Prayers

Mar 16, 2015

Spring Ramble 2015 and Waffle Brownies........

Weather in the 70's down here and I had the day off.  As on now it is 4:25 pm and I still have not taken a shower.  I washed my face, brushed my teeth, threw my hair up out of my face and took some pictures.

The maple trees in the front of the house are sending out pretty red leaves.  I took this picture on my phone and then played with the contrast.  It turned out pretty.  You can't see the leaves too well but I think the red comes through pretty well.


That's the field that the cows are still in across the road.  They are getting ready to have some more babies.  I have so loved having the cows all winter.  

I bought an old rusted wire basket at the Heart & Home Tea Room/Cafe (you can like them on FB  here) last fall and planted pansies and bulbs in and around it   The pansies are waking up and there will soon be Jonquils, Hyacinths and Muscari all over the place.



I started to clean out the leaves, but thought better of it.  It's still early, even down here in SoMo, and those leaves help retain water and keep everything warm.  They won't hurt a thing, and in Missouri you can't really count out another blizzard or ice storm till May, if then.

This looks like a petunia, which may have come from a Mexican Petunia I planted last summer or might just be a volunteer.  I don't even know for sure.  Either way it is very welcome and so good to see a pretty color in these early days.  I think there might be some crocuses in there too, but so far I haven't seen them.  Might be hiding under the leaves, I guess.


The Hyacinths are poking up their heads.


I think this one will be white.

The Forsythia is blooming out, and the lilacs are budding out.


Forsythia is always first.  Such a relief to see it's cheerful yellow blossoms coming out, even on foggy days.


It won't be long till there are pretty flowers everywhere.  I've gathered up what bulbs I have left and started gathering up my seeds.  It won't hurt to throw the easy ones out and the bulbs may go ahead and bloom this year.  Or they may wait til next year.  They do what they want, which is just the way I like it.  Throw 'em in the ground and forget about 'em.  See what happens.  It's a little method I like to call "benign neglect" and all it takes is resisting the urge to pull them out of the ground when you see something coming up.  Wait and see what it is.  This approach goes quite a ways beyond gardening in my life, and I must say, I have hit my stride.  There is no pressure or maintenance work, you do it once and have happy surprises months later.  These happy surprises become old friends over the years.  You endure the seasons together, waiting for the time you will be together again.  After so many years, when you notice a lot more blooms happening than the year before, and the year before that, dig them up and separate out some of the bulbs and plant them farther apart.  They pyramid, some of them, and this way you can multiply your happy surprises many times over the years.

My youngest baby planted a start of pink honeysuckle by the back fence today.  I don't know if it was still alive or not but, why not.  If it doesn't come up, it doesn't come up, and it's not like I can't get plenty of starts down here.  I figure it will cut down on what the dogs can see to bark at and I love the smell of honeysuckle.

Today was a day that made me feel like I was in college again.

The not having to go anywhere on a weekday.

The not having to do anything but still keeping laundry going, cooking what I feel like and nothing that I don't.
Driving down the road to get a piece of pizza, a Mt. Dew, and a bag of Rolos.

For lunch.

About 2 pm.

I'm making lasagna, with the idea of using brownie mix in my waffle iron running through my head.

 Tomorrow, I will have to get back to real life, but today.........

Today has been filled with sunshine soaking into my bones, a moisture treatment for my hair, goooood music and my hands in the dirt, admiring my happy surprises and thinking about taking a nap.  Knowing I can if I want to, but not worried about it either way.  If it happens, it happens.

Later that day.......
Ok, I made the brownie waffles.  If you like the crispy corners best, I have found a source of happiness for you.


I just used boxed mix and put it right in the waffle iron.  I cooked them a little longer than when the "done" light came on.  The hardest thing was getting them out.  Finally I just loosened them up and flipped them onto a plate.  But man oh man, are they ever good!  Crispy AND chewy!
To make a peanut butter glaze combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter, a couple teaspoons of room temperature butter, and enough milk to make the glaze.  Drizzle this over warm brownie waffles.  Get a big glass of milk.  Prepare not to move for a couple of hours.

I hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did, but I doubt it.  There is always tomorrow, take some time to take it in and savor it.

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These are my thoughts, which sometimes drive me crazy and sometimes keep me sane, but are always entertaining. I call this Lace Your Days With Hope because I can't find enough hope to make an entire quilt out of. Stay tuned, and add your own!