Gardening!

Today we have been gardening.  I picked up lots of plants at the Friends School Plant Sale Mother's Day weekend.  Lots of rain has kept them sitting in their pots.  No longer!  Now we have seven tomato plants, basil, thyme, chocolate mint, sage, rosemarry parsley, potatoes, peas, and tarragon planted in our front lawn. 

The apple trees are keeping all those vegetables company out front.  We put in two bare-root saplings about a month ago.  Until recently they've looked like sticks in the ground--the new leaves sure spruced them up.  Hopefully we'll have apples by the time Charlotte is five.  Our large walnut tree has restricted what we can plant in the back, so I will have to learn how to keep a tidy, attractive vegetable garden since it is now lining my front walk. 

Watermelon, bitter melon, cucumbers, corn and carrots are all waiting to be planted in the back (they don't mind the walnut tree's juglone secretions). 

My future plans include pear and cherry trees, black raspberries and saskatoons (juneberries or serviceberries to US residents).  Actually I somtimes daydream about a completely edible yard!  To further that daydream, I've been reading about a family in Pasadena that did just that--and then some.  Their urban homestead, Path to Freedom, takes the idea as far as I can imagine, and then a few miles more.  Happy gardening to all those who dig in the dirt!

Saint Lucia Day

Imagine an early Christian saint from Sicily becoming a major holiday figure for Scandinavians.  Yes, folks, somehow or other--that happened.  She was known for bringing food to those in need with a wreath of candles to light her way (her hands were full--of course).  Through some gruesome twists and turns of her personal hisory she also became the patron saint of eyes ( I will not go into detail here).  The fact that Swedish sailors translated her name 'Lucia' as light and that her celebrated day happened to fall on the darkest day of the year certainly helped this unlikely connection along, still I find it a surprising one.  Nonetheless, here we are, in the US, with my 1/4 Norwiegan (0% Sicilian) daughter playing the part of Lucia.  She pulled it off beautifully.  


Saint Lucia Day was one of my favorite holiday activities this year.  It will likely make its way into our holiday celebrations every year for at least the next decade.  It all started because I wanted to do something special with Nova.  (As I recall, I was a bit worried she was suffereing from middle child syndrome at the time).


We checked out the Kirsten's Surprise, the American Girl book featuring the Swedish tradition of Saint Lucia Day.  After reading the story, I was careful not to suggest anything.  Sure enough, Nova came to me, hoping we pull off our own Saint Lucia day surprise.  From there, we managed to sneak in a trip to the florists to get greens for the crown and a specal trip to Penzey's to buy saffron for the traditional saffron buns.  I'd let my mom in on the plan a week earlier and she had graciously offered to whip up a white nightgown and red sash.  Under the guize of wrapping presents, we were able to get the cosume ready.

Following the recipe listed here, we made quite successful gluten-free saffron buns, substituting gluten-free flour for the wheat flour.  I got them started and woke Nova up to help with the final shaping and baking. 

 

Hot chocolate and coffee rounded out our breakfast.   Charles and Solomon did not suspect a thing.  

I had forgotten how nice a good surprise can be...both to get and to give.  And a last picture with that golden sunlight of early morning.