Promises of Spring and Dancing Fairies

My daffodils (lovingly called daff-i-down-dillies in this family) are about 3 inches tall. The other day for the brief moment, the snow had melted away. I gazed at the little promises of spring that were popping up in my garden with wide eyes. My imagination could see a beautiful spring show of purples, pinks, reds, whites, and yellows. How I longed for spring with excitement. With the flowering bulbs will come my hostas and shortly after buds and flowers on the trees.

My tulips and hyacinth haven't begun popping up yet, which is a first. Its been cold enough this year that my spring bulbs did not start popping up in November. But my herbs are starting to wake up. Little shoots of chives and delicate chamomile and strawberry leaves have already begun to show themselves. I do not worry about them because they have been through four years and they are well rooted.

For now, I will enjoy the snow a little longer knowing that the promises of spring are under a white blanket and just a month away.


My sleepy little house



My spring bulb bed, with the flower remains of last summer.



A sundial that is resting its face



An herb bed that promises herbal teas this summer




My dancing fairy that frolics around covered phlox


and...


My sleeping woods

Apple Tree Wassailing, The Experience

As I stated in an earlier post about Apple Wassailing, the tradition (as recorded by history) began in the 1500's in Southern England. Apple Wassailing traditionally takes place on January 17th (the old 12th Night of Christmas), in which family and friends chant and sing to their apple trees to help ensure a healthy crop for next year. To be honest, traditions like these were to help bring people together and celebrate. What else are you going to do in the middle of a freezing January night?

Here are some pictures on the way to my mother in law's house. Amy and I had to sit in the back of Andrea's Jeep. We laughed all the way.

Once we got to my mother in law's house around 6:30PM, we gathered in her log room and chatted a bit over hot apple cider,we made on her farm last Labor Day weekend. Susie (my MIL) used the organic mulling spices I gave her as a Christmas present, in the cider. It was delicious!

After chatting for a few moments, it was time to pick the Wassailing King and Queen. We read Robert Herrick's Poem, which describes how the king and queen are picked. We all chose an applesauce muffin from the his/her platter. And then carefully picked through the muffin looking for the green pea that would designate the queen and the bean that would designate the king.

Amy was the first one to find the queen's pea and then shortly afterwards the king was picked - my nephew Jared found his bean.

And then we chatted and laughed some more.

The King and Queen's duties were to pass out chants to those picked to read and the song sheets. Odie was picked to pour a little bit of apple cider in each person's cup.

First, we started out with the chants.

As the chants were read, a few people at a time would toss their apple cider on the tree. Kids went first!

After a few chants were read, we all gathered to sing a wassailing song. It was cold so, we only sang 3 verses at a time.

We visited 3 more houses - my brother in law's, a friend named Sherry (whose house was full of furniture from the early 1900's, she had bought in Italy-it was beautiful), and one of my best friend's Andrea. At each house, we went inside and laughed and talked some more. There was no shortage of jovality.

Andrea's house was the last stop. She had beef stew brewing in the crockpot all day, so when we walked in we all dove right for it. Andrea looks like a ray of sunshine.

After we Wassailed Andrea's very large apple tree, we went back inside and popped open a few hard ciders and wine. And enjoyed folktale singing by my mother in law...

...and Celtic and Folktale singing by Amy and Andrea, backed with Odie's guitar and banjo.

And of course, next year's Apple Tree Wassailing is already in the works!

Free Treasures

Let me see... back in 1999 when Aaron and I were living together in college in his nasty college house in which he had 6 other male room mates, he and I were cleaning the basement when we came across a bucket of china dishware. We actually had to clean out the basement because that old house had a massive carbon monoxide issue. The meter went wild the moment the gas man (hard to say without laughing) entered the house. Oh well... wasn't my first exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide.

In anycase, we made a bunch of runs to the dump from all the years of college students leaving this and that behind. There weren't may treasures buried in that basement, trust me I searched. And then we came across some dishes, which definitely caught our eye. We asked everyone if they knew anything about them. And sure enough, no one did. Who knows how long they had been down there. I figure a student came with a family member's odds and ends china collection and had decided not to use them and stashed them away. Aaron and I did the same thing. Neither one of us wanted to throw them out, so we stashed them in storage through a couple more apartments and our current house. I figured one day, I might be able to use them. The pattern is pretty, dogwood flowers, and unique. They look like vintage 1950 something. They definitely fit my eclectic personality. People who have eaten my homecook meals have complimented me on my old farmhouse eclectic dishwares. From the mismatched gravy bowls and pitchers, to the sugar bowls; my different English tea cups and my teapot that Granny brought with her from England a long time ago. I love them all. I do have one complete china dishware set that my mother gave me, which does come out on special occassions.

In any case, Aaron needed a bucket while he was working on his truck yesterday. I walked into the storage area and saw those plates we had found way back in 1999. I thought to myself, "Now that I have a lot more space, since we remodeled the kitchen, maybe it was time to pull them out and use them." So, I cleaned them up, a lot of dust has collected in the last 10 years, and placed them in my cabinets.

There are 15 saucers, 5 plates, 2 regular sized bowls, 2 large bowls, 10 small bowls, 6 tea cups, and a sugar bowl. Because there are 15 saucers and 2 large bowls, I think... at one point in time they were 2 complete sets, with 8 pieces per set. I wish there were more plates and less saucers but that's okay. Maybe one day I'll find more pieces to my set. I'm not worried about them being worth anything. The fact that they are pretty and set in my cabinet is all the worth to me in the world. It means, I have something pretty to pull out when guests come.

Psst! My cookie jars are empty.