John Deere and Farmdale....Green!

Paint. Paint may send me to the looney bin. Well, not necessarily paint proper but the process of selecting a color. Selecting a color, mind you, when you have known your whole long life that you want a dark stained or painted house with blueish-green shutters and a silver/gray/galvanized roof. The latter is more so the culprit for near insanity.




So the roof is installed and it is WHITE!!!! Styrofoam white. Sandy white - like the Gulf. Cloud white.

Ok, technically my roof is not "white." It IS the color I selected and always dreamed about... yet...when installed, the galvanized silver/gray LOOKS white on my roof's pitch. It even glows as moonlight does through the magnolias and pines. Cue "Georgia on my Mind" and "Stars fell on Alabama" and most any other country song involving moonlight.

Moonlight... there's the name for my roof. Not sliver, not gray, not galvanized - moonlight. After throwing a fit to my poor aunt and sister as if I were an emotionally disturbed child, and swearing I was going to throw it onto our road for all of Perry to pick apart and run over, I decided to keep the roof and tweak my color scheme. Thus, this is really why paint almost sent me to the looney bin - retrofitting a new palette to a moonlight hued roof.

Eighteen paint samples later, I landed on a selection for the board and batten pine siding for Farmdale. You see, y'all, I don't just have the main body board and batten to contend with, I have foundation panels, second story clapboard siding and then the coordinating shutters, mullions, trim, corner boards and painted brick too. I had all that picked out and selected before the roof's lunar eclipse. Square one for the paint selection was were I found myself.

"If I must select my colors again, they better be pretty names." The poor gals at James Farmer Inc had to hear my color and roof rants for days. I was a beast. Unconsolable and irrational I was... All because the roof wasn't exactly what I had imagined. From Sherwin Dubs to Ben Moore to Valspar's all stars, I zebra striped Farmdale with eighteen samples of paint. From green to gray, white to cream, tan to toupe, brown to darker brown, I employed my sister Meredith and my Aunt Kathy and we painted all the samples. And then the names -and stars I guess too - started to line up for ol' Farmdale... Linen White, Gentle Lamb, Gina's Eyes and Afternoon Nap, Mountain Hideaway...Colors with delightful names all started rising to the top ranks and file! Even with the roof's lunar loveliness!

Then, as life would have it, my final two siding selections came down to Crater and Dragon's Breath... Come on!! Really? Not the prettiest names but the colors seemed right. So, Farmdale shall end up being a custom color somewhere between the oddly named aforementioned colors. Farmdale Green I shall call it. It's a green/brown/gray/gold/mossy/moodycolor that I'm liking a lot.

I firmly believe that every person is entitled to one legitimate NBD in their life (nervous breakdown for those whose family doesn't have acronyms for everything like mine). Any additional NBDs are just selfish and annoying. I daily must decide if today is the day I shall have mine. Will I have it at Ace Hardware while unable to find the right tint of furniture wax? On a ladder at a client's house while hanging art? Or maybe at Chickfila on one of my multiple daily pilgrimages for tea? "No James... Not here not now." I tell myself.  "Save your NBD for somewhere else and another time... Ok buddy?"

What usually sobers my mind from a quandary such as this is a dose of reality. I live in a southerly world of pretty places and people. Many people do not. The roof will protect me from the rain which is more than many folks have. So, I am thankful for my roof. I am thrilled with my custom color selections and I am most of all, hopefully a little more compassionate towards bewildered people with terribly awkward facial expressions in the paint aisle.

I want to approach them, tell them it'll be alright and that we should all be glad to have a roof and walls to paint.

From Farmdale to your homes, I hope  all is well.

 

 

Greens and Things

Eat your veggies…grow them first!

Here in the Deep South, mild winter days and even those minute by minute longer days of the Lenten Season can be wonderful times for gardening. Planting greens especially!

Lettuces, spinach, herbs, and some root vegetables thrive at this time and should be planted now to ensure a healthy spring crop. Baby lettuces and spinaches are tasty, full of amazing nutrients, and ever-rejuvenating from each harvest. A salad of these mixed greens is easily accomplished in your own garden and even in containers.

Baby Spinach

Baby Romaine

Red Leaf lettuce


Parsley

Lots of light, good soil and water, and a sharp eye will give you greens during the winter and well into spring. If you are interested in organic gardening and why it is so good for you, just test your growing skills with these leafy greens. I bet that you’ll be wary to spray down the infant leaves of the salad you are about to ingest! Sun, water, and good dirt, like an organic potting mix, is all you’ll need for a successful crop. Wintertime pests are fairly few and far between, but a mild solution of dish soap and water can clean your crops and rid off any unwanted creatures from your leaves.

When you are the one growing it, the whole premise of garden to table can dynamically change. Start out with healthy plants or even sew your own seeds. I like to get a head start with plugs and plants from somewhere like Bonnie’s (garden centers, big box and hardware stores carry their plants). Think about your favorite salad combos…I love the texture of spinach, the smoothness and crunch of lettuces, and fresh pop from parsley. Of course, rosemary is my standby and planting it all throughout the year ensures a revolving crop of this powerhouse herb.

Many lettuces will bounce right back after harvesting, making these dependable crops for the garden. Planning and planting your garden in phases and stages also provides your table with a good supply of crops, rather than an “all at once harvest.”

When dressing your salad, simplicity is key. A simple vinaigrette can liven any salad and complement the fresh tastes of your garden’s greens. Olive oil, a crisp vinegar (champagne or white wine), salt, pepper, and a touch of Dijon mustard is a recipe for a great, easy, and elegant vinaigrette. This dressing is a classic base, so feel free to enhance with herbs, garlic, lemon and other citruses or onion (recipe below).

If growing your own greens is a bit intimidating, start small with a container or two or tiny plot. Gardening is all about timing…when to plant, when to harvest, etc. Just catch the gardening bug at the right time and you’ll be growing your own salads, sides, and suppers before long.

Here is a list of some late winter herbs to grow for bountiful salads and savories well into spring…

· Red Lettuce

· Romaine Lettuce

· Arugula

· Spinach

· Cabbages

· Collards

· Onions, shallots, chives, etc.

· Broccoli

· Brussels Sprouts

· Parsley

· Rosemary

This Farmer’s Basic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing:

This serves a full salad for about 4-6…you can double this very easily and add flavor to taste.

· About ¾ cup of good olive oil…I like Spanish, Californian, and extra virgin Italian…Greek too if you can find it! I just like olive oil in general! Remember, you are actually eating this oil, so make sure it tastes good!

· A heaping splash of vinegar…champagne or white wine…depending on how vinegary you want the dressing – I usually stick to a quarter cup or so.

· A weighty teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Mustard emulsifies the oil and vinegar or brings the two together. A peace maker in the mix.

· Salt and pepper…a fine salt mixes well and fresh cracked pepper.

· Whisk, shake, or stir feverishly to fully blend. This is the basic of all basics…lemon, herbs, garlic…you name and the list can go on and on to add to this. Sometimes, though, the most basic hits the spot!

· Lasts about a week in the fridge if you don’t eat it all immediately!