Thursday, February 18, 2010

A Mistress of Spices and Celery

This morning as I was washing dishes a grin appeared on my face. You might think I'm crazy, but let me explain. When we had recently moved to Croatia from Colorado I complained constantly to my husband because our apartment didn't include a dishwasher. I know, I was spoiled. He said it was a commodity and most homes didn't have one and I would eventually get used to the idea. Ten months later, he was right, we really don't need it but then again he does most of the dishes most of the time!

Back to the grin on my face, I was feeling happy and content with our current lifestyle, in spite of being unemployed (but that's another post to be written later) and as I pruned some of the yellow leaves from the celery plant sitting on the kitchen counter I was inspired to take this photo.I decided to pair it up with the current book I'm reading, The Mistress of Spices by Chitra B. Divakaruni since the colors blended well together.

My mother-in-law purchased the celery root to use it in soups but it was so pretty with its stalks blooming from its bulb that instead I placed it inside a small container with water and I'm hoping it grows more roots so I can transplant it outdoors. So far it hasn't wilted. I will add that having a toddler makes it difficult but not impossible to keep plants indoors. The one large plant I do have has been tortured by Beli and sits in a corner lopsided, yet it continues to thrive.

As I was doing some research about growing celery I came across a study that said having indoor plants improves concentration and reduces stress. What do you think, do you have plants in your home, and if so, do you agree with these findings? I personally have to agree, remember my grin? I mean who smiles when they are washing dishes?

7 comments:

  1. What a darling little girl! :)

    XO emily

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  2. They totally cheer me up, indoor plants! I am not always good at caring for them, but I do love them. Here in LA you can find orchids (orchids!) very inexpensively at Asian grocery stores, and it's wonderful to have one with buds because the flowers last a really long time. When they're done I move them to a broad shady windowsill, and they usually bloom again a year later.

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  3. I love having flowers around, they brighten up the room. Especially now during the cold, dark danish winter.

    That looks like a good book that your reading.

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  4. G,
    I find orchids very exotic but I'm afraid of keeping it alive.Maybe because I have never had one and unsure of how to care for it. But they are so beautiful.

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  5. I can't imagine your winter days without those beautiful tulips in your home!

    The book I started a few weeks ago, I borrowed it from the library and slowly reading a few pages a day. It's about Tilo, an immigrant from India, who runs a spice shop in California and through her eyes we catch a glimpse of the life of the local Indian expatriate community. (a fiction story but very accurate)

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  6. so that is the secret to reduce stress?..pos in that case,,then I am off to create a forest in my house but wait, my boys will "box them out" (yeap, that is their new saying!)

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Thank you for your comments!

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