Exercising Patience

03 Jun 2010 by admin

In the Seoul American High School Class of 1970’s junior class play, my very favorite line (delivered by me as Annie Sullivan to Helen Keller’s father, aka Scott Prunninger) was:

“Patience is NOT a virtue. Cleanliness is NOT next to godliness.”

Exhilerating … and I was so not acting when I spoke those words. ;-) My folks used to tease me that “Patience” was not my middle name. True dat.

Here’s a peek at the payoff that awaits this week’s exercise in patience:

Currently, the component parts are still melting-hot in small cardboard boxes in the back seat of my car. Turns out the only rush was get to RiteAid to buy them before the sale ended. The good buddy who agreed to help me set it up called to tell me he and his wife had an unexpected opportunity to escape for a week and they were taking it!

Spontaneous vacation = my idea of paradise

Spontaneous vacation + Wrinkle #1 = Good exercise in delayed gratification

Even when Carl is back to help me out, this particular project is one that will require sustained patience.

Why? Because I’m on well water, not city water. Apparently, that means you have to fill up the pool over 3-4 days, not 3-4 hours …. or you risk burning up the well’s pump and what seemed like a larky return to childhood becomes an expensive grownup headache.

Thankfully, my buddy knew to school me on that. Otherwise, that would certainly have shown up on the “Lessons Learned the Hard Way” side of my running list.

The bonus: While they’re in Maine … I have permission to float to my heart’s content in their kiddie pool – which is where I’m headed right this very minute. Cannonball!

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PS — I realize this isn’t the kind of exercise I really need to be focusing on at this stage of my pre-diabetes / diabetes diagnosis. Seriously … I am warming up to it. Why is it I’m in no rush to take care of my health? I am the source of my worse irritation.

Category: Favorite Things, Goofing Off Leave a Comment

20 Questions

13 May 2010 by admin

What do you think this is … besides out of focus?

If I didn’t know better, I might have guessed some mutant creature, washed ashore Fort Morgan Beach!

I don’t know what it’s official name is, but I have about 4 dozen of them hanging in my front yard — like ornaments. Way cool. I’ve lived here for going on 15 years. How could I never have noticed this gem before now?

Until I track down the official name, this evergreen shall hereby be known as “Dreadlock Tree” and nicknamed “Whoopie.” I like that name so much, I don’t anticipate looking very hard for the scientific name.

What’s growing in your front yard?

Category: Appreciating Nature, Miscellaneous, Way Cool Leave a Comment

Yehawww! Signs of Spring

28 Feb 2010 by admin

I was out enjoying a chilly, but sunny day — with most of the snow finally melted. Assessing the damage to the 2 flamingos who oversee the flower garden, I was shocked to see this most encouraging sign of spring:

These volunteers — beauties from who-knows-where — totally made my day! And I saw buds on the jonquils at the entrance of my office last week … so I’m beginning to believe that the worst of winter is truly behind us. It’s been an uncommonly snowy season this year. An anomaly, I hope.

So … have you spotted any signs of spring where you live? Photos appreciated!

Category: Appreciating Nature, From the Garden Leave a Comment

Christmas Memories and Cheshire Smiles

09 Dec 2009 by admin

I’m not doing much in the way of decorating for Christmas this year — unless wrapping paper, boxes, bows and a handful of presents strewn across the living room floor counts.

reindeer_blog My absolute favorite Christmas decoration is a 12-inch polyamer reindeer with an impish cheshire grin.

My mom bought it for herself at a craft show we attended in Richmond many years ago. She fell in love with the reindeer in the craftsman’s booth and decided to buy one for her boss.

She was so charmed by the little guys, I remember urging her to buy one for herself. Now, I don’t know what it was like at your house growing up, but buying a present for yourself at Christmas time was a big no-no in our household.

Truth told, my mom wasn’t one to buy presents for herself at any time of the year. She was always happiest giving things to others.

Of course, I was going to sneak off and buy the reindeer for her, but before I could she surprised both of us and said she just couldn’t leave town without taking one home with her!

My mom loved everything about Christmas. I must admit that I’m not similarly inclined, but I do love the ritual of bringing Reindeer out of hibernation and heading over to the designated dogwood tree in the front of my house to pick off a pair of fresh ”antlers.”

In years past, none of my other animals has expressed the slightest interest in Reindeer. Leave it to Cheshire Charlotte to find him as irresistable as the Hockett women do:

christmas_09_charlotte_reindeer

Fa, la, la, la. Merry Christmas, one and all.

Category: Uncategorized 2 Comments

Signs of the Season

16 Nov 2009 by admin

In writing about botanical legacies the other day, how could I have forgotten this gem:

mom_christmas_cactus_front_2009

I inherited this Christmas cactus from Mom and I’m always amazed that it lived through another year of neglect. It is very cattywampus and lacks even a hint of symmetry, but it’s got spunk!

I do believe it got a jump on the season this year - much like the shameless retailers who started putting up displays before the cobwebs from Halloween could be vacuumed up. Good grief. I am so not ready to go to the attic and drag Christmas stuff down so soon after my birthday. That time-honored tradition is reserved for the Alabama/Auburn game. Set your DVRs for CBS at 2:30 EST on 11/27.

Roll Tide, Roll!

mom_christmas_cactus_topview_2009

Category: Family Heritage, Favorite Things One Comment

Botanical Legacies

10 Nov 2009 by admin

Every spring, I teach a workshop called “Reminiscing Down the Garden Path.” But now that the leaves in Central VA are waning, I’m reminded that with every change of season certain memories are reawakened and deeply rooted associations are stirred.

Maybe it’s a flower, shrub or particular tree that evokes a memory of a person or event. Your botanical legacy might involve a plant cutting or seeds passed down from generation to generation. Or perhaps you can recall the sights and sounds of a great Aunt’s backyard in July – complete with fireflies, croaking tree frogs and a pond full of goldfish and lily pads.

I have a couple of botanical legacies that take center stage in November. One is my grandmother’s favorite tree – a Japanese maple that guards the front door. She adored that tree, especially in the fall when it positively explodes into a vertical streak of fire.

fall_front_door_maple_blog

And in November, the temps dip close to freezing and it’s time to bring in the ancient spider plant my brother had in law school 100 years ago. After he graduated, my mother nurtured it for decades and I inherited it in 2001. Technically, I’m off the hook re: my responsibility to keep the plant (and its place in our family history) alive. A couple years ago, I rooted some offspring and smuggled them into San Francisco, officially passing the botanical baton back into my brother’s hand.

So it surprises me that I can’t seem to let the old girl die. This year – no different. Over the weekend, I fertilized and hauled the huge pot back into my oh-so-tiny bathroom to winter. I should take its photo … tomorrow.

I’m always curious to learn what nature-based memories others have from their childhood and adolescence? Simply allowing yourself to reflect on the question often leads to surprising recall. I have others, but these are the two that signify autumn for me. Sweet.

Category: Appreciating Nature, Family Heritage Leave a Comment

Sights of Autumn

24 Oct 2009 by admin

It’s days like today that I wish I still lived in Tuscaloosa and could be walking with the hordes into Denny Stadium. Well, actually today they’re in Tennessee .. but you get my drift. Alabama has a nice leaf turning, but it’s not as gorgeous as Virginia in the autumn.

When I walk out my back door, I am greeted by this crepe myrtle. Nice that it’s putting on such a lovely show since it didn’t bloom a wit all summer.

fall_09_crepe

My neighbor has a stunning and huge tree in his front yard that always serves as nature’s announcement that fall is officially here.

fall_09_ottotree4

That tree is like a time lapse photo, going through the stages at hyper-speed. I hate to go out of town for even a weekend when that tree starts turning because I know by the time I get back, all the leaves will be on the ground. I have the same species and size tree in my front yard, but it’s not precocious. In fact, 95% of its leaves are still green as grass.

Here’s another sight that I’d love to see. My almost daughter-in-law sent me this photo and it cracks me up:

Category: Appreciating Nature, Backyard Beauty 3 Comments

Christian, The Lion-Hearted

05 Oct 2009 by admin

My friend, Jo Blount, posted a treasure on Facebook yesterday. Apparently it is excerpted from The View. I don’t watch TV during the day and the video may have made the rounds before now, but it was new to me.

Astonishing. Treat yourself to a 3 minute break and watch this precious story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGKWoJi5qM

Watching it, I couldn’t help but think of the Aesop’s fable, Androcles and the Lion.

Thanks, M.Jo! Loved it.

Category: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Abby Meets Luna Blusha

23 Jul 2009 by Jody

Looking at this photo, you could easily believe I’d slipped off to Maui for Christmas in July …

hibiscus_abby_blog

But eventually you’d notice Abby’s white mug to the left in the photo and you’d quickly figure out we’re just hanging out in the backyard.

Isn’t this flower a stunner?!!! Abby’s head next to the blossom gives you a sense of the scale. The flower is the size of a dinner plate and the color pallet matches the one Jay (at 5 years old) requested that our cute Fairhope house be painted – a vibrant shade of pink!

This perennial’s common name is Luna Blusha. (The scientific name: Hibiscus moscheuto.) I first saw these at the library last summer and fell in love with them. I do hope they thrive in Central Virginia, because for the foreseeable future, Maui is destined to be a mere pigment of my imagination.

Here’s the other one that’s blooming. This one is exactly the color Jay wanted for the house exterior. Bless his heart.

hibiscus_pink_2_blooms_email

So, what’s growing in your garden this summer?

Category: Appreciating Nature, Breathtaking, Dogs Leave a Comment

Jenni's Blackberry Upside Down Cake Recipe

21 Jul 2009 by Jody

Here’s my blackberry picking buddy’s recipe for Blackberry Upside-Down Cake.

It won’t last 3 days … not because it goes bad, but because it’s so unbelievably irresistable! blackberry_upside_down_cake_fixed

2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (12 ounces)
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Line bottom of a buttered 8- by 2-inch round cake pan with 2 rounds of parchment paper, then butter parchment. Dust pan with some flour, knocking out excess.
Arrange blackberries in 1 layer in cake pan. Sprinkle berries with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and shake pan to help distribute sugar.
Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add egg and vanilla and mix at low speed until just incorporated. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk in 3 batches, mixing at low speed until just incorporated.
Spoon batter evenly over berries, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven until top is golden and a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert a large plate over pan and, using pot holders to hold plate and pan together tightly, flip cake onto plate. Peel off parchment and serve cake with ice cream, frozen yogurt or Cool Whip.

Category: Recipes Leave a Comment