Thursday, February 27, 2014

Cabin Fever

Being indoors all the time is starting to drive me crazy.  Today is sunny and the sky is clear blue, but I can't get out and enjoy it because it's wicked cold outside.  The wind chill bottomed out somewhere around -16 degrees this afternoon.  It snowed for a short time, but instead of coming straight down, the wind whipped it into a horizontal blizzard.

All day long I've felt overdue for a nap.  Sure, there are things I could do to keep myself busy.  I've got a few loads of laundry waiting for me and those tax returns aren't going to do themselves, but I don't have the energy or the focus to deal with either one of them.

Yesterday, we got an advertising circular from a local home improvement store.  The front page was filled with paving blocks, landscaping timbers, planters and hose reels.  Everything about it screamed spring.  It made me feel hopeful and sad at the same time.  Hopeful that spring is coming, sad that we still have five feet of snow in the front yard and nearly as much in the back.

I was working on a custom order for our shop the other day and I needed to find a particular picture to create a mock up.  Going through my files, I got sidetracked looking at pictures I took last spring and summer.  Flowers we grew, day trips we took, our pool and hot tub, summer sunsets.  All the things I've been missing so much during this long, long, long winter.






If spring flowers, road trips, an open pool and summer sunsets don't get here soon, I'll lose my mind!

All work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl, all work and no play makes Willoughby a dull girl.....



Willoughby


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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Rotten Tomatoes!

Tomatoes are a total mystery to me.  I buy them, I grow them, I eat them, but I can't say that I understand them.

First of all, why is it so hard to get a good tasting tomato in the middle of winter in Michigan?  I know some tomatoes are imported from warmer places and some are grown in green houses.  Unless they're labeled, I usually can't tell the difference.  Neither one has much flavor and they're usually mushy.

Next, I just don't understand what to do with them.  Whether it's February and I'm getting the flavorless ones from the produce department, or the middle of July and I'm harvesting fresh tomatoes from my garden, I've always followed the conventional wisdom that you should not refrigerate an uncut tomato.  So I don't.  I leave them sitting on the counter.  This poses two problems.  Number one, I like tomatoes to be cold (I don't care that someone, somewhere says they're more flavorful at room temp.).  Number two, they go bad rapidly.  RAPIDLY!

My mom recently gave me some extra grape tomatoes she didn't want.  She had kept them in the refrigerator, so I refrigerated them when I brought them home.  The next day I took them out to put them in a salad.  Here is what they looked like:



On the flip side, I picked up a nice looking hot house tomato from the supermarket a day or so later.  I left it on the counter overnight.  The next day it looked like this:




So which is it, refrigerate or not?  I just don't know.  I guess the best choice is to buy them and eat them the same day or wait until summer and pick them fresh moments before I need them.  Or stop eating tomatoes.


Willoughby


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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Winter White - A Photo Essay

The color of the year appears to be winter white.  The snow in our front yard is approximately five feet deep.

Taken at eye level.



Looking toward our neighbor's house.











What is the weather like where you are?   *Warning, shameless plug!*  If you need to keep warm, stop by our shop for some blizzard swag!



Willoughby


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