To Be Happy at Home ~ Worthy Ambition

"To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labour ends." 

~Samuel Johnson 

The Rambler, November 10, 1750 

Fresh butter's natural yellow

Real butter is a miracle of homekeeping.  3 minutes in the Breville Food Processor turns cream to culinary gold. The buttermilk squeezed out- good enough to serve company- and have them toast you for the discovery.  

Whipping up the latest batch, I thought of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). An Englishman, he was born in a time when the middle class was rising on both sides of the Atlantic. Suffering from ill-health the length of his life, he was acutely aware of the foolishness of wasting time.  His essays on the moral imperative to join profit and delight are beacons worth searching out.

Wisdom wears well. Johnson's quote at the top are still relevant and worthy  over 200 years after posted in a two-penny rag. 

Fast forward to today. It is flummoxing to ponder  why people aren't profoundly chastened by what they post on social media. All the rants and insults... thanks to technology, could outlive this generation. This generation may be remembered for contemptuous ill-manners, unrighteous indignation and no patience for either spelling or grammar. Can we share a group shudder?  

Which is why I write. In hopes to point even a few souls (including my own) to the gratitude for one more day. 

Fried Okra, Lydia-Style

 Okra was not in my Puerto Rican mother's cooking repertoire. Think she made it once, for I have vague memories of something akin to algae-colored slugs pretending to be a vegetable. 

Thank God this California girl married into a family with roots deep in states with long summers.  Oklahoma, Arkansas and Arizona.

They introduced me to one of the gifts of summer, fried Okra. The family- version was a bit gritty with cornmeal, so I changed it up a bit. In my version, pieces of the vegetable are tossed in a pancake-like batter before rolling in cornmeal. 

When the devil is in me, the battered bits to into a batch of hot bacon fat with chopped onion and chunks of ham. Otherwise, olive or other oil does suffice. At the very end,  freshly grated Parmesan cheese melts atop the hot mountain of Southern Hospitality. 

Poached eggs, Apple wood Smoked Bacon and a homemade turnover topped with whipped cream. 

I confess. I am guilty of binge watching the  The Great British Baking Show and swallowing whole Laura Bolton's delicious blog Fork Knife Swoon,

It struck this summer, this Epiphany. In this Age of Air Conditioning, it's okay to unleash worship from taste buds at the heart of the home, the kitchen range. The Sabbath brunch is nearly a service of celebration. The raspberry- lemon filled turnover, topped with freshly whipped cream was worth every calorie. Which certainly were gloriously ad infinitum.

Where we live is not just a house. It is a deeply personal retreat. We cocoon there, cuddling amongst reminders of what makes us happy. A bed so high, we sleep easily from oxygen deprivation; clinging to each other for fear if we fall off the edge, we'll break a hip. If we want to fight, we don't need to use fists- for there are lots of pillows.

As the bedroom is the first and last memory of the day, I think it the most important. I may dream of raising the ceiling, adding a balcony and improving the bathroom to more modern en-suite proportions. Still, there are elements I would keep if we were suddenly billionaires. No amount of money could ever change my heart. I was born a lover of country and romance. 

That means that we are slow to throw things out. It is better to rethink the purpose than to trash an object with cherished elements.

This nightstand was my passed- along childhood desk. My darling re-imagined it as his nightstand. On my side of the bed, is a similar desk from his childhood. Simply refinished, it serves double duty. First as my vanity- and bridge for the puppies to get in and out of bed on their own. 

Creativity solves waste. 

Inconveniences are opportunities disguised as problems. The downstairs bathroom light bar has been giving us fits. A shade broke. The fixture professionally rewired- but the bulbs kept pulling apart faster than my hair was falling out. Our best guess is that the modern light bulbs were ever so slightly different- causing the bulbs to overheat and sockets to pull apart.

Finding shades that matched both budget and taste wasn't happening when the great ah ha struck again. There were shades I bought on close-out for an outdoor project which never made it to the top of the list. Doggone if they weren't a perfect solution.  

Taking kitchen scraps out to the compost heap, my heart leaped. For in the compost heap, a salvia emerged. Just like in life. Expect, embrace surprise. Love the life you decided to live. 

Until we meet again, Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful- 

Lydia 

Dog Days ~ Stained Glass ~ Putting Discomfort to Good Use

Tahoe and Reno. In this house, they are living proof that it is not IF dogs ruled the world- ours DO.  

Southern California almost made it through summer without a major heat wave. Then last week- the heat and humidity- it was like waking up in Houston. So I could finish the main field of the stained glass project in air conditioned comfort, I broke off the shackles of civilized housekeeping.    

The  Dutch door window has rounded third base towards completion

We tiptoed the board set with carefully arranged glass shapes into the kitchen. One trip and weeks of labor would be scattered like leaves after a whirlwind.  A procession of stained glass paraphernalia  followed- extension cords, soldering iron and grinder are not all that covered every open space.

I am not one who tolerates clutter well- but I know that there is incentive to finish when one is not too comfortable.   Or as in this case- finding benchmarks to work around.

The garden view from my study

Until the Dutch door is actually installed, the window isn't really finished. However, the progress is at a point  where it  can rest. 

In the morning, the office phone will be turned back on.  For my work as a writer, the garden view from my study reminds me to not get too comfortable inside. Heat wave or not- this is a glorious place to work from.  

Until we meet again- Thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

Summer Break – Hello to Old Readers and New

A life savored is better than a life rushed through. 

Happy Mid- July-

I lost a mentor and dear friend to heaven and didn't know. RIP Don Skraba. Your habit of sending cheerful notes by real mail brought smiles to everyone lucky enough to see your handwriting on the envelope. I think you would be pleased to know that I've learned to slow down. 

Alex, son of Manny and Krista Chavez came over to help pick fruit.
The chair cover  is made from 1-1/2 towels and 3 straight seems.

 Southern California is having a nice-spring-day- in-Florida summer. A little bit hot and a whole lot of moisture in the air.  One personal piece this week was titled “Either it rained last night or I need to adjust the sprinklers.”  

Mint  pops through the ground cover roses 

It was measurable rain- not by the gauge on the garden arch. The evidence - it calculated just enough moisture to splatter the dust which the breeze normally blows away into Rorschach blotches across the windshield of my faithful old car.

As the scent of jasmine fades away, stephanotis  fills the air 

I stay in shape by keeping busy with projects like little building stairways and retaining walls. 

Hallelujah and amen. God’s shade-cloth dropped the temperature below triple digits just in time for me to finish the back wall on the retaining wall I built behind where bunnies and squirrels have so enjoyed the produce we've tried to grow.  

The mini quadcopter has joined the fleet of dragonflies in our backyard airspace.

A Very Good Life- this blog is what old school would have called a journal.  A recording of one specific woman’s journey.  Some of pictures which follow are historic to our family. My McGuyver, Gerry, invented a way to restore the disintegrated slides which involves aiming the old carousel projector, a cardboard box to aim my camera through and is linked to his computer.

Before I learned to cook I was really thin. The Frye boots I wore surely out-weighed me. 

  I am blessed to be in good health, my business is growing.   For close to 38 years my husband grows ever more in his role of my miracle man.

My husband with his first girlfriend. It must have been a fling. he doesn't remember her name):-. 

 Our sons have grown to be amazing men. The youngest married well. He and his wife gave us the most gorgeous grandchild, the lovely Charley. Not yet 4 months old, she has me rethinking my garden as one where children will play in. Learn about butterflies, birds, bees and blooms.

Papa Kenny wearing Bass Knuckles t-shirt, I'm holding my granddaughter and mom Shannon 

If our good fortune holds out, she and her cousins will learn to love nature in the garden which I am head over heals in love with.  This place is not important for what I have done to it.  Of higher importance is how the act of gardening shaped me from a city slicker to a country girl.

I thank you for your patience between blog posts. I LOVE visiting with you here. When I disappear be certain it is commercial interests that pull me away like a sailor to sea. How I make my living, as a journalist focused on garden-centered living, is not the easiest. It is simply the best. What God always meant me to do while I was busy arguing the point with him.

The journey we take in life.... the wisest among us know to enjoy wherever and however we travel it. My father in law was stationed in the UK when Queen Elizabeth was coronated. These two photos are from her coronation.  May God protect her; the land and the people she serves.  

 

In the queue are more gardens and gardeners for you to meet. 

Until we meet again, thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

. 

April 2013 GBBD - Preparing Your Garden for a Tour

“We all walk through our neighborhoods wondering what’s on the other side of the fence.”

~Nan Sterman

‘Orange Ice’ Bougainvillea, Agave bracteosa,Senecio mandraliscae, and Hunnemannia fumariifolia – a heavenly combination! Photo: Nan Sterman

"Preparing Your Garden for a Tour" is my latest piece in Pacific Horticulture. Only available online, you can read the full article here . 

What makes a garden great? Ron Vanderhoff of  Roger's Gardens shared recently how many gardens are "Beautiful in a picture-postcard sort of a way; often for a moment in time. Gardens to look at are fine, but a garden that draws you closer, that plays with your senses and that you can communicate with in a sort of back-and-forth manner – that’s a great garden." 

He continued "Gardens should also sustain a person's interest. Even a picture-postcard garden might engage the participant initially, or even for a brief while. But what if you were around that garden almost every day? Would it still engage you at another season or another year? That's the difference between a great garden and a good garden."

That got me to thinking. A great garden is one you love. 

Welcome to behind my garden's gate. Introduce yourself to the garden I love.

My garden isn't perfect in the trend-setting magazine perfection sort of way.  It however, perfectly suits me.

What it lacks in discipline, it makes up for in enthusiasm.  Watch the bloom-factory rose 'Betty Boop ' petals unfurl as the camera lens moves in ever closer. 

A prolific bloomer, this girl does not know when to stop. In her case, it is a good thing);- 

In maturity, the floribunda rose 'Julia Child' rose grows more fascinating. Some plants get less attractive when you get close in- not this beauty. 

Interior designer, author and lifestyle expert, Alexandra Stoddard recommends a touch of yellow in every room. 

For the color's uplifting psychological effect- I believe yellow belongs in every garden. 

Some plants get less attractive when you get close in- 'Julia Child' is elegant in every season. 

In the background you'll spot this purple  iris. The original plant was dug from my mother's garden. 

Other families pass furniture and jewelry down through the generations. My mother passed on something deeply personal- her plants. I see her smile in every bloom. 

The stake in the foreground remains as a requiem for a tree rose that died of strangulation.  This spot needs a bit of vertical structure to anchor the corner. What, I haven't decided -perhaps something sculpted and classical.  It has taken since 1986 to change what was once a bare corner into this magical mayhem- I can be patient. 

The nasturtium hopped from a nearby sunny spot into where the Mother fern decided it was happy. 

Grasshoppers aren't on my top ten list of favorite critters. They bring out my crueler side. I like to think that I am generally kind- but I do believe the only good grasshopper is a dead grasshopper.  

'Lillian Austin'  is the Maui sunset painted on rose petals. 

'Our Lady of Guadalupe' made its way into my heart courtesy of a niece. A beloved house-guest  of the first order, she brought the first of the triplets which front the herb garden as much for their story as for their delicate color.  This rose was born of a partnership between the United Farm Workers and Jackson & Perkins.  A portion of the sales were dedicated to the Hispanic College Fund. 

A Growing Passion, hosted by California-native Nan Sterman, launches on KBPS and KPBS.com on May 2, 2013.Find out more and discover how even if all you have in seed money is $1, you can help   A Growing Passion  get growing  through Kickstarter,

Linking to GBBD- Garden Bloggers Bloom Day 

Under the same Moon ~ Nature ~ Travel

A life well-lived requires looking up.
~Me

Moon as seen from Alta Loma California. Image by Gene Sasse

Let me count the states: Arizona, Colorado,  Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. Add in my home state of California- eight states in eight months- that is more travel than the last eight years combined. 

What all the people in all our states have in common is captured in this evocative photo by Gene Sasse. We all sleep and dream under the same moon.

What all the trips on my writer's journey have in common is the elemental pull to seek out the beauty of God's creation. Let nature fill me up before I am drained. 

Even in the big city of Portland, Oregon, coaching a young couple as they planned their first garden of their own, they knew what a favor it would be to take me a short ride out of the city, to Multnomah Falls for beauty and brunch.

Life is by definition, full of conflict. God doesn't make mistakes. Yet, from time to time, we all feel that events are uncontrollably falling as fast as water over the falls. It is human to wonder if He truly made us in His image considering the trouble we land in ):-

 The answer to the quandary is in the water soaked log lying at the edge of the pool where the water thundered boulders into pebbles. There is great beauty in letting go, in trusting Him.

Thus, the  grandeur of nature put this week's technical difficulties caused by system incompatibilities  in to the perspective they belong, which is pretty puny. It is true, what is written in Ecclesiastics

There is a time for everything.

 A time to feast. 

A time to shop. Or at least to look.  Note to self-  Sell 2 more stories and these beautiful glass salmon in the gift shop could migrate home to Diamond Bar...

 And lastly, for all our different climates, religions and politics, it is nice to know that we , the people of the United States, can be united in laughter. 

   

Happy Thanksgiving ~ What We Love About America

"Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song." 

-Konrad von Gesner

Plaque celebrating America on display in Jackson, Wyoming 

When I was fortunate enough to meet my husband on his International travels, my favorite question of people who visited the United States, was what impressions did they take back? 

The vastness of our land, the diversity of our people ~

Our friendliness. Our natural aversion to class distinctions. 

The changing of the seasons in Wyoming. The coldness of autumn's breath turns the leaves bright  while the angels  flocked the pine trees up higher in the mountains.

The greatness of this nation I shall always believe is inscribed in the coinage of the realm 

"In God We Trust"

What was the answer here when a child asked, "Are we there yet?"

 Before it was planes, trains and automobiles- immigrants crossed this continent-wide nation by  horseback and wagon.  When those failed, it was a very, very long walk. 

Sunshine breaking through in Idaho 

Modern transportation makes it easy to take for granted how fortunate we are to live at this very moment. 

Just traveling through my native Los Angeles County is equivalent to driving through a land  equal in acreage to the combined are of the states of Rhode Island and Delaware. The county's population is greater than 42 states in the Union. If it stood alone as a nation, our economy is the world's 8th largest.  

In addition, a normal year finds me mucking about gardens in nearby counties- San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.

The last quarter I was also blessed to travel the states of Colorado, Arizona ,Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. 

It is good to travel. It is even better to be back home in Diamond Bar, California.

God painted parts of Utah in Technicolor 

Folders are stuffed with stories to query editors for interest. Hoping to find my stocking filled with that most wonderful three letter word in a four letter sentence. 
"Yes- You are hired."

So much to do. But as Stephen R Covey wrote, "First things First. " 

It was about this time last year a medical professional in the  hospital room of a loved one shared his belief that "Life is a miracle." 

The beauty of the desert exemplifies of what he spoke. In nature's vastness, so much has to go right for the miracle of a butterfly to come across an oasis with food, water, nesting and shelter.  For God's grace, He deserves credit for the biggest backyard habitat ever. Our planet. 

It is tempting to give into being overwhelmed with so much stacked about me. Yet handling it all is as easy as the title to the Stephen R Covey book, putting "First things First. " 

And so I say goodbye. Not forever. Just long enough to express my gratitude to the Lord on high in the tradition of my faith, as a Christian. Spend quality time with family. Renovate the office. Re-write a mission statement. Then back to the race which is the writer's life. 

All images and words on this post are copyright protected by Lydia Plunk