Miscellaneous March ~ Found Objects and Spring Flowers Emerge from The Snow

 

Hi everyone! Is it cold at your house? High winds and frigid temps here at the beach. No amount of sunshine can make the weather more tolerable. The other night I finished some tax prep and opened Blogger  to do this post, and BOOM, the lights went out. Blackout. No warnings, no wind alerts, no storms; I was totally unprepared, though I did have prepared food. But low batteries everywhere, pretty late at night and oh so dark. Usually a clear storm breaks down my wifi and landline phone, but not a total blackout. 

Hard to know what to do; finally got out all the stored comforters and decided to huddle underneath til dawn. Baby Mo was wrapped in many layers in his own bed. If things got really cold I'd make him come up on the bed. But he seemed happy. [Temperature 24 degrees/ windchill about 13*, wind 30 plus mph.]

Just as I crawled under all the quilts and blankets, Bang! the lights returned. Saved, yay!

Mo is currently enjoying his winter coats, so we do go on out. Looking for first daffodil shoots. Here they are, peeking out of the old dirty snow as it melted .

And I've been keeping a sharp eye out for weird collection items that emerge from the snow. Washers, coins, tiny Christmas trees in Lucite and glitter! A little yellow looped key?

I thought the this was a Lego People head. But no.

I like finding Canadian pennies. They are pretty.

We've seen a number of St Paddy's Day wreaths and door decorations, but I'm especially loving all the newly hung out seashell wreaths. Everyone is ready for summer days. And I've been noticing these interesting tall lanterns, set out on front steps or in front gardens, usually with a faux pillar candle, presumably on a timer. They are pretty big, higher than my knee--30"? We love the warm glow in the darkness. 

This lantern has especially attracted my notice. Looks very "Home Goods" and it has a candle, plus the base is filled with a small collection of special seashells. But wouldn't it make such a cute little storage cupboard for some of my tiny quilts. I am always tempted to leave a note....

Back inside, I'm filling the cottage with inexpensive spring flowers each week. Dear daffys from Ireland, 2 bunches for 3.oo.

And primroses, a favorite of my dad's. He'd plant them in a wicker basket with green moss from his woods, for the Easter table. Maybe a few Easter Eggs or a china bunny or ladybug from the dump Swap Shop, tucked in too.

I've been picturing this metal planter filled with spring flowers ever since I got it a few years ago. Next summer, it should have red geraniums, I hope.

Many of you asked how my second Crockpot recipe came out: Braised Beef with Mushrooms. No vegs. It was very delicious! I listened to friends who are excellent cooks; everyone insisted I must pre-brown the meat. I also pre-sautéed the mushrooms in butter. Served on wide noodles, my favorite pappardelli, with a dollop of sour cream.  Butter/honey glazed baby carrots and Brussel sprouts on the side.

Below, unusual especially in winter, heirloom tomatoes at my grocery store. So pretty.

Edit: today's crock pot attempt was my Fast Chili. I cooked it 2 hours on high and 4 or 5 on low. Smelled great, but is watery and undercooked. Disappointing.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

.Upcoming: St Paddy's Day and the Oystercatchers' return; Mo's birthday; spring equinox; days get longer; Daylight Savings begins. First day of, hahahahah, spring.....

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Looking for Spring ~ March Has Arrived with Its Doldrum Days

Good morning! It's as grey and dull a day as you could imagine here at the beach. March is a big blah, neither winter nor spring. Sure, we woke up to snow, but just a dusting on the grass, much to Mo's urinary delight. My friend L and I have been doing some recreational shopping to brighten these midwinter days. My goal is to find a few accent items in sunny yellow to go with my soon to be sewed yellow pillow covers. I'd love to find a yellow striped jug or bowl, like this but yellow?

...maybe a few yellow carpet balls? Yellow must be my least favorite color [after forest green] because I have nothing yellow here to use. I do love daffodils, forsythia and dandelions, yellow tulips too---but as for a yellow and white quilt or pot or table runner/cloth, that's a fail.

Pier One looked interesting online, but was dull and tired in real life. Instead of spring colors they have a lot of grey, white and black? Black gingham, black bunnies. [yawn]

Very modern, simplistic bunnies.

Even bejeweled Bunny was a bit subdued.

These coffee tables were interesting, with their inserted sea glass. and lovely natural wood. Far too modern for my house though, I'm hoping for a farmhouse find someday.

I bought wax melts for my Mason jar thing. They smell like deodorant so far, huh.
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Yesterday we hit Home Goods. Nothing yellow but bursting with traditional spring and coastal summer items, plus a few  some fun finds.

This was my on-sale treasure.

Should I paint this distressed chalk white or leave as is? It is another thread spool holder, my spools are multiplying like bunnies.

L had gone to get the car and as she parked I was like, "Oh look! You have to see this, it was on sale! Look at the cool china ABCs! So cool! Don't you LOVE it!" Jumping like a fangirl. And another woman walking by came over to look too, she loved it, she wanted it!  Prob I could have resold it for a profit, lol. Love the old china labels, not wild about the very modern steel screws though I suppose they'll be rusty by the end of summer anyway.

Flowers at the grocery and TJs. Eye-popping brightness. Sajou flowers.

Confetti roses.

TJs candle of the season is Lemon Cooky, nice and warm sugary but fresh lemony too. 4.oo.

Back in the kitchen I made bread this week. I used the no-knead dutch oven recipe again but I wanted seeded bread.

I love seeded or whole grain breads!

This came out so perfect [though a bit misshapen], just as I imagined.

I used TJs "Everything but The Bagel topping plus a bit of coarse raw sea salt, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, flax seeds ,pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds.

I drew on my previous breadmaking experience to get a chewy not crispy crust. I  brushed the top of the loaf with olive oil before adding the seed topping. The dutch oven is preheated at 450*: I then added a fat 1/8 C of water before I plopped  in my dough and covered it really fast, trapping the resulting steam. The steam softens the crust. Then when I did the last 10 uncovered minutes I added a bit more water, a sprinkle around the edges. And I was careful not to overcook the loaf. Slices perfectly, chewy dense texture.

My only drawback is the seeds make a terrible mess . Seeds everywhere, especially the flax seeds. I think I will make it without the topping next time, just put seeds in the dough?

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In between working on quilts I have started a bit of spring cleaning. Oh my windows need a big wash but it's too cold. The wind forces sand right thru the wooden window frames; I find little sifted piles where there's air leaks. Instead I emptied and washed the fridge, ugh. And today's chore was to empty the utensil drawer in the kitchen, sort the useless junk [old corks? three rusty can-openers, saved for the Apocalypse?] and to wash all the divider thingies. They're all air drying now.

Mo has been a very sweet boy, except he has moved on from kitchen bin rooting to attacking the laundry basket. Every time I look, all the clothes are strewn everywhere, clean or dirty, he is not a connoisseur. On one windy day---I think Monday? , hiding from the noise, first he built a nest on my bed....

then in his bed, under the computer desk. I think the hard drive is warm:

...then he got spooked and rowdy and built a fort on 'his'' sofa. He was very proud of his cushion pile/ mess.

Two  found washers this week. No coins. Paperwhites finishing week five.

Have a good weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...