Oh, summer, you are starting to piss me off........

 

My cherry tomato plant is producing like mad.  They are smaller than grapes, but oh so tasty.  I have had a couple of fruits off my Celebrity, and the plants I grew from seed are putting on fruit as well.  I have been diligent in searching for tomato horn worms, and yesterday my black light flashlight came in, so I went out an hour after sunset ~ wow, that thing works really well.  It makes the insects glow, and although I didn't see a horn worm, I did see a katydid that I plucked off.  

But tomato horn worms are the grossest bug ever.  

My sister send me this meme after hearing my stories about finding, removing and killing these destructive insects.  Lol.

Demitri is now 2 years old...I baked him a cake (which he will generously share with his sister, Zoē) with carrots and peanut butter.  It has a peanut butter and yogurt frosting too.  Yeah, I do spoil them.  But just look at that face!  How can we not?

There is not much going on.  It's just so hot that we don't want to go anywhere.  The dogs get their walk every morning around 7:30am, and that pretty much does it except for house cleaning/tidying/dishes, etc.  I ignored my sourdough starter to the point that I ended up breaking into my dried stash to start anew.  I just don't want to turn on the oven, and I'm not brave enough to use the grill to bake in.  Luckily, Romeo is feeling energetic since he has mowed the lawn and is replacing the screen on the back door.  Zoē jumps on it, but there was already a small tear anyway.  I am going to the church hall at noon for festival baking.  Right now it's koulouria.  A butter cookie flavored with orange zest....yum.  

I hope all of you are doing your best to stay cool!

Love, 365

Colorado.....

 

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I think I mentioned that we planned on ~ and went ~ to the Denver Botanical Gardens.  In the distance I see this colorful object....and as we approached it, I said "that's a Chihuly"!  Who else would construct this colorful and crazy plant bloom/spike/weirdness?  It was really beautiful.  I love his work.

The gardens are huge.  The Japanese section was beautiful and I took a ton of photos.

This one turned out strange looking....I don't know why the lily pads washed out, I guess because the sky was so blue.  The reflection of the clouds was disturbed by the ripples in the water.  The water was very dark, and I read that they put a food-safe black dye into the water to reduce algae ~ and as a side benefit, it made the reflection of the sky really pop.

I have to say, it was really hot that day, at 97.  I was hot and sweaty after that, and a bit dehydrated until I found a few water fountains.  It was fun though!  It's worth seeing if you're traveling through.

The Denver Orthodox Cathedral.  It's beautiful, and we had a great time at the enthronement!  I saw a few people I knew!  That was a surprise.

Our new Metropolitan Constantine....AXIOS!! 

The ceiling of a smaller chapel in the cathedral.  So beautiful!

I'll leave ya with this photo I took a few days ago.  These are lenticular clouds....it was early in the morning, which is why it's so dark.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Love, 365

It's a beautiful day......

 

The hollyhocks just keep growing.  They are beautiful, and I'm really enjoying them.  I have one early plant in my garden that I will transplant in the yard, but it won't flower for two years.  

I've been enjoying my gardening, and put in a new above ground planter a few days ago.  Today ~ after we walked the dogs for 3 miles ~ I put in the ground cloth and put the 3 bags of soil in it.  As it turns out, I will need two more bags.  I know I'm putting the peach peppers in it (I think it's the color of the pepper that gives it the name) but I haven't decided what else to put in.  Somethings will come to me!

At last my chives are coming up.  They took forever!  My strawberries are putting on blooms after a month long hiatus from the spring.  I put them in a self-watering planter, and they're doing good.  Maybe next year we can harvest enough to make jam, but so far we eat them as they ripen.....so good.  

Lol, I've been looking at sofa beds for my office and this add popped up for a "human dog bed".  I just think it's hilarious.  Could you imagine your guests sleeping in one of these?  Hmmmm....I don't think so.  

The painting continues.  I've put a couple of color patches on the walls, but I may need to get a couple more to check out.  My office hasn't been painted for over 12 years, so I think it's time for a refresher.

Friday I am going with 3 others to Denver to attend an event at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Saturday.  I've never been to a cathedral, nor have I ever seen a Metropolitan be enthroned (I know, that's an odd word for it).  We're also going to go to check out the botanical gardens.  I'm really looking forward to the trip, but not so much riding in someone else's car.  I'm worried about motion sickness, which I don't have a problem with if I drive.  I do have medication (meclizine) that I'll take if I decide not to drive.  

Well, I think it's time for a shower and a nap.  I love being retired!

Love, 365 

The garden and other stuff....

 

These hollyhocks came up from seeds 2 years ago.  Last year all it did was grow and fill out ~ no complaints here, it was green.  There were two plants that came up, one was near the yard so I put a tomato cage around it so it wouldn't get trampled or cut by the mower.  This year they've grown like crazy.  The one in the photo is nearing 6 feet tall!  The other plant isn't yet blooming, but it's getting ready.  It is so nice to have them since I don't have many more flowers.  I looked at Lowe's for marigolds, but I couldn't find any.  I thought that was crazy, as lots of people plant marigolds in their gardens.

My shishido pepper has a tiny pepper on it, the tomato has two small fruits on it, my jalepeno plants have tiny little fruit.  I think those peach peppers are finally sprouting, but I still am not sure.  The one thing I can't get to sprout is chives.  What the heck?  I thought they would be easy to start from seeds.  All in all I'm happy with the garden.  This year I also planted carrots, but I'm not sure how many we'll get.

Have a wonderful week....

Love, 365

It's about thyme....

 I have an herb garden, with parsley, lavender, dill, oregano, basil and thyme.  The thyme, oregano and thyme wintered pretty well and are doing their spring growth.  So, time to cut back a bit.  I've already got some oregano drying, and this morning I cut a lot of thyme off too.  I love cooking with fresh herbs, it really does make a difference.  

Last year I had a black swallowtail caterpillar on the dill, and it munched everything, leaving only a few sticks.  But I hoped it would grow back, but no.  So, sorry butterflies, I'm going to pluck you off the first time I see you!  Fresh dill is amazing.  You can eat someone else's dill, lol.   

Romeo is helping the "loaves and fishes" ministry today, so I have a rare morning alone.  They cook food for 300+ people ~ Greek chicken, green beans, potatoes.  They are also cooking for a low income school today.  The organizers come and pick everything up, so all they have to do it cook it all.  

What to do?  The usual I suppose!  Take the dogs for a walk and see what the day brings.

Oh, and I'm having a lot of trouble posting comments.  Sent a message to blogger...lets see if they respond.

Love, 365

It's Monday! hahahaha

 

Oh, how I used to envy the people I saw out walking with or without dogs on that first day of the week.  Now, I get to be one of those people!  I do love it.  Peg mentioned that the days go by faster during retirement, and I do agree.  At 8:30pm ~ when I notice it ~ I mention to Romeo, what the heck happened to the day????  

I painted the downstairs bathroom (it's a half bath, and fairly small).  When I bought the paint, I noticed that Lowes had these packets of scent you can add to the paint.  I figured, why not?  Well, I can tell you why not.  It mixes with the scent of paint and is awful.  I won't be doing that again.  I'm heading there today to buy some garden plants and some paint samples (remember when those were free???) because I'm tackling repainting the dark accent walls with a new color.  I also need to paint my office, and our bedroom, but just one room at a time, please.  Next time I'll enjoy the scent of plain ol' paint, which is a lot better than paint mixed with lavender.  

My hollyhocks are growing like crazy, and one has shot up at least 2 feet.  It has tons of blossoms on it ~ usually they have a large single spike, but I noticed there are flower buds on the main stem too.  The original color was white with a pink center.  These came up in the yard from seeds that blew around, but I honestly don't know if they will be the same or a different shade.  One of the plants is nearly as tall as I am (which isn't saying much, haha).  I'll post a photo when they bloom.

Now that Pascha is over (Orthodox Christian Easter), I've been working on some big cleaning jobs.  I cleaned the stove top...not a favorite job.  Then I remembered that I've been meaning to clean the vent hood, specifically the blower housing.  I estimate it has been at least 10 years since I've done it.  That was a big mistake.  It took two days to clean all of that sludgy grease.  I put a reminder in my calendar for next year because I'm determined not to go through that again.  Romeo was using a spinning scrub brush, so everything around the housing was splattered with that same gunk.  I coulda killed him.  :-)

I'm making pumpernickel sourdough today.  This is one of those breads that you don't put in the fridge for a cold rest before you bake it (I did that once, and it just didn't rise well, so was too dense).  So, if you don't get started early (8am) I'll be up late finishing it.  Most of the time I make pumpernickel for our Priest, as he loves it.  This time we're gonna try it.  I think it'll be great with ham and swiss.  Probably won't have it today though; the last time I made it I was baking at 8pm.  

Well, I guess I've bent your ear (or would that be your eyes, haha) long enough, and I need to get a few things done.  Have a great week!

Love, 365

Drivers just wanna be first........

 This is my signature meme for drivers, haha.  I remember drivers ed....we've seen the consequences on the highway and streets when people tailgate.  But mostly I become annoyed at those who just don't want to be behind anyone.  You see them, as I think this is a country ~ or maybe world-wide issue.  Someone slips right in front of you, causing you to slow down (or worse, put on the brakes because they did so they don't hit the person in front of them).  I look in my rear view, and there's no one behind me.  Arhg, that really burns my buns. 

I am busy this morning, have to bake 5 loaves of prosphoro for Sunday.  Tomorrow, we're baking 63 loaves of tsoureki to sell.  It's a delicious bread (although I like it with orange zest, and we're apparently not doing that).  Yesterday I drove all over running errands, partly to get the flour, eggs, etc for tomorrow.  I also had to go to a restaurant supply for sesame seeds, the only place that had a big container of them.  There's a Costco near by, so I figured I would go to that one, but recalling I planned to order contacts from Costco, I decided to go to back across to the one closest to us.  Dropped off a clothing and shoes donation, picked up my rx for my second uti this year, and went to get doggie shampoo.  Luckily dinner was leftovers.....

This vegan tortilla soup is soooo good.  Onion, garlic, chipotle chiles, veg broth, can of fire roasted tomatoes, a can of black beans, plenty of spices.  It is very spicy, which is just the way we like it.  It is blended with an immersion blender, which I like as I'm not a big fan of beans.  

Recipe: 1/2 tsp oil, 1 onion diced, 3-4 garlic cloves minced, 1 jalepeňo or 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 400g dices tomatoes or use fresh, 3 Tbsp tomato past, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 3 cups veg broth, 1/2 cup corn (fried, although I just use the grilled corn from last summer that I removed from the cob and froze), 15 oz black beans rinsed and drained, 1 avocado sliced or chopped, 1/2 cup plant based milk or more veg. broth.     

Heat oil in a large pot and saute onion, jalepeno, garlic over med. heat 3-4 min.  Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, all condiments, the broth and plant based milk, and beans.  Stir to combine, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 min.  Blend until smooth with an immersion blender.  

They also put a recipe for homemade tortilla strips, but I just bought some.  Serve with the avocado slices and tortilla strips.    *****I used fire roasted tomatoes and chipotle chiles because I love lots of spicy flavor.  

Two loaves baked, and waiting on the next two to rise for shaping.  In the meantime there's lots of other chores to do!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 365

Spring has sprung, let the gardening begin....

 

This show of blooms was just the beginning! Of course they smell amazing, and all the pollinators think so too. Windows and back door open to catch that scent inside.  Unfortunately they don't do well as cut flowers.

I finally had my colonoscopy, and everything was fine.  I didn't even get sick after from the anesthesia.  The woman who did my anesthesia is a patient at the dental office I worked at.  It's a really small world out here in New Mexico!  Next week I have a mammography scheduled and a teeth cleaning.  

I sound like I'm old....oh, wait....

I need to go water grass and plant a few seeds!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 365

Preparing for summer....

 

This is a banner day for us ~ we're having our new heating/ac system installed.  We will be ready for summer, without the issues that evaporative cooling has: climbing on the roof to prepare, replacing the pads mid-summer, and that oh so wonderful ~ and usually the hottest day of the year! ~ day when the water pump goes out requiring an emergency run to the hardware store and an uncomfortable hour on the roof to install.  Romeo is thrilled ~ and has been hanging out while they are working, which I'm sure they love, haha.

Installation comes with it's downsides though, like lots of noise.  Demitri is doing ok, but poor Zoē is not.  I finally broke down and gave her a sedation pill (left over from her spay) to calm her down.  She was shaking and terrified.  After holding her for an hour or so, she is now in one of her favorite spots (see photo above).  I guess the pill finally did it's job.  Wish I could tell her it's going to be going on all day! 

This morning I also had the unpleasant notification that the company that finances our funeral arrangements made a rather large boo boo and removed over $1,000 more from our account than is necessary.  I called them earlier, and 2 hours later I'm still waiting for them to call me back.  The lady said that if we're doing 90 days same-as-cash I need to call ~ which I fully intended to do, but they were closed for Good Friday.  I also mentioned that I had expected a call from them, which never happened.  I'm sure it'll all be good, but Romeo is rather peeved.  Argh. 

Well, I guess I will try to get something done other than hold the puppy's paw and tell her it's ok.  

Love, 365

Shall we go crazy? Yes, I think we shall.......

 There are a lot of things on my mind lately.  One of them is my upcoming colonoscopy.  Which I don't want.  

I had one scheduled last fall, but I ended up with a migraine and didn't go (this was after I had already gone through the entire prep).  I did not relish dry heaves on the drive there.  Haha  So I rescheduled, and it's in about 10 days.  I haven't even bought my prep stuff yet.  Don't worry though ~ I am a pro at crastination.  My doc gave me permission to take ibuprophen to prevent the migraine, even though it may increase bleeding.  

I am also one of a three person team that buys and then decorates with flowers during Lent.  It's at least a once a week endeavor.  I also bake the prosphoro, but after this Sunday, I only have one more date, so I can deal with that.  The decorating I am really thinking a lot about is the kouvoulikon (see below):

 I will be responsible for ordering and designing the flowers for this year ~ my first go at it.  I have a max budget of 1,500, but I am already at 850 and still need to order more.  Flowers have really gone up in price.  Someone was explaining that companies that used to grow flowers are now growing pot, because they make a lot more money.  Plus, our Easter is on May 5th, right around Mother's Day, and flowers always go up then as well.  

So, right in the middle of Lent, I'm having this dratted colonoscopy.  

I even went online about the idea of not doing it.  And every single one, said do it.  So, I will do it, but I don't have to be happy about it.  I suppose no one is, right?  Could be worse, sure I know that.  It's just a screening, not armageddon.  Lol

Enjoy your week....and I hope you aren't getting the snow we're getting right now!

Love, 365

False spring is over.....

 

I took this photo of a ranunculus I bought a few days before.  They are such beautiful flowers ~ so delicate and brightly colored.  I don't know how long they will last, but they should do OK until it gets hot.  I planted strawberries in the same raised planter, which was probably dumb, since they need full sun and the ranunculus likes a bit of shade.  I wanted to plant a creeping vinca today, and some of my herb seeds, but it has turned cold and windy.  False spring is over for a few days!  This is how it will be, warm and sunny for 3 or 4 days, and then it'll get cold again.  

Zoē is doing great.  Back to her normal energetic and hungry self.  Her incision is healing well, and I figure in a couple more days, the little bit of swelling and redness will be gone.  I am really glad that's over!  Luckily she isn't focused on licking it all the time...I only notice it once a day.  

I have been quilting....something I haven't done in a few years.  I guess I just had a bug, and wanted to make my youngest a quilt.  I am probably about 1/3 of the way, with lots to go.  I had forgotten how expensive fabric is these days.  I bought a large spindle of cotton quilting thread, and that stupid thing was over $20.  It'll last a very long time, at least.

I am very excited to go clothes shopping with some of my church friends tomorrow afternoon.  I don't even remember the last time I did that!  It's supposed to be a "sip and shop", so I assume there will be wine there.  I wouldn't mind a little!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Love, 365