The State of Things

The weather has turned here in the south.  We have had a number of days over 80 this past week and that warm weather has been exploding the flowering bushes and trees – and the pollen!!!  It’s a blitz here.  Everything is yellow.  It drives me crazy because I love the outdoors, I love having the outdoors in by leaving all the windows and doors open to let the breezes flow through the house and I just can’t.  My poor husband is beset with allergies and he just can’t breathe.  He snores so badly at night that it wakes me up and I have to leave and go to another part of the house.  Even the cats run out.  So, in deference to him, I keep the doors and windows closed and the air conditioning on.  I won’t mention all the yellow pollen on everything in the house but it creeps in.  I am so lucky it doesn’t seem to bother me except for being frustrated by the film that is on everything.  We love to sit on our patio in the evening enjoying an adult beverage and watching the last of the golfers come through.  We only get ambient sunsets but it is beautiful out over the marsh.  We love to have a fire in our fire pit more for the ambience than the warmth at this time of the year.   You should have seen the pollen on the outdoor furniture.  A good strong hosing and we were able to get out there and enjoy an evening.

One thing I love about living here is the lower cost of maintenance.  Now that our construction project is done (hallelujah) after four months, it was time to call in the cleaning brigade.  All the air filters needed to be changed and the ducts cleaned out thanks to the sanding and sawdust.  The windows were beyond filthy and the outside of the house needs to be washed once a year to keep away the mold and mildew that does come in the summer.  In addition, I learned about washing the driveway.  It looks brand new.  To have all that done in Canada costs thousands.  I can only do that kind of power wash and window cleaning every two years up there.  Here the total was under $400, for all of it.  The house sparkles and looks freshly painted, the windows are sparkling, the driveway is white again and looks as if we had a new one put in.  The inside of the house has been cleaned thoroughly and I feel that all is finally fine again.  I truly didn’t realize how disconcerting it is to live with construction.  Not to mention all the people who would come in and out of our house on a weekly basis.  It’s now just us again and it is wonderful.  I am no longer out of sorts!

First Attempt at Teaching

My assistant, Lena, supervised the polishing of my presentation for my first attempt at presenting to a class at the Osher LifeLong Learning Institute at USCB, University of South Carolina, Beaufort.  My presentation was on Monday after lunch and was, for me, a lot of fun.  I copied the presentation, with speaker notes, onto colorful thumb drives and gave them out to the participants.  A wonderful, engaged group who asked great questions and welcomed me to their confines.  One person said she could hardly wait to get started on writing a blog and doing all the fun stuff that comes with it.  There were lots of technical questions as well and I found myself happily answering and exploring with the class.  We had internet connectivity so we went out and looked at a lot of different blogs, some of my very favorites, in addition to looking at the practical side of how to actually get a domain name and website through various avenues.  All in all, it was a good experience.

A Sore Back is Getting Better

 

I was back out walking again this week after taking some time off.  Worked my way up to a six mile walk after slowly adding a mile or two here and there.  Wyke continues to be my devoted walking buddy but as it gets warmer he is not so happy to go for a long trek.  He is ready for some more northern temperatures but we are not, yet.  We have great spots along the way to get cold water and ice which gives us a chance to cool off when the temperatures get into the high 80’s.  He loves his water bowl when we get home!  Cleo was lying in wait for him by the door but wanted to get out of the sunshine so she hid in the coffee table on the shelf.  The next big walk is the Charleston Bridge walk but it is not until April so this week begins the training for it.  A couple of local bridge walks to get the legs feeling strong again.  In the meantime, I finally bought a half dome bolster to do calf stretches before and after the walks and it is making a difference.  Just have to remember to do them and it really helps.

Never Give Up

 

When we returned from Canada after the Christmas holidays we found four inches of snow on the ground here.  It was followed by some very cold, below freezing temperatures for quite a number of nights.  We lost, or we thought we had lost, all of our beautiful new plantings that had been put in sometime in late November.  I was especially sad about the ginger which is a beautiful green and yellow leaved plant that grows to quite a large size.  All gone.  It looked so sad out there.  However, never give up hope.  The first plants to come back were the ones I call lily pads, for my cousin Pat here’s the correct name (Gigantea Farfugium) so I started to feel a little better.  Then the green and white ones (Flax Lily) started to show some hope and finally, just this week, a tiny spark from the variegated ginger plants is reaching for the sun.  Each and everyone has a little shoot showing through the ground.  They may not be as gorgeous as they were in November but I think our investment has been saved.  Even the grass is beginning to green up.

Cooking Up A Storm

Finally cooked up all the left over vegetable scraps that were in the freezer and I now have five quarts of absolutely yummy vegetable stock and some good compost going.  The stock is just so much better than anything I can buy in the store.  I did learn not to fill the jars quite so full as one of them leaked all over the freezer when it froze but otherwise I think it is just fine.  Now to get back to making soup so I can use up that stock before summer.

I love spinach and am always looking for recipes that incorporate spinach.  I found this one on my favorite Blue Zones website.  Sardinian Spinach and Pecorino Cheese.  It is going to be a staple in our house.  Even though I like spinach raw and John likes it cooked,  I think we can enjoy this one together.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. spinach
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 big handful basil leaves (about 1 cup)
• 2 T olive oil
• 5 oz. pecorino cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Wash spinach in cold water.
2. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Cook spinach for 1-2 minutes, drain in colender.
4. Preheat oven to 400° F
5. Peel garlic and cut into thin slivers.
6. Mince basil leaves.
7. Combine spinach with garlic, basil and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
8. Divide spinach mixture into four individual oven-proof ramekins. Top with slices of pecorino cheese and bake for 4 minutes or until cheese begins to melt and edges brown.
9. Remove from oven and let stand for 1 minute prior to serving.

Here is Something to Cheer You Up – Happy Week!