For beauty and wildlife benefits, American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is a tough tree to top. Sure, it’s slow growing and just a little bit finicky, but this is a tree so noble, stately, and giving that it’s well worth the trouble and the wait. It …
This weekend we finally painted the front bedroom. It went from shabby white to a pleasant pale gold color called “Straw.”
The hardest part of painting was getting ready to paint. It took us three hours just to empty out the bedroom, a project we finished at about 9:30 on Friday night. A lot of our furniture is really big and heavy—way too heavy to lift—so we had to slide it into the living room (our designated storage spot) on towels. Gradually the living room became a crazy jumble of chests, tables, chairs, lamps, picture books, and miscellaneous decorations. In the end it was packed to the gills and we had to leave a bunch of stuff in the hall. We spent the night on the hide-a-bed in the Little House because our usual bed was in pieces and the mattress was lying on its side against the front door.
It’s always fun to spend the night in the Little House because it kind of feels like camping . . . or sleeping in a playhouse. (The “Little House” is what we call the old detached kitchen in the backyard.) We made popcorn and watched Parks and Recreation on Netflix. The cats loved the hide-a-bed—because what’s not to love, if you’re a cat, about a surprising, instant bed in a room that’s usually sadly bereft of cuddle spots?
We painted pretty much all day on Saturday. We listened to Serial while we worked so we wouldn’t have to try to make conversation. Rob started up Serial after I said, “So, um, do you like painting?” He really didn’t need to do this. I had lots of other great conversation starters in mind. I’d planned to ask him what his favorite part of painting was. Then I was going to ask him about his least favorite. Then I was probably going to start singing.
I’m happy to report that we finished all our painting (including touch-ups with an artist’s brush) in a single day. We even got all the furniture back into place on Saturday night. We celebrated with more popcorn and more Parks and Recreation, and then all day on Sunday we stood around admiring our new golden room.
Last weekend Rob and I bought three rugs—one for the back bedroom, one for the dining room, and one for the back hall. I was really excited. We’ve wanted rugs for a long time, but we’ve put off buying them because we have a lot …
On Saturday I did some extremely early Christmas baking. I was too excited to wait until a more normal date to do it. I made Vegan Cherry Coconut Bars. When I was a child, Christmas baking was an important ritual, an activity my mom and …
Lately our old cat Josie has taken to sitting on the arm of the couch in the Little House and squawking at me, demanding Party Mix cat treats. The noise she makes is very loud, and she puts her whole small body, all her effort, into producing it. She throws her head forward and out comes a sound that cannot be ignored.
“It’s like having a very demanding parrot,” Rob remarked the other day with a smile.
“It is!” I said, and I ran and got the bag of treats, hoping to quiet Josie down.
After I fed Josie her treats (which she nibbled from among the couch cushions), I went and sat at my desk and tried to do some work. Rob was sitting at his desk, working too.
After about 10 minutes, Josie squawked again. I fed her a few more treats, then returned to my desk.
After another five minutes, she squawked one more time.
“So, do you like having a pet parrot?” I asked Rob.
“No,” Rob smiled. “It sucks.”
But we both went over and gave Josie her third round of treats and petted her silky old head. Then Rob tried to get her to settle down. He carried her over to her twin sister, Foxy (or “Foo”), who was sleeping nearby on a blanket. “Now, Josie, why don’t you cuddle with your little Foo sister?” he said. “Foo says there’s a lot of cuddling to do. She needs you to help out, okay?”
And Foxy started licking Josie’s head and kept licking it until Josie fell asleep.
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| Josie, right, and Foxy in their babyhood |
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| In 2008 |
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| In 2010 |
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| Today, with new cuddle pal Becky. Please excuse all the cat fur on the blanket. |
Lately I’ve made a little project of adding some finishing touches to the back bedroom. I’ve been scouring eBay for vintage solid-brass switch plates, curlicue picture frames, and Roseville and McCoy pottery in blues and greens. Boxes have been arriving on our doorstep, and I’ve …
On Thursday Mom had a pumpkin-carving party and she gave me these adorable felt ornaments she made. Whenever you go to Mom’s house she always gives you something: old newspapers to use as garden mulch, maybe, or an interesting catalog she got in the mail. …
Last night I made Vegan Orange Coconut Muffins, flavored with a little orange extract.
Whenever I bake, something always goes wrong—maybe not horribly wrong but at least slightly wrong. Last night was no exception. I ended up spilling pretty much an entire bottle of orange extract on the floor. I had to drive to Winn-Dixie to get another, which was kind of a pain, but I must admit, now that I’ve safely returned from Winn-Dixie, that the mishap had its upside: The kitchen smelled delicious.
While the muffins were baking, I did some peaceful, easy little chores, like winding the clocks and brushing our very large, ball-shaped cat, Leroy, whom Rob has recently taken to calling “Mr. Hunky.”
“Just relax, Mr. Hunky,” I was saying.
When the muffins were done, I ate one in the living room while watching an episode of The Rockford Files in my pajamas.
Rob likes to make fun of how lame I am. Last night he got home around 10 and I told him about my evening: “I ate a muffin and watched Rockford with a bunch of cats,” I said as we stood in the curiously orangey-smelling kitchen.
Rob grinned and replied, “Now that’s partying Leslie-style!”
Vegan Orange Coconut Muffins
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup melted vegan butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon orange extract
11/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup coconut
1/3 cup canned mandarin orange sections, chopped small
Topping:
2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
3 tablespoons sugar
Directions:
In blender, mix the flaxseed and water until thick and creamy. Add the flaxseed mixture to a large bowl. Add the butter and sugar and mix. Add the orange juice and almond milk and mix again.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Gently fold in the coconut and mandarin oranges.
Pour into a lined muffin tin and bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until slightly browned on top.
When the muffins have cooled, dip the tops in melted butter and roll in sugar.
