Snow!

A few days before Christmas, I watched one of my favorite movies, "White Christmas", starring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. The best song in the movie is "Snow", which is repeated many times throughout the show.

Yesterday, we had a snowstorm that kept many of us at home in the morning--it was a quick snowfall that dumped about five inches of snow in just a few hours, slowing traffic and disrupting this quiet week between Christmas and New Year. It brought to mind the song lyrics which had been running through my head all week.

"Snow--It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow

Snow--I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow

Snow--I long to clear a path and lift a spade of snow

Snow!

Oh, to see a great big man entirely made of snow

Where it's snowing

All winter through

That's where I want to be

Snowball throwing

That's what I'll do."

The Dark Days of Winter

The darker days of Winter urge us to return to our roots like the perennials in our gardens, to find time amid the holiday commotion for our creative practice and quiet pleasures of reading and contemplation. I've been enjoying reading my seed catalogs and garden books to prepare myself for the Spring gardening season.

When change or difficult times threaten to divert us from our plans, it takes discipline to keep our dreams on course. This discipline is necessary to cultivate the gardens within and around us.

As this final month of the calendar year leads us to a new annual cycle, the season of winter leads inevitably to another spring. The darkness of winter affirms the cycle of the renewal of life in all its many wonders and rewards.

Holiday Baking

Family traditions come in many forms--one of my favorite holiday activities involves baking fruitcake, cookies and candy. Since I was 8 years old, I have been cooking and baking for my family. My first forays into the kitchen took most of a Saturday to clean up, but by age 10, I was making desserts and coffee for my parent's guests for after-church social events at our home. By 12 years of age, I was making most of the dinners and learning to coordinate the timing of each dish so the meal would all come together at the scheduled time.

After Thanksgiving each year, I buy all of the fruit and nuts and other ingredients needed to make fruitcake, sugar cookies and fudge. I often get together with girlfriends for a small cookie exchange, and we share a dozen or so of what we have made. By Christmas, most of us usually have a dozen of four or five types of homemade items to share for our holiday dinner.

This year, I sent away to Vermont for two fruitcake mixes. A large box arrived a few weeks ago with boxes of cake mix, and packages of candied fruit and candied cherries. I had my Mom over, and we mixed all of the ingredients together and baked 8 fruitcakes that day. They had a wonderful maple flavor, and they were unlike any fruitcake we have had in the past.

The tray of dessert offerings after Christmas dinner went well with Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee, and we lingered over our treats late in the day as we sat in front of the Christmas tree, glad that all of the elements of our cooking and baking came together in a perfect ending.

A Country Christmas

It was a lovely Christmas Day today, one I will remember for a very long time. The weather was mild and we had some sunshine today, which illuminated everything after weeks of rain. I was up early, making breakfast for my household and guests, and the waffles tasted great--it gave me strength to prepare the turkey and ham for the hours of baking in the oven.

I had some time to get outside in the yard and survey my garden space, my head filled with visions of what my Spring garden will be like this year. I know Winter has just begun, but it's always Spring in my heart.

The guests started arriving around noon, and we had many fine hours of getting caught up with everyone. The food and fellowship made the time memorable, and there was a lot of laughter as we shared stories and played games. My granddaughter wore her Santa apron, and we even got a photo of the three generations of women in our family--the three of us spanned ages from 5 years to 82 years!

We got to meet my son's new girlfriend, and they look like they are in love--I hope for the best for both of them. It's nice to see him looking happy again.

Pumpkin pie and fruitcake and beautiful cookies adorned the tables, and wonderful Starbucks Christmas blend coffee added the final touch to the tastes on our palate today. The gifts were generous and well-received, and everyone seemed happy. That's all one can expect--you take a chance in giving gifts, but if they are given from the heart, you can't go wrong.

It was a lovely country Christmas, and I enjoyed every moment of the day.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

It was a lovely day today, with the anticipation building up to Christmas Day, and a list of many tasks to complete. I was up early (for a day off), and worked in the morning to get the house cleaned and the tables set for the big Christmas dinner. There were fresh cranberries to prepare for an accompaniment to the turkey, and also a large red and green jello salad (an old family tradition started by my aunt) to make in stages throughout the day. There were tablecloths to iron, place cards to make, and a list to check two or three times to ensure all ingredients for the sweet potato casserole and the green bean casserole were all there.

My mom is bringing the pumpkin pies, and we'll have plates of beautiful home-made cookies to munch on all afternoon. We somehow always make room for dessert even after a large turkey and ham dinner with all the trimmings!

We finally finished all of the Christmasn Eve tasks, and we settled in early in the evening to watch "It's a Wonderful Life", our favorite Christmas movie. Now, as I write this, our guests are tucked into the guest room (known by my granddaughter Kaila as 'the white room'), and all is very quiet. Even the dog Juno is settled in for the night. I'm sipping my Tazo Calm tea, thinking about the fun we will have tomorrow. Christmas is almost here!

Beautiful Christmas Fabrics

I have a favorite home store called "Cranberry Cottage" in Country Village in Bothell that I visit often. They have built small rooms within their retail space, and every room has a theme--one room is white and pink, and features all kinds of baby clothes, blankets and furniture. Other rooms have a French Country ambience, with lovely linens and pictures of Francais chickens in barnyards. Other rooms feature crystal and chandeliers and lace tablecloths, modern upholstered furniture, and beautiful things of every color and texture.

About a month ago, Alex and I found a small square tablecloth that I imagined would look good on my French Country dining room table. I bought it, brought it home, and it was my first Christmas decoration of the season. It's beautiful, and sets off my white china from France.

This lovely tablecloth will be beautiful Christmas day as we enjoy our holiday feast around the table with our family.

A Starbucks Birdhouse

Last weekend, I shared in a Christmas celebration with my uncle in Silverdale. His gift to me this year was very unique!

He and my aunt loved to watch birds, and over the years, they've provided me with some wonderful birdhouses. They hang from my apple tree near the backyard deck, and it's fun to sit in the dining room and watch the birds partake in their daily meals.

This year, the birdhouse had a twist to it--it had the Starbucks logo on the front of the little house in two places! I imagine it will be not only a place for the birds to congregate and eat, but perhaps it will be a place for some type of bird beverage (after all, it IS a Starbucks!). Perhaps an apple nectar tea, or a fuschia Vivanno? Or maybe a clover espresso or a green mint tea?

I'll watch and learn about the birds' habits, and see if they enjoy their elegant new bird coffeehouse. Perhaps I can turn up the stereo a bit in the summertime to send a little soft jazz their way to complete their 'total' Starbucks experience!

Birthday Dinner at the Preservation Kitchen

I always get to go out to dinner at the restaurant of my choice on my birthday, and being born so close to Christmas has its benefits. Everyone is in a festive mood, and dinners are often celebratory occasions around the holidays--so I join the crowds searching for fun, frivolity, and memorable meals with friends and families.

Last night, I started with the cheese tray, featuring three cheeses from local cheesemakers--a brie-like creamy goat cheese, a white cheddar, and a smooth cow's milk cheese similar in texture to Havarti. Served with English water biscuits, this was a great way to start the meal. The tray was garnished with hazelnuts drizzled with local honey.

Salad was roasted leek and butternut squash with a butter sauce and garnished with a white creamy cheese string.

Dinner (finally!) was roasted chicken on a bed of spinach and local mushroom slices, with a sauce of Cabernet reduction. It was garnished with fresh herbs from the chef's greenhouse.

Wine was a Lenore Syrah 2007 from Columbia Winery, and it had a lovely burgundy color, blueberry and plum elements, a spicy bouquet, and a smooth to medium finish.

Birthdays are always memorable occasions, but a memorable meal makes it perfection.

The Chicken Brigade

One of the students I met on my Oregon State University Master Gardener course is a high-school teacher who teaches gardening, composting and a host of other life skills. His students are planning their garden for the Spring, and it's exciting to hear about the progess they are making.

This educator's newest foray into farming involves an internship at a local farm near San Diego, CA. His first assignment involves work in "The Chicken Brigade", and I can't wait to hear about this newest adventure. Who ever knew the directions that Master Gardening could lead us?

Not to be left out of the 'chicken' adventure, I recently spent an hour or so at a local nursery in my town called Flower World. There are 15 acres of plants, water features, and chickens and goats. If I can't have a chicken of my own right now, I'll live my life vicariously through others! There were about a dozen chickens at Flower World a couple of weeks ago, and they seemed very happy, walking around the lovely acreage, scratching for food and greeting visitors as they explored the grounds.

Maybe sometime in the future I'll have a 'chicken' adventure, too!

Juno the Christmas Dog

Juno got a new jester's collar this year for Christmas--it's red and green with tiny bells hung from each pointed piece of fabric. She didn't like the noise of the bells at first, but now she wears it proudly, knowing that there are presents for her under the tree that are edible (she loves 'pupcakes' from her favorite doggie deli, "Knicknack Paddywack"). We have plenty of treats for her this Christmas, a reward for the 15 pounds she lost this year on her low-fat diet!

Merry Christmas, Juno!

Sunday Trip to Silverdale, WA

This year, my uncle was not able to attend Christmas at our house, so I decided to take Christmas to him! He lives in a wonderful facility in Silverdale that overlooks the inlet from Puget Sound--there is a view of the water from every window in his apartment. Christmas has been difficult for him the last two years since my aunt passed away, so this year, I tried to think of a way to celebrate that would make him happy.

The ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston was so much fun, and the weather last Sunday was sunny and clear blue skies, an unusual forecast for this time of year. I picked my uncle up and took him to the restaurant of his choice, and we got caught up on all of his news and mine. We went back to his place and exchanged gifts, which helped me to get into the Christmas spirit a little early!

On the trip home, the sun was slowly setting into evening, and the full moon dominated the late afternoon sky. The ferry ride back was just as much fun as the one earlier in the day, and I returned home refreshed and glad that I had made the trip. Only four more days until Christmas!

Christmas Shopping with Alex

Yesterday, I picked up Alex at noon, and after a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed to the mall. Our one and only goal was to finish all of her Christmas shopping for her family. She had done a great job of saving her money and buying almost half of the gifts on 'the list', so our work didn't look too daunting as we started out.

We stopped at Ruby's Diner to have lunch and gather our strength before we tackled the holiday crush at the mall. Alex had a wonderful milkshake with her fish and chips, and now fortified, we headed to the stores.

Several hours later, we were finished! We celebrated with ice cream at Baskins Robbins, and after I dropped her off at home, I took her gifts with me to wrap and deliver to her family next Saturday morning. Times with Alex are so much fun!

Morning Mocha

I was on vacation all last week, and I started out my week with a mocha at the Maltby Cafe. Presentation is everything--this was almost too beautiful to drink, but I took a deep breath and dove in. Ahhhhhh! Life is good.

Christmas Baking--Stollen

This weekend, we made the German bread called stollen. It's been a part of my family tradition for years, and I start to buy the fruit mix and the pecans right after Halloween so we can be ready for our 'trial' batch of the tasty sweet bread. After the initial loaves are baked, we taste-test them to ensure high quality, good taste, and light texture. Having a new oven has certainly helped this year, and the first two loaves turned out beautifully.

My favorite part is making the white icing after the bread has cooled. I decorated the top of the bread with cherries and made tiny holly leaves and berries out of the candied fruit. The first batch has passed inspection!

Master Gardener Certification in Home Horticulture

After four months of lectures, study and homework, I took my six-hour final exam last Saturday and passed my Master Gardener test! This course of study was a goal of mine for many years, and last summer, I finally found a course that was relevant to the area in which I live, and which was manageable with my busy schedule.

The course to earn certification as a Master Gardener in Home Horticulture was offered by Oregon State University, and taught by Dr. Gail Langelotto, who heads up the entire Master Gardener program for the State of Oregon. Her Ph. D. is in Entomology, and the course was well-taught and well organized, with lectures by Dr. Langelotto and three of her associates from OSU.

We covered many subjects in the four months, including sustainable landscaping, pest control, composting, and vegetable gardening. We analyzed our soil's pH and % of organic matter (OM), and learned how to select the appropriate native plants for the areas in which we live. The most important part of the course for me was learning how to diagnose plant pests and diseases, and to know the appropriate ways to control them, using chemical means as only a last resort.

I've aleady planned my spring garden, and can't wait to order my seeds and plants for the yard and garden. I learned so much in the course, and it will take me many years to implement all of them, but I know I'll enjoy the adventure of making my property and garden appropriately landscaped and maintained.

Dinner with Kaila

Tonight I had the privilege of having dinner with my granddaughter Kaila at Boston's restaurant in Mill Creek. I hadn't seen her for a few weeks, and she was full of stories about kindergarten and her dog, Nala, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's hard to remember when our lives consisted of such a wide and varied group of subjects!

She always orders spaghetti, and as you can see from the picture, she wanted to see how long the pasta strands were once you held them up. After dinner, we discussed our cake and cookie baking appointment next week, and shared our Christmas lists. It will be fun being together on Christmas Day, where she helps me with the meal and shares her joy about everything with the family. She's the granddaughter I always dreamed of.

Lunch at Preservation Kitchen

Early in the week, I finally had the chance to have lunch with my neighbor Kelly. We live across the gravel road from each other, and have been neighbors for about five years now. Our families know each other well, and often throughout the year, we come over to each others' house for dinner or conversation on the porch or iced tea in the gazebo. We visit over the picket fence and share anecdotes about our families and dogs. They're wonderful neighbors.

Kelly and I decided last month that we would actually go to a restaurant, sit down over our meal, and have a real conversation (no kids, dogs, distractions). So, off we went early in the week to my favorite restaurant, Preservation Kitchen. Kelly had never been there before, so I was happy to share the experience with her.

We arrived around noon, and were seated in the beautiful old bungalow in front of a great fire in the hearth. We had a lunch of Cream of Smoked Chicken Soup and chicken sandwiches on artisan bread with basil, cheese and tomatoes. We had time to get caught up on family news and learn a little more about each other. I learned more about the church that Kelly and her husband John are starting next month in our community, and all of the challenges involved with an effort of this magnitude. We left the restaurant that day feeling like we knew each other a little better, and Kelly was already talking about coming back with her family and church members for dinner at the Preservation Kitchen. After all, you've got to share a great place like this restaurant with everyone!

Christmas Mice

Years ago, I began collecting small Christmas mice that I found at holiday bazaars and in gift shops. This year, Starbucks featured a small stuffed mouse with the lofty name of Huxley. He was so engaging that I bought two of him, and he/they have settled on the ledge of the third floor of the house. He joins six other mice who have lived here with me for some time, so I'm sure they are all getting to know each other as they congregate around a couple of old antique doll chairs that have been in the family for three generations.

They are my symbols of the holiday season, with their smiling faces and festive costumes. I smile every time I pass by, and I often imagine one of them smiles back at me. It sounds like something a Christmas mouse would do!

A Rainbow After the Storm

Yesterday, we had a violent rainstorm with thunder and lightning, and a short power outage in my area. It was cold and damp, and after I lit every candle I had in the house, I started a fire in the woodstove. Pretty soon, Juno the dog and I were warm and toasty in the living room, enjoying the heat and the light from the fire. What a great time to just sit back and relax and experience the simple life for a few hours!

Flower World in Winter

Today, during my week of vacation, I went to Flower World in Maltby to dream of my Spring garden. Even for a rather cool and wet day, Flower World looked beckoning as I pulled into one of the many small parking areas. I walked through the long gravel walkways lined with red-caned shrubs, which always create such a band of color in the dull hues of early winter. The ducks and geese covered the grassy areas, and a dozen or so chickens ran to greet me. What an array of chickens there were--I counted at least 8 different varieties, with a male and female peacock thrown in for good measure!

The pond looked serene, and I could hear the water falling from the water wheel up on the incline toward the main road into the area. No one was around except me, and it was a very soothing few moments as I walked the gravel path back to my car. It was a perfect break for me today, and I came over to this place to find a small time of quiet before I started on the next errands that would fill up the rest of my day.

Only three months until Spring!

The History of the Christmas Wreath

The wreath has an important place in the history of Christmas. According to historians, wreaths originated in the pre-Christian era. It is said that in Eastern Europe, people used to illuminate wreaths made of evergreen leaves in winter, with the belief that it would bring spring and sunshine. Since its origin, the Christmas wreath has gone through a multitude of changes, but has retained its significance in symbolizing the festive spirit of the Christmas and Advent season.

Each year, I head over to Flower World to get a handmade wreath. This year, they had a large and lovely selection of boughs and holly and berries. They even have a class you can attend if you wish to make a custom wreath for your home! (maybe next year...)

I found two small wreaths for my picket fence entry to my gravel driveway, and one large wreath for my front door. It looks lovely, and invites everyone who walks up the front stairs into a world of Christmas here in Maltby, where the Slow Life is alive and well, and ready to celebrate the season.

Christmas Concert at Benaroya Hall

Last Monday evening, I attended Seattle Pacific University's "Sounds of the Seasons" concert, an annual event for the last 11 years. As a former music major at SPU, I have to admit that I have never attended this event. I thought that this has to be the year I treat myself to this wonderful concert.

We got dressed up, and drove downtown to the concert hall with the best acoustics in Seattle. The concert was a great mix of choral and orchestral pieces, along with readings and thoughts about the Christmas season. Having performed in these annual events during my four years at SPU, this concert really took me back to those years of academic study and great discipline that all music majors had to have--practicing four hours a day, taking a full course load, and studying all the time.

Back in the 60's and 70's, we performed Handel's Messiah at the Seattle Opera House every year. It was a huge production, with our choirs and orchestras, and soloists flying in from all over the country to sing the four parts of the vocal portions of this great work.

It was a magical evening, just being able to sit back and enjoy the music and take in the beautiful hall. I'm ready for Christmas already!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

This week, I finally got my Christmas tree up, with strings of white lights, and my collection of vintage Shiny Brite decorations. Over the last few years, I've collected over 200 of them, and they dress up the tree beautifully. Each ornament has a story, and it recalls my childhood years, when my whole family would set aside one whole day to get a tree, decorate it in front of a roaring fire, and listen to Christmas music. We were always eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate, too. Memories like these never fade.

My tree looks ready to be the focal point of the upcoming season, which also includes a cookie-baking marathon, a Christmas tea for the women in my neighborhood, and caroling from house to house on Christmas Eve. The fun is just beginning!

Thanksgiving Dinner

With all of the snow and cold weather this year, we had a very small and relaxing Thanksgiving dinner. Our children could not get to our house due to the road conditions, so we had a very beautiful dinner at Preservation Kitchen, our current favorite dining establishment. Since we both had to work the next day, this choice to not cook a large dinner at home was a wonderful solution.

Preservation Kitchen is situated in a beautiful old Craftsman Bungalow dating from the early 20th century. It is furnished in lovely, dark wood, and the place surprises you with its vibrant and earthy artwork on the walls, depicting modern-day meal preparations in a restaurant and market scenes filled with colorful fruits, vegetables and wine.

The traditional Thanksgiving dinner was the best one I'd ever had (even better than my own cooking!), and we enjoyed our meal. We had pumpkin hummus and pita bread for an appetizer, and spinach salads and pumpkin squash soup, both decorated with toasted pumpkin seeds. We shared a pumpkin bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream for a dessert before we went home and sampled a freshly-baked apple pie, featuring the last of our autumn crop of semi-dwarf

Liberty apples.

It was a good day to recount our blessings, and to share with those around us what we were most thankful for this year.

Snow Angel

In the corner of my front yard, there is a lovely concrete bench that my mother bought me as a gift when I graduated from college with my bachelor's degree in 2004. It is nestled under an Asian Pear tree, and in the summer, the tree is happy to share a flower bed with my many hostas.

At a swap meet in Monroe a couple of years ago, I found this plaster angel and knew that it was the perfect finish to my garden bench. Also, as a graduate of Seattle Pacific University, we participate in a custom of "Ivy Cutting", where each of us receives a cutting from the ivy adorning many of the college buildings. We see the symbolism of being cut from the main vine that has nurtured us for many years in our intellectual and spiritual pursuits, and we are instructed to go forth and plant our own 'vine' in the world. It's a lovely moment as we receive the small, green sprig, and I went home and planted it in my front yard the day I received it at my Baccalaureate.

Today, my angel still life looked lovely brushed with snow. It reminded me to persevere in all seasons of life, knowing that there is a congregation of friends and family that make up the main vine, and that I am inextricably tied to something greater than myself.

First Snowfall--November 22

Today, the weatherman delivered on his promise of snow--and it turned out to be much more than expected. I love it when the most sophisticated computers and meterologists cannot tell what Mother Nature has in store for us.

I didn't make it to work today (but not for lack of trying!), so I settled back, worked from home, and took long walks with my Black Lab/Great Pyrenees dog Juno. She loves the cold weather--she licks the snow, runs around crazily, and throws herself into the white powder. Once inside the house again, she stands by the door, begging to go out one more time. The mountain snow is in her doggie genes.

I saw a perfect snowflake caught in a spider web this afternoon, and as I walked down the country road, I took in all the white beauty and the stark, sparkling bare trees, unadored for weeks until the were wrapped in layers of white today. Only three days until Thanksgiving!

The Great Pumpkin Comes to Maltby

My neighbor Kelly has a friend who grows gigantic pumpkins, and this year, she gave Kelly and her family two very large pumpkins. Kelly said she was reluctant to actually give up the pumpkins (they were her 'babies'), but Kelly assured her that she would take good care of them.

The largest pumpkin resides out near Paradise Lake Road in a lovely flower bed that greets us each time we enter our neighborhood. The other pumpkin is in front of Kelly's house. Our neighborhood has looked very festive this year from late September, and the pumpkins will live on until we start decorating for Christmas.

Looking for Fluffy

Last weekend, Alex and I headed to Country Village in Bothell to check on our favorite chicken, Fluffy. Last year around this time, we ran into Fluffy as he was patrolling the grounds of the shopping center. As we came around the corner, we startled him to such an extent that he flew up into the air and landed in a large old Douglas Fir tree! (neither Alex nor I even knew that chickens could fly that far and high!). Anyway, we hung around the area for about an hour, trying to coax him down from the top of the tree, to no avail.

On a regular basis, we stop by on Sunday afternoons to check in on Fluffy. He looks as good as ever, none the worse for wear after his Big Adventure of 2009. Last Sunday, however, we scoured the grounds trying to find him. We checked all of his usual haunts, such as under the shrubs next to the Country Kitchen, and under the boardwalk in the middle of the square. NO Fluffy. However, we did run into two new characters (picture attached), and we were fascinated with the larger of these two friends.

He is a beautiful black-feathered fowl with large, white plumage on his head. In fact, the feathers are so wild that it gives this otherwise dignified-looking chicken a clownish appearance! He looked so funny that we just laughed at him. He seemed to like the attention, and we were able to get close enough to take this picture. His other little chicken friend stayed close by him, and they made a cute pair.

Alas, we had to leave Country Village that day without a glimpse of Fluffy, but we'll be back, and I know he'll be there waiting for us.

A Saturday Walkabout

Often, after a busy week, I like to sleep late on a Saturday morning (8 a.m.), have a leisurely breakfast and savor a cup of Starbucks Pike Place Blend, and then head on out for an adventure. After the regimented pace of a work week, it's nice to get in my car and not know exactly where I am going or what I am going to do.

I headed up through Maltby into downtown historic Snohomish. It was fun to walk the length of the town several times today, stopping in at all of my favorite stores (Joyworks, The Cinnamon Stick, and The Speckled Hen). Even though the day was overcast, the leaves on the trees were beautiful, and I always love the view of the Snohomish River from town.

There were so many vintage Christmas items in the antique stores, and I'm old enough now to see almost everything we had in our house when I was growing up now residing in the antique malls! I have been collecting Shiny Brite Christmas decorations for several years now, and I found two boxes of ornaments in pristine condition today. They will look beautiful with the 200+ ornaments I already have.

I had lunch in town, stopped by the jewelry store to have my ring cleaned, and then headed home. It was a perfect day, and I feel rested and relaxed, and grateful that I live in a country town that so suits my tastes. I do love the Slow Life!

Halloween Night

We had the most perfect weather for Halloween night last Sunday--I can't remember a time in recent years where the day was warm and sunny and dry, and the kids could wear their costumes without covering them up with warm winter coats.

This year, Kaila left the Princesses behind and ventured into old, familiar territory--classic Disney characters! I was rather surprised at this turn of events, but when she showed up Sunday evening as Minnie Mouse, I was captivated. She was so excited about her upcoming evening.

We met at Mill Creek Centre, a new mini-mall in Mill Creek. From 5-7 p.m. every Halloween, the merchants close for retail business and then open up again for the trick or treaters. The candy and treats are first-class, and the turnout from the community is amazing.

After the candy-gathering, we met at La Palmera for dinner and got caught up on each other's lives. It was a great evening!

Susan's Corn Stalks

This year, I made a tactical error in my garden planting scheme. I planted my corn behind beans I thought were bush beans, which usually have a low profile and don't grow upward. These beans, however, grew long and tall, and obscured my corn plants.

As I was clearing out my raised beds last weekend in preparation for soil replenishment, I cut my small corn and bound two bunches together with twine. I lashed them to my white picket fence out by Paradise Lake Road, and now they stand as Fall decorations to the entrance of our gravel driveway. I'm glad I found a use for them, even if they didn't bear any corn this year.

Next year, I've already changed location for the corn, and I anticipate that the full sun I've provided for them in my garden software plan for 2011 will be a huge improvement.

Hayride at Bob's Corn

Here's a picture of the hayride at Bob's Corn. Alex and I love the bumpy ride out to the corn and pumpkin fields, and the day was bright, sunny, and beautiful.

Bob's Corn Maze--An Autumn Tradition

For the past three years, we've made a trip to Bob's Corn Maze and Country Store a family tradition. Bob's Corn is a lovely 100+ acre farm in Snohomish, just a couple of miles from where we live. Bob has inherited the farm, and is the third generation to work the land and raise cattle there. Bob's five daughters and their families actively participate in the Fall activities of the farm, and help with the hayrides, pumpkin patch, the corn maze itself, and man the country store.

A couple of weekends ago, Alex and I headed to Bob's Corn after lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant. We had been to Bob's in mid-September, but there were very few people there, and summer was still too fresh in our minds for us to really get into the spirit of Fall. However, when we arrived at Bob'sthis time, the place was packed with families who had arrived to take in all the activities that we had planned for the day.

We bought our tickets and got in line for the hayride that would take us to the corn maze. It's always so much fun to jump on a bale of hay on a large trailer attached to a gigantic tractor, whose wheels are taller than both Alex and me! In just a few minutes, we arrived at the maze, and maps in hand, popped through the corn under a sign that said, "Enter".

Two hours later, we came out the 'Exit'! This was the most intricate and difficult maze we had encountered in the three years we have come here. However, we didn't cheat and pop out of the corn mid-way to gauge our location and our progress--Alex wouldn't allow it! Around and around we went, and finally, most likely by accident, we finished the maze!

After the maze, we picked out a couple of pumpkins and hopped back on the hayride, taking us back to our car. We were very tired, but also very proud of ourselves for making it through the maze and picking out some of the best-looking pumpkins I've seen in a while. We're ready for next year now. Bring it on!

Falling Leaves

In past years, I remember the leaves falling from the maple trees and into our yard as a very scheduled and orderly process--leaves would fall, and on the weekend, we'd go and rake them up and put them in the compost. The yard usually looked fairly tidy, and after a couple of months (at least by Thanksgiving), the trees were bare and the leaves were gone from the yard.

However, this year, all-out chaos reigns in our yard! We've had a lot of rain and wind, and in the span of a couple of weeks, almost ALL of the leaves have fallen from the trees and into the yard. When I surveyed the damage last evening, I really didn't know where to start. The leaves are so deep that I can no longer see the lawn.

Tomorrow, the first order of the day is to get the leaf blower out and start fighting back the sea of leaves that has invaded my Maltby yard. I'll make cinnamon rolls and hot cider to get us through the task, and we'll have a chance to once again savor the Slow Life as we experience Fall in all its glory, up close and personal.

It's Pumpkin Time!

Saturday, the family gathered at our house for a 'comfort food' lunch of homemade tacos and Spanish Rice, followed by shortbread cookies and ice cream. We gathered up our mud boots and piled into the car, heading for Craven Farm in Snohomish. It's a family-owned farm between Snohomish and Monroe, far out into the country. There is a corn maze, and a number of outbuildings that house a market of farm produce and canned goods, face painting, historical data about the area, and a play area for children. The large pumpkin patches are the main attraction, and once you arrive at the farm and park your car, you head toward the large wheelbarrow corral and choose one big enough to hold the pumpkins you plan to pick out in the fields.

My granddaughter Kaila was overwhelmed by all of the people and sights and sounds of our lovely Fall day--blue skies, sun and temperatues in the 60's. She jumped in the wagon provided for us, and we all headed out into the pumpkin patches. There was a patch with small pumpkins, and further away, a patch with very large pumpkins.

It was so hard to choose! We stayed in the small patch first, and Kaila checked all of the pumpkins for the right color and shape (even at 5, she is a discerning customer of all things pumpkin!). By the time we headed for the large pumpkins, we had four small ones in the wagon.

I needed help with the two large pumpkins I chose for the front yard, but they were worth the effort. They look so nice in front of the flower beds in the front yard, one on each side of my small statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

It was a wonderful day full of fun, accomplishment, and family memories.

Autumnal Tulips

I love it when I've given up all hope of beautiful, colorful flowers, only to find that my local supermarket just got in fresh autumn-colored tulips! It's been a definite bright spot in an otherwise colorless week, and I'm going to soak in their lovely contours and blazing color tonight and dream of springtimes yet to come.

A Tea Party for Big Sisters

Four years ago, I joined the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Snohomish County organization. Shortly after joining, I was paired up with my Little Sister Alex. Over the years, I have seen her go from a perky 8-year-old to a smart and sophisticated 12-year-old. We've had wonderful times together, and we look forward to our future adventures.

Last week, Alex and her sister and grandmother created a special day for me. It was a Sunday Tea, complete with wide-brimmed hats from the turn of the 19th century, and beautiful china and crystal and teapots. I was ushered into a dining room filled with lovely sandwiches and fruit and lemon curd and petit fours and cake. We poured exotic teas, told stories, and spent the afternoon enjoying each others' company. I can't recall a time in recent years of such an outpouring of love and appreciation, and I'll never forget all of the time they spent to create such a lovely experience.

Ristorante Paradiso

Chef-Owner Fabrizio Loi is from the village of Triei on the island of Sardinia, Italy. In 1978, Fabrizio was accepted to Italy’s national culinary college, the Instituto Professionale Alberghiero, where he completed an intensive three year certification program in all aspects of restaurant management and operations, graduating with honors in 1980. Here in America, he has created his special versions of traditional Italian recipes.

Ristorante Paradiso has a wonderful quaint setting with the artist's touch of Chef Fabrizio’s finest gourmet delights. It's a place we haven't visited for dinner for years (I recall our son's 21st birthday there).

The meal began with homemade biscuits hot from the oven, followed by wild spring greens with homemade viniagrette dressing. The special of the evening was spinach ravioli filled with shrimp and parmesan cheese, with fresh asparagus atop a sweet cream sauce that was flavored by the asparagus. It was wonderful!

Dessert was a lemon gelato topped with creme fraiche and strawberry drizzle.

We'll be going back there for dinner soon.

Gladiolus--The Finished Product

I planted my gladiolus bulbs months ago, and it's been interesting watching them grow from bulbs into large green blades, and then, finally, stunning tall flowers. This was my first attempt with glads, and I'm so glad I finally got around to planting them this season.

After the first frost, I will dig them up and store them in the garage over the winter. I can plant them in the spring after all danger of frost is over. I'll be able to enjoy them all over again next year.

Late Summer Crops from the Garden

It's been raining for weeks now here in the Pacific Northwest, and it finally stopped long enough this morning for me to venture out into the yard and garden. I turned over my compost pile and then headed to the garden, seeing how beautiful everything was after the rains. Even though it's been wet, it's been warm and the plants have responded to this combination of conditions. Everything is making its one last effort for growth and maturity before the first frost arrives. Since the autumnal equinox is only four days away, the weather could change very quickly in the next few weeks.

There was some beautiful chard in the garden, and I picked my first bunch of green beans. There were two very small yellow tomatoes that were ready for picking, and I'll probably just eat them as is and not bother with a salad.

As I progress through my Master Gardener training, I am learning so much about plants and shrubs and soil, and this week we are concentrating on composting and fertilizers. This training will be so valuable to me as I start to really develop my property here in Maltby after living here for 9 years.

Plum Tart

I was browsing for recipes today to use all of the Italian Plums I've picked this week, and found a recipe for a plum tart. It sounded good, and it required just the right amount of fruit to finally use the remaining plums I have left from the harvest this year.

The smell of this pastry baking in the oven for an hour tonight was intoxicating, and the aroma permeated every room in the house. There's nothing like a late summer evening with a hint of Fall in the air to want to find a cozy spot in the house to relax over a cup of tea and smell something wonderful baking in the oven. When I finally took the tart out of the oven, it was everything I had hoped it would be--fragrant, lovely to look at, and hopefully (once it cools) it will make a wonderful dessert for dinner tomorrow night. Bring on the creme fraiche!

Italian Plum Harvest

This week, we got the ladder out and climbed up into the Italian Plum tree and picked all the plums. Rainy weather was in the forecast, so we wanted to be sure to bring all the fruit in before the rain hit and split open the crimson fruit.

Once picked, the fruit must be used in jams or tarts within a few days. Tonight after work, we washed and sorted the plums and cut them in half, removing the seeds.

One of our favorite memories of our childhoods involved our mothers making jam from the plums that grew in our yards. The fruit is such a lovely color, and the jam tastes just like fresh fruit when spread over buttered toast in the morning. It's a great way to start the day with a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Here's to a bountiful crop this year, and many more years of prolific production and harvest from a single tree. What a great investment an orchard is!

Gladiolus (Iridaceae)

Gladiolus is a perennial from corms, with sword-shaped leaves and tubular and ruffled flowers in unbranched or branching spikes. In all my gardening years, I had never planted these flowers. I planted the corms in the garden late, and they still came up and flowered, every single one of them! The colors are stunning, with shades of red, pink and peach. The tallest flower in the garden is about four feet high.

I'm going to find another place in the yard next year to plant more of this lovely perennial. They make excellent cutting flowers, and today I brought in my first bouquet of glads for the house. It's a nice way to celebrate the waning days of summer.

A Perfect Gravenstein

A year ago, my granddaughter and I went to Flower World, a wonderful multi-acre nursery close to home in Maltby. We were shopping for an apple tree. The selection was amazing, and we spent quite a bit of time looking at the trees and the pictures attached to the trees, showing us what the apples would look like.

The Gravenstein apple has some red blush and stripes over yellow flesh, and this new tree has produced only one apple this season. It is perfect in every way. I'm looking forward to future years when the tree gets larger and the crop gets more abundant.

This summer, I found a great old sign at an antique store that says 'Apple Orchard'. I hung it on the fence by my new tree, and it points to the other apple trees in our burgeoning orchard.

I can already smell the apple pies and applesauce and apple crisp of future years, all to be made possible by this one new tree. A tree is certainly an investment in one's future.

September

Today, the sun was out and the air was crisp. Red leaves have appeared at the top of my neighbor's maple tree across the street, and I know that fall is on the way. The air is cooler and moist, and the grass and the garden love this respite from the heat of the summer. I coiled up my garden hose today, as I probably won't need it for a while at least.

I worked in the yard and garden all day today. The grass clippings went into the new compost bin, and I spoke to a Master Gardener today at Home Depot, wanting to know more about the process that I am learning about in my own Master Gardener class. I weeded the garden, admiring my September garden of peas, beans, cabbage, lettuce, onions, and pumpkins. The tomatoes are still green, and there hasn't been enough warm weather for them this year.

This was my first year raising gladiolas, and they all came up and flowered. The colors range from hot pink to light pink to light orange. They are lovely.

I extended my rose flower bed, and created just enough room for one more Julia Child rose bush. I'll have to go down to the Antique Rose Farm next Saturday and pick one up, along with a couple of climbing roses for the picket fence in the front yard.

Tomorrow I'll be testing the soil in my yard for a class assignment, and this will give me valuable information for future reference. I'll be able to amend my soil, apply my own compost to the soil where needed, and learn more ways to take care of my plants and trees.

It was a good day.

Master Gardener Program at Oregon State University

I just completed my first week of the OSU Master Gardener/Home Horticulture program! I was very excited to be accepted into this 12-week online program, and I've enjoyed doing my reading and my homework this week. I just took my first quiz, and got 14 out of 15 questions correct! A good start, I think.

My classmates/cohort group are located all over the world! I love this aspect of online courses. One guy is in Kabul, Afghanistan, and another woman is in Pennsylvania. The rest of us are scattered from Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.

We are getting acquainted with each other on our online Discussion Board. This will be a great way to talk about our assignments and share our botany questions and answers. It's been a dream of mine for about five years to find an online course so I could gather together all of the information I will need to care for and nuture my trees, plants and shrubs, and to make my property look like I have envisioned it.

By December 1, I will be finished with the course, and then the real work begins. Wish me luck!

Heirloom Tomatoes from the Farmer's Market

Yesterday at the Woodinville Farmer's Market, I found these beautiful heirloom tomatoes. The colors and patterns are amazing. It's kind of humbling to think that these tomatoes were grown from seeds over 100 years old!

I'll slice them and put them on a plate for my Labor Day barbecue tomorrow, and they'll look as good as they taste!

A Shelf for the Garden

I spotted this unique hand-made shelf at an antique store a couple of weeks ago, and I knew it would look perfect in my garden. I hauled it home and nailed it to the fence. I've got some great clay pots that would look festive sitting on the reclaimed wood, so I'll dig them out of the shed and put them up soon.

I love the rusted antique trowels that are used to hold up the shelves. It's a very clever idea!

A Peek Into My Late Summer Garden

My garden this year is a crazy-quilt of everything I love--yellow and purple irises sharing a raised bed with rhubarb, peas and beans fighting over the same trellis, and beets and onions growing tall in a straight row like military men. It is all so lush and orderly and wild at the same time!

The cool wet weather has slowed down the crop growth, but the greenery is beautiful and everything looks so healthy. Interspersed among the vegetables are three rose bushes (Julia Child, William Shakespeare, and Ebb Tide. They are still blooming!). Also, this is my first year growing gladiolas, and the scarlet and burnt orange colors illuminate the garden.

I'll pick and shell the peas this week, and I'll also keep a close watch over the beans. The radishes and beets are small but colorful, and their foliage is as compelling as their edible crop. The Sugar Pie Squash is growing over the garden fence, reaching for the trellis on the side of the solar wood shed. The vines are huge!

This year has been my best garden since I've lived here. The picket fence has kept out the rabbits, so that was a worthwhile addition to the garden area. I can't wait for the final harvest, when I can bring in the results of the planning and planting of seeds, the watering and nurturing that has to happen all summer long, and finally, the fruits (literally!) of all of my labors. Gardening is truly a labor of love.

Indian Blanket Sunflowers (Helianthus)

Today, my friend Alex and I visited Bob's Corn, a lovely, pastoral farm in Snohomish nestled in a lush valley. We were checking out the place so we could come back in a few weeks and go through (run through!) the corn maze. It's become an annual event for us, and we are looking forward to this year's exercise.

While we were visiting the country store on the property, we took a look at the pumpkin patch. With the cool and wet weather this summer, the pumpkins are only large yellow blossoms the first week of September. Behind the pumpkin patch, however, there was a beautiful display of Indian Blanket sunflowers. Their rusty-red color is striking, and it's a nice change from the traditional yellow sunflowers. They were at least 10 feet tall, and the picture I got of the flower featured a bee right in the center of the flower. Pollination is still going on this time of year! (there are two kinds of sunflowers--pollinless and pollin-bearing. This was a pollin-bearing variety).

As a border in front of the large Indian Blanket sunflowers was a row of small, yellow miniature sunflowers. They made a happy statement in the afternoon sun, enjoying the warmth radiating from the old red barn that they adorned.