Mundane Monday - Eat Your Veggies - July 19, 2021

 I picked my first bunch of green beans yesterday and we've been eating salads made from my lettuce for a while now. Husband is most excited for tomatoes (which are a long way off, they've only just set blossoms) and potatoes from the garden. Daughter's boyfriend absolutely loves beets and is eyeing the ones that are getting bigger. He also like zucchinis. Son likes mostly everything, especially peas. Daughter is very easy going when it comes to most vegetables as well.

However... husband HATES brussel sprouts - calls them alien brains. Daughter hates raw onion (but will eat them fried). Son hates tomatoes but occasionally will challenge himself to eat one cherry tomato. Daughter's boyfriend can barely be around the smell of cucumbers, let alone eat one. Me? I like pretty much any vegetable, but I guess some greens, like endive or arugula can be bitter, and I would chose a different lettuce for a salad.

So here is today's Mundane Monday topic: what vegetable(s) do you despise? Share your childhood horror stores, share your reasons, or just make a list- short or long. 

What's in Bloom July 14, 2021

 Hello anyone who is reading this. The weather has been lovely with lots of rain and heat, perfect growing conditions (grows great mosquitos as well). I went around the property this morning, cell phone in hand. If you are someone who has read my blog for a while, you've likely seen these same plants last year at this time, but since I'm not super busy with my silly broken toe, I don't have much else to report on. So... here's what's in bloom:

Pots on the porch. The canna lilies have just bloomed!

Looking down on a bed that contains hostas and a pretty pink hydrangea, as well as the top of Aristotle's head.

Luscious dark daylilies!

This is Incrediball hydrangea, pretty much taking over the world.

This was one of the only still-standing delphiniums. Later this evening, I lassoed a bunch of delphiniums that got knocked over (but the stems weren't cracked) and tied them to a porch spindle and to the rail fence. The rain has been wonderful, but it's no friend to tall flowers like this.

Daylilies, daylilies, daylilies. So dependable, such a nice pop of colour.

Hollyhocks are here and there on the property. I seem to have a lot of pale yellow / peach, however I seem to have not taken any pictures of those! 

Potentilla (also known as cinquefoils) makes a lovely shrub right now.

I cut these spirea shrubs back quite a lot this spring. They are called Shirobana and they combine white and pink on their blossoms.

Limelight hydrangea is in its beautiful bright white stage.

I seem to have less and less purple coneflower (echinacea) in my flower beds, not sure why.

My crocosmia is just starting to bloom. The hummingbirds love it.

This is a medium height cranesbill (have no idea the specific kind) which blooms later than the lower growing kind. It gets a bit straggly, but it's a good filler.

My poor old Hansa rose is looking a bit dumpy, but it's still producing blooms.

I'm pretty sure this is spirea Anthony Waterer. It got a good cutting back this spring as well and is blooming very well now.

Finally, sometimes it's not about the blooms, but about the foliage instead. This is my block of lettuce in the vegetable garden. I planted alternating little mini rows of different kinds (colours) of leaf lettuce and it makes me smile to see it, plus it's so pretty in a salad. (Excuse my giant shadow in the picture!)

I'm enjoying reading my Elly Griffiths books (see my "pages" at the top for my reading list). The kitten is growing and is 80% adorable and 20% arse, but that's the way with kittens. I'm waging a constant war with cucumber beetles (also attacking my zucchini). Summer is at its height of loveliness, all hot and buzzy. 

Baby Toes and a Stick in the Eye

 It's been a whirlwind of activity lately at the old homestead. Son has been home for reading week from college and he was able to enjoy some time with friends, pool parties, and such. Our daughter and her long time boyfriend have embarked on a big life moment, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post about it, but suffice it to say everyone is happy. On Canada Day (and yes, I'm still proud to be Canadian) I was throwing together a hamburger supper and husband thought he'd add some more fuel to the burn barrel (which is no longer a barrel, but a cut-in-half old oil tank which holds a lot more than a barrel). He gathered up an armload of my cuttings (a shrubbery!) and as he was pushing the branches in, one supple branch snapped back, or sproinged, as he described it, right in his eye. 

At the same time, daughter and long time boyfriend, who were suffering some flu-like symptoms from their second covid shots the day before were in the midst of their big life dealings, a guy was coming to do a porch purchase of some classic car stuff (carpet? door things? who knows) from husband, and I was pretty sure we should head over to Emerg. at our tiny local hospital (which incidentally is only open until 8:00 p.m., so don't hurt yourself after 8:00). Husband still managed to wolf down a hamburger and then off we went to Emerg. Of course, I couldn't come in, so I sat in the car (but on the side street because I refuse to pay to park at a hospital - it's one of my pet peeves - nobody should have to pay when they go to the hospital as it's bad enough to be at the hospital because you're likely not doing so well, or someone you love isn't doing so well, so why should you pay when the money doesn't even go to the hospital? There, I'll get down from my soapbox.) He got seen fairly quickly and that doctor didn't like when she was seeing (something about a pressure difference between his good eye and his bad eye), so she referred him to a bigger hospital that had an opthemologist (sp?) on call, so off we went 45 minutes away, and of course I couldn't come in to that hospital either, so I parked down the street and husband was seen by the doctor there who prescribed antibiotic drops and gave him a "band-aid contact lense" so it would heal smoothly. He had another appointment a couple of days ago, and goes back one more time in two more days. Things are healing well, and I'm glad they took it seriously. You shouldn't mess with eyeballs.

So... then on Sunday, I ran into town because I needed gas and I also went to the L.C.B.O (liquor store - here in Ontario, alcohol is sold at the L.C.B.O., or The Beer Store, or in some bigger grocery stores, there is a section where you can buy wine. You can't buy alcohol at the corner variety store. As I was pulling up to the counter, I managed to slam my baby toe (I was in sandals) into the wheel of the shopping cart (I think, it was something at the bottom) and it hurt like blazes and I had to stop to suck air through my teeth, do some having-a-baby breathing, and not swear. I made my purchases (the girl at the counter didn't say anything like, "Oh, are you o.k.?" or "Do you need a bandaid?" or even "Serves you right for buying more alcohol than you could carry in your hand!") Just walking out to the car was agonizing. I figured I had hacked off part of my toe and didn't even want to look, but I did look, and there was no blood, but holy cow did it hurt. It hurt so much that I decided I had to go home and not continue my bit of shopping. Even pushing on the accelerator hurt (yes, it's my right foot). 

I kept thinking, I do NOT want to go to Emerg. Nothing will happen on a Sunday. If they want to X-ray it, they'll just tell me to come back on Monday when the technician is working. And do I even need to be seen anyway?? I've had broken toes before, but never the baby toe. I never saw a doctor for the other two, just hobbled around, buddy taped them to their neighbour toe and watched them turn purple with bruising. I got in the house and told husband I thought I had broken my baby toe and he did the whole, "What?!?! HOW???" thing and I was so disappointed and so P.O.'d because I knew I'd messed up a chunk of my summer. Walking is a pretty standard thing, we have a big property, I have a lot of gardens, I have chickens to tend to, I have 16 steps to go upstairs... and I know how long it takes until broken toes start to not feel broken anymore. I just wished I could go back in time and not slam my foot into that cart. Alas, I could not. I iced it and took pain killers and sulked.

So... this is the next day after the great toe incident, and yes, I'm hobbling. The positives are that I'm no longer working, so it's not like I have to be teaching with a broken toe. Also, it's summer, not winter, so I don't have to worry about trying to cram my foot into a shoe or boot. Tomorrow I go to get my second Covid shot. I'll be hobbling in there regardless. At least I know people will be distancing, so I don't have to worry about someone accidentally stepping on me - ha ha! 

I have two books at home to read, so I can put my feet up (foot up) and read and watch my weeds grow and little bit by little bit it will start to feel better. Between husband with his one eye (Arrrghhh matey) and me with one sandal on, one off, hobbling around, we're quite the pair. Son drove back to his college town tonight. It's been lovely and hot with a brief interlude of thunder and about four minutes of rain. That's my life lately. What are you up to?