Farm Equipment

Well, okay, so its not exactly "farm" equipment - more like garden tools. But it does look kind of like some farm equipment I have seen. But the important part is that it is mine, and it didn't cost much, only $35! Of course, for that amount it doesn't run very well, but we'll work on that.

The Beginning

For a variety of reasons, we have a lot of dirt in our garden, and it doesn't always want to stay there. So we thought of some ways to inhibit its wanderings, and decided on one that would be somewhat nice looking, as well as functional - a low retaining wall. It is actually part of our larger efforts to spruce up the back yard and fix some things we have wanted to change for some time now. Here is the foundation layer of blocks on the south end of the garden where it will be the highest - probably 3 blocks high. This picture is actually over a week old, but I neglected to take a picture of my progress to date this morning, and now it is too dark to do so. Maybe Wednesday. Stay tuned.

Oooops. This photo predates the August 31 post seen below. Oh well, so much for continuity.

Greek To Us, But Good Eats!

Last Saturday we finally got around to eating at the little Greek cafe on the corner of Bunce and Richland. It was great! I had a variety of things - a little taste of everything - and Joanne had a really great panini with roast turkey, smoked gouda, red peppers, onion, and baba ganoush. This last item is apparently a "grilled eggplant dip". I had some Mediterranean Penne Pasta, a dolemathe "stuffed grape leaf" (see picture at right, on the white plate), some falafel (see picture at right, in the clear bowl). And to put on the falafel, a kind of "paste" made of chopped olives of all varieties, mixed with some other stuff and in olive oil. It was by far my favorite thing, and was excellent on the falafel. Upon the suggestion of the owner, I took some home and mixed it with cream cheese and had it on wheat thins and pita chips. Wow, what great stuff! I took some over to Pete & Mel, so I am interested to hear what they thought of it.

Sayonara Summer?

This last Saturday was another scorcher, well over 100 degrees. Uncle Peter & Aunt Melody spent the day at the CA State Fair and had a ball. I spent the cooler part of the day in the back yard beginning to put in a small retaining wall around our garden to keep the dirt from escaping, and to improve the appearance of our yard. Here is the foundation level of stones, just laid out, not yet set. We'll keep you updated on the progress as it goes up.

Looking the other way, here is a shot of our grape arbor with the grape vines on it. They have made some great progress this summer.

Although we are still in for some hot weather, we may be past the hottest of it (over 100 degrees), and will slide gradually into the cooler weather of Fall. As a farewell tribute to Summer, and applying our newly-sharpened yard sale-ing skills from our time in IN, we picked up the bbq shown here for a fiver and christened it tonight with dogs, chicken & spinach sausage, and grilled zucchini and pineapple.

The pineapple had cinnimon on it, and the zucchini had Mrs. Dash Southwestern Chipoltle on it. And as you can see, I cooked it just the way I like it. Yummmmmm.

Grandma Gets Schooled

We just had such a wonderful visit in Indiana. Lots of fun and good company.
On one of the days I got to take care of Brooke, Tyler and Kate. Brooke and Tyler went out swimming and when they got done I decided that I would give them a quick bath. We went up in the loft and and I got Tyler into the tub while Brooke played out with the toys and Kate slept. I got Tyler all dressed and Brooke into the tub. Kate started to cry so I ran downstairs to give her her binkie and as I was down there I hear Brooke yelling "Grandma, Tyler is the in tub, Grandma, Tyler is in the tub." I am thinking that Tyler is probably in the bathroom so I run upstairs and Tyler is in the tub fully dressed just having a great time in the tub. He was so happy and so excited that he was back in the water. Lesson #1 - Life is too short to let little barriers get in our way and we need to enjoy life as it comes.

One afternoon I was visiting with Brooke and she asks me,"Grandma, who is your best friend?" I quickly answer,"Brooke, you are my best friend." Brooke looks at me and says "No Grandma, Grandpa is your best friend." "You are right Brooke. So who is your best friend?" I ask. "Mom, Jeremy, and Kate," Brooke replies with a smile.

Lesson #2 - Families are our best friends. Though we are imperfect and we have our differences, we have within our families a great source of support, strength and love. Elder H Bruce Stucki of the Seventy said: "I sincerely believe that in the sanctity of the family our love, loyalty, respect, and support for each other can become the sacred shield that will protect us from the fiery darts of the devil. In the family circle, filled with the love of Christ, we will be able to find peace, happiness, and protection from the wickedness of the world that surrounds us."
I am ever grateful for my wonderful family and that which they teach me.