Happy Thanksgiving!

In the years we are fortunate enough to have the pleasure of hosting dear friends at our annual Thanksgiving celebratory 'dinner for waifs and strays', I derive much pleasure in not only the details of preparing the menu and cooking the food, but also in the decoration of the dining room.

I was up early today, in the garden clipping from the bountiful Pittosporum shrub that looks more like a tree nowadays.  Somehow, it survived the punishing drought we've endured these past few years and has held on to give generously of its orange-hued berries.

Photo: Chronica Domus

It was with some irony that as I stood beneath the Pittosporum canopy clipping away and filling my trug this morning - Thanksgiving day - the heavens opened and down came much needed rain, fast and heavy.  For this I was thankful.  Very thankful.  We have not seen a drop of precipitation around these parts since the end of last winter.

Dashing back inside the house, I managed to fill four Regency-era syllabub glasses with the berries which I then used as a centerpiece on the Thanksgiving table.  For this too I was thankful for I had made the fatal error of buying some natural plant material this past weekend in hopes it would last through today.  Needless to say, it did not!

Syllabub glasses make excellent vases in a pinch!
Photo: Chronica Domus

Photo: Chronica Domus

As I placed the little arrangements on the dining table, the sun broke through the rain clouds and just for a few minutes, the room glowed with sunlight.  What joy!

Photo: Chronica Domus

Photo: Chronica Domus

I am looking forward to giving thanks and gratitude for so much more throughout the day.  Friends we have not seen in many years will be here within the hour and there is still so much to do in the kitchen.

What are your plans today?  Will you be at home preparing a special meal to share with your family and friends, or are you one of the millions of Americans who have traveled far from home?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

What's Blooming Inside: In Praise of Heirloom Sweet Peas

It has been said many times over that a picture paints a thousand words.  However, as I contentedly find myself captivated by Lathyrus odoratus, that most delicious of summer's blooms, I ask myself how it could possibly be fair to share a mere picture with you.  Or, for that matter, few words.

Photo: Chronica Domus

The humble sweet pea happens to be my favorite summer flower.  It helps, of course, that summers in the San Francisco Bay Area rarely ever sizzle; sweet peas loathe excessive heat.  On most days, the thermometer hovers around the agreeable lower- to middle-70's range.  All of this, of course, makes me a fortunate girl as I am able to enjoy a bountiful flower haul throughout the entire summer season and into early autumn.

I adore sweet peas so much that I would like to propose a new holiday in their honor, National Sweet Pea Day.  On this day, the ephemeral and beguiling beauty of Lathyrus odoratus will be praised and celebrated throughout the land. Gardeners will clip the flowers from their tangled vines to bring indoors by the basketful.  And, for those fellow admirers who lack either a garden or a green thumb, a trip to a local florist or market to procure a bunch to bring home will be the order of the day.

If you derive as much pleasure from this old-fashioned garden staple as I do, you'll be satisfied in the knowledge that the pretty undulating blooms should be clipped with regularity.  I can think of no other plant that replenishes its flowers as swiftly as the sweet pea.  It is nothing short of horticultural magic!  Happily, one's garden shears are pressed into service on an almost daily basis during summer's flush.

Lathyrus odoratus Cupani's Original (circa 1699) basking in the June sun

Photo: Chronica Domus

The sweet pea vines as photographed on a foggy day back in late June ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and yesterday, mid-August, still going strong

Photo: Chronica Domus

Daily cutting encourages a profusion of blooms

Photo: Chronica Domus

Once indoors, sweet peas should be arranged in vessels and vases and the posies placed about the house. The simple act of doing so provides me with the greatest of pleasure.  It is a rite of summer I look forward to undertaking each and every year.

Ah heaven!... how I wish I could share the exquisite perfume wafting from these blooms with you

Photo: Chronica Domus  

Every room, no matter its size or decoration, will surely be enhanced by the delicate beauty and scent put forth by these posies.  At least, that is, if you select wisely and cultivate the old-fashioned heirloom varieties.  Some may argue that the daintier pink and white blooms of Painted Lady (circa  1730) for example, or those of Lathyrus odoratus America, a rich raspberry-red and white striped example dating back to 1896 are not as showy or as large as modern hybrids.  On that score, I am in agreement.  However, these are among the many older sweet pea strains I favor and believe to be far superior not only in their form and beauty, but in their scrumptious scent, an attribute so often lacking in modern sweet peas.  Why deny yourself one of nature's most luscious and exuberant scents I say!

As I meandered through the house this past Sunday afternoon, while snapping away with my camera to bring you the images you see below, it was as though I was being carried away upon a fruit and spice scented cloud.  Each room was saturated with that oh-so exquisitely delicious fragrance unique to older sweet peas.  I won't even pretend to do justice to the scent with mere words.  You'll just have to believe me when I tell you the agreeable air in those rooms could rival that of any fancy perfumery.  

A bedside posy to sweeten the air and delight the eye

Photo: Chronica Domus

A vase on the kitchen counter brimming with resplendent purple and violet sweet peas
Photo: Chronica Domus

A diminutive posy of pink and cream, and a lone striated Lathyrus odoratus America bloom, is placed upon a table in the corner of the drawing room ... 

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and its twin posy is perched atop the secretary bookcase to enliven an 

otherwise quiet corner

Photo: Chronica Domus

It is now midway through August and I've been clipping at the gangly sweet pea vines since late-June.  The blooms, I am pleased to report, exhibit no sign of dwindling just yet. Over the coming weeks I anticipate the good fortune of filling my vases with many more splendid stalks of Cupani's Original, America, Painted Lady, and other heirloom strains I planted in the spring.  

Late-afternoon summer light rakes across a sweet pea arrangement

Photo: Chronica Domus

Won't you please join me in planting a packet or two of these older types of sweet peas in your garden over the coming year?  I highly recommend an Old-Spice mix for heat resistance and, of course, for an abundant yield of colorful fragrant blooms.  You will then be ready to celebrate that much longed-for future holiday, National Sweet Pea Day.  Now, isn't that a day worthy of a celebration?

Norton Helps Prepare Some Easter Flowers

Although we won't be home for Easter Sunday this year, I am still compelled to add a few festive touches to the house to mark the holiday.  So, bright and early this morning, Norton and I trotted down to the garden to snip away at some of the narcissi I had planted in mid-February. Anticipating, with a bit of luck, that most of them would have bloomed for Easter, it turns out, most of them had.

Planted on February 19, narcissus Cragford, an award-winning heirloom, 

is ready for picking

Photo: Chronica Domus

Another heirloom variety that bloomed vigorously this year is the aptly named 

narcissus Cheerfulness 

Photo: Chronica Domus

It did not take long to fill my trug but I must admit, I did receive a little help from Norton.

Norton supervising in the cutting garden

Photo: Chronica Domus

As you can see below, the effort of picking a few narcissi was all a tad too much for dear Norton. Declaring he'd had quite enough of it all, he proceeded to plonk himself smack dab in the middle of the vegetable patch, exhausted it seems.

Gardening is so overrated!

Photo: Chronica Domus

Coming into the house via the back stairwell, Norton was obviously still very tired from his gardening escapades so I left him there, with the trug, while I nipped downstairs and around to the front garden to clip a few more blooms.

Norton takes a well-earned break

Photo: Chronica Domus

Narcissus Thalia, my favorite of the whites, has been reliably blooming and multiplying in 

my front garden for several years

Photo: Chronica Domus

Just a few Thalia to complete the morning's pickings

Photo: Chronica Domus

I had adequate blooms to make two cheery arrangements to place in the drawing room, with a handful left over for a third smaller arrangement that I placed in the kitchen.

Photo: Chronica Domus

Here they are in situ

Photo: Chronica Domus

And, what would Easter be without a few chocolate treats to nibble upon?  Here are some chocolate eggs corralled in a favorite English Regency era teapot stand painted in a pleasing shade of orange to match the centers of narcissus Cragford.

Please, help yourself to a chocolate egg or two

Photo: Chronica Domus

My collection of various bird eggs round out the decorations in the drawing room.  Eggs are, after all, symbols of rebirth and renewal at Easter time.  A glass vessel below holds quail, araucana chicken, and partridge eggs ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and another holds a turkey egg, the egg of a scrub jay, and more delicately-shaded araucana chicken eggs.

Photo: Chronica Domus

A simple but pleasing Easter arrangement in the drawing room

Photo: Chronica Domus

Oh, and I almost forgot the funnest, and smallest, decoration in the house, a charming vintage hen and her chicks.  They grace a porcelain stand on the kitchen counter.  Don't you think Mrs. Hen and her brood look quite at home surrounded by ... more eggs!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Photo: Chronica Domus

Norton and I wish you all a very Happy Easter!

Bloomin' Lovely!

Bringing flowering branches indoors is an annual and pleasurable rite of spring

Photo: Chronica Domus

I know that spring has not officially begun but I have felt its impending arrival keenly these past few weeks.  Refreshing downpours and even a rare pounding of hail has helped paint the Bay Area's open spaces green ...

Sonoma county's verdant farmland

Photo: Chronica Domus

Happy cows in pastures green
Photo: Chronica Domus

... and awakened its gardens from their winter slumber ...

Like clockwork, my garden's white wisteria is in full bloom by mid-March each year

Photo: Chronica Domus

Even the birdsong has intensified with the arrival of March's lengthening days.  Of course, with rain comes flowers and although the majority of my own spring flowering bulbs have yet to put on their show this season (I was a wee bit late with the bulb planting I'm afraid), that does not prevent me from enjoying the store purchased varieties.  My thoughtful husband presented me with several bunches of yellow daffodils a few weeks ago, just because he knows they are my favorite flowers.

A cheery gift from my husband

Photo: Chronica Domus

I always feel that bringing the outdoors inside helps usher in that feeling of renewal and helps to put a kick in one's step.  I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.  The plum tree in the garden is already in full burst but as I hesitate to hack away at its branches - springtime blossoms are summer's fruits remember - I instead seek out bundles of pre-cut branches to purchase from the San Francisco Flower Market.  This is what I brought home two weeks ago:

A lovely spring vision to behold!

Photo: Chronica Domus

I don't recall having seen such showy double blossoms before so I asked the vendor if he could identify them for me.  I was taken aback when he replied they were peach.  Yes, peach.  It appears I had been under the mistaken impression that peach blossom was exclusively pink.   As it turned out, the double blossom of this highly ornamental white flowering peach is particularly fetching and takes an age to unfurl from it's pompom-like buds. It is a joyous vision of spring to behold.  The branch arrangement lasted a full two weeks, right up until I replaced it on Saturday morning.

After a fortnight of enjoying the muted tones of the lovely peach, I was now in the mood for something a little more colorful.  These salmon-pink tulips fit the bill perfectly:

Mother Nature provides us with the most luminous color

Photo: Chronica Domus

The two dozen tulips happen to look marvelous alongside these quince branches:

Ornamental flowering quince is a particular favorite plant material of mine to bring
indoors each spring

Photo: Chronica Domus

Captured below in the cool light of Sunday morning, the kitchen was positively aglow with spring cheer.  No wonder those chirpy little birds just beyond my window are singing a little louder these days.

Photo: Chronica Domus

Flowering branches and tulips bring a welcome air of spring to the kitchen 

Photo: Chronica Domus

Is there something you particularly look forward to bringing indoors to place in your vase each spring?  Whatever it might be, I'm sure its bloomin' lovely.

Happy (almost) spring everyone!

It's Been A Fun-Filled Couple of Weeks!

Happy New Year to you all!  Please forgive the paucity of posts over the last few weeks but as you might recall, I've been busy entertaining overseas house guests for the holidays.  We've all had a marvelous, fun-filled time but all good things eventually come to an end.  As such, we bid adieu to our guests at the airport this past Thursday with promises of a reunion over the next year.

Now that things have once again settled down at home, I've had an opportunity to fondly reflect upon the last few weeks.  As with so many others, an awful lot of celebratory feasting took place (between bouts of playing tour guide).  Perhaps that would explain my quickly expanding waistline.  Anyway, the culinary indulgences kicked off on Christmas Eve and continued right up through New Year's Day.

I was up early on Christmas morning and glimpsed the colorful sunrise from the balcony

Photo: Chronica Domus

No Christmas dinner table is complete in Britain without a novelty Christmas Cracker at each place setting to add to the merrymaking ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and a scrumptiously dense, booze-soaked, fruit-filled traditional Christmas cake

(this one was lovingly made by my dear mother months in advance to allow the flavors sufficient time to mature)

Photo: Chronica Domus

Here's what the table looked like right before we sat down to tuck into our Christmas feast ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and here's the grand finale, a traditional Christmas Pudding, topped with holly ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and set ablaze with a liberal dousing of brandy

Photo: Chronica Domus

And, what's Christmas Day without some postprandial entertainment to shake one from one's torpor? Eschewing a time-honored game or two of charades, furniture was instead pushed towards the drawing room walls, the music cranked up, and voila! a makeshift dance floor revealed itself.  Our guests and we managed to pull off all of our best moves, mastered long ago in some of Europe's finest discotheques during heady summer holidays.  We had an absolute blast!

The drawing room, after our spontaneous Christmas evening dance party had concluded - who needs extravagant disco lights when fairy lights will do!

Photo: Chronica Domus

Boxing Day and the days that followed were spent showing our guests some of the area's best places of interest. A day in wine country wound up in the quaint town of Sonoma with a lovely dinner at The Swiss Hotel.

A corner view of Sonoma's charming town plaza

Photo: Chronica Domus

Sonoma's City Hall and surrounding trees aglow in festive lights

Photo: Chronica Domus

A little window shopping in San Francisco's Union Square is always a fun diversion for out-of-town visitors.  On the evening we were there, the shops were buzzing with post-Christmas sales activity.

The madness that is Union Square during the post-Christmas sales

Photo: Chronica Domus

An enchanting gingerbread concoction displayed in the St. Francis Hotel's lobby on Union Square

Photo: Chronica Domus

Everything here is made of sugar including beribboned packages and elves that march up 

and down the gingerbread castle's staircase

Photo: Chronica Domus

One of the last excursions of the year was spent pleasantly cruising down the coast to Santa Cruz and admiring the spectacular views.

Photo: Chronica Domus

I adore walks along the beach, whichever coastline I am lucky to find myself upon

Photo: Chronica Domus

Our last dinner of 2017 was enjoyed at home in our very own dining room.  And, just to remind ourselves we were rapidly headed into a new year, I made sure to mark the occasion as follows:

A homemade mushroom and leek pie to herald in the new year

Photo: Chronica Domus

Of course, there were sweet treats too, including a King's Cake, baked in a crown mold, complete with lucky charm.

New Year's Eve desserts included juicy tangerines, a Kings Cake with a hidden lucky charm, 

and the Christmas fruit cake baked by my mother

Photo: Chronica Domus

That was a tasty bit of cake!

Photo: Chronica Domus

Another lit fire to keep us cozy until the midnight festivities began

Photo: Chronica Donmus

We barely made it to midnight and into 2018 without nodding off, a feat which becomes a little more challenging, I have observed, as one ages.  The dawn of a new year is, however, such a thrilling moment especially when one begins to ponder the possibilities and opportunities which may lay ahead.  I haven't missed one yet!

The scene from our balcony, with the smokey remnants of distant fireworks ushering in 2018
Photo: Chronica Domus

The morning after the night before

Photo: Chronica Domus

With the understandably slow (and late) start to the first day of the year, we took things in our stride and hopped into the motor car for a gentle drive up to some of the Gold Country towns of Northern California.  Most of the towns were deserted but it was nonetheless a lovely treat to wander around in relative tranquility.  The highlight of our day was the year's first sunset which had us pulling off to the side of a country lane and enjoying a truly spectacular sky.

I could almost hear Vivien Leigh uttering those famous words "As God is my witness"

Photo: Chronica Domus

Christmas in our household is well and truly over on January 6, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, or Epiphany.  This is the day we dismantle the tree and attempt to pack away the ornaments.  I counted two hundred and thirty-two of them on our evergreen tree this year, not including the topper.  There are more on the goose feather tree.  And, as I predicted, the ornaments are still laying about, cluttering up the dining room table.  A beautiful mess if there ever was one.

The prospect of packing all this away calls for a stiff drink!

Photo: Chronica Domus

I do hope that you too found plenty to celebrate during the festive season.  Please do tell me what some of your highlights were.