Wordless Wednesday

I'm snitching a photo I got from Annie over at http://mamadweeb.com because I'm a dolt and forgot to bring my camera last weekend when I got to go out to lunch with her and Katie http://katietalksabout.com/. We met out at Johnny's Tavern in Overland Park, Kansas, which was yummy, and then went out to Town Center Plaza to do a little window shopping. Great time and great conversation! Thanks girls!

Summer Gardening Update

Gardening is something that's in my blood. My grandparents gardened, my dad gardened so it would stand to reason that I would garden also. Of course I'm gardening on a much smaller scale than those who came before me, but considering that it's my first attempt and I have a serious lack of space here, I don't think it's going too badly.

I'm already making note of changes that I want to make next year (item #1, buy enough dirt). I didn't get enough this year so one of my square foot gardens didn't get planted and now I'm regretting it because there are other veggies and plants I would have liked to have had.

Another note to self: Find a stronger trellis for the tomato plants next year! Even though my dad and grandparents gardened, I guess I never really paid attention as a kid, so I grossly underestimated the weight of tomato vines, dang those things are heavy! I bought this little wire trellis thing at Lowes and as soon as the plants started growing the poor little thing just couldn't withstand the weight and snapped and is now leaning precariously. The good news is, we have 20 tomatoes!

Here is my sage...I love the smell of sage. It reminds me of my Grandma Kathryn and fall and Thanksgiving. It's not gotten very big but I'm hoping to have enough to cut and dry for seasoning things.

Another note to self: Next year get more pepper plants and in a few different varieties. If you look very closely, you can see down at the bottom the lone little jalapeno on the plant. I sure hope we get more than just the one...there are still several blooms so I'm hopeful.

Excuse me waiter, there's a fly on my dill plant...

I'm happy to report that the marigolds have done well as far as keeping the bugs off of the plants...well except for Mr. Fly on the dill...and the rest of the herbs are doing wonderfully too. I totally messed up the lettuce this year and didn't thin it in time and it choked itself out, so no lettuce crop to speak of. I also have a mystery plant that I don't remember what it was growing so I guess that will be a surprise if and when it produces anything. I'll keep you posted!

Is anyone else growing anything this year? How's it going?

Wordless Wednesday

First Ripe Tomatoes of the Season

Well the one on the right isn't "quite" ripe

but the little neighbor girl picked

it too soon, so we'll put it out to ripen.

Reading List Update, Halfway through the Year

At the beginning of the year I posted a reading list of books I was going to try to finish during 2010...I'm happy to report I've made some progress and added a few here and there also but I've still got a ways to go....

1. "The Bolter" by Frances Osborne
2. "Say You’re One of Them" by Uwem Akpan - I got about halfway through this one and I just couldn't read any more...I hated it. Nothing particular about it, I just hated it. Ugh.
3. "The Looming Tower" by Frances Wright
4. "Prisoner of the State" by Zhao Ziyang
5. "The Bear" by William Faulkner - Actually reading this one right now.
6. "God: A Biography" by Jack Miles
7. "The Unsettling of America" by Wendell Berry
8. "Underground" by Haruki Murakami
9. "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman
10. "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson - Done, pretty writing, pointless plot
11. "The Regeneration Trilogy" by Pat Barker - This one is in progress...I read book #1 and I have #3 but don't have #2 yet...
12. "The Handmaid’s Tale" by Margaret Atwood - Done, this one I really liked
13. "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines - Done, can't go wrong with the classics
14. "No Excuses" by Kyle Maynard - Done, bad writing but interesting story
15. "Echo in the Bone" by Diane Gabaldon- Done, if you haven't read any of her "Outlander" series, check them out, I love them all
16. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
17. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahme-Smith and Jane Austen
18. "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom - Done, very sweet
19. "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger
20. "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - Done, amazingly written, sad sad sad story
21. "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell - Done, a little kitschy but good
22. "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe
23. "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman
24. "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry - Done, I loved this one
25. "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn - Done, loved this one also, keep me hanging till the last pages
26. "Making a Family Home" by Shannon Honeybloom - Done, wonderful tips and beautiful photography

So as you can see, I've gotten at least a little over halfway through the list. I've also added in a few others:

1. Once an Arafat Man by Tass Saada - Fantastic book written by the father of a guy I went to school with, very interesting

2. How to Photograph Absolutely Everything by Tom King - Hey I got a new camera...enough said.

3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Very good

4. Essential Buddhism by Jacky Sach - Interesting, never hurts to learn about something new

There may be more I'm forgetting but that's off the top of my head for the moment. Considering I wanted to finish 26 books within the year, I don't think 18-1/2 is bad now that we're in July.

What all are you reading this summer that I'm missing out on? Any recommendations?