Anniversary gift

My new cookware arrived yesterday! It's so shiny and pretty that I took a picture after I finished unpacking everything. It's not a great photo but I'll share it anyway.

Now it's time to actually use them and I'm a bit nervous. Cooking on stainless steel is going to be a learning curve, but I've watched enough YouTube tutorials on the subject that I feel like I can probably do okay. I'm hoping the quality of my cooking goes up with better tools to work with!

I debated about the first meal I wanted to make with them, and this morning I decided: braised beef short ribs in red wine sauce. I went to the butcher shop down the road and bought two pounds of beautiful short ribs. I sure hope I don't screw them up, because the price was eye-watering. :)  I plan to pair them with basmati rice, green beans from the garden, and slices of fresh tomatoes, also from the garden.

I'll report back tomorrow on how everything turns out! Wish me luck!

From the garden this week

The garden is in full swing, and it's turning out to be a good year for tomatoes. I'm glad I planted some sturdy hybrid determinate types, because they're early and produce a lot of fruit all at once. With the exception of one tiny rain-split Berkeley Tie Dye (middle top on the first photo) all of the tomatoes I've gotten so far have been determinates. But! My eight heirloom plants are also loaded with fruit but taking forever to start ripening. Soon!

Here's what I've picked over the last four or five days:

We've also picked a LOT of green beans; this is just a small handful I got the other day. 

Still going strong.

There are about a dozen cucumbers in the fridge at the moment, but now the vines are almost worn out. It's turning out to be a disappointing year for cucumber production, but I'd rather have a bounty of tomatoes anyway. Last year there were a ton of cucumbers, but the tomatoes did diddly-squat. Now that's disappointing.

So, on to peppers! I haven't picked any yet, because I like to wait until they're mostly orange and red, but there are tons and tons of Jalapenos, Serranoes, Cowhorns, Cayennes, Poblanos, Tabascos, and Giant Marconi peppers...

 

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These pretty Tabasco peppers are our favorite, just for the beauty of the plant. It's hard to get a good photo of them because it's such a low, compact plant. 

And when someone named these peppers "Giant Marconi", they weren't lying! Look at the size of those monsters!

Cowhorns.

A busy start to summer

It's been a busy few weeks around here, but I still find it hard to believe that June is almost half over. Finding time to blog has been a challenge so I've been away for longer that I meant to be. Things should settle down a little now, so I hope to be around more. 

Last weekend my mom came to visit. It was at her insistence, and the first time I'd seen her since the end of 2023 (right before dad died). Things between us have devolved to almost no contact over the last two years, which, actually, is fine with me. I only agreed to see her out of a lingering sense of obligation. As far as I'm concerned, our relationship is pretty much over. That hasn't been an easy decision to come to, but I've decided it's best for my mental health.

So anyway, she came over for a couple of hours and it was okay. I made lunch and put on a polite face, and she was on her best (but still not great) behavior. I breathed a sigh of relief when she left and was glad nothing had been too weird or awkward...haha! Joke's on me! The next night she messaged me with some truly bizarre thoughts and accusations. Crazy stuff. I know she's taken to drinking again over the past few years, and also takes a lot of assorted pills, so maybe she was drunk or high. Or maybe she's having some sort of undiagnosed mental health issue. The next day she deleted the messages and apologized (just as I predicted she would), but instead of taking responsibility for her behavior she blamed (get this!) the fact that she's diabetic for her outburst. I know lots of people with diabetes, and not once has a single one of them come at me with weird accusations and spoiling for a fight! Of course, ever since she was diagnosed a few years back, that's been her go-to excuse for everything so I shouldn't be too surprised. This was only more confirmation that I'm doing the right thing to keep contact with her strictly limited. She wants more from me than I can give her, since it would mean having to sacrifice my mental well-being to maintain a closer relationship. I've worked through most of that, and I'm simply not interested.

On to better and happier stuff. Thursday was my 19th wedding anniversary! I really did good when I picked my husband! :)   I took the day off work, and with my regular summer Friday off, I'm having a four-day weekend! Yesterday we went thrift store shopping, hoping to find a couple of interesting lamps for the house. We didn't have any luck, but it was fun looking around. The actual gift we ended up buying ourselves is mainly a gift for me: a nice set of stainless-steel cookware. It's going to be great to get rid of my old cheap nonstick pots and pans that I've been "making do" with for years! I love to cook, and like everything else it's easier with good tools. Gregg really likes and appreciates my cooking, so he said it benefits him in the end, too. 

We're also making plans to go away for a few days, but not until fall. There are really nice waterfront villas at a state park on Lake Murray (a couple of hours west of here) that we'd like to rent, but you have to make reservations several months out. Apparently, they're very popular and so all booked up for the summer. We prefer to go in the fall anyway, when the weather will be much nicer, so that's not an issue. As fast as the weeks fly by September/October will be here in a flash. 

Speaking of summer, check out a small sample of the stuff I've picked from the garden in the last week!

That's the other thing that's been keeping me busy lately: the garden. There's always something to do out there this time of year, and when I'm not working in it, I'm sitting on the porch admiring it! :)

Crazy tomato and a careless cook

Last week I picked my first (non-cherry) tomato of the year. I'd planned to let it ripen on the vine a little more, but a day or two of heavy rain was predicted and I was afraid it would split. Once a tomato is at least half ripe, finishing it on the countertop doesn't hurt anything, but a rain-split tomato is pretty much ruined, in my opinion.

Y'all...this tomato was kind of freaky! Too bad John's not still having the Novelty Veg Competition, because my first tomato was a Strange Bird. :)

I posted this picture on Facebook, and a guy I went to

 high school with asked me if my bird had pollinated it.  LOL!!

Last night the tomato was finally ready to be eaten. I was really excited about the first tomato of the year! I had such a good dinner planned: grilled marinated chicken thighs, fresh green beans (from my garden!) sauteed in olive oil, butter, garlic, and lemon juice, and a salad made from lettuce and cucumbers, also from the garden. Everything was coming along beautifully, and the very last thing I did was slice the tomato to add to our salads..

...and in the process, slice open my left thumb.

I couldn't believe I'd done this to myself again. Almost exactly two years ago I was cutting red peppers to add to a pasta salad, got careless, and nearly took off my left forefinger. It was a really bad cut that I probably should have gotten stitches for, and I've got a scar and some lingering numbness to this day.

This cut didn't turn out to be quite that bad, but it's still pretty bad. I bled and bled, all the while holding it tight under cold running water to try to stop the bleeding. Gregg ran for bandages and the dogs milled around my feet, nervous. Then, just like last time, I started to feel hot, and sick, and dizzy. I had to rush to the bedroom and lie down to keep from fainting. 

Fun times!! Ha.

So anyway, back to the tomato. Once I started feeling okay again, I got up and insisted Gregg eat his supper even though I didn't feel like eating myself (understatement). I ended up covering my plate and putting it in the fridge, and there it still sits. It looks like I won't be trying that crazy tomato after all. Oh, well.

I'm wounded. Wounded, I tell you.

A birthday party

Last week, my friend Marla's little girl turned seven years old. It seems like she was just born and here she is finishing up first grade. Crazy! I was invited to the family birthday party for her on Sunday afternoon. I had fun picking out gifts from me and her "uncle" Gregg. After a lot of looking around, here's what I settled on:

Star Projector Galaxy Night Light - Astronaut Space Projector, Starry Nebula Ceiling LED Lamp with Timer and Remote, Kids Room Decor Aesthetic

The next evening Marla sent me two photos of Carsen's bedroom after they got the projector set up and running. They were lying on her bed together watching it. It seems the gift was a hit! 

And I also got her one this, because I almost always give books to children for special occasions:

I adored Shel Silverstein's poetry as a child. Reading some of it 

prior to wrapping reminded me why! So. Good.

 A "family" gathering at Marla and Toyo's house involves a lot of people. Toyo has the kind of large Asian family where cousins and second cousins show up with their spouses and kids along with grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  Then on Marla's side there are grandparents, a great grandma (Marla's dear grandma Mildred, well into her 90s now and increasingly frail), a brother and his wife and kids...then there are several longtime friends, like me, who are counted as family. As an only child from a very small family, half of whom I was partially estranged from while growing up, it's almost overwhelming. I found a quiet corner in the kitchen to sit and take it all in. There was a taco bar (which was huge, and delicious), two homemade birthday cakes (chocolate and strawberry), and a big pile of gifts.

 Carsen is a lucky girl. She was showered with love for her birthday.

Her grandma took her shopping before the party 

and this is the dress she chose for herself. :)

Sunday morning miscellany

I woke up really early this morning to what promises to be a cool, gray, rainy Sunday. I can't seem to sleep in anymore (not that I want to) now that I get up so early for work during the week. It's become a pleasure to tiptoe around a quiet house at sunrise, starting the coffee, maybe slipping on some shorts and a t-shirt and taking a quick stroll through the garden, seeing the sun come up. I relish the little bit of quiet solitude, especially on weekend mornings.

Speaking of which, Monday is Memorial Day, so we have a three-day weekend. It's a very welcome break for the school after two weeks of state testing, award days with families coming and going, and grade level end-of-the-year parties. That last thing, the parties, has only been stressful for me, by the way. Every grade level (5K through 5th) at our school has themed parties at the end of the year, and food and drinks and decorations and games don't just magically appear! :)   It's always a bit stressful for me, making sure requisitions to pay for everything get submitted in time, placing orders, dealing with vendor issues, etc.  I'm always afraid I'm going to miss something, drop the ball somewhere, and who wants to let a bunch of little kids down? But I try to be conscientious in my work, and things have been smooth so far (knock wood). Next Friday is the last day of school for students, so things will be a lot more relaxed at work after that.

I'm going to a birthday party this afternoon! Marla's little girl has turned 7 years old, and I'm invited to the family party. I hear there'll be a taco bar! And cake, of course. It should be fun. 

One last thing: I picked my first vegetables from the garden on Friday! I had a wonderful salad with my dinner last night.

 

Garden progress in pictures

 I've very little time for blogging today, but I wanted to post an update on how my garden's coming along. Here are some photos I took over the last several days. xx

Fleeting

My first "Eustacia Vye" bloom lasted a mere 24 hours, and then a heavy rainstorm shattered it. It was glorious for that one day, though. 

There are several more buds on the verge of opening, so there's more beauty to come. 

Baby's birthday

As hard as it it to believe, our little great-nephew, Joseph, turned one year old on Thursday! 

We wanted to send a gift for him, but had a hard time deciding. My go-to gift for little kids is books, but I knew that wouldn't mean much to such a young little guy. I wanted something fun.

With that in mind, this is what we decided on.

And for extra fun, we found a cool t-shirt to go with it...

Thursday afternoon, shortly after the gifts were delivered, Tyler (nephew and baby's dad) texted me this photo. Look how happy little Joey looks!

Needless to say, the bike and t-shirt were hits!

Leo XIV

The MAGA outrage over the new (American!) pope has been a real surprise and delight. With that in mind, I wanted to share the following great response to a Lara Loomer tweet I found last night.

Early May in my garden

We're still in the sweet spot, garden-wise, at this point in the year. Everything is growing and thriving, and the heat, bugs, diseases, and general malaise of high summer still seem far away. 

Here are a few pictures from my garden as of this afternoon. I'll start with my current obsession: my baby Eustacia Vye rose! Her first bloom is beginning to open, and I'm in love.

There are nine more flower buds now, too.  It's hard to believe this rose was planted as a bare root at the end of March. 

In other good (but somewhat less exciting) garden updates, here are a few more photos of things I'm growing, all taken this afternoon:

The five blueberry bushes are still fairly small but loaded with berries. The plant growth on all five has been very slow, but this year I've finally started fertilizing on a regular basis. I'm hoping they'll start to take off as a result. As it is, we'll probably get three or four cups of blueberries at the most....and that's if we feel like fighting with the birds and squirrels for them. (Probably not). At least the plants seem healthy, though!

Poppy is a great garden companion. She walks with me while I inspect everything, the tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn...

See the nest box in this next picture? There's currently a bluebird family taking up residence! Mom and Dad work tirelessly all day long bringing food to the babies, and it's a real joy to watch. The current brood are just about ready to fledge. 

After a very late start, my lettuce is finally starting to look like....lettuce! Haha. The carrots planted beside it are finally sprouting but they're not worth taking a picture of yet. Next year I need to get on the ball much, much, much sooner with the lettuce and carrots.

We built a tripod for the cucumbers to climb. They're looking good right now, too.

And finally, the corn. 

Lusty May

Happy May Day! I always think of the naughty rhyme about the First of May this time of year. Do you know it? :)

Speaking of naughty, yesterday I was chatting with John Gray and he happened to mention Marco. Since everyone loves a good Marco story, I thought I'd share a couple of snippets of our ensuing conversation. 

I'm sure I say this every year, but it seems to be taking Marco's spring hormones forever to subside. This nonsense has been going on since February!

Report Card

Well folks, as of yesterday, we survived the first 100 days of the Felon's second term. I'm trying not to think about how many days are still left...

The Daily Show shared their "report card" for the key players in this administration, and some of them made me laugh so hard I nearly choked on my coffee this morning. I had to share.

Enjoy!