ornaments, pecans, soup, painting

I took this picture of one of the gingko trees yesterday. You can see all the dead branches from the drought summer several years ago when the squirrels desperate for food and water stripped the bark off the branches, 2” x 1/2” pieces covering the ground. I was afraid both trees would die but they’re doing fine. Once they turn yellow like this the leaves fall rather dramatically. The trees will probably be bare by tomorrow, Monday for certain.

I don’t dislike everything about this time of year. While I don’t care for the inflatable decorations which are a puddle of plastic on the ground more often than inflated, I love the light displays that people put up outside. I like christmas trees, or rather the trees of my youth, asymmetrical naturally grown holes and all, not the ones farmed and manicured into a perfect  unnatural cone shape. Unnatural being the key word here. Might as well be fake which so many are nowadays anyway. More specifically, I love the ornaments. I have a small collection, four antique German glass ones from my youth, one cross stitch and one starched crocheted snowflake that my sister made, and eight that I’ve bought from artists or otherwise acquired, and one faux stained glass one that my brother gave me. I’d have more if I had a way to display them all the time. Most hang on the armature I found at an estate sale (I've shown these before but it's been awhile), one on the hook to the side, 

the other four hang above the kitchen sink. So, fifteen in all. Well, 17. I have two more in a drawer, also antique German glass from my childhood, that are not in very good condition.

I’ve been shelling pecans and have shelled enough for the ones I give away. Out of 24 pounds of cracked pecans, I got a little over 10 pounds of nuts (already given three away). 

I still have five full boxes of pecans from my yard and four full boxes from the neighbor’s two trees that overhang the fence around the shop yard. Those I’ll sell along with the ones from my trees. I’ll hold out maybe another 30 pounds, that should give me plenty for the next year or longer if I don’t get any next year. The trees are still dropping nuts, you can see them high up in the trees now that most the leaves have dropped, but I’m over picking them up and probably about half the ones falling now are dried up inside. Edit: I held back about 32 pounds and sold the other eight boxes yesterday, 153 pounds of pecans.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a can of coconut milk and then couldn’t remember what I bought it for but when I looked at the recipe for the soup I wanted to make I remembered. I had a cup of cooked butternut squash left over from the casserole I made for Thanksgiving which weighed out to a little over a pound. I needed 2 pounds for the butternut cashew soup so bought a little over a pound of sweet potatoes which stand in nicely for the butternut and made that last night. Onions, garlic go in it as well as curry powder, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper of course, chicken or vegetable stock (I used both), the coconut milk. Sauté the onions, garlic, and cashews, add the stock and spices, the uncooked cubed butternut and sweet potato and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree it in a blender, back in the pot and add the coconut milk and a sprig of rosemary and simmer for another 20 minutes. Since my butternut was already cooked and mashed I didn’t add it in until I was ready to puree the rest. Makes a very good creamy rich soup. Naan and a green salad on the side. If anyone is interested in quantities I can give those in the comments.

I finally started back on the painting I began before Thanksgiving. It’s been two or three weeks since I last worked on it and I’m almost ready to do the background. I found this tattered Monarch wing on the ground and envisioned it floating against a blue sky though I’m not painting it tattered. 

After the fact, I thought it would have been better if I had painted it not quite so perfect but it’s too late now for that.

Haven’t trapped Ghost yet, appointment isn’t until Wednesday.