Laura and Mary Had Never Seen a Town
The nearest town was far away. Laura and Mary had never seen at town. They had never seen a store. They had never seen even two houses standing together. But they knew that in a town there were many houses, and a store full of candy and calico and other wonderful things – powder, and shot, and salt and store sugar.
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods)
It hit me when I read this quote from the book, can you imagine never having seen a store? Can you imagine what they would think if they walked into this Whole Foods?
It’s just amazing how our lives are so different than they were 150 years ago. We don’t head out to the store that often, especially now that we buy a lot of food locally. But with cars and the interstate system, Mr Chiots and I can drive 50 miles to Cleveland to visit a Whole Foods or 25 miles to our local small health food store and be home within a few hours. To me the big grocery is full of plantains and mangoes and things I can’t get here at the Farmer’s Market.
Can you imagine having never seen a town, a store, or even two houses sitting close together?
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Forcing Spring
Earlier this week I cut a few forsythia branches and brought them in. I put them in an old canning jar filled with water and put them on the old dresser that serves as a sideboard in my dining room.
Forcing forsythia is actually quite easy. You need to wait till Feb so that they’ve fulfilled their chill time. Cut branches less than 3 feet long on a day that is above freezing. Place them in warm water and put them in a bright warm place. If they get sun they’ll open quicker than if they don’t. Change water occasionally to keep it fresh.
Next time I got to my mom’s I’m planning on cutting some pussy willows to force as well, and I’ll probably cut a few more forsythia for other places around the house. I can’t wait for the yellow sprays to brighten my dining room.
Do you ever force blooms or bulbs?
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Baking Up Some Winter Comfort
pan⋅dow⋅dy (noun) – sliced fruit baked with sugar and spices in a deep dish, with a thick top crust.
A couple weeks ago I got Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More from the library. It’s such a great little book, all the recipes sound wonderful! I’m a big fan of desserts that contain fruit, so this cookbook is right up my alley.
Since my freezer is filled with blueberries, blackberries and wild black raspberries, we really enjoy baking them into lovely cobblers in the winter for light dinners or afternoon snacks. A cup of coffee and a serving of gingered apple and cranberry pandowdy* is all you need on a cold winter evening. I’ll definitely be baking more wonderful things from this cookbook! I have some black raspberries that are begging to be baked into something wonderful.
What’s your favorite kind of dessert: tangy fruit, rich chocolate, sugary sweet…?
*The actual recipe in the cookbook is for gingered pear and raspberry pandowdy, but I had some apples and cranberries that were begging to be used up.
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Tax Season is Upon Us
I spent a few hours this weekend filling out my on-line tax notebook for our accountant. Since we own a small business, our taxes are a bit complicated. I used to do them myself, but when it comes to depreciation schedules, home office deductions and all the extra forms, I’d rather pay a professional to do it for me. I’m pretty certain he saves us at least as much as I pay him, and I don’t have to spend the hours filling out all the forms so it’s a win-win situation.
I’m pretty organized when it comes to taxes, which takes the stress out of tax season. All I have to do is print off my ledger from my accounting software and fill out the on-line forms. We meet with our tax guy so he can double check numbers and give us any advice on ways to reduce our tax liability. He also collects any necessary forms and receipts. All-in-all I spend a couple hours on my taxes each year, and I’m happy to have them finished as early as I can, which this year is today!
Do you do your own taxes or do you pay someone else to take care of them?
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Quote of Day: Little House in the Big Woods
Now the winter seemed long. Laura and Mary began to be tired of staying always in the house.
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods)
Winter is starting to seem long to me. We had a nice sunny warm day last week and it seemed like spring was on it’s way. We went for a nice long walk to enjoy the weather. This week we got a bunch more snow and the temps are back down into the single digits. I know we still have many more long weeks of winter, but I start getting antsy for spring once we have one nice day. Since I haven’t ordered any of my seeds yet, I should be thankful we still have so much winter left. I’ll be doing that next week after I get my taxes finished.
Do you tire of being in the house during the cold winter months?
