It rained a bit today, not too much, but enough to please wildflowers. I didn’t hear as many birds as usual, but there’s always tomorrow.
The time passed pleasantly enough, because neighbor Vicki invited me to have lunch at the restaurant that replaced my old favorite, the Dutchtowne Deli. Neither of us do a lot of socializing without an agenda, so this was daring for us. And we had a good time eating huge Dutch babies with strawberry/rhubarb filling. It was just about the most delicious food I ever ate.
I had already taken a bite
Then we went to the bakery and got more baked goods (for later). I think my friends and family keep that place in business. My son had already been by.
Next we went to the ZX Made in Texas shop and browsed. There I was delighted to find a can that once held Granger pipe tobacco. It reminded me so much of my dad, who always smoked a pipe with that tobacco. I got it and put it next to Dad’s bronze baseball glove and his baby picture.
I never found his pipe smoke to smell bad.
After all that the rain was starting in earnest, so we headed home, checked out Vicki’s new horse, Malone, got my mail, and still didn’t get drenched. Not bad.
He has a better disposition than certain gray horses who live at my house.
The rest of the wet day was pleasant, especially since Kathleen came back for a while bearing Valentines gifts. It’s always good to have someone to talk to!
Alfred covered me with wet dog smell when it started thundering. Poor guy.
And you know it’s a rainy day because I watched two movies, which means I wasn’t outside all day! Both Song Sung Blue and How to Train Your Dragon were good. I really enjoyed the Neil Diamond songs and sweet characters in the first one.
One of my online friends passed away today after a miserable struggle with cancer. I keep thinking about her husband and kids. They were so good to her. Hug a loved one!
Cooking is not my favorite activity but I’m usually fairly good at it. Today was probably my worst cooking failure ever. Well, maybe the time I burned hard-boiled eggs was worse.
Anyway, I wanted to make a roast, and Lee had bought me all the things to go with it. I put it in the oven with potatoes and onions to cook slowly in my covered ceramic baking dish. I added some beautiful carrots later.
When I went to see if the food was cooked, the carrots were charred and smoking. The potatoes in the baking dish were also burned.
Sigh.
It appeared I’d cooked it at the wrong temperature.
That delicacy, charred carrots
I took it all out of the oven and pried the carrots out of the oval glass dish they’d blackened. Then I thought I should soak the dish so it would be easier to clean. You can guess what happened.
Pow!
The second water hit it, the glass shattered. It was still too hot. Lucky for me, shards were contained in the sink and none went down the drain.
That’s all the glass after I got it out of the sink.
Well, the food was delicious, if over-cooked. It added the excitement that was missing from the Super Bowl. I’ll spare you any entertainment analysis. There’s enough of that!
Instead you can enjoy the miniature Danish protest hat I made today using fine yarn and small needles. I’m using it as an accessory on my backpack, since I think wool hat weather won’t be around much longer.
I made a long tassel. Hand shows size.
Bird News
Ah birds. Sometimes they poop on you or peck at your fingers when you’re trying to fix their water dish (Darryl Junior). But mostly they’re gently entertaining. That’s very true this time of year when they’re getting ready for migrating, nesting, and love.
The first sign of bird love season is the arrival of the Purple Martins. I’d been hoping the ones who were here last year would return, and sure enough, the first scouts arrived last week. After Merlin Bird ID heard them three days in a row, I looked up blog posts by my friend Donna, who always wrote about them for the Master Naturalist group. Yep, hers usually arrive a bit before Valentine’s Day. I’m so happy we have repeat visitors and that our woodpeckers have made nice homes for them.
I have arrived. Or my descendants.
Another sign is the male songbirds start singing their melodic mating calls. So far I’ve noticed the Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, and Mockingbirds are trilling away. Oh boy, I can do without the long, extended Mockingbird sonatas.
I’m expressing myself now. No more chirp chirp.
The Mockingbirds are also doing something unusual, and that’s gathering in groups and chasing each other around, complete with scolding and shouting calls. I wonder if they’re pairing off, dividing up territory, or what?
You can’t see them, but the birds were chasing each other through these trees.
I’m used to seeing large groups of Cardinals, especially after fledging time, but not Mockingbirds. I’ll have to investigate!
Challenging day at work tomorrow, so I’m off to sleep. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
I looked up from my phone this morning in the birding station and realized I was surrounded by meadowlarks. Here are just a few.
Meadowlark territory
I cut my nails way short (for me) but they still look festive with snowflakes on them.
I had a good, calm lesson on Apache. Neither Tarrin nor I were feeling well, but we made progress, and, as always, it was a joy to spend time with my horse buddy. When we got home, he shook himself as I was unlocking the gate, and a big cloud of dust flew out from him. He only looked sparkly clean.
Apache and I both wish we looked this good. At least I look kind of like me and he looks kind of like him.
I made some progress on my crocheting. The blanket is getting a cluster border. It’s probably going to be at least three town. It will be good thing to have it slightly larger. Certainly it will be cheerful.
Temperature blanket 2025
I made a delicious frittata for dinner using Connie’s eggs, leftover broccoli, cheese, garlic and a little milk. Both Lee and I loved it.
It was extra chilly this morning, so I couldn’t sit out and watch birds as long as I wanted to. The wind was really strong and I was not having a good time so I left my phone outside to listen to birds while I came inside and painted a rock yellow. That’s my idea of a good time.
This guy was so chilly it didn’t hop away. Ponderous spur-throat grasshopper.
When I went back outside to check on my phone, I heard a very loud noise that sounded like an extra loud Red-tailed Hawk. When I got to the phone, I looked down at my Merlin record to find out that I had actually missed seeing a Bald Eagle flying over our house. It was heard again later in the morning, so I guess there really was a non-Mexican eagle around, which is rather rare for here.
AI interpretation of a Bald Eagle flying over our house. We seem to have many corgi mix dogs.
Later in the morning, I took all my new glasses back to the glasses place and said I can’t see out of them. So they are having all three pairs remade, so maybe I can see the eagle next time it flies by. It was very disappointing that no matter how hard I tried, I really couldn’t see very well out of the new prescription. I couldn’t read street signs and in the evenings everything was very, very blurry. My guess is that an error was made somewhere in the process.
Looking at glasses I didn’t get to take home.
The two biggest excitements of the rest of the day we’re having lunch with Pamela and only Pamela (because there were no other friends to hang out with today) and then going to the bakery and getting day old sticky buns. I do love the sticky buns. I believe I’ve mentioned how much I like Shirley Mae’s bakery before.
Back at home I finished painting the rock. It’s going to be a Thanksgiving rock for my one piece of table decor. I can’t make my life any more interesting than it is. Sigh. One more day of no work down.
The AI thingy did a much better rendition of my rock.
Excitement starts tomorrow because it’s Thanksgiving and I get to cook oyster dressing. And that’s enough of a blog for today.
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
My mom made it in the electric frying pan she cooked everything in. She made little wells in the canned hash and put eggs in them. Two for each of us. I ate it like it was ambrosia.
Society is collapsing and they want to know my five favorite fruits? Well, okay. Let’s see if I can find anything interesting to say about that. Here we go.
This AI fruit salad has none of my top five.
One: Pineapple. The pineapple is the most glorious and delicious fruit-ish food there is.* If I didn’t love squash so much, it would be my favorite food (note, squash are fruits, botanically). I know it has weird allergic properties for some people and messes up Jello, but pineapple makes anything better, including rum.
Gemini made this image.
Two: Mango. This is another flavor that just knocks me out. It’s hard to get mango off the seed, but worth it. if you ever get a chance to eat a mango fresh from the tree, do it. There are sweeter and more complex varieties that do t ship well. It’s one of the treats I miss from living in South Florida (the other is fresh key limes). Mango margaritas, with or without tequila are divine beverages.
Mangoes, from Pixel.
The next three are pretty much tied.
Three: Peaches. Make that ripe, juicy, non-mealy peaches. Mealy peaches are a huge disappointment. The best peaches I ever had were in Breckenridge, Colorado last year during the local harvest. Simply perfect. Here in Texas, the Fredericksburg peaches are also wonderful, though small. Just eat lots of them. I love peach cobbler.
Four: Pears. As with peaches, down with mealiness! Really I only like some types of pears, I find the crisp and astringent ones not pleasant. But a big ole juicy pear that is both sweet and tart makes me very happy. I’m also fond of canned pears with cheddar cheese.
Five: Plums. a perfectly ripe plum is glorious. I like all the kinds, from extra sweet to spicy, but not unripe or overripe. I give those to the chickens. I also like pluots, or whatever the hybrids are called. Plums are good cooked with pork.
I just thought this was pretty. From Pexels.
Four out of my top five fruits start with the letter “p.” Hmm.
Runners Up
While I’m here, I may as well give my opinions on other fruits or sweet and juicy foods.
Apricots. I doglike them as much as peaches. The skin texture isn’t my favorite. Apricot jam is fine!
Bananas. I like the ones in the stores fine, and do love banana pudding. But, like mangoes, they are so much better straight from the tree. My dad used to grow pinkish ones with a peachy flavor.
Berries. I like berry flavors, but not all those little seeds. Blackberries are my favorite, but I eat more free dewberries out of the fence lines.
Cherries. Well, these are probably number 6 out of the top five. I can sure eat a good cherry. I like the Ranier ones best, but there are many good ones. The extra dark, extra sweet ones are better in an Old Fashioned. Yum.
Citrus. I can’t have too much of it because of the acid reflux, but I like citrus, especially limes. I also love lemons and grapefruit. Some oranges are good and some taste like plastic wrap to me. The same goes for tangerines and related citrus. Some are great, some are awful, and you can’t tell until you open them up.
Grapes. Some green grapes are too sour and bitter for me, but there are many grapes I’d swoon over, like the ones I had in Hilton Head. Wow. I find seeded grapes too much of a pain to eat many of, but I like to cook wild grapes and make sauces and such. They’re tangy, but the skin is sweet. Grapes are also excellent made into wine.
Melons. Watermelon has to be very cold and sweet for me to enjoy, unless the rind is made into preserves. Muskmelons like cantaloupe and honeydew are nice in fruit salad. I enjoy them when served, but rarely buy them for myself.
Strawberries. I put these separate. I do not like the seeds and hairy things on the outside. But well ripened ones make amazing shortcake.
I’m sure I missed something, but look at me! I wrote so many words about fruit. It did distract me from the news for a while!
Ooh. I forgot kiwi fruit. It’s okay. Pexels again.
*Let us not get all persnickety about what constitutes a fruit, a drupe, or a vegetable. I’m going with what we colloquially call fruits in the USA.
Oops! Left out pomegranate (delicious except the seeds) and papaya (smells awful). Kathleen thought of more P fruit.
It’s my biggest vice, because it has no health benefits at all and still I drink it almost every day. It’s Coke Zero. I love it. I allow myself no more than one can a day, I promise.
Mmmm
My other favorite non-alcoholic beverages have at least some positive aspects. I also drink coffee daily, Folgers Colombian. I like it with milk. Most of the time I use creamer, though (another useless beverage). I tried to be a fancy coffee person but I just like what I like. I’ll drink most anything and enjoy trying new flavors and the occasional espresso.
I agree with the sentiment
My favorite healthy beverage is mango juice or limeade. Both tend to be so sweet, though.
I do drink alcohol, though I’ve cut down a lot. I like all kinds of wine, amber beer (Negra Modela), and bourbon. A bourbon Old Fashioned makes me very happy. Just one.
I had many Old Fashioned photos to choose from on my camera
I love food prepared simply and don’t snack much unless someone brings Doritos in the house (not much going for them, other than corn and some cheese). I guess since I eat pretty well, get a good amount of exercise, and am at a good weight for me, I can have one shameful beverage a day.
Alfred is back to sleeping on his outdoor couch now that it’s above 20° outside.
These days, we should find joy wherever we can. My Columbian coffee might not be available soon, so I’ll enjoy it along with that Coke Zero.
Rather than doing the usual Saturday chores, Lee suggested we go to Austin and do something different. We call that spontaining. Being spontaneous, but more active.
So we drove to Austin (a thing we usually avoid), visited the wonderful camera store there and chatted with the friendly staff, bought Girl Scout cookies because I support them and could enjoy a few cookies, looked in the comic book store, which is really a gaming store, and enjoyed some memories of my past life.
With my weird attachments to places, I find returning to my old stomping grounds rather difficult. I get very sad, nostalgic, or something. But, I powered through it and checked out all the changes in greater north Austin. I still miss everything about the place except high property taxes and awful traffic.
We ended the day with a nice visit and dinner at my favorite small sushi restaurant (which is still fantastic and patronized my mainly Japanese people), with our friends and former business partners, Carol and Russell.
It’s sushi all right. Salmon, mmm.
We had great conversation, supported each other, and enjoyed the food. I’m so glad we are making the effort to see people. Even they aren’t going out as much these days, and they used to be so social.
We look like old friends.
Consider hanging out with a friend or two. It’s a privilege to be free to do so. And do some spontaining!
I was asked how I cook black-eyed peas for the big meal on New Year’s Day. Now, if you’re used to reading monetized blogs, you’re probably ready to have to read a long story, scroll past many repetitive ads, and suffer through much blathering to get to the recipe (or knitting/crochet pattern, etc.).
In 2021 I had added deviled eggs because a relative liked them.
This blog is for me and random people who care about nature, horses, and/or anxiety, so no monetizing will occur. And I just have a brief story about black-eyed peas at New Year’s.
I have mentioned that this is my favorite meal probably every year since 2018 and no doubt I mentioned it in my two earlier blogs as well. I like to blog and eat peas, usually not simultaneously. I love this meal for the flavors, but also because it’s one of the few connections I have with the past few generations of my family. Rural families in the Deep South always must have their peas for good luck and greens for money (the meaning varies).
2018 classic meal
In my family growing up, that meant black-eyed peas cooked with ham hock, rice to put the beans on (not cooked together), collard greens cooked with more ham hock or bacon, cornbread, and green onions sliced up for garnish. You were encouraged to put homemade hot pepper vinegar or something similar on the beans. I thought this was a gourmet meal, not very inexpensive ingredients combined to be delicious. I did realize it was also what Black people ate, since we exchanged dishes with black friends (in the 60s that was my grandmother’s maid and her extended family).
In 2022 I had Cole slaw.
I still make the same meal, carefully passed down from grandmother to mother to older sister to me. Its ingredients vary depending on what’s available, but it’s always good. I do. Now I have to add a pork loin or ham for people who insist on a slab of meat at each meal. Traditions change! It’s all good. Okay, recipes, or guidelines:
Black-eyed Peas as I Make Them
Peas from 2021
Note: ideally start this the night before
Ingredients
1 package dried black-eyed peas
4 cups broth (your choice; we can’t use chicken unless one family member is absent)
1 onion chopped
1 smoked ham hock OR package genuine andouille sausage sliced up OR leftover Christmas ham OR bacon (least favorite option)
Cajun seasoning OR Oh Shit seasoning
Optional bay leaf if your spouse doesn’t hate it
Additional salt and pepper
Night before or early in the morning, rinse the peas and cover with a lot of water. Soak overnight in a large pot or at least four hours. Beans will expand.
Next day drain and rinse the peas and return to the pot. Cover with the broth (this adds flavor; vegetarians can use vegetable broth and skip the meat). You will probably have to add water to keep the peas (really beans) covered. Add onion, meat, and seasonings.
Bring the liquid to a boil. Do not be concerned if there’s scummy froth; just stir it back in. Turn down the heat and let cook until you have the right amount of delicious liquid in with the solids, then cover and simmer a long time.
The key is to cook them to the mushy stage. So I cook at least three hours. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors merge.
Serve over rice and top with green onions and any hot sauce you like. But taste it first. It’s so good.
Bonus: Collard Greens
2 or 3 bunches of collard greens. They have huge dark green leaves. Mustard greens are good, too, but more bitter.
One chopped onion
Broth to cook in )amount varies). I also use Better Than Bouillon sometimes.
Meat for seasoning—the same meat you used with the beans or something different. You don’t need much; add it to taste.
Salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar (my mom said to do this to cut bitterness)
Chop the greens. Important: slice off the thick stems. Fold the leaf over and you can quickly eliminate them, so your chickens can eat them. Greens are more pleasant to eat without stems. But some people like them. Chop them enough that people won’t get huge long strips of them on their forks.
My previous chicken flock with their stems. I didn’t take pictures yesterday.
This will look like a lot of greens. It isn’t. They shrink.
Put them and the onions in a pot big enough to cover them. Add 1-2 cups of liquid and cook covered on high, stirring a couple of times until they are wilted and you see there really aren’t that many.
Add the meat and seasonings. Simmer a ridiculously long time. You can eat them after an hour or so, but the flavors develop during the long cooking time.
Serve along with the peas and rice. Use cornbread to soak up extra cooking liquid (pot likker).
If you are lucky enough to have leftover cornbread and greens, pour warmed up liquid over a slice of cornbread and eat it for breakfast.
I’ve probably mentioned it before, but I love cooking traditional Southern US food at New Year’s. Today I cooked black-eyed peas, rice, collard/mustard greens, cornbread, and a pork loin (because Lee needs his meat).
Not this year’s meal. I forgot to take pictures.
I had my oldest friends and my family over for the meal, and it was just wonderful. I’ve missed our meals since I’ve been so depressed. We have vowed to do better from now on.
Maybe I’ll invite a few newer friends, too. It’s just so overwhelming with all the dogs and the mess around the house from our unpacking and such. Perhaps a potluck?
It was a good day of starting new things, like a new journal, a new temperature blanket (photos tomorrow), and new energy. I’m not sure where it came from. Maybe it’s Connie the turkey, or Apache’s new zippy mode.
I hope you had some good experiences today. Every good day is a treasure.
The Hermits' Rest 