I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Monday, December 8, 2014

Storm Warnings - - - Nor'easter Coming!



Hi guys! Mo and I just came in from battening down the deck and yard! It's unexpectedly cold here and a storm is on its way, coming early tomorrow morning. A nor'easter with high winds can cause as much havoc as a blizzard or a small hurricane. This one is due to hit us from the north so even though 60 MPH winds and floods are predicted, it shouldn't be too bad. But we don't want the deck chairs to blow away. I've left one of the chairs out because on sunny mornings Mo likes to sit in ''his'' chair and enjoy the warm sun and the view of the ocean and birds, while I do boring, he thinks and I agree, chores. I bungeed everything up tight and all should be fine.


I actually removed about six of the largest, heaviest hand-blown Christmas orbs. I feared their weight might compromise the old glass windows.

 

If the storm blows hard I'll remove all, as the vibration ruins the hold of the suction cups and the glass balls fall and break sometimes. These have been collected for many, many years, most from Cape Cod and Providence RI glassblowers. They are gifts from family and friends mostly--- with a few flea babies added in.




Earlier I dressed in many layers and we went for our long noon walk. We usually walk at least 1.25 miles at noon.
Fast!
To stay warm.


Mo is invigorated by the cold and wind. I don't make him wear his little parka unless it is raining or snowing. During our walk it snowed! Mo's first snow. [he was oblivious.]



We still spend our walks snooping at the neighbors' gardens. In the evenings it has been so fun to watch all the wonderful happy Christmas lights and wreaths and trees appear. I also enjoy looking at the winter shrubbery. How I wish I dared snip a few branches! We found out the koi are still in their pond! Will they stay all winter?


This is the euonymus whose berries were pink in the fall.



Beautiful evergreens...some sort of yew or juniper? Two different shades of chartreuse.



Holly, a seaside staple.



Juniper, traditional with pretty blue grey berries.



Rhododrendon.



And this is so odd! Everyone's forsythia is blooming. The warm damp fall has fooled the shrubs into thinking it's spring.



Even the rhododendrons want to bloom.


But no, I resist temptation. No snipping, I am not a garden thief. Inside the house I am using mostly faux berries, because of Mo.

 
 


A friend brought me gorgeous fresh holly and I didn't have the heart to throw it out. It is carefully up on the sideboard, where Mo can't reach. I found out holly is very poisonous to dogs.



Inside the house, a big dusting job awaited me. High winds make the drifts of fine sand, aka dust, appear in quantity. I had to plant this batch of paperwhites. The bulbs came in the mail on Saturday, ordered for my January indoor planting.



But they are so exuberant, so ready and healthy---their stalks bright chartreuse and ready to grow. Too sad to hide these sprouts in a bag  and perhaps damage them. I used a thrifted fish bowl and some of my treasured beach pebbles. The high sides and narrow neck should help keep the flower stems upright. I'll have paperwhites in bloom for Christmas and, sigh, all my guests will complain their scent sets off their allergies. Too bad.


I also made a dried pineapple, How-To here. It will go in my big wooden bowl with pomegranates and tiny oranges or kumquats, some pine sprigs and cinnamon sticks.



This guy was hard to dry! It took about 5 days of every afternoon and evening setting it into a 200* oven to dry. Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality, a big part of my Christmas tradition and cheer.

before

I hope you're having fun with the holidays, too.



Wish us luck with the storm! (yes, Mel, I have food, and blankets, and batteries, I am all prepared. :-) I'll put up the storm windows first thing tomorrow! The storm will bring warmer weather too, high 40s / no snow.)




PS Tuesday, noon: Mo and I put on our rain gear and ventured out. Just another rainy day here. But the access to the beach is under 2 or 3 feet of water, high tide and runoff. All is well, gonna bake a cake!

love,

lizzy

gone to the beach...


 
 

 

7 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. All is well! Mo and I braved the storm and enjoyed our walks despite getting very wet.

      Delete
  2. Hi! Seems you made it through the storm :)

    The glass orbs are so pretty and so at odds with last night's weather forecast. They are so merrily hanging in the window.

    The Euonymus is still looking very pretty. The Forsythia in your neck of the woods is confused and the Lilac in my neck of the woods is confused. I have two nice blooms right now. Not complaining though, it was a happy surprise.

    Never heard of a dried pineapple before. Seems like a lot of work?

    Happy cake baking, what kind?

    Kel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I esp love the rhododendruns that are blooming pink and pretty. Amazing that you have a summry June fower like lilacs tho.

      Yes the dried pineapple is silly. Just decorative, in a primitive way.

      The cake looks yummy! It s a rfrfigerator junk cake, that I ll freeze to have on hand during the hols. White cake mix: Plus leftover marscapone/ chopped Halloween chocolate Hershey minis/ 2 bags of diet Swiss Miss to make it chocolatey/ leftover chocolate tiny drops/ a scoop of orange marmalade/ orange flavoring/ Creme de Cacao. I ll dig out the leftover jar of frosting from the freezer, add more marmalade & creme de cacao, heat and drizzle on. Cut bundt cake in half and freeze in Glad boxes. Lasts nicely. I was going for a chocolate - orange thing.

      Smells lovely. And now my fridge pantry drawer is cleared out [I use one drawer for baking supplies].

      Delete
  3. I don't think I'd trust the pretty glass orbs to suction cups, LOL! Maybe S-hooks on a rod or something, because I'd be brokenhearted if they got broken. I'm glad your storm wasn't bad! And also glad to hear you were prepared in case it was!

    Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen a dried PINEAPPLE before. I bet it smelled good while it was drying.

    We've had some spring-feeling weather but I don't know if we have any confused plants or trees blooming. We have other years. It's fun to see!

    I used to think holly was the prettiest winter green until we lived in VA and had an overgrown holly by the front door. I had never realized how sharp they were! And stepping on a mostly-dry fallen leaf when it's points up? Not fun on bare feet! I still think they're pretty but I prefer them from a distance....

    Mo looks like you tired him out!
    Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just checking in to make sure you and Mo and tucked in and warm.

    I saw pictures on the news and once again marveled at the power of the sea. There are two big swells in and the surf competitions may get to run.

    Thinking of you. Hugs to Mo.

    Hunter

    ReplyDelete

Hi! I'm allowing comments from everyone, even anonymous for awhile, to see what happens. With comments moderation. Hopefully the awful porn spammer has gone elsewhere. Or you can always email me! I love to hear from everyone.