i spy...

BLUEBONNETS!!

that's right, ladies and gentlemen, spring has arrived in central texas. throughout the latter part of march i had been searching for the bluebonnets along the highway and my search was finally rewarded. my bookclub met out in bastrop this past weekend (hi brea!) and the wildflowers on the way out there were absolutely gorgeous. not to mention the brisket we had for lunch...mmm mmm good!

so now back to the topic of bluebonnets, i mean, brisket is yummy, but bluebonnets...be still my heart! did you know that LBJ (that's LADY BIRD, not LYNDON B.) was instrumental in beautifying our highways? there's some info on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center site, but here's the essential info:

Right after the 1964 election, she decided that "the whole field of conservation and beautification" had the greatest appeal to her. Soon after that, she was urging her husband to see what could be done about junkyards along the nation's highways.

Today, perhaps most people think of Lady Bird Johnson as the reason why we see wildflowers blooming along the nation's highways and fewer junkyards and billboards. The Beautification Act of 1965 was one tangible result of Mrs. Johnson's campaign for national beautification. Known as "Lady Bird's Bill" because of her active support, the legislation called for control of outdoor advertising, including removal of certain types of signs along the nation's Interstate system and the existing federal-aid primary system. It also required certain junkyards along Interstate or primary highways to be removed or screened and encouraged scenic enhancement and roadside development.

It is part of that legacy that today the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 requires that at least 0.25 of 1 percent of funds expended for landscaping projects in the highway system be used to plant native flowers, plants and trees.

ok, education over! go out and enjoy the spring, and check out Faylas Follies because there are some new designs posted. ENJOY!

PS -- i'll get some photos of bluebonnets up for sale as soon as i get out there to get some good pictures of 'em

what, no post?

ok, so i've been slacking. i've had various ideas of things to post but have dismissed them, but then go back to them.

one of the things i've been thinking about posting (and i guess i'm now going to talk about it) is the fact that a bird family has decided to make a nest in a bucket we keep on our patio. it's up on a high shelf -- well out of the way of laila, but it's kind of strange to think that we now share the patio with a bird family (or soon-to-be family). we, well, I was thinking we should evict them, but that's not very friendly, and so we're keeping them. or rather, letting them stay. so we'll see if we have a baby soon.

we're planting herbs and seeds. i'm planting seeds of thyme because i couldn't find a plant of it. i think that will be a gift to everyone i know, because one little packet of seeds has the potential to make hundreds of plants. we'll see how that goes.

and i'm getting ready for easter. i'm going to cook my famous (or not so famous) scalloped potatoes. and i'm not sure what else we'll have. but i'm sure it will be yummy. i hope you all have a wonderful easter and i'll post again soon. promise!

ps -- also keep an eye out for a post of new designs up on faylas follies. it IS spring ya know!

food as art

i've started reading this blog on a daily basis and i'm now addicted to it. need my daily dose of ree. a subset of that blog, is her food blog The Pioneer Woman Cooks which got me addicted to chicken spaghgetti. yum, yum, yum. you really should try it. you won't regret it. but also as a result of reading the cooking blog, it's made me realize how pretty food can be. really. look at the photos she has of food. raw chicken looks sorta pretty. go figure.

while i was at my folks place this past weekend, my mom & i were getting food together to bring to a dinner party - kind of a pot-luck tapas party -- i guess this is what retirees do these days. ANYWAY, this is one of the dishes we brought:


i have some comments on this. first of all, this dish. this dish/bowl/whatever you want to call it can make anything look beautiful. except maybe brussel sprouts. or lima beans. but mashed potatoes? wow. broccoli? gorgeous! i bet it might even make liver look good. oh, maybe not. but you get the picture. (side note: mom, i get this bowl when you die, k?) so of course these things are going to look good.

my second comment is what we filled it with. ok. ready? frozen cream puffs. you know the ones, you get them at those big-box stores. and no one wants to admit they buy them, but once you've tried them, you'll never go back. they are manna from heaven. frozen. defrosted. partially defrosted. however you want 'em. manna. i'm telling you. go buy some today if you've never had them before. you'll thank me later.

so what i'm trying to say here is i'm now on this kick of photographing food. watch out.

i did take a ton of photos while i was in NY and NJ, i'll post some more here, and look for some of them to appear as cards over the next year.

the kitchen and my mom

as you may know, as a kid, i loved to bake. just about anything, but especially apple pie. my apple pie was known throughout the tri-state area. and now, i have my perfected apple pie recipe and maybe one day, i'll post that recipe. then post-college, my oldest cousin (chef, entrepreneur) taught me how to make the most delicious scalloped potatoes. and if you're really nice to me i'll post that recipe. it's a recipe that has made me famous outside of the tri-state area. it requires heavy cream and lots of it -- have no fear, it WILL stick to your thighs, but it's so very delicious.

back on topic. my mother reads cookbooks. you may be thinking, "i read cookbooks too". but no, she READS cookbooks. she cooks from them occasionally, but mostly, she gets ideas from cookbooks and then makes her own dish -- a conglomeration of what she just read. ask her to make a dish the same way twice, she can't do it. we have learned that in order to get a recipe out of her, we need to have her write it down and then you're still not guaranteed to replicate what she created. what i'm attempting to establish here is that she's an expert in the kitchen (did you get that?!). needless to say, she "gets it" -- the kitchen that is. she understands the chemistry behind what happens in the kitchen. how all those chemicals work together to create a dish that's de-lish.

growing up i'm sure i was in the kitchen with her, but i really didn't pick up all that much. especially in the chemistry area. so this begins my first in a series of cooking posts where i will attempt to learn (and educate you if you're interested) some of the mysteries of the kitchen. if there's a mystery you would like solved, let me know and i'll add it to the list that's accumulating in my head.