"Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow"*

The volunteers have been hard at work to get the Walnut Hill Rose Garden ready for the Rose Garden Festival, which was this past Saturday. I have been logging hours up there weeding and pruning (although not as many as Sister K), but I didn't make it to the party because I was too busy working in my own yard. (I seriously need a grounds team.) But the hard work paid off and the roses looked amazing for the event. Here are some snaps I took on Thursday evening, just before the drizzle turned into proper rain.









* lyrics from "The Garden Song" by David Mallett

One Month Into Springtime Round Up

The snow has melted. Finally! Unfortunately, it has left behind some unpleasantness ::shakes fist at damage caused by ice dams:: but that is going to get fixed in the coming month or so. Hopefully before June because I would like to be able to use my guest bedroom and right now I can't because the carpet is all pulled up. (If you look at the photo to the left, that was the ice that was flowing down the exterior walls of my house like a glacier. I had no idea that was possible.)

The bulbs I planted this fall are in bloom and seeing the bright pinks, purples, and yellows when I pull into the driveway at the end of the day makes me ridiculously smiley. (It's also a surprise to see where everything ended up because I started late and by the time I was done, I was throwing bulbs hodgepodgedly into whatever holes I could make in the ground.) Ocean State Job Lot, FTW!

I am frustrated with my iPhone since the iOS update. I have a 4, and I really wish that I hadn't installed the new software. The phone hasn't been really right since. (I JUST WANT TO SYNC MY PLAYLISTS AND PODCASTS!!!)

Shakespeare's birthplace

Happy birthday to William Shakespeare, who was born 450 years ago today in this house in Stratford upon Avon, which I was lucky to visit 5 years ago! I love that people find value in saving the houses of famous writers. I really want to go visit Mark Twain's house in Hartford this summer; I haven't been to the house since junior high school!

The grass at my house may need to be mowed in the next few weeks, which I am not looking forward to because of my allergies, but there is something really satisfying about how the lawn looks when you finish.

I promised Sister B that I wouldn't post any photos of my nephew on the internet. So I won't. But trust me when I say he is really cute, like blonde with dimples cute. Which is a good thing (for him) because he is about to enter the Terrible Twos. On Easter, he pushed me and told me to "Go away, Amennie!" (which is how he says "Aunt Melanie".) Of course, he changed his tune when he realized I had chocolate. Two can play at that game, SweetPea.

And because it wouldn't be a post from me without a Brit telly roundup: lots of good programming on PBS recently. I am hooked on both "Call the Midwife" and "The Bletchley Circle". I don't think that it is possible to watch an episode of Call the Midwife without reaching for a Kleenex, and I love the smarts and camaraderie of the ladies of Bletchley Park. Not loving this series of "Mr. Selfridge" as much as I did last season; the characters are far less likeable. Even the charming Henri has lost his allure, and Agnes needs a boost to her confidence and creativity. I hope it will rally in coming weeks, but I am not watching it real time any longer, watching "Game of Thrones" instead.

Seven Things Making Me Smile

It is hard to believe it, but it has been nearly two years since I did a Seven Things Making Me Smile update! And, honestly, there have been more things of late that I have caused me to frown instead of smile  (ice dams wreck havoc inside my house, basically having a severe allergic reaction to winter...I kid you not), but I still have a lot to be grateful for, and it is always good to make a list of the positives when feeling overwhelmed by the negatives. 

1. Breville Smart Oven Convection Toaster Oven: This was one of the best purchases I made since moving into my house. America's Test Kitchen voted this the best toaster oven you could buy; that was good enough endorsement for me. And, boy, were they right. Not only does this make perfect toast, but it is great for baking, broiling, and reheating meals. In the past, I have complained about how annoying it can be cooking for one, but this makes it less of a drama. (I have been making delicious, crispy meatloaf in this little guy.) And it made hosting Christmas easy too, because I was able to roast the root vegetables in the toaster oven while the roast beef cooked in the main oven. It isn't cheap (retailing around $250), but I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond and was able to use a coupon towards it. I found out my friend MEM had one too, and she loves hers just as much as I love mine.  (I have had only one disappointment with the oven. I baked a cake in it because I didn't want to heat up my whole kitchen, and the cake was harder than I would have liked. The cake wasn't dry, just the top was hard, making it difficult to cut. Next time, I would wait and bake the cake in the full size oven. But that's my only complaint.)

2. Ticonderoga #2 pencils: I don't know what it is about a pencil, but nine times out of ten you will catch me writing with one of these instead of a pen. It isn't to say that I don't have nice pens or that I am not a fan of pens (shout out to the Sharpie pen), but there is something about a Ticonderoga #2 pencil that makes it my "go to" writing implement, especially at the office.  (One thing I am not a fan of though is those clicky refillable mechanical pencils. The nib is too thin, and the point breaks WAY too easily for my liking. They do have pretty good erasers though, but the eraser is only part of the pencil.)
 

image from GoodReads.com

3. Game of Thrones: the books AND the show. Dracarys!! It was so exciting to have the show start up again, which is perfect timing for me because I *just* finished reading A Dance with Dragons, which means that I am completely caught up with all the books. And the tv show has just gotten to the really good part of A Storm of Swords, and I can't wait to see how they interpret it all for the show! Of course, now this means that I am in the same boat as all the old school fans; we have to wait for the release of the next book...in 2015. GAH! I am seriously NOT GOOD at waiting. I have a hard enough time waiting until next Sunday for a new episode of the show. Until then I guess I am just going to have to read fan speculation on how things are going to turn out. (And I totally have a theory about Jon Snow's mother...)

image from Spin.com

4. Neko Case:  Have you ever been totally into something (in my case, music) and then not been really interested in it for a while (or at least you haven't liked anyone new in the last ten years) and then something happens and you are totally into it again? I heard one of Neko Case's songs ("I Wish I Was the Moon") in an episode of "True Blood" (I have spent the last two years watching all the HBO shows I didn't watch because I didn't have HBO when I lived in Boston), downloaded the album the song was on, and was immediately hooked. I have pretty much worn out her newest album, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, listening to it in the car.  Her music is totally a "sitting on the porch after work, drinking a beer, having a smoke (if you do that anymore), watching as the sun go down and the light fades away while debating to have another beer or actually make dinner" kind of sound. It's also pretty good soundtrack for Friday nights after work drinking cocktails and eating cheese in front of the fireplace.

image from Vinted.com

5. Infinity scarves: My sisters gave me two of these for my recent birthday and I love them. They bought them from Charming Charlie, which is COMPLETELY different from This Charming Charlie. (Initially I was VERY confused about that.) One of them is red with a pink paisley pattern while the other is covered in little blue whales! (I love whales!! They are so very preppy. And Hartford Whalers-y.) ANYHOO, these scarves are great because you can just throw one over your head, loop it around once, and take your outfit from "meh" to "looking good!" (This is a true story BTW - happened last week at work. Took an outfit from being really plain and simple to professional. And I got LOADS of compliments on the scarf.)

image from Kohls.com

6. New slippers: I had my old pair of slippers for a ridiculously long time and had pretty much worn (and washed) them into a state of "who are we really kidding anymore?" So I junked them around MLK day, and I picked up a new pair of Isotoner microterry/satin slippers on sale at Lord & Taylor (although next time, I am just going to try Kohl's - looks like they have better selection.) They are really soft and warm without being too hot and even give your foot a bit of support. They are super comfortable, which is a good thing when you are barely awake, staggering around your kitchen trying to make coffee or if you decide to spent the whole day in your pajamas, as you do sometimes. Comfy slippers are hard to come by, and I really like these.

image from GoodReads.com

7.  Fannie Flagg books: I love Fannie Flagg's books. All of them. From Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe to Standing in the Rainbow to her newest The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. I can't decide if it is because her characters tend to be genuinely nice people, or the fact that the stories are all set in the South and I really love reading about the South, or the fact that she can have you laughing, then crying, and then laughing again all in one page. It might also be the nostalgia for a simpler/better time: when communities were close knit and everyone knew their neighbors, when they sat on the front porch listening to the radio and drinking lemonade on a summer night, when kids could ride their bicycles all over town without having to worry about getting hurt or kidnapped or worse. Not saying that the books don't have conflict, because a good book needs conflict, but these novels make you feel really good. Sometimes I really need to take a break from the mysteries, 19th century novels, and fantasy that fills up a large portion of my "to read" pile and just read a simple, feel-good book. And when I do, I read Fannie Flagg.

Speaking of knowing your neighbors, I just want to give a shout out to my next door neighbor: MJB. She will never read this and even if she did, I don't think she'd know I was speaking about her, but honest to God, I don't think that I could have asked for a nicer next-door neighbor if I tried. So despite the ice dams and the other unexpected home-ownership related drama, I really lucked out in the neighbor department, and that totally makes me smile!!!!

The Sisters Cooking Show, Episode 3

I was invited to Sister B's house yesterday because she was baking "macaroons". Delicious! However, when I got there, I learned that Sisters K & B were actually doing some collaborative "macaron" baking. Even better!!

There were some initial disagreements about which recipe to use, but I think that the one that seems to be the final winner was Martha Stewart's, with a butter cream filling from a different cookbook.

While I was not actually involved in the making of these macarons, I was a taste tester and a member of the clean up crew. And while the sisters baked, I hung out with the "Sweetpea" (Sister B's nearly 2 year old son), who really liked watching the blender and the mixer. He doesn't discriminate: if it has a button to push, he likes it. (Although he was not interested in the macarons, which just meant more for the grownups. Yum!)

I hope that I will be invited back when they make the next round.

Holmes on the Brain

Okay, so it is entirely possible that I am seeing things, as I totally have had the newest series of "Sherlock" on the brain (it starts up again this Sunday after "Downton Abbey"!!), but doesn't

Fred McMurray (seen here with Joan Crawford in Above Suspicion) look an awful lot like...

...Benedict Cumberbatch as the world's greatest consulting detective?!?!

It isn't just me, right?

RIGHT??    

RIGHT?!?!?!?!?

Oh, Christmas Tree ... Deconstructed

<

Christmastime (TV) is (nearly) here...

It's that time of year again... the time for the importation of British holiday/Christmas specials!!

I ran across the trailer for the "Call the Midwife" Christmas special on-line yesterday and was delighted to learn that we won't have to wait very long for this one! (Unlike the "Downton Abbey" air date delays. I don't know about you, but avoiding spoilers was such a pain, I just ended up reading them. Pbbt!!!) Anyhow, back to Chummy, er, "Call the Midwife", PBS will air the program on December 29 at 7:30pm ET!!! (Thanks for not making us wait for this one, PBS!) Per the PBS website, series 3 will be airing in March. (Huzzah for more Chummy!)

Here is the synopsis:
In 1958 Poplar, the holidays are not just about the opening of presents, but also about the closing of deep wounds. Although the weather is unseasonably mild for this time of year, the lives of the midwives are anything but calm. Jenny’s relationship with Alec continues to blossom and Shelagh’s (formerly Sister Bernadette) quiet wedding to Dr. Turner is underway.
When a thousand-pound explosive is discovered, the district is evacuated and the Nonnatus House team is quick to take charge to ensure that the community is safe and warm. Always one to keep spirits high, Chummy decides to forge ahead with the Cubs Christmas party. However, just when the community’s holiday spirit is renewed, Poplar faces an outbreak of polio, with the repercussions of the illness affecting the nurses and nuns more than they could have ever imagined.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a double hankie episode, friends.

And here's the trailer:

Can't wait!! Between this and "Doctor Who" on December 25th at 8:00pm ET, not too bothered about not getting "Downton" on time. And don't forget, series 3 of "Sherlock" starts January 19th!