Aspidistra - Cast Iron

I may have mentioned that I like the unusual common plant names such as lipstick plant, wax plant, closet plant, corn plant. Maidenhair fern just sounded pretty even though I wouldn't know if from a Boston Fern - there is a difference right?

so when I heard of one called the "cast iron plant" I was very intrigued. And when I heard that it is called cast iron because it is nearly impossible to kill (yet is not invasive), I wanted one. So I have been keeping my eye out for one but it is not as common now although it was a popular plant of the Victorian age.

So anyway, we went to a nursery today to look at the plants - I was not going to buy any. Then I saw the aspidistra.

Lovely and green.

And oddly familiar.

I am pretty sure we have a huge amount of aspidistra growing. Huge. It doesn't like full sun but it keeps spreading elsewhere. I had dug up a bunch a couple years ago and divided it out and then ran out of space for it all. I had even left a large amount in a bucket for over a year and then noticed it was still alive and doing well.

An empty bucket no dirt soil only rainwater. And it was a drought.

But it was doing well.

I thought "It has got to be cast iron plant." And it is!

A plant that I have been looking for in nurseries is in my yard - soon to be also in my house.

I love plants I can't kill.

My goal is to have a slightly green thumb

My great-grandmother could make anything grow – she had a very green thumb.

 

I have a black thumb. I touch plants and they die.

 

It is sad really.  But I am turning over a new leaf (HA) and am bound and determined to keep some plants alive. Hopefully the internet will be my friend and tell me how to care for them. I think the ones I have are all fairly easy to grow, if I don’t over water.  I have a Peace Lily (I have managed these before for a long time), a Bromeliad, a Hoya, a Schefflera and a Philodendron. We also have a Aloe Vera that we have kept alive for a few months – Hubby tried to drown it but I rescued it.

 

I also have an African Violet in an African Violet pot which should keep it alive. Supposedly those pots make it idiot-proof. I’ll let you know.

 

And there are some other plants I have, both indoors and and out, and others I want to try. I like the absurd names of some of them, a Corn Stalk Plant had my brother-in-law and husband confused. Both of them country boys, said that the plant didn’t look a thing like corn stalk – I suggested it was a city boy’s idea of corn.

 

I think a Lipstick Plant would be cool because it is a fun name but I don’t know if I am there yet.

 

Any plants you think I should try? Either fun names or idiot-proof – or fun name and idiot-proof would be good.

I have a confession - I was wrong

It almost never happens doesn't happen often - ok, happens more often than I would want to admit. But I was completely wrong.

Have you ever read about the Roman baths? There was a series of pools and rooms - hot, cold, etc - the way a person would get cleaned is to rub oil on and then later scrape it off with a strigil.

Did you get that? Cover with oil and then scrape it off to get clean.

EWWWW is what I thought.

Well, maybe not completely. I have been washing my face with oil for the past week and I am loving it. My face feels clean, not oily but also not dried out.

While I am not doing it precisely as the Romans - no strigil here - I am seeing more value in what they did. Soap is so drying and it seems so silly to strip all the protectant off my skin and then put on lotion.

So before bed I massage in some oil (right now I am doing a mix of olive and castor) into my face. I give it a minute and then use a washcloth as warm as I can stand it and hold it on my face until it cools. I then wipe off the extra oil.

That's it.

The olive oil dissolves all the gunky oil on my face, the castor is supposed to help draw out blockages from the oil glands/ducts/whatever. The heat opens up the pores.

Whatever. My skin is no longer hurting and flaking. It also seems to have cleared up my complexion.

So the Romans actually had a very good cleaning method! Well, I am unconvinced on the strigil, it sounds too much like something in the gynecologist office - but otherwise very effective.

I suggest you try it. I was doubtful at first but I really love how it feels.

By the way, I bought the oil with my own money and am receiving no compensation from olive growers, oil producers or anyone else.

It may not be lemonade but it is still good

I have a horrible tendency to save stuff because it is special until it is no longer special - it is ruint (yes, that is a word here in the south). If I have plenty, then I am not that concerned - like with jam I usually get several jars, so I go ahead and eat them.

But if I don't have very many - I really want to save it.

Just before Christmas 2007, we stopped at this little winery about a 1 1/2 hour drive from here and picked up a bottle of raspberry wine (I really didn't like dry wines at all then and mostly went for dessert wines.) And we brought it home and I saved it. And saved it. And saved it. We really don't drink very much wine, just the occasional glass with dinner. and I kind-of forgot about it.

I finally opened it 2 weeks ago and it was nearly vinegar. So I poured the whole bottle into a plastic juice pitcher, added some Braggs apple cider vinegar and covered the pitcher with a paper towel I taped on. You have to use an apple cider vinegar with the "mother" in it if you want to speed the fermentation into vinegar. (You can skip adding the mother but it takes longer and I am prone to forget if it takes too long).

So after letting it sit for two weeks, I gave it a taste today. OH MY! The fruit flavor came through so clearly, it was delicious.

And if you think there is no way vinegar can be delicious, you have never tried homemade vinegar. It is like comparing water to juice. In most store bought vinegars you taste sour and then maybe a slight difference between the types. The homemade ones have so many other flavors going on that the sour is there but it is with the fruits and other . . . .

I can't even describe it.

If you drink wine, consider making some homemade vinegar - it is well worth the tiny bit of effort.

If you don't drink wine, you can still make homemade vinegar without getting a bottle of wine. You can look for recipes online but it is basically getting some kind of fruit, crush it, strain it and let it ferment until it becomes vinegar.

What can you do with the vinegar?

• Well there is the vinegrette salad dressing - just your vinegar and some oil to taste.



• You can also use it in marinades.



• One of my favorite ways is to cook a chicken breast in vinegar, using the vinegar about like I would an olive oil - just enough liquid to keep it from sticking. Depending on the tartness, I may also add water and honey because the kids "hate vinegar" (Although Daisy mentioned the homemade was really good.)

If you have any additional ideas for using homemade vinegar, please let me know.

A buncha nothings

First a scary event. One of the little neighbor girls was missing this evening.

Her brothers had come to the door asking if she was here because she and Daisy have played together. Since it was just barely dark, we didn't think much of it. But when another set of neighbors came to the door, we got out the flashlights and walked around the neighborhood.

We live outside of town in a small subdivision, people are generally quiet and keep to themselves. I honestly meet most of my neighbors right after a hurricane.

But there were flashlights everywhere.

Everywhere.

People calling out for a little girl (I think she is 8) and some of them didn't even know her.

She was found at another friends house - where she had apparently run away - but it was good to see the neighbors pull together.

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I have finished the major part of my mother day gifts.

Yes, I know it is past Mothers' day but I had issues. I will be happy to explain those issues once I can do so without spoiling the surprise.

First I have to mail them though.

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I had a birthday on Friday.

I am . . . a couple of years younger than you.

Unless you are old, and then I am way younger than you.

But I celebrated by working on Mothers' Day presents having a relaxing day and getting further behind on my blog reading.

Spring tends to wear me out, with all the pollen in the air and doing garden work and other stuff. So I am working on it.

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Daisy had her piano recital on Sunday and it went really well. She made a couple of mistakes but I think only Daisy, her teacher and I realized exactly where she had problems.

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Junior was supposed to have a belt ceremony on Thursday but they canceled it, thank goodness. The gym where it was to be held had it's air conditioner break, and in east Texas, a gym with no AC is not able to support life.

So he had it today during class.

He actually volunteered to go 2nd with his forms - he never volunteers. And the 2 other kids from his class who normally volunteer immediately, didn't at all. They had to be called on to do their form.

So he did well. He is now a yellow belt with a cheetah patch.

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I am really enjoying both knitting and crocheting.

I like knitting because it keeps my projects straighter, it is harder for me to mess up.

Crocheting is nice though because it seems like I can whip a project out faster, although it may not look like it is supposed to.

For a dishcloth or grocery bag, it doesn't seem to matter if it is sort-of lopsided.

I have finally somewhat gotten to where I enjoy the process, and like seeing how it will go together, all that sort of stuff. I used to just look at the process as a necessary evil to get to the end. you mean this project is going to take more than 15 minutes!

I did a bag that I love, love, love! It is this wide weave that, when empty, looks kind of like a tangle of yarn. But as you add stuff to it, it stretches. and stretches. and stretches. And as it stretches you can see a loose lace pattern.

I took it to Relay and the kids filled it up with all the junk they got (2 inflatable guitars, some balloons, some balls) plus my stuff and there was still more room in it.

It would make a great grocery bag for the large stuff (toilet paper, bread, etc) but with the heavy stuff, I want to keep packing it in until it doesn't fit. Which could be really heavy.

Daisy is learning knitting, but she isn't really enjoying it yet. She gets bored because it is something-she-does-while-she-could-be-doing-something-way-more-fun.

With a looooooooong car trip in our near future, I am thinking she might begin to see it as something-she-can-do-instead-of-being-bored-out-of-her-skull.

Maybe.

Free Reynolds Wrap

Oh cool! You can get a free roll of Reynolds wrap made from recycled aluminum. You fill out a form and they will give you a mail in rebate.

It does say today only because they are celebrating Earth Day, so you may want to hurry over.

Just click HERE

Kinda cool timing for us, we just used the last of the foil the other day and I haven't purchased anymore yet.

Win a free reuseable shopping bag!

I just won a free shopping bag!

If you go to this webpage and take the pledge you too can win a free shopping bag. You have to be one of the first 1000 people to take the pledge, but they are doing this every week in April.

Yes, I realize that April is almost over, but you have next week if you aren't able to win it today. If you can just remember on Monday morning to sign up, then you might can win one.

Thank you Tiffany for posting this.

Good luck!