High hopes

Today is the Philadelphia Phillies home opener! I have high hopes again this year for the Fightin' Phils but just like any other loyal Phillies fan, I am also prepared for the agony of defeat. Be it at the beginning of the season when they dig themselves a hole so deep that it would take a near miracle for them to recover and make the playoffs... or be it at the end of a long season where they are fighting just for a wild card spot. I know, I know, last year they actually won the division so the whole wild card thing was a non issue, but for anyone who witnessed the poor decisions made by management during the play offs, you understand my frustration. Regardless, I had the pleasure of attending one of the home playoff games last year and it was awesome (despite the actual outcome of the game). Anyway, a new season has begun and come what may, I will be cheering them on... it's not easy to be a Phillies fan, but I do believe! GO PHILS!

City vs. Country

Well here they are... the 2 hardest working cats in America, Spencer and Toonces. These are my 2 sweethearts catching a nap in yesterday's afternoon sun. What's funny about this picture is that these two do not usually lay around together. They lead very separate lives in the house. Spence tolerates Toonces' rambunctious behavior... you see, Spence is very dignified and proper, he obeys the rules and wouldn't be caught dead begging for anything. Now Toonces on the other hand is like a bull in a china shop. He is heavy on his feet and thinks nothing of eating anything he can find. I truly believe that Spence thinks Toonces is inferior. I think their behaviors are indicative of where they came from and how I got them. Spence is a city cat that I adopted from an urban Humane Society. When I walked in to see the cats available for adoption 10 years ago, there he was just sitting alone in his cage, calm, cool, collected- it's as if he was saying, "yes, you're going to take me, and I will allow you to". He has a cool confidence about him. Toonces was found hanging onto the back door screen at my parents' farm in the rural countryside (did I mention that this was during the remnants of an Atlantic Hurricane? Yeah, Hurricane Ivan). It was quite obvious that he had been on the streets if you will for awhile... he seemed starved and desperate for attention...nothing much has changed. Toonces is a bit nervous at times but very playful and mischievous. They are quite an interesting pair and I wouldn't change a thing.

John Adams

I used to look forward to turning on HBO Sunday nights just to watch "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Curb is over, but now I have a new reason to watch Sunday night HBO... John Adams. This is a seven part mini series chronicling the life of John Adams beginning with his involvement in the Continental Congress. I love American History, especially the Revolutionary War- but I'll be honest, I knew very little about John Adams. Not any longer! Watch out Pam- you will see a John Adams related question on my quizzes from now on... sort of in the manner that an English King, Queen or relative thereof appear on each of your quizzes. I periodically receive (and give upon request) "quizzes" from my friend Pam, who happens to work in Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress convened, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where John Adams lived during his presidency. And so it begins...

Two trips

Two trips. Yep, that's how many times i went to the plant dump with the remnants of my spring clean up. The picture above shows trip no. 1 which also included 6 huge garbage bags of leaves. The "plant dump", as I like to call it, is a place run by the township which allows its residents to deposit leaves, grass clippings, limbs, shrubs and brush. The great thing about it is that you can go day or night all year long. Whenever the mood strikes you to clip, mow, pull, prune or cut... the plant dump is always open. The township people then recycle the debris into mulch, etc. There are clearly posted signs to show you where everything goes...see below. There is also a place for grass clippings only and leaves only.

Why is there is no sign for "2 years worth of dead clematis vines/leaves that are all balled up into a huge tangled mess"...?? Where does that go, huh? I took my chances and left it with the "brush".
p.s. Thanks, Dad for the use of your truck.

Out like a lamb?

Here are my first blooms of the season. I feel I need to acknowledge them today, this second day of spring, as the threat of an inch of snow is upon us tonight. I hope they can make it. Primroses, in my experience, do pretty well through harsh weather, at least mine seem to anyway. I should also mention that I have exactly one crocus and one (and a half!) daffodils blooming too... but who's counting?

Stage one of my spring clean up outside continues. I've cleaned up most of the leaves and expired perennials and it's finally starting to look like an actual garden out there. Although I am worried now that I was a little too thorough and that I have exposed my tender plants to the elements. I took away the blanket of protection they've had all winter. It's just that this is the first spring in a few years that I do not have my store Eye Candy- needless to say with a full time job and the store on top of that, I was a little more than neglectful of my own gardens and property. All of my energy had been going into keeping my retail property (which had stone pathways, a huge gazebo and multiple flower gardens!! whew!) looking presentable. So this spring, as I mentioned in a previous post, I am a little over anxious to get things at my own house in shape!

"Nature's first green is gold"...

Happy first day of spring everyone! As you can see, I took matters into my own hands. A few weeks ago I cut some dogwood branches and brought them inside before they were blooming. Just this week the buds opened up in time to welcome spring. I cannot say it enough that I have spring fever. Every year around this time in March, I become so anxious to get outside and into my gardens... I can't stand it when the weather does not allow it- I'm like "Hurry up spring, let's go! Can't you see I have work to do"? I guess Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it up when he said "Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience". I wish I could.

2 things...

1. I can't believe it! Can you see it? Right there behind the little bird- it's a brand new orchid stem with buds! I was so happy to discover it. I've been watering it regularly but not really checking for anything until a few days ago when all of a sudden it just appeared! I've had the orchid for a few years and it had bloomed continuously for a while until it just sort of went on a bloom sabbatical. It has had new leaves, just never a new stem. Finally!

b. The weather lately has been cold, rainy and windy as March in PA tends to be. So what a nice surprise it was to see a huge rainbow emerge over the weekend between rain showers. This sunny break only lasted an hour or so, but it was a nice change from the dark clouds that had been dominating the sky.

Comfort food

Say the words comfort food and I'm hooked. There is something about the way it sounds that gets me every time. It conjures up warm feelings of family kitchens and gatherings, soulful cooking and a sense of familiarity. In any given city, if I see a restaurant touting "comfort food", it draws me in. I instantly feel like I will know people in there, like I'll be sitting down with old friends to enjoy a delicious meal. I know it sounds silly, but it's the familiarity of it all that I connect with especially while traveling. And who doesn't love comfort food anyway? It can be anything from mashed potatoes, chicken parmesan, potato filling, collard greens or milkshakes, it's what you want it to be, anything that you have a connection with that makes you feel safe and familiar. Don't get me wrong, I love all kinds of restaurants and I love trying new and interesting dishes, but darn it, comfort food hooks me every time. Today I decided to try my hand at an old favorite from my mom... Oven Beef Stew. It's a simple but very hearty and flavorful stew consisting of beef and vegetables in a tomato base. I have been looking forward to breaking in my new cast iron pot so I thought this would be the perfect recipe for the maiden voyage so to speak. It turned out just like I hoped it would-delicious and comforting on a chilly March afternoon.

Pocono Pines

This weekend was my first trip to the Pocono Mountains. I am lucky enough to have very generous friends from Chicago that allowed us to stay at their PA getaway in the Poconos. Thanks Steph and Tim! Their house is wonderful and perfectly secluded in Pocono Pines. Everything had a billowy layer of freshly fallen snow and it was beautiful.

This is Chip. We were not equipped with proper snowman making accessories so we used what we could find in Bill's Jeep. Chip's buttons are water and soda bottle caps (and one motor oil cap). The scarf is a bunch of bungie cords; the mouth is a red Twizzler; the nose is a paint brush and the eyes are chocolate chip cookies. Not too bad, huh?

On Sunday Bill, Cara, Wayne and myself went snow tubing at Big Boulder. Let it be said that when snow tubing with friends it is all about "speed" and "distance". The folks at the mountain make it so easy too. You don't even have to walk back up, they have a tow line that you hook your tube onto and it takes you right back up the hill. That's the tow line in the picture above bringing us back up.

The snow tubes are for single riders, but you can lash as many tubes together as you want, we decided that connecting all four of us together would provide optimal "speed" and "distance"... Yep, we were right! Note: mine is the red tube, in front, how convenient, thanks a lot guys!

At the bottom of the mountain was this little brook, it was so beautiful and really got me excited for the beginning of spring- only 17 more days...

During our short weekend in the Poconos, we visited many local shops and found lots of candles, copper art and best of all... cheesecake. I will end on that note! Yum!

Thanks again to Steph and Tim who let us stay at their awesome getaway.