A Room of One's Own

Everyone needs a space of one's own...someplace to relax surrounded by things you love.  I was a little concerned moving to this house that Paul had been in for 14 years.  I wondered how I would fit in and where that space of my own would be.  Paul has the studio, his sanctuary. Peter has his bedroom, his sanctuary.  Our bedroom belongs to both of us, our sanctuary.  I voiced my concern to Paul and he immediately said that the space at the top of the stairs could be mine.  At that time, it was fairly unfinished and a blank canvas.  The only parts that were done were the floor, the drywall, a large window and two skylights installed but not trimmed out.  We talked about what I wanted and needed in my room and Paul went to work.  And work he did.  The room needed so much done that it's taken him about three years worth of time to finish it.  But finish it he did, today, in fact.  It is indeed beautiful.  
 


An amazing bannister of maple and fir leads up to the room.  That in itself took an entire summer!  

There's a shelf at the side of the stairway that holds pictures and treasures.  There are banks of the old bolt cabinet drawers that appear in the kitchen, too.  








 

There is a bookcase to hold my books and stereo and the TV we never watch.  My comfy couch is just waiting for me to sit and read or stitch or sip a beverage and contemplate my next project.  

The knee wall is covered in lovely maple and fir with doors for access to storage.  My desk is there for working or setting up the sewing machine.  

It is truly my space and I love it.  Paul promised me when he started that he would make it beautiful for me and he did.  There is love everywhere I look in that room.

Purple Passion

It's lavender season...finally.  I love lavender!  In fact, there are two plants that I always plant in my garden, no matter where I live.  One is a Cécile Brunner climbing rose.  The other is lavender.  

Lavender has an interesting history.  It is known for it's soporific and medicinal properties.  The smell of lavender blossoms will relax you.  We have lavender-filled bags to put over our eyes during savasana at the end of yoga class.   It is so soothing.  

Lavender is also known as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.  I read that essential lavender oil was used during World War I to wash down hospital walls and floors.  A bit of lavender oil on the temples is said to help a headache.

The word itself comes from the Anglo-Norman French lavandre, which, I think, means to wash.  It was often added to bath water or water used to wash linens to add a sweet scent.  At any rate, lavender is a pretty amazing herb.

When I moved to this place six years ago, there were two lavender plants here.  They were given to Paul by a friend.  They are the most prolific lavender plants I have ever seen.  There are now around fifty lavender plants growing on the property and they are all from seedlings started by the existing plants.  This doesn't count all the baby lavender plants I have given away.
 
And now that they are all blooming, the plants are abuzz with honey bees!  When I walk out to the garden, it sounds like a little freeway humming out there.  Bless those honey bees and more power to them.  I just wish I knew where to find their lavender honey!

Life is Just a Bowl

When I was younger, I was not a big fan of cherry pie.  I'm not sure why but I would usually turn it down if offered to me.  I have seen the error of my ways!

We have a good-sized pie cherry tree.  In fact, it is what I see when I look out the window sitting at our table. 

Right now it is loaded with beautiful red cherries.







The first couple years I lived here there were enough cherries for pie and freezing for future pies.  But the last three years have been quite disappointing.  For two years there weren't even enough to pick.  Last year we got only one pie's worth of cherries.  We were beginning to think something was wrong with the tree.  Perhaps it had was old and had given up producing cherries.  Whatever, we were discouraged.  But this year it has made up for lost time! 

I've already made two pies in one week!  And for some reason, I now like cherry pie.  As our friend Thomas said,  "It puts me in an Allah mode!" 

Garlic Goodness

The curlicues you see here are garlic scapes.  They are the buds of future blossoms on the garlic in our garlic bed.  Until a couple of years ago, I pretty much ignored them or cut them off so the garlic would develop underground.  Then I found out that garlic scapes are great to eat.  They can be roasted and eaten just like they are or chopped and added to dishes.  I have a new recipe for garlic scapes and white bean curry that I want to try this year.  

However, our favorite way to eat them is in garlic scape pesto.  It's a simple pesto of 1 cup chopped garlic scapes, 1/3 cup walnuts,  juice of one lemon, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup olive oil, and salt and pepper.  It is delicious on pasta but amazing on pizza.  We spread the pizza with the pesto, add mozzarella cheese, some chopped proscuitto, diced bell pepper, blobs of homemade ricotta cheese, and a dusting of pecorino Romano cheese, in that order.    

It tastes even better than it looks.

I love cool and interesting culinary surprises...like eating the buds of garlic blossoms.  Breath-wise, just make sure everyone at the table eats it!  

Small Town Girl

I grew up in a small town (sounds like the beginning of a John Mellencamp song)---St. Paul, Oregon, population 320 or so it was when I was growing up.  Actually, I grew up on a farm 5 miles outside of St. Paul near Champoeg State Park.  But St. Paul was where I went to school.  At the time, St. Paul had a gas station, hardware store, bank, barber shop, farm implement store, feed mill, post office and two taverns.  It is also home to the oldest brick Catholic church this side of the Rockies.  But its claim to fame is the St. Paul 4th of July Rodeo. It is a big event, an honest to goodness PCRA rodeo and organized completely by the community.  
I used to usher at the rodeo when I was in high school, attired in my "Buckerette" outfit (short skirt, Western shirt, vest, hat, and boots).  Yep, we were the St. Paul Buckaroos!  (They still are.)  Most of the people in town are part of the "Rodeo Association,"  the group that puts on the rodeo.  Everybody has some job to do and everyone works to make the rodeo happen.  It brings thousands of people into town over the 4 days it goes on.  It's amazing to think about such a large undertaking being shouldered by such a relatively small group of people but that's how it works in a small town.  It is a community...a place where people work together to make things happen. 


Being part of a small town has its pros and cons.  Everybody knows everybody, which can be both good and bad.  There aren't as many opportunities for expanding one's horizons. As soon as I was out on my own, I moved to a small city.  I loved being where things were "happening."  There was always something to do and places to go.  I met lots of different people, many of whom are still friends to this day.  I really liked living there.  Then I moved to a smaller town, which was a little less hectic but still lots of fun.  I really liked living there, too.


Now I live in Palouse, Washington.  At about 1,000 people it's bigger than St. Paul but it's still a small town.  I'm back to being a farm girl, taking care of about 3 acres (along with Paul, of course).  I'm doing lots of gardening and enjoying being in a quiet place again.  It seems I've come full circle and I'm quite contented with my life and where I live.  Someone I know wrote that those of us living here make a choice to have fewer choices.  I really like that idea.

One thing I've noticed is that this small town has that very same sense of community that I grew up with in St. Paul.  People here help each other out.   Folks wave even if they're not sure who you are.  They show up at events to support each others' projects.  They work together for the sake of the community.  I would say that most folks here in Palouse are happy to be a part of this place, to be living in a small town.  I know I certainly am.

Company

You know what happens when you're going to have company?  You clean house, right?  Sometimes we laugh and say that's the only time the house gets thoroughly cleaned, although that's not really true, but it does get that little extra spit and polish when you know someone else is going to see it.  I know you know what I'm talking about.  

The past few weeks we have been doing lots of spitting and polishing around here.  We were invited to be part of the Palouse Home and Garden Tour this year.  It is a fund-raiser for a local group that is preserving a lovely small old church here in Palouse.  We like to support community events and agreed to do it...even though we wished it was two years from now when things will be more finished and lush and impressive.  Actually we were kind of surprised and honored that they asked us.  So we have been weeding and mowing and raking gravel and painting porch step risers and washing windows (you get the idea) for the last couple of weeks.  Whew, it was a lot of work and, at times, we wondered if we had done the right thing.  But today proved that we had.  




We had women from the church preservation group here to help, which was great.  They checked people in at the front walk. 









 



I gave tours inside the house and then turned folks over to Paul, who covered the gardens and prairie part of the tour.  It got pretty busy during the afternoon and the last people left about 4:30 (it ran from 11-4).  

 








It actually turned out to be a fun experience.  We met lots of really nice people, some local, some from farther away.  Everyone was complimentary and, seemingly, impressed with our little piece of Palouse paradise. 

Even though it was lots of work, it was worth it in the end. 

The Lupines

We live in lupine country.  Wild native lupines dot the countryside from here to the Cascades.  There are a few different varieties of natives and all are lovely, in my opinion.  Paul has come in from his prairie each day to tell about more lupines coming up in different places.  

I planted some Russell lupines (a cultivated strain) in my flower garden.  They have done quite well and are blooming in profusion right now.  








 

But lupines have a habit of spreading themselves even where they weren't planted.  Take this one.  It just showed up in this bed one day.  I didn't plant it and it's not the same color as the Russell that's close to it so, I have no idea how it came to be there.  It certainly seems happy to be there though.  It is about 3 feet tall and gorgeous... but not perfect. 

It has put up one flower spike that is quite unusual.  It has 5 ends on it.  Everyone that I show it to just shakes a head in awe and wonder.  How in the world???

I am watching as the blossom opens and continues up each of the spikes.  It will be interesting when it's completely opened up.  Can't wait to see it.


 This lupine sort of reinforces a few life truths, I think.  
1)  Make the best of where you end up.
2)  You don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.