August 29th

Today certainly is an infamous anniversary.

Hurricane Katrina.

It's hard to not reflect on that day,

when every newspaper and news show

is posting pictures.

20 years ago, when that storm was 

barreling down on us, I had no idea

the devastation it would cause.

I was at the hospital expecting

to be there only 3 days.

The morning after proved us all wrong.

Then in 2021, we had another

brush with a Cat 4 storm.

Hurricane Ida.

This time the west side came closer

to our house.

Again, we were lucky.

There was minimal damage.

The anxiety sitting in a darkened

house, hearing the wind and rain

whip around the tree branches

causing them to break, was

something I didn't expect.

I guess it's like a type of PTSD.

But,

with prayers and preparations,

we made it through.

Here's hoping this season 

we all make it through

with no issues.

🙏

************************

It's late summer and the weather

has taken a toll on our crops.

The peppers are thriving,

but little else is.

We let all the peppers fully ripen

to their beautiful red colors.

My goal was to make my own

paprika.

I dehydrated almost all of

the red peppers and then

blended them into a powder.

This is 2 of the containers

and there's another smaller jar not pictured.

It tastes amazing!

I love it!

I also dehydrated some of the other veggies

to make my yearly herbal blend.

This is our cucumbers.

The bush has died off, but it produced

better this year than last year.

Basil

The oregano, thyme, green onions.

and mint are still doing good.

A few of the other herbs died in the heat.

************************

Sunflowers

Coleus

Ajuga

Surprisingly, the Gardenias are still blooming!

Rescue orchids.

Both are blooming.

Phalaenopsis

This one has been blooming since June!

Dendrobium

The CEO saw them in the trash bin 

at Home Depot and asked if he could 

take them.

We knew next to nothing about

orchids, so off to Google I went.

I must be doing something right

because they are thriving.

😁

****************************

We have recently had to replace a few 

items in the house.

A washing machine and a toilet.

I guess its expected in a 40+ year old home.

The thing is, I didn't expect that

a washer would be "smart" and a toilet

would have "enhanced flushing".

Wow!

Makes me think that my 

IQ is below the speed limit!

I need help with technology often and employ

the skills of my kids and 

grandkids.

I'm living in 2025, but my brain 

hasn't caught up.

I told my son that I'm an

analog person in a 

digital world.

Funny how that learning curve

wasn't really a thing for my Mom.

By the time she passed away,

the "tech world" hadn't 

really blown up as it has now.

I wonder how my parents would've

handled all this.

***********************

I read this online...

Time passes

differently in heaven.

By the time they turn around to look for you, 

you'll be right behind them.

I surely hope that is true.

My Mom and Dad.

*******************

💚💙💗

 

July 31st

This is from July 1st.

It's some of our summer harvest.

The peppers are coming in nicely

and the Japanese eggplants are

doing well too.

Our tomatoes haven't done as well.

We have a few more tomato plants

to try before the season is over.

July 10th

and 

Blackberries!

We harvested so many that

I made jam.

It's delicious!!

Blackberries

July 15th

Peppers, eggplants and cucumbers.

We're getting so many eggplants

that I've tried out a new recipe.

Eggplant Patties

Peel and cube 2 medium regular eggplants

or 4 or 5 Japanese ones.

put them in a bowl and microwave 

for 3 minutes until they are softened.

Mash them up well.

Add 1 cup of parmesan cheese,

1 or 1/2 cup of Italian breadcrumbs

(you can add more or less breadcrumbs 

if the eggplant is too soggy)

2 beaten eggs

2 tablespoons minced garlic

salt to taste.

Combine the ingredients and 

then shape into patties.

Place them onto a greased

cookie sheet,

and bake at 400 for 18 to 20 minutes

until golden brown,

or

Air Fry at 400 for 5 minutes,

then turn over and fry for

5 additional minutes.

I ate mine with a bit of marinara sauce.

Delicious!!

July 22nd

Cherry tomatoes, banana peppers,

Japanese eggplants and Bell peppers.

We ate the Cherry tomatoes in a 

cucumber salad.

Yum!

July 28th

More of the same.😊

 

I dehydrated the peppers with some

basil, oregano, rosemary, green onions,

parsley, and thyme.

The whole house smelled like

an Italian bakery!

My idea for the dehydrated peppers is

to make my own paprika.

Hopefully it'll turn out ok. 

**************************

My orchid is still in bloom.

It's so beautiful.

Small sunflowers

A sunflower just screams summer!

Dragonfly and bumblebee days.

***********************

The year is going by too fast despite

my efforts to hold it back.

Kids grow up, we age

time passes...

I want to hold on to as much as I can.

Memories are made in the small

moments as much as the big ones.

The ones that you'd think

would be the most forgettable,

are often the ones

you hold onto the longest.

💚💙💗

And remember...

be kind.

 

 

May/June - 23rd

May 12th

June 12th

May and June are the best of our 

produce months.

These are some Japanese Eggplants, Banana

Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, regular

Tomatoes, Blueberries

and Blackberries.

As the veggies ripen, I either dehydrate them

and grind it into a powder for seasoning,

or make it into soup or veggie base

for tomato gravy.

As it cooks down over a low temp,

the veggies soften and then I

use an immersion blender and then freeze it.

The best thing is the taste.

There's nothing like homegrown.

With the fruit, I do almost the same thing.

I make fruit leathers or jams, if

I can keep everyone's hands off!

Ha!

The CEO is requesting a blackberry pie.

So that'll be the next concoction.

😋

Some pictures of our 2025 crops.

Blackberries

Eggplant Flower 

It looks like a black and white

picture, but it is only the small

eggplants in a white dish

on a gray placemat. 

Tomatoes

Bell and Banana Peppers

Cucumbers

Tomatillos

Asparagus

(Purple and Green)

Bay tree

Mint

Onions

Herbs:

Lemon Balm, Thai Basil, Parsley,

Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Cilantro,

Mint and Sage.

We have Potatoes, but they only look

like bushy plants now.

*************************

The flowers look amazing! 

This May and early June have

been exceptionally wet.

It's rained almost daily and that has

given us beautiful plants.

We have 3 different colors of 

Gladiolas.

The Gardenia's are blooming again.

Mary's Garden

She has Begonias, Coleus and

Dianthus.

Sunflowers

Milkweed

We grow these for the Butterflys.

Zinnias

Phalaenopses Orchid

This is a rescue plant that

the CEO got from a dumpster

at Home Depot a few years ago.

We've been trying to coax it to bloom,

and lo and behold it did!!

*****************

On June 30th of this year,

my Mom's 108th birthday,

I can honestly say that I still miss you.

A lot.

There are days when I look in the 

mirror and I see you.

Same thing when I utter a phrase

or do a task that you've taught me how to do.

I owe my crafting abilities to you too.

I wish I had repeatedly told you how much you

really meant to me.

I am truly what you gave your life for.

I've matured to be a reflection of you.

Your entire focus became your

two daughters after Daddy died.

You were so young and yet so strong

in the conviction to be both mother 

and father to us.

Being a child of the Great Depression

and having lived through times

that would've broken most

people, you persevered.

You changed tires,

painted the house,

fixed broken shingles,

changed fuses,

made breakfast, lunch and dinner daily

and still made time to 

be room mother or school helper

for both our classes at school.

And as we had our own kids you stepped

in again to help raise them.

What an incredible role model!

I am forever grateful and proud 

to have been your daughter.

****************

💗

Yay, Tiger Baseball!!