Flowers for Mother's Day

We're sending fields of virtual flowers to our mothers, our mother figures, and all the amazing mothers we know.

Happy Easter

I hope the Easter Bunny brings you all something lovely!

(Not actually the Easter Bunny, but he is putting together a lovely present.)

Valentine's Day Flowers

On Valentine's Day we went to Maclay Gardens.

We sat on the benches in that little gazebo by the lake.

David wrote me a poem in Greek.

I wrote him a sonnet in English.

Then we walked around for a couple of hours in the gorgeous early spring landscape.

We saw luminous Spanish moss.

Carpets of camellias.

David took lots of flower pictures.

It was too early for azaleas or magnolias, but we saw spectacular flowering trees that we couldn't identify.

Like this one, which had little clusters of vivid pink flowers shaped like bells.

And this very fragrant tree.

And this pinky-lavender one.

We saw all kinds of life, including the very small.

And the very large.

And we left thinking about all the signs of spring flowers yet to come.

Remembrance

Today is Veterans' Day, and we're feeling grateful to all veterans.

I always like it when the VFW sells poppies, but I haven't seen a poppy sale in a few years. So this year I made my own.

I wore it all day and remembered the veterans.

Easter Dinner

Our Easter dinner was pretty simple: green peas, eggs, and pierogi. For dessert we had pierogi filled with fresh blueberries, with strawberries and blueberries on the side.

There weren't many different dishes, but there was a vast quantity of pierogi!

Happy Easter!

Ostara, Johannes Gehrts, 1884. This is the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre (the word that became "Easter"). The Venerable Bede probably made her up to explain why the Anglo-Saxons had feasts during "Eostre month" (their name for April). I'm pretty sure that's the Easter Bunny on the right.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Galesnjak Island, Croatia.

Forest in Cantabria, Spain

Mangroves in Voh, New Caledonia.

Last Night Was the Longest of the Year

On Darkness

You darkness, that I come from,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.

But the darkness pulls in everything;
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them! --
powers and people --
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.

I have faith in nights.

-- Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Robert Bly

Happy Father's Day!

HAPPY

FATHER'S

DAY!

To my father, grandfather, father-in-law, and all the wonderful fathers I know!

A Day of Celebration (Yesterday)

Happy birthday, Will! Happy Mother's Day, Mom! And happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mother figures in my life -- you all deserve a celebration.

Easter Egg Rolls

On Easter we dyed eggs with some wonderful German dye sent to us by Uncle Ralph.

We especially liked the jaunty rabbit and the frog on the dye packet.

And the strange decals, like this beetle with a cane.

Our tablecloth came from Germany too, by way of Dr. Hausfrau.

It has little spring flowers embroidered on it -- perfect for Easter!

David told me that he really misses egg rolls, so I tried to make some gluten-free versions. I made spring rolls filled with spicy steamed cabbage and baked in rice paper, which looked fairly normal.

My egg rolls, though, didn't look anything like egg rolls, partly because I baked them instead of deep-frying. Luckily they still tasted good.

Valentines

For Valentine's Day, our tradition is to write each other poems. It usually involves a lot of secrecy and hiding dictionaries around the house. This year I made David a card with a paper cutting of the Black-and-White Warbler, and I wrote him a poem in Latin. David wrote me a poem in Greek. It was a very nerdy and wonderful Valentine's Day.

A Valentine's Message From Poppy

This year I got one valentine. It was from a dog.

It said, "I like you a munch."

I took it literally.

It was delicious.

Happy Valentine's Day, Socks.

Six Good Eggs

For my ongoing celebration of the Chinese New Year (it lasts 15 days!) I made these tea eggs, which are supposed to be a lucky New Year food. Basically, they are hardboiled eggs steeped in a murky brew of black tea, spices, and soy sauce.

I steeped mine for six hours. Next time I'll do it for longer -- they aren't quite as dark as I hoped they would be. But they made the kitchen smell wonderful, and the eggshells came off with this gorgeous pattern inside.

When the eggs are done, they have the same beautifully marbled look, like gemstones.

And they are delicious! They have a rich, spicy, salted-caramel flavor that is addictive. I will definitely make them again, new year or not.