Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, home, inspiration, Thoughts on June 4, 2022| 1 Comment »
Should I have spent my day writing? Maybe.
What did I do instead? I made bread, lemon curd, braided lemon bread and baked milk. Went for a walk. Staked the Joe Pye weed. Stared at the clouds. Deadheaded the dandelions and filled up the bird bath and rooted butterfly weed. In short, good things.
Works for me.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, plants on June 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A few weeks ago, I discovered a mysterious stranger in my front yard. (Wait, it wasn’t creepy!) I noticed a large plant enthusiastically outpacing the rest of the yard’s late spring residents. It was obviously Something, but what? Rather than give the plant a chance to bully its way to King of the Garden I dug it up, put it in a pot and gave it a home in the back yard. Whether that home would be temporary was to be determined. What the heck was it?
I can now answer that question. (I’m sure many people would know what it is straight off the bat but I did not. Learning, it’s a beautiful thing!)
Meet the (checks the plant ID app, which is probably right?) Treacle or Wormseed Mustard plant. This is Erysimum chieranthoides, also known as a Wallflower. And here I thought that was just a metaphor.
It is weedy in looks and habits, which doesn’t typically bother me that much, but it’s also a wee bit poisonous and very bitter. Most animals avoid feed contaminated by this plant’s seed. Sounds unpleasant. I’m afraid I will have to say thanks but no thanks.
Also, my helpful app has another poem for us. It’s not actually about this plant but what the heck. Enjoy!
And then along my picket fence
Where staring wallflowers grow–
World-wise Old Age, and Common-sense! –
Black bonnet, nodding slow.
— Henry Lawson
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Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, memories, recipes, Thoughts on June 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My father texted the other day to say that he was making a dish from my childhood, Mrs. Chiang’s Eggplant with Chopped Meat. The name brought back memories of hot chili and flavorful meat with rice. I should make that too, I thought. Where is my wok?
Several days later I made the dish with what I had or could get. Two eggplants became one, eight scallions became two huge handfuls from my bag of pre-chopped and frozen, peanut oil became avocado and pork became turkey. Fortunately, the recipe is quite forgiving.
The chili paste stayed the same, as did the complex and satisfying taste. And the fond memories.
I still haven’t found my wok.
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Eggplant with Ground Turkey
(adapted from Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook)
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Thoughts on June 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”
― Aristotle
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Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, pollinators, Thoughts on May 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
No Mow May has been a success at our house. Ratings so far:
I also spotted a new plant in the front yard, Blue-eyed Grass. Despite its name, it’s actually a member of the Iris family, and a pretty one at that. So that’s fun.
Blue-eyed grass in the meadow,
And the laden bee’s low hum,
Milkweeds all by the roadside,
To tell us summer is come.
— Mary Austin
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, meteor shower, science, space, Thoughts on May 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
If you’re in North America, you may be treated to a dramatic meteor shower tonight.
Or, you know, maybe not.
Meteor storm of 1,000 shooting stars per hour possible this week | Space
The Tau Herculids meteor shower may light up the skies over North America on May 30 and 31. Or it may not. There’s a chance we might pass through the thickest part of the comet fragment that is creating the debris, in which case the night skies will be filled with shooting stars.
You can watch the possible tau Herculid meteor shower live online, courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project. The project’s astrophysicist Gianluca Masi will provide live all-sky cameras from Arizona and Brazil starting at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT) on Tuesday, May 31.
I kind of love that despite all of humanity’s scientific advances, such events can remain a delightful surprise.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, F1, greener, Thoughts on May 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Today in super excellent ideas I’m giving away for free: I’m pretty sure that turning used F1 tires into premium-branded garage flooring would be a no-brainer.
What Does F1 Do With Used Tires? – One Stop Racing
How much would a superfan pay to walk on Lewis Hamilton’s or Charles Leclerc’s or Max Verstappen’s tires? I’m going to go with A Lot.
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Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, recipes on May 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I spent much of the day in the kitchen, enjoying the fact that my oven works. Now that we have electricity again, I decided to make some “thank you” gifts for the neighbors and some “stay strong” gifts for friends who are still without power.
Menu: brownies, blueberry torte, and a new recipe from Stella Parks via Serious Eats: Sunny Lemon Bars.
The new lemon bar recipe is a win, as tangy as I like with what is essentially a shortbread crust. I needed a double batch and I won’t lie, it was a little shocking to go through six whole eggs plus sixteen egg yolks for one 9 by 13 inch pan. I also ran out of lemon juice at about 90% of requirements and had to make up the difference with Meyer lemon and lime juices, but it worked well.
Nom!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, quotes, Thoughts, writing on May 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“There are no rules in fiction, only vague guidelines. Pick the approach that works best for you and write like the wind.”
— Ilona Andrews
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Nebula Awards, sff, Writers, writing on May 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I have apparently forgotten how to Thursday and my schedule is all awry. While I get myself sorted out, here are the Nebula Award winners:
2021 Nebula Awards Winners – Locus Online
As mentioned in a previous post, some of the nominees are free-to-read. The short story winner is open access (and is told primarily through its 93! footnotes):
“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather“, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/21)
Enjoy!
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