The July Garden

 

Once again, I underestimated what a little garden can produce. Since returning from the beach we can't seem to keep on top of the tomatoes, green beans, basil, and zucchini. The Swiss chard and Serrano peppers are also giving us a run for our money. We are eating our summer annual favorite dishes like tomato pie, batter fried zucchini, beans and greens, and tomato salad. Stuffed Serrano peppers are a new addition to this summer's menu, since we have not grown them before. Steve accused me of buying the Serrano peppers and perhaps I did. He said they are not a pepper he would have chosen to grow. I do not remember if or why I bought them. But here they are and they will not go to waste. Even the green beans that are too big and tough have a use. I throw them in the field for the deer to enjoy. (Although the deer still came up to our yard and ate an entire potted impatiens right off the patio.) 

 

Rather than make and freeze pesto as I usually do with the basil,  I am dehydrating the leaves and storing them in jars. I will find more use for dried basil than I will for an abundance of pesto. When Violet was here this week I asked her to help me dry a batch of basil. She embraced the task. We gathered up a huge armful of the herb and clipped off all the flower heads. Then we immersed them in a cold water bath in the sink for washing. Next, Violet plucked off the nicest leaves and we laid them all out on dish towels to air dry. After this, we placed them individually onto the dehydrating racks and slid them into the dehydrator. Ten hours later, Viola! I was amused at how much in love Violet was with the basil. She was like a cat in catnip. She took deep breaths of the aroma, chewed on the leaves and gobbled up a tomato salad with mozzarella pearls and chopped basil for lunch. Her mom said she ate the same thing again for dinner. We spent a delightful day together, gathering vegetables from the garden and bagging up loads of stuff for her to take home.

Although the cherry tomatoes are healthy and prolific, they are not the tastiest we have had. I do not recall the name of these but they are not the Cherry 100's which are the best and always sweet. 

 

The yellow tomatoes are delicious. This heart-shaped tomato made my tomato sandwich (on white bread with loads of mayo, salt and pepper, of course)

Our all-time summer favorite, tomato pie.

 

The Italian plum tomatoes are used for canning salsa. Once we have enough salsa to last the year, I will can the rest as plain tomatoes. Those are another year round staple in the kitchen. In the background is sweet pickle relish. We do not grow the cucumbers for this but instead buy those and make a small batch of relish because we enjoy it on hot dogs and in tuna salad, etc.

 These chipmunk holes are right off our basement entry. We walk over them every time we go back and forth to the garden. This path has so much foot traffic, I am surprised this is their prime choice of entry. They started with one hole last summer and are now at three. The holes were smaller last week until we saw two huge black walnuts sitting beside them. Then the little rascals enlarged to holes in order to fit the walnuts down.

We are in a drought this year and the landscape looks tired. The vegetable garden is giving all it's got and is wearing out from producing. I suspect I will be wrapping up the canning and freezing very soon. I will begin pulling up tired tomato plants and doing a bit of garden clean up. I am tired as well and ready to put things to bed. The garden has given us all we need or want for the fall and winter ahead and for that we are thankful. 

Holden Beach, NC

The colors!

Our long awaited, family beach vacation finally came to pass. It was such an enjoyable time away that it has been difficult to transition back to home. The colors, the ever changing sky, the tides, the relaxation, being surrounded by my sixteen favorite humans, the laughter, the love, the total disconnect from reality, I will have the fondest memories of this time away.

Last Christmas we gifted our four daughters and their families a beach vacation. The July reservation date finally came to be! Every one of us truly looked forward to this week with great anticipation. We rarely gather as a complete family. With school and work schedules and some families living so far apart, it just cannot happen often enough. We approached the vacation with plans for many activities we would do together and we ended up doing only half of what we planned. The water and sand were so inviting that we were content to sit or swim at the shore every day. 

My favorite memories include bobbing in the waves together, parking our beach chairs at the water's edge and staying until the surf forced us to back up, the grandchildren digging in the sand... a lot, evening walks searching for treasures, gathering for meals at the big table, slow mornings, slow days, slow evenings, playing the spaghetti and marshmallow challenge, excitedly showing each other our found ocean treasures, having the children and grandchildren all together, morning coffee on the deck, watching the kids play freely, planning our day according tot he tides.

Being cooled by nature's air conditioner

There was lot of texting and sharing all week since we have been home. Photos and memories ping back and forth between the girls and Steve and I. I am glad they brought home so many fond memories. It is everyone's hope that we can do this again some day. 

A game of whiffle ball while we watch a storm in the distance.

 

Two of Mari's aunts braid her hair before heading down to the beach.

The tallest spaghetti structure that remained stable with a marshmallow on top. 

                           

Everyone in one place! 

(One SILwishes to remain unknown on the internet : )

                  

Things in the Works, Things I Appreciate

It is not a new song, but it caught my ear and my heart this week while I was driving. We have so many things to appreciate and be thankful for!

Tess will be knitting two airy shawls for me. One in cream and the other in watermelon. They will pair perfectly with sleeveless summer dresses. I am in awe of those who can knit.

All year we look forward to tomatoes and basil from the garden. Combined with fresh mozzarella balls, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, it is a favorite summer staple in our kitchen.

Thank goodness the rug hooking urge returned. I took a few months off from it and worried it might never return. I pulled this Karen Kahle rug out out and got back to enjoying the creative process.

I have been alternating between hand quilting and rug hooking all week. When my fingers start to hurt from the needle, I switch to hooking. When my neck hurts from hooking, I go back to the quilt.

While I both hook and quilt, I have been listening to The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help. I am halfway through and enjoying the story and characters immensely!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Claire Today!

 

Claire turns forty-one today! As our firstborn, she made our foray into parenting very easy. She is sweet, quiet, kind, funny, and adventurous. I am feeling old today as I look at this photo. It feels like it was a dream or a lifetime ago that Claire was born. She is still a joy and I greatly admire the woman, wife, and mother she has become. I called her this morning to wish her a happy birthday. I asked her how she was spending her birthday and what would she buy with the birthday gift we sent. She said she was volunteering at VBS all week and she was going to spend some of her gift money on a special Boba drink, without the pearls in it. Yup, she is still an easy child. : )

 

A Wedding

 

Tess and Blake got married (again) this weekend. Five and a half years ago they eloped to Charleston, SC and got married. It was during the pandemic and what more can I say about that. Now they are double-married, as we like to tease them. It was a very small ceremony with the immediate family and a couple of close friends attending. Our friend, Debra took lots of beautiful photos but I like this one the best. This was the moment when Father Xavier pronounced them husband and wife. I love Tess's beaming smile. What makes it even better is the smile on our friend Bill's face as he watched on from the altar where he was serving as Acolyte. Steve was Blake's witness and I am behind Tess as her witness. 

Everyone came up to the house for lunch after the ceremony. Blake wanted to grill hamburgers and hot dogs so that is what we did. It was their wedding day and it needed to be as they wanted it. They baked their own cake, too! It was a three layer vanilla cake with a pink buttercream frosting with a hint of raspberry flavor. It was topped with pale, yellow carnations that tumbled down the side. It was both pretty and delicious. It was such a happy day and it felt good to relax and visit with our guests. 

Father Xavier is moving to a new parish and we will miss him very much. He is the kindest, loving, wise, and gentle priest I have ever known. And he has a sense of humor, too! 

 

Steve and I signed the marriage certificate as Tess and Blake's witnesses.

The night before the wedding, Tess and I gathered lavender and yarrow from the garden and added white flowers from the market for our table decoration at the house.

National Shrine Grotto at Mount St. Mary's University

 

When we were in Gettysburg last month for the Gathering Hands Retreat, Kay and I made a short morning excursion to the National Shrine Grotto at Mount St. Mary's University. The weather was lovely for a cool morning walk through the woods and up the hillside to the grotto. We arrived before early enough that there were no crowds. This enabled us to experience the peacefulness of the woods, the bird song, and the sound of water at the spring and fountain. The Stations of the Cross line the pathway up the hill. There are many little sanctuary spaces to sit and contemplate along the way. There is a beautiful, tiny chapel, a round fountain area with stone bench seating all around, and a spigot which pours spring water for anyone to bottle or drink from. 

The grotto itself is tucked into the hillside. One stone that is darker than the rest stands out with a sign telling visitors that it is from the Lourdes, France grotto. It has been worn smooth by hands touching it over the years. Kay and I lit candles and took some time to sit and pray here. Nearby is a large boulder where Mother Ann Seton would sit and teach the children on Sundays in the early 1800's.

On the way back down, the pathway is lined with beautiful mosaics of the mysteries of the Rosary. Again, there are little niches with statuary and places to sit for contemplation. 

Although it would have been nice to spend more time here, our two hour getaway was a perfect respite in the middle of a weekend filled with talking and activity. It is obvious that this Shrine is well maintained down to every detail. Visitors were respectful and kept hushed voices in order that this sacred space was not distracted by the rush of every day life. I have not been to many shrines in my lifetime but I can say that these places "feel" different. They bring a special connection to our Creator and Savior and to those saints who have gone before us, leaving us with beautiful reminders to help ground us and point us toward perfection in our imperfect lives.

  

The May Garden

 

Where ever did the month of May go?!

We did have a solid week of soaking rain leading up to and through Memorial Day weekend. It was the loveliest rain and everyone rejoiced because it alleviated the drought conditions here. The yard and garden sprang up green and the plants took off with new growth. All the lavender made it through the winter and it is about ready to bloom. The tomato plants from Raleigh have already produced three, red plum tomatoes. This is an early record for us. Steve gave Father Xavier the first, ripe Cayenne pepper. I choose to plant pole beans at the wire trellis instead of the usual bush beans we plant because Claire thought the trellis was so beautiful last year. We are also trying a new trellis method this year for the cherry tomatoes. Steve built something similar to what he saw Simon use up in New Hampshire. The plants are tied with little plastic clips to the strings. The indiscriminate cherry tomato plants always grow too tall for the stakes so this system will allow them to climb higher. The dill, basil, and marigolds come up wherever they please as volunteers each year. Mostly they are let be unless they are in the way or have better use elsewhere. There were several volunteer tomato plants of which I saved four. So far, we are off to a good start.!

Steve began to clear out the back of the property with the bulldozer. I told him to take out the scrubby cedars that grow as under story trees everywhere. (The ridge on which we live is labeled as "Cedar Ridge" on local maps.) Taking those out has now created a clear sight line through the large trees. He created a giant burn pile with all of it. Now he is pulling stumps. The goal is to be able to mow or at least brush hog right up to the graveyard at the back. Poison ivy grows abundantly there. I am afraid it will take off now that sunlight is being let in. I heard there is a local goat keeper who rents out their herd for grazing overgrowth. I might look into that. 

I rejoiced when I saw the oak leaf hydrangea finally blooming for the first time since I planted it many years ago. I have no idea what changed its mind about blooming but I am so happy to see it!

I hope we have more frequent days of rain because it makes all the difference in the garden and for our wells.