I don't want it to go away because this is what brings our May flowers.  I spent yesterday at the French Broad Garden Club's spring plant sale.  I got to talk about my book and take advance orders.  All was great until it started raining and, though I am not scared of some dampness, my book order forms (made of paper) did not share that same sentiment - so I packed up and left. 

 

We did get a good number of orders, I'm happy to say.  If you'd like us to save copies for you (a guaranteed First Edition!), just come to the office and let one of us help you.  Tell us who you would like them to be for and I'll get them signed for you to pick up when they are printed - sometime in early September.

 

My peas are out of the ground, as are my cukes and beans.  I have three raised beds, as I have mentioned, and they are going nicely.  hmm...I wonder what this week of rain will do to them?

 

Speaking of peas, do come share an evening with me, Cooking with flavors and the bounty of spring.  This class is on a Thursday (many of you have said Wednesdays are not good so...) 

 

I'll demonstrate, and you take notes and then eat everything.  25.00 gets you a spot in our Garden Room.  There will be no class in June since I'm going on a trip, so sign up for this one!

 

Thursday, May 16th  6:30-8:00 pm. call 252-1500 to save your spots.

Monday, April 29

Bone-in Fried Chicken with Twice-baked Potato 8.95

 

Tuesday, April 30

Rosemary Lamb Skewers with Orange Jasmine Rice 11.95 (GF)

 

Wednesday, May 1

Roasted Chicken with Brussels Sprouts 8.95

 

Thursday, May 2

Braised St. Louis Ribs with Collards 9.25

 

Friday, May 3

NC Trout with Fennel Orange Gremolata 11.95

 

Casserole to go:

 

Wednesday, May 1

Eggplant Parmesan

Whole: 35 Half: 17.50

 

Lasagna of the week:

Friday, May 3

Local Italian Sausage and Peppers

Whole: 59.95 Half: 30

 

 

This beauty reminds me of my past couple of years.  Or maybe of my whole life.  It grows, you see, not in a bed, but next to my rock wall - in the driveway.  I do have Columbine in one garden - planted by me.  I also have a hillside covered with Columbine - NOT planted by me.  And this gal, well, she has chosen the gravel to plant herself. 

 

As I said, I was taking orders for my book yesterday.  Someone came by and said this, "I'll need to get one for my honey!"  My buddy/helper/friend and I looked at each other and quickly scrawled this little sign. It might become my book's motto.

 

"Hiya, honey!" is another good one, as is, simply, "suh-WEET!"

 

Encaustics are not for the faint of heart.  You don't just go get some paper and some crayons.  You need a heating surface and good ventilation and the colors and special brushes and the substrate (canvas or board or something hard to paint on) and a heating gun and some sturdy tins to mix the color in...

 

 

April 28, 2013

 

Rain rain rain rain. And more rain.

 

Yesterday when I came home from the rainy plant sale I thought about staying inside but my new plants will do much better if I put them into the ground. So I put on my raincoat and rain pants and a hat and went outside and had a fine hour or two of gardening. When I came in I was dry – all except for my hands. And I was very happy.

 

Blueberry Hill was, and still is, on a dirt road. Rain for me, then, meant throwing on my rain coat and boots (“galoshes”) and my rain hat and running outside to make dams and rivers and such in the water coursing down the side of the road. Ours was not a highly traveled road so no one minded if I played there. I constructed canals and bridges, crafted floating vessels from sticks and string, and sent my boats on their way down the hill.

 

I lived in New York City for one year in my adolescence. Rain there came in sheets, unexpected bursts from the clouds on a hot summer afternoon. I, having come from my dirt road in Vermont, thought nothing of playing in the gutters, stomping around in the gushing water. Adults scolded me, telling me of all the nasties that were surely there. But I chose to ignore them, running outside regardless of their warnings. Stupid grownups anyway.

 

I am about to go off on a personal journey, a pilgrimage. I don’t really know much about it, except that this has been a long and hard test I’m just completing and I want to just go off and walk quietly for a while, reviewing these past couple of years.

 

One thing that is certain is that I will most likely be uncomfortable at times. Rain or no rain is not guaranteed. I am confident that I will be inside at night and that I will see other people along the way. And I am okay with walking in the rain (I say now.) I am okay with taking my time and with undertaking a hard adventure. This adventure is one I chose. Being in chemotherapy treatment was also something I choose (rather than opting to have NO treatment or something in the alternative direction.) But medical treatments happen on a strict timetable and this sojourn will be on mine. If I am tired, I will stop. And if I don’t want to keep going, I won’t.

 

I think it is tempting to want to stay inside in a rainstorm. It is harder to remember the fun of galoshes and rain hats and stomping around in puddles. Being around grownups who know about the horrors of a city street’s contents is a more recent memory, but I am choosing to skip those warnings, inviting instead the feisty little girl who was the liveliest kid, fearlessly jumping from tree to tree, joyously tackling ski slopes top to bottom as fast as possible, and running out instead of in when the skies let go. On my trek I am hoping to hold her close as I try to figure out what just happened.

 

I do hope you are planning to join me on Sunday, May 19th.  Ride, pretend to ride, ride a little bit, or don't ride.  But come and celebrate Livestrong Weekend in Asheville.  This is a big deal.  BIG!

 

 

By the way - the day is going to be lots of fun.  The Kid's Ride starts at 1:00 at the Carrier Park Track.  We'll all cheer them on and then will all send the 25 and 50-mile riders on their merry way. 

 

While they are off, we'll have bands and face painting and hula hoops and temporary tattoos and massage and yoga and the Gypsy Queen's yums.  There will be a whole lot more so even if you're not riding or if you are a Virtual or InSPIRIT rider, you can still come and celebrate the day and this wonderful program for cancer survivors (like me!)

 

Do please visit our website just below here and read all about it.  Sign up for something, okay? 

 

Please?!