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| Front Garden in May |
Following my new tradition of posting a picture of my front garden taken on or around the 20th of the month, here is how my front garden looked on May 20th, on an overcast, "May Gray" day! I took the picture around 3:00 p.m., when the front garden would have normally been a very sunny area. The osteospermum have mostly finished flowering and M is itching to trim them back. The clumps of fountain grass still look more dead than alive, but, there are tiny new blades of purple grass growing, hidden behind the dried yellow stalks. The lantana are flowering, although the flowers on three of the plants look like they got burned!
Neighbor T's jacaranda tree, however, is flowering and looks lovely:
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| Jacaranda Tree |
I have a small jacaranda seedling growing in a pot in the backyard; M wants to plant it in the front, maybe this summer. I just have to find a good spot for it.
I have had a relaxed day, today. It was another overcast, cool day. I slept in (after getting up once to feed Dancer), replied to blog comments, visited a few blogs, walked around the back yard and checked on the plants, watched some online videos, wrote a couple of emails, texted with one of my cousins, had a long phone chat with my aunt C, chatted on the phone with friend R, and video chatted with my daughter. In between, I did some crocheting. I had planned to play with fabric, but, I didn't feel like doing so.
Breakfast was a banana (the last of the three bananas I bought), lunch was a bowl of soup and a slice of buttered toast, and for dinner, I cooked rice, stir fried broccoli, and an omelet curry. Omelet curry is exactly what it sounds like - a cut up omelet in a curry gravy or sauce (I always call it a gravy, but, I know that some people call it a sauce). It is something my mother used to make from time to time and she said it was something her mother used to make (Granny had 9 children to feed and eggs cost less than meat, poultry, or fish). You make the curry gravy (or sauce, if you prefer) the usual way, with onions, curry leaves, curry powder, chili powder, etc., in milk (either coconut milk or dairy milk) and make the omelet separately, then, cut up the omelet and add it to the curry gravy and let it absorb some of the gravy and curry flavors. Or, if you have leftover chicken curry gravy as I did, then, you make the omelet and add it to the warmed up leftover gravy! LOL. It was a very frugal meal, especially since the broccoli came from the garden. Fresh strawberries for dessert.
I did the dishes after dinner and wiped the stove top (I tend to be a messy cook) and kitchen counters with the damp sponge. A nightly wipe down of the stove top and counters go a long way towards keeping the kitchen clean, but, I don't always do that.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to sleep in
- Chats with family and friends
- Exchanging emails with friends
- Access to all the wonderful videos online
- A very relaxed day
- Exchanging emails with friends
- Access to all the wonderful videos online
- A very relaxed day
Today's joyful activity was relaxing and taking it easy! LOL.
Plans for tomorrow include playing with fabric.
How was your Saturday? How is your Sunday coming along?
T's jacaranda is beautiful. It's not something we see here - they wouldn't survive the British winters. I hope you're successful in growing your own one ... it'll look amazing in your front garden.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like it was a sociable day for you with all the texting, chatting, and video calling. I like days like that.
I've had an egg curry before but it was a hard boiled egg in the gravy. The deputy head at one of the schools I taught in used to give me easy recipes like that. It was made in exactly the way you describe but the hard boiled eggs were added near the end to absorb some of the flavour but not long enough to turn them into rubbery bullets! I haven't eaten that for ages and, as you say, it is a frugal meal. I think I will add it to the meals list!
It was a sociable day, wasn't it?
DeleteYes, we make hard boiled egg curries, too. I don't like to eat the yolks of eggs when hard boiled (unless made into egg salad) or soft boiled or fried, only when scrambled or made into an omelet, so, I don't choose to make hard boiled egg curry. But, it is easier than making omelets! :)
Your front yard is a lot bigger than I had imagined and so pretty. What's one the ground where you don't have beds?
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. It's just bare ground between the beds with maybe some old grass roots from when it used to be a lawn. When we have a wet enough winter, some of the grass grows back and then, it dies again, because I don't water those areas. We will have new water restrictions effective June 1, limiting outdoor watering to two days a week, the allotted days depending on odd/even house numbers (Monday and Thursday for odd; Friday and Sunday for even), either before 9:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m., 8 minutes per station, 15 minutes if with a water conserving nozzle.
DeleteLove your pretty purple blooms of Jacaranda.
ReplyDeleteOur Saturday was rainy, but otherwise good. Our plans got changed, but that meant I was able to craft the afternoon away. Both hubby and I watched too much TV and snacked too much.
I have gotten into a much better habit of keeping the kitchen island and counters cleaned off and wiped down but the stove-top is not always cleaned as thoroughly as it could be. It does make me happy to wake up first thing and go to a clean looking kitchen.
The jacaranda flowers are a lovely color, aren't they?
DeleteOh, I wish you could share some of your rain with us! Sounds like you made the best use of a rainy day, crafting (and watching TV and snacking! :D )
I try to keep the kitchen clean, with no dishes left in the sink overnight, but, don't always manage to do that! The stove top gets wiped down regularly but the oven is a whole different story! :o
P.S. Your comment appeared twice and I deleted the duplicate.
DeleteYour garden still looks lovely and beautiful even if it was a grey day! You have such a lovely variety of plants and flowers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. :)
DeleteYour neighbour's tree looks lovely and I hope your seedling does as well, such beautiful purple flowers. I've not made an omelet for a long time and your omelet curry sounds interesting but not sure I would ever get round to making it. I always put away the dishes before I go to bed as I like to wake to a tidy kitchen. I really need to give the inside of my oven a good clean but something I keep putting off as do most folks I reckon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen; I do like the purple flowers! I don't make omelets all that often, either (I usually make scrambled eggs). I need to be more disciplined about putting away the dishes and I must really do something about cleaning that oven! :D
DeleteIn my younger days I remember a romantic novel called "Under the Jacaranda Tree, and it was many years later that I finally saw the beautiful blossoms. The last time was in late 2019 in Buenos Aires. The city was full of the trees, it was amazing!
ReplyDeleteThey are stunning when in flower, aren't they? T's tree is still fairly young, but, there are some mature jacaranda trees in the neighborhood that are really lovely, right now. :)
DeleteAnother lovely shot of your front yard. The grasses will look wonderful once they settle in. It's good that you see fresh green when you look into the center.
ReplyDeleteT's jacaranda tree is very pretty. It would be nice if you had one in your yard as well so I hope the seedling takes when you plant it.
I've never heard of omelet curry. I often spoon Dahl onto of my omelet - I bet the flavors are similar.
Thank you, Debra. The jacaranda seedling will be planted out this summer, I think. Probably in the middle of the circle of succulents. We'll redistribute the succulents that will be taken out to make room for the seedling.
DeleteOmelet curry is often served in Indian and Sri Lankan homes. Yes, spooning dhal onto an omelet would give you a similar flavor. :)
I've never seen a jacaranda before. Thank you for sharing as it looks so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Lyssa; I love seeing the jacaranda trees in bloom (sorry, this was another comment that went to the spam folder!)
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