First of March, and the world is waking. Daffodils for St. David's Day! I spent time in the garden yesterday, for the first time since the fall: cleaning up dead stalks, turning some soil, planting some garlic (pro tip: if you have a head of garlic, you can plant garlic. Just break it apart into cloves and plant the individual cloves, pointed end up --- 1-2 in a pot, or in a larger container 3-4 inches apart, or in the ground, with the same spacing).
I found some onions coming up as volunteers, like actual onions (though I do pull and cook wild onions, too), so I moved them to a container to grow.
I carefully removed two of my last-year's lupines, with all their roots, from the container in the back, and transplanted them into my front-yard galvanized-tin container. Right now I have daffodils and hyacinths coming up there, but I will want some color for the summer. I also divided some of my evening primrose, which are exploding out of the pot where I planted the seed last year, and added them to that container. Both the lupines and the primrose will be in their second year this summer, so should bloom. Growing perennials from seed is always a long game, but then you have them basically forever --- you hope! Anyway, you have to wait out the first year while they mature, but after that, they're good to go. I also moved the big pot of evening primrose to the front steps. The foliage is lovely --- lime-green with hits of red --- and I can't wait for the pink flowers.
Piled a lot of old pepper stalks in the fire pit, where . . . one day . . . we'll have a fire. We don't do fires often, because it's a lot of bother for just the two of us, and the weather is so seldom as exactly right as we want. Still, it's a good way to get rid of garden debris, and then you have ashes to spread as fertilizer.
It was good to be outdoors, and I hope to do more of the same today. I need to order some more grow bags, then get the husband to accompany me to procure large bags of topsoil and compost to fill them and amend the soil in the existing grow bags. I'm going to have him cut down the two young mulberry trees shading the kitchen garden --- I had left them, thinking they might bear, but now I'm sure they're male trees and won't ever have berries, so away they go. I need that full sun on all parts of that garden. I think if I get about ten or even fifteen more grow bags, then I'll be using my existing space efficiently, with more vegetables and flowers growing and fewer weeds (because ground space taken up by grow bags). I just want to make dense rows at either end of the garden, with enough space for me to get between containers but no more. Then the berries can take up space along the long fence without flopping over other things, still leaving me plenty of scope to grow everything I want to grow. I want to start more perennial flowers, such as yarrow and angelica, this year, as well as the standard annuals --- zinnias, cosmos, Mexican sunflowers, etc.
Here's the one lupine left in the backyard container:
Now that I've moved all the evening primrose to the front, maybe I'll pull out a few more from the original pot and transplant them in with this lupine. That would make for some nice perennial color. (And I'm so glad to have run into a lady in Lowe's last year, by the seed rack, who told me that yes, you can grow lupines here; she grows them every year in a big old barl --- a barrel, for those who don't speak Appalachian).
Big plans, big plans.
Last night's dinner: easy one-skillet Spanish garbanzo beans with eggs. I had done a Moroccan version of same several weeks ago --- I guess it makes sense that Spanish cuisine overlaps with Moorish. The spices were slightly different --- last night's used smoked paprika and cumin, with garlic and onion and peppers (I didn't have bell peppers, but I did snip in two dried cayenne peppers for some heat and flavor), rather than ginger and whatever else was in the Moroccan iteration of the dish. This apparently is a Spanish breakfast recipe, but it was a very good and filling dinner without a lot of empty calories. You could do this without the eggs, and it would be quite good, but the soft warm yolks really make it delicious.
NB: The eggs cook better on the stovetop than in the oven, in my experience. Following the Spanish recipe's directions was far more effective than baking the eggs as a last step.
Still, it's an easy pantry meal, if you keep canned or dried (cooked ahead) chickpeas, tomato paste, and vegetable broth on hand. I always buy tomato paste, not sauce, because sauce sometimes has added flavors or sugar, and all you have to do with tomato paste is thin it with a little broth or plain water, which is what I used last night because I didn't have broth. Just keep adding liquid until you like how the consistency looks, and stir well with a spatula while you're cooking. Tomato paste is reliably cheap, too (as eggs currently are not . . .).
Smoked paprika is also a champion spice to have in your drawer. I add it to lots of things --- anytime you want that hit of smokiness, that's your go-to. If you want the suggestion of barbecue, for example, but you don't want the extra sugar and calories of a bottled barbecue sauce, you can try sprinkling things with smoked paprika for the flavor it imparts. I made Hungarian chicken paprikash the other night, which is basically chicken and rice with a little sour cream and a TON of smoked paprika, and it was very delicious (a vegetarian could probably do some kind of bean paprikash, with white beans, maybe --- some creamy variety like cannellini or great northern --- using mostly vegetable broth for the sauce, but then a tablespoon or so of sour cream to give it the right flavor and thickness).
On today:
The husband is going to the gym, then in to the college for a prospective-students' day. I need to make a Walmart run for dog food and other items, including some more smoked paprika, which I hope they'll have in stock. I need to check the spice drawer to see what's running low --- I know many things are, but I can never remember which things, when I'm actually in the store looking at the spice selection.
Then I'd like to do some more gardening. I've ordered a couple of varieties of organic heirloom carrot seeds and a pack of beet seeds, but if they've got any lettuce seed on the rack in the store, I'm already behindhand in starting that. I do have some butter lettuce growing from last year's seed:
But it would be nice to have more. Again, it's a little late to be putting it in, but the past month has just been so cold that it's been hard to contemplate sowing anything. Now is a good time for seed onions, too, though, so if I see any, I will get them and put them in. I could pretty readily fill up my existing ten grow bags with early crops this way . . .
Wearing:
*Seconhand Eileen Fisher pink merino tank, bought January 2023, entering a third year of wear
*Secondhand Old Navy vintage wide-leg pink jeans, bought January 2025, first year of wear
*Thrifted Wonderley green lyocell/tencel button shirt, bought December 2023, second year of wear
*Secondhand Birkenstock Mayari sandals, bought April 2024, first year of wear
Tomorrow we'll be back in boots-and-tights weather, but today I'm enjoying the balmy temperatures and sunshine with another jeans outfit. These pink jeans are lightweight enough that I'll be able to wear them far longer into the spring and summer than my other two pairs, but they provide good coverage in this transitional season. They're also insanely comfortable, and the fit is just right. Trousers can be hard to fit, which is one reason why I haven't worn them much --- and even so, right now my lavender jeans are a little too big, and my Levis get snug fast around the waist and give me a wedgie by the end of the day. I hope very much that, between relaxation with repeated wears and my own efforts at fat loss and muscle building, the latter jeans will eventually fit perfectly, but it sure is nice to have one pair that do that right now.
I thought the pink-on-pink thing would be fun today. I'm less likely to wear this combination in Lent, so today seemed a good day to indulge myself. This merino tank has become a favorite piece of mine --- my chief goal since I acquired it has been to find things to wear with it, which is why skirts and now jeans. It is a warm under-layer, but as I quickly discovered when I bought it, it's also a little bulky to wear under a knit dress. And I like it by itself, as a top.
Meanwhile, everybody really should have one big button shirt to wear as a top layer. I have worn this one on its own, but I prefer it as an alternative to a cardigan. It's oversized for me, but the tencel is silky enough that it's drapey rather than bulky, and the vertical line it creates with an outfit like this feels nice. It's casual but also kind of polished --- a more finished and polished outfit than the jeans-tank combination alone. This green makes a beautiful complement to the pinks, without being too consciously preppy.
I'm also aware that Being An Older Woman means that my arms don't look as good as they used to, just as they come. This will not stop my wearing sleeveless things in the summer, mind you. I do not think that Old Skin=Ugly Skin. I do work out to tone my arms, but nothing is going to make them look like a 30-year-old's, and that's okay. I'm not 30. This is what 60 looks like. The wrinkles on my face are not ugly. The softening of my jawline is not ugly. They are simply what 60 looks like, and I'm not about to feel ashamed of that (or think it makes me less desirable, because I can report to you that, on the basic of empirical evidence, it does NOT make me one bit less desirable to the person whose opinion I care about. Everybody else can eat rocks).
Decided to wait to wash my hair until tomorrow morning, so it will be fresh for Mass. I hadn't done a claw-clip updo all week anyway, I don't think. I continue to be very happy with the Humby Organics shampoo and conditioner bars I bought last month --- no, this isn't a solicited or paid review, and nobody sent me these items to evaluate. I'm just saying that they're really good. I haven't been using my Head&Shoulders at all, though I can include it in my wash routine if need be. So far, especially as I've been washing my hair a little more often lately, my scalp has been fine without it.
And I love how shiny, silky, and pliable my hair is. Usually by the time my hair is this long there are a lot of damaged ends, but I guess the fact that I've been trimming it constantly, a sixteenth of an inch at a time, means that what I mostly have is healthy growth, with the dry ends continually eliminated. No, my haircutting is not perfect, but it's been really pretty okay. And if it means that I can grow healthy longer hair, then score. Marly, who at 71 has beautiful hair almost to her waist, told me that since she could still grow it, she felt she really ought to. I kind of feel the same way. I prefer my hair longer (assuming it's healthy), and since I apparently can grow it without its looking thin and scraggly, then why not? I still have a little thinness right around my hairline, but the hair seems to be growing back in, and it's really not thin right on top. As long as I handle it gently, don't pull it back too tightly, and am careful about breakage, it should be fine.
In fact, I'm so happy with these shampoo and conditioner bars that I bought some for the husband, to put in his gift bag for our anniversary --- with little tins to keep the bars in. I bought myself cheap plastic soap containers for travel, since I was heading out for Texas, but Humby makes lovely tins. This way you don't have to worry about liquid shampoo and conditioner if you're flying, which is nice, and also means you can use up all the residue of your old bar, melted into the container, before you buy another. A little goes a long way, and you could potentially eke out a single bar for a LONG time before you had to replace it.
Anyway, they make these Purple Rain bars specially formulated for gray hair, which I think he'll like. His hair has always been curly, which he's fought all his adult life because he thinks it looks messy and unprofessional, but lately I've been helping him manage it with tips like: Don't punish it by trying to wash it into oblivion with the most caustic shampoo you can find. I bought him some LUS 3-in-1 and suggested he might just finger-comb it when it's wet, so he doesn't break up the individual waves into frizz.
He has always had nice hair --- I tend to like wild-haired men, even when the absolute last thing they want in the entire created cosmos is to be wild-haired --- but I think he's happier with it since he's been trying these techniques, and it does look better than it was looking for a while. Gray hair presents its own challenges, being even dryer and coarser than curly hair normally is, and even more than women, men are often at a loss to know what to do about it. So I'm thinking that these shampoo and conditioner bars will help him be even more reconciled to, if not actually happy with, the hair that God has seen fit to put on his head. AND I'm happy to have thought of something to give him.
So it's about time to take the dog out. Wherever you are, I hope the sun is shining on your Saturday --- if not literally, then at least metaphorically. Adios for now --- and I do mean, a Dios.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Back from my tour de Walmart, with caladium corms (planted), lettuce seeds (ditto), four bags of potting soil (now reduced to one since I have filled or topped off containers), twenty 97-cent solar lights (those little ones on posts that you stick in the ground), a bunch of spices, some more apple cider vinegar since I was almost out, some store-brand Blue Dawn dish liquid in a big bottle to fill my little one by the sink when it runs low . . . it was very much a replenishing mission, and I am glad to have many supplies replenished.
Now I want to buy some elephant ears to plant in a container on the patio, because I think huge foliage all summer would be the bomb. I want everything to be LUSH.
Here are the patio containers so far:
Most of those little concrete planters have lettuce seeds now. The two terracotta-look pots where you can see something growing contain mints: regular mint and peppermint. I'd like to add some more mint varieties in containers as time goes on. The other, empty-looking terracotta-look pot has caladium corms, which will also provide some colorful foliage. I want to put some larger grow-bags along the fence for more herbs and maybe also some fragrant roses. And then I'd like to have bigger foliage toward the back: elephant ears, maybe even an olive tree if I can find one. I can also put my tree philodendron out there, and some of my aloe vera plants, once the weather warms up reliably in April or May.
I'll leave an open path and space to/for the hose and the basement door, but I'd like to have a lot of lush things growing to screen the area where the grill is --- more because plantings and pathways give the illusion of depth than because I want to hide the grill. I probably need to replace the lemongrass in the galvanized container there by the fence, because I think it's an annual, but for now I kind of like the way it looks dried.
Here's my pot of evening primrose on the front step:
I grew these from seed last year, and because they're perennials they didn't bloom, but this year they should. They are crowded in that pot, but it doesn't seem to bother them all that much, and in any case I've been separating them out to plant in other places.
The rest of my yard looks like a jungle, but here in these tidy contained spaces we have some nice things going on.
Again, it's going to be colder tomorrow, with freezing temperatures at night. But I'm happy to get some nice things planted that I think will withstand the weather from here on out.
ALSO:
Tonight's dinner is lamb koftas, using this recipe. I might make some hummus as well, and some green beans on the side.
EVENING UPDATE:
I can report that the lamb koftas were fab. The flatbreads I made from her recipe (linked in the kofta recipe) were less fab, but okay. I did not make hummus. Instead, having found a can of beets in the cupboard, I made a chilled salad of diced beets, feta, olive oil, salt, pepper, honey, and new baby mint from the garden, and it was DELICIOUS. We had the lamb koftas with yogurt sauce on flatbread with the minimal salad greens I could harvest from the garden, plus the beet salad, plus green beans sauteed in olive oil, cumin, coriander, and a dash of cinnamon. It was a very good meal, washed down with a quantity of sauvignon blanc.
So I would totally do tonight's meal as a company meal, but I would BUY pita rounds. And I'd probably make hummus as well. And I'd buy salad greens, so as to have a complete DIY platter for making flatbread wraps with the lamb kofta, yogurt sauce, and salad. I would definitely repeat the beet salad, because it was out of this world. And green beans are always good. Anyway, this was a really nice dinner, good enough that we didn't feel that we'd have done better going to a restaurant. Aldi had had ground lamb for . . . uh . . . about the same price as a dozen eggs . . . and I was glad to have tracked down this thing to do with it.
I did cook the lamb cylinders (I didn't have skewers, so I just formed the ground-lamb/spice mix to look as though it was on a skewer) on the grill outside, so they had a nice char. But you can do them on the stovetop or under the broiler.
So, that was dinner, and it was really nice. We sat and talked for a long time in the candlelight over our wine. Then I was pissy because there was only one decaf English Breakfast teabag . . . but I wound up drinking that cup of tea because the other person, who had wanted it, gave it to me. Just a little mortification for a Saturday night, knowing what I'm really like: the person who starts the whole complicated Middle Eastern meal at 4 in the afternoon and pulls it off like a restaurant chef for the pleasure of the other person who's going to eat it, but also the person who slams things around on the kitchen counter over the prospect of having to drink lemon ginger tea instead of English Breakfast (decaf).
The mirror, it is always right before our faces.