if they could. There are only two negatives: ants and earwigs. Before the blooms open, they are covered with a sticky substance that must be sweet because the ants are crazy about it. Then, when they do open, earwigs like to hide in the depths of the petals. Never bring a bloom inside that you haven’t turned upside and given a good shake and a pat on the bottom just to be sure! Ick! I HATE EARWIGS!

Last week, the leaves were barely unfurling and now look at them! There are lots of little figs coming along. The first harvest is small and not as sweet as the second, but I always feel like it’s a real bonus to get to pick them twice in one summer.

I’m worried about the tree, tho, because it’s planted in a half wine barrel and I noticed that the inside is beginning to decay. I’m not sure what to do about that except replant, but that would be a big job and would require significant muscle and many hands even tho it is a dwarf variety.

The blackberries are really eager! And, so am I! Not much better than standing in the warm sun and pulling ripe berries off and popping them right into your mouth. Except, maybe, the jam that the really ripe berries produce. Last year’s crop was wonderful and I hope for a repeat performance this year. I have a couple of jars of blackberry left – we finished up the raspberry/blackberry in like a day once I opened the jar! And, that feral cat that moved into the vines when Bo died is probably pretty eager for them to branch out, too, it’s a shady and cool spot for him/her in the summer heat.

The plum tree is in full bloom now and when the kitchen window is open, the scent comes into the house! It’s intoxicating. I planted some hollyhock seeds at the foot of the fence on Saturday. The side yard is divided in summer – sun near the fence but total shade near the house. I’m hoping the crappy, rocky soil will sustain the hollyhocks but who knows? I’ll water every day to help the seeds sprout and keep my fingers crossed. I need to fill the hummingbird feeder, too. But the blooms are much more delicious, I’m sure. I love that the bees have these blossoms to feast on.

This is a tree peony – whatever that is. The blooms are white and seem to increase by 1 each season. They are huge but not as huge as the pink one. I watered this right after the photo – it looks pretty thirsty. I swear this peony just survives in spite of me. It’s on the outside of the fence near the driveway and the soil there is impossibly rocky and hard. It only gets the morning sun because right behind is is a big old pine tree that blocks the afternoon sun. I need to do something with the ground between the tree and the driveway but, really, it’s just so hard and rocky, I think it needs to be replaced. Not likely to happen.

And here’s Charlie – by the girls’ playhouse. He likes to follow me around when I’m outside and loves to chase the water from the hose. He bites at it . Weird. But, that’s nothing new – Charlie: weird. He is a good dog, really, even if he does think of me as a piece of furniture.

Finally, here’s a look at the booty Cait brought back from her visit to the Ferry Building! Yum! Macarons – I think my favorite flavor is the chocolate/orange. DEElicious! The bottle is rose water from France. In front of the box is a raspberry flavored marshmallow stick. I meant to cut a little piece off and put it in my Ibarra this morning, but got distracted by the gluten-free biscotti I found at WF yesterday. The biscotti: meh. But, I did find some new gluten-free crackers that are more like chips – 3 flavors – sweet potato, olive and herb. They are pretty good but the best part is that they are a great stand in for crackers with cheese. The Chronicle has an article today that lists the Bay Area’s top 10 cheeses! I have a new mission! To try each and every one of them. But, right now, Husband is very impatiently waiting for me to come along to the gym……

SENTIENT BEINGS

Sentient is defined as:

Having a faculty, or faculties, of sensation and perception. Specif. (Physiol.), especially sensitive; as, the sentient extremities of nerves, which terminate in the various organs or tissues.

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One who has the faculty of perception; a sentient being.

Driving to work the other morning, I heard a piece on NPR about a parrot who saved a choking child. The parrot belonged to a woman who was babysitting a toddler. Apparently, the woman was out of the room and the child began to choke on something she was eating. The parrot began to schreech, “Momma! Baby!” (or words to that effect) until the woman arrived and administered the Heimlich maneuver to relieve the choking. The parrot received some kind of award, and I was thinking at the time that, really, we underestimate the “consciousness” of animals. I’ve seen documentaries about dogs who can sniff out cancer and predict the onset of siezures. And these dogs alert others to the impending seizure. When you think about it, this takes a certain level of “sentientness” and a thought process to first recognize the situation as dangerous to a human and then, amazingly enough, go find another human and tell them – Timmy’s down the well!

My dear and much missed Bo knew that he was dying. The morning Jim took him to the vet, he looked at me with the saddest eyes, as tho he were apologizing. I’ll never forget the expression on his face – it was heartbreaking. So when Jim called and said the vet said Bo had advanced lung cancer, I wasn’t surprised. I was devastated but not really surprised. Bo knew and he told me. And in his own very unselfish way, he even said he was very sorry to be leaving us.  Not nearly as sorry as were we!  Bo was a Great Pyrenees by breed and a complete lover by nature.   (I’d post a photo of him, but the photos I have of him are in some computer neverland that I, alas, have not the technological know-how to access, so you’ll have to just look at photos of his breed.)  He loved his family and always placed himself between us and whatever newcomer might be around. If he liked you (when he was younger), he would greet you by putting his paws on your shoulder and deliver a most unique and loving doggie “hug” followed by his own “dance.”  Even if you happened to be 6′ tall.  If I sat reading in a chair, he would come over and lie down by the chair and hold his paw up for me to hold.  He could put his chin on the counter in the kitchen.  Once, we took him camping in Big Sur and while walking him around the campground, a little boy yelled to his dad, “Daddy!  There’s a polar bear here!”

My friend, Diana, sent me an email yesterday that recounted the story of a rescue Greyhound who came to live at an animal shelter in Warwickshire England where they take in animals of all kinds.  They named her Jasmine, and as soon as she recovered from her own unhappy experience, Jasmine took over as the official “Mother” of the place.  She has welcomed every kind of animal – fox, guinea pig, chickens, rabbits, you name it.  She licks and snuggles and generally loves the animals unconditionally.  One fawn walks around the reserve between Jasmine’s elegant and long legs.

My old friend, Bonnie, always said she didn’t necessarily hope to be with her family in heaven so much as the various animals she had loved and sheltered over the years.  She posited that they would speak favorably of her to the powers that be in heaven, while she couldn’t count on her family to do the same.

Charlie, the devil pug that lives with us now, absolutely hates everyone except Cait, Shawn and his family, Jim and me.  He is unfailingly affectionate to those in his very elite circle of acceptable humans, but woe to those who fall outside the circumference!  We love him dearly and wish he were better behaved, but alas, I think it’s a lost cause.

When I retire, a new dog will come to live with us.  Someone quite large, that doesn’t shed or drool and won’t take an hour or more to wash and dry.  I’m eager to welcome another member of the family and look forward to having another big old dog to stretch out on the floor with and tell all my secrets to.  Someone who will alert my family if I fall down the well!

RIGHT ON TIME

Today is the Vernal Equinox – the First Day of  Spring!  Hooray!

Looking out my kitchen window after I got home from work yesterday,  I saw that my plum tree is finally starting to bloom!  I was so excited, I ran out to put my nose in the branches and breathe in the wonderful fragrance.  If there was a perfume that smelled like these blossoms, I’d bathe it in!  On the way out the back door, I noticed the fig tree buds were beginning to unfurl, too!  And when I went for a closer look…..BABY FIGS!  One of the 5 new peonies I planted last fall is up – don’t know what happened to the others. Persnickety plants, they are.  My old faithful peony, however, is coming up right on schedule and I can hardly wait for the huge blooms.  I ordered 2 dwarf blueberry bushes last fall and one of them is blooming.  I don’t think you get fruit right away, so I think these blooms are just ornamental this year.  Following are photos so you can see for yourself.  Nature seems blissfully unaware of the swirling storm of gloom and doom currently enveloping us.  Or,  She is just doing her usual Spring Review and hoping that we humans enjoy the show.  I know I do!

The pink buds around the edges are the new peony sprouts.  You won’t believe the difference a  month will make – I’ll show you another picture in mid-May

And, finally, perhaps the most reliable harbringer of spring………

This is my 100th post!  Happy Spring to All!

RECESSION.DEPRESSION.CONFESSION

For awhile, there’s been nothing but gloom and doom about the economic situation of this country and, now, the world. At first, the word was RECESSION. I confess I don’t actually know what that means, because it’s a math-related word. I know it means a slow down in consumer spending and confidence and that it’s not as bad as a full blown DEPRESSION. Which seems like where we are now. Millions of people unemployed, large and small banks failing, financial giants right along with mom and pop grocery stores. Nothing good about any of this, it seems. Even our law firm is experiencing a slow down – a senior associate was laid off this week and the woman who harangued our dead beat clients was “released.” I was informed, to my great relief (I think!), that I would be the last to go. That I would, so to speak, go down with the ship. If, in fact, that happened. Gee, thanks. I have to say that I am emotionally attached to our younger associates, as they are about my oldest daughter’s age. I have sort of a maternal instinct toward them and want them to be happy and well and successful.

I must say, however, that there seems to be little hard evidence of a recession/depression around here. Husband and I were at that huge Whole Foods last weekend and despite the parking lot being bigger than a couple of football fields, there were few unfilled parking spaces. I was at Valley Fair last night and had a hard time finding a parking place. The parking lot of Safeway was full this morning. Later this afternoon, I went to Santana Row (to a bakery for macarons-well-ok, Anthropologie for a little bit) and it was packed, stores and sidewalks and parking garages. I stood in line for macarons and to check out at Anthropologie (new drawer pulls for the china cabinet and a new wrap…because I don’t have NEARLY enough wraps) and the store was full. So, it’s kind of surreal to hear gloom and doom and experience the opposite.

Now for the Confession portion of our show. I confess that although a part of me is really nervous and wants to give in to the fear atmosphere that’s being spread about, I’ve decided instead that I am going to remain positive in the face of the reality of hard times. I am going to believe that the Universe is simply rearranging itself and that something much better is in the making. I am going to believe that good things will eventually come of all this disarray. I am going to believe that the perfect job is out there for the associate who was laid off at our firm and that she will one day be glad to have been “released” from what was, for her, a sometimes unhappy position.

Now, let’s talk about food and cooking, because that’s what I did today. I made veggie soup, baked a butternut squash and made lemon/parmesan risotto this morning. Then, I cleaned up and went for macarons. This particular veggie soup has become my favorite comfort food this winter. This winter in which I cannot seem to get warm unless I’m in bed under the covers…….Anyway, it’s just olive oil, onion, carrots, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, potato, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and tomato paste, chard and cannellini beans. If you have a parmesan rind, all the better! First, cut up everything except the chard (and beans) and saute in olive oil – start with the onions and work your way through the rest.

It’s so colorful and really goes together quickly despite the number of ingredients. I enjoy the prep work, particularly if my knife is sharp! And, it’s so full of veggies that are essentially “free” on WW, that you can eat all you want without guilt.

Once you get the veggies in the pot, add 6 C water and 4 of those little broth packets. Then a 14 oz can of tomatoes that are called Mexican Recipe – tomatoes with herbs. I put a whole little can of tomato paste in even though most recipes call for a few tablespoons. Because, really, what do you do with part of a can of tomato paste? And, it makes the broth a nice consistency and kind of sweetens it.

Cover and cook over a medium low heat until the veggies get softer. Rearrange the contents now and then, but just let it be for an hour or more. After I got the soup to this point, I whacked open a butternut squash and put it in the oven to bake.

I was at Jen’s earlier dropping off The Composer is Dead, a little box of cookies and some arnica for Nate’s bruised hip bone (he’s a fearless skateboarder) and snagged a couple of ripe lemons from her tree, making an on the spot decision to add risotto to the weekend’s cooking list. I have a really good recipe for lemon/parmesan risotto. I really do. Of course, I have not the slightest idea what book or bag of clippings it’s in, so I just sort of followed the instructions on the box, adding white wine because, people, you cannot make a decent risotto with out it, and substituting shallots for onions, because I like them better in risotto.

The recipe called for 5 oz of arborio rice and said it served 3. Three! That’s dumb – double it and measure out 10 oz. Chop up the shallots really finely and put some olive oil and butter in the pan. Saute the shallots, add the rice and kind of “toast” it.

You need to put about 6 C of broth on to simmer – I used the little packets but didn’t want the broth to be too brown or too salty, so used 4 packets instead of 6. Next, add some white wine – between 1/4 and 1/3 C should do it. I gotta say, the fragrance of the wine with the olive oil, butter and rice is lovely. Once the wine cooks down, you start adding the broth, a ladle at a time and stirring pretty frequently. I read while I do this. And, now and then rearrange the contents of the soup pot. It always amazes me that the rice can absorb so much broth before it gets really done. When it does finish, add grated lemon peel and grated parmesan and salt to taste. Yum. And, if you must, you can add fresh peas, but it’s light and fresh just the way it is.

It’s a lovely color, isn’t it? Stir and stir, add broth a ladle at a time and read and check the soup then back to the risotto. The squash gets done before the risotto. Flip the squash over and melt a generous pat of butter on each half, grind some Himalayan Pink salt over it and then back to the risotto.

Now, it’s time to take the red stems out of the chard and chop up the green leaves for the soup. Chard is like spinach in that what looks like a LOT cooks down to very little. Then, once the chard is in, add the beans and cook til the chard is wilted. Once the veggies are soft, add salt. Here’s the finished soup…

I like to put a square of (Whole Foods Gluten-Free) cornbread in a bowl and then ladle on the hot soup. Big glass of milk and divine! Well, very comforting, anyway. And, not fattening!

Husband and I thought we might to up to the City today and visit the Ferry Building and farmer’s market, but then we learned that we were custodial parents of Charlie for the day – so Husband decided that next weekend would be better. And, it was gray and cloudy and windy most of the day, so just as well. However, the Ferry Building means french macarons and I was all set for them. Thus, the visit to the baker at Santana Row. They have 5 flavors in the regular size: chocolate, pistachio, raspberry, lemon and coffee. I don’t like coffee but they also have a long, narrow box of mini-macarons! The box has 2 each of lemon, orange, chocolate, grape, pistachio, strawberry and raspberry. They are bite size! I meant to take a picture of the cute little things in the box………but then there was a stop light or 10 on the way home, and, well, a few went missing.

Tomorrow is a spinach and cheddar quiche and pasta with eggplant meatballs and eggplant parmesan. We should have a good food week next week! I hope you do, too!

SPRING…..ALMOST

The first time I saw San Jose was in early March 28 years ago.  I had come for a weekend to visit with Husband-to-be, well actually, to MEET Husband-to-be.  That is a story for another post at another time.

I came from North Texas where we had 4 distinct seasons, although a couple of them tended to be swallowed up by SUMMER.  It’s flat in North Texas, well, there are some rolling hills.  It’s beautiful farmland with oak trees and such but nothing that even approaches a mountain.

I didn’t know at the time that coming to San Jose in March is the ideal time of the year – the winter rains and mild climate conspire to make everything in sight a lush green.  Trees are beginning to bloom, bulbs are peeking out and some are even blooming.  Every shade of green can be seen,  enhanced by the brilliant blue of the sky and pop of blooming mustard.  San Jose is nestled in a valley – The Valley of Heart’s Delight – between wooded mountains on the west and bare ones to the east.  We live just at the foot of the wooded range and every day I am grateful to live in a place with such natural beauty!  The other side of the valley, the “dry” side, has its own charms.  The mountains are more like really big hills and they look to be covered with a kind of natural velvet (where the houses aren’t!) that changes color during the year like the coat of a large animal.  In the winter and spring, the hills are a verdant, lush, green (assuming we have our allotment of rainfall).  In the summer, they turn soft caramel colors.  All year they are covered with the softest velvet that you know would be heaven to the touch.

I’ve always wanted to be able to describe them but words fail and camera equipment is not mine.  But, TODAY, while checking one of my favorite links, I saw that Diane Varner (Daily Walks) posted a photo that, while not of these particular hills, looks enough like them to be a twin.  So, please have a look for yourself.  I hope you enjoy the view.

SERENDIPITOUS TARDINESS

Huh?  At work today, I was busily getting together all the documents that make up a motion for one of our clients:  Order to  Show Cause; Application for Order and Supporting Declaration; Declaration of Attorney in Support, etc.; Points & Authorities, and finally, Income and Expense Declaration.  Complicated and requiring some final tweaks and revisions before filing.  I just didn’t realize what time it was and then, suddenly, it was 5:40 pm.

So, I grabbed my purse and headed for the door.  In the car, I was listening to NPR and heard something I would not have heard had I been on time leaving!  Lemony Snicket has a new book out called, The Composer is Dead! Lemony Snicket’s VERY good friend, Daniel Handler, was being interviewed and talking about this book.  I couldn’t wait to get home and order it for my grandchildren.  If you read this often, you know we all attended a production of Peter and the Wolf this Christmas narrated by Dr Spock Leonard Nimoy.  Daniel revealed that this book had been inspired by his own narration of P&W with the SF Youth Symphony – the very musicians we enjoyed!  The book is intended to be read aloud and comes with a CD – excellent!

So!  It’s ordered on a 2 day free shipping and will arrive on Thursday!  Jen has the kids this weekend, so maybe they will find the time to start it.  It sounds like such fun and I hope it will remind them of our own Peter and the Wolf adventure!

la la la la la……………

I worked on this long post for days when I realized it was: a) too long; b) boring; c) stupid. So, I just deleted it. I was going through my morning blog ritual, link by link, and making inane remarks about the blog in general and/or the blogger. Well, that’s just lame because that’s what a blog roll is for! If you care the slightest about the places I frequent, you will click on the link and take a look. Let’s just say I check in with family, take mini-trips to Paris, Portland, Austin, Avignon and the dog hotel on the Riveria. Then, satisfied that all is well, I get about my day futzing around in people’s divorces. Dear God, how dreadful is that?

Things have been relatively boring around here – boring is good. No medical emergencies, no drama, not even any insomnia lately. Lovely day today – woke up to the sun, which I NEVER get to do, and thanks very much to the idiot who oversees this miserable daylight saving time nonsense, I won’t get to do again for what seems like for.ever. I’m very attuned to the natural side of things – I want to get up when the sun does and then go to bed not long after the sun slides below the horizon.

Anyway, this morning I stripped the bed and washed the sheets and bath mats, and made a pot of soup, then Husband and I went to the gym. 45 minutes on the elliptical, came home and showered and then about 1:30pm headed out to Shiva in Mt. View (sorry about the weird music). They have a killer lunch buffet and it has been months since we’ve been there. Ate like maniacs, including gluten for me. What’s indian food without nan? I do so love whatever that stuff is with the little cheese disks floating in milk infused saffron that is a dessert. Husband, on the other hand, thinks it tastes like a cleaning solution…….uh, thanks very much for that idea. I do love anything with saffron in it.

On the way home, we stopped at the GIANT Whole Foods in Cupertino because I was in search of these gluten-free english muffins I thought they might have. And, they did! Hooray. I have to say, this particular WF is just over the top – it’s the size of a Costco. The parking lot is Costco-sized, as well, and full. This store is yuppie nirvana and belies any hint of a depression. Husband succumbed to a frosted brownie sprinkled with walnuts.

Next, a quick stop at Trader Joe’s for a silly little item – a box of 12 little packets of VERY condensed veggie broth. Let me tell you, this is SUCH a good deal! You can buy a box of veggie broth at Safeway – lots of brands – all too salty and damn expensive. A quart goes for anywhere from $4 to $7. Really. This little box makes 12 cups of broth and only 360 mg of sodium per serving for $3.99 or so. I used to just read the label and grab one with the least sodium, and then one day not long ago, I actually looked at the price. I nearly fainted in the soup aisle. Then, remembering all the times I’d just chucked the box in the cart, I nearly threw up. I make a lot of soup. So, a quick gallon of milk, too, because their milk is organic and cheap – a combination you don’t find very often.

Home, then, and Ashley and James came by with birthday cake from James’ birthday. The cake put me under the table…….it was seriously good chocolate icing from Icing on the Cake.

Off to get a pedicure, then. Pretty lazy day and enjoyable hanging out with Husband. Tomorrow is Sunday and what may be one of the last editions of the Chronicle will show up in the driveway. I sure hope they manage to keep that newspaper going. Our SJ Mercury News is just pathetic and I really like the Chronicle. I hear it’s up for sale and has been losing mountains of money for years, now.

Grateful for the day, grateful for the company. Grateful for so many things, including living in a most beautiful place on the verge of spring. Oh, and grateful for my lovely hairdresser who bleached my hair white, white, white and lopped most of it off on Friday afternoon. It’s short, spiky and white. Like me.