August - September 14th

 

My granddaughter received a bouquet

of roses that were so beautiful, 

that I took a picture to remember them.

****

Well, as you can guess, for these last

two months, there hasn't been much

happening in our veggie garden.

The weather was either too hot

or too rainy.

But we did manage to harvest

some sweet peppers

and herbs.

****

These months were also

reminders of some solemn

occurrences in our country.

It started with the deaths of

Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.

Two beloved icons of American 

pop culture.

Then we noted the 25th

anniversary of 

September 11th.

 

I can still remember where

I was on that fateful day

of terrorist attacks on 

American soil.

It was a 2nd attack on the 

twin towers that 1st happened 

on February 26th, 1993.

We thought that it

wouldn't happen again, but

terrorists took almost 3000

lives on 9/11.

There have been estimates of

collateral damage of subsequent

deaths ranging around

25,000 more related to physical injuries

from dust, debris, trauma and

mental health issues.

Then on 1/2/2025,

right here in New Orleans,

it happened again.

14 lives lost.

Upon researching this,

I found that there have been 

over 2,600 terrorist attacks

in the U.S. since 1970.

Some of these have been domestic.

but the mass casualty count has

been about 3,500 souls.

It leaves me with a profound 

sense of impotence.

Can we really prevent any

more of this happening?

Can we find those capable

of causing this and fix it?

I think not and that saddens 

and frightens me.

I pray that it doesn't happen again.

🙏

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

Eggplants and a bunch of sweet peppers.

Another small harvest

The herb garden.

Basil, Stevia, Thyme. Oregano and Mint.

Mary's Garden

Basil

Succulent blooms

Orchid blooms

Beautiful!!

I've been dehydrating most

of the veggies and

all of the herbs.

Then I blend them into powder

that I use in cooking. 

I made my own paprika

from the red sweet peppers

and a bit of liquid smoke.

That turned out amazing!

I made 3 containers of Veggie stock

and put them in the freezer.

I'm trying out a new idea

of herbed salt.

It's just what it sounds like,

dried herbs in salt.

We did the infused olive oil

but prefer to use the herbs

alone and then add the oil.

It keeps the olive taste intact that way.

We are also making vanilla 

extract by slicing vanilla

beans and immersing them

into vodka.

It usually takes about 3 to 4 

months in a dark spot, before its ready.

We've done this several times

now and it works great!

The CEO ordered Madagascar

beans from Amazon.

It was cheaper that the grocery.

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

Also, a few milestones.

Oldest son's 47th birthday!

And...

Our youngest grandson

was off to college

😢

Packing the car

Something to be grateful for.

A recommendation.

This bread from Aldi is amazing!

Everything Sourdough

It's yummy

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

💗💚💙

July 29th

Yep.

It's hot!

Same old, same old.

Heavy sigh...

At least the thermometer doesn't

match my age...

yet.

The garden and the veggies are still hanging in there,

but it requires a lot of watering and weed removal.

I go out in the mornings to avoid

the heat, but dragonfly's must do that too.

They swarm around me, land on my hat or

clothes and are generally pests, 

but I love the little suckers.

I was outside this past week trying to

keep up with the weeds and I

started to feel faint.

That kinda scared the bejesus

outta me and in retrospect,

I've never had all my

bejesuses intact anyway.

So,

I sat in the shade for a bit and then

just gave up and went inside.

It was way too hot!

The herb garden is still going strong.

The peppers are doing great too.

My Phalaenopsis orchids are blooming!

Even my indoor succulents are about to bloom

 

So, all is not lost.

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

We've already had a close encounter

with a tropical storm that

essentially petered out.

Thank goodness!

Here's hoping the next few months

are quiet.

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

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

💗💙💚

 

May thru June 6th

Sadly, most of those who fought

so valiantly in this war have

passed on.

We honor those who gave their life

for our freedom on those beaches that day.

My dad was not there. He was in Italy,

France and North Africa with the 5th Army.

He was one of approximately

16 million Americans who served.

He was lucky to make it back home.

I noticed in today's newspaper an article

about a celebration of

"Rosie The Riveters" at the 

WWII Museum.

The article talked about the large

number of women involved in

the war effort.

Over 6 million women filled jobs

on the homefront that were

historically reserved for men.

My mother was a "Rosie" and 

I'd like to honor her too.

When my dad left for Europe,

she took a job as a clerk/bookkeeper

at the Port of Embarkation.

It was a massive military logistical

hub operated by the U.S.Army.

It was located at 4400 Dauphine St.

in New Orleans,

and deployed tens of thousands of

service members across the globe 

and millions of tons of cargo 

from 1941 to 1945.

Situated right next door to that 

massive port was the

Higgins boat complex, where

the finished boats were shipped

overseas. 

Both of my parents were

actively participating in

the war.

I'm forever proud of them.

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

The veggie garden is doing great!

We've had a lot of rain

and the plants love it.

May 2nd

Eggplant, Peppers, Asparagus,

Cherry Tomatoes and

Blue Berries.

Cucumbers

May 24th

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Eggplant

and Blackberries.

The tomatoes went into my homemade

tomato sauce. 

May24th

Heirloom Tomatoes, Roma and Cherry Tomatoes.

May31st

Tomatoes and Peppers

The tomatoes are Romas and the assorted

peppers are sweet not hot.

Most of these went into my tomato sauce

that gets frozen for later use.

Tomatoes!

Eggplants

Banana Peppers

Garlic and onions

Asparagus

A dragonfly resting on my Basil

Thai basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, basil and

some assorted flowers to entice the bees.

More of the herb garden

Mint

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

Gladiolas

Magnolia flower

Mary's Garden

The Cymbidium orchid

May 2nd

By May 4th the blooms had fallen off.

But, as of June 3rd, both orchids

are sending out flower shoots!

Yay!!

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

This is what makes me happy:

We live on a planet where

whales sing songs that travel

for miles.

Where trees can recognize 

their own offspring and

protect them underground.

Where dolphins give each other

name sounds and lightening

can create glass sculptures

in the sand.

Where horses can read human emotions,

rain has a smell, oceans

can glow in the dark

and the stars that we see at 

night might not even 

exist anymore.

And to think of the abundance

of food we get with such 

little effort.

We are so privileged to 

call this our home!

💗💚💙

 

April 30th

This spring brought out the Gardenias

in full blossom!

The scent they emit when we walk to 

the front door is amazing.

These waxy delicate blooms don't last

very long before they turn yellow,

but they are always the 2nd 'bloomers'

in our garden after the Amaryllis.

I had to cut some to bring inside.

They also attract bees!

We've learned to watch closely

for any of them flying around.

The Gladiolas are 3rd on the bloom list.

This one is stunning.

Although, this one looks like an Amaryllis,

it's a blood red Gladiola.

It's top half broke off in high winds the day before.

There's a few Amaryllis still blooming.

And...

the Cymbidium orchid is still

blooming!!

It's been almost 5 months and those blooms 

are still fresh!

Unbelievable.

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

Daily salad harvest.

I pick some lettuce, tops of onions,

celery leaves, some basil, oregano and thyme.

Mint - several varieties.

Herb garden with a few flowers to encourage bees.

Bay Laurel bush

with Amaryllis and Zinnias.

Once a week, I give the herbs a 

"haircut" and remove some of the

longer stems. 

Then, I wash them well and hang upside down

in my east facing window to dry.

This always brings that earthy, herbal

scent to the house.

We have several tomato, bell

pepper and eggplants that have small

veggies on them.

Soon we'll start that harvest.

The CEO planted potatoes, carrots,

and garlic. All of them are beginning to sprout.

There are some blue berries, black berries,

and asparagus also growing well.

The sheer joy of being able to eat

pesticide and growth hormone free

is amazing. The taste is always so

much better than the vegetables 

in the grocery. When we get way 

more produce than we can eat fresh, 

I either preserve it or dehydrate it.

Dehydrating it helps us to

enjoy the fruits of our labor well

after the growing season is over.

To prove a point, last week I used

the last of the tomato gravy I made 

and froze from last year.

Freezing, canning or dehydrating doesn't

diminish the flavors one bit.

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

I have come to the end of an era.

My youngest grandchild is graduating

from high school with honors.

It's bittersweet.

No more ferrying to and from school,

no lunches or extra curriculars.

You know that they grow up and 

that is good, but you also kind of grieve

the loss of a part of yourself.

I'm still Grammy, still needed,

but differently now.

All 5 grandkids are grown.

I'll miss those baby cuddles but

I look forward to observing

the adults they become.

💗💙💙💗💙

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

Sometimes it's nice to just sit,

smell to flowers and remind 

yourself that under boob sweat,

dirty fingernails and a slight

heat stroke, will bring forth

the best fruits of labor that

a mere twenty dollars at Aldi 

could have accomplished 

in air conditioning.

But the rewards aren't the same.

😉

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

💚💙💗