Spring Flowers and Other Joys


A Perfumed Garden

Winter hung around longer than normal this year, but now the garden is making up for the dull days. The port wine magnolia is in flower, as are the stocks, and the lemon blossom is out. Heady days!

lemon blossom, jenny schwartz,
Port wine magnolia – it smells of banana lollies.
stocks, jenny schwartz,
Pink stocks, really pink!
lemon blossom, jenny schwartz,
Lemon blossom, one of my favourite scents

I was sitting in the sun the other day, enjoying the garden, when we had a visitor. This pink and grey galah was quietly talking to himself on our neighbour’s TV antenna.

pink and grey galah, jenny schwartz,
Galah – when I was growing up, “galah” was an old-fashioned Aussie insult for someone who was being foolish. He/she was “being a galah”.

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Barley Salad

With the weather warming up, I’m trying out some new salads. I’ve fallen in love with barley, which I’ve only previously used in soups. I cook it, then rinse the grains in cold water, drain and put in a bowl with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pop it in the fridge and I have the quick and easy base for a salad. I just add as many scoops of the cooked barley as I want to a bowl, and then, whatever I feel like. The barley is really neutral (bland), so it can carry some strong flavours. However, it’s equally as good if you keep things simple. For instance, an avocado, a ripe tomato and shredded ham is yum!

Plus, barley is good for you!

Barley salad
Barley salad
Dream Home

I was watching Grand Designs the other week and saw Flint House. I fell in love. The pictures aren’t quite as good as the TV show’s walk through the house (featured in this episode), but they show you some of the beautiful design. I wouldn’t want to live away from Australia for long, but a year in Flint House would be amazing. Dreaming!

Alchemy Shift released last week

alchemy shift, jenny schwartz, paranormal romance, kindle unlimited,

I hope you’re enjoying my latest paranormal romance, Alchemy Shift. It’s 99c for a short time, so if you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, don’t miss out!


6 responses to “Spring Flowers and Other Joys”

  1. I’ve never tried barley, but I’m not much of a salad fan. I love my vegies though.

    Good to know I’ll still be seeing galahs on the other side – and they are still ‘silly bloody galahs’ with their tendency to fly at cars because they’re not watching where they’re going and eating fermented fruit and acting drunk on the side of the road – at least, they look drunk.

    I’ve only seen a cream or white magnolia. I didn’t realise there were other colours. How pretty. I love the smell of lemon blossom too. Exquisite. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I watch Grand Designs as well. I will have to look out for Flint House. Do you know which season and episode it was? Certainly some beautiful houses in some very beautiful areas. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I hope you make t here one day too, Mary. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Grand Designs – I think it might still be available on iView ABC but I’m not sure. It was the House of the Year series. Kevin McCloud is such a sweetie.

      LOL no matter where we go in Australia, crazy birds find us!

  2. I am trying your barley recipe! I bought some last week, but I’ve never used it.

    I’ve had barley soup, but it wasn’t homemade, so I have no idea what real barley tastes like.

    • Maria, I hope you enjoy your barley salad before the weather cools down. Then it’s soup! I love barley in a soup – it’s supposed to be one of those foods with warming properties. It’s certainly tummy-filling ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. As an avid bird watcher, I would love to have a visit from a galah. You’re so lucky. One more reason for me to visit the gorgeous Australian continent. Enjoy your spring flowers. Absolutely love the port wine magnolias. I believe we refer to them as banana magnolias. Mom has a couple of these fragrant wonders in her yard. When I was younger, I would pick a handful of blooms and put them in a small dish beside my bed. The fragrance was heavenly.

    Congrats on another paranormal romance release! I’ve been babysitting my baby granddaughter for the past two months and have not been able to find time to read. Babies & books DO NOT mix well. Unless you’re reading to baby. Not sure how I managed four little ones of my own way back when but I’m assuming I didn’t get lots of reading done.

    • Baby granddaughter beats books any day! and you can raise another reader ๐Ÿ™‚

      It’s amazing how many of the same plants are grown around the world. I guess people emigrate and want familiar flowers and scents.

      And thank you for the congrats on the new book, Mary. I hope you get to see a galah in the wild one day.

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