Faith, Folklore, and Friends

The sun came out this morning for the first time in many days.  I bundled up and ventured to the garden to see how things were getting along. Apparently, not so well. These turnip greens and kale are showing the weight of winter, their heads hanging. Winter has had the same affect on me.  However, because it is Friday and because I love y'all, I won't post a selfie. The weatherman promises temperatures in the fifties for a few days.  You wouldn't believe how excited that makes me.

Sonnet 97 by William Shakespeare How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen! What old December’s bareness everywhere! And yet this time remov’d was summer’s time, The teeming autumn, big with rich increase, Bearing the wanton burthen of the prime, Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease: Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit; For summer and his pleasures wait on thee, And thou away, the very birds are mute; Or if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near.

Today, it is cold and tiny drops of ice are falling, enough to whiten the deck.  It is a day of earaches and stuffy noses and hiding under quilts. What could you do on a day like this?  Order seeds, of course. From my favorite seed company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, we're getting some variegated lettuce and some herb seeds.  We always order one thing we haven't grown before; this year it is Plum Granny.  Remember when they would be at the end of  Grandma's garden? They were bland and we didn't eat them, but they were so pretty and smelled fabulous.  Time will tell. Ordering seeds: its what I do on cold, dark days in the middle of January.

My friends know I love books, and enjoy getting recommendations of books they have read.  It is good to read books outside of your comfort zone sometimes.  A friend recommended Thale's Folly by Dorothy Gilman to me. I put it on my list, and found it at the Florence/Lauderdale Public Library Saturday.  I finished reading it today. I love every page , every  sentence of this book. It was published in 1999, and I have missed it on the library shelves for a decade and a half.  Had it not been for Ruth recommending this book, I would have missed something wonderful. Take my word for it, and check it out.  Right now, I am going to make some herbal tea. [Basil,] being applied to the place bitten by venomous beasts, . . .it speedily draws the poison to it; Every like draws its like . . .Hilarius, a French physician, affirms upon his own knowledge, that an acquaintance of his, by common smelling to it, had a scorpion breed in his brain.  ...

In Loving Memory Mary Lynn Stricklin Horton January 12, 1937-December 2, 1990 Let's just pretend, because it's your birthday, that the lump in your breast was a mosquito bite that disappeared in a few days and your life stayed normal, if normal can describe life. I will call you up and tell you to come by, the coffee's on and there's coconut cake. We'll talk about hair color and plants. You will be amazed at how the grandchildren have grown.   We will speculate about Rosie's new man and how high the price of groceries will rise because of the early freeze.   I will make you a copy of that quilt pattern you've been wanting. We will giggle at old stories: the time you broke your foot riding a bicycle, the leaves in the chicken stew. We will groan about our weight gain and I will say your boobs are as big as the moon.  We will refuse to talk about cancer. We won't think about chemicals and radiation and L...

Take my yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   ~Matthew 11:29

2015 came in cold, and it has been cold every day of this new year. We have had some sick days, when all we wanted to do in sit in front of the fire, under a quilt with a book and something hot to drink.  On these days, nothing is as good as hot soup for lunch. I found this recipe for corn soup that is perfect for cold day lunches and very filling, in addition to being very easy to make. Chop up about a quart of potatoes, 6 or 7 medium. Cover with water and boil until they are tender. Chop up two onions,  and saute them in some bacon fat until they are transparent and tender. When they are tender, mash up the potatoes until all large chunks are gone.  I like using this old potato masher; the electric mixer gets them too thin. Add the cooked onions to the potatoes and stir. Add a teaspoon of salt.  Stir. You will need two cans of cream style corn, whatever brand you prefer. You could use the same amount of fres...