This Old House 2

Did you know that the plant we know as the poinsettia was once used as a fever medicine? The poinsettia is a native of Southern Mexico. The Aztecs used it for practical things, like the extracted purplish dye used in textiles and cosmetics. The milky white sap of the poinsettia, which we call latex today, was used in the fever treatment. The Founder of the Smithsonian Institution, Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851) had attended medical school and had an interest in botany. When he discovered Poinsettia plants in the Taxco area, he sent them home to his South Carolina plantations, where he grew them and gave them to friends and botanical gardens. One of those friends, a nurseryman… began selling them under the now famous name, Poinsettia.

For those of you who are local, Acer Gardens in Deep River has a terrific selection at good prices this year. They carry a huge selection of bows and wreaths too.. the two on my header are from their shop.

I have two crazy geraniums who are still thriving on my back porch. I’m going to try to keep them happy all winter, anyone have any tips? There is a small heater back there that we turn on when we want to sit out there. The sun warms it up during the day and it is glassed in for the winter.

Christmas at This Old House

December has arrived, and with it the craziness of the Holiday season. I’ve decorated This Old House for the first time in the spirit of Christmas, but I wish I could tell you I was feeling more of the joy. With the passing of the “Thankful” holiday, while there is much I am grateful for, the flip side are the worrysome issues that remain. Their weight is heavy, I’m finding they don’t mingle well with this time of shopping, spending and our tendency towards overindulgence.

Mike’s proffession in particular has taken a hard hit in this down-turn of the economy. Along with us there are many subcontractors, craftsmen and laborers who are out of work or watching their business of 30 years dwindle and in some cases, close up entirely. Homes are being lost to the bank, life savings and retirement funds being used up for today’s survival, mom and pop stores closing for good. (our artisan shop among them). There are family and friends struggling with health issues and money woes and relationship crisis and we are not immune. As for the job market, which I am scouring daily, it’s currently a dismal landscape.

In the news this week is the story of a deranged father who has “displaced” his three sons after attempting suicide and admitting himself to a hospital. He will not say where they are…what an a**. The police are not hopeful. I keep thinking of what the boys’ poor mother is going through, you’de have to shoot me to end the insanity. I am praying they will find those boys alive and give her back her life.

As for the state of this country’s affairs. I’m not even going there. I’ve decided to avoid the news all together because there is surely not much I can do in my little corner of the universe to fix any of that.

SO… in an attempt to create an escape for my family and myself, I have decorated just about EVERYTHING that stands still in This Old House. If you’re idle for more than a few minutes around here, you’re in danger of the same fate.

Dining room (keeping room)

Kitchen (also part of keeping room area)

My Christmas Cactus bloomed for Thanksgiving

My tree collection at the dog sink in the downstairs bath

side entry mud room

This is Country Girl Kate’s cardinal photo…

In the mancave, nutcrackers stand guard

mitten and snowflake tree in upstairs hall

family room

According to a google search: A candle placed in the window is a traditional practice in many cultures with a variety of meanings. Throughout the history of man a campfire has represented warmth and security. It is the barrier between the safe and the unsafe in an untamed and unfriendly wilderness. Over the course of history, as we have moved our campfires into our homes, there, the hearth has represented these very same things. The family hearth has been the center of activity because of its warmth and practical use for food preparation.

In most cultures a Candle in the Window was used to signal a Family’s loyalty to a loved one who was away traveling. It let that person know the family awaited their return and the hearth was warm and waiting for them. In Ireland during times of religious persecution, the Window Candle signaled the location of religious

services. In Colonial America a Candle in the Window was used to honor dignitaries, announce births and just plain celebrate.

The candles in the windows of This Old House are lit for those who are struggling. My hope is that the holiday season will bring peace and joy, good news and resolutions to all who are in need. One of my favorite quotes… “It’s better to light a candle than curse the dark”. Amen to that.

Pom Love

I’m not talking about the much hyped pomegranate and it’s known health benefits. No, I’m loving the pomelo.. have you ever heard of it? I just discovered them last year, where have I been? They are awesome if you are a citrus lover. I’m not crazy about a regular grapefruit,which my grandmother used to serve at breakfast faithfully with a spoon full of sugar sprinkled on top and a cherry sliced in half for good measure…and bribery perhaps. Ruby reds are pretty good… but a pomelo is divine.

According to citrus growers – The pomelo pronounced [pom-EH-loh] is also found spelled pommelo. Thought to be the ancestor of the grapefruit. This giant citrus (citrus grandus) fruit is native to Malaysia (where it still grows abundantly). It is also cultivated in California and Israel. Most of the varieties found today have been bred and grown. The rind is very thick but soft and easy to peel away. The resulting fruit is light yellow to coral-pink flesh and can vary from juicy to slightly dry and from seductively spicy-sweet to tangy and tart.

I got this recipe from http://www.foodandwine.com/ Today is a miserable rainy dreary day… what better to chase it away than a tropical drink that reminds you of the islands…

Pomelo Mojito

Ingredients

4 peeled sections of pomelo or grapefruit, chopped
6 mint leaves
2 tablespoons Roba Dolce blood orange sorbetto
1 1/2 ounces white rum
Ice
Club soda
1 lime wedge

Directions

1.In a cocktail shaker, muddle the pomelo with the mint and sorbetto Add the rum and ice and shake well. Pour into a highball glass. Top with club soda and garnish with the lime wedge.

I Spoke too Soon

9:30 pm, and the tree trials return.

Light the Night

Last night was a little test for This Old House. 500 feet of old fashioned christmas lights were strung on the pine tree we planted for this very purpose earlier in the year. We even installed an outdoor power switch for the task at hand. When daylight waned I could barely contain my excitement. I ran outside and flicked the switch. Alas, the tree was a vision of colored light beauty, just as I had hoped.

And then it wasn’t.

And then it was…..

and wasn’t.

Our neighbor across the street, a lovely young woman of 80-something years, has the same love for christmas lights as I, so I told her we’de be lighting it up, keep an eye out, beware the glare. After the fourth or fifth black out, I’m sure she thought we were nutz. Turns out those old fashioned bulbs can only be strung four strands to a power cord, or the whole thing burns out. You also need a power cord that can deal with all that wattage.

It was remedied today, and I’m happy to report a constant glow in that general vicinity as of 5pm.

Why Can’t This Happen When I’m Shopping

One Small Gesture Can Mean The World

I’ve been following this blog for a month now… words fail me in trying to describe the courage and love and determination I witness within this family when I read their story. I’ve posted about this young man before, but this morning there was a simple request and I’m passing it along with the hope that some of you will join in. Many of you are so creative, and I’m thinking if we each just make or find one simple ornament to hang on his tree, what a gift it would be to let him know there are people all over who are thinking of him as he fights for his life in a hospital room far from home.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday… that’s so NOT how I want to kick off this holiday season. Let’s help decorate this soldier’s tree…. Click on the link below to read the post… there is an address to send your ornament if you care to join in.

http://billy-cooter-mccotter.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-tradition.html

It’s a Pisces thing

I was born in the sign of water

and it’s there that I feel my best

The albatross and the whale

they are my brothers.

(one of my favorite songs ever)

I have always been drawn to the water, perhaps having been born on an island under the Pisces sign has something to do with it. This Old House has certainly fulfilled a dream of mine, but I have yet another…a little bungalow on the edge of the water somewhere warm. One of these days…. if the right fixer upper comes along…..

My dad had fish tanks years ago and for a while raised his own stock. One of my favorite tag-along errands with him (besides the gas station to suck in all those awesome fumes) were trips to the fish store for supplies. He almost always let me bring home a new fish for his finned community. He used nautical navigation maps for the backgrounds of the tanks with rocks, plants and driftwood for decoration. Most people have seen those aerated treasure chests you can still find today… he had one of those sitting among the rocks and for a brief while I believed they were our cleverly disquised “family jewels”.

Over the years I have had several tropical fish tanks, gold fish bowls, betta tanks, and for a very very brief time, a salt water tank that, quite frankly, tanked. A word of advice for those who are contemplating a salt water aquarium… DON’T DO IT! They are surely the most beautiful of aquarium environments and the array of fish are stunning – HOWEVER… Unless you are truly committed to one whopping responsibility consisting of near constant temperature checks, salt level checks, alchalinity, ph-balance, a back-up generator in case your power goes out, and just in general real-cramp-in-the-a** upkeep… it ain’t worth it.

So… when we moved to This Old House we had one remaining tropical tank in my sons old room. He no longer wanted the responsibility of taking care of it and I felt the same way. The tank was dismantled and the fish moved to my husband’s big tank at his office. We’ve been here almost six months now and I’ve been missing the fins. There may have been an impulsive stop at Petco last week and I found the missing link.

Meet Henry.

He sits on my plant shelf over the kitchen sink.

Why “Henry” ? I have no idea…

He is what is referred to as a Crown Fin Betta

Bettas are a relatively easy fish as long as you give them what they need. It breaks my heart to see them in those tiny little containers at the pet stores. Sadly, more often than not customers are told and truly believe all they need are those tiny little bowls. While it’s true they can survive for years in that condition, so can a prisoner in a 10 x 10 cell, to make a fair comparison.

Henry’s home is just a small goldfish bowl with gravel and a live plant. It’s not the tank I’de prefer to see him in, but for now it’s five times the little plastic container he came in and already he’s livelier and spreading his fins like he’s courting the ceramic chicken sitting next to him. I’ll be sure to keep the water temp around 75 degrees away from draft and I’ll do a partial water change with distilled water every five days or so to keep the ammonia level down. A water change in this type of bowl is simple with a filled gallon water jug kept under the sink. It will be room temperature and distilled when I’m ready to use it. Betta food is easy too, just don’t pollute the tank with too much of it by following feeding instructions on the container. I also like to buy brine shrimp and blood worms on occassion to supplement their diet.

Bettas come in all colors and a variety of fin shapes…

These are called half-moon Betta