Bumper crop, coming around and in the air

- Coworker Bobby has a winter garden at home, in which he grows mustard greens and kale, among other things.  He brought boxes of both in last week and we all left with (clean) trash bags full of greens to take home.  I was laughing after I braised all of those mustard greens in broth on Sunday, that it yielded exactly this amount (see above).  That's my Monday desk lunch above with a chunk of cornbread.  The greens were just seasoned with a little Kosher salt and some apple cider vinegar.  Pretty good.

- January has never been my favorite month, but now that we have Downton Abbey, it's coming around for me. 

- A chilly, foggy commute this morning, but as I approached midtown Atlanta on I-85 south, I could smell something like bread baking.  But then realized it was the glorious fumes from the SweetWater Brewing Company down on the right.  Lovely to think that beer brewing gives off that comforting scent in the air.

 Three things that gave me pleasure the last two days:  food sharing, Downton Abbey and the smell of beer brewing.  :)

Special touch, wise beyond her years and first day

- That's neighbor Rhonda's hand there in the picture.  I was saying to her that of all the plants we've had on our communal front porch, I think this one has been the prettiest and most lush looking.  She says she grew it from seeds!  I think she's got the touch.

- A young lady, 12-years-old, and wise beyond her years, tells me she likes my kitchen.  I point out things in it I love - mostly heirlooms, like my grandmother's fruit plates.  She says she likes my spice rack the most.  I tell her the year I bought it, at House of Denmark, and her eyes widen.  :)

- It's the first day of autumn!  My favorite season.  Love the little animated First Day of Autumn illustration on Google this morning, especially the last part.  There's an article about it here.

The pollen, down came the rain and the long way

- The Pollen - captured on the top of my car yesterday morning at 6:45am while pumping gas. If you haven't been around it, this is just an indicator of what the sneezing is all about in the south.

- Down came the rain and washed the pollen out. For once, no one was unhappy about the rain. There were yellow puddles and little rivers of yellow running down the driveway at work. And then the rain stopped and the pollen came right back. Sigh.

- The end result is so worth it though - the trees are madly leafing out. The best thing - taking the long way home yesterday and enjoying the green.

...Happy weekend, y'all!

Popping out, half off and dear...

- It is lovely to see the buds popping out on trees and it is so warm that the couple next door are already enjoying their deck up in the trees in the evenings.

- A co-worker hits the after Easter sale and brings back half off candy to share at work. My favorite - black jelly beans.

- Receiving emails from someone that begin with "Dear ..." and knowing that this person really does mean the word dear.

Groundhog Day, happy coincidence & another

Rising by Bob Trammell

- Waking up to the sound of rain on Groundhog Day. A quick Google search of the question, "What happens when it rains on Groundhog Day?" turns up a similar custom reported on Wikipedia, "In Germany, June 27 is "Siebenschläfertag" (Seven Sleepers Day). If it rains that day, the rest of summer is supposedly going to be rainy."

- A happy coincidence. Having dinner with a friend when I see two pairs of smiling eyes peeking over the booth from the other side. It is Barbara and Norman who I posted about yesterday. Before they leave, Barbara slides into the booth next to me and I tell my friend an interesting thing Barbara did: she bungee jumped off the Great Wall of China when she was 70. How about that?

- Telling friend Michelle in an email yesterday, "I hope you are well and happy today. (That's the answer my dad used to give when I asked him how he was today - well and happy.)" This morning an email from her, "I was exchanging e-mails with my dad today, and he signed one of them, "I hope you are well and happy!" Weird because he has never used that expression before, to my knowledge." Another happy coincidence, at least.

Welcome back, postcard from the edge and poem

- Loving 8:52am on Saturday morning when this photo was taken, the sun just beginning to dapple the back porch. And isn't it like a little miracle that Hostas come back like this?

- Playing hooky from the church grounds clean-up day and feeling only a little guilty about it. My excuse being that the pollen intake would finally send me over the edge.

- Looking at all the budding trees and flowers peeking out of the ground makes me remember a little poem by mother used to say when we were kids: "Spring has sprung, the grass has ris, I wonder where the flowers is?"

Vernal equinox, adapting and pop-up brewery

Photo by David Emery

- Enjoying that today is the Vernal Equinox and the first day of spring. A newspaper article has an interview with astronomer Randy Attwood and asks, "Does the fact that the equinox occurred at 7:44 a.m. have any significance?" Attwood: "It's the exact time when the sun is directly over the equator, but it's not like you can go outside at that time and notice anything. It's like one of those really useless sports statistics, like the number of goalies who have red hair." I always think of it as the day that one can balance a raw egg on end, but apparently that is an urban myth.

- Watching the two Cardinals who have been hanging out in my backyard observing all the comings and goings. They come back every year to build their nest. The condominium complex landscapers cut down their favorite tree, but they have adapted and are working on another nest in a new spot.

- Always looking forward to seeing the Sweetwater Pale Ale brewery emerge like something out of pop-up book while driving down I-85 south in the dark. There is a spot in which the road dips just enough so you catch a glimpse of the brightly colored building with its 420 painted in huge letters.