July 2010 Archives

I have harvested my first tomatoes of the season! I thought I'd get the jump on the chipmunks and deer and bunnies and pick the very few tomatoes that were ready to eat. I have three yellow pear tomatoes, the tiny ones, a cherry tomato, and what I think may be a "Celebrity" tomato.

The chipmunks planted tomato seeds in the gardens at the sidewalk leading to the front door. The seed was in seventh heaven, because that's one of the areas that has full sunlight, and it gets water regularly from roof run off, and overlap from watering the containers. It turns out there are two cherry tomato plants. They exploded with growth when the heat arrived and were growing across the sidewalk. Our guests had to hop over them. I should have corralled them sooner, but didn't have anything to use. Dear Husband clipped apart an old trellis and we slid it under them and propped them up. It could look better, but the plants seem to be thriving.

When I weeded across the front of the house, to see if the Russian Blue sage was still there, I discovered more tomato plants, and left them. We'll see if there will be tomatoes to harvest, there, too.

I'm looking forward to ripe homegrown tomatoes in "Summer" salad, and "Farmer's Tomato Pie!"

Visit the May 13, 2003 archives for the recipe for Farmer's Tomato Pie. "Summer" salad is diced tomatoes or thin tomato wedges, with cucumber slices and sliced green onions, with dill, in a vinaigrette. You can add other veggies, or omit those you don't care for to personalize the recipe.

I MUST get into the habit of taking before and after pictures!

Frankie worked with me in the herb garden for an hour and a half yesterday, when it was deliciously cool in the early morning. I looked out over the garden this morning, and to the side there are three huge piles of herbs and brush waiting to be picked up, and a wheel barrow that is filled to the brim, waiting to be sent to the north 40. There's also a new pile of mulch that needs to be distributed, but I'll have to wait until the guys empty the wheelbarrow for me.

We cut back the chives, feverfew, lemon balm, the flower stalks of the lamb's ears, and a good portion of the oregano. I decided to take the oregano down to the crown, and in the process came across a bunny nest. Something moved. Oooops...... I left some of the oregano around it to shade it. I hope....well, never mind. Enough said.

I also cut back spent stalks on the salvia, at Frankie's suggestion. There are new starts coming up in the center of the plant, and Frankie tells me that there will be a flush of new growth now.

I have a rudbekia "Goldsturm" in the herb garden, and one more in a tiny area to the left of the back door to the garage. Catnip was trying to overgrow the one by the garage, so I pulled out all that catnip. It has spread to virtually all the gardens, so I don't have to worry about running out of it. Besides, with Ed gone, I don't need a lot of catnip right now.

I was startled to find that the chives were already growing back today! What an amazing plant!

Friday we had unexpectedly heavy rain. Frankie was woken by the sound of the rain on the roof, which is a pretty rare occurrence in this house. It's structured in a way that there's a lot of air space between the roof and the ceilings in most of the rooms, but the two "barrel" bump outs at the front of the house and the skylights can be pretty noisy in really hard rains. When we were out and about on Saturday morning, we found lots of streets that were closed due to flooding. I understand that some of the expressways in Chicago were closed for a bit.

I was delighted to have the rain. We were getting a little desperate, and I had begun watering with a hand-held watering wand. I was going to have to shift to a sprinkler, not my favorite thing to do. I had just planted cosmos and cleome in the gardens at the front of the house. I suspect that all that seed is now lodged at the front of the bed, and I'll get a line of plants right at the sidewalk! Still, I am glad we had rain.

My sister, Frankie, of Just My Opinion, has been visiting with me this weekend. We went to a birthday brunch for our most special sister: My-Sister-The-Nurse, visited with Elegante Mother, went to the French Market for flowers and veggies, and came home to Frankie's pasta salad for dinner on Saturday.

Sunday morning, we went out to garden early in the morning, and spent about an hour and a half putting the herb garden into shape for the remainder of the summer. We came in for breakfast and to clean up, and then worked through the middle of the afternoon to finish the Log Cabin quilt top that we started a year ago. It's based on one of Eleanor Burn's "Quilt in a Day" books. If we had been able to work for one entire day, we might have actually completed it in a day, but we've been working two hours one month, and two another. We have officially finished the top! YEA!!! It will be sent off to my favorite machine quilter so that Frankie will get to use this quilt this season!

That left us a little time to hit the shops for clothes for Frankie's first day back at school, and preparation of dinner for five: Dear Husband, Stepson #2 and his girlfriend, and the two of us. We took advantage of summer veggies and had fresh green beans, and a "Summer Salad" (tomatoes, green onions, and cucumbers in a vinaigrette with LOTS of dill!), and crimini mushrooms. We rounded out the meal with a flank steak, baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, sliced tomatoes for those who don't eat the Summer Salad, and watermelon.

We gathered in the living room to veg out for the evening, and I turned on the TV.
"Leverage" is a show that I enjoy, and Frankie had never seen it. We watched two episodes and chatted about Round Robin quilts, and whether we wanted to do one within our family.

Frankie has to be on her way this morning. I'll really miss the early morning visits. We both head for our personal choice of caffeine and something to read while we rise up into our daytime personae. Sometimes we check e-mail, sometimes we sit and chat. But once the coffee or tea has had the chance to do it's work, we are off and running. We both have found that it's more fun to garden when you have company. It's not just the idea that many hands make work light, though that IS important, but sometimes it's just the fact that you have company and that your endeavor doesn't have to be solitary. I need to go visit her this fall and help her with her gardens. Turn about is fair play, and I really owe her the help!

So, in a few moments, we will be parting and starting our days, separately once again. It has been a lot of fun to have these days together!

I know, I know, I'm fixated on weeding. If you had as much weeding to do as I do, you would be too!

I can't seem to remember to take before and after pictures to illustrate the work that I'm doing. I started weeding the day lily bed along the south side of the house. The weeds were so healthy that they had shaded the lilies and some of them have languished. I got about 75% of the bed weeded. I walked around the corner of the house and discovered that there is extensive work to be done on the west side of the house, too. As with the front gardens, I weeded up to the poison ivy and stopped for the day.

I had to prune out some mulberry upstarts, but everything else was just weeds. I cleared a path to the meters on the side of the house. I really don't know how the meter readers have been getting in to do their work. I'm rather surprised that the companies haven't called to tell me that I needed to provide access.

I asked Dear Husband to be my delivery man. I wanted some mulch for the gardens that have been weeded, to keep more seed from germinating, and to help hold moisture around the plants. He brought me two cubic yards! Just before he got home with it, he saw a sign offering mulch for the same price with FREE DELIVERY! I believe that he likes to grouse about having to help with the gardens. You should see how nice the herb garden looks with the chat we laid this spring!

If I could persuade the men of the house to help me, I'd clear a narrow bed on the west side of the house and plant hydrangeas and other blooming shrubs. It would cut down on the weeding, add to the beauty of the house and grounds, and create an easier path to mow. We really need to improve what my niece would call our "eyesore."

My family has a salad that is standard on the tables of almost all my siblings. A visitor to my parent's home years ago dubbed it "Summer Salad," and so we've called it. You all have variations of this salad: diced tomatoes, cucumbers, green onion and a vinaigrette (or in my case, Zesty Italian dressing) with LOTS of dill. Occasionally, I'll toss in some broccoli flowerettes, or perhaps some cauliflower, but I really like it the traditional way.

Unfortunately, Dear Husband is not as enamored of it as I am. I can easily make a bowl of it for myself, but then I need to come up with a salad for him.

I've been thinking that I'd like to create chunkier side salads. For instance, tomatoes, cauliflower flowerettes and pea pods. I need more ideas. Do you have a blend that your family really likes? I hope you'll share your suggestions with me.

I've been trying to find new salads to serve this summer. I want a way to bring more veggies into our meals, and I want to serve something other than the same old things we're used to preparing. I was surfing for variations on chicken salad and came across this recipe: Mexican Chicken Salad.

Chicken, corn, black beans, red onion, grape tomatoes, and red peppers are all dressed with a mixture of cider vinegar, honey, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper and chilled. It's served mixed with greens. Avocado, pepper jack cheese, sour cream, salsa and blue corn chips are served as garnishes, allowing each person to choose how to finish off their salad.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the beans and corn but the salad is good. The dressing is not overpowering because it's spread over a LOT of salad. This would be a really good salad to take to a pot luck, or to fix for a large summer party. I doubt I will make it just for Dear Husband and myself, but I'd make it again if there were more than two of us at dinner.

I'm wondering if I am the only person in the world who does not like the heat of summer. I just THINK about going outside and I start to perspire. Believe me when I say, "It's not pretty."

What brought all this to mind is that during the summer, when I find I have time on my hands, my friends and family must all be outside enjoying the summer, because there's no one on-line to talk to. Possibly, it's that I haven't kept up with the times. I know a large part of my family camps out at Face book, and I admit I get there once in ten days or so. I'd talk with people at Skype, but I only have five people registered there. Perhaps I need to check in to Yahoo Messenger more often.

I hope you're all having a good time, whatever you've been doing.

I visited the Farmer's Market early on Saturday. I got one of the gardens weeded (and it looks SO much better!). I finished my filing, and worked on the bookkeeping for our companies, prepared for an insurance audit, and did some housecleaning. It was one of those weekends where I finished one chore after another, and the sense of accomplishment was great!

Friday and Saturday should be the calmest days of the week, and I'm looking forward to them. When I have the chance to be on-line, I hope I'll find some of you and hear how your summer has been going.

Remember to wear your sunscreen!

It's been more than a week since my sisters took me to hear the Eagles and Michael Buble. I've been savoring the experience and cementing those memories in place. I believe the entire week qualifies as one of the best times of my life, as much for the time spent with my sisters as the music.

We drove to St. Louis to hear the Eagles. It was a hot summer day without a cloud in the sky. The show was supposed to have started at 6:00, but the start time was moved back to 6:30. We had to wait for the sun to dip behind the left field wall before the Dixie Chicks came out to open the show, around 7:30 or so. The delay was due to the fact that the stage was facing the west and the performers would have been blinded by the sun, and heated out. We were seated below the first balcony on the right field side, and there was a wonderful breeze, which we've been told is rare for St. Louis, so we were comfortable.

I enjoyed the Chicks despite the fact that I couldn't understand one word of the lyrics that Natalie Maines sang. I don't know if it was her accent or the miking that was the problem. I focused on the camera work for the big screens, and just had a good time.

The Eagles were great! I had no idea how many of their songs I knew. I found myself singing along on some of the songs, and my oldest sister really does know all the lyrics! It's very likely that I might have enjoyed myself no matter who was performing, because I was having such a good time with my siblings, but....the Eagles were great!

Five days later, my youngest sister and I went to hear Michael Buble at Canseco Field House in Indianapolis. He puts on an amazing show! He sings all the songs that the audience hopes to hear and then some. About two thirds of the way through his set he comes down off the stage and walks up the center aisle (with body guards) to a raised area at the back of the court and sings a couple of songs. He touches hands as he travels up and down the aisle. I'm really glad to say that the audience behaved itself!

I think I will always remember how he ended the show. He chose to close with "A Song for You." The curtain was closed so that you couldn't see the band, and Michael was standing center stage with the spotlights focused on him. A couple of phrases before the end of the song, the band stopped playing, and Buble continued a capella. What amazed me was that on the last phrase his mike is turned off, and he sings unamplified. He has SUCH a big voice that he is able to fill the field house! Very impressive, VERY impressive.

So, now I've been to a rock concert (and I'd recommend an Eagles concert to anyone), and I've been to hear Michael Buble in person (and I'd recommend Michael Buble to everyone). This has to have been the highlight of my summer! May you all be so fortunate!

It's a little past dinner time on Saturday afternoon. It's been a beautiful day. I visited the Farmer's Market this morning, and then did some house work. I read for a while and had a nap. Generally, I've been occupied.

From six to ten on Saturday evening is the most difficult time for me when Dear Husband is away on his sailing weekends. I'm usually too busy to mind his absence during the day, but as the sun starts to dip and chores are finished, I realize how quiet the house has become.

I have several quilting projects to finish, and more that I want to start. I think that's the way to keep myself busy until bed time. Next week I may go to a movie, and the following week I may take a friend out to dinner. I bet there are millions of women who would like to have the quiet that I have, and I plan to keep that in mind! *G*

I hope you are all enjoying your Saturday night.

I finally made it to the Farmer's Market today! I visited the French Market two weeks ago, but until today haven't made it to my favorite Farmer's market. I was amazed at the produce that was available. I'm used to shopping there starting Memorial Day weekend, so this was like being thrown into a grocery store in comparison.

I dropped off two pruners to be sharpened by Tony, the knife sharpener. I'll pick them up next week. I don't need them at the moment and it will give me a chance to visit with him again. He's one of Elegante Mother's favorite men.

Then, I bought a little from as many stalls as I could. I picked up a cauliflower, vine ripened tomatoes, pickle cucumbers, green onions, 2 cloves of garlic, yellow wax beans, five ears of corn, peaches from two different stalls, red raspberries, and a quart of crimini mushrooms. I have too many potatoes in my pantry, or I would have picked up some new potatoes. We've particularly enjoyed roasted peppers, onions and potatoes lately, so I should be ready for some next week.

There's a recipe for a simplified peach pie dessert in the June issue of Southern Living that I want to try. I may add the red raspberries to Cherrios or oatmeal for breakfast. All the other veggies will find their way into our meals this week.

I hope to have cherry tomatoes soon, so I'll make a Farmer's Tomato Pie for dinner when Dear Husband is off sailing. It's the epitome of summer dining!