It's the small things.

Perhaps I was right all along: all I need in life is a nice porch, some pretty flowers and a garden to be happy.
Oh, sure it helps that I enjoy my job and I am painting again and I'm spending time with my husband and Pumpkin. I've been content for months in our new home, but what I really love is the routine of it all. The quiet time it provides me and the small changes that come while watching a plant grow.
   Last night I went out to my little container garden to water. It's not moving at a very rapid clip, but I have noticed a few changes. The squash and cucumbers are starting to bloom. The plants aren't very large, but I can see the beginnings of flowers. My jalapenõs are coming right along, but I've noticed that some caterpillars are munching away on the leaves! I need to find some sort of natural caterpillar repellent. I found one of the peas last night and flicked it about 5 feet away, (I felt bad, but you see, I'm very possessive of my food.)
  Perhaps the neatest thing is my peas.
I planted all of my veggies in small pots along our fence and had intended to bring in some paneling for them to climb once they grew enough. I went out two or three evenings ago and noticed that my peas weren't fairing very well. They were turning brown and (for lack of something to climb) has intertwined with each other. I had to meticulously pull them apart one by one, freeing them from each others' grasp. I talked Brandon into bringing the paneling up from the barn for our poor peas, and then set to manipulating their little arms in and around the wires (hoping it wasn't too late to save them.)
  So last night I went out to water and they were flourishing!
Well, not so well that anyone else would have noticed, but I did! There were new leaves everywhere (bright, quenched green ones) and the ends had started to coil around the wire up along the fence. I tried to explain to my husband the significance of their growth, but he wasn't as invested in their success as I was. He was more concerned with RE-watering his black eyed pea plants, that (I guess) I hadn't sufficiently watered. (Brandon loves black eyed peas; I would never grow them if not for him.) But my little sugar snap peas are darling! I can't wait to have peas to munch on while I tend the garden. I fear there will never be enough to bring inside for a meal, but this was the plan from the get-go.
   I also got a new flower! We had a bad storm a few weeks back as my tulips were blooming and it destroyed them! As I'm not a big fan of tulips, I dug up the bulbs and replaced it with a little light pink begonia. It sits in a light blue pot and looks like it came straight from heaven. It's too pretty.
   We also got a little white ceramic owl the other day to adorn my rosemary and oregano pot. He fits right in and I believe he is content in his new home among the herbs and flowers on the porch. I'm content with him too.
   I am NOT content with his late neighbor: A Mrs. Widow.
Black Widow.
   I was out watering the other evening and put my hand on the faucet into something sticky. I looked down and saw a very thick web covering our pump handle. Upon closer inspection, I saw her. She was making her way back into her home. A big round black rump sticking out and a flash of red. Her backside was a bit bigger than a marble! She was huge and she was certainly unwanted.
   Brandon quickly came over to resolve her residency.
 The next day I ran into a snake on the road just a ways from the house. After my encounter with a copperhead last year, I should know to be careful, but recent events have redirected my attention.
  Be careful when you're out and among your plants. It's cool and dark and damp and provides a lovely home for creepy crawlies!

  To the new experiences of the last weeks:
I have taken on mastering the perfect salad dressing! My favorite Italian restaurant has a little gem known as "Nick's Salad." It has olives and artichoke hearts and capers and the most delicious dressing! It is lemony and delicious!
   I have never been one for dressing a salad in oil, but this is most certainly my favorite dressing ever.
I was home alone a while back and decided to treat myself to a little snack. We had lettuce on the porch and some spinach in the fridge, so I decided to attempt Nick's Salad Dressing at home. I knew it had olive oil, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese because I deconstructed the recipe while sitting there looking at my salad and the little ramekin with the world's best dressing in it. So I combined all the ingredients in a little bowl and began tasting... nope, more lemon, nope more salt... nope too oily... a little more of everything else! But after a few minutes I had reproduced the same delicious dressing I get at the restaurant at home!
  After mastering the dressing I thought about making some pesto and bowtie pasta for a little snack.... but then I'd have to drag out the food processor and make pasta.... and ...
     why not?
Why don't I deserve a delicious meal when I'm home alone? So I pulled out the food processor and put some pasta in a boiling pot of water and went to work.
    But I'd never made pesto.
So I went to the porch and harvested some basil and combined it with olive oil, S&P, and some garlic. I put the processor on full whack and I had pesto before I knew it! Easy as that.
   So the afternoon was spent sitting on the couch, watching television and enjoying my very own salad dressing and freshly made pesto and pasta.  It doesn't get any better.
  The best thing about treating myself to a meal when I'm alone? I don't have to worry about talking with Brandon about whether we have fresh tea made or making sure the table is set or finding something we both want to watch on television. I just get to enjoy the flavors and take my time. No shower to run off to, or bed to get ready for... just me and a plate of pasta.

And this is the part I liked to call 'Taste Test Challenge'

We went to Olive Garden last week and met B's mom and sister for a bit of dinner. I thought about ordering the same safe, boring, pasta with the safe, boring sauce that I've had a hundred times, but I decided otherwise.
     I had a go at trying mussels.
  After blurting it out to the waitress, she ran off to put the order in and I knew it was too late. I had to go through with it.

   The Seafood Portofino arrived at the table with scallops, shrimp and pasta in a cream sauce. Beautiful little mussels adorned the perimeter of the plate just waiting for me to give them a try. They looked very odd... almost had these dark little beads inside them and they looked very *gulp* chewy. I put the fork in my mouth and began tasting them and found that they weren't chewy at all. They were almost like shrimp... just soft and meaty. The taste wasn't so bad either. It just tasted like seafood! I even got Brandon to try one! (We're going to be culinarily civilized yet!) I am so proud I went out on a limb and tried something new.

The other new item I tried? Well, let's just say I had a bite of Frog's Legs off of someone else's plate. The texture was like a flaky chicken and it had a brighter flavor than I had pictured. Not too bad! I only had one bite and I wouldn't necessarily order them as a meal, but it was certainly worth the try!