January - Antarctic Memories - Amaryllis Blooms.

Two of the re-blooming amaryllis are quite lovely and doing well in the dining room, They are several years old and have spent outdoor time planted in the garden in summer months where they threw up bright green leaves, waving to the hot breezes, and a couple of years beautiful flowers appeared unexpectedly. Later, returned to their pots for winter, they bloomed again indoors. 

 

You can see the taller one is huge - 31 inches from top of bulb to tip of three huge flowers. There is also a new stem with bud peeping out at the base which is exciting! The other one, shorter, has two flowers tinged with pink, and being the older plant I think struggled to make it again, but it did and it's really lovely. In the rear is another pot with not much happening - in fact I've just cut back its two tall leaves to see if it will make a growth spurt with a stem - we'll have to wait and see.

January is not always a great month, especially if you don't enjoy the colder weather of the northern hemisphere, however it does sometimes bring surprises and now and then, wonderful memories. On this day in 2013 I was heading south toward Ushuaia, Argentina - via a colorful stop in Buenos Aires - to board an expedition ship for a 3-week adventure to Antarctica. It will always be the most exciting, memorable time of my life. . . . .and definitely of January!

Enjoy your January days. . . . . . . .embrace life.

A quick roundup for a busy day ----------

 

No snow here as had been forecast earlier, boohoo! Slow falling, soaking, 

dreary rain today, all day, then some cold, dry weather all next week and

 for Christmas.

A beautiful loaf and big surprise from a dear friend this week. 

Last evening with cheese it was delicious with a good bowl of

 homemade pumpkin soup (the last of the season as I've used all

 my cooking pumpkins). Note the jar of 'Pumpkin Spread'

from Trader Joe's - this was gifted with the bread and it is so

 good.....slightly spiced and good with both sweet or savory nibbles.

Fiona is glad for her snug scarf.

Above, the re-potted yet again amaryllis bulbs - now several years old - in 

November.

Below - today - two at least have sprung a bud under the watchful eye

 of Diana the Huntress!  Perhaps some blooms will surprise after the holidays

during the bleak days of January.

The Christmas Cactus purchased last week is opening its sweet buds

 already and looks wonderful. I tucked it into my vintage ice bucket 

which makes it spectacular on the dining room table.

Off soon to do some needed grocery shopping.

Cashmere sweater and warm booties weather at last, with a rain jacket

 to throw over today, perhaps even a snug hat/beanie and a scarf.

Amaryllis time again!

I was checking new amaryllis bulbs at the store this week and shocked to see how much they've increased in price this season. These are the old amaryllis bulbs planted in the garden last Spring after perhaps the third or fourth year of indoor blooming. They didn't bloom again in the garden as they did last year, but grew tall, healthy leaves all Summer. I dug up the bulbs and trimmed the leaves and roots in September, then kept them in the potting shed until repotting again early in November. Today when I raised the dining room blinds to let the lovely sunshine in, I saw a change. Tinges of green again!  They won't bloom for Christmas, more likely in mid-January. I'm so excited and grateful. Sometimes I lack patience, waiting about bothers me and I just want to get on with things. Perhaps the couple of pandemic years changed much of that. Having more time I am more attune to waiting for things to happen. Or am I getting old and slowing down?  Have to be honest here!

Tomorrow we'll be off to the coast for a few days and I can hardly wait to see the ocean, walk the beach, and enjoy fresh seafood. Weather includes some rain but at least one day should be warmish and sunny. . . . . .perhaps we can dip our toes while waving across the vast Atlantic to family and friends on the other side of the pond!

Enjoy your after-Thanksgiving weekend. Before you know it, if you haven't already started, pulling out the storage boxes and decorating for Christmas will be underway. That's at the top of my list for when I return to town.

Winter day down south. . . . . . . . .

It felt different this morning. Really like a winter day.

 I was out out on the front porch just before 7 AM.  

Scattered more birdseed along the rail, flipped the frozen WELCOME 

flag which had become tangled around its pole in the strong night wind, 

and noticed the fountain was frozen solid. The birds use it as another

 place to drink and bathe. A word to Bob later and he was out melting the

 ice with the tea kettle of warm water. Within minutes many birds arrived 

and I took a lot of photos through the window.

 I'll sort through them and share with you later.

Tall and elegant, the now blooming Apple Blossom amaryllis is part of my

 tiny tabletop "garden of earthly delights" and a third flower is opening with a

 fourth still in bud. There are new pots also, both from that quick run to

 LIDL yesterday which was mainly for salad greens and veggies. 

Snow, perhaps several inches coming today, we need to be prepared.

I couldn't pass up a pot of fresh bright green basil to snip, and of course the

 blue hyacinth in its own glass vase (just $2.99!) called out to be taken home. 

Who doesn't love a hyacinth before the garden ones appear in spring.

The fragrant aroma is wafting toward me as I write.

Note: These hyacinth bulbs are grown by a Women-Owned business in Pennsylvania. 

Way to go ladies, thank you.

The green bud in the the righthand pot will hopefully be another tall stem, 

and is the third amaryllis I've managed to regenerate this winter!  

As mentioned previously, patience and care often brings them into bloom

 over and over, so although good quality bulbs are somewhat expensive, 

you can get many years of pleasure from them.

Take care today, and over this weekend if you live in the areas where

 very cold and possibly dangerous, weather conditions are expected.

Here the southeast, and mid-Atlantic, may be bad with snow, ice and 

windstorms. Firewood at the ready, soup made, warm socks pulled on!

Patience pays off -

 

 This is one of the old amaryllis bulbs I planted in the garden last Spring

 after the first indoor bloom. It bloomed again in the garden in May, and

kept tall leaves all Summer. I dug up the bulb in September and kept

 it in the potting shed until repotting again in November. 

It has now grown a 24" stem, no new leaves though ~ but

 I see some starting at the base ~ and today there are four 

beautiful buds filling out and getting ready to bloom!

I'm so excited and grateful. Sometimes I lack patience, waiting about 

bothers me and I just want to get on with things. Perhaps these pandemic

days have changed much of that. Now I have plenty of time and am more

attune to waiting for things to happen. 

Or I'm getting old and slowing down ~ have to be honest here.

I also thank my wonderful friend Gina at Art & Alfalfa for advising me

 on how to encourage amaryllis bulbs to re-bloom year after year, not

 toss them after the first bloom.

Gina gives advice on so many things that bring immense joy to my life. 

When visiting with her on her amazingly beautiful Utah farm a couple

of years ago I made a true forever friend.  Bob and I love you Gina.

 

Little pops of color -

The amaryllis and Christmas cactus 'garden' on the dining room table - our

sunny spot - now has the cutest ceramic toadstools popping out of two pots!  

They are a gift which I'm really enjoying while sitting here awaiting new

 growth and hopefully blooms in the coming months.

 

After New Year's Eve we'll be 'taking down' Christmas, packing away

 the much-loved decorations, hoping they will make their way here

 lighting and brightening a more normal holiday season when December

 rolls around again!

Taking a little break for a few days as many of you seem to be doing 

this week.  Will return New Year's Eve. . . . . . . . . after all there's

really nowhere else to go!!!!

Take care dear blog friends - stay well and safe - and thank you for

stopping by often during this very different year. 

Your visits and kind words always make me happy. 

Hugs to everyone.

Believe!

On Monday we dragged the big green boxes out of the attic and 
Christmas decorating began!!!

Early Tuesday morning the new amaryllis was starting to open its buds.

Above is my vintage metal tree prior to adding ornaments, always displayed

 in this corner of the dining room for Christmas. This year I'm wrapping the

 base with the beautiful hanks of soft, snowy yarn purchased when visiting

 the Falkland Islands on my expedition journey to Antarctica in

 January 2013.

This morning the first two buds opened and there are three more, 

not bad for one strong stem.

Amazing bulbs! If I had more bright spots around the house

 I would grow dozens!

As you can see the tree is now ready for the Christmas season.

I'll be sharing more holiday decor during the coming week

November weekend -

 

This week has been busy around the house.

Our guy did the crawlspace work under the house - took out old

and replaced new waterproof vapor barrier, made sure insulation

was secure, and checked there was no mold. . . . . or a large

black snake such as found in a close by neighbor's crawl space recently!

Now, any mice sheltering in winter have a safe, squeaky clean area

to play in!

I was in the kitchen doing my usual flipping through cookbooks, searching

 for something new to bake, but resorted to a batch of pistachio muffins,

 most of which went into the freezer.

Made the quiche to use up last week's eggs and a bag of baby spinach.

 I ordered two dozen eggs for this week from my farm lady Linda - picked

 them up yesterday - as her chickens are laying well again so I wasn't

 limited to just a dozen as during the past couple of months.

I changed up the quiche a bit this time. Added a big dollop of that

pumpkin seed pesto to 1/2 cup of Ricotta cheese. That was

spread on the bottom crust after the 15 min. par-bake, then 

added the grated Gruyere cheese, the chopped spinach, the

 egg/milk/cream mixture, and topped with the remaining Gruyere. 

Baked as usual and was pleasantly surprised when I cut it and

 found all the layers visible, making it look really neat.

Also it was very tasty!

Garden chores to be revisited today as the weather is lovely - mostly

 emptying/cleaning the summer pots remaining. Still some basil which won't 

survive winter, the dahlias which are just about over, and annuals now

 on their last legs!  Planning to scrub out the bird baths also, they're a mess.

Amaryllis bulbs did get planted up in narrow pots on Thursday - they

 like to be snug - four large bulbs and one surprise bulblet. 

My fingers are crossed they will all grow.  

I have few areas to place them where they will get enough sunlight,

the best being right here on the dining room table.

Note I've already stuck a twig in each pot ready for tying up

leaves and hopefully tall blooms!

Boxes of Christmas cards are at the ready - I plan to start writing a

 few a day which is easier for me with this often achy shoulder/arm. 

Rotator cuff surgery is still on my To Do list, needless to say it's close

 to the bottom as I'm not excited by the thought of being out of commission

 for several months. I plan to wait as long as I can!

One cooking pumpkin remaining - will prep it this weekend.

I bought a few holiday items, including this door mat, when at Target

 this week - and must say I now feel better about Christmas coming.  

At first it sounded all too much to bother with during these

stressful times, now I'm going to make the most of it with

perhaps a bit less baking as I won't be throwing my usual

parties/meals, but plenty of decorating, roaring fires, candles 

lighting up the winter nights, and of course, as always,

 will be hoping for a White Christmas!

What are you planning for this November weekend?

Whatever, I hope it's relaxing and fun.