it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

bit of sunshine

a little bit of sunshine goes a long way.
oranges and sunshine are synonymous for this florida born girl.

i crave sunshine in the winter.



so here at dash home farm we make our own...with a little help from
this wonderful fruit, the orange or as is often referred to around here
my sis, many of you know as meems@ hoe and shovel just
did a post on our father's garden and his citrus.


while i make dinner... abbey and dh cut, place, squeeze...
cut, place, squeeze...
i can almost hear the rhythm...

we are a little giddy with the wafting smell of orange peel being crushed.



then when we do get to partake of this orange goodness...all
at once you feel lighter, healthier, full of sunshine...in the middle of a
grey dark winter's day.


how refreshing...renewing...a bit of revival.

28 comments:

tina said...

It is great to have fresh fruit-and I like fresh orange juice best! My grandfather was a snowbird and used to send us crates of oranges. I did just as your daughter is-gotta squeeze them. Yum!

Unknown said...

Just wonderful, can you believe I don't like oranges or orange juice? I know I catch heck all the time. I did make a fresh lemon pie the other day from our neighbors lemon tree......does that count?

Cheryl said...

Hi Marmee.....one glass would be lovely thank you.
You are so right, there is nothing like freshly sqeezed orange....Mr P's favourite.
I always try to buy local produce but my exception is Florida grapefuits

Roses and Lilacs said...

One of my favorite juices. Hand squeezed with lots of pulp;) Ummm.
Marnie

Rissalee said...

"a bit of revival" I like that. And your juice looks good enough to drink! Wish I could!

Q said...

Dear Marmee,
This looks so tasty. I almost always have oranges and grapefruit in the house in the winter. My husband takes an orange every day in his lunch.
I also dry the peels and add them to my tea. I love the taste.
Thank you for the link to your sis's journal. I shall pop over.
Your tulips look so pretty on your header. My pink forced ones are starting to bloom.
Stay warm...we are having an artic blast....brr...
Sherry

Wendy said...

Ummmm - fresh orange juice! My mouth is watering now. I popped over to your sister's blog yesterday. Lucky to be living in Florida.
I love your pink tulips. They look so fresh and alive!

marmee said...

tina,
what a wonderful memory of squeezing oranges from your grandfather.
my grandparents had orange trees in their yard and it was always a treat to pull them off and open up the top and drink the juice right out of one. yum is right.

marmee said...

darla i think any freshness counts although a few more calories with the pie, i am quite sure. i am not a fan of store bought orange juice i rarely drink it but if i make my own i drink lots. i love tangerines the best.

marmee said...

cheryl,
there is always a glass waiting for you.
being from the sunshine state i need my share of rays and oranges.
we are grapefruit fans as well, i love red river.
oh yes and when i can get them blood oranges. delicious!

marmee said...

marnie,
what's not to love, it is golden deliciousness. darla needs to be converted, we will have to work on her, lol!

marmee said...

rissa,
you are welcome anytime to come up and have a glass with us.
living with so many cold months i have to have "a bit of revival" in the dead of winter.

marmee said...

sherry,
i hear we are next on the list for an artic blast. i am having a women's group come to my house tomorrow night for potluck and a movie, mansfeild park. i hope it won't be icy. since our roads are so dark and remote it can be treacherous. we are all citrus lovers in this house and can go thru our share of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons, and limes.
do you have a special process for drying the orange peels, it's a great idea. my dh has been drinking a ton of tea on his holistic eating.
i love the tulips i received and they look more inviting than those frozen snowflakes i had on there.
i know you will enjoy my sis's blogs, she is a talented gardener and photographer. somewhat of a perfectionist, in the nicest way of course.

marmee said...

wendy,
i am glad you liked seeing the tulips they are a welcomed respite in the middle of winter.
we had drank half the pitcher before dinner, it was so yummy.
meems blog is so inviting during our blah winter months. we were actually posting our oranges on the same day but i was having a hard time locating my pictures. i have way too many on computer.

Gail said...

Marmee,

I crave oranges in the winter.....fresh oj is wonderful. Your daughter is adorable and very cooperative to pose for blog photos!

Gail

marmee said...

gail,
she really didn't even notice because she was intently doing her juicing task. she is a great little helper in the kitchen if it is something that interests her. she is an egg white fanatic and has now learned to make her own.
on these grey days of winter oj and citrus of any kind seem to lighten the day.

Meems said...

Hey Marmee, So glad you found your "oranges photos". I took some last year in Lake Wales of orange groves I should have included in my citrus post. hmmm... oh well. Thanks for the link and sending some of your readers over to my Florida blog. I'm having lots of fun with that one.

I need one of those nifty machines. The old fashioned juicer I put on my blog is really what I use... one squeeze at a time.

Funny I could almost smell that wonderful scent of cut citrus peel from your pretty stack of oranges being juiced. Do you get FL citrus up there?

cindygert said...

Hi Marmee,

I am so glad that you found my blog so I could find yours. I think your blog is beautiful and uplifting so, guess what? I was just given the Lemonade Award and in turn I am giving it to you. Thanks for taking the time to share your life and wonderful projects with us out here in blog land!!!!

With this post it could be the Orangeade Award.......smile.

Cindy

Susie said...

Girl that fresh squeezed orange juice is the best. It does add a little bit of sunshine to your day.

Checked your other posts too, the tulips are very pretty. What a nice surprise!

inadvertent farmer said...

Oh my goodness I can almost taste it. I love freshly squeezed orange juice! Hmmmm I may have to go buy some oranges and squeeze myself a little cup! Thanks, great blog, Kim

marmee said...

meems,
i thought it was a good idea for people to be able to see wonderful homegrown citrus.
i really like our juicing squeezer. i bought it for dave years ago and we haven't stopped using it since. it is easy to use and easy to clean.
there is something about citrus peel that is intoxicating. i love it.
we send off for our citrus from gracewood groves, but they got bought out by somebody.

marmee said...

cindygert,
thank you for your very kind words. i like the idea of orangeade.

Jan said...

Marmie, I was so surprised when I got here today...I thought I was on someone else's blog! I didn't know you had put up a new background...until now...it is beautiful;) Love it. SO springlike it made me stay here for a very long time today...I went back & read many of your previous posts & realized you'd been blogging for quite some time now, and boy, was I treated to some fabulous photos. You have done what I set out to do...photos of nature.I wasn't planning to include anything personal at all, and didn't want to show faces of my family; but I've eased up on that a little at this point. I'm trying to make it a place of photos and verse--mainly--BUT now that I have met so many bloggers it's getting hard not to start talking more personally. Well, anyway...I know my kids love fresh squeezed orange juice, I just don't take the time to make it. We should. Maybe we will, now that I've thought about it. Have a lovely day:) Jan
PS Do you mind if I follow your blog and also put you in my sidebar? If so let me know. Otherwise it's there! I just CANNOT keep up with so many bloggers that I really want to follow unless I am reminded of them by seeing them on my followers list or in my sidebar.

gigi said...

i love any post that includes my darling granddaughter in pics! i miss seeing her in person so much, this is the next best thing. i hope your family enjoyed the citrus box of tangerines we sent for Christmas. since your other ordering place has gone out of business, consider looking into gregorysgroves.com - they have wonderful specials going on right now.
i look forward to your posts as they are so refreshing - like a ray of sunshine every time!

marmee said...

susie,
so glad you enjoyed the tulips, i can't stop staring at them. they are bringing me so much joy.
the orange juice is hard to keep up with with three very thirsty sons and not to mention me, dh and abbey. but i do so enjoy it.

marmee said...

i farmer,
i love your blog picture and the angle. thanks for coming by "things i love". come back anytime. fresh orange juice is the best. yummy!

marmee said...

jan,
thank you for your sweetness in words. i love taking photos and i found blogging because of my sis(hoeandshovel) and niece(mile283). they are both avid bloggers. i really started to stay in touch with them and my mom and a daughter that doesn't live here with a granddaughter. i know lots of people have concerns about posting personal stuff and pictures but that is my life, children, gardening, nature all around me on our farm, winding country roads.
i just have to be personal and share it. it is such a great way to keep my mom up on the kids as her visits are few. she hates to fly.
you should make your own orange juice at least sometimes, it can be addictive.
thanks for adding me to your blogroll. i am perfectly fine with it. i can't seem to remember either so i have certain ones on my sidebar but i have more in my dashboard that i don't follow publicly, i visit them more occasionally.

marmee said...

gigi,
yes mom we are loving those tangerines we are almost finished with them. abbey loves them and since we all know she can be picky i am so happy she loves fruit.
i will check out your suggestion for citrus. thank you.
i am so glad you love seeing your great grandbaby girl. she loves posing and knowing you are keeping up with her. i do this a lot for that reason. it does make me feel more in touch with all of you loved ones in the sunshine state.
hugs and kisses!