« Older Archive for April, 2008 Newer »

The Garden Phase

Thursday, April 17th, 2008 by Alyice

I remember as a young girl, living in the projects, begging my mother to allow me to grow my own vegetables. She didn’t think the soil was good enough but agreed to give it a try. We planted a patch of veggies close to our home and every day I would come home and water them—waiting anxiously for the day the sprouts would appear and real vegetables would begin to form. After weeks of impatient waiting it finally happened…sprouts turned into yummy looking vegetables.

Of course I was going to have to wait until my mom got home to pull them—just to make sure they were actually ready to eat. I counted the hours until I could get back home. I wondered what they would taste like. I wondered if they would taste better than store bought vegetables. And I wondered how many there actually were.

Only I arrived home to a huge disappointment because someone had stolen all my vegetables. Yep, they just plucked them right out of the ground—leaving nothing but the holes in which they grew.

Disappointed, I was ready to give up. But my mother thought we should give it another try. She was sure some animal had taken the vegetables so this time we put up a little fence. But guess what? They disappeared too—just like my mom’s underwear every time she hung them on the clothes line. That was the last time we planted vegetables.

Fourteen years later, after marrying my husband, we moved into a rental house with what appeared to be a nice patch of dirt—perfect for planting a garden. But I was wrong. The previous tenant worked out of the garage and used that patch of dirt to dump chemicals. Nothing would ever grow there again so we talked the landlord into patching the area up with cement, instead.

Eleven years later, after living in our brand new home for three years, I not only had my first real vegetable garden but we had planted several varieties of trees and even built a beautiful fort that would double as a play area for the kids and a trellis for grapes. We, however, were never able to reap the benefits of our labor as we moved out of state that same summer.

Five years after leaving my beautiful garden behind we rented a home with enough space to grow double the vegetables and soil that was amazingly nourished. With the help of my husband we planted corn, pumpkins, zucchini, cabbage, beans, carrots, green onions, and tomatoes. Every morning was spent weeding and tending to the garden and every evening was spent watering by hand. Sure, I could have used a sprinkler system but there was something so relaxing about the whole watering experience that I couldn’t give it up—no matter how much my husband begged.

The amazing thing about that first crop was that I grew it in a scorching hot summer when nearby farms and gardens were having difficulty keeping their vegetation alive. It was as though God had looked down from heaven and blessed me with the fruits of my labor and it felt wonderful!

Now, every spring I look forward to getting my hands dirty and my husband looks forward to seeing the excitement in my eyes as I discover a new sprout or pull freshly grown vegetation from my very own garden. It still amazes me that so much life can come from such a tiny seed and all it takes is a little tender loving care.

Posted in Artist's Life | No Comments »

The Cooking Phase

Friday, April 11th, 2008 by Alyice

Anyone who knows me knows that there are only a few things that I can cook and cook well— ceviche, tacos, enchiladas, gourmet hamburgers, meatloaf, and quiche. Other things I can make in the kitchen that my family enjoys are: sushi, Nana’s green bean soup, Val’s home-style chili, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Gram’s dirt pudding (it’s not what you think), and Mom’s pumpkin pie. Everything else is basically a hit and miss and I miss far more than I hit!

But that didn’t stop me from spending a year, back in 2006, torturing my family as I tried to cook new and exciting things. I even tried to cook healthier—which they swore me to never do again! But that got old really fast as I discovered that I had very little patience for spending hours in the kitchen prepping and cooking then another hour cleaning up the mess.

Of course it was always a great treat when my mother-in-law, Val, showed up to help me cook. We’d prep, cook, and clean up together—making the time fly by. I’d learn a few tricks of the trade—always resulting in better cooking skills—and enjoyed an evening eating a feast fit for a king.

In October my daughter and I decided to throw a Halloween party but to make sure the food was eatable, she enlisted the help of her grandmother. We both chuckled when she asked grandma to come to her party and do the cooking. I learned a lot that day, including the fact that sometimes even recipes could use a little tweaking.

We made Frankenstein meatloaf with mashed potatoes, herb hand-shaped bread, and a few other treats. Then at Thanksgiving we got together to make turkey shaped cookies and apple pies. As you can see from the photo below, my pie didn’t turn out so well. But looks aside, it tasted pretty good.

I may never become a gourmet chef, but I can honestly say that I’ve discovered the secret to cooking good meals lies in having fun. Now when I want to cook up a feast and invite a few guests over, I start with a clean kitchen, turn on the music, and just take my time. I’ll sing and dance while I stir, cut, and baste. And I’ll hold conversations with guests as they arrive. I just wish my kids liked cooking more; it sure would be a lot more fun with them in the kitchen with me. Ah well, one day…

Posted in Artist's Life | No Comments »

The Crochet Phase

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 by Alyice

When I was a little girl my grandmother, a.k.a. Grams, bought me a very long crocheting needle and showed me the basic chain stitch. She told me that once I mastered the single stitch she’d teach me another stitch. Unfortunately that never happened. I held onto that blue needle for years, hoping to one day share the love of crocheting with my Grams.

Then last year, during an away baseball tournament, my mother-in-law brought along her bag of crocheting supplies and I was hooked! I crocheted my little heart out all weekend and by Sunday evening I had half a blanket completed. My son’s friends got a kick out of watching a “young mom” sitting in the stands with a bag of yarn, crocheting like there’s no tomorrow while screaming praises to the team.

I went on to make 10 blankets for my kids, my friends, my family, and even my chiropractor’s new baby. It was nice being able to sit down to a movie and not find myself fidgeting and thinking about a zillion other things I could be doing with my time. I simply pulled out the yarn and started crocheting. Counting stitches and keeping my fingers active helped me to just “sit and relax” and having lost my mom in March of 2006, the time spent crocheting and watching television was a welcome treat.

My only regret is that I didn’t learn more stitches because eventually I got bored with the single stitch and the fun began to disappear. That is until I learned a new stitch—one that involved creating squares. My only problem now is that I goofed up somewhere and the blanket I am completing is beginning to come loose as the colors transition from yarn to yarn. That means I’ll have to go back over those areas and tie some knots to keep everything together.

I think I will purchase one of those beginner’s videos on crocheting as I simply cannot understand the books I’ve checked out of the library or perused in the bookstores.

The best thing about crocheting, for me, is that it is one of those things I have absolutely no desire to turn into a side business which means it will always be a wonderful way for me to relax—guilt free—in front of the television set.

Posted in Artist's Life | 2 Comments »