A New Pine Farm Table

I've never had a new dining room set before, so after many years of searching for a dining room table and chairs that match my other furniture (Broyhill Fontana Honey Pine), I finally found a set almost identical to the one I've been searching for these past 20 years.  I was thrilled, to say the least!

The new table and chairs arrived this afternoon after a six week wait. After I got home from work, we had dinner on it for the first time--it's SO large compared to our old round table.

After dinner, I took out the table leaf, moved some occasional tables back into the dining room, and took some pictures of the room.  It looks completely different with a long table and formal chairs upholstered in a beige linen.

We'll be having some great holiday dinners and Slow Food gatherings with a table like this!

Antique Bird Prints

When my mother moved out of her condo two years ago, she gave me these lovely framed bird prints.  Two of the frames were broken, so I took them to my frame shop for re-construction and repair.  I just picked them up last weekend, and they are beautiful.  Here are two of the four prints, now adorning the living room.

It's so nice to have all of these lovely things from my family, and my mom can enjoy them each time she is over here, visiting and spending the holidays and weekends.

Orange Tulips

I searched all of Woodinville yesterday for these three lovely bunches of exotic poppy-like tulips.  They are in a Lenox vase on my French dining room table, and they are a lovely punctuation in my neutral-toned living and dining areas.

Sweet Home Certified Wood Stove

With winter temperatures hovering between 18 degrees and 28 degrees here in Maltby for the past two weeks, we've given our wood stove a good workout.  Our load of wood from last March has dried out and cured nicely in the solar woodshed these last 10 months, and the combination of alder and fir has burned hot and slow and keeps the frigid nights warm and toasty.

Over the years, we've used the stove for heat and cooking when the power goes out.  It's a great stove, and has become the center of our cozy home in these Maltby winters.

Winter Dog

Nala seems to be adjusting well to the very cold weather here this year.  Since she has a very light, thin coat (unlike Juno!), we have a nice snug coat for her to wear outside in the yard and for trips to the park.  Here she is after a nice walk, relaxing by the fire.

Three Day Weekend

I had a long three-day weekend for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I spent it doing the things I like best--cooking, baking, walking the dog, antiquing and relaxing with a good book or two.  Also, these cold, dark days are a great time to catch up on movies and my favorite TV series.

Here's the White House Antique store at Country Village, where I did some shopping yesterday.  I always come away from there with some small treasure. See my great new pillow below for Nala.

Baking Bread

Today was a good wintry day to make pasta with home-made marinara sauce and Italian sausages.  Only homemade white bread would perfectly complement this dish, so I got out the bread machine and in three hours, I had a lovely large loaf of crusty white bread (still warm) to serve with dinner.

Look at that perfect texture (the secret is using soy milk instead of regular milk).  It was so good with the penne pasta and marinara made from my own Early Girl and Roma tomatoes from last fall.

Exotic Chocolate Tomato Seeds

I'm trying purple and black tomatoes this year from Baker Creek Seeds.  These tomatoes are supposed to be very juicy and sweet, and their color will be startling in a salad or a sauce.  My greenhouse is ready for seed starting soon!

Turtle Tree Seed Company

Turtle Tree Seed Company is a small California company that I learned about through one of my Master Gardener colleagues several years ago. He teaches horticulture in a Catalina High School, and uses seeds from small start-up companies in the area.

Every year now, I order a couple of packets of seeds from Turtle Tree to diversity my vegetable and flower crops.

January is Seed Ordering Month!

When spring and summer seem so very far away, what does a gardener do?  Why, she orders her vegetable seeds from her favorite seed catalog!

I  received my beautiful, glossy Baker Creek Seed catalog in December, and I've spent a good month perusing all of the hundreds of heirloom seeds available to order.  What a tough job that is!  However, I learned a lot of what not to do last season, so I am ready to take on the high calling of gardener again this year.

Here's the catalog, and you can see some samples of what's arrived so far.

My Charm Bracelet and Its Story

My charm bracelet can be seen below.  Here are some of the stories of the charms.

The first charm is my baby locket, given to me on my infant baptism in 1950. Then there is my Mu Phi Epsilon sorority pin from Seattle Pacific University, received in 1969 when I was inducted into the sorority as Historian.  My confirmation charm is next, followed by a gold wishing well from my best friend Liz.

Next is my high school graduation charm (a mortarboard) from my piano teacher, then a gold baby shoe I received when my son David was born.  Then another charm for my college graduation, and a gold grand piano from my piano teacher Ruth Nelson.  The next charm is a tiny garnet watch fob that my aunt Elsie had mounted on a gold disc--the fob was from my great-uncle, a brother of my grandfather.

Next is a charm of a little boy, again given to me when my son was born.  My father Robert Arnold's baby ring from 1922 is the last item on the bracelet.

Charms Are Forever

Many women of my generation and my mother's generation were given charm bracelets when they were young girls, and they are a cherished possession that stays with us through the changing times of our lives.  We can remember who gave us each trinket and talisman on the chain.

These bracelets reached their height of popularity in the mid-50's, but their history goes back much further.  From Neolithic times, there's evidence that people carried special smooth stones or pieces of wood--primitive "charms"--to ward off enemies.  Egyptian women wore wrist and neck bracelets with special charms that were meant to adorn them in the afterlife.  Knights of the Middle Ages carried charms and amulets to bring them luck in their crusading ventures.

The charm bracelet was hugely popular during the reign of Queen Victoria.  By the early twentieth century, the "charms" that had once been empowered to bring good luck had turned into a fashion statement.

On my 16th birthday, my Aunt Elsie gave me a beautiful gold bracelet with my first charm on it--a gold chalice symbolizing my confirmation that year.  Then came other charms to commemorate other important events in my life.

When Elsie passed away five years ago, my uncle gave me her gold and silver charm bracelets, with the following note: "I know that Elsie is most happy for you to have these bracelets. All of the charms are items that she treasured, and they meant a lot to her.  I know that they will be a great remembrance to you of Elsie."

Over the years, Elsie told me the stories surrounding each charm on the bracelet. They are like old friends now, holding the stories and meaning of my past, and the history of my family.

The First Tulips of 2013

Finally the tulips are showing up at area grocery stores, and it's my first glimpse of the Spring that is waiting for me right around the corner!!  I gathered up four bunches of them over the weekend, and put them in the dining room.  They are so bright and cheery!

I re-discovered my favorite antique shop in Monroe yesterday.  They moved late last fall, and left no note or information as to where they were.  Driving by yesterday, I discovered them about a half-mile down one of the main streets in Monroe.  I had fun shopping and getting acquainted with the new/old merchandise, and found this set of five berry bowls.  I've never even heard of berry bowls, but they'll be wonderful filled with my home-grown raspberries and strawberries in early Summer.

Neon Plant from Molbak's

With a gift certificate from my "Secret Santa" this year at work, I bought a Neon pothos plant.  It grows to two feet high, and it's a trailing vine with bright, chartreuse-green leaves that really do look almost neon. Its creeping stems grow to two feet long or more and it's a good candidate for a hanging basket. It also grows well in bright light and average room temperature. 

I put it on the ledge as you enter the third level of the house under the skylight.  It's beautiful!

Dinner For a Cold Winter Evening

The snow was beautiful today in the clear, cold day.  The sun was brilliant, and it was great to see blue sky again.  Here's a picture from the back deck, looking out over the back yard and the pasture and cabin.

Dinner was a home-made chicken potpie, using the last of my Danvers carrots from last season's garden.

Baking Frenzy Part II

Apple crisp was next on my list.  We broke out the paring  knives, and made quick work of seven apples (various varieties).  The crumble topping had oatmeal and brown sugar in it, and you could smell the two crisps baking all  through the house.

It didn't take long to dip into them for a little taste of weekend desserts to come!

Also, I made my specialty Blueberry Buckle coffee cake for Sunday's breakfast before church.

Baking and Cooking Frenzy This Weekend!

What do you do when the weather drops below 20 degrees, and there's snow on the ground and ice on the roads?  Why, you stop what you are doing, and head for the kitchen and start cooking and baking!  Wow--I had lots of ingredients left over from Christmas, and the organic fruit and veggie bin was delivered last Thursday--I was all ready!

First thing Saturday morning, I made a tasty breakfast scramble of eggs, broccoli, Yukon Gold potatoes, and one shallot, and threw in some basil and oregano from my kitchen garden.  I folded in some cheddar and Havarti cheese, also. Buttered toast and baked Liberty apples with brown sugar and raisins topped off the meal.  It was good!