End Of August & Garden Report

The peppers are turning red.  In the house.  I gave up on the sun doing the work and have started cutting green bell peppers that show a bit of color change.  It takes a few days of rotation on the kitchen island, but eventually I have red peppers.  Which I will clean and slice and freeze. I have a few yellow pepper plants and will try and see if I can get them to change color in the house as well.

Which brings me to the news that the fridge is still working 4.5 days after the new fan was installed. I am slowly moving things into the kitchen fridge from the sunporch fridge.  But now I have to face the fact that the 10 quarts of frozen blueberries won't fit in the kitchen freezer section.  And the four quarts of frozen raspberries, and the one quart of frozen jalapeños.  And I have two quarts of the smallish blackberries.  The easiest solution is jam.  But I prefer thawed fruit in my daily yogurt.  Not jam. Not to mention the many containers of frozen ratatouille. And I haven't begun to slice and freeze all the bell peppers.

Today I am using the leeks and carrots in the sunroom fridge to make an Italian Carrot Soup with canned white beans and cream (which I will eat and not freeze).  Well, perhaps not the cream as it went bad in the fridge.  The use by date.  I got used to having a pint on hand during low carb days.  Not so much these days.

I also have two very nice, heavy cabbages to use.  I picked up and older copy of Vegetarian magazine where I discovered a recipe for vegetable stir fry.  I think I may also start doing a stir fry for my dinner.  Onions, peppers, cabbage, carrots with some sort of sauce.  The sauce is the key thing here.  Anyone have a favorite stir fry sauce they might care to share?

I am also doing laundry today.  Two and most likely three loads.  G and I certainly do fill the dirty clothes basket.  He is working one day a week for Habitat building storage sheds.  G also made lots of holes in his work pants.  I think he gets caught on things and just pulls his way off.  Making a nice hole in the pocket or next to a pocket.  Tough areas for mending.

I have two new books from the library.  Romances.  Summer Porch Reading Material.

Well, I am going to start on my carrot soup.  I also want to take a long walk.  Drink lots of water.  See if I can get closer to my goal for the end of week 7.   I am way off but haven't done anything bad according to the food diary so I am confused (and feeling defeated).  I also have more PT exercises to do. Work tomorrow but only a half day.  Tuesday I have another visit with my foot doctor.  I don't see a lot of progress in my toes but it took a long time for them to get this bad.

Happy Labor Day on Monday.

Trying To Find Balance In Weight Loss

The ups and downs of diet this time around--well, I seem to have lost my patience.  But then, I contemplated the past SEVEN YEARS and I did find a pattern.  One that has been there for the entire time, one I noticed, but a pattern I disregarded.

My weight dips to a number that thrills my soul.  Then it goes back up the next day.  I dissolve in doubt and self recrimination.  This is where I fall off the wagon, usually.  This time, due to age and exhaustion, I just sigh "oh, bother!" and keep going.  In a few days, the number reappears and stays put until another unexpected drop in numbers occurs and disappears.  I think it is mostly that I need to be drinking more water.

On more exciting news.  The fan part was installed in the fridge.  Started right up and was still working when I woke up this morning.  We are still feeling insecure.  I have 5 ears of corn, some cut up watermelon and my coffee creamer in there.  I told G we would be transfer things to the "now working" fridge as we used them.  Not a mass exodus from the sunroom loaner.  I still don't have trust that the fridge will keep working.

I ventured into the backyard of my daughter's house, at dusk, to pick blackberries.  Did I tell you this already?  Not the big berries I harvested from my own thicket last summer.  These are the small ones. I may go back tomorrow after work.  I got about a quart of them.  Only two mosquito bites.  I may just have to dress in heavy canvas work pants, long sleeved jacket and boots and try to fight my way into the overgrown mess in my yard to collect the small wild berries.  IF that is all there will be--then that's what I will have to make do with this year.  I had wanted a blackberry pie. Before the diet.
But pie can be a part of a diet if eaten instead of lunch and dinner.

PT continues to go well.  My therapist and I get along like friends who have known each other for years and years.  Isn't it odd how that happens.  Will the friendship continue of end when my therapy ends?  I guess I know the answer to that.

I am working the afternoon shift today.  It's a long afternoon and very boring.  I have an orchid and a pot arriving from our mother ship store.  I have to pot it up for a 60th birthday gift.  I could also take my own orchids in and repot them.  It feels like I should be on vacation.  Sleeping late, reading books, sewing something.  August stuff.

Next month is my birthday.  68.   "oh, bother!"

August Ending & Jar of Pickles

The end of the garden season seems to be fast approaching.  Today I made up a half gallon jar of refrigerator pickles, using the worn scrap of paper on which I scribbled my mother's instructions. Family meals, when I was growing up in Cleveland, consisted of a main dish (usually meat), potatoes in some form, a vegetable (usually canned), a plate of sliced bread (not always from the bakery) and another plate with an offering from the garden. Refrigerator pickles were a favored item.  The pickled beets not as popular (though I loved them) with my brothers.  The portions weren't large but we were all healthy.

The scrap of paper and the smell of the vinegar, sugar salt brine always brings back memories of those years.   My mother gardened with a vengeance.  All insects and diseases were dispatched with products displaying a skull and warning.  When these products were banned my mother stockpiled rusting cans in the garage.  DTD.  Stuff like that.

She also got my father to "pick up" buckets of horse manure from the police horse barns.  Cleveland still had mounted police at that time.  Imagine driving home with open buckets of horse manure in the car.  Ugh!!!  She composted it behind the garage mostly for her roses.

In the summer we were served plates of sliced tomatoes warm from the garden, bowls of steamed green beans, pickled cucumbers and the pickled beets with our pork chop or stewed chicken.  My grandmother (on my father's side) provided us with plum kuchen, apple strudel and an endless array of cabbage based dishes.  Which I LOVED.  She also made the best dumplings.   When the summer garden was closing down my grandmother ground everything in the garden into a pickled chow chow which we didn't like.  Then.  Now I would love it. She also pickled hot banana peppers to eat with rye bread and baked ham.

When I went to stay with my dad while he recovered from pneumonia, I discovered jars and jars of pickled banana peppers in his basement.  Ageless with rusted lids.  Who knows when they were canned.  He ate them.  I did not.  Were they canned by my long dead grandmother?  

These are the thoughts and memories brought to life by a saucepan of pickling brine coming to the boil in the August kitchen.  My pickles (I grew the cucumbers, garlic and dill) won't be ready to eat until tomorrow, but I like looking at the jar on the stove top, cooling.  A connection to two other generations that gardened and served garden grown produce to the ones they loved.

G and I will be having sliced tomatoes tonight--finally my countertop is covered in red tomatoes.  Life is good!

August Perennials

Now is the time of year when the more "shrubby" perennials shine.  The Russian Sages.  The Salvia. The Veronicas.  In this picture we even have a rebloom on the Dianthus, the short stuff at the front of the bed.

I planted my Russian sage two years ago and it has not produced any of the tall blue flower spikes.  It is actually just as big as it was when it went in the ground.  Meaning it isn't planted where it needs to be.  That's the lesson for today.  Now, in that same bed, a tall spiky plant is blooming again even though I have tried to get rid of it over a period of several years.  That plant is where it wants to be and will not be moved.  I don't like it because it is very invasive and will populate the entire bed if I stop digging it up.  I think it's wild blue lobelia.  A very descriptive name.

Today was drop off day for the Arts Are Elementary 10 by 10 art works.  You never got to see the second one.  It got finished very late yesterday and both got names about 5 minutes before I got into the car to drive to the drop off.  I don't like giving things names as I find it limits the viewer to see things "my way" rather than interpret for themselves.  So they both were Garden Bouquet. #1 and #2.  When I was in college studying art--everything was an "artist proof".

The garden is limping along.  We are not having August weather.  The days are in the low 70's and the nights in the 50's.  And it's often overcast or cloudy.  And it rains making the plants all mildewy. That's what has happened to the zucchini.  It is suffering from mildew.  Now that I have a recipe I like (the fritters) the plants have stopped making zucchini.

The cucumbers are still producing as are the green peppers.  I also have cherry and regular tomatoes getting ripe.  My cabbages are looking very plump.  I have kale and chard.  Carrots are coming into the house and going straight into my salads or the fritters.  My pole beans (started late) are just starting to climb the trellis.  I planted them late so I wouldn't have to deal with them at the same time as the tomatoes.  I like my green beans roasted in a hot oven with olive oil and salt.  Fine September food.  I am waiting for the tomatoes on the counter to get nice and soft and then I will be making tomato jam.

I am one pound away from my 5 week goal on weight loss.  I would be happiest if I could exceed  my goal but I will be content just to reach it--such has been the struggle.  Going from the high fat/high calorie routine of low carb to the low calorie diet high in watery vegetables and salads has been difficult.  My zucchini fritters have been a nice refuge.  And the ratatouille is almost a daily choice. With 4 ounces (dry weight) of pasta which I would never been able to eat on no carb.  Physical therapy is making a difference.  My hip and knee feel much better.  The knee especially.  I'm not sure the tape on the toes is doing what it should be doing but have to wait 2 more weeks to see the foot doctor.  The ¼ inch pad stuck on the outside edge if my foot is certainly working.  Taking the pressure off my knee.

I am busy today, as I am every Saturday, in trying to process all the produce from the garden into meal or package it into freezer bags.  I am wondering if I have enough time and carrots to make the Italian carrot soup I love?  Or do I want to make a stir fry using the one cabbage I have already harvested?  Stir fries are always so beautiful. And I do enjoy all the chopping, slicing etc. Onion, carrot, cabbage and peppers with some garlic and ginger.  Perhaps a jalapeño.  Over brown rice. Sounds promising.

Hours are being cut at work.  People are being laid off.  College kids are going back to school and others are searching for and finding new jobs.  Parting is such sweet sorrow.  I think it's hardest to be the one left behind.

This Blog & Garden Report & Recipes

This blog has actually been (and still is) an open journal of what I do (or don't do) over a period of days.  I tried to blog each day but my life doesn't lend itself to interesting daily posts (laughing). Not that what I do produce is all that interesting, but it's me, and since I can't talk about other people, I am limited to me.

I have had a reader email to report that her comments are returned to her.  I had wondered why I don't get any comments.  This could be why. Up to now I thought I was just talking to empty air and everyone had stopped reading.  I am going to see what I can do about my comment section.  Not that I know much about how this blog actually works and you can always email me directly.

Today is clean out the fridge day.  This loaner fridge is just like my old fridge (which I disliked) because once stuff is stuffed inside--it is very hard to find unless you get down on your knees and dig around.  Things get pushed to the back and linger there until they get "soupy". UGH!!!

I have gotten a few bags of veg out of the fridge and now need to go digging to see if there is more. I have zucchini shredded to make fritters (recipe at end of post) which turned out to be quite tasty warm and even more to my liking straight from the fridge.  My guests ate them with a yogurt lemon garlic sauce and liked that very much.  I also pulled out all the cucumbers I could find but I think there is a second bag in there with larger cucumbers (that recipe also at the end).  I also found another eggplant so I plan to throw together another pot of ratatouille and freeze it.  I did harvest one long thin lavender eggplant from the garden.  Looks gorgeous.  I finally have tomatoes.  Not as many as usual in August but enough to enjoy on a daily basis.

My diet continues to work with bumps in the road caused by "eating out" so I have made an announcement to G that I will no longer be eating out--a large salad does not interest me in a restaurant. Never as fresh as it should be. It just isn't in my best interest right now, at the beginning, to eat out.  I think it's the salt content of the food.  Not that I don't heavily salt my food, I do, but they must really oversalt in restaurants.

In the spirit of positive thinking, I went upstairs and got a few things out of the size 16 box.  Summer pants only.  A few of them fit and others were still snug.  Gives me incentive.  It's also nice to have something different to wear.  The clothing is mostly from the "retail employer" and I can see why most were only 20 cents.  Same size, same style and completely different fit.  Too big, too small, too long, too short.  Across the board.  So, this week I will be wearing sizes 18 and sizes 16 and both will fit exactly the same.  Which is the right one?  Who knows.

I am completely out of hangers for the closet.  And in related news, I am wearing the same three or four clothing items over and over.  Which means I don't actually need the other things.

Physical Therapy is going well.  I need to find a small ball shaped object for one of the exercises.  PT used a balloon.  Now I wish Riley liked to chase balls.

Here's the Fritter Recipe

Shred one pound (less or more) of zucchini (don't peel), lightly salt and let drain in a colander for an hour (or so) Grate one onion (tastes best with a good amount of onion), ½ cup fresh dill (I used dry), 4 T fresh chopped parsley, ½ cup grated cheese (feta is suggested- I used dry cheddar and some grated Parm), 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, salt and pepper.  I think you could add any herb combo you wanted or like using to this recipe.  Since the recipe is Turkish I think mint would be nice.

I skipped the added salt and just seasoned with pepper.  Squeeze out any water from the zucchini and mix everything together.  I added a shredded carrot to my mixture and you could add chives or green onion also.  Scoop out enough to make a 4 inch round patty (I just scooped the mix right into the pan and then flattened it out into a patty shape).  Easy as the mixture is thick. Fry in olive oil until dark and crispy.  Serve hot, warm or cold.  The sauce I made was ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, mashed garlic clove and lemon juice to make a nice smooth sauce.  Made around 16 patties.  I served three people and had 4 leftover for my lunch.  I think you could make these in the Fall with shredded sweet potato or butternut squash, a carrot and even a shredded gold potato.  Longer cooking time to get crisp but I think they would be very good.

Cucumber Recipe

Thinly slice as many peeled cucumbers as you have.  Salt and let drain in colander.  Mix sour cream (as much as needed for amount of cucumbers) I use about ½ to ¾ cup.  I add one or two packets of Splenda and 2 to 4 T of cider vinegar.  I mix the sauce and taste until it is as sweet, tart and yummy as I like it to be.  Then I fold in the drained cucumber slices and a generous 1 or 2T dry dill.  I serve this with grilled Italian sausages and fried potatoes and onions.  It would also be good with the fritters. I often eat this alone as a cold breakfast or lunch.

Ratatouille  Recipe (from Martha Stewart--google it an see pictures of finished dish).

I cut one pound of eggplant, one pound of zucchini/summer squash into cubes about an inch in size.  I chop  two large onions up and sauté it with garlic and cut up two green or colored bell peppers and soften in olive oil in a large oven safe pot.  When the onion and peppers are soft, I add the cubed eggplant and squash.  The recipe wants you to roast a 28 ounce can of tomatoes (on a sheet pan and NOT in the can) in the oven for 50 minutes to dry out and thicken.  Then you add everything and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes--till cooked but not mushy.  Seasoning is salt and pepper and marjoram leaves.   Eat with pasta, as a side to grilled meats, with an egg on top or in a wrap.  I also mix some black beans or chickpeas into a bowl of ratatouille for more protein.  Parmesan cheese on top is pretty nice.

I use double of every vegetable to make a really big pot of this.

Still Waiting For Tomatoes

Another blogger here in Maine (soulemama) is already roasting pans of tomatoes for the freezer.  We, here at my house, north of that location, have had two or three plates of tomato caprese and little more. I don't think I could fill even a small tray with tomatoes to roast.  So I wait.

I am hoping for another 20 or so Sungold cherry tomatoes for a quick pasta sauce today.  That would make me happy enough to skip lunch and just have a big dinner.  Skipping meals is something I don't take lightly.  Makes Joanne a very crabby girl.

Work is still dreadfully slow but my visit (after physical therapy) to TJ Maxx made me realize that no retail store is actually busy right now, even though my "retail employer" of last year has it's busiest month in August (tourists).   I brought in more popsicles and some microwave popcorn to raise the spirits of my co-workers.  And alcohol wipes to clean off the dry eraser boards.

Physical therapy is going to last four weeks.  We are working on my left hip and right knee.  My therapist said it would be "so much" easier if both concerns were on the same side.  But they are not.  I am still taping my toes.  I still get flashes of nerve tingling in the ball of that foot.  Not painful but nerve "tingling" always feels strange.

Refrigerator News.   The Whirlpool guys, *two*, showed up, thawed all the ice around the valve and installed the new three way valve.  The fridge part started right up and they said "fixed" and packed up and left.  G called the next morning to say "not fixed" and the guys said "we didn't think that would work but Whirlpool wouldn't approve us doing anything else".  They also were not approved (by Whirlpool Corp) to return and do any further work.  Period.

 We then switched to the extended warranty service number (run by Sears) and a guy (who actually knew how to run digital diagnostic on the fridge using the door panel display), went thru all the gadgets and connections and guess what?  It was the fan.   I got it right weeks ago.  The sad news--it'll be  almost 2 weeks before the genius guy and the new fan can come back here.  We will then be very close to TWO MONTHS with a broken fridge.  Thank goodness for the Lowes loaner fridge.

I just want to mention how very UNHELPFUL the Whirpool people have been.  In Maine.  In Michigan.  In Tennessee.  Long waits on the phone.  If you are shopping for an appliance, don't buy one of theirs.

Meanwhile a guy from India keeps calling to warn us about some "trouble" with our Windows laptop (we don't have one) which he can "fix" if we just give him our secret code numbers.  I tell him I am calling the police and he hangs up but then calls back the next day.  I think we get these calls because we still have a landline.

The cable company was here to replace a whole bunch of cables, the router connection and a few other things that were corroded.  My computer now runs pretty good and Netflix looks like it did in the past (it lost all it's bells and whistles a few months ago probably due to the bad cabling from the street to the house, under the house, and in the walls.  This is the second time we have had to have major cables replaced.  Like every 10 years.  Hopefully I won't have to sit here swearing at the computer--which makes posting an unpleasant task-- in the next little while.

Turnips & The Garden Report

I collected a bag of turnips in the fridge over a period of a week or two.  Yesterday, the second of my days off this weekend, I decided to wash, tip and tail and quarter the turnips and roast them.  Now I have a low calorie snack or addition to a salad or frittata.  Or even a vegetable soup.  Aren't they pretty?  I love the lavender shoulders.

I also pulled four carrots from the garden just to see how things were going.  A gorgeous purple carrot (orange on the inside) which is just stunning.  I am thinking of using it as a model for a watercolor.  Then I will eat it.  I love carrots in a salad.  So much so, that I even turn a bit "orange".

This morning I am feeling groggy.  And I am sneezing and my skin itches.  Not the best of days so far.   This morning I washed and cut open a colander full of very nice jalapeño peppers.  I wore gloves.  The cleaned halves are now in the freezer.  When frozen solid I will pack them in bags for future salsas and guacamole.  There are many many more in the garden to eat fresh.  And about 50 green bell peppers.

I now have 6 (overfilled) quarts of frozen blueberries and many more not packed up.  Too many.  I was going to order more bare root blueberry bushes for next year--but I don't think that's a good idea.  I have two and a half quarts of raspberries in the freezer as well.  No blackberries yet.  I am wondering if I will get any this year.  My friend Patty has lots of grapes which she will share with me.  And our two year old fig tree is loaded (the branches are hanging low) with big figs.  I need 24 for a recipe for fig preserves which makes 6 jars.  G counted over 30 figs.  We are waiting for them to be golden.  Still green.

I never had enough rhubarb to freeze for winter pies.  I have 6 plants but they are just not robust enough to pull from.  More manure.  More fertilizer.  I like growing fruit and I love rhubarb.

I removed more damaged leaves from the tomato plants.  The Early Girls have very few leaves left but many tomatoes waiting to ripen.  I hope.  The Sun Gold cherries still have leaves (I started them myself from seeds) as do the Siberians and the Cherokee Purples.  The plants I got from work are the ones showing the most disease.  The squash plants are taking a breather so I don't have any to harvest. The cucumbers are also slowing down-- but I am not ready for them to stop just yet.  So, It's fertilizer time.  I am waiting for the tops of the potato plants in the tubs to die back.  I wonder how many potatoes I got this year?

I found a few Fava bean pods.  My twenty plants still have flowers on them and are slow to make pods.  I think I like Fava beans.  At this rate I may never know if that's actually true.

My fennel didn't make bulbs.  Just fronds.  And hopefully fennel seeds which is what I want.  I have to get them before the birds.

A few of my cabbages have nice firm heads.  No bugs.  No worms.  So that is nice.  I have to watch the weather and cut the heads before we have a heavy rain (which cracks the heads open).  The Brussels sprouts haven't started making fat little sprouts yet.  The kale looks very good where I can see it--the cabbages are crowding everything out.  My recently seeded chard is looking very nice.  I plan to use it for a filling for tortelloni like we had in Germany.   Tortelloni Alle Erbette.  Chard and ricotta cheese filled pasta squares in a butter/wine sauce that was so good we licked the plates.  A girl can dream about recreating the dish.

Which reminds me of the creamed vegetable "soup of the day" in Germany.  The carrots and turnips would be nice is something like that.  I need to find my German cookbook.

I am going to make potstickers for G today--for the freezer.  So a double batch.  Instead of driving to Portland to buy them at Trader Joe's.  I will take advantage of the empty freezer on the porch to freeze trays of dumplings and then bag them up.  Chicken I think, unless he wants pork. I am having ratatouille with pasta (4 ounces) for my dinner or a very large salad.

How is your garden growing?

Evening View From the Dolphin Restaurant in Harpswell, Maine

The sun was setting.  We were drinking.  Then eating.  What's not to love about that?  Well, the Red Sox won.  That night.  G and I started with a huge serving of mussels.  I could eat them once a week and be very happy but the best mussels were from Back Street in Brunswick before they went out of business.

Today I went to the grocery to get two eggplant so I could make another huge batch of ratatouille with the zucchini and peppers from the garden for my low calorie dinners.  I had so many squash to use up that I made zucchini brownies (with Splenda for me), a chocolate zucchini loaf for G, and next up is a batch of Turkish zucchini fritters which are full of cheese and fresh herbs.  The herbs are from the garden as well.  I promised myself I would try very hard to use what I grow in the garden this year.

I am quite proud of my bell peppers.  The addition of sulfur to the soil when I transplanted my seedlings to the garden has done wonders.  The walls of the peppers are thick and they taste so good. I have many, many green peppers on the plants but I try and wait for them to turn red before picking them.  I also have some golden yellow bells and jalapeños.

We are harvesting a few red tomatoes each week.  They are Early Girl Bush which I started transplanting in late April and with the addition (another experiment of mine) of iron in the planting soil along with Epsom salts (magnesium) the tomatoes taste wonderful.  Some years they are rather bland.  Not 2014!.  We have had them sliced (these are big tomatoes) with fresh mozzarella and fresh picked basil leaves. Simply dressed with good olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.  I also serve some crusty bread warm from the oven to sop up the juices.  There are plenty of green tomatoes still out there so August and September are looking delicious.

On the cucumber side of the garden, I have very few pickling cucumbers and quite a few of the long burpless ones which is turning out to be okay with me as I usually just slice them and mix with sour cream and dill.  I may skip the pickling ones from now on unless I can find Kirby seeds.

My toes are still taped and feeling much better.  I have not signed up for my physical therapy to strengthen my left leg which is weak but I will call on Monday and set something up.  I threw away several pairs of shoes.  I check to see if my ankles and feet rotate to the outside edges and if they do--I get rid of the shoes.

The diet is going along.  I am having some difficulty finding things to eat (that I want to eat) and that are not low carb/high calorie.  I took to low carb like a duck to water but gained weight (eventually) instead of losing because I believed that "eat all you want" advice.  Do not eat all you want.  You have to still count calories on low carb.  It's 2500 instead of 1200 but it's not a lot of food either way.  I am alternating between 600 to 800 calories every other day and 1200 to 1500 on the other days.  It seems to be working.   Chewing gum helps.  And it also helps that my pants are already feeling looser.  Loose clothing is my biggest motivator.

I am trolling for new books to read.  Any suggestions?  I have Dan Brown's Inferno on my table and I haven't started it yet.  I was also thinking of reading Wolf Hall again as I really enjoyed it. Both are books I purchased at the book sale so I don't have a deadline for getting them read.

We are watching the fourth season of Damages on Netflix and still have House of Cards to look forward to.  G has been watching Orange is the New Black but I have not.  I am still miffed to have missed watching the last 2 episodes of the Americans.  And Netflix only has season one on DVD.  I may have to buy Hulu or Amazon (whomever has it) to watch season one.  Buy, watch and cancel. I wish a family member had a membership and would lend me their pass code number, but no luck.

Wednesday By Wednesday

I like Wednesday.  Yes, It's the "hump" in the week.  Get over it and you roll south into the weekend. But I also like Wednesday because I was born on a Wednesday, so I kind of think it's "my day".

Here is the art work I have been trying to work on.  It never got to this stage before the deadline to enter the publicity contest.  I think I am in the right "ballpark" with the subject matter as the 2014 Common Ground Fair poster art looks sort of like this.  Let's hope someone buys it?

The second piece is still in it's infancy.  I added new things but they haven't had time to adjust yet. So no pictures today.  Perhaps tomorrow.   It's too dark for pictures today.  We are having cooler temps and evening rain.  Which means---no sunshine.

Yesterday was my foot doctor appointment.  New doctor.  My primary doctor (the "You Are Fat" woman) said the foot doctor would make me laugh.  Not so much.  He is definitely "out there"-- like crazy as a loon.  But he taped my toes together (while humming and yipping) and stuck a strip of something to the side of my right foot and--well, I don't understand these things---- but it all feels different.  Better.  Even the knee. And by the end of the appointment I was cautiously thinking of a second visit with this guy.  He certainly is different.

The foot doctor also said I would be needing to replace my shoes more frequently than is common.  Meaning as soon as I started listing to the outside edges--I need to get a new pair of shoes.  He suggested buying in bulk.  Like six pairs at once.  Not that that doesn't appeal to me.  It does. Because that is the way I am "wired" already.  If I like something, I want multiples of the exact same thing.

Is that technically called Hoarding?

The fridge is still not fixed. Whirlpool is not to be trusted. The repair guy and the part were supposed to come on Monday (after G worked on it for hours on the phone with supervisors in Michigan and Tennessee) but the repair truck broke down and needed fixing.  All his equipment was in the broken truck.  I am starting to see the fridge on the porch as being "part of my life" now.  It is helpful with the trays of berries I am freezing.  The raspberries and blueberries.

I skipped work on Sunday which gave me a "three day vacation" from work.  Actually became very difficult to get to work on Tuesday.  Could I be ready to retire?  I cleaned the kitchen, did laundry and made a full meal 3 nights in a row.  I even weeded, planted and mulched a garden bed. All things that had been backsliding while I went to work.  That's the problem.  The things I should be doing at home--just don't get done.  And then, there are the things I would LIKE to be doing.  They don't get done either.

G has gone to walk the dog.  G's truck is being repaired at Toyota in order to get an inspection sticker. We decided to put more money into something that only has junk value rather than buy a newer one. Trust me--it turned out to be less expensive this way.  And the tires are still good.  Then I will go to work and G will wait for the fridge guy.  Again.  I'm working till 6pm today. August is a very slow month in the greenhouse.  Very.  Slow.

I had some downs (good) and ups (bad) in the diet this week.  I made a huge mistake in eating on Sunday and am still trying to lose what I picked up.  Going to bed hungry is the key to this diet.  Hard Lesson.

The News From Here

July is old news and August is arriving.  With clouds and 30% chance of rain.  This summer has been quite odd.  Global Warming?  Who knows.  50's and 60's over night but that's the good news (good sleeping) but the days???? Endless humidity.  Sticky clothing.  Mosquitos.  And more mosquitos.

I tend to be tethered to the potting bench in the greenhouse (110 degrees) or out in the perennial yard in the sun, heat, bees and mosquitos.  My clothing is usually quite damp and I am often covered in a fine layer of dirt.  The work freezer, on good days, has popsicle sticks.  On VERY good days, the mango ones.

My X-rays showed nothing.  My record for having "nothing wrong with me" even though things hurt continues.  I have given up.  Still planning to see the foot doctor (first visit was cancelled by the doctor) eventually.  Perhaps Thursday.

The 1200/1500 calorie diet continues.  If my scale is accurate I have now lost six pounds.  Some days I eat less and some days more.  My thoughts on the process, this time around, is that the days will average themselves out.  My doctor was kind enough to say 1200/1500 the last time I visited her.  If any of you, reading this, have done this sort of diet, you know that eating 1200 a day is very difficult. Salads mostly.  Add any meats and you are way over.

I did find a nice fat free organic plain Greek yogurt at the grocery.  120 calories for a full cup.  And it is thick, smooth and good tasting.  A nice change from the plain full fat Cabot I have been eating (340c) for more than a year.  My no carb lifestyle haunts me.  In order to stay under 1200, I have been skipping lunch on days I start work at 7:30.  I do eat lunch on the days I work until 6 pm.  Usually yogurt and fruit.  But in the "old days" it was always a very big green salad with some sort of protein.

This morning I sliced two gallon sized bags of yellow squash and one very large zucchini.  The yellow will be fried down to a mahogany mess and eaten with white rice and a side of chicken.  The zucchini will be made into a Mark Bittman frittata.  Lots of veg and 2 eggs which I enjoy eating cold.

The garden is producing a great deal of squash right now.  I picked and ate three Early Girl tomatoes yesterday and they were wonderful.  My pole beans are 8 inches tall.  I need to pull my yellow onions out and dry them.  My chard seeds have sprouted and the plants are 3 inches tall.  I have a total of 5 turnips and need to think of a way to eat them.  My cabbages are "heading" up.  The kale looks good.
Lots of big fat green peppers on the plants but I like waiting until they turn red.  Jalapeños are getting fat.  Carrots (yes!!! I have successfully grown carrots this year) are looking great.

We were gifted expired seed packets at work and I selected okra to try to grow next summer.  I also got onion seeds to start over the winter in addition to the usual seeds I plant each year.

The days at work are long, hot and quite boring.  Things will pick up as the fall mums arrive and before we know it--it will be Christmas.  That's just the way it goes.  Seems to take FOREVER for summer to get here and then, whoosh! it's all over.

The (even as small as 6 pounds) weight loss, has allowed me to dip into the storage boxes of smaller sized 20 cent pants.  And, it means the pants I was wearing already are now looser.  So, happy days here in the wardrobe department.  I think a 10 pound loss translates to one size but I could be mistaken.  Anyone out there know?

I promise no more diet talk in the coming three months.  It's boring and no one really cares.  Not even me.

It's Raining And The Squash Are Growing!!

I've already used two large zucchini to make a "pizza" type casserole from my low carb days and Saturday I made a very large pot of ratatouille using up three very large zucchini, 2 eggplant (from store), two bell peppers and an onion.  It is very tasty just by itself or served with rice or pasta.

I'm sure, if I went out to the garden, between raindrops, I would find a few more yellow squash.  As soon as I have enough "poundage" I will be slicing and frying it down with butter and onions. The only thing keeping me in the house is the mosquitos.  Masses of them.  All wanting to bite me.

The cucumbers are starting to grow also.  I have two kinds.  Burpless and pickling.

I am working on my 1200 calorie diet.  Some days it's easy and other days (it's only been a week) I go over, not much, but closer to 1500.  I don't see any movement on the scale but...... I still have to try.   My knee doesn't hurt so much today but my face (around the eyes) is swollen.  Looks like I got punched.  Like last fall.  Only it's not red and itchy like last year.  Red itchy goggles is what it looked like last fall.  It's always something.  I'm getting very tired of it.

I worked on my 10 by 10 art today.  And started the second piece.  I stopped about 25% in, to hang it on the wall and decide what it needs.  That worked with the first piece, which is ready for the hand stitching part.  The "details" so to speak.  While I was threading and rethreading the machine (it doesn't like invisible thread) I noticed the maidenhair ferns have flowers on long arching stems (who knew they flowered?).  And the Carol Mackie Daphne is looking very good.  Not bad for a $5 yard sale shrub.  If I hadn't gone into my work room to sew--I would have missed seeing both of these things.

And the heather is flowering beautifully (in pink and white).  And it's gotten really big.  I may have planted too many of the small ones, too tightly, but I can always dig them up and move them.  But I had no idea they would grow so fast and so thick. It's really amazing. They were in small 3 inch pots in 2012.

I've found a few good perennials for my garden.  Or, more likely, eventually I moved them to places where they actually like growing.  The heather which is new to me, the Pig Squeak (bergenia) which is finally happy, and the maidenhair ferns.  Gardening looks easy but it's not.  You have to pay attention and move things if they aren't doing well.  And then move them again.  When it works you feel like a garden rock star--when it doesn't you feel, well, not so great.

I also discovered the flats of 9 dahlias that we have been selling for as long as I have worked at the greenhouse.  Who knew they got so full and bushy and covered in flowers?  Everyone but me.  Most of my window box customers got a few in each of their boxes.  I needed yellow and we were temporarily out of marigolds.  Next year, I am getting the pink ones.

Bountiful Perennials & My Doctor's Rant

It's the season for flowering perennials.  The ones being delivered to me at work (to put out for sale) are very full, very tall and very interesting to bees.  Yes, we have bees.  Lots of them.

I like this border in front of the white picket fence.  Salvia, Lady's Mantle and climbing pink roses. Repeating a pattern along the length of the fence is very attractive and also very expensive.  Few regular customers are able to afford this, but the landscapers regularly purchase multiples for their clients. Why are we more likely to spend money if someone else is doing the work?

In personal garden news, I have more weeds than flowers.  Ugh.  This is due to a lack of ground covering mulch.  When I was at home (not working much), gardening, everything got mulch.  G doesn't mulch.  We have a huge pile of composting maple leaves--an excellent mulch-- but we aren't using it.  At times like this, I wonder if it would be better if he worked for a living and I stayed home to garden. Both of us at home isn't going to work for me. I like to be here alone some of the time.

The vegetable garden is finally getting ready for super production.  My basket, the last time I collected produce, contained zucchini, one yellow squash, four cucumbers, five tomatoes, 2 cups of blueberries and five raspberries.  I ate the raspberries right away.  Finally!  Produce.

I am planning to go to the supermarket and get an eggplant and make a baked ratatouille.  Not the stewed one.  More of a layered casserole.

My other "news" is that I returned to the doctor who drove me to tears (you are obese) and the 1200 calorie diet in 2007.   I expected the "my God, you have gained 50 pounds!!!" rant.  But I also was given orders to get my knee and hip X-rayed (done) and also to make an appointment with a foot doctor (done).  My doctor thinks all my leg and hip problems may just be caused by my feet.  "Awful" feet, in her opinion.  I won't disagree.   And she has told me to limit myself to 1200 calories and no salt.  I am supposed to have lost 2 to 4 pounds by Tuesday (not).  A week since I last darkened her exam room.  I don't need to express my opinion that she isn't wildly popular as a doctor around here.

I told her I didn't think it would work.  She just looked at me over her glasses.  This time around I am more inclined to eat products that have only 5 or less ingredients.  My Bran Flakes have 5.  The lower the calories on manufactured foods--the larger the ingredient list on the package.  Mostly chemicals. So, that leaves me with mostly fruit, vegetables, eggs and small amounts of meat.  Dairy is a problem as it is high calorie in it's simplest form.  Low fat or non fat isn't actually "food".  Read the side of the container if you don't believe me.  So, I have soy milk for my cereal but finding a soy yogurt here in my Town isn't easy.  I did find a plain nonfat organic yogurt with only 2 ingredients.  I haven't tasted it yet.

Well, I have to get going.  I have 30 minutes of cardio to do (planting some things in the street side plot), the grocery to visit and the garden to pick and weed.

Guess what?  Been a whole week and NOT A PEEP from the appliance repair people.  No part.  No guy to install part.  Nothing.  Not pleased.

And, it's Monday

I have wanted a cozy little kitchen like this one in many segments of my life.  I think a small, tiny space is safer when my life is out of control.  I once had a metal shelf unit with cream and red containers.  I sold it last September in the yard sale on my daughter's street.  At the time I was feeling like I was in control of my life--then it went off the rails and is still causing me panic.

It's Monday.  3:23.  The service tech never showed up to repair the fridge.  I didn't think he would.  G has replaced the first block of ice in the fridge with a second one.  We are getting used to going out on the porch for milk and butter.

I purchased two flats of very tall, overgrown annuals yesterday.  I had to cut the mat of roots off the bottom and then cut each flat into 12 blocks with a very big knife.  Each block contains one very tall ageratum or cream marigold.  The ageratum can possibly grow to 30 inches and the marigolds to 15.  I planted younger (June) marigolds in one of the parking lot containers at work.  I was impressed with how great they look.  Both flats cost me all of $3.84.  Perhaps they will impress me and look great here in my garden as well? I'm sure they are happy to be here in my garden and not in the dumpster at work.

I have harvested 6 nice heavy zucchini from my garden (one was shredded for a chocolate loaf and two went into a zucchini crust for a meat pie), 1.5 pounds of small yellow squash, all my heads of garlic (last year I waited too long and the cloves opened so I pulled early), one onion and the last of the peas. I also pulled up all the pea vines and added fertilizer and planted my pole beans.  Too many.  But I like the beans to look more like a carnival or circus climbing all over the pergola. Four of my tomatoes are changing color.  And they are big tomatoes.  I have not picked the large green peppers as I am waiting for them to turn to red as well.  My row of tomato plants is now nearly as tall as I am. Siberian Reds, Green Zebra, Abe Lincoln, Purple Cherokee, Sun Gold along with the shorter, Early Girls.

One single raspberry has ripened.  But it was very good.  The others are coming right along.  I can see future blackberries on my vines.  It will be weeks yet before I pick them and end up with bleeding ankles and arms.  I intend to make a blackberry pie this year.  I actually could make one now, as I have bags of blackberries in the freezer.  I haven't been able to make a dent in the fruit in the freezer, even eating fruit with yogurt for lunch 3 days a week.  And it's all from my garden.

The blueberry bushes are loaded with fruit.  Not ripe yet.  Still green.   My friend Patty has tons of grapes on her vines.  I am begging her to give them to me so I can make grape jelly again.  It was messy but the jelly was so good.  And we've run out.  I could also try making something out of the blueberries.  Preserves?  There is nothing quite as awful as cooking jelly on a hot August evening and then making a water bath and boiling the jars.  Then doing the dishes.

My fig tree has started to make figs.  I was worried that it wouldn't but a few weeks ago I started seeing little bumps above each leaf.  I think there are 20 or 30 of them.  I am watering and feeding the tree in hopes of them ripening this time.  G likes fig preserves.  Another set of hot jars.

Do you make jelly and preserves?  I tried tomato jam last summer and that stuff was amazing.  If I don't have enough tomatoes this year I will look for farm stand boxes for canning.

And then there's the Brandied Cranberry Sauce my neighbor gave us last Thanksgiving.  OMG. Which reminds me to add a bottle of brandy to the shopping list in November.

Update:  Repair guy showed up at 4pm.  Took all the shelving out of the fridge ( G and I just finished washing and drying it), used my hairdryer to melt the ice clogging a vent and then left.  He needs to order a part (a three way valve switch) and that will come in whenever it comes in.  So, we are making friends with the fridge on the porch which now has everything in it.  It may be days.  It may be weeks.  It could even be months.  The freezer and ice maker are still working.

Dinner out by the Atlantic Ocean.  The Dolphin.  Lobster.  But before that, a nice gin and tonic on Patty's deck, under the grapes.  I will take the camera and stun you with the sights here in Maine by the ocean.  This really is "the way life should be"  except for appliance repair.

Mid-Summer, sigh.

I long for muted, cool places.  Out of the sun, humidity and grit.  I am sticky and gritty most of the days at work.  Cleaning petunias is just about the worst thing to be forced to do.

I collected this photo of a bath with shower for my carpenter.  I want the baths to be about nothing.  The absence of "stuff".

Now--to the meat of this post.  My refrigerator.  A RANT!!!  Naming names.

My fridge is less than 18 months old.  The fridge part has stopped "holding temperature" while the freezer part continues to work.  I got this phrase from G who was in the restaurant business for over 30 years.  He knows about failure to hold temp.  Food gets warm.

We called our service warranty provider.  It will be 5 days or more before they can sent a technician.  They tried calling the two providers that are local.  One no longer has any employees trained to fix anything and the second didn't answer their business phone.  Five days with a fridge that won't hold temperature is a bit too long.  In July.

G then asked to speak to a supervisor. After 40 minutes he got one. In Michigan.  That's when we got an appointment.  In 5 days. Because we live in a "rural" area.  And she also gave us a 6 month "free" extension to our warranty.  Now, from my point of view, that warranty is worth nothing.  More of it?  Less than nothing.

G then called Loews where we bought the fridge and the warranty.  By then we wanted to "return" the fridge and get a new replacement.  They said no but offered us a "loaner" fridge for the 5 days.  It would come the next day between 2 and 5 pm.

We waited.  5pm came and went.  Then, at 8:30, I saw the Lowes truck.  Two guys brought in a very nice utility fridge and strongly suggested we put it on the back porch and not the garage.  From experience, they knew we would be using the "loaner" far longer than 5 days.  Cause they can't get "parts".  They said "keep it" as LONG as you want.  Just call when your  fridge is fixed.

We were also told we are "lucky" to have bought a Whirlpool.  The "unlucky" are the folks who purchased Samsung fridges ( I almost did) because there are NO technicians who can service Samsung in the entire state of Maine.  Which means none of the ones that have failed to hold temperature are even waiting to be fixed.  They are just broken.  Period.

They guys who delivered the loaner had been out since 7 am and still had two loaner fridges on the truck to deliver.

The point of this post:  buy local from the guy in your Town or city who hires and pays a guy to service your purchases.  Whirlpool couldn't care less (from our perspective on a 45 minute wait to get to talk to someone about service and then another 40 minutes to wait to speak to a supervisor).  Lowes was at least nice enough to give us a way to have cold food while we waited.

It was very nice to have cold milk with my bran flakes this morning instead of room temp milk.

In Garden News.  I have four lovely, shiny, heavy zucchini in the loaner fridge and I am making chocolate zucchini bread tomorrow (day off) and a pan of zucchini brownies.  I didn't get any zukes last summer and I am very happy with my harvest so far.  I might have enough to make a few jars of zucchini bread and butter pickles.   The cucumber plants are climbing the trellis.  Yeah!!!  And my yellow onions are about 3 inches in diameter.  I also have two little turnips.  I had three but I ate one. Raw with salt.

Snakeroot

I found this picture of Fennel and Snakeroot on one of the blogs I get in my "mail".  I believe the snakeroot is South African and therefore not grow-able in Maine.  But I like the "wispy-ness" of the orange flowers and will do research to see if there IS something like this that does grow in Maine. I have an abundance of nasturtiums in orange in the garden (safely fenced) which are lovely and taste peppery.  Good for a summer salad.  The garlic is nearly ready to pull.

Right now we are battling the DEER.  They have just birthed new babies--usually twins--and everyone is hungry.   They have finished off the hosta, eaten all the rose buds off the roses (we do have them circled in chicken wire cages) and are now munching on the flower buds of the day lilies.   No flowers makes Joanne a very sad girl, indeed.

A solution is to completely fence our four acres with chicken wire.  This has sounded like madness in years prior to this one.  Now, it is sounding like a very good idea.  G is spraying repellent every 4 days.  I am 5 to 10 minutes outside of Town.  And we are overrun with wild animals.

The humidity has risen.  So I will be happiest in the sewing room hemming pants.  Perhaps to work on my 10 by 10 art quilt.  Perhaps to string beads and bells on my "artistic" idea of a wind chime made from the frame of a lamp shade I found on the street one day.  I saved about 20 toothpaste caps in a pretty shade of sea blue which G has kindly drilled holes in.  I have a coupon for JoAnn's and will see if they have bells.  Nice bells that make a lot of jingle.

It seems sad to not be happiest outdoors on summer days.  It was quite lovely yesterday with a brisk sea breeze blowing thru the greenhouse at work.  But that same breeze was also blowing all the plants over and drying them out faster than we could water.  Yin and Yang.

We are barely eating.  Last night it was some fried potatoes and leftover sausages.  What is happening is--I am searching inside the freezer for things to thaw and eat.  I found two containers of chili which was nice.  Fruit from last summer for my yogurt lunches.  Last summer's frozen peppers with thawed chicken breasts.  I think there may be steaks hidden in the depths of the bottom drawer?  Who knows. G did buy himself a rack of lamb at Trader Joe's.  It's in the freezer.

 I made rhubarb syrup with the stringy stems of rhubarb in the garden.  G bought me limes.  I'm ready to try a Rhubarb lime Fizz.

I'm Dreaming Of A Clean Table Top

G cleaned out all the history and "cookies" and I was unable to find my picture file.  This picture popped up all by itself.  Good enough.  My actual table is full of clutter so I will enjoy looking at this table.  In all it's bare wood goodness.

My friend Trisha clears her tables after each and every meal.  Everything gets put away.  She does have a lidded box on the kitchen counter (the only thing on the counter) which she fills with anything she finds that doesn't have a "spot".  This is where we all (on vacation) look for keys and sunglasses and pill bottles.   We are all "a certain age".

Strawberry season is over.  Peas are coming in nicely.  My tomatoes and potatoes have never looked nicer--just in time for alerts of late blight.  Which will certainly kill everything.  It's really hard to be a gardener.  The line between success and utter despair is so thin, barely there.  And I don't like green tomatoes.  I have many small figs on my tree--like last year.  I am hoping these ripen.  I keep up with the watering and fertilizer.  I'm not sure I even like figs.  But G does love fig preserves. There may be enough for one small jar.

I am thinking of making Rhubarb Lime Fizz.  Rhubarb syrup, lime juice and soda water.  Perhaps some gin.  

We are in that particular summer "zone" when I lose any incentive to do anything but take showers, dress in loose clothing and recline on the couch.  I am fascinated with World Cup Soccer and have recorded the games to watch after work.  Only two more games.  It's like winter olympic curling.  Odd choices for me.  Unexplainable.  Even to myself.

Work.  Hot.  Depressing as the summer plants go "past" and it's not time for the autumn.  The perennials are blooming, needing deadheading, water and moving from back of store to front of parking lot.   The difference between the new stuff coming from the mother store and our stuff is astonishing.  We don't have fertilizer in our water.  Our stuff is short.  Theirs is so tall.  Hours are being cut.  Mosquitos.  Sunburn.  Temps of around 100 in the area of the potting bench--where I spend 80% of any day.  So many returning customers.  To see me.  It is gratifying.  It is also nice to be repotting a plant for the third time.  It's still alive, still growing, still bringing joy to the owner.

I have a pile of 20 cent pants (from last year) to cut and hem for G.  I stopped caring about the length and just looked for waist size.  Twenty cents!  Really, why be picky.  None of them are "dress" pants. Just work pants for a retired guy.  But before I can hem pants I need to clean space on the floor and cutting table in my sewing room.  It's all piled HIGH. 

I will be going out to pick (pull) rhubarb, check on my peas, pick parsley to wash, dry and roll for my freezer, pollinate squash, tie up tomatoes, check on the blueberries and blackberries, water the fig, check on the "jewels of opar" and water the hanging ferns on the front porch.  By then I should have enough mosquito bites to make me itch the rest of the day.  Then I will tackle the sewing room. Work on my 10 by 10 art.

Dream of ice cream later today.  And a Rhubarb Fizz.

July Garden Report and The Peas Are Nearly Ready

These peas are from another year.  The ones this year are still small in the pods.  Not that that keeps me from picking and eating (right there in the garden).   All the Fava Bean plants are covered in pretty white flowers with black centers.  Future beans.  I must have planted at least 4 weeks later than I should have.  In Maine we eat peas on the 4th.

Yesterday.  Oh my.  I was supposed to work.  I woke at 6 am as usual and my head hurt so badly.  A migraine.  Nausea.  I tried waiting till 7:30 to call out at work--but instead took a pain pill and crawled back into bed.  Woke at 11.  Still feeling terrible but I called work.  They didn't seem to need me, so back to bed.  Woke when the phone rang at 2:30.

I am NOT a napper or daytime sleeper.  Ever.  So these long sleeps indicate better than words how badly I felt.  A big line of thunderstorms moved through at dinner time and overnight we seemed to have gotten rain.  Summer weather affects my head.

I did pretty much nothing for the rest of the day but managed to prepare a Caprese Salad of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves and good olive oil and vinegar.  I even toasted a small baguette to soak up the good juices.  The tomatoes, bread and basil were from Trader Joe's on Saturday.  I had a bowl of ice cold cherries later while watching television.

Today--another day off, scheduled this time.   I could get used to this not working thing as I had the 4th off, then Saturday, half a day work on Sunday, sick day Monday and now another day off.
G watered the garden, walked the dog and napped in his hammock.  Riley was in and out but mostly in as he is black and it is 84 degrees outside with 64% humidity.

 I replanted my Jewels of Opar seedlings.  They started out as a few little black specks.  Then they were tiny little stems with tiny little leaves.  Now they have secondary leaves and are about 2 inches in diameter (if looking down at the plant).   I have seen them on the 66 Square Feet blog and hers are tall with flowers.  I have many weeks to wait for that, I think.  But they look healthy and, in the way of things, I should be proud to have gotten them from specks to the size they are.  They are now in deeper pots with fertilizer.

My second planting of beets amounted to zero.  Again.  But the carrots we "seeded" on the toilet paper strips are up and looking positively carrot like.  I pollinated two zucchini flowers by hand.  Last year was the first year my squash plants failed to get pollinated (less bees).  So I had tons of leaves and flowers but only a few actual zucchini.  And no yellow squash so I made stuffed, fried blossoms.   The cucumber plants are attaching themselves to the trellis.  Yeah!!!  The potato plants are up and over the top of the black tubs I planted them in.  I need to "hill" them up with some soil.  Better soil and lots of fertilizer this year hopefully will mean more potatoes.

The Early Girl Bush tomatoes I transplanted in one of my April classes has an abundance of large tomatoes on each plant.  I think I might actually have garden tomatoes to eat by the end of the month. My fennel and parsley seedlings are looking good.  The garlic looks promising as do the yellow onions.  I have green peppers about 2 or 3 inches in size on all the plants.  They seem to be enjoying the sulfur I added to the fertilizer in each planting hole.   The tomatoes are enjoying the iron I added to their planting holes.  Now I wait to see if the taste is better.  The added sulfur and iron are this year's experiments.

Well, I have cucumbers to peel and slice thinly.  I also have Riley asleep on the cool wood floor next to my desk.  He has been staying close since I woke up feeling ill.  He slept under my bed yesterday and refused to go out until I was awake.  I can see his eyes are open--watching me.

Summer Is Moving Quickly

Peonies are a thing of the past.  Strawberries have a few more days and that will be done as well.  The garden has a few pea pods (it's early days for them) and fava bean blossoms.   I've cut all the flower scapes off the garlic and will harvest bulbs in a few weeks.  My friend says my garlic is short.  But, really, it's better than it has ever been in my garden.  No complaints.

It has rained for three full days.  July 4th and all the celebrations had to manage with a few cloudy intervals.  No fireworks.  I went to bed listening to the rain and woke to the same.  It's wet.  Dark. No sunshine.  The blessing is that rain is good for the garden, the earth and it's better than snow.

And I wasn't working.

The AC unit in our main room has stopped working.  It was working last night and now it isn't.  I think we bought it 10 years ago.  The August my dad was here, which I think was 2004.  He had pneumonia but we didn't know it.  By December he was in the emergency room and then intensive care and then rehab.  When he got out, I spent 5 weeks with him.

The AC unit brings all those memories back.

Update:  We are back from Trader Joe's (12 boxes of Bran Flakes) plus a trunk full of other stuff.  G pulled the Ac out to check it, plugged it in (to another socket) and it worked.  So we are back in the cooling business.  Lunch was Whole Foods pizza for G and Adoba bean and cheese enchilada for me. we are having sweet corn later for supper.  And I am having a bowl of strawberries with cream.

Fresh Produce

Not yet.  But soon.  My red onions are still tiny.

We are up to our ears in cucumbers.  And that's a very good thing as I love eating cucumber salad until it's time to eat tomato salad.  The tomato plants are looking robust.  Little tiny baby tomatoes. Big strong green stems.  I am feeding them epsom salts and iron.  This year's "experiment".

We have corn (from Georgia via the grocery) and cherries.  Strawberries from my friend's garden dropped off late at night.  I will be eating them with heavy cream tonight.  A thank you for finding a new home for her last chicken.  I am the "finder" of solutions.

I need sleeveless tops for work.  Loose, light clothing.  I wish I knew how to take the clothes I have and change them into the clothes I need. I should have paid more attention in 7th grade sewing class.
Being able to remake clothing is a real life changing skill.  Having exactly what you want.  Wow.

It's rained a bit the past two days.  Taking some of the "heat" out of two back to back sticky hot days at work.  I did manage to get some sun on the tops of my shoulders and the backs of my legs.  Shorts and a sleeveless top (which I stained with a blueberry from my lunch muffin).  My favorite time of day is still getting home and taking a good long shower.

My haircut today is shorter than usual.  But I like it.  I may even "punk" it up with product.  I ran my head under the sink faucet to get rid of all the short "haircut" bits after getting back to work.  That felt great.

Now, I am off to start cooking dinner.  I have the next two days off and intend to actually cook and feed the two of us.  How unusual.  Have a safe and happy holiday.  Fly the Flag!!!!

This Green Has Become My Favorite In The Garden

First I bought it in a low growing shrub.  Then the heather which is this green in summer and bright orange red in autumn.  Now I have the flower heads of overwintered kale producing this color and it's good to eat.

The color palette of this garden is quite soothing to my eye.  I also add a bit of soft pink to the green to set it off.  I can imagine stepping from stone to stone, to reach the chairs.  I wonder what is in front of the chairs?  What do you see from those seats?

We have carpenters here today.  Finish work on the half circle arch above the French doors and the "boxing" and installing of the ceiling fan above the dining room table.   Twelve feet over our heads. G has already called the carpenter three times from Lowe's.

Yesterday, at work, was hot and terribly boring.  No customers.  Standing.  My back was so tight when I got home I had just enough energy for a shower and then I tumbled into bed.  About an hour flat on the bed and I revived enough to eat dinner and watch Mystery.  I don't know how many of these days I still have in this old (and getting older) body.  Doing nothing is so much harder than doing too much.  A body in motion.......

I have my peonies to clip.  The flowers just don't last long enough.  I have two rescued orchids to repot and re-energize.  I have plants to plant in my daughter's garden, but first I need to water them.
And I have my 10 by 10 to work on and a second one to think about.  Time is racing by.

A blog I read suggests I write three things each day.  What I value about myself that day, what I am grateful for, and what I am glad I spent my time doing today.  Today will be easy.  Yesterday I would have struggled to find things to value, be happy about and be grateful for.  But, perhaps I needed to be mindful.  Perhaps the day would have been better if I was thinking about these three things?  Looking for them in my day at work.  Perhaps that is the value in recording the three.  Paying attention.

What do you think?