Like Lambs to the Slaughter

Against my better judgement, I decided to go ahead and get plants for all of the pots on my porch. I mean, they were just sitting there, full of dirt, judging me for wasting them. What else could I do?

I decided that I'd only grow things that I could attempt to eat or at least season food with (if they live long enough) so at first I tried to grow some basil from seeds I literally got off the back of a triscuits box. Of course that didn't work at all so today I went to the Farmer's Market and bought lavender, rosemary, and strawberries. I also um...foraged.... some mint that was growing beside my driveway. In all fairness I'm 90% sure it wasn't being intentionally cultivated at this point (I puled it up from a 3" edge of dirt between the driveway and the house next door so I think it had basically migrated there from their planter) and 100% sure that it will grow back 2-fold b/c I haven't met a mint plant that isn't hell bent on world domination. I can't even kill mint. (I say that now!)

This was a housewarming gift. The only reason it's still alive is I don't touch it. (Although I did move it outside so it could get some sun today- so it's days may be numbered!)

Rosemary. Most people grow so much rosemary that they can't use it all. In the past mine has lasted up to a week.

Lavender. You can't grow lavender in the south because it's too hot, so I'm really hoping that my lavender will actually grow because I love the stuff. Best smell on the planet!

The nice farmer at the Farmer's Market told me I can grow strawberries in a regular pot if I pinch off the creepers that grow. We'll see if it works!

Mint #1. He's way too big for this pot so we'll see what happens. He'll probably eat me a la Little Shop of Horrors in a couple of weeks.

Mint #2 is more pot plant sized- for now at least.

All together now. You can't see it but over by the rosemary in the far left of this picture there's a wooden rocking chair.

Charm

This weekend, I was somewhat alarmed to hear my downstairs neighbors say that they think our house should be condemned. In all fairness, their air conditioner has broken several times this summer and they are really frustrated with that. Also, they are not from New Orleans, and are just living in the apartment below mine until they finish renovating their much nicer house.
Regardless, I will say that my current apartment, much like every New Orleans apartment I've lived in, is fairly decrepit. It's certainly not the worst place I've lived and I don't think this place has been all that problematic (knock on wood) compared to some of my earlier apartments. I'd say my general living pattern has been that of residing in run down buildings that happen to be in nice neighborhoods. I'm hoping the apartment will refrain from falling apart for another year, and until then, reminiscing about my past apartments and their individual quirks.
My first apartment was on St. Charles and General Pershing- probably the nicest location I've lived in. This apartment introduced me to what I like to call it's "charm." First, the doorknob fell off my front door about 5 minutes prior to my Halloween party. Then the light in the living room refused to turn off, regardless of what I did with the light switch. The shelves fell off the wall in my closet. And the toilets in the entire building stopped working the Sunday before Mardi Gras. Good times....
My next apartment was in Old Metairie. I actually lived in two different apartments in the same old building surrounded by a gorgeous jungle like garden- my landlord used the rental property to satisfy his landscaping urges. The building's most notable problem was that the piping was old, and would occasionally clog up. This meant that I would be without hot water for days at a time until the clog worked itself out. (I took a lot of very quick cold showers in the summer, and in the winter, heated a big pot of water on the stove to take into the shower with me- it reminded me of Miss Honey's cottage in Matilda.) The apartment I lived in the longest was a little studio with a separate kitchen. I took all the doors off inside the apartment and hung up curtains to make more room, and I loved it, even though it was tiny, drafty, and old.
My third apartment was on Prytania St. It looked the nicest of all the places I've lived- it was inside a gorgeous house with a lovely porch, in a great neighborhood, and filled with windows- but of course, the water pressure and drainage were terrible, and all hell broke loose once my landlord decided to replace the roof. The old roof gave me no problems but over the course of 6 months after the replacement, the ceiling first fell in on my guest bedroom (ruining a lot of my furniture), and then after they repaired that- it fell in on my kitchen! (And then, after me not being able to use half my apartment for half the time I was there- my evil landlord kept my entire deposit. If you're looking for a place to rent in NOLA, email me and I'll tell you who to avoid!)
My current apartment really hasn't given me that much trouble (again, knock on wood). The heater and AC have both gone out in the past- which was unpleasant; and we've had termites. But that was a couple summers ago. (This is my 3rd summer in my current apartment, which seems really weird to me- time flies!) This year the hot water pipes messed up in my bathroom only (we have 2) so I had to take showers in the other bathroom (which has low water pressure) for a few days until it was fixed. My number one problem with my apartment is that the front stairs hold water, and eventually grow a slippery coating of algae that I have to scrub off with bleach. I usually fall down the stairs once a year when I haven't realized that the algae has grown back. The funniest quirk of my current apartment is that my doorbell doesn't ring when you press the button, but it does ring when someone rings the doorbell of the house across the street. Oddly enough, the doorbell rang at least 12 times this morning. No one was at my door and I can't really see through the tree in front of my house to see if anyone was across the street. I kind of suspect that it's gone completely nuts and I'm going to have to take it apart tonight!
Again, I wouldn't consider any of the places I've rented unlivable and I've become pretty good at chalking up the various problems in my apartments to the "New Orleans Charm." I think that's what you get when you choose to rent an apartment that's been carved into a really old house. The plus side is that you usually end up with hardwood floors, lots of windows, and some funny stories.
What's the craziest living situation you've been faced with?

The Morning After

Our Christmas party last night was lots of fun! Of course, I'm totally ignoring the fact that every glass in the house needs to be washed in favor of blogging.
I was very pleased with the food I made this year. I did a couple of things differently than I had planned- namely, I made hazelnut bark instead of chocolate chip cookies, and the stuffed peppadews (which I accidentally called pequillo's in the last post) didn't use up all of the goat cheese and chive filling, so I used the rest of the filling as a dip. I got a lot of good feedback about all of the food- I'd say that the Rotel dip was the biggest hit, I could have doubled the recipe and probably wouldn't have any left-overs. Everyone loved the bacon wrapped water chestnuts too. The fruit pizza and baked brie were also popular items. I was grateful for the pickled veggies, especially as the evening wore on- it was nice to reach for a piece of pickled okra instead of something unhealthy when I got snacky later in the evening.
My friend Stephanie brought some cookies she calls shorts (I think they are something like this recipe), and my friend Julianne brought fresh satsuma slices that she'd dipped halfway into dark chocolate. They were both excellent!
Our drink menu was great this year too. We had poinsetta cocktails, gluehwein (cook over low heat 2 bottles of red wine, 2 cups of sugar, the juice of one orange, the orange itself, 3 cinnamon sticks and 10 cloves for about an hour- being careful not to boil the wine), brandy milk punch, peppermint patty shots, and brandied port (brandy, port, and a twist of lemon).
I am sitting on the couch blogging while wearing the snuggie that my brother gave me for Christmas. I've certainly mocked snuggies in the past,but there is something to be said for being able to drink my coffee without having to adjust my blanket. Also, Homer is obsessed with the snuggie. He slept in my lap for 2 entire hours the other night because I was wearing the snuggie and watching a movie.
In other news, the shower in my bathroom has decided to stop working. I usually have amazing water pressure (and copious amounts of hot water), but the water just stopped coming out of the shower head in the middle of my shower yesterday. This has happened to me before at a previous apartment (although that apartment had only a shower head and no faucet, so I occasionally had to bathe using a pot full of hot water, which reminded me of Miss Honey in Matilda...this time I just crouched under the faucet and cursed loudly while trying to rinse my hair) and I think that the problem is that there are solids clogging up the line (a few rusty chunks came out of the faucet yesterday and today, which supports my supposition). Of course, I'm hoping that it will clear itself up in a couple of days (my old place often did) because if we call the landlords now, they probably won't be able to send someone over until we are out of town. Given that there are two cats in my house who have to be kept apart (we're not ready for Pancake to meet Homer until he no longer limps), we'd rather not have strangers in the house opening doors while we're gone. So worst comes to worst I'll have to use my darling fiance's shower for a couple of days. His water pressure is actually pretty lousy, but it's certainly better than nothing. Just now the pipes in my bathroom were making a horrible noise, so maybe the water will start up again soon.....this is the price of living in a charming old house!
My darling fiance and I opened our Christmas presents to each other on Thursday night so we would have more seating for our Christmas party. (The tree is sitting in our bay window, which serves as a bench when we entertain.) He gave me fuzzy socks, a new running shirt that is both long sleeved and reflective, another pair of Lululemon yoga pants, and a Wii and Wii fit kit! I've been wanting a Wii for years, so I am really excited to finally have one! I'm planning to play with the Wii fit this afternoon (which is a good incentive to get my house cleaning done).
As for now I think I will finish my coffee and read through my google reader before I get up and clean. It's nice to relax. Aside from two days of work this coming week, my holiday stress is pretty much behind me. I do have to pack and I have both a long run and a brunch for my book club at Dante's Kitchen to look forward to tomorrow. I leave for Switzerland on Wednesday!
Happy Holidays!!

Noren

I just have to show off my new bedroom window treatment!
It features Japanese Noren, courtesy of my wonderful friend Lauri, who is currently living in Japan. Thanks also to my dear boyfriend, who was kind enough to do all the hard work installing the curtain rods!