Saturday Meanderings

As I write this, we are now officially in the season between winter and summer. Our recent rains dowsed the garden and yard with abundant moisture. We had more rain in the last two weeks than we had over the past 11 months. This will be a shortened version of Saturday Meanderings since my daughter is in town for the week. Thank you for joining me and let’s get started chatting about all good things this week.

Happy Spring

I love this time of year. Spring is a season of renewal, where the world awakens in a burst of color and life. Trees unfurl fresh green leaves, flowers bloom in a riot of pastels, and the air hums with the return of bees and birdsong.

One small baby artichoke peeks through the large dark leaves with more to follow.

The first pale yellow blossoms of the Lady Bank’s roses made an appearance this week. Fragrant, Snow White alyssums are creeping over the brick edging in front of the guest cottage.

Gentle breezes carry the scent of blossoms, and the warmth of the sun coaxes nature back into full splendor. It is a time of growth, hope, and the promise of new beginnings.

What We are Eating from the Garden

Every day I am picking fresh lettuces from the garden for our lunch and dinner salads. The snow peas and snap peas are abundant, as is the nasturtium and herbs.

Sometimes growing cauliflower is hit or miss, but this year’s crop did produce some gorgeous yellow heads. The scraggly ones went to the chickens, but we are able to enjoy the perfection of the very last one.

I can honestly say being in the garden is my happy place. No tomatoes yet, but the plants are full of flowers so it’s only a matter of time.

Sometimes I don’t have luck with peas, but they did not disappoint this year. Everything tastes so much better from the garden!

Baking Bread Therapy

We are finally finished with our month of no wheat, no dairy, no soy, no caffeine, no alcohol, etc. I know it sounds painful, but we filled our bodies with lean protein, lots of vegetables, healthy fats and physically, we feel very good.

However, I did miss making my sourdough bread. Not only the deliciousness of it, but the ritual of working the dough, watching it rise and the baking smells filling the kitchen. Two loaves this week~one with garlic, rosemary and Pecorino Romano; the second with garlic, rosemary, olives, walnuts and Pecorino Romano (from a huge wedge from Costco). So yummy and will be making more this weekend!

Winner of the Home A Celebration Book

What delightful responses to my last Saturday Meanderings post about describing your favorite room in your home! I really felt like I was right there beside you with such wonderful descriptions.

The winner of the random drawing is Sharon Archer, with ” Everyday I enjoy my morning coffee in the living room reclining on my Victorian sofa watching all the birds & squirrels with the mountains in the backgrounds. Reading or even when I feel a little down my living room is my heart of the house.”

Thank you for sharing your special places.

And the Projects Continue…

Finally, I have finished cleaning and repairing my youngest daughter’s bedroom and bathroom. What a chore! It’s amazing how much stuff you can hide behind cupboard doors. Two tall kitchen garbage bags full of empty, old toiletry bottles and containers. I don’t think she ever threw anything out.

In her bathroom, there is a sweet old, small scale armoire which holds bath towels, curling iron, blow dryer and back ups for toilet paper and tissue. The exterior of the cabinet is very dry and perhaps has some humidity damage from the shower?

At first, I thought I may need to completely refinish the piece. However, I love this product and have used it before to bring a piece of wooden furniture back to life. Feed-N-Wax is a unique blend of beeswax, carnauba wax and orange oil and it enhances the beauty and depth of grain in finished and unfinished woods.

Look at the difference! I love this product! Feed-N-Wax also prevents further drying of the wood and deterioration of the finish. You can find it on Amazon here.

Here’s another picture of an old table at our cabin where I use Feed-N-Wax to bring it back to life.

Our well tower is a unique feature of our property. However, it is not a heavily used building. This week I finally clean it, which was quite the chore. With two interior spiral staircases, just getting the Shop Vac up and down between floors, is challenging. The dust and cobwebs are gone; the exterior is power washed and the windows are clean. I hope not to do this again any time soon.

To see the restoration of the well tower, click here.

St. Patrick’s Day

We celebrate this holiday because it is our daughter, Julianna’s birthday and was my mother’s birthday (who would have been 100 years old). Fortunately, our daughter is visiting this week and it gave me a reason to make my Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake (so yummy) and Guinness beef pie!

I love it when our children come home to visit and my heart is full to have her and her boyfriend, 2 dogs and 1 cat stay with us too!

Life with Finn~1 year later

It was one year ago, that my husband and I picked up Finn from Virginia and drove him back to Phoenix.

It is hard to believe this little puppy is now 14 months old and a very big fella. What a difference a year makes….he’s still my baby, though.

With a very busy week ahead, an anticipated house full of guests and an engagement party on Saturday, I’m not sure I’ll have time to send out any blog posts. Until the next time we chat, enjoy life, be kind and stay safe out there!