Pesto

            I have been on this crazy “greens” kick for the past several months. Collards, Swiss chard, kale. Side note: How is it that I have just recently found out about kale! So, I picked up some mustard greens and some turnip greens at the Raleigh Farmers Market. I mean, why not? I just knew that they were greens and interestingly different, but had no idea what to do with them. 

            Elizabeth has made some pretty great pesto on multiple occasions. Knowing that I probably couldn’t top her flavors, I thought I would experiment. While straying from the ordinary with the greens, why not throw sunflower seeds in there instead of your standard nuts? Pesto with mustard greens, turnip greens and sunflower seeds. The greens ended up fulfilling their life long purpose and what started as an experiment ended up being pretty tasty.

Starting A Garden

            Step 1: Dig. With a little bit of planning and some physical effort we have changed a 3’x16’ plot in our back yard into what will become a vegetable garden. The diagrams have been drawn and the grids laid out. Plans for the “south garden” (yes, a “north garden” has been dug as well) include okra, tomatoes, jalapenos, pablanos, bell peppers, green beans, onions and maybe a sunflower or two to top off the ends of the rows. Let the gardening games begin.

Painted Piano

            A while back I ventured out to Fullsteam Brewery to see a local pianist. At the time, all I knew about Tom Merrigan was that he was showing up with paint and brushes for everyone to paint his piano. That was enough for me to venture out that evening.

            Come to find out the architect/pianist also occasionally takes to the streets of Durham. After rolling his piano onto a sidewalk or into an open space, Downtown Durham becomes his stage. Passersby, his audience, while the sound of boogie-woogie blues weaves in and out of the Durham streets and alleys.

            Not only did I enjoy his music at Fullsteam, but was pleasantly surprised to hear about his approach. So much so, that I wrote about it (here) on my agency’s  website. I look forward to the next time that I am downtown and hear the sounds of a piano bouncing off of the old brick buildings. 

Raleigh Farmers Market

            Elizabeth and I have been talking quite a bit about the approach we would like to take on our garden. We’ve been looking forward to not only the vegetables that will be found in our back yard, but also all of the spring options at the farmers markets. To curb our anticipation we made our way to the Raleigh Farmers Market to take a peek at their selection. We returned with Pink Lady apples, mustard greens and turnip greens. It was nice to what the season has in store.

Pollen

Yesterday marked the first day of spring. Yesterday also marked the beginning of my first spring in North Carolina. I have recently had multiple conversations about what to expect from the North Carolina spring and summer with my coworkers. Much of the talk was about the mild winter, the humidity, and about this Okie’s first North Carolina summer.

I couldn’t help but think of my last year in Oklahoma. The beautiful sunsets, the wonderful thunderstorms, the consistent breeze (10-25 mph wind), the baseball size hail, the Icepocalypse, the earthquakes and of course the tornadoes. With all of the conversations there was a topic that I was unfamiliar with…. pollen.

I was warned about the North Carolina pollen, and I was warned about its affect on my black car. To be honest, I took it with a grain of salt… until yesterday. Between running out for lunch, and heading home, I got covered. I got pollinated. I was amazed at the amount of pollen on my car. I turned on the AC and a yellow smoke monster came out of my vents. Lost style. It felt like I shoved a yellow Pixy Stix up my nose.

I am told this is only the earliest stage of the pollen attack. I am told that the pine trees aren’t even in the game yet. Then comes the grass. Hopefully this Okie will make it through unscathed. Knock on wood… but don’t knock on a tree because it is going to rain yellow pollen.

Weekend Breakfast

             I don’t often eat breakfast. Yes, I know it is the most important meal of the day. Normally it is a cup of black coffee or Earl Grey tea. The weekend however, is a different story. Whether it is 8am or 1pm, I like to wake up, wander into the kitchen and begin making breakfast. Rarely are the morning menus planned, but more a half awake decision to compile the ingredients on hand. More often than not the meals seem to just work out.

Fire Wood

                I have come to appreciate when people do seemingly normal things exceptionally well. Liz’s dad is a craftsman when it comes to wood working. In this case it was interesting to see the care taken in splitting, stacking and organizing firewood in the wood shed he built by hand. The rows are properly stacked and dated. The moisture content of the wood is carefully considered before making its way into the fireplace. It is a skill of which I have yet to hone and can attest to with my black, barely hanging on thumbnail. Sitting in front of the crackling fire and listening to the Lake Superior waves crash onto the beach is a payoff that is well worth it... quite possibly because it wasn’t me that split all of the wood, but appreciated nonetheless.