I have some crazy talented friends….the photo below was taken by my friend John. I think it is spectacular!
Monthly Archives: March 2018
the current situation…
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williams sonoma ain’t what it used to be
I ordered these from Williams Sonoma in December, 2017. I am still waiting. They say they are not available, yet as per their website they ARE available, so which is it?
Patience is a virtue I sometimes have an issue with. Today is one of those days. But crappy customer service will bring out the worst in me.
Williams Sonoma, tag you are it.
Rewind to November, 2017. I had been given a gift card and purchased some items that were due for pre-Thanksgiving delivery. The items arrived after Thanksgiving. So I called. They apologized profusely and refunded the shipping. So I ordered myself a set of silicone spatulas (pictured above.)
And waited. And waited. Beginning of January they were back-ordered until January 25th. They never arrived. So I checked in again. They were back-ordered again. I was told end of February,
It’s March…and they are back-ordered until Mid-May. But did anyone send me a courtesy email? Nope. I discovered it because the onslaught of Williams Sonoma junk e-mail made me realize that I have still never received my spatulas. Nor have I received any updates as to why the delay has been extended yet again. That is poor customer service.
Yet, these spatulas show available in three colors on their website. And according to their website they are in stores.
So dumb question maybe but where are my spatulas?
Williams Sonoma, service has slipped. Don’t think I will be ordering from you again.
things always look better in the morning…even if there still is no power
I got some photos at the end of daybreak with my regular camera, but this tablet photo will have to do for now. Last night was a long night. We kept the wood stove stoked all night and it’s roaring happily this morning.
Living in Chester County when I have now discovered that when the power goes out during a storm, it can stay out, I am glad we have the wood stove even if this is yet another “O Pioneers” (Willa Cather novel 1913) feeling storm event.The wind howled so fiercely last night. After the ice storm of 2014, it still makes me a little anxious to hear the freight train- like sounds of high winds through the woods.
What made last night a really long night is our son’s car broke down on a dark and windy Chester County road. He had gone to a friend’s house on the other side of where University of Valley Forge is. I will be honest that I had wanted him to come home right after school because of the weather. (But anyway….)
There is nothing worse than finding out in the middle of a nasty storm where trees are coming down like matchsticks everywhere that your kid is broken down on the side of the road. My husband went to get him and they sat for hours waiting for the tow truck that never showed up.
Fortunately, the police department over there did have a tow truck. So the car is safe and off of the road. All’s well that ends well, but in the deep dark of night with power out all over, that was so not fun.
We are still without power. We still don’t know when it will be restored. We are not alone in Chester County.
I think PECO Energy as a utility really needs to let us know the status of our infrastructure. I would also like to know if it’s true that they never completely restored the infrastructure that was damaged during the 2014 ice storm and maybe our state elected officials can check on that?
Maybe our esteemed Governor could do a little more than be a talking head running for re-election ? I mean is Tom Wolf is a giant disappointment and waste of time. He really hasn’t done anything. And wasn’t part of his platform fixing Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and dealing with pipelines? I totally digress but I had to get that in there because I was thinking about that.
But if I am to be without power at least we are all together and the sun is shining.
hunker down, chester county
I have lost count of how many people are without power in Chester County.
It is going to be one of those winter weekends.
We have been told by neighbors 5pm Sunday for power restoration maybe. And others have been saying that as well.
When I first reported my power outage, PECO’s system gave me a hard time. Both on the app and the toll free emergency/outage number. The system did not believe me there was a power outage.
Then as more and more people called in power outages the text messages started. First they said 5 PM today, but by 4 PM the system said “assessing damage”
As of 8:44 PM they still say “assessing damage” which is utility speak for we don’t know what the hell is going on right now.
So is it time for our elected officials to ask PECO Energy some tough infrastructure questions? As in did they ever put it all back together after the 2014 ice storm? Because my sources say no.
I have been told that PECO Energy’s website is completely overwhelmed and crashing. I don’t know from personal experience if that is true because I use their app or I call them.
The emergency/outage number is 1-800-841-4141.
There are lots of trees down everywhere, so I think some of the roads are a bit of a mess. And the winds are crazy outside.
So March has definitely arrived like a veritable lion. Stay safe and warm and dry everyone.
why we plant certain plants in our garden…like pussy willows
Giant Pussy Willow
Why do we plant certain things in our garden if we are planting our gardens ourselves?
Among other things, we plant things which evoke memories. For me one of those plants are Pussy Willows.
I have planted two pussy willow cultivars in my garden: Giant Pussy Willow and Black Pussy Willow. Pussy Willows can grow full sun to part shade and their natural habitat I have read is river banks and sand bars. I know they also do well near creeks and ponds. I never plant anything that is a willow near wells, public sewer pipes, water pipes, septic systems etc. Their roots can be a problem if you choose the wrong location. The pussy willow is native to the colder parts of Japan, Korea and China.
Giant Pussy Willow or Salix chaenomeloides is upright and arches gracefully. It needs quite a bit of space because it can grow 12′ to 20′. I have mine on the edge of my woods and it thrives, but I do prune it about 2 to 3 times a year. These are the pussy willows who get the biggest catkins and they start a fuzzy gray-pink, and get lighter as they open.
My other pussy willow is a Black Pussy Willow or Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’. It grows more shrub like, but you must stay on top of pruning because it can also be a monster. I prune it to keep it an even round shape. It anchors a large perennial bed. The catkins are smaller and black. Like it’s giant cousin, it has lovely green leaves during the growing season. One detractor? The Japanese beetle loves the black pussy willow in particular so I hit it with Neem oil when they are out.
I also have a weeping willow and a curly willow (“Peking Willow”) as well. They are both planted in areas which were prone to being very wet. They are, as is the case with the pussy willows, planted away from wells, septic, pipes, etc. And they are a wonderfully natural way to help balance out areas on your property that get too wet or hold water. The Curly Willow can also survive periods of drought nicely. The weeping willow does not like periods of drought.
Black Pussy Willow
As a gardener in my gardening group writes:
1. They like to grow in damp soil & are well suited for a rain garden.
2. Hummingbirds like to use the fuzzy catkin material in their nests.
3. Since they bloom in early March, they provide a valuable early source of nectar for pollinators.
4. It is a host plant for Viceroy butterflies (Monarch mimic) & several other butterfly species as well.
5. To use the branches indoors, do not put them in water (I always did) unless you are trying to root them. Without water they will dry and the catkins will remain silvery, and leaves will not sprout.
Pussy Willows have been a favorite of mine since I was a toddler as per my mother. And I will admit I have early, early memories of the flower and plant man Mr. Cullinan coming into the city with boughs of Pussy Willows for sale.
Mr. Cullinan came (I think) from the Kennett Square area and he used to come to his customers in a VW Van. I hope I am spelling his name right. He would stop and open his van and it was loaded with seasonal flowers every season. First pussy willows at the end of winter. Then lilacs and peonies to welcome spring. All in big florist buckets soaking in water until we bought them inside. And all plants I have in my garden as a grown up.
I have always loved flowers and gardening, and Mr. Cullinan always meant wonderful plants and flowers. I just loved the big fuzzy, velvety soft catkins of the pussy willows he sold us. I would put them up to my cheek to feel the softness.
The simplicity of Mr. Cullinan coming around selling flowers is an era of days gone by. Much like the truck farmers full of in-season fruits and vegetables who would make the rounds, and the milkman.
(Now to digress for a second, Chester County folks do have access to an old fashioned milkman again thanks to the folks at Doorstep Dairy.)
Back to pussy willows.
You will see them around the time of Chinese New Year. Pussy willows are a favorite flower for this time of year and you will see stalks decorated with gold and red ornaments/red packets, colors which signify prosperity and happiness. In the Chinese tradition, this represents the coming of prosperity.
In other cultures pussy willows play a role as well. Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox; Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bavarian, and Austrian Roman Catholics; Finnish and Baltic Lutherans and Orthodox; and various other Eastern European peoples carry pussy willows on Palm Sunday instead of palm branches. Pussy willows also plays a prominent role in Polish Dyngus Day (Easter Monday).
As I write this, snowflakes swirl with howling, somewhat ferocious winds. The winds are bending my pussy willows back and forth. March has arrived like a lion.
Thanks for stopping by.
who are we?
Who are we? No that isn’t a trick question or something esotericly oddball. Who are we as in DNA?
Well I took a DNA test. ( Ancestry.com) I hate to sound like the commercial, but there were a few surprises.
First let’s start with my maternal grandmother. Pennsylvania German, was told her family was German, yet what defines German? Not so much according to the actual DNA.
I am also not half Italian. 45%. The Southern Italy makes sense because according to family history some Northern Italian ancestors traveled south with some king, and settled there.
The Irish percentage of my DNA make-up is spot on at 25% but allows for Ireland/Scotland/Wales.
I was not expecting 6% Great Britain, although perhaps it accounts for my affinity for things British, and will undoubtedly please my British stepfather.
I was not expecting Scandinavian ancestry, or any of the lesser DNA percentages that create the sum of my whole.
What it showed me quite clearly as an American, is I am a DNA melting pot of my very own. It’s kind of fascinating.
Also amusing? Via my DNA I supposedly may have over 100 cousins who are 4th cousins or closer.
Where do I go for here? Not sure, but it is very interesting stuff!