'As I Lay Dying'

Two things have always perplexed me about exercise classes:
1) Why we even bother.
2) Why we suffer in silence.

I started my new workout routine this week and I seem to be the only one crying out from the back of the room: Hellooo, I'm dyin' here!!!

Admittedly, it was a long, busy holiday but as I was passing out drinks this morning, I noticed my poor houseplants have been screaming the same dang thing. Rest assured, I'll show more compassion than the perky little brat teaching my body sculpt [as if that is even possible] class.

In 3 short weeks, I hop a plane. Off on an adventure that's been on the 'wanna do' list for quite some time. When I get there, I'll be meeting up with Little Miss Never Gains a Pound. Or, should I say Missus (nearly newlyweds!)

Oh, how I have missed our coffee chats. She is one of my dearest friends. Though I will confess that after a 60 minute torture session with weights and bands and God only knows what's next on this workout agenda -- all in a grand effort not to slow her down once I arrive -- I started wondering... Just how hard would it be to make some lazy friends?

Now, this, of course, is all in jest. She's a wonderful person. But, I'll bet less active people (preferably ones who still know how to make homemade donuts) are wonderful people, too.

Thought for the Day.... If dry furnace air is making your skin feel all itchy and miserable, your houseplants might be unhappy, too. Plus, they're probably freezing their little tails off if they're sitting on a cold windowsill when you turn the heat down at night.

Unhappy House Plant Warning Signs:

• Yellow leaves - Too much light, fertilizer or water.
  
• Yellow spots - Dripping water onto the leaves. (Water from below.)
  
• Brown leaves - Not enough water.
• Dry leaves - Lack of humidity.
  
• All of the above - R.I.P.
  

Tips:

• The darker green the leaf, the less light a plant generally needs.
• Most indoor flowering plants do better in cooler temperatures.

* As I Lay Dying is a brilliant novel of human suffering, written by William Faulkner.

In With The New

Utah Penstamon

Wasn't that kind of the calendar to give us two weeks of holiday celebrations landing on Fridays? More time to celebrate friendships, old and new. A less hectic schedule for finishing out a can't-say-it-was-all-that-great year. Onward and upward.

Been thinking a lot about native flowers this weekend as that's high on my list of things I'd like to embrace in this new year - more flower power, more water conservancy.  (These pics are three I find in plentiful supply along our hiking trails and three I'd like to grow.)

Dusty Maiden

As long as I'm thinking in 3's here are my top 3 holiday observations:

1) Roasting chestnuts is not nearly as cool and romantic as it sounds. They explode! In unison! Roast them a bit too long, drag them out of the oven and when they hit the cooler air: BAM! It's like 4th of July all over the kitchen.

2) As I took a quiet moment to admire Sandy's lovely Christmas Eve buffet, I spotted a pretty platter beneath the ham. Hey! That's mine! What's the statute of limitations on the return of serving platters? I'm thinking... never?  ;-)

3) What price peace of mind? $214.00. As we suffer through the deepest of deep freezes (sub-zero temps are soooo not what we're used to,) I hightailed it down to the cowboy store and bought winter coats for both horses.

Do they need 'em? Who knows? More importantly, who cares? I slept well, knowing they'd be toasty warm while these frigid winds continue to blow...

Wild Something or Other

I hope you got everything you wished for this holiday season. I got closer to my daughter. We've always been pretty tight so I didn't even think closer was possible. We are now Siamese Twins and she's the better half.

Oh! And, I got a ticket to Innsbruck. But, that's a story for another day.

H.N.Y.

* Plant ID:   #1 ~ I know is correct. #2 ~ I think is correct. #3 ~ is clearly a wild guess.

Happy New Gardening Year

"We all need beauty.
Places to play in and pray in, 
Where Nature may heal and cheer..
And give strength to body and soul alike." 
- John Muir

Here's to a peaceful New Year. A cozy chair. A crackling fire. And, a stack of gardening magazines to take the chill out of a cold, winter day.

Sweet Holiday Greetings

Wishing you peace and happiness this holiday season. 

Here's a Christmas card just for you! Click here & enjoy.

Wordless White Wednesday

Happy Wordless Wednesday from Snow Country! For more Wordless Wednesday participants, click here.

Blessed Beast Recipes!

Bad Dog has zero sense of humor when it comes to Christmas preparations.

A gentle snow falls outside my window, muffling the sounds of passers by. Everything feels prettier, and infinitely more magical, when fresh snowflakes decorate the garden.

A holiday gift of winter white Hydrangeas.

I suppose it seems strange that a passionate planter, such as myself, would have a love affair with winter but that's probably because my winters are milder than most.

Stepping outdoors is not a death defying act as it sometimes was in frigid Minnesota. Utah winters are downright balmy. Plentiful snows come as quiet decoration vs. the arctic blasts and bitter winds, common in the Midwest.

Gifts of Paper Whites grown for my gardening friends.

And, I'm particularly loving this morning's snowfall because it coincides perfectly with my own self-prescribed break in the action.

It is the Saturday before Christmas. And where are YOU with YOUR to-do list?

I hate to make you all jealous and such but mine's done. Because this is just how weird I am ~ I set myself a deadline that's a good week ahead of the real one.

Normally, I'm a red purist but this peachy keen Poinsettia was irresistible.

The gift I wanted to give myself this year may seem kind of silly. Possibly even selfish. I wanted some quiet time to focus on the wanna dos vs. the gotta dos.

To bake some cookies for the horses. And, maybe for the humans, too. To try my luck at a few homemade bath products for skier friends. To take my poor, neglected Bad Dog up to the top of Round Valley for our first snowshoe of the season.

To have some time to simply.... Goof. Off.

Here's hoping you can find some time to do that, too. :D

~~~~~~~~ 'Tis the Season: Meg and Bad Dog Approved Recipes ~~~~~~~~~~

Oat and Molasses Horse Cookies

• 2 cups grated carrots
• 2 cups grated apples or applesauce
• 4 tablespoons corn oil
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour

*Your kids might not like these but my 'kids' jump for joy.
Bake @350 for about 20 minutes


Bad Dog's Bacon Biscuits
Roll into bite-size balls and bake @350 for about 45 minutes.

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups crumbled bacon bits
• 1/2 cup corn oil
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup water

And, for the kitties? Save yourself the trouble! Nothin' beats a fresh container of cat nip...

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ December, 2010

 Our front deck. The coffee spot is a tad chilly this morning.

Bloom Day Greetings from Ski Country! 

Where life would be sad, indeed, without a warm, sunny window.

I could not believe my ears this morning when the news reported that it's... the 15th?? 

Huh? I was quite certain I had many more weeks 'til Christmas. (Denial is underrated. When I'm in my denial zone I'm hardly ever stressing out...)

Poinsettia's 3rd Christmas @ Chez Kate

Though I don't why that date was such a surprise. All signs are pointing to the fact that it's later than I thought. Including this 3-year old Poinsettia (grows lush green leaves, outdoors, throughout the summer, comes indoors in September.) She is madly producing festive red leaves in prep for the big day.

The Timely Amaryllis (Most are still in bud stage.)

I should apologize for my long absence from visiting blogs and such sporadic writing on my own humble effort. Life feels a tad out of control this holiday season.

 Edna, the Christmas Cactus I've treasured since college, is laden with bright pink blooms.

But, enough about that...

Discovering that Christmas is only about a week away wasn't the biggest shocker on the news.

I also heard that blogger buddies in the Deep South are shivering mightily while here we are, much farther north, peeling off jackets because of the toasty temps.

 Please don't yawn at Ms. Cyclamen. While as common as Dandelions, she is my second favorite indoor flowering plant. Can't live without her.

Strange days. I hope your tender southern perennials are cozy under heaps of blankets and that these bizarre weather patterns sort themselves out very very soon.

Blinding Pink is the name of the game this holiday season. :D

As always, pay a visit to Carol of May Dream Gardens, the clever inventor of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.