grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Archives for December 2012

back home in Dallas…

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On December 5, I write poolside. Barefoot. My herbs are lush and vigorous, relieved to have survived the blazing summer.

Hole-in-the-wall restaurants, tucked into favorite neighborhoods, satiate Tex-Mex cravings. Cheese enchiladas with extra jalapeños, gooey white queso so amazing I could eat like soup. Top Shelf margaritas, hold the salt. Did you save room for sopapillas?
 
Grand old ladies sit side by side, rooted to the ground for one hundred years, proud and strong with perfectly aligned porches. Overnight, garland adorns columns. Swags of red berries and bells replace fall wreaths. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Munger Place, Dallas, Texas

Lucy and Annabelle tug and strain on their leashes, then stop to greet neighbors and sniff out smells buried in dry grass. We gather with friends on Harry’s porch for happy hour.

A few blocks away, a tall green rectangle juts into the night sky, a floating box glows holiday red, a rotating sphere boasts a dazzling display of white lights. The heavens are illuminated by neon. 
Dallas Skyline

talya

Musical Pairing:

Texas (When I Die), Tanya Tucker

Grace Grits Candle!

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Check out my new Grace Grits Candle! This 4 oz. soy-blended travel candle burns for approximately 20 hours and smells amazing….

Perfect for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers!

$10.00 each

talya

‘when all candles be out, all cats be gray…” ancient Proverb

P.S. Each candle order between now and December 10 includes a chance to win a Haute Hostess Apron!

burning down the house!

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Two months ago, our house nearly burned.

In the spirit of fiction writing, I exaggerate a bit, but it was a close call. I was in Arkansas and therefore not responsible nor a suspect. John returned from work to a smoke-filled downstairs. Dallas fire fighters paid us a visit with sirens blaring—it was that bad.

A basket of napkins smoldered atop the microwave, too close to a hot halogen light. 
basket o’ cloth napkins

What if John had worked late or gone to happy hour?
bottom of cabinet. nice.

The underside of our cabinet is extra crispy. Inside the cabinet smells of a rump roast grilling on a Weber. For hours I washed glasses, doors and shelves. 

I heated lemon slices which I thought might eliminate the odor.
With the kitchen door ajar and ceiling fan whirring for hours, a swarm of mosquitoes moved into our home, hiding in corners and underneath furniture. Yes, DallasHasMosquitoesYearRound!

I burned my favorite candle to a nub, almost starting another fire.
The citrus and rosemary chicken baked for dinner masked the smell for one episode of Mad Men. 
An open sack of Dunkin Donut coffee absorbed a touch of the odor, but smoked my favorite coffee.

I ignored it. I packed my car, locked the back door and drove to Dairy Hollow for a writer’s retreat. I became a witch for Eureka Springs’ Halloween, the streets filled with zombies and ghosts. Real or imagined?

In Fayetteville, purple and orange pansies grow where weeds once lived. I painted the last louver door! Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law’s—I only baked a pecan pie and potato casserole, a major departure for me.

Fearlessly, I wrote in the Ozarks, making new friends, thinking fresh thoughts.

Never once did I think about my Dallas kitchen, 350 miles southwest, smelling of forest fire mixed with Pine Sol. Yet,

ItStillStinks.

I suppose I shall be forced to paint. Ideas, anyone? anyone?

talya

Burning Down the House, Talking Heads

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!