Don't Let These Photos Fool You

Like so many vegetable gardens in California, we are having a very late season. And vegetables are just beginning to turn color. Not, only that, but the volume in my garden is very skimpy. It has been such a mild summer this year. Lovely, but unusually low temperatures and a longer winter than usual. The thermometer has been reading in the mid to high eighties most of the season.

 

This is the garden in early July.

  

And, this is now, at the end of August.

So, these photos are very deceiving because the plants have very little produce. Since the vegetable planter box was built, the many many trees have grown significantly and there is a lot less sunshine. However, the trees were trimmed this year with my vegetable garden in mind. Actually, I had one tree removed so there would be more hours of sunshine on the vegetable garden.

The zucchini and the squash are putting out blossoms but they have all fallen off so far. I sure hope I can get at least a few for the "all-time-favorite" - - - Zucchini Bread!

Great Parsley - don't you think?

I am growing the "very best" Hollyhock leaves - - - but, NO FLOWERS. Go figure! Where are you, Mr. Sunshine?

I will keep you posted if I have a big surprise of more tomatoes than I can eat.  : )

And, I will leave you with some Happy Sunflower Faces!

Have a Good Day.

A Little Lesson About "The Thumb"

Can you see  The Mitten?   Michiganites have a way of communicating geographical location by using their hands!

The left palm is the Upper Peninsula and the right palm is the Lower Peninsula. All you have to do is to place your left palm above your right palm and you will have a Map of the Great Lakes State.  We spent our vacation in the vicinity of  The Thumb  in the Lower Peninsula specifically the south east area..

Does this next photo (from goggle images) help you to see what I am trying to explain? It was a lot of fun listening to "the relatives" describing to me where towns and cities were located by using their hands. I have never seen anything like that in the past. I love learning new things.

More about our vacation yet to come.

I hope you a having a Fabulous Day.

Wonderful Classical Music On A Sunday Evening

Following a busy Saturday  and then a busy Sunday with Church and then Brunch we enjoyed a relaxing evening with beautiful music, mostly classical. The vocalist was exceptionally talented. There were many of us sitting in the park with lounge chairs and picnic food. It was such a nice way to start the week.

 

 

It was a beautiful evening in the park with lovely views of the sky through the tall trees.

Saturday, was a very full day for us. We drove a friend of mine to a funeral for her nephew. It was held  two hours from here. And, while she was attending the event, we went to visit another friend that I have known for thirty years. She is 82 years old and is living in a senior residential home because she has had several strokes. She is able to talk and can get around with a wheelchair. This is the second time we have been able to visit her and she was very happy that she could see us again. MSM was behind the steering wheel for a total of seven hours. His endurance continues to impress me given his age of 83! And, it was so kind of him to do all of this for me. I am blessed.

There will be more "vacation photos", soon!  

I hope you had a Great Weekend.

Fabulous Michigan Vacation

This is just a quick post. I will post more in the days to come. Arrived home last evening feeling relaxed and joyful. It was such a nice vacation. We saw many beautiful sights and spent a lot of time with the family of MSM. Detroit is his birthplace.

This photo was taken on the deck of his niece's family summer cottage on Lake Huron. They spend the summers there and manage their five rental summer cottages, Krebs Lane Cottages.  It is truly lovely. But, of course a lot of hard work for them. The remainder of the year they live in the suburbs of Detroit.

Just look at the view from the cottage !

The time we spent with the family was priceless.

This day the lake was so very still with very little movement.

And look at it this day, very active with rough water !

The weather was great the whole time we were away and we were very thankful.

 

I hope you are having a Wonderful Day.

Let Me Show Off My Kitchen

This kitchen redo was completed a few years ago and periodically I try to take a photo. But, I never seem to capture the colors as I see them in real life. However, this is close. The mosiac backspash (needless to say) is the focal point of my rather small kitchen. Yes, the cabinets are purple! Never in my life did I ever think I would have a "purple kitchen". But, I do. It all started with my idea to use broken dishes to create a "one of a kind" mosaic backsplash. I just happened to find some boxes of dishes at a Ross store that had some breakage. In fact, there were three boxes of the same pattern selling for $4.99 each. I loved the bright primary colors and I quickly picked them up. Now, really, how many people would want what I wanted? After all, they were broken ! ! ! 

If you look closely, you can see a stained glass hummingbird and flower hanging from the cupboard above.  I have always been fond of hummingbirds and in the past I have had quite a collection of them. You know how it is when friends know you might be collecting something, they like to add to the collection. My little house does not lend itself to lots of collections. So, I have sold a lot of them. Yes, sometimes I miss things. But, it is always a short lived feeling.

I will try to get some decent photos of the remainder of the kitchen at a later date.  It is difficult to get the lighting so the reflecxtions don't show all over the photos. I need to do this when I have plenty of time.

Well, we are soon off for our vacation to Michigan. I am feeling very relaxed and looking forward to each and every day.

 We will be spending a lot of time with the sister of MSM who lives at St Clair Shores. I am looking forward to getting to know her. I have enjoyed talking with her on the telephone.

I hope you have a Good Week.

 

Crockpot Cooking In The Summer

Yesterday, I decided to prepare a crock pot dinner. I used some short ribs that were in the freezer along with other ingredients that I had in the pantry. The recipe is Slow Cooked German Short Ribs from allrecipes.com. And, they were wonderful! MSM is very fond of beef so I frequently look for recipes with beef. My choice is usually poultry or seafood. But, I am very happy to make whatever he would like. It has been a while since I have prepared dinner. I almost forgot to take a photo of the entrée. So, this is the best I have to show you.

The weather was about 10 degrees cooler than the past few days so it was a pleasant day to cook. We had the short ribs over wide egg noodles along with a lettuce salad and corn-on-the-cob. I was glad that I made the effort to do this because it was one and a half years since we started "going out". And, I had totally forgotten the date until I saw MSM coming to the door with a bouquet of flowers and a card.

A few months back, MSM started bringing me flowers on the 4th of the month to celebrate our monthly anniversary. And, he always has a special card with just the right verse. I have received several florist bouquets from him and they are always lovely. But, I have told him that I can be just as happy with less expensive flowers. And, if he wants to get florist flowers for me on special holidays, that would be just fine with me. He is very thoughtful and always wanting to show his love for me!  We seem to be over the very rough spots related to his previous alcohol use.

We are looking forward to our trip to Michigan to see his sister.  By the way -  she is 87 years young and doing just fine. Actually, she is "going strong" and is still on a bowling league.  We have a direct flight out of San Francisco and that will certainly be easier on me and my back than having to change flights along the way. We will be away for one week. He shortened the trip by a few days to make it less physically demanding for me. I am looking forward to seeing all the sights around Detroit and his birthplace. He reassures me that he will be taking good care of me. He has certainly done a nice job of planning the activities that we plan to do.

If I don't post again before leaving town, I will have all kinds of things to blog about when we return.

I hope your weather is as nice as we are having today. It is a beautiful morning!

 

ADDED LATER ~ Guess What?  I just realized that I made the same Short Rib recipe this past January. I guess that tells you how much is on my mind. But, really, I am feeling quite fine!

A Peak Outside

This is what I see when I look out my front door window ~ and I like it!  This is a favorite summer plant of mine. It is called CALIBRACHOA and there are several varieties and colors. They are like a tiny petunia that drapes nicely from pots and hanging baskets. I moved this ornamental plant stand to a location that I can see from my front door and I am glad I did!
 

Walking to the other side of the house I saw this Oriental Lily starting to bloom.  

The name is CASABLANCA LILY.

 Within a couple days is was absolutely gorgeous and continues to open with more and more blooms everyday.

The Day lilies are in full bloom. So, let's take a look at some of them.

That's my "show and tell" for today.

Have a Fabulous Summer Day.