Mmmm, Asparagus!

In my book, one of the delights of the early spring season is fresh asparagus. We are now finding it in the local grocery markets for a reasonable $1.99 a pound. Here’s a great way to fix this tasty vegetable. Enjoy!

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

2 pounds fresh asparagus
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Optional: parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano recommended)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus, and if they are thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat it completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 10 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Sprinkle with finely grated parmesan cheese.

Keeping It Clean & Fun

Developing this blog has been quite enjoyable for the past two months. Now that I have jumped into it, I can easily see how blogging becomes a creative outlet for many people. When I first started, I worried if I could find enough subject matter to discuss and share. But my worries were unfounded, and I now think of new topics every day.

My goal is to keep this blog clean and fun. I will add new posts on a semi-regular basis, every week or so. I am newly retired and suddenly allergic to deadlines. So there will not be a set schedule, LOL! I have included some neat blog tools for a little frivolity. And, since eye candy has no calories, I will be sharing pictures on a regular basis.

I hope that you will find something interesting to read and see when you stop in for a visit! Your comments are always welcomed. I would be plum tickled if you bookmarked my site and visited it often.

Introduction to Grey Havens Cottage

It is overdue for me to give you an introduction to our cottage, Grey Havens. We built it as our dream home in 1992, and we moved into it in December of that year. It is a rambling southern cape style cottage, built from a Southern Living plan. We were fortunate to find 6 acres of old farmland in the county. It is remote enough for us to see the stars at night, but located just a few miles away from shopping conveniences.

Our cottage is delightfully graced with three porches on the front of the house. Three seasons of the year, we love to sit out on the main porch in old-fashioned, dark green aluminum chairs. Smaller porches are on the kitchen and master bedroom wings. Numerous windows line the back of our home, and we can easily keep track of the birds’ antics from the solarium.

We had a landscape architect draw up the original vision for the property, including the placement of the home. We did all of the landscaping ourselves over the years, and my sweet baboo has worn out two shovels. The cottage sits back almost 400 feet from the road. A windy gravel driveway teases you all the way in before you can see Grey Havens in the summertime, tucked in behind the large pin oak trees.

Grey Havens has given us much joy over the years. Our home is comfortable and beautiful, with a relaxed style. Our eclectic mix of antique furniture and folk art keepsakes fit right in. Visitors easily feel right at home. It has been fun to see how we have reshaped the land over time and how it has reshaped us. We remember the time that we planted 500 pine seedlings along the eastern perimeter one sunny Christmas day. It was not long after we moved here. For years, I asked those trees, “when are you going to grow?” Now they tower over us, and we wonder how they got so big in the blink of an eye.

It is hard for us to believe now that the property was bare pastureland just 15 years ago. A wonderful elderly couple next door sold us the property. They had inherited it from a relative and needed money to care for their disabled daughter. We were fortunate that they took an immediate shine to us, and thanked us on several occasions for creating some beauty for them to see outside their windows. We were grateful for their kind friendship and heartbroken when they both passed away several years ago.

Now that we are both retired and getting older, we want to travel more and be burdened less. It takes a lot of work to maintain this homestead. We plan to get a nice villa home that is smaller and where all of the yard work is done for us. So we have begun the process of downsizing by selling a few furnishings over the past year, and we put our lovely place up for sale in January 2007. It hasn’t sold yet, so it looks like we will be spending another spring and summer here. It will be a bit sad this year without our faithful dog, Buddy, who passed away last May.

Whenever we have to move, we will miss the original Grey Havens. However, the house sign and the magic will follow us to our next cottage. In the meantime, we are creating new memories to give the old ones company.

More Prizes and Surprises

I continue to be amazed on how the worldwide web brings people closer together. I have been graced with many cyber-friends over the past few years, and I would have never met them in the old-fashioned way – face to face.

One such dear friend is Carole of Pickleberry Primitives. She is a talented primitive folk artist who keeps me routinely amused and entertained on a great internet forum. This particular forum has single-handedly turned me into a very chatty gal, which is contrary to my true nature. To recognize my exceptional chattiness, Carole sent me a surprise package recently. She knitted me an adorable pair of slippers (to warm my c-c-cold feet) and made a little bottle cap pincushion to wear during my sewing adventures. A while back, she made another forum gift for me, an adorable primitive doll, who has a coveted spot on an antique chair in the main hallway of our cottage. BIG HUGS of thanks and friendship for you, Miz Carole!

I recently participated in the “Bloggy Giveaways Carnival” sponsored by Rocks In My Dryer (what a name, huh?). I had a lot of fun visiting various blogs and bookmarking them along the way. I was absolutely delighted to win a beautiful pair of Valentine Earrings from The Taffy Box. Koryn is the talented jewelry artisan behind this enterprise, and she has a delightful blog called Strings Attached. Thank you, Koryn for your generosity!

Happy Valentine's Day to My Sweet Baboo

You have stuck with me through thick and thin.
Though sometimes you have to keep handy a bottle of gin.

We met long ago when I took your photography course.
And held together ever since then by magnetic force.

You keep me entertained and constantly amused.
You can make me laugh so hard my ribs get bruised.

Your culinary skills never fail to delight.
When I ask “what’s for dinner tonight?”

We have traveled far and wide to see the sights.
And you warm my feet on cold winter nights.

We knew from the beginning our love would survive.
Life with you, my dear, is what keeps me alive.

Let’s lift our glasses in a toast for future journeys together.
Filled with happy times, senior discounts, kisses, and good weather.

I love you, sweetie!

Greeting Cards

One of the things I decided to do this year was to make my own greeting cards. I have made a few in the past, but I always bought more than I created. My studio has a good supply of stamps, inks, papers, and envelopes already, so it’s just a matter of getting it done! I have begun working on an inventory of cards that corresponds to various occasions. Here is a sampling of the cards that my friends and relatives can expect to get this year. Nothing fancy, but sweet nonetheless!