More of Reenie's Greenies

Okay, keep in mind that only 10 days have elapsed since the last picture from the garden.

It always amazes me when the garden has a growth spurt. Especially when we're not home to see it progress...

Pesto, anyone?
The cucumber trellis is fantastic and I couldn't believe what I saw when I pulled back a few of the leaves...
Can you see them? Two little cukes already!

Many of the tomato plants have already made it to the top of the ladders.

And what's that? Early girls taking shape nicely...

The biggest surprise is the progress of the squash. Holy cow did they get big!

And under the leaves I found a couple little zephyr zucchini, half yellow, half green. Isn't it cute?

And it's not just the veggies taking shape. We came home to our hydrangea in bloom. This blossom is new and will likely turn a lovely shade of blue:

This is why...

...I can't ever throw out my grocery lists or scrap paper.

Father's Day on Vacation

It was an important day to celebrate Dad this year, especially after Dad's accident earlier this year. Jenny found a most appropriate T-shirt, although we didn't make him wear it all day.

Other people's dads might be built Ford tough, but our Dad is built tougher!

So we headed off to do what we always like to do on Father's Day... (Do they still have Gay Day at Cedar Point on Father's Day? That was way too much fun... But unfortunately, ruptured discs plus the size of my bottom equals no more roller coasters for me!) No, we don't take Dad to Cedar Point. We go gambling!

But first, some minor repairs to the Honda. On the trip up to the beach house one of the front lights jumped out of the bumper and spent half the drive dangling. But being Father's Day, we would not let that stop us. Dad pulled out his trusty duct tape and solved the problem.

So off we went, about a two-hour drive south, to a small casino in the middle of nowhere.

After a couple days of rainy, dreary weather it seemed like the day was shaping up. Just look at that sky!

It wasn't very big, but the true test of any casino is this: Do they have Wheel of Fortune slot machines? And yes, Virginia, there really were Wheel of Fortune slot machines.

And here we are with our empty pockets, as usual... But wait!

There's Richard holding cash! Yes, he came out with about $60 in his pocket. Sadly, this measly amount made him the big winner.

After a few hours of slot machines and video poker, we headed back to the beach on a gorgeous summer day for steak on the grill, baked potatoes and family fun.

What do you do when you spend an entire week without cell phones?

You invent a game to pass the time!

Here is the game we invented while on vacation in Harrisville, Michigan. (Um, Verizon? Hello? Can you hear me now? Yeah, I didn't think so!)

The game:
"Llama, Llama!"

How to play:

• Drink a bottle of Funky Llama Shiraz. Reserve cork.
• Look at the cork. Determine that it's really cute and that it deserves a higher purpose than going into the garbage. (Laugh a lot. You just drank a bottle of wine).
• Show the cork to the other players (all the people in the house).
• Hide the cork somewhere in the house and instruct the other house guests that they must find it.

Rules:

1. The house guests must agree which rooms are eligible. It may not be hidden outside.
   
2. The cork must be hidden in plain view. (No drawers, etc.)
3. The person who finds the cork must yell "Llama, Llama!"
4. The person who finds the cork gets to hide it next.
5. Make up other rules as needed.
   

Would you believe that we kept this going for 6 days? Like I said, no cell phone service...

Reenie's Greenies

Here's what's going on in my world these days...

Here's my asparagus patch. The plants are turning into lanky teenager ferns which normally would stand tall on their own, but the slope is a challenge. This weekend I put down some straw and put in some stakes to trellis them.

My self-watering containers are once again proving to be a fantastic way to add space to my garden and grow really healthy plants. I'm down to two containers since the third has a huge crack in the bottom and won't hold water. Oh, well... The two remaining planters have a cherry tomato plant and several basil plants thriving. Pesto, anyone?

We mulched this weekend and then found places for all of our statues...

Here's what the garden looks like now that I put down straw...

The picture below shows the cucumber trellis I bought earlier this Spring. I already have little cukes starting and lots of blossoms....

Below are the tomato ladders that Richard got me for Christmas. Red and green! Ho-ho-ho! I love Christmas in June... Most of the tomato plants are replacements for the ones that I started from seed and didn't make it, but two are from my starter plants and one is from Scott from Working Gardens.

The plants I got from Working Gardens are enjoying the new mulch and look really nice next to the deck.
And here's the front of the deck, complete with the new hose basket... (Target)

And our "big rock"...

Lately we've been seeing a some bunnies hanging around our garden. Why am I not worried? There's plenty for them to eat next door at the neighbor's house...

Scout is Omnipotent...

She will control your life and she will haunt your dreams. Or she will just make you play with her favorite feather toy. Whichever...

The Wayne College Ducks Move On...

Why it takes me so long to get ready in the morning...

By request: Hummus Recipe

A couple folks have asked for my hummus recipe. Here's the recipe that I use, with my adjustments in italics:

“Holy Moly Hummus”
Derived from: Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer’s How It All Vegan, c1999.

Note from Maureen: This recipe serves an army (or one vegan who likes her snacks). You may want to cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic (more if you dare), minced
• Splash of olive oil
• 2 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (I use 2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed)
• ¾ cup tahini
• 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce (I use low sodium)
• ½ cup lemon juice (I usually get enough with two juicy lemons)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped (I use cilantro if it’s available, but some strange people don’t like cilantro)
• ¼ cup jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional) (I don’t added the jalapeno, but sometimes will add red pepper flakes if I’m just making it for myself)
• 1 tsp cumin (I use a heaping teaspoon)
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt (I use slightly less than a teaspoon, just seems like so much!)
• I also add at the end a generous sprinkling of paprika on the finished hummus. I use Penzey’s “Hungarian Half-Sharp Paprika” which also adds heat.

Instructions:
• In a small saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent. (Make sure you don’t burn your garlic… Yuk!)
• In a blender or food processor, blend the sautéed onion mixture with the remaining ingredients until you reach the desired consistency. (I use one of those stick / immersion hand-blenders instead of a food processor. I like my hummus chunky and this allows me to selectively blend the chickpeas and control the consistency.)
• Sprinkle with paprika.
• I serve with veggies, pita chips, or bagel chips.

Update on Duckies at Wayne

I took this latest video right before I left work last Friday. That's one really good Duck mommy... She really keeps track of her entire brood!