Warm-up Exercise

It was a lot warmer outside than in the house yesterday and that bench on the deck was calling my name.  Knowing I had bank statements to reconcile, the choice was easy.  Procrastination is always the way to go.  I took Bessie Anne and my recently arrived favorite catalog and we went out into the sunshine.  John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds is the antidote for what ails ya while waiting for spring.  Beautiful photos and illustrations, chock full of great information, I've received the catalogs for many, many years and enjoyed every one.  For a long time, they included recipes, especially for some of the more esoteric vegetables; recipes are now posted on their website.  Tomatoes were all I got into the ground last year (put in too late to be very successful) even with the best of intentions.  Reading the catalog, in my mind's eye I could see my garden with flourishing beans and peas, fat carrots, great pumpkins, turnips, and beets, baby greens for salad, squashes (and sauteed squash blossoms), and juicy tomatoes.  Ohmigosh, I was drooling.  Going grocery shopping once or twice a month leaves me famished for fresh vegetables.  Lately I've been throwing frozen peas into just about everything from shrimp Alfredo to soups so there'd be a touch of green.  It's only January, way too early to plant, but the catalog was a feast for the eyes and imagination and, besides, Bess and I were warm again.

It was a good day.