Catching up with a bit of this and that

Catching up with a bit of this and that

 

Well hello.

I hope this finds you well, and enjoying the spring weather everyone has longed for. I know many who live in other areas of the country and understand this past winter was relentless. For us, it meant only that winter never arrived at all. My Iceberg roses in the patio planters, pruned in November, were blooming by January. I believe there were only one or two weeks we closed all the windows in the house, and the heater turned turned on perhaps twice just to take the chill off the family room downstairs in the evening while we talked about our respective days. I made peace with Mother Nature over this warmer than usual and alarmingly dry winter, promising not to complain too loudly, wanting and hoping for the rain we so desperately need. Instead I’ve patiently looked forward to our annual dose of May Grey and June Gloom, when skies are endlessly covered with a thick marine layer and the air chilly enough to require sweaters.  Unfortunately, we’ve had more heat. A few weeks ago temperatures rose to nearly 100 and after a bit of a break for a week, I braced for heat again. Sadly, our Santa Ana winds accompanied the heat wave and fires burned thousands of acres of the parched brush taking many homes in the process.

We need rain.

Old Watering Can

My days are relatively quiet and slow moving, at least until I realize it’s 3:30 and I’ve accomplished next to nothing. Wanda keeps me company while I continue to write — my novel a work in progress for a year and a half now. Clearly, I’m not in a hurry even though my mother routinely reminds me that seeing it published is on her bucket list. I’ve adjusted to a new writing corner downstairs and vacillate over whether I want the blinds down so I can concentrate, or up, so I’m able to admire my potted plants and the hummingbird that visits daily, hovering just on the other side of my big window as if to ask why I’m inside instead of pottering about on the patio.  At this point in my writing, I feel I’m up and about more than sitting in front of my Mac, each lull an excuse to stretch my legs and do something productive while I’m thinking. Often, I’ll get my camera to take a few shots of something that catches my eye — something I’ll use as and excuse later to procrastinate about moving forward with my story. Thank goodness for photography and gardening.  Housekeeping? Not so much.

Be Creative

My husband has finished yet another busy season; I’ve lost count of how many there have been. But now that he’s home much earlier, the daylight is with us longer and weekends free, we’ve been down to the beach to walk, or buy sandwiches at a local deli to take with us and enjoy the sunset on a grassy spot above the bluffs. It’s especially pleasant on a week night when there are fewer people milling about and with the sea fairly flat the last time we were there, quiet. We could see otters bobbing in the kelp, their flippers breaking the surface of the ocean as they lay on their backs, relaxing. It’s a nice break in the day when we decide to take advantage of it and each time we do, we promise we won’t wait so long before we go again, chiding ourselves over it all. It takes less than 10 minutes to get in the car and drive down the hill, so we’re never sure why this isn’t an every day routine at this point in our lives.

Foggy Beach

We thought we might be celebrating a graduation this month — that of our youngest who is close to finishing college.  Alas, another semester is needed which means I will enjoy his company most of the summer again. He’s an easy to be around soul and because he’ll be 22 this summer, I indulge myself every bit of time I can spend with him, looking forward to the work he has most recently completed and brings home to share with us. I’ll confess I’m relieved not to have had to organize a family entourage to San Francisco for his graduation. That gives me a year to tackle it at this point. And please know, fingers are crossed that he find employment. That would be excellent.

Have I cooked?

Sunday Skillet Breakfast

To some extent, yes, but very little of what I’ve prepared has been made from any particular recipe and even less has been photographed; omelets, stir fry, salads and soup have been our standbys. Perhaps a braise now and again. Only occasionally something baked. I think I miss that the most, but my midsection cannot deal with more than a taste, and I refuse to bake something and then toss it. That’s what bakeries are for — indulgences minus the waste.

  I do occasionally post something to Instagram if you’re interested in following.  I’d love to see you there. It’s an easy, creative way to see what others are up to, and I find it relaxing. I also still upload photos to flickr and enjoy getting a burst of creative inspiration from the talented photographers I find there. More than anything, they leave me with wanderlust, and this month, especially so.

Wanderlust

A year ago, my husband and I were preparing for a trip to Europe to enjoy Paris and Bavaria. How quickly times passes, doesn’t it?  As I sift through my photo library, I see a number of recipes I made with that trip in mind and wonder why I never mustered the energy to share them. Perhaps the let down of returning from such a trip and being left with recipes reminiscent, but only photos to remind me I was actually there. Ah well. I’m so glad I’ve been once.

Flying Somewhere

This year, we’re headed to Maine. We’ve rented a house and I plan to do quite a bit of kayaking and working on a small farm that grows produce for a local restaurant. There will be some boating as well, perhaps hiking, a visit to the Farnsworth so I can finally oogle Winslow Homer’s mesmerizing work I’ve loved for so long. A lobster bake is on the agenda to be sure. Of course, there will be photos.

In the meantime, I believe you can count on my being here once a week — perhaps twice.  Who knows what I’ll bring to the table — because recipes are a challenge these days —  but I’ll be here, trying to make sense in this space I’ve kept for seven years now.

In the dog years of the web, that’s a very long time.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back soon, schedule in hand.

I promise.

Truly.

Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Set your clocks.