Veggies @ MindSay

Have you been missing the veggie pictures?  Well, yesterday was a great picking day.  The garden this year was better than ever.  Can't wait for next years! 

Cleaned jalepenos yesterday and are drying as we speak.  Today should be pesto day ... put it off long enough.  We'll see how it goes.



Starting off with a little veggie art by Dave ....



Veggies, veggies and more veggies .....



Little frog living in the garden .... he / she is a cutie, no?

Actually made it to the house last night.  I finally saw the one girl I had not seen since I left and she was the one girl I was closest too.

When I walked in the door she was sitting at the dining room table with her back to me .... I said "hello?" ..... everyone was at the table .... she turned around saw me, screamed "JULIE!!!", came running and about knocked me over.  She hung on to me and sobbed for a good five minutes.  I did my best not to cry, the other girls stood back and smiled, knowing that this reunion was a long time coming.

Not much was accomplished last night .... my mind overwhelmed with such a greeting.  I was there for an hour and a half and thinking boss lady was just a bit bothered by the lack of actual crafting.  Next week (if there is a next week) will hopefully be more productive.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday .... heading to claim sometime tomorrow.

Peace.  J.

Tomatoes tomatoes and more tomatoes.  One rather large zucchini .... which will get turned into bread tomorrow.  One curly cucumber, green beans, yellow crookneck and some very pretty kale.

I picked at least 30 yellow squash yesterday and about five zucchini regular size.  The carrots are just becoming perfect.  The grape and cherry tomatoes are at their end .... struggling at this point to keep going.  I have eaten more of these yummy maters this year than ever before.

Some will go with us to the river this weekend .... some will go to friends .... and some will stay with mom.  Need to go get a few ears of corn to take as well.  YUMBO!

Peace.  J.

everyone in portland comes outside in summer. to eat in cafes, to ride their bikes, to garden, kayak, visit farmers' markets and shop for the exotic at the Portland Saturday Market under the Burnside Bridge. What a great event... with people of all shapes and sizes and colors and decoration coming together to listen to music, get hennaed, buy fun stuff and eat from the dozens of food venders. I dont know what I ate was called but it was from The Horn of Africa booth and was delicious. And jimmy gave me a hat for High Holy Days.green velvet and funky. and I got a few tips from the very kind milliner of adding pins to fabric flowers.

 

 

This morning we went to the farner market at wilson high school and brought home tomatoes grown in ctual dirt, zucchini, green beans, chanterelles , berries, peaches, arugala, and calla lilies. I am a sucker for fresh flowers and the abundance of them is heavenly. So for dinner  we sat on the deck, calla lilies in the middle of the table and the little candle lantern my friend Celeste Sabel ( A GREAT  potter) traded me for a silk tallit and we had risotto with chanterelles , garlic, and chives from the flower pots. and a salad of sliced tomatoes, mozzerelle, and basil leaves sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. Does it get better?

 

 

My sewing buzz is still loud and fun and I am getting a lot done. abi tries to play with the threads and then finally goes to sleep after a few "no abi" comments. I started a new tallit today; dyed the silk in the morning and starting laying it all out this afternoon. The studio ceiling fan has made all the difference in my ability to stay there for hours and the new embellisher machine is  the worlds best tool for someone like me who loves color, unpredictability and spontaineity. I love giving up some control to the fiber gods. tomoorrow i will make some flats of thick felt to shape into a fat for embellishing. That should be interesting as I have only sewn hats before.

 

what I really need to do is build up a stash of made things and get my hips over to some local craft fair. Amen.

This morning came with not much change in the overall attitude.  I'm trying though to do more today ..... and hopefully this afternoon we will head out for a couple of caches that are up and away from civilization for the ride if nothing else. 

The smoke has settled in the valley once more.  The wind blowing it in ..... wishing it would change directions.  Thinking I may not call work tomorrow at all and just show up at the NA meeting (Narcotics Anonymous).  There is no doubt she will want to speak with me on Tuesday.  And if I have overstepped my boundaries .... maybe a call to tell me what those boundaries were would have been in order.  And I am at peace with that decision as it stands right now.  Excited to see the girls.

Now for your enjoyment (or not) ...... garden photos ..... just a few:



Artichoke getting ready to flower ....



Squash flower with a visitor .....



Squash flower with two visitors .....    I really like squash flowers .... not only are they pretty .... they are good eating too .....



Sorry ..... had to do it .....



My herb garden ..... thyme, rosemary, sage  ..... and also some Jerusalem artichokes .... and oregano grow in this area.



The fish pond ..... one of my favorite spots to sit .... and stare ..... and think .....

And that's all folks ...... I'm going to go out on the porch .... partake in a bowl ...... and then who knows ?

Peace.  J.

Yes .... it's true ..... for those that were around this place last year you know you got overloaded with vegetable pictures ..... daily.  Well, I'll try not to do it daily ..... but no promises.

So far this year we have eaten asparagus, beans, tomatoes, kale, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, raspberries, basil, zucchini and yellow squash ..... fresh out of the garden.  And now things are coming on strong.  Thinking a stuffed zucchini will be good for dinner tonight ...... since I just found a zucchini that had apparently slipped by.

As I've stated many times before ..... I tend to eat while I pick ...... therefore not as much makes it to the house that should.  I prefer all my veggies raw over cooked ...... any day.  So it's hard to resist when in the middle of all that freshness. 



This mornings pickings ...... almost all ..... but not quite ..... no cherry tomatoes made it in .... I ate them. And there were probably like 3x as many grape tomatoes ..... but I ate those too.  While I picked beans.  And they were good.  The broccoli is yummy too.  Just ate a couple bites from it.



Broccoli and an onion.  There are more onions .... just not in picture.  Squash plant in background.



Someday ...... cantaloupe ..... yummy!  Babies all over that thing.



Not all of our corn came up this year ..... but we should have enough.  Just wish it would hurry up!



Basil .... bad crop this year ..... only about a 1/4 came up ..... will plant more in the next day or two.



Our potatoes didn't come up either ..... so Dave replanted today .....



Zucchini and yellow squash plants.  Petey is a big fan of veggies and he is hard to keep out of any and all plants. He's pretty sure that there is a squash in here that has his name on it.



Artichoke plant .... there are two .... our plants from last year did not survive the winter so we planted these this year.  Although it's bearing artichokes ..... they won't be edible this year ..... but next is a different story .... and I'll make sure these babies get covered up good before ground freeze and snow comes.



Kale ..... almost to pretty to eat .... but darn I love the stuff !  There is a piece of a bean plant on the left of the kale .... there is a whole row of them .... just didn't take picture ...... lucky for you ..... camera died.

So there you have it ..... the beginning of many I'm sure garden photos and daily bounty photos. 

No smoke today ..... few clouds and a slight breeze.  Warmed up a few degrees as well ... thankfully.

I think I will start in on the living room ..... getting it picked up and cleaned.  Mom disappears and I turn into a teenager again .... I noticed I have shoes everywhere .... and clothes ...... been layering due to the weird weather ya know ....

Ok ... hoping that everyones Thursday is a good one.  Mines kind of kick back today ..... not to highly motivated at all .... maybe it was all those tomatoes I ate?  LOL

Peace.  J.