Still Going Strong

I don’t put my Christmas tree in November like many people do, but I do leave it up until mid-January. There’s just something about sitting around with the warm glow of the lights when the nights are so long. I also feel guilty throwing outside while it’s still fresh.

It is getting to be about time to take it down, I noticed a few needles falling from the upper branches. That means it’s drying out and we wouldn’t want a fire hazard, especially with Mr Chiots being on the fire department and all. I’ve got it on my list of things to do this weekend. Thankfully the days are getting longer so it’s a little less depressing to take it down mid January rather than at the end of December.

When do you put up and take down your Christmas tree?

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The First Seedlings of 2015

I have my first seedlings for the 2015 gardening year. Well, they’re technically not official seedlings since they won’t be planted outside, but they’ll provide food for the table nonetheless. I finally got around to starting a big planter of cilantro. Way back in the fall I started this planted with cilantro seed outside, but the blue jays found it and ate all my seeds before they germinated. I never got around to replanting until now.

In a month or so this will help reduce our grocery bill. Each week I buy a bunch of cilantro and fresh herbs aren’t cheap! Luckily I have pots of a wide variety of herbs in the house already so cilantro is the only kind I have had to buy this winter. It is my favorite fresh herb so I always have to have it on hand for cooking. There’s nothing quite like fresh homegrown cilantro or parsley when the snow is covering the garden outside!

Do you grow herbs indoors in the winter? Which is your favorite fresh herb?

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Modern Still Life

It’s been a busy few months for us and there are a few things that are out of order in our lives. For one, our dining room table is still on the back porch. It’s currently holding bacon and hams that will go in the smoker in a few days. Our current dining room table is an old desk. It’s really small, but there are only two of us so it’s not really a big deal, it works. When I walked by yesterday I had to laugh. With the plate of fruit, an opened bottle of wine and a peppermint geranium plant from the farmers market it looked like a modern still life. It’s not a bad office at all!

Generally I work in the living when I can be mobile, I usually find a sunny spot in a comfy chair, but yesterday I needed a workspace with a surface, so the dining room it was my office for a few hours.

What’s your favorites spot to work in your home? 

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Lucky Ducks (and Chickens)

I plant a lot of zucchini in the garden each year with the goal of having lots of those giant zucchinis that no one else seems to want. For me, they are invaluable come January. You see my chickens LOVE them. If you let them get really big on the vine they become like winter squash and will store for quite a while. These were harvested four months ago.

I always save a bunch, usually 15-20 and the chickens/ducks/guineas/turkeys get them when winter storms roll in and they stay in the coop. A giant zucchini will keep the flock happily occupied for a day or two. I love knowing that they’re getting healthy vegetables in the middle of the winter.

Do you grow any food for any of your pets?

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Quote of the Day: Charles de Secondat

I’ve never known any trouble that an hour’s reading didn’t assuage.

~Charles de Secondat

I mentioned that Mr Chiots got me a Kindle for Christmas. I signed up for their Kindle unlimited program and have been reading away. Since January 1st I’ve managed to read: The Garden Plot, The Red Book of Primrose House: A Potting Shed Mystery, Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes, Giver Quartet (4 Book Series), The Ladies’ Room, and I’m working on Number the Stars right now. They’re not my usual style of book, which is biographies or older novels, but they’re quite nice for a change of pace. I don’t often read quick paperbacks, but I’m enjoying the speed at which you can read through them and move on to something else. I like that you don’t have to spend too much time thinking while reading. They’re rather like watching a sitcom on TV, great for quick entertainment.

What books are you enjoying right now? 

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