Beautiful Savannah

We love Savannah! What an incredible city. Our hotel was walking distance to all the parks, cemetery and River Street. Friday we walked all over the place. Sadly we were a bit early for the Azalea show. A few were in bloom but the bulk are probably going wild this weekend. Everything else was blooming luckily.


These first three shots are of the cemetery.





A beautiful fountain and yellow tulips.



The historic district had many iron fences. The homes often had very ornate iron on the windows as well. I'm going to keep my eyes open for some at antique shops and salvage stores but I think the iron will be expensive.




A private garden. I wish we would have gone on one of the horse drawn tours. It would have been the perfect way to see most of the historic area. We managed to cover lots of ground on foot anyway. Wear very good shoes when you go!



One of the many beautiful Churches.


This was my favorite fountain.


I thought this building looked amazing at night. A bit spooky.



Down on River Street. We loved this area. Delicious restaurants and plenty of places to get a cold drink or some salt water taffy made right there.




Historic homes and details of Savannah.









Being only five hours away from Savannah, we will be going back!

Savannah, Here We Come!

Andrew and I are leaving tomorrow for our weekend vacation to Savannah, GA. Neither of us have ever been so we're very excited. I'm looking forward to touring the Historic District the most. I think that is how we will spend most of Friday.

My favorite movie, Forrest Gump, was partially filmed on a park bench there. I'm thinking it would be hilarious if I sat on the bench with a box of chocolates and have Andrew take my picture. Actually, I am certain that I will do that! I'm sure I won't be the first, but I don't care. I could watch Forrest Gump every week and I would cry every time. It truly is my favorite film.

I hope we catch the spring blooming season. Are any of you from Savannah? Any tips? We have the Frommer's Guide to Savannah which is fantastic. It will be an excellent guide to the area and help us maximize our visit.

We are looking forward to beautiful history, wonderful people and delicious food. I'll be back with lots of pictures.

Magnolia Blossoms Close-up

I stopped on my walk yesterday, to take dozens of pictures of this Magnolia. I think they will make a great photo collage on the wall.

The fragrance is light and sweet. I could smell the perfume from about 50 yards away.

Someday I will have many Magnolias in my garden!

Magnolia!

Magnolias are starting to bloom all around town. It was a bit breezy today so the petals were really dancing. It made for tough picture taking but a managed a few good ones.





I just love the blooms of the maple. So cute!



This is a young Edgeworthia or Oriental Paper Bush. I don't think they grow in colder climates than zone 7. They get to be a large shrub and are covered with these blooms. You should be able to find some good shots on google of mature specimens.



This Daphne's fragrance is unbelievable!

Spring Blooms at Janelle's

Janelle's garden is coming alive now. The Daffodils will be in full swing in a week or so.

Moss at the ponds edge.


The crocus somehow managed to avoid being eaten by rabbits this time.




The fragrance of this Edgeworthia is amazing.


One can never have enough daff's.




Striped squill, I think. Janelle may have told me it was something else but I can't recall.


Snowdrops


Some of the hundreds of Hellebore's in her garden.



Here is a view of the yard as of 3/11/10. I will post a shot from this point next week to see the progress.

Buy a House?

We have been renting the same house for nearly three years now. For awhile we were doing some house shopping and made a few offers, only to be outbid each time. Probably for the best anyhow. We eventually stopped looking for homes to buy, not wanting to get stuck.

Recently, a house about five doors down came onto the market after sitting empty for over a year. It was abandoned and went into foreclosure. The house has an identical floor plan to the one we are renting now, which we like, with the added bonus of a large garage and storage shed. It appears to be in great condition aside from needing some new windows, kitchen updating, fixtures, a bit of drywalling and paint.

It looks to be a great deal for an asking price of $84,900, down from 94,900 when first listed a month ago. It seems like one of those properties that could be completely updated and then sold for a bit of a profit a few years down the road.

Negotiating a selling price of, lets say, 79,900 and then the 8,000 home buying credit, it would be a pretty great deal. Of course, this would all be pending a good inspection.

We are going to look at it today. I will keep you posted!

Oh, and the yard has some serious potential and that is the most important part!

Crocus

I'm Starting Another Blog About Cheese

Hello everyone,

Since I am learning to make cheese I figured a new blog about it would be best. Please join in if you are interested in cheese making.

Tonight I am going to try and make Mozzarella! I will post about it tomorrow.

Me, Making Cheese.

Making Cheese

On Sunday I watched a cheese making demonstration on making Mozzarella. Today, I am going to try and make my own. It was pretty easy so I think it will be a success. I bought the rennet, citric acid and cheese cloth after the demonstration. I need to pick up some calcium chloride too. It helps the milk turn to curd better. It's not mandatory but it makes the over processed mild work. I should have picked up mesophilic culture too since so many cheese recipes require it.

I will take pictures and let you know how it goes.

Last week I made a very simple soft goat cheese similar to Brousse. It was very tasty!

I may start volunteering at a small goat farm a few miles down the road too. They have many Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf goats. They make goat's milk soap at the farm and also raises rabbits, Guinea pigs, Llamas, zebu cattle, beef cattle and sheep.

Should be a great learning experience for me.