April showers were few and far between in California’s Central Valley this Spring. Never mind. May flowers are showing up gloriously in our garden. Sometimes the garden is all work and no play. Mr. Lebsock handles the work with grace and joy. Often he brings me the gorgeous rewards of his hard work. What a…
This has been a “messy month” around here! Ups and downs, highs and lows. Lessons and then some. Oh well…April showers promise May flowers. Onward and upward. In the first week we celebrated Christ’s Triumphal Entry on Friday the 2nd and Resurrection Sunday on the 4th. Our celebrations, for the second year in a row,…
There has been a greenhouse in Mr. L’s garden every place we’ve ever lived. And, in that greenhouse there are always orchids of one variety or another. Right now he has several rather spectacular specimens I’d like to feature here:
Around here we’re really fond of the traditional “French Dip” sandwich. Most good diners have one on the menu. The French Dip is easy to find when diners are open, quarantine is not in force and social distancing isn’t a thing. So…we haven’t had a good French Dip sandwich for more than a year. This…
The menu for dinner tonight is an artichoke, shrimp, a glass of wine, and the two of us. Simple but elegant in its own way. Cheers!! Prep is simple too. Artichokes: Buy the freshest (tightest) globes available. Trim away leaf points, tops and stems. Place stem end down in your pressure cooker or instant pot.…
The latest showpiece in our garden is this exquisite white hybrid tea rose. We’ve tried pure white roses before. Most have been rather ho-hum. This one promises a better showing and more substance. Never mind that it was a big-box store special a couple of years back, and I’ve misplaced the label so I can’t…
Well…here we are! It’s the start of rose season in our garden. The first outpouring of blooms is always spectacular. A couple of the plants offer up flowers the size of dessert plates! Day after day Mr. L brings me beautiful bouquets, each one an out-pouring of his love for me and for his amazing…
The beginning of the color show around our little cottage home. The wisteria is in full flower. And our first cut of roses is ready to be taken inside, carrying that amazing color and fragrance with it. I’d love to have you drop by for a visit while the garden is in this season of…
Twelve months into “the pandemic” everything has changed, and nothing has changed! This month we celebrated St. Paddy’s Day, the first official day of Spring, Passover and Palm Sunday, plus a couple of birthday’s–mine included. This month my cell phone and my desktop computer both passed away! It goes without saying both were replaced asap,…
The Japanese Maple is showing exquisite color. It appears to think it’s autumn, but in fact it does this in the spring and turns gold in autumn. The tiny blossoms produce winged seeds. Spectacular!! The light was just right this evening, even if the garden was not. More light on the maple this year due…
