Saturday Meanderings

Goodbye, August! And just like that, we are onto September. I’m currently in Phoenix for the next week or so, and it sure feels like summer is here to stay! Thank you so much for spending part of your weekend with me. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in as we chat about all the bits and bobs from this past week.

Homeownership

In a time when so many people cannot afford to purchase a home of their own, I feel especially blessed that we made these investments many years ago. But, as with most things in life, there are plusses and minuses to everything. I’ve never owned a brand-new home. I don’t really have a reference point for whether they are worry-free or simply come with a different set of challenges. Being drawn to older, historic homes-or homes that have simply been well-loved and well-lived in-there always seems to be something that needs fixing, replacing, painting, repairing or tending to.

Our home here in Phoenix has been standing since 1910 and has weathered more than a century of Arizona weather, dust storms and everything else that comes with a long life. Structurally, I hope it will still be standing another hundred years from now. That is one of the things I love most about an old house. It has history, character and a presence that simply cannot be replicated. But with all that charm comes a seemingly endless list of things that need attention.

During the summer months, we don’t do much with the yard or the exterior of the house. It is simply too hot, and frankly, some things can wait! Come fall, however, we jump into action and start spiffing everything up again. When I arrived this week, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the yard was greener than I expected. The monsoon rains have certainly done their job. Of course, those same storms have also left everything covered in a fine layer of dust, while the spiders seem to have decided that every corner, doorway and window is prime real estate for their webs.

The Mental Shift

And then there is the mental adjustment that comes with moving between our two homes. It takes me a few days to shift from mountain life back to city life. My brain has to remember the storage patterns of this house-Where did I put…?-and where everything is tucked away. After spending weeks at the cabin, I sometimes feel like a visitor in my own home for the first day or two.

But then something happens. The longer I am here, the more I remember what I love about this house. In fact, being away from it for a few weeks makes me appreciate it even more. I walk through the front door and suddenly notice the architecture again-the beautiful trim, the intricate details, the craftsmanship and care that someone put into this house more than a century ago. So many of those details simply don’t exist in new homes today. Someone cared enough to make this house beautiful, not just functional.

And there is something else that is difficult to put into words. I feel as though I am walking into the memories of all the families who lived here before us. I wonder who sat in these rooms, what holidays were celebrated here, what conversations took place around the dining table and how many children ran through these halls. Did I mention this property was once a school? (More on that in another post). We are simply the current caretakers of a home that has already had a very long life.

And somehow, when I walk through that door, it feels like a big, warm hug.

All the maintenance, the things that break, the repairs that always seem to cost more than they should, and the never-ending list of things that need tending to seem to disappear for a while. Because this isn’t just a house. It is our home. It is where our family has made memories, celebrated milestones, gathered around the table, laughed, loved and lived. And all the work that comes with owning an old house, I wouldn’t trade that feeling of coming home for anything.

A Few Odd Occurrences

Whenever I come home after being away for a while, I generally do a little walk-through of the house and yard. You never know if a toilet has been running-or worse, if someone forgot to flush!-but it gives me a chance to take inventory and see how the house has fared in my absence.

This time, I encountered two things that I can either explain away…or perhaps not.

On the sofa table in the living room, I have an art easel where I display a painting and often rotate the art seasonally. This is how I found it when I came home.

Hmmmm. I have absolutely no explanation for this one. Other than our cleaning person, no one has been in the house, and yet somehow my painting had decided to turn itself upside down. Perhaps it was tired of looking at things from my perspective?

Then there was this.

In the dining room, I have two fabulous silver candelabras, each holding six battery-operated candles. After my first day home, I noticed that one of the candles was lit.

Now, here’s the thing: I know the batteries in these candles have been dead for months. I simply haven’t gotten around to replacing them. Yet one candle suddenly illuminates itself-and stayed on.

I have no idea how either of these things happened. But after writing about how this old house feels like a warm hug, I’m beginning to wonder…

Maybe the house was just welcoming me home.🏡❤️

Fraud, Fraud Everywhere

Speaking of things I wish I could explain…

It seems as though we are surrounded by fraudulent activities these days. Within the last month, we opened a Home Depot Pro account because we have some improvements planned for the cabin. We made our first purchase on July 17, and I recently received the first monthly statement.

When I opened it, I was shocked by the balance. I knew there was absolutely no way we had charged that much in one store visit. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that all of the additional charges had been made on August 1 at a Home Depot store in California.

Well, we certainly weren’t in California, and the items purchased weren’t ours.

Fortunately, I was able to call the credit card company, report the fraudulent charges and, thankfully we are not responsible for them. But here’s the part that really bothers me: How did someone get the account number in the first place?

This is a brand-new account. We hadn’t even received our new cards yet, and somehow someone had obtained the account information, walked into a Home Depot in California and used it to make purchases.

How Does This Happen?

Quite honestly, I found the whole thing so discouraging. it seems as though we are bombarded with fraud, scams and abuse on an almost daily basis. Just when you think you’ve taken every precaution, something else happens. I’m grateful that I caught it, and the credit card company isn’t making us responsible for the charges. However, I still find myself wondering how much effort and ingenuity people put into figuring out ways to take advantage of others.

There are moments when I think I would happily get rid of every credit card we own and go back to paying with cash. Then I remember that many businesses don’t accept cash anymore.

So I suppose we’re stuck with the monthly ritual of checking every charge to make sure it really belongs to us. Anyone else feel like fraud is becoming a full-time job to keep up with?

Two Pies, Two Apple Varieties, One Winner

There are lots of apple trees here in the mountains, and right now many of them are absolutely loaded with apples ready to be picked. Our dear friends and neighbors, Peter and Gloria, have several varieties of apple trees and recently blessed us with a box of freshly picked Jonathan apples.

I decided to make an apple pie using my favorite recipe from Serious Eats and, in the interest of keeping things simple, a Pillsbury store-bought pie crust. The result was fabulous. Those Jonathan apples were so flavorful that the pie didn’t even require much sugar. The apples themselves really stole the show.

A few days later, another neighbor generously gave us permission to pick apples from their tree. Naturally, I made the same pie again-but this time with a different variety. I’m not sure what kind of apples they are, but there was definitely a difference in taste.

The first pie, made with Jonathan apples, was by far the most apple-y tasting. And while, of course, you can coat just about anything with cinnamon and sugar and it’s going to be delicious, the apple variety really did make a difference.

I’ve always thought of Granny Smith as the go-to apple for pie, but I’ve never really experimented with different varieties. Now I’m intrigued. If two pies made from the exact same recipe can taste so different simply because of the apples, I think a little apple taste-testing may be in my future. Of course we don’t get the wide variety of apples like one does in New England, for example, but I feel like I’m on the hunt for the perfect apple for pie making.

Do you have a favorite apple variety for making pie? I’d love to know what you use.

It’s Hatch Green Chile Time!

Speaking of things that are in season…it’s Hatch Green Chile time!

Hatch green chiles are grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico, where the combination of sunny days, cool nights and unique growing conditions produces chiles with a distinctive earthy, slightly smoky flavor. They are harvested in late summer, and for those of us who love them, the arrival of those big boxes of fresh green chiles is something of an annual event.

Every year around this time, I love sourcing Hatch green chiles to make my Hatch Green Chile Jam (original recipe by Jess Pryles). This jam is a fabulous combination of sweet, smoky and spicy, and we use it on hamburgers, sandwiches, scrambled eggs-and the list goes on and on. It has become one of those things I make every year because we simply don’t want to be without it.

Of course, there is one small problem in our household: I love the mild version, while Scott loves the spicy version-the hotter, the better!

Last year, I made a batch using a box of chiles clearly labeled mild. Well, those chiles must have had a different definition of mild because that jam was so darn hot I could barely eat it!

I’m guessing that when you’re harvesting and processing thousands of chiles, it’s pretty easy for the varieties to get mixed up by the time they reach the store shelf. This year, the two boxes I bought are labeled mild and medium chiles, but I’m not exactly banking on that. Nonetheless, several jars of jam were made this week, and now we wait.

Will this year’s batch be the perfect sweet-and-mild combination that I love? Or will Scott be the lucky recipient of another batch of fire-breathing chile jam?

Rest In Peace, Dolly

I was so saddened to hear of the passing of Dolly Parton this week. What a tremendous loss-not just to country music, but to all of us. Dolly was one of those rare people who seemed to transcend generations. She was enormously talented, wonderfully funny, unapologetically herself, and perhaps most importantly, genuinely kind.

Her music touched millions, but so did her generosity, her love of children and literacy, and the countless ways she quietly gave back. There was something comforting about Dolly Parton-she seemed like someone you could actually sit down and have a cup of coffee with. The world feels a little less bright without her in it, but what an extraordinary legacy she leaves behind. I suspect we will be singing her songs for generations to come.

A Perfect Summer Supper

With temperatures still soaring here in Phoenix, I’m always on the lookout for meals that are refreshing, simple and don’t require turning on the oven. This week I’m sharing a gazpacho recipe from Most Lovely Things that checks all the boxes.

Cold, fresh and packed with summer vegetables, gazpacho is one of those meals that tastes especially good on a hot summer evening. Use it as a starter or a main course. Add a little crusty bread and perhaps a glass of crisp white wine, and you have an easy summer meal. If you like a chunkier soup, add more chopped vegetables at the end.

Until Next Time…

Well, that’s a wrap for this week! Wishing you all a fantastic weekend filled with a little fun, a little relaxation and whatever makes you happy. My weekend will include a swim with Mr. Duck, picking up 120 pounds of tomatoes (yes, you read that correctly), and a visit to the Titanic exhibit. Hopefully I will also try to squeeze in a healthy dose of R&R. ❤️