Spring has Sprung

We are pulling things together for the next big push. It is Spring in New Hampshire and all that inspires is true. We have green spouts and leaf buds showing up every day, we have the return of the hummingbirds and the shocking yellow gold finches and the purple of the purple finches. The robins are nesting and the daffodils just keep on blooming. I spent most of the week planting lots of pansies for color and buying vegetables to put in the garden. Well, mostly onion sets, one tomato plant and a rosemary plant. The rhubarb is coming up and so is the asparagus. I can see hints of the other perennials beginning to push through the soil. Last year on this date we had snow. Today it is 65 and sunny but one of those days when the sun goes in that you wish you had another layer of clothing on.

It is also Tick Season! I went for a walk yesterday through one of the fields behind our house and spent the next few hours finding ticks in various places. When I found one on the rug in our room this morning I went berserk. Talk about cleaning within an inch of your life – I did and the others joined me. I will NOT be walking through any fields for awhile. It appears that the rail trail is relatively clear but I have found my tick spray and will be using it in the future. Why is it that every season has something that almost ruins it for us? Ticks can do that. Many, many years ago I contracted Lyme Disease from a tick and am therefore not a fan. It was a rough time but I seemed to come out of it in alright shape. Bug spray and keep every inch of your skin covered. Let’s not talk about the black flies. Another deterrent to enjoying spring in New Hampshire. However, despite all that, Wyke, Bean and I managed to walk 7 straight days in a row and we racked up some impressive miles for the Conqueror Challenges. I am SOOOOO close on the Ring Road but since that challenge is, for me, biking, I need to get on the bike and finish up the 50 or so miles this week. It will be very special to actually finish one of the challenges. We also found a wonderful swimming hole in a sand pit and the dogs enjoyed two days of romping and splashing. I am sure it will dry up sometime soon but for now it was a lot of fun. They even taught Archie, our nephew’s puppy, how to swim. So fun.

We have settled back into living in New London after a two week break. My nephew came for a visit with his dog, Archie, and we had a wonderful time. We even went out for lunch and sat outside at one of our favorite local restaurants. We had not done that since my birthday last May when we went out for dinner and sat outside at another favorite restaurant. Things are starting to feel a little bit normal around here.

Feeling a Little Bit More Normal

Katie is back at work and Libby has had two full weeks with no issues at the school. No positive Covid tests in the population. They only have two weeks to go and I hope they make it without incident. Unfortunately the Canadian border remains closed so we are not going to even try to head up there. We will wait until it opens for normal travel before going back to our home up there.

Update on Jenny Lane

The Jenny Lane project continues to move forward. We had a big meeting with the contractors, electrician and plumber this week to coordinate the kitchen demolition and installation of new cabinets and counter tops. It is looking like that will happen towards the end of the month. Cabinets are delayed a week but that is not a bad thing. Gives us a little more time to come up with a game plan. We had hoped to get some painting done before the kitchen demo but decided that it made more sense to wait until the kitchen piece was done before painting. John and Katie and Libby put the living room back together again and actually put the dining room out on the sun porch. We all love it there but are undecided whether that should be permanent. It is glorious to have the living room back however. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until they put some of it back. Feeling optimistic right now.

My big job this week will be to start packing up the kitchen in preparation for the demolition. We have been saving boxes for a couple of months so I will pack up the china and glass, store the pots and pans and generally empty everything I can empty for now. I am about ready to be done with this part of the renovation.

The Jenny Lane Gardens

The gardens look wonderful compared to last year. We have a great spot on the patio where we can enjoy the outdoor firepit and we have places where we can sit and enjoy the outdoors. Lots to do in the gardens and at some point we will begin to think about what needs to happen on the outside of the house. For now a little peace is welcome.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. I am overjoyed to have three grandchildren this year and some very happy daughters who are mothers. Last year we were impatiently waiting for Edie to arrive. Now she is challenging her mothers to keep up. What a difference a year makes.

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Shortly after my nephew left for Boston, Bean and Wyke were heard barking outside in the back yard. I went to see what was going on and at first didn’t see anything. Then I looked in the tree and there was our bear. I had a little talk with Bean and told her she needed to be quiet and to just enjoy looking at him. Funny, she did. We sat there for quite awhile and just watched him. Eventually he came down and lumbered away into a neighbors yard. I am glad she lets me know when he is in the yard but I really don’t want to encourage her into frightening the bear. He is certainly not interested in coming too close to us. We hadn’t seen him for awhile so I thought maybe he had moved on but I guess I was wrong. We need to learn how to co-exist I guess.

A Recipe To Try

We are going to actually do a little entertaining this week and I am going to make an hors d’oeuvres from Half Baked Harvest. Thought I would share it with you. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Ingredients

Peppered Honey

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper plus more for serving

Fried Brie

• 1 (8-10 ounce) Brie wheel
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups mixed olives, pitted
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoon drained capers
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
• crackers and/or bread, for serving

Instructions

• 1. To make the honey. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar.2. To make the Brie. Whisk the egg in a shallow bowl. Add the Panko to a separate shallow bowl. Dip the Brie through the egg, turning to coat on all sides, remove and allow any excess to drip off. Dredge the Brie through the Panko, turning to coat and pressing gently to adhere. Transfer the Brie to the freezer, freeze 15-20 minutes.3. Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, the olives, and crushed red pepper flakes together in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Simmer 5 minutes, until lightly fried. Add the lemon zest, capers, and thyme, and cook another 5 minutes, until the lemon is fried. Remove from the skillet to a serving bowl.4. To the same skillet add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Remove the Brie from the freezer and place in the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. If your Brie punctures, don’t stress, just keep cooking. Carefully transfer the Brie to a serving plate.5. Serve the Brie warm, topped with fried olives and honey. Enjoy with crackers or bread.