Inventory
Took note of my flower and herb gardens today.
Actually weeded some of the herb garden yesterday.
It's overflowing with oregano and sage, but the rosemary
didn't make it. The chives are thriving and in full bloom
The blossoms are quite good on a salad, so I've been
tossing a few in on any given night.
All of the gardens are suffering from neglect. I just
don't have the oomph to go out and weed.
The peonies bloomed for the first time this year.
Mom and Dad planted them a few years ago.
Lovely, huge pink blossoms now on the ground
after the little bit of rain we got a few days ago.
The side garden is lovely with its yellow and purple
pansies (that survived the winter). Coreopsis and bleeding
heart are also doing well. Even the ornamental cauliflower
is blooming. The lillies are thriving and the mums too.
Out back, the primrose has just gone wild around
Dad's weeping cherry and the Stella D'Oro's are loaded
with buds.
The hardy hibiscus I planted around the copper birdbath
is standing tall and proud. I thought the cold snap had gotten it.
*
Tonight's meal was yum. Roasted tuna steaks with herbed
new potatoes.
Marinated the tuna steaks in:
white wine
olive oil
fresh thyme
fresh dill
sea salt
cracked black pepper
fresh, minced garlic
onion powder
dried tarragon
Placed them inside a parchment paper pouch. Generally,
I make individual pouches, but I was not that inspired
tonight.
Place the tuna steaks in the center of the parchment
paper, cover them with asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
and chopped scallions. Pour some of the marinade over it all.
Then squeeze fresh lemon juice over that and top it with
the lemon halves. Wrap in the paper and bake at 400
for 20 minutes.
I did a little something different with the herbed potatoes
this time. As follows:
Wash and cut 10-14 new potatoes into cubes.
Chop 1 yellow onion and add to potatoes in a small
baking dish.
Chop 10 garlice cloves and add to that.
Then add fresh chopped thyme and flat leaf parsley
Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Coat with extra virgin olive oil and blend together.
Cover and bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes.
Uncover and cook 20 more minutes.
Add a three cheese Italian blend (asiago, romano,
parmesan).
Put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes to brown the potatoes
and melt the cheese.
All very good.
*
Still walking but it's not helping the depression. It's not
hurting it either, so I keep walking. I have hurt
my left foot. Don't know what's wrong but I keep walking.
*
Poison ivy on my face and neck. Now popping out on
my arms and stomach. I am severly allergic and have
always had to have steroids to get rid of it, but I am hopeful
it will go away. I don't want to take steroids again.
*
Finished reading Running with Scissors and A Million
Little Pieces. Reading the complete works of Flannery
O'Connor now. Just read The Life You Save May Be Your Own
today. Also reading Sexton and Oliver.
*
Still jobless. Still looking. The only emails I get from
my former coworkers are inane forwards that I just
delete.
*
Tired. Very. Chin up, M. Chin up.
12 comments:
I can see how your garden reminds you of your father. It sounds beautiful, perhaps sometime you could post photos. So, your walking to battle depression? I think that is a great alternative, but remember that if it isn't working, keep looking until you find something that does. Perhaps aerobics. Maybe getting that heartrate up and the blood flowing, the sweat eliminating the toxins, producing endorphins, or seratonin, or what have you. Or maybe medicine.
wait till you get into wise blood. i envy you that so much, running head-on into that brilliance. at her best, she was the best there is.
Talia,
My former coworkers gave me the cherry tree in memory of my father, and one of my shade gardens is only there because he and Mom started it for me, so yes, I think of Dad often when I am out there.
I have read that walking is one of the best things you can do to help with depression. I also walk because I need to lose weight and get my cholesterol down. I can't do much more cardio than walking because I have panic disorder. I don't want to use that as an excuse as I know there are others with panic disorder who can and do exercise quite vigorously. It's simply too frightening to me (and sends me into panic mode) when the heart rate gets way up there. I don't know how much you know about panic disorder, but I can tell you this much--a person doesn't have to be doing anything and a panic attack can occur, and when it does (at least for me), my heart rate has been as fast as 200 bpm. It's a terrifying feeling, and I have gone into a panic attack after more vigorous exercise simply because my body was doing what it was supposed to do (get the heart rate up until you get to a certain range and then some cooling down, etc.)
Anyway, I've rambled. I am trying walking (for the ???? time) with the hope that I can stick with it. Don't have much sticktuitiveness (huh???) at the time.
And I am on meds--daily--or I wouldn't probably even be able to walk out my back door (that's how bad the panic had gotten before I let myself be medicated).
Sounds like loads of fun, yes?
:)
jim,
I love Wise Blood--perhaps my favorite O'Connor. I have read much of her work, but there are several stories in this collection that were previously unpublished, so I am looking forward to reading them as well as rereading many of the others (Everything That Rises Must Converge, A Good Man is Hard to Find, etc.). Brilliance, absolutely.
After Flannery, I am going to revisit Carson, another one of my favorites. Ballad of the Sad Cafe is perhaps my favorite McCullers, but it's hard to say.
Then it's on to Welty and then Faulkner. I'm going to choose some Faulkner I haven't read, though I have heard (and read) that some of the books I have chosen not to read might be a bit laborious. I'll find out.
I think you see the direction I'm going, yes? South. I love the southern writers and haven't read them in some time.
It's also the time of year when I reread To Kill A Mockingbird, so that's coming up.
I always have 3-5 books going at any given time. Some fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and essays of some type. I've been reading some of Douglas Adams' Salmon of Doubt. It was published posthumously. It is classically Adams--quirky, hilarious, and brilliant.
Why don't you jump head-on into that brilliance yourself again and pick up some O'Connor. I am sure you have some around.
i just read wise blood again last year -- so wonderfully creepy. i might need to watch the movie - have you ever seen it?
Food and gardens and books -- sounds good to me.
I haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird since High School -- but I watch the movie everytime it comes on TV
Didn't know there was a movie version, jz. Cool. I'll have to look that up. Have you seen it, and if so, what did you think?
1979 movie directed by John Huston -- an excellent cast -- I saw it years ago and can't remember much about it, so obviously I didn't think much of it at the time. But I probably need to watch it again.
We watched the movie in 8th grade. Isn't Gregory Peck in that movie?
Gregory Peck is in To Kill A Mockingbird--wonderful film, but I don't know who's in Wise Blood ( I was referring to WB but didn't make that clear!).
Sorry...I should read more carefully.
It heartened me to reach the end of this post and find you giving yourself a pep talk. Chin up. Yes.
I love to read cookbooks. I don't cook. I just love to read cookbooks. So, I enjoyed reading your recipes. I'm hooked on foodtv and all the cooking shows on PBS too. I love to read recipes and watch people cook.
I saw the movie Running with Scissors. Now, I must read the book. The film was good. Odd. And good.
You asked for a recipe. I don't have mine handy tonight. I'll come back and post it tomorrow or on the weekend. But I'm famous (seriously) for my fudgeful peanutbutter bars. Like I said, I don't cook. But I do bake. Man, do I bake. So, no real food from me. Just desserts. People beg for the recipe after I make a batch of those bars. I make a mean blondie too. And another begged for recipes is my flourless peanutbutter cookies.
You want all 3? Lemme know.
I'd say chin up, kid, but you already said it yourself.
Talia,
No problemo! I tend to ramble and can be hard to follow. Hey, send me your favorite recipe, ok?
LKD,
I am still saying chin up, chin up, chin up. I couldn't go to sleep last night just thinking of all the things in my life that have changed in the last year. I was just lying there in the dark, looking at the darkness above me and all around me and wondering how in the hell my dad can be gone and how in the hell could someone have fired me? I just kept having flashes of moments from the last year go through my mind. I felt pretty damn useless and discouraged, but I eventually went to sleep.
Now, on to those recipes. Send me all three plus the coffee cake you make (is it plum?). You mentioned it once on your blog. You know I love to cook. Nice, healthy meals, but I also love to bake and there are quite a few folks in and out of this house that would love some of those peanutbutter bars and other goodies you mentioned.
jim & jz, if you read this, I expect a recipe. I'll check in with you guys.
I am so interested in what people like to eat and how they cook it and in exploring new foods. I just got tired of the same ole same ole stuff.
Still walking, Laurel, but I am telling you it is all I can do most days to make myself go. Guess what? I have shaved 2 minutes off my walk time. I am still not in the range I would like to be, but when I drop some of these pounds maybe I can move a little faster. I would like to walk 2 miles in 30 minutes. I started at a rate of 2 miles in 33 minutes and can now walk it in a little over 31, so I guess that's progress. I am not sure if it matters all that much about the speed--anywhere between 3.5-4 mph should help, but it feels good to be able to go a little faster.
Time to go outside and do some planting before it rains. More about that later.
Recipes, recipes, recipes!
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