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Friday, April 9, 2021

A Jug of Winecups, A Loaf of Bread, and Thou



I love the lyric poem known as The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, by the poet-astronomer of Persia. Edward Fitzgerald translated the most popular English version in 1859. I don't know how close it is to the original Persian thoughts, but his version is exceptionally beautiful. My title is a weak play on words; in one line of the poem (over 1,000 lines long!), the poet states, "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou" to his love -- all that he needs.

Not only are my winecups blooming, but I bought another small pot of them and have them planted in my new fire-ring in the courtyard! Winecups are native perennials, very low-growing, but with the blooms held on wiry stems well above the dark, deeply lobed leaves. 

winecup wine cups perennials


The hollyhock roots are planted, too. And the new lemongrass! I skulked through all the pots (do you do this, too?) until I found two that each had two plants growing, instead of just a single plant. Chuckling to myself (yes, I'm THAT crazy lady you see at the plant nursery), I put them into the cardboard tray along with the hollyhock packages.



Grrr, the local nursery is a very lightweight nursery, not like the old one, back in the old days, before I was old. The old one -- gee, it was only 30 years ago -- had it ALL. This one, no. I asked if they had Dutchman's Breeches. I want to be able to point to them in my courtyard and casually ask, "Do these Dutchman's Breeches make my butt look fat?" FOILED AGAIN.

Now, when you go to the garden center, use my other trick, too. Always heft the packs of roots or bulbs that are opaque. The packages are opaque so that light doesn't prematurely trigger the plants to grow, but it prevents being able to see the size of the roots, bulbs, or tubers. So, go by weight. You want the heaviest ones! 

And speaking of that...'ear ye, 'ear ye...in the grocery store, choose your corn and your artichokes that way. BY THE HEFT. Get the heaviest ones. I guarantee, you will never be disappointed in the ears of corn again.

Now, add an extra step for the artichokes. Put it next to your ear, and give it a squeeze. It must squeak. No, I am not pulling your leg. Make sure it squeaks. Squeak = fresh. Get the heaviest, squeakiest ones. You are most welcome.

"Class, what are some facts we have learned from today's post?" 

"Olde Dame Holly, we have learned about choosing double-planted pots, and heavy corn-on-the-cob, and heavy squeaking artichokes. And we have been reminded about The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. And we have learned you're a little crazy, but we knew that, really."

Class dismissed! And as always, thank'ee for stopping by.

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly

35 comments :

  1. You are entirely right!
    I hope you’ll enjoy this day!

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    1. Thank you, Catherine! I hope your day was fun, too.

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  2. I'm still laughing. You certainly have a way with words, Holly. I have never purchased an artichoke, but if I ever do, I'll amaze people by holding it to my ear and SQUEEZING. If it squeaks, I'll buy it (grin).

    BTW, your winecups are beautiful.

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    1. Oh my dear gal, you MUST try an artichoke! I have a good recipe I will post, and it's very easy!

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  3. There was a test at the end of this post...and you gave us the answers! How lucky are we to be here this morning before we've had a full cup of coffee? heehee! We had our first ear of Florida grown corn this week and it was full and sweet...oh and heavy too! Bi color! Yummy! Enjoy your day. Thanks for being such a fun blog buddy!

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    1. Oh, I envy you that fresh corn! There's really no comparison with "store corn." The bi-color is so sweet, too!

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  4. That's interesting about the artichokes, have never heard that before. And I always try to get the fattest corn. Your winecups are so pretty, and what a lovely color. I've seen this flower before, but didn't know the name. Oh, your Mary statue is very special.

    Have a peaceful and pleasant weekend, dear Holly.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Ha ha, you noticed how I snuck Her in there! I like to put a little bouquet on the shrine whenever possible1

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  5. Thanks for a fun post!!! I love all your wisdom.
    Winecups...simply beautiful!

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  6. Ohhhhh, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is sexxxxxy!!!! You are not such an Olde Dame, after all. -giggggles-

    By heft and squeak! Thank you!

    Even if they do not have as many plants as they did, when you were young, you still had fun in the nursery. -smile-

    And your winecups are lovely. Not familiar with that name/flower, but they are so pretty.

    And you, Dear Olde Dame Holly, are so much funnnnn!!!!

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    1. Oh, I did have fun! Maybe I'll post about it! hee hee

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  7. I never thought of cutting winecups for a bouquet...but beautiful it is!!!

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    1. There are maybe 20 buds now! I can't wait for the blooming to hit its stride!

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    1. Ah, now I have a teacher's pet, Emma! You! Glad you thought it fun!

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  9. I enjoyed the post! Thank you!

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  10. Your post made me smile!! ( But I also look for the most plants in a pot. Often in a 6 pack there will be one missing. That's not the one I'll pick.)

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    1. Oh, I avoid those "five-ers" too! Unless...it's the end of the season, and the poor things are just a-settin' thar, on super sale...

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  11. who knew? I rather like artichokes. Haven't had one in years. The flowers are pretty, look delicate. Nothing is what it was 20 years ago..a shame. I enjoy reading your posts dear Dame. Stay well.

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    1. Those winecup blooms look delicate but they are pretty long lasting!

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  12. Dear Holly, feel free to use any technique I show on my blog. The security envelopes are so useful. They come in so many styles and can be colored with crayons, watercolors, and inks. They can be cut up into smaller parts and turned into abstract or traditional art. Yes, feel free to use the idea. That's what my art is there for. I want to always share it freely with others.

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  13. I think I've been missing out on reading your blog. I have been lazy about adding new blogs to read, but you have been so sweet and fun with your comments on my blogs that I realized here was a special friend that I need to get to know better! Shame on me for wasting so much time about it. Please forgive. I have never purchased an artichoke before, but now I want to just to try to hear it squeak! I want everyone to look at me like I am crazy when I say, "Hey! It's squeaky! It must be a good one!" LOL. Thank you for a happy way to start my Saturday morning. Hope you have a blessed day.

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    1. I am as pleased as punch to know you stopped by! Thank you! I enjoy your blog immensely!

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  14. Such fun...who knew to listen to an artichoke squeak before buying it...

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    1. "The squeaky artichoke gets the butter." A little-known saying!

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  15. I don't have little laughy faces on this computer or would certainly share one. I do love old words. They seemed to know better how to use them so long ago. And I will add one more thing to your artichoke endeavor, the largest stock - on the stock grows the heart - the yummiest part.

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    1. Thank you for that wonderful artichoke hint! I did not realize that about the heart being bigger the wider the stem end! Now I am truly ready to go artichoke hunting at the grocery!

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  16. Thanks for the tips. I always knock on my melons to hear if they are hollow as those are the sweetest in my opinion. Janice

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  17. I have your velvet sachet that you sent me on my blog post today. I wasn't sure if it was satin or velvet, so if it's not velvet, let me know, and I'll change it. Thank you, again, for everything you sent me, I appreciate it. That little bunny cross stitch is the cutest.

    ~Sheri

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    1. I think it is velvet, but just the polyester velvet, not the olde cotton kind that is really the best! The cotton velvet is very hard to find around here!

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  18. Wise advice, Holly, thank you - one has to select carefully, and has to walk the extra mile to get something special (in England you get so much more varieties with special names -- when I had my garden in Germany, I used to get those too, as I can be stubborn - I do not buy just "sweet peas".

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  19. My mom used to read Omar Khayyam, but I never got around to him. :) Thanks for all the great tips! You are kind of nutty, ha ha! :)

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