From Trash to Treasure

Last fall, Hannah and I would go out for walks around the neighborhood. Sometimes we would walk on garbage day. One particular day, we found some potted flowers on the curb beside a garbage can. They were geraniums. The two of us decided to bring them home. There were still blooms on them and I set them up in the yard. Over the next couple of weeks, we gathered ourselves quite the collection of flower pots, complete with flowers. Now here is something that you may not know, geraniums are perennials. That's right, they don't die at the end of their flowering season, they actually can live to the next season in the right climates. Where we live, it's a little too cold to keep them outside all year. Some people bring them in and let them rest for the entire winter either potted or with bare roots and store them in the basement. I, however, did something else. I decided to bring them in and keep them watered and pruned to see what would happen. And here is what I was able to capture this morning...

Both of these are from the garbage! I must say it's quite wonderful having blooms in the midst of winter. And I would also say, that I am not a gardener. I just take off the dead leaves, remove the spent blooms and water them. Small price to pay for such beauty. I can't wait to see what they do this spring when the weather warms up and they can move back outside.

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Hospitality for the Rest of Us: Long Distance

People are moving more and more. When I was a youngster, it was a rare instance for a friend to move away. Now it's me that moves away. We've moved a lot, especially when we first got married. It was something like five addresses and three states in the first four years of our marriage. We've slowed down a bit. In the midst of all that moving, we've made some friends along the way. I try to keep an open line in case of times of grief and celebration. One of the best tools I've found for keeping in touch with loved ones far away is Facebook. As much time as I could spend doing other things instead of checking it, it's the best thing I've found. It allows me to communicate with others, without having to call. I know calling is amazing, hearing people's voices, but for introverts, there are no body language clues for us to pick up on that help make our conversations easier. It's also why we prefer to video chat :-) Back to Facebook, some etiquette.

Stories from the Kitchen: Taste and See

I celebrated my birthday last weekend. It was wonderful and the leftovers left me with a question or two. Find out what they are and how I'm currently answering them in this week's podcast. Stories from the Kitchen Season 2, Episode 2: Taste and See Notes from the episode: Taste and See by Margaret Feinberg Dad’s New York Cheesecake (from the back of a Philidelphia Cream Cheese package) 1 ⅞ cups graham cracker crumbs ¼ to ½ cup butter, melted 1 cup sugar, divided 2 lbs cream cheese (4 packs) 2 large eggs (lightly beaten) 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp cornstarch 1 cup sour cream Preheat oven to 450F Mix well graham crackers, 2 tbsp sugar, and enough butter that the mixture holds together. Reserve 2 tbsp for garnish. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Chill in the freezer while preparing the filling. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth and light. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch until just blended. S

Threadbare Knees

I feel sure that you've heard the saying "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well, recently I picked up a pair of wool cashmere blend slacks from Salvation Army and upon further inspection at home, the knees were threadbare, practically holes. Easy enough to miss, when your knees don't fall in the same spot as the previous owner. They were inexpensive, so it wasn't a big monetary loss, but I felt like it would be a shame to toss such nice fabric and so I searched the internet to see what I could do. I found this cute little purse pattern, for free! You can go check it out by clicking here . It is a great little pattern and I was able to make the entire purse in one rainy day! Here are some pictures of my threadbare knees purse. Don't you just love those little pleats? And there's even a little pocket inside. I'm so impressed with myself! Time to fill it up with my keys and such non-sense! And remember, when life gives you th

Tina The Storyteller

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