Is it spring? Is it winter?
As I write, the Weather Channel reports that a late winter storm is blanketing the Northwest and the Midwest while warm temps tease those in warmer climes.
Author Kawaguchi of Tales from the Cafe expresses eloquently the fickle fits of nature here:
People tend to feel happy when spring arrives, especially after a cold winter. When spring begins, however, cannot be pinpointed to one particular moment. There is no one day that clearly marks when winter ends and spring begins [despite what the calendar tells us]. Spring hides inside winter. We notice it emerging with our eyes, our skin and other senses. We find it in new buds, a comfortable breeze and the warmth of the sun. It exists alongside winter. ~ Poet Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Azaleas are coloring our neighborhood with hot pink. Gaudy camellias, speckled fuchsia and pale pink proclaim glorious springtime.
In the preserve and in our back yard, allamanda blooms are flirting with birds. Bees, soon to arrive, will extract its nectar.
Although native to Brazil, allamanda, an evergreen tropical climber with bright yellow trumpet flowers and glossy green leaves has survived cold, north Florida winters for years. Like oleander, which blooms later, all parts of the allamanda are mildly poisonous, but when used in traditional medicine, it can treat liver tumors, jaundice, and malaria.
***
Just now I’m remembering a story I wrote years ago about the push-pull of the beautiful existing alongside the poisonous. In Vials of Venom, Oil of Healing, I wrote about the contrast between the lethal and the lovely, recalling how my mother’s injection with venom actually helped detect environmental triggers for her asthma attacks and then suggest a course of treatment. The story was later expanded as Chapter 16, “A Healing Miracle,” Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl.
The Blunder
Good advice from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.
Two weeks ago I had the chance to test the truth of this maxim and then recover from the blundering effects . . .
On a chilly Saturday morning, I woke intending to make warming oatmeal: steel-cut oats with sliced almonds, raisins, and dried cranberries. I began, of course, heating up a pan of salted water on the stove top and later adding the oats and dried fruit. All went well until I opened the microwave door and a plate flew out. Not a genuine paper plate which we usually use for heating up food. No, a styrofoam imposter (Where did that come from?), floating down to the glass stove top, gluing itself onto a hot burner. Picture this:
Quickly, I got out the Barkeeper’s Friend and dusted the glued-on glob of plastic with scouring powder. No good!
Frantic, my next thought was to check with Mr. Google, who had the perfect solution. Make a thick paste of baking soda and apply to the plastic glob.
Google image of baking soda paste on cook top, looking much like my own
Ipso-presto, the baking soda paste worked!
In a matter of minutes, the plastic mess wiped off completely. The cooktop surface was restored. When I turned on the stove again, what appeared was a red-hot burner without a trace of the blunder. (Microwave light reflecting near center of burner.)
Disaster averted! Now you know a tip you can use. . . or pass on to someone else.
What stage of spring are you experiencing right now? (Of course, in the southern hemisphere, you are anticipating fall and winter. )
What blooms and buds do you most enjoy in this season?
Any blunders to report? Solutions welcome too!
Good morning, Marian! I’m glad you managed to get the mess off your stovetop!
We’re having a few days of warmer temperatures after the rain, and more daffodils bloomed during the day yesterday. Our hyacinths are about to bloom, too.
Numero uno again, Merril. Daffodils don’t thrive here, and I have to buy a pot of hyacinths from the grocery store every year because Florida soil is too warm for the bulb to germinate. Happy Wednesday! 😀
Well, you have other very beautiful flowers, Marian. Happy Wednesday to you, too!
Thanks for the reminder!
😊
Hi,
When my husband was living on this side of the life, he had an oleander. It was beautiful. However, when he got sick, the oleander died.
I like your idea about cleaning up the mess to your stove. I must google to see what they say about cleaning the glass to my fireplace. I hadn’t thought of that before. I learn new things everyday.
Have a lovely day and take care.
Shalom shalom
I know you miss your husband, and apparently the oleander responded in kind. A sad story, but thanks for sharing, Pat!
My fireplace glass could use some cheering up, and so I googled a fix. In case you are still wondering:
How to Clean Fireplace Glass | Window Genie
There is no exact measurement needed here… just simply combine a bit of water, white vinegar, and enough of the ash from inside your fireplace to form a paste. This will essentially allow you to gently exfoliate the grime off the interior of your glass.
You need to start a blog with these remedies. Ha.
Ok!
The photo of you with the azaleas is wonderful and takes me back to my first spring in Florida when we were house/farm shopping and the glory of the flowers (driving down straight from Indiana in a February) were shocking. Then we also picked strawberries, and decided to buy the farm! Ha.
Our oldest daughter now lives in northern Virginia and I’m still amazed by the wonderful azaleas they grow up there, about now (but not February).
Loved your fix for your blunder. Go baking soda. I use alot of Bartender’s friend also but I’ll have to remember that if that happens.
You can visualize the glory of these azaleas. The photo on my landing page was taken amid banks of flowers in the preserve behind our house. They appear to grow randomly, but I’m sure someone planted these bushes years ago.
Thanks for sharing your reminiscences, Melodie! 😀
Oh my goodness, how frightening, Marian! So glad you were able to get that melted plastic off. Yikes!
What lovely flowers!! My younger brother texted flowers he saw while outside yesterday, since the temperature was 65. Currently the temperature is 46 here in my part of the Midwest. My niece reported that in her area of Colorado, they are due for some snow.
You are on the cusp of spring, and I’m glad others can share their blooms with you until this glorious season arrives in the Midwest. I’m sure you hope snow showers are not in the forecast, L. Marie. Thanks! 😀
I have read about the baking soda but as of now have not had to test it thank you for the recommendation with images, Marian…The colour of those blooms is spectacular 🙂
Carol, I hope you never have to test baking soda remedies in your kitchen. Readers, Carol spends a lot of time in her kitchen where she cooks up splendid dishes from around the world. Today she is featuring food from India: https://carolcooks2.com/2024/03/13/carolcooks2a-z-world-cuisinespart-36india-the-golden-bird/ 😀
I hope so too but one never knows …Thank you so much for sharing my world cuisine link Marian it is much appreciated 😊👌
Good Wednesday morning! I saw my first goldfinch of the season at 7 this morning! I was SO excited. Every spring to fall we have dozens of goldfinch families (and all varieties) that love our bird feeder and the woods nearby. I’ll actually claim I become friends with them; we are familiar to each other because I spend lots of time reading/writing/watching from our front porch rocker. In mid-March, it’s too cold to sit outside for long, but I waved hi. 🙂
My blunder this week? I was baking potatoes in the oven (and always spear them before cooking them) but one exploded. Potato and potato skin all over the bottom of the gas oven, and little sparks appeared, so I threw baking soda on the bottom and kept on cooking. My guy scrubbed the mess yesterday – my blunder but his loving cleaning took it all away. Baking soda saves the day for both you and me!
Pam, I’m happy to hear you have such a close connection to your avian friends. And you spotted a goldfinch, who knows you have a lovely buffet for him. By the way your mention of goldfinch reminded me of the title of Donna Tartt’s novel, also exotic, as you may recall.
Kudos to your hubby who has gone over and beyond the call of duty cleaning up the mess. Bravo to him! And to you for preparing a home-cooked meal. 😀
We retired from Florida to Central KY (to be close to our daughter) and our weather is pretty much as described by Author Kawaguchi of Tales from the Cafe! 🙂 We have “wild daffodils” known by the locals as buttercups which make their appearance along roadsides and fields usually sometime in February. With the warmer than usual temperatures this year hostas, peonies and other bulbs are already peeking through the ground. This morning our temperature was 34 degrees but will probably get to 70 today. Therein lies the fickleness.
Elaine, your comment brought to mind two things: My Aunt Ruthie calling daffodils “buttercups,” and the peonies my mother grow, unfurling in red and white, usually in May. I believe you have had good reason to move to Kentucky; being close to family trumps our own preferences sometimes. Thanks for sharing! 😀
Bizarre! Weird things can happen in the kitchen, when all you want to do is make some oatmeal! I have a lovely granola recipe I got at a bed and breakfast years ago. I make a big batch and have it every morning with blueberries or other frozen fruit. Love all your flowers and can’t wait for spring!
Spring will come cheering your heart–and I hope soon.
Thanks so much for adding to the alliteration. Bizarre is the perfect word to describe my blunder.
Like you, every morning I have cereal topped with blueberries and sometimes strawberries and red raspberries. Most of the time there are no mishaps! 😀
Meant to say I love your title! Great alliteration! I noticed I responded beginning with a b word!
Very clever, Elfrieda. Thank you!
That photo of the allamanda plant is stunning.Such clarity in the yellow flower against the blue sky. We are seeing daffodils and crocuses and hyacinth popping up. Last weekend in DC we saw whole banks of daffodils munificent enough to evoke Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”
Can’t think of any recent blunders. Uh huh, that might be tempting fate. I have had plenty of them in the past. 🙂
Thanks for recalling Wordsworth here, a perfect reference for this time of year, Shirley.
Early in my career at the college, I had a president who told us to make more mistakes. “Yes, make more mistakes,” he said. “That will happen when you try something new, a good thing.” I’ve never forgotten that. Your comment jogged my memory. 😀
The flowers are gorgeous. I see I have an hibiscus blooming today. I’m glad you were able to fix your blunder. I do things like that all the time. As long as no one got hurt!
Blunders keep one humble, perhaps. I’m glad I’m not the only one to admit to mishaps, Darlene. Enjoy spring flowers, no doubt abundant in Spain right now. 😀
Hi Marian, what marvelous flowers. I love them all. Our autumn flowers are blooming. An unlucky accident with the plate but it is great you found a relatively easy solution. I will remember this. Thank you for sharing about it.
Splendid creations come out of your kitchen, Robbie, and I hope most without mishap. I’m glad you have a quick “fix” for such a blunder, but with any luck, you’ll never have to use it.
Enjoy the lovely scents and sights of fall. 😀
There are so many beautiful flowers, I love all the colors! I always enjoy your photos Marian. You have such a great eye. 🙂 I enjoy seeing our Magnolia tree bloom; they are enormous white flowers. When I was young, we had hydrangea bushes and I absolutely adored the large balls of pastel colors. I had a similar experience with a hot stove, so you are not alone. I was pulling a frozen dinner from the microwave and made the mistake of putting it on a burner (it was off, but still hot.) Yep, it left a plastic mess and no dinner for me, haha. Thank you so much for that tip. I honestly don’t remember what we used to clean it, but it was not an easy fix. I appreciate the tip!
Thanks for noticing the bright blooms. I recently got a newer iPhone which takes better pictures, so maybe that’s what you were observing. I love magnolia blooms too but they turn brown very quickly. Also glad you could relate to the stove snafu. May we both have safety in the kitchen from now on, Melanie–ha! 😀
LOL! We can write a book on the “Don’ts” involving kitchen safety. 😀
Yes, indeed!
I’m so glad you averted disaster, Marian! I find wirewool is a great aid for getting rid of most persistent burns and stains, but I will try to remember the baking soda in future.
We too are at the early stages of spring: daffodils, tulips, anemones, magnolias: all beautiful. What a happy season spring is!
Oh, Fatima, so you too can relate to burns, stains, etc. What I liked about the baking soda fix is that it’s not abrasive. The stovetop surface didn’t suffer any damage this time around.
I like all the spring flowers you mentioned, especially anemones, both delicate and bold. Always good to hear from you. Take care! 😀
I’ve had to make use of the baking soda paste a time or two for kitchen blunders/disasters. We’re in the harbinger of spring phase right now. When I went outside this morning, the birds were singing–the first sign of spring. The peepers will be next. I saw some wee little buds on our azalea bush today, too.
Seasons cycle, a very good thing. I’ve enjoyed bird-song and buds, of course, but just yesterday I thought of another reason I like the change of seasons: a different wardrobe. I’m sick of the wooly layers and looking forward to lighter fabrics and pastel colors.
Thanks for checking in again, Liz! 😀
Yipes. Thank goodness that life gives us second chances to make something right. It seems like I spend part of each day covering up my blunders.
That’s a lovely cover photo of you, Marian. It could be an author profile picture.
The good thing about blunders–it shows you are doing SOMETHING, not sitting idly by.
Thanks for the compliment; you gave me a good idea for a profile pic, always inspiring me, Pete! 😀
Hi Marian, what lovely flowers! We have some time yet before we see beauties like that but it’s coming! The quote about spring hiding in winter is never more true than in NY, I think. Near 70 today and back to the 40’s next week.
Don’t you just love Google? 😊
I’m waking up to your cheery smile, Kimberly. I’m glad you can relate to the capricious weather of March. About Google: our search histories are very revealing, don’t you agree? Thanks! 😀
Your azaleas are stunningly beautiful. I love the color and knowing that spring is happening big time somewhere. Around here, the show is beginning. Your blunder, and more importantly your solution, is what life is made of. It’s not that someone makes a mistake, it’s that you figure out how to fix it. My philosophy at least.
May your spring become SPECTACULAR too!
And your take on my blunder: I heartily agree with your philosophy, Ally! All I could think is “I don’t want to buy a new stove right now! “I don’t want to buy a new stove right now!” My brain shot into figure-it-out mode. 😀
What a mess! So glad you found a solution. We’re in that transition period…one day sun and t-shirts, the next snow and full winter gear. But if I’m not mistaken, I spotted tulip leaves just starting. 🥳
May other blooms resurrect very soon, Jenn! Another kind of Resurrection observance is just around the corner. Bring it on, I say. 😀
All the fuschia colored flowers are gorgeous Marian. And thanks for that great stove cleaning tip. Good thinking on the Google, and glad it worked! 🙂 x
Welcome back, Debby! I know it’s good for body, mind, and soul to take a break, but you were missed. Here’a little secret: I’m taking a break in April: travel and a book event + a sister visit. Need time to recharge.
P.S. About the blunder: I was desperate and Mr. Google did the trick. 😀
Lol Marian, and yay for you. We all need a break some time and a travel book event sounds fabulous! 🙂 x
Oh! I am so glad to read your blunder tip because I can see that happening to me, Marian. I hope you were able to enjoy your oatmeal before it got cold!
Yes, the blunder was fixed in a jiffy. . . before the oatmeal got cold. Let me tell you: Oatmeal with fruit never tasted so good. Thanks for checking in, Barbara! 😀
I bet! I can’t tell you how many times my oatmeal bubbles over in the microwave – what a mess (a different type of oatmeal issue from yours, though.)
We make stories out of our messes, Barb! A good thing. . .