Simple Greetings

After last year’s creative card frenzy of paper, glue, and glitter, I decided to simplify this year.

I did a single stamped design, colored with watercolor pencils, swiped with a wet brush, and glued the whole thing to a card. Done!

 

Now to address the envelopes, get the stamps, and sign all those cards!?!?! Why does a cranky old curmudgeon like myself have SO MANY people on the holiday card list!

 

Katrina

Preparations

Happy Thanksgiving to my US friends, and a happy weekend to you all.

Today the Piemaker will be in the kitchen all day, banging pans around and splashing and stirring and slicing. I will stay out of the way!

 

Yesterday I got a head start on the preparations by making the only thing that I personally am in charge of: the cranberry sauce. We have let go of whatever emotional ties we may have had to the traditional canned cranberries and jelly and are ready to branch out a bit. I love the cranberry-orange relish that my aunt used to make, but I decided to put a spicy twist on it with this recipe.

Cranberry Salsa

Ingredients

·        1 – 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
·        ½ cup sugar
·        1 large orange
·        2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
·        3 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger
·        ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1.     Pulse cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in sugar.

2.      Zest the orange and stir zest into cranberry mixture.
3.      Remove the remaining peel and pith and chop the orange into chunks.
4.      Pulse the orange, jalapenos, ginger, and cilantro in food processor 3 to 5 times or until orange, ginger, and pepper are finely chopped. Stir into cranberries; cover and chill 2 to 24 hours.

 

This is adapted from a Southern Living recipe that you can find here.

 

Yes, it is spicy, and delicious!

I hope you all enjoy a delightful meal wherever you are.

Katrina

 

A Real Live Garden

It’s such a relief to me, each year around this time, to see my garden come back to life. After the disappointment of the summer, I’m always ready to give up gardening forever, but something keeps me going back to pull the weeds, till the soil, and plant the seeds each fall. Thank goodness for habit, or optimism, or whatever it is, because fall and winter are when my faith in botanical science and hard work are rewarded.

Here’s the vegetable garden, with the second seeding finally done.

The first sowing in October (the small plants on the right) was pretty straightforward as the beds were completely empty for planting. The second round of seeds (in the soil on the left), done over the last three weeks, was a bit more complicated since I had to work around the ridiculously overgrown three-year-old basil plants.

a purple basil plant that turned green

There are five basil plants of different varieties, all grown from seed. I cut them back severely every month or so, giving piles of basil to the neighbors, but they grow right back and cover almost half of the planters. We are about to turn green from the amount of pesto we eat!

 

looking forward to colorful lettuce in our salads

 

Tiny tomatoes

I know that my readers in northern climes are probably in disbelief at the luxury of a garden in the winter. Just remember that I was grieving all summer long as the sun, heat, drought, and pests slowly killed every living thing in my garden!

 

Wherever you are, I hope you are getting lots of good fruits and veggies from your garden or farmers market.

 

Katrina

So Many Projects

I finished a few small things, like taking in more shirts for the Piemaker, and a few big things, like a new duvet cover.

 You might recall that I have a passion for these African prints or wax prints:

 I’ve been hoarding many yards of the fabrics and hesitating to cut into them. I made one dress last year, and the famous Giraftan, both of which I ended up liking very much.

A large scale project was what I needed to put some of these huge prints to good use. This is a simple envelope-style cover where you slide the comforter in, flip the top over, and button it closed.

click any photo to get larger view

 

I made a few pillows too.



This cacophony of color might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but my home décor has been taking a more “global” turn the last few years, with carved masks, woven wall hangings, and a jungle of house plants. I like how these colors and patterns add to the aesthetic (if you can call it that LOL).

That was a big accomplishment.

 

Still, somehow, after working non-stop for three days, I still have a big stack of projects to do!

Katrina