Rhubarb Crumble Pie

This is a recipe I got off the internet ages ago. It is delicious! You could serve it with whipped cream or ice cream, if you wish.

Rhubarb Crumble Pie

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

3 cups diced rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon butter


Preheat oven to 350º F.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
Stir in oats and 1/2 cup sugar.
Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
Pat half of the mixture into a greased 9-inch pie pan and set aside remaining half for the topping.
Arrange rhubarb in pie shell.
Mix together and sprinkle over the rhubarb:
sugar, cinnamon, and water and then dot with butter.
Spread remaining oat mixture over filling.
Bake for 40 minutes until rhubarb is tender.

If you are interested, there's a book giveaway going on through Monday.

Two in the Sheila Malory series by Hazel Holt and a GIVEAWAY

24. Murder on Campus (US title - Mrs. Malory: Detective in Residence) - fifth in the Sheila Malory series
by Hazel Holt
mystery, 1994
finished, 4/28/10

25. Superfluous Death (US title - Mrs. Malory Wonders Why) - sixth in the Sheila Malory series
by Hazel Holt
mystery, 1995
finished, 4/30/10

I have been busy on eBay and at online used bookstores buying the Sheila Malory series. I now own thirteen, and have another six to purchase. These are books I want to own because I'm sure I'll pick them up and read them again after I've finished the whole series. I buy what is available and that means sometimes the book is the English version and other times the American. I will never understand why all the publishers in the world can't get together and stick with one name for a book. In my book reports, I've tried to put both titles.

Last month I read these two Mrs. Malorys in a few days time and thought I'd do a book report on both at once. In Murder on Campus Sheila has been invited by her old friend, Linda, at Wilmot, a fictional college in Pennsylvania, to teach a course on 'lesser-known nineteenth-century British women writers' for three months. That doesn't seem like a very long time, and one might think it would be rather uneventful, but of course in a mystery story the reader knows the time will be anything but. After being introduced to the many members of the faculty, and having gotten a flavor for the place, as Sheila is being shown around an adjacent museum, the curator opens an antique linen chest, and lo and behold, there is the dead body of the most obnoxious man on campus, a man hated by everyone. A while later, another man is also murdered. There is a complex trail to follow in order to find out just what really happened, if they were killed by the same person, if the second dead man killed the first one, or if the murders are connected at all. Along the way, we learn more about the star of the mysteries, Sheila Malory. There is a possibility of romance, as well as a moral dilemma.

There are two blurbs on the back of Murder on Campus which I think describe the series just beautifully.

Cosy, traditional, warm-glowish sort of whodunnit: a fast disappearing genre.
Marcel Berlins, The Times

If a cosy detective story is your choice for a bedtime read ... Hazel Holt is just the ticket.
Daily Post

In Superfluous Death, Sheila is back in Taviscombe, her beloved seaside home. We hear about a scheme to build nursing homes, a lucrative business in this community with a large older population. However, the problem is that a woman has settled happily into an apartment in one of the houses the owner wants to convert. She is very old, and hoped to spend her last years in this place she loves. After a little while she dies, not surprising at her age, but soon it is discovered that she was murdered. It is Sheila who happens to find the body, and her attention to detail helps solve the case.

In this book, her friend Rosemary's daughter and family are moving to Taviscombe. Jilly's husband happens to be a policeman, and Mrs. Malory says:

I'm very fond of them both. Jilly is my goddaughter and I regard Roger as a sort of honorary godson. He shares my devotion to Victorian female novelists (I remember thinking this a rather odd taste in a policeman when I first met him) and we often have invigorating arguments about the respective merits of Mrs Oliphant and Mrs Gaskell and similar fascinating topics.

It is passages such as this that endear this reader to the series. There is always a mystery, but it is just another facet of Sheila Malory's daily life. I wish I were her neighbor in Taviscombe, but reading these books is the next best thing.

A recent purchase included a four-book package, and though I already owned one, the price was so good that I bought it again anyway. And now I can offer it as a giveaway! Mrs. Malory Investigates (UK title, Gone Away) is the first in the series. I wrote about it here. If you've never read any Mrs. Malory books, or if you love the series and would like to own a used copy of the first book, here is your chance!

Please leave a comment on any post from now through next Monday, May 17 letting me know you'd like to be entered in the draw. I'll send it anywhere. I will pick a name on Tuesday, May 18.

Bad Blake's Biscuits

Last week was the spring opening of our small town independent movie theatre. On Wednesdays Tom is the volunteer projectionist for the 5:30 2-for-1 show, a job he's done for many years now. The first movie of the season was Crazy Heart, which I loved. Jeff Bridges was so good in the role that this viewer almost forgot he was acting. Bad Blake is a 57 year old musician who has fallen on hard times, and mostly plays the bars and bowling alleys these days. Bridges does his own singing, as does Colin Farrell. Whoever did the casting deserves great credit for putting Farrell in the role of a younger, much more successful singer who learned it all from Blake. And Maggie Gyllenhaal was excellent as journalist, Jean Craddock, raising her four year old son by herself. If you haven't seen it, the dvd comes out this month.

In the movie Bad Blake makes some biscuits for Jean's son. Well, I've been thinking about those biscuits ever since, and did a search to see if there was a recipe anywhere. I found one at a new-to-me site which is just fantastic called, Different Drummer, which reviews movies and posts recipes connected to the films.

Here is her recipe for Bad Blake's Biscuits:

3 c. flour (sifted)
5 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. Crisco
1 to 1 1/4 c. milk

Sift together dry ingredients.
Add Crisco. Crumble together.
Pour in milk.
Stir.
Spoon on floured board.
Use a bit of this flour to knead your dough.
Roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut out with biscuit cutter.
Place in greased pan.
Dab a small piece of Crisco on each biscuit.
Bake 18 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown.

My notes: as you know by now, I always use butter. And because of my new-found love for buttermilk, I used it instead of regular milk. For other recipes, just type buttermilk into the search bar, or look on the sidebar under Sharing Recipes from a Hill Farm.

I baked them a bit longer than 18 minutes. And I put them in a greased 9x13 pan, which I've never done before. I've always used a cookie sheet. I love how they turned out and will probably do this from now on. The taste is out of this world! I've loved other biscuits, and even posted some recipes here, and it just may be that you can't go wrong no matter how you make 'em.



Addendum: I made these May 9, 2013 and today found them way too salty. Next time will reduce one or all of the cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

A song for Mother's Day - Simple Man/Lynyrd Skynyrd

Simple Man
Songwriters: Van Zant, Ron; Rossington, Gary

Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day
Oh, yeah it will

Oh, take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
Go find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget that there is a someone up above

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need now is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby if you try
All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?
If you can

Boy, don't you worry, you'll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby if you try
All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me child if you can?
So baby be a simple, be a simple man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?

Farm and Garden Weekly - week of May 2

A bluebird visited this week. This usually happens once a year, and then that dear little bird goes somewhere else to live. I'm happy to have even a glimpse of such loveliness. The picture was taken through the laundry room window - I didn't want to take a chance and open it for fear the bird would fly off before I could get a photo.






The rhubarb is growing to beat the band! I've picked eight cups already. We have four plants. There was one here when we bought the house (one of the very few plantings) and since then we've divided it and bought one plant. They are all thriving. What an utter treat to have it, and the chives which grow faster than I can use them!











The north pasture crabapple is in full bloom, and so lovely.

We bought our place from a woman whose family had owned it since 1919. I'm quite sure there was only one owner before that. Anyhow, as you might imagine, it was a melancholy thing for Barbara to sell it. Her mother and sister had continued to live here, only summers for the previous twenty-five years, until both their deaths. She was so pleased that we loved the place and didn't want to subdivide it, and wanted to have it as a farm that she reduced the price by $10,000! She had one request: would we be willing for her to keep the old Duchess apple tree? We of course said yes, and the lawyer was fine with it. He said that she just needed to hold onto a bit of the old place. She came over for a few years during apple picking time, but then the visits became fewer and fewer. Barbara died maybe four years ago, and recently our lawyer suggested we might want to get a release form signed by her children. I've been in touch with her daughter who still lives locally, and she's fine with that. She asked if she could take some cuttings from the tree, and I said yes, anytime. The tree itself is in amazing shape. Who knows how long it had been here before Barbara's parents bought the place in 1919? We had a ten-minute tornado-like storm in 1998, and part of the Duchess was broken off, but though it doesn't look too pretty in shape, it still blossoms and bears fruit in the fall. Mostly, the animals eat the apples nowadays. We've learned over the years that people who know these trees, cherish them. They are very special to them, and are the basis for many childhood memories. The official name is Duchess of Oldenburg.

Duchess of Oldenburg—Russia, seventeenth century, imported in 1835 by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society—a yellow early apple with crimson stripes and splashes.

One of the best of all pie apples.

The Duchess is the furthest down the road. The closer one in bloom is the plum. I wish I could put the fragrance on the blog as well as the picture.

It is rainy and raw today. The rest of the week has been quite cool and very windy. In fact one evening we lost power for a couple hours. Everything is green, green, green.

Frosted Dream Bars

This recipe comes from Tom's sister, and it is one of my favorites. I love these crunchy bars with the orange frosting. This is May's installment in Margaret's boyfriend's birthday present.


Frosted Dream Bars

Mix together into a crumbly mass:
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Pat into a 9 x 13 pan, covering it evenly.
Bake in a 350 F. oven for 10 minutes.
Set aside to cool.

Beat together:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Add and stir well:
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Add dry mixture to egg mixture and blend well.

Pour mixture onto the baked crust, spread evenly, and bake at the same temperature for 20 minutes.

Cool slightly. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars.

Note: the original recipe calls for brown sugar, but as I have mentioned, I use Sugar in the Raw for any sugar called for in a recipe.

Frosting:

Cream 1/4 cup soft butter with 2 cups confectioners' sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and about 1/4 cup orange juice.

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

23. Dog On It - first in the Chet and Bernie series
by Spencer Quinn
mystery, 2009
finished, 4/23/10

I'm sure that I'm not the only dog lover in the world who is unable to read many dog books; fiction like Lassie Come Home and Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows, and the many nonfiction books. I can't do it. I love my dogs. I have loved many dogs, and the last thing I want to read, the very last thing, is about a dog friend getting sick or dying or a person giving up a dog. Well, if you are like me, you may now rejoice! Dog On It is THE dog lover's book. First of all, this is the first book in a series, so I knew he wasn't going to die. Second of all, there is great humor, and the book is told from Chet's point of view. There are a few tricky situations he gets into, but the reader knows in his heart that Chet will come out just fine.

Chet's human companion is Bernie Little, who runs a private detective agency. Bernie is divorced with a small son he doesn't see often enough. Bernie is passionate about the Arizona landscape and is always getting upset about how it is changing. This sentiment is pretty much lost on Chet though:

"Now entering Modena," said Bernie, honking as a low-rider car swerved in front of us. "What we've got here is wasteland, pure and simple."

Wasteland smelled good to me: grease and nothing but, all kinds of grease - pizza grease, car grease, french-fry grease, human-hair grease. I was sitting up as tall as I could in the shotgun seat, taking in everything, my nose quivering. ...

"You know what this used to be, Chet? And not so long ago? Ranchland, as far as the eye could see."

We'd gone to a ranch once, me, Bernie, Charlie, Leda. Don't get me started on horses - prima donnas, every one, dim and dangerous at the same time. I preferred Modena just like this, greasy and horseless.

Bernie also worries about water in this desert place.

"For thousands of years, this was open country," he said. "Rivers flowed. Where's all that water now?"

And again, Chet has his own view.

I glanced to the side, spotted water right away, making beautiful rainbows over a putting green. What was the problem?

In Dog On It, there's a missing teenage girl who has possibly been kidnapped. In the course of the case, Chet himself is stolen, spends some time at a dog shelter, and travels with bikers for a while. Bernie has his own troubles, but of course all comes out well in the end.

I loved every minute of my time with Chet and Bernie. The story has its little bit of suspense, but we know everything will be fine. With Chet's comic relief, the book never gets too serious. And each of us who has a dog will surely believe this is the way dogs really think.

Bernie refilled the water bowl at the sink, even threw in a few ice cubes. Ah. Love ice cubes. ... I crushed an ice cube. Made my teeth feel great, and then cold little chips were swirling through my mouth, cooling me down all over.

I felt pretty good, so good I charged around the yard a bit, bursting out of one tight turn after another, clods of lawn flying all over the place. ... I skidded to a stop, one of the things I do best, and not easy - try it sometime.

I spotted a Cheeto under the bed. Munch munch and it was gone. Not bad at all, if you didn't mind a little dust, and I'm not fussy about things like that.

A human asks him -

"Don't you like your kibble?"
Not particularly, was the true answer. Steak, if available, was always my first choice, and there were many others in front of kibble.

One of the blurbs on the back comes from the late, wonderful Robert B. Parker.

"A detective, a dog, and some major league prose. Dog On It is a genuine joy."

Perfect.

Oh, and by the way, Chet has his own blog!

Today's poem - Metamorphosis by May Sarton

Metamorphosis
by May Sarton (May 3, 1912 - July 16, 1995)

Always it happens when we are not there -
The tree leaps up alive into the air,
Small open parasols of Chinese green
Wave on each twig. But who has ever seen
The latch sprung, the bud as it burst?
Spring always manages to get there first.

Lovers of wind, who will have been aware
Of a faint stirring in the empty air,
Look up one day through a dissolving screen
To find no star, but this multiplied green,
Shadow on shadow, singing sweet and clear.
Listen, lovers of wind, the leaves are here!

Today's poem - The Bleeding-heart by Mary Oliver

The Bleeding-heart
by Mary Oliver
from New and Selected Poems
Volume Two


I know a bleeding-heart plant that has thrived
for sixty years if not more, and has never
missed a spring without rising and spreading
itself into a glossy bush, with many small red
hearts dangling. Don't you think that deserves
a little thought? The woman who planted it
has been gone for a long time, and everyone
who saw it in that time has also died or moved
away and so, like so many stories, this one can't
get finished properly. Most things that are
important, have you noticed, lack a certain
neatness. More delicious, anyway, is to
remember my grandmother's pleasure when
the dissolve of winter was over and the green
knobs appeared and began to rise, and to cre-
ate their many hearts. One would say she was
a simple woman, made happy by simple
things. I think this was true. And more than
once, in my long life, I have wished to be her.

The winner of Arbor Day Square is...

Sprite!

You may click on 'view my complete profile' on the sidebar to see my email address. Please send me a note with your snail mail address.

Rhubarb Sweetie

The rhubarb is growing so fast now that I realized I must use up what's left in the freezer. Today's treat is one from an old cookbook called Rodale's Naturally Delicious Desserts and Snacks. I no longer have the cookbook, but this recipe is a great favorite.

Rhubarb Sweetie

In a 7x11 or 8x8 greased pan, arrange:
3 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb (I also add a cup of frozen strawberries just for fun!)

Mix together and drizzle over the top:
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup honey

Dot with:
1 Tablespoon butter


Beat together:
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons sour cream

In a separate bowl, mix together:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add dry mixture to egg mixture and spread gently over the rhubarb and strawberries.

Bake in a preheated 350° F. oven about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

If you love Foyle's War

Just a reminder for those in the US (and Canada??) who are fans of the excellent television series, Foyle's War, that a new post-war series begins tonight on Public Television.

Go here for more info. And here for a preview.

Farm and Garden Weekly - week of April 25

The big news of the week was that amazing snowstorm. It has all melted away now, but it was pretty while it lasted.

Last year my friend Susy gave me some bloodroot (scroll down a bit to see her bloodroot) and it came up! It's such an interesting plant with big leaves and delicate white flowers. I can't get over how it bloomed even though it is so tiny - two inches tall maybe.


The lily-of-the-valley has popped out of the ground. This is the annual miracle to me. One day there is bare soil, and the very next day, there's something green showing. The bleeding heart has buds on it and in a couple sunny days it will blossom.


Last spring we didn't put cocoa mulch on and this spring we saw such a difference. Lots of 'witchgrass' and it was much harder to pull out. When we put on cocoa mulch, the weeds pull out so very easily. I know a lot of people use wood chips or wood bark mulch, but I'm just wild about cocoa mulch, though it does cause me to go inside and bake some brownies when I first put it on the flower beds. And then Tom went to all the stores in the area, and found no one is selling it anymore. So, I thought, let's just use our old manure. It is dry and 'composted.' It doesn't smell anymore. It will add nutrients and worms to the flowers, as it now does to the vegetables. And so we did.


I found another site that talks about planting according to the moon phases, which I mentioned in an earlier Farm and Garden Weekly.

Whatever the origins of these beliefs, there is no evidence to prove it true. I once tested the gardening theory by planting bean seeds from the same pack, half during the waxing moon and half during the waning moon. Both grew well and by harvest, there was no difference between the plants.

And this statement expresses why, even though over the years I've thought it would be fun, and it is a neat idea, I don't really care. I plant when the day is nice and the soil is ready and according to the last frost date.

Tom's mother gave us a hybrid called Panola, a mix of pansies and violas. I decided to plant them in these pretty little pots and put them on the terrace steps.


The dandelions have appeared! I love their cheery faces.


While I've been writing this week's report, Tom planted the onion sets, leek plants, sweet pea seeds, spinach and carrot seeds. The raised beds make vegetable gardening so much easier.

I'll close with photos of the sitting areas from which to appreciate the gardens.

Terrace

Patio

And I think I've found what I want to do outside the kitchen door! Susie Vereker posted a picture, and I thought, 'that's it!' We already have some large stones in the grass, and I think we'll add some more, putting them closer together but not so close that a little grass (or maybe some thyme) can grow up in between. I think this offers simplicity (and no expense since there are rocks everywhere at Windy Poplars), and something different from either the terrace or patio. I thank you, Susie!

If you are interested in the giveaway, you still have today and Sunday to sign up for the drawing!

Quote du jour/Gladys Taber

Now the days are longer and lovely twilight has come again into the world. In winter we seem to high-dive from day to night, but now the violet dusk folds over the valley so gently and the sky is luminous so long.
Gladys Taber
Stillmeadow Daybook, 1955

Mrs Bale awoke...

... to 10 inches of snow!!













The daffs in the blog header were in front of the stone planter. Good thing we picked them!
Poor lilacs. I went out with a broom and got the heavy snow off. They sprung back so I'm hoping they are alright.

Lilac buds

There's a giveaway going on through Sunday!

Arbor Day Square by Kathryn O. Galbraith - GIVEAWAY!

22. Arbor Day Square
by Kathryn O. Galbraith, illustrated by Cyd Moore
children's book, 2010
finished, 4/23/10


A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
Greek Proverb

Not only is this a lovely book, beautifully written and illustrated, it is also an important book because it introduces Arbor Day to young children. I am quite sure that I learned about it through reading 365 Bedtime Stories when I was a young girl. I wrote about this book last May 1, and here I am almost a year later, spotlighting it again.

At that time, in that locale, Arbor Day was April 20. My Old Farmer's Almanac calendar says April 30 is National Arbor Day, and though the last Friday in April is the most common date, it varies from state to state according to the best planting time for trees. There is a nice note at the end of Arbor Day Square telling all about the origins of Arbor Day and how it has spread to countries around the world. If you'd like to read more about it, there is a terrific website.

I was so very pleased when the publicist for Arbor Day Square wrote to me and asked if I would like a copy.

The story is simply and beautifully told of a young girl and her father who have moved out to the midwestern prairie. The town is growing steadily with stores and a church and a schoolhouse, but there aren't any trees.

The townspeople raise money to order trees, and when they arrive, trees are planted all over town. There is one tree which is very special to Katie and her dad.


I love books which show the passage of time as this one does. We see the little girl impatient for her tree to grow, then watching as both she and the tree get older, and then she has a little girl of her own. Lovely in every way is this book. A perfect book for someone with a new baby, or a new grandchild, or for yourself if you love picture books as I do. The best ones tell deep truths in the most beautiful way. May Arbor Day Square encourage the love of trees to a whole new generation.

And now for the best part - I have a second copy to offer as a giveaway!! Please leave me a comment on any post letting me know you would like to be entered in the draw from now through Sunday, May 2, and I will do a drawing on Monday, May 3. I will send it anywhere in the world.

Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason

21. Jar City (also known as Tainted Blood; original Icelandic name was Myrin) - third in Inspector Erlendur series
by Arnaldur Indridason
translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder
mystery, 2000
finished, 4/17/10


If you've read my letters for a while, you may have picked up two things about me. One is that I am not a particularly fast reader. I seem to stay steady at four-six books per month depending on kind and length of book. And two is that I tend to shy away from disturbing subject matter. Well, as they say, rules are meant to be broken. I couldn't put this book down. I began on a snowy Friday afternoon, and finished just after midnight on Saturday morning, with breaks for supper and watching The Beiderbecke Tapes (which I love). And the book is full of all sorts of incidents, descriptions, horrors that I usually cannot read. I thought it was excellent despite a number of quite appalling situations.

The story begins with three incidents: the murder of a man in his late sixties, an assault on elderly twin sisters, and the disappearance of a new bride from her wedding reception. Are they connected in any way? Incidents from forty years ago come into play.

Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson is around fifty years old, divorced, eats poorly, and has troubles with his family. His son has been in rehab several times, and his daughter is an addict. He blames himself because he left the family home when she was very little. But the way she speaks to him! She makes Major Pettigrew's son seem angelic in comparison. :<) The writing, and the translation, are simply excellent. It reminded me a bit of Hemingway.

He took his meal out of the microwave and sat at the kitchen table. It was a one-bedroom flat filled with books wherever there was any room to arrange them. Old family photographs hung on the walls showing his relatives in the East Fjords, where he was born. He had no photographs of himself or of his children. A battered old Nordmende television stood against one wall with an even more battered armchair in front of it. Erlendur kept the flat reasonably tidy with a minimum of cleaning.

A movie has been made but isn't yet available in the US. I have it in the saved section in my Netflix queue. I can imagine this story would make a fantastic movie. My only acquaintance with Iceland previous to this book was the film, The Girl in the Café with the always excellent Bill Nighy, and a favorite actress, Kelly MacDonald. It made Iceland look so very appealing to me.

The author has a note at the beginning about Icelandic names which is fascinating, and there are great maps at the front of the book which were very helpful. The country, the names are all so new to me, and I so enjoyed my time in Iceland. The minute I finished Jar City, I ordered the next two in the series from The Book Depository. That's the highest praise I can give a series. I can't wait to continue, and I even might read this one again because it was so, so good. There's an interview from four years ago with Arnaldur Indridason here.

Farm and Garden Weekly - week of April 18

The daffodils are the stars of the garden these spring days. That's garlic you see in the raised bed.

Little hyacinths from Old House Gardens are up in another raised bed.

Muscari botryoides, ORIGINAL GRAPE HYACINTH, 1576

For centuries, this was the grape hyacinth, but today – except for its much less vigorous white form – it has all but vanished from commerce. What a loss! It’s hardier, earlier, and bluer than the modern M. armeniacum, with upright, sprawl-free foliage. 6-8 inches, zones 3-7S/9W, from Holland

At my request, Tom has cut down all the Rosa rugosas just outside the kitchen door. I planted maybe four plants a few years ago, and they had taken over the whole area. I like roses but there were just too many. I already see things popping up which have been hidden - iris, mountain bluet, and lupine. It doesn't look very attractive now, but once the flowers spread, and I plant some others there, it shall be beautiful, I'm sure!



We've been talking a lot about what we want to do just outside the kitchen door. We now have two granite slabs for steps and then grass with some stepping stones. The sidewalk is made of little pebbles which are almost completely covered by grass now. We need to put some pavers down as a sidewalk, just like the patio (scroll down to fourth picture on the page).



But do we have a patio off the kitchen too, or do we build a wooden deck? A lot of people say a deck just doesn't go with an old farmhouse, but I'm still thinking it could be nice. I'm open to any ideas you would like to offer!

This summer we are going to replace both doors, and paint the new ones the same as the front door.


We get our honey in large buckets from Honey Gardens, and after they are empty Tom uses them for various things. This week, he filled one up with water to dissolve the honey and clean it out. As the water sat, all kinds of insects were attracted to the sweetness, including this bumblebee.

First mowing this week

The rhubarb has leaved out and stalks have poked through the soil.

And lastly, here's a good reason to keep the tag on a plant you aren't too familiar with. I bought a tree/shrub last year and planted it between lilacs and an old honeysuckle near the vegetable garden. This year I wondered what it was. And then I saw the tag!


The quality of the photos isn't very good this week, but I took most of them in the brightest sun of the day, and didn't adjust the camera at all.

Betsy~Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace

20. Betsy~Tacy and Tib - second in the Betsy~Tacy series
by Maud Hart Lovelace
juvenile fiction, 1941
finished, 4/13/10





When I was a girl, the phrase, 'two's company and three's a crowd' was often said. Betsy~Tacy and Tib begins:

Betsy and Tacy and Tib were three little girls who were friends. They never quarreled.

Betsy and Tacy were friends first. They were good friends, and they never quarreled. When Tib moved into that neighborhood, and the three of them started playing together, grown-up people said:

"It's too bad! Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly always played so nicely, Two little girls often do play nicely, but just let a third one come around...." And they stopped, and their silence sounded as though they were saying: "then the trouble begins!"

But although many people expected it, no trouble began with Betsy, Tacy and Tib. The three of them didn't quarrel, any more than the two of them had.

As I finished my second in the Betsy~Tacy series, I realized that my book reports through the coming months on these books won't vary much. These are sweet books; they are pleasant books. They make the reader feel good about the world.

In this book, the girls are eight years old, and able to do more things than when they were younger. They get into very gentle mischief. One delightful instance is when Mrs. Ray lets Betsy and her friends 'keep house' after school until she gets home at 'half-past five.' She has left them cocoa and cupcakes so that they 'may have a little party.' Well, as you might imagine, they make their own party. Betsy suggests they make a dish called, 'everything' because 'it's got everything in it.' Haven't we all had this idea back in our childhood days? A few of the ingredients they mix together are:
bacon grease, ginger, milk, tapioca, coffee, molasses, and bay leaves. They end up throwing it out after tasting, and then clean up the whole kitchen.

Little incidents such as this may not make for exciting reading to some, but I greatly enjoyed the book, and I had a smile on my face as I read. I adore these books as much as I did when I was a girl reading them, and when I read them to my own daughter.

This is my fourth book in the You've Got Mail Reading Challenge. The others are listed on the sidebar and you may click the titles if you'd like to read my book reports.

I just recently watched You've Got Mail for the umpteeth (isn't that a fun word?!) time, and took note of Kathleen Kelly, played by Meg Ryan, telling Annabel about Betsy~Tacy and Tib, 'whose real name, I'm sorry to tell you, is Thelma.'

A wonderful movie, and a wonderful set of books. I highly recommend them for you or for the young girls in your life.