Gardening Woes

When one of my plants dies, I die a little inside, too.  ~Linda Solegato  

The other day I posted here about our record-breaking cold and my hopes that we would not loose any of our plants.  Well, my hopes were dashed yesterday as I looked out at our magnificent Indian Fig Cactus. The temperature dropped to single digits Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Indian Fig are supposed to be cold hardy, but when I looked out yesterday afternoon, this is what I saw:

This is what our Indian Fig looked like just one month ago.  You can see it behind the Acacia tree.

We are not sure if we can save any part of this poor plant, but we will try.  Gardening requires both a strong back and a strong heart.

More Hearts

Today, see if you can stretch your heart and expand your love so that it touches not only those to whom you can give it easily, but also those who need it so much.~Daphne Rose Kingma

I promised more hearts this month and here are some from last year that I didn't post about.

Sweet Heart Sachet

I crocheted this heart last year to hang on my guest bedroom door knob.  I don't remember now what yarn I used or what hook size, but the pattern can be found here.  It is a PDF download.  Very quick and easy.  I filled it with potpourri which has lost its fragrance, but it is a cheery welcome to all who come to stay with me a while.

Heart Pin Front

Heart Pin Back

This little Heart Pin is one of five I made last February for my sister, her daughter, my daughter, my cousin, and myself.  We all rented a beautiful home in Phoenix for a week to celebrate our birthdays.  It was so much warmer than this year, but at least I have the memories to keep me warm.  I used a variety of scrap yarns for the pins and put a different button on each one.  I hot glued a pin on the back of each.  It gave me pleasure to show them how much I love them with a gift of a heart.  The pattern for the heart pin can be found here.

Those are all the hearts I have to show you today, but I have more in the works.  Need to get busy now.

February Hearts

Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased.  Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken.  But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever. ~Unknown

Grandma's Heart Square

This is the February block for the 2011 Block-a-Month Crochet-a-long I'm participating in on Ravelry.  It was designed by Carola Wijma and the pattern can be downloaded for free from Ravelry. It is aptly named because it will be used in the making of an afghan for my little grandson, Baby G.  It was a challenge for me, as I needed to read a crochet chart in order to make it, and it incorporated many different stitches.  It was a wonderful learning experience and great fun, too!

Little Heart Bookmarks

 I posted here about these bookmarks I was making for the members of one of my book clubs.  The pattern was designed by Lee at KilliecrankieFarm.  They were quick and satisfying to make and now here are all eight finished and ready for gifting.

I love to make things in heart shapes and I am always attracted to items with hearts on them.  Example the pillow above.  Since Valentine's Day is in February I usually indulge myself with the making of hearts and decorating with them as well.  Don't be surprised if more hearts show up on this blog this month.

What to Do When the Weather is Cold

The one thing I never get involved with is selecting art or pictures for a client. This is a very personal thing. If the clients have pictures, I will hang them. When they do not own pictures I leave the walls blank. ~Albert Hadley, The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer

This is our fourth winter in the Southwest and we are noticing a pattern.  When February comes look out for a cold snap.  This year it seems to be particularly brutal.  Our high temperature today was 36 degrees and the low tonight is predicted to be 11 degrees.  Brrr!  My husband covered up a number of our outdoor plants that are marginal at 20 degrees.  Our plants and trees are not as precious as our children, but they do run a close second.  If one of them succumbs to the cold, we shall be very distressed.

We certainly aren't suffering like the Midwest or Northeast.  No snow or ice, but when you are used to winter weather in the 60s and 70s during the day, this kind of cold really inhibits our usual activities.  Definitely no morning walks until the weather warms again.  Today we didn't stir from the house, so we spent the day in cocooning activities. I washed bed clothes, cooked, and crocheted.  My husband rearranged furniture in our bedroom and hung this fabulous peacock, painted by our darling daughter.

She painted it to hang in an art show in which she exhibited last year.  We admired it greatly and she gave it to us last fall when we visited back East.  We've tried it out in different rooms in our home, but were never satisfied with how it looked.  Now that the bedroom has been rearranged, it has found a suitable hanging place.  When I look at it I am reminded of our beautiful, talented daughter and get a big smile on my face.

Monthly Check-Up

An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises. ~Mae West
Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. ~Tom Robbins

The first of February and I think it is time to check-up on those eleven goals I posted here and see what progress I have made.

1. I did use some stash yarn this month to make bookmarks for the members of one of my book clubs.
2. I did not finish even one WIP (Work in Progress); instead I started a new afghan, a shawl, and a Christmas ornament.
3. I did start walking again, but so far only one day and I am going to postpone any more walking until next Monday.  We are having cold, cold weather right now (24 degrees tonight and 16 degrees tomorrow night.)  My blood is now acclimated to warm weather, not cold.
4. I did start a healthy eating regimen.  In fact, I am trying out a vegan diet for three weeks.
5. I did blog every day for a month, but did not write in my journal even once.
6. I did not call my parents once a week.  They were here for ten days, but I have not called them since they returned home.
7. I did not get a new primary care physician yet.
8. I did not finish reading a piece of classic literature in January, but I did begin reading The Call of the Wild by Jack London.  I read it first when I was about fourteen and remembered liking it very much. I am very engrossed in the story and plan to read White Fang next.
9. I did not make a baby quilt yet.  Haven't even thought of it much.
10. I did not make a family photo album for my children yet.  Haven't looked at all the pictures I have in 3 big boxes in some time.
11. I did send a long, newsy e-mail to my neglected friends.  Just made it under the wire for January--sent it yesterday.

Well, six out of eleven at least partially held to for the month of January.  Not fantastic, but it is a beginning.

Sunlight in Winter

There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind. ~Annie Dillard

One of the major reasons we moved to the Southwest was to escape the gloomy, cold winters back East.  Generally our weather is mild in winter and we get many more days of sunshine than we experienced in the East.  Even on days like today, which has been cloudy with a few brief rain showers, we still have glorious bursts of sunlight.

I derive a tremendous amount of energy from the sun here. I love to observe it streaming in the front windows in the early morning and watch its progress throughout the day as it beams in one window after another.  My favorite time, however, is about an hour before sunset when it pours in our back patio doors and makes pools of light and shadow on the walls and floors.We do get fierce winds, too, but the sunlight makes up for it, in my opinion.

Almost Vegan

It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it. ~ M.F.K. Fisher  

I have been planning for several weeks to try a vegan diet for a three week trial period.  I first mentioned this intent in this post on January 3.   Our visitors are gone and we have managed to finish up all the non-vegan perishable food in the house with the exception of some sour cream and buttermilk. We were so ready to try this new regimen that we began yesterday, even though we still had a few non-vegan items to eat.  That's why I entitled this post Almost Vegan. By Tuesday we should have nothing but vegan food in the refrigerator.

Today I fixed a delicious vegan soup from a 17 Bean and Barley Mix I purchased at Trader Joe's.  I followed the recipe on the package and then added some chopped spinach and Tofurky brand Italian sausage.  I also made some low carb buttermilk bread to accompany the soup.  A plain meal but delicious!