goodbye july

for karen

perhaps these will counterbalance the rocks :)

contents:
the largest freakiest cherry tomatoes in the world, which may in fact be dwarf regular tomatoes. not sure.
the largest romas in the world. which is good.
the pinkest cutest heirloom in the world.
one lone regular tomato. very unstunning in relation to all the others.

:) grow tomatoes, people. that's all i've got to say.

if you were me

would you pass up a chance to see both 'need to breathe' and 'mercy me' for free if it involved any/all of the following elements:

• bugs
• long walks thru crappy corn fields
• carrying your little portable chair
• more people than you ever want to meet in your lifetime
• on vacation weekend
• traffic jams and getting home gosh knows when

or, would you do what any self-respecting middle aged person would do, and just stay home and listen to them on the radio?

man. sometimes i wish God hadn't given us so much free-will :)

monday update

i cannot believe it's been a week (almost) since i posted. i KNOW i was engaged in important activities last week that should have been documented. but, i kind of forgot what they were :)

summer. you suck the brains right out of my body.

i did upload all of the photos on my camera, which told a c0uple of stories...


my wardrobe is reminding me a lot of 1985 these days. tomorrow i have to head up to sdsu for some training on the classes. i think i should get out the hoop earrings, bangle bracelets, keds and this outfit, just to see if i scare the new boss into forgetting what decade it is! ha. i'm pretty sure there are some things that should not be resurrected.


zucchini don't like squash borers. this plant was beautious and fruitful just last week, but alas, it looks like my zucchini days are over for this summer.


i hope the butternut squash is not next. i'm going to go out and pray for it this morning, and ask God to protect it and bless me with soup this fall. even if i don't get soup, don't you LOVE the leaves? gorgeous. go away, squash bugs!


all in all, life = peaceful over here on the forty. i hope that God is shining down peace on you this week also!

veggie parade

mmmmmmmmm. more good stuff coming in every day.






and the pesto is kind of growing on me :)

jazzed up

well, the kingdom of God met the king of beers this weekend, and i got to witness it. and you know what? God knows people drink beer!

ha.

here's the scoop. i signed up awhile ago to serve at the local Jazzfest with mercy church. i had visions of hot days and handing out water bottles at the time, thanks to a prior experience in which that is what i did. i did not even think twice about it. christians hand out water to people in need. no second thoughts necessary.

i should have gotten a clue when in subsequent emails, pastor shel started to refer to our location as the 'beverage' tent. to give him some credit, he actually said (several times) that if you are uncomfortable around beer, this was not the service opp for you. i disregarded that statement, thinking that the proximity of the water tent and the beer tent must be close....because, you know, christians don't hang out with beer around.

sheesh.

finally, about a week beforehand, it started to dawn on me, and i ASKED. yikes, it was definitely serving in the beer tent. after a slight freakout, i still did not allow myself to think about it much...i was SURE i'd be wiping the tables or possibly checking for IDs. surely, a christian would not do anything but that. i mean, I'M A CHRISTIAN!

yeah, right. by the end of the first night, i had gotten pretty comfortable with yelling "BUD HEAVY" to the guys in the back by the big cattle troughs filled with icewater and cold beer. that's because i was upfront at the beer tent, taking orders and taking beer tickets. it did not take long for me to remember back to the day when i talked to people who drank beer....! seriously. i did remember that 'those' people are pretty much just people.





the big question that was left in my mind after the end of the weekend was....how in the HECK did i become one of those 'christians' who is afraid to be with people who have a beer in their hand? one of those christians i SWORE i would never become? is drinking beer the real trouble? or is the trouble that in nine short years i have isolated myself from what Jesus commanded me to do? which is to be a light, to show the joy and happiness i have experienced from His saving love in my life! no matter where i am?

i don't know the answer to that. it was a wakeup call for sure. and you know what? it was FUN. there. i said it. quite a few people asked about what kind of church would be slinging beer at a jazz fest. it was kind of good to say 'mercy church. it's right up the road. God hangs out there.'

and you know what? He does. and He is. everywhere you would not expect Him to be. i really really really wonder where else He is going to take me along the way!

yummy

so last night i made a pesto pasta. even though i am not a HUGE fan of either pesto or pasta. but, i have a ton of basil in my garden.

it was kind of yummy! thanks to loretta for giving me some clue as to how to use the pesto....


recipe is very vague, because i did not measure.

Garden Pesto:

2 c. basil leaves
1/2 c. walnuts
1/3 to 1/2 c. olive oil
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 to 1/3 c. parmesan cheese
pinch of salt

blend in food processor until smooth. very pretty color.


Garden Pasta:

Slice up a zucchini, then add to a bowl of cold water mixed with 1 T. of sea salt. let set for 20 minutes. dry off with a clean kitchen towel and set aside.

Boil up some thin spaghetti noodles.

Meanwhile, heat up a T. or so of olive oil in frying pan. add 1 chopped sweet red onion from garden, and 1/2 of giant red pepper from hy=vee.

saute for a bit, then add the zucchini. let saute for about 5 minutes, til zucchini is soft.

when noodles are cooked, drain and add 1 or 2 T. of the pesto. mix well.

mix in the veggies, then top with a little more parmesan cheese!

pretty easy! and delish!

fruitful

well, well, well. look what fell into my lap earlier this week! guess i better adjust my weekend plans of napping and reading novels :)


then in a couple months, these will be coming my way also :)

i've got friends in low places, it seems. and we both are feeling a little slumpish today ;)

festivus time

Life is good music festival

Junk Bonanza

two festivals that i would like to go to...mostly because their websites are beautiful! i love marketing ;)

there is a good posibility that i will make it to the 2nd one, God-willing.

officially

it started last march - you guys know how i get in march...

well, way back then, in a semi-light-deprived-state, i applied for a job. doing something i've never done before. but always kind of thought about. but somehow life got in the way.

a teaching job.

me - a teacher!

wow. that is kind of a leap. except that it really isn't. i've always loved education. i was one of those little kids who ALWAYS got excited about the first day of school. i loved going to sdsu back in the early 80s. i loved working at sdsu as my first job of college back in the late 80s.

i even applied to go back to school for a master's degree way back in 1993. except that lawrence and schiller came along, and since i was driving a 1980 vw rabbit at the time that seemed about ready to expire, i took the steady income instead of the sureness of more poverty on the way to a teaching career.

funny how sometimes, God remembers things that you almost forgot.

so this fall, i will get a do-over. a chance to see if teaching is for me....with a temporary position at sdsu, which makes it all the sweeter. except that it's here in SF, which makes the commute quite nice.

i will do 2 classes this fall, and 2 this spring. i am quite nervous, but trying not to think about it.

and if i happen to like it, i may get a chance to be a broke graduate student all over again! whew. somehow that sounds kind of romantic. except for the broke part :))

so, prayers are welcome. i sent the acceptance letter in on saturday. i prayed a quick prayer that God would help me with my decision, for better or for worse. which He always does.

and once again, i am excited for fall and 'back to school.' :))

color splash

finally! this week the colors showed up!

happy friday y'all :)

or this one!

this 1965 ford f-100 reminds me of my grandpa...

we used to go out for drives in one just like it...it had a GIANT steering wheel!

i remember once saying 'grandpa! i think we are going to drive in the grass now!'

yep, he was not paying attention to the road, but watching the fields as he moseyed along smoking his giant yummy-smelling pipe - going 15 or 20 miles an hour! sad thing was, he was heading for the ditch on the opposite side of the road :)) schwew. glad i was there to help.

want #347

someday, someday, someday!!! :)

post post

there are a MILLION things i could probably blog about today.

like the fact that my zucchini is frustrating me.

or that i must have caught sleeping sickness from somewhere, i am SO TIRED.

or that i have vacation coming up, but cannot remember where exactly or when exactly, so i will have to ask Lou.



but instead, i will blog a 'thumbs up' for post toasties. i did in fact buy a box from a large red, white and blue display at the grocery store on july 4th. i'm sure i was not affected by the holiday sentiment.

i bought them because the boxes are fantastically designed.


and because it's great when old things become new.

and because the frosted flakes especially are yummy. kind of like mainlining pure cane sugar. which might have something to do with the reason i am tired.


:) happy day!

BP on the BF

i had my own little personal oil spill over here on the back forty yesterday. i was feeling pretty smart about getting up on the roof and doing 'tar session #2' until later in the afternoon, when .75 inches of rain fell in a torrential downpour lasting about a half hour.

this morning, i could see the aftermath on the whole south side of the sun porch. luckily, no ducks, birds, or fish were hanging out there at the time (i don't think). the poor hosta may need until next year to fully recover, however :-(

lazy day

how great to have a monday holiday! it's so quiet here in the neighborhood :))

i have been spending lots of time out in the sun porch this weekend. i have some bad news to deal with, the water damage to my roof seems pretty extensive. not sure when the budget will allow me to rebuild it, but i hope it stays standing in the meantime.

i do have a small dream percolating. as long as i am probably going to have to rebuild anyway, i am thinking how cool it would be to put on 'green roof' on my porch! i do have a direct view of it from my kitchen window, so i could enjoy it at least from a ways away.

i know. it will cost a bajillion dollars. but dreaming is free ;)


and while i'm at it, i might as well dream about THAT, too!

patriotic

happy birfday, america :)) i really really really love you alot!~

just another day at the office

is anybody besides me NOT ready for july?! where did april, may and june go? i admit that my june was FANTASTIC, with just the right amount of projects, and lots/lots/lots of time to rest and be in the garden.

july looks to be just a little bit busier. well, things look to be busier up til 2011, to be honest, but i don't like to think about that too much.

so, yesterday, i decided i better get the heaviest work done right away in the morning. because making jam is tough labor.


rani had given anne and i some of her sour cherries last weekend when we drove to montrose. that tree she has is gorgeous! i am trying not to covet, but it will be a long time before my little cherry tree looks like hers.

i digress. i did need to get those cherries 'put up' before they went bad. so, i decided to make jam. not jelly, which truthfully is alot easier, but jam. meaning you have to pit each one of those tiny little buggers pictured above. hard work, i tell ya.

unfortunately, halfway into the process, i realized i did not have enough sugar to make jam. i ended up using part splenda. we'll see how that goes over....

then, most of the way thru the process, i realized i have NO IDEA where i put my canner last fall. how can somebody lose a giant canner?! ask me! i'll give you pointers!

anyway, a quick trip to lewis was made, and 6 little pints of cherry jam currently sit on my counter.

AND i did in fact do some office work in the afternoon as well.



however, when i got home from bible study last night....guess which endeavor i was more grateful for?

:) happy day!