ENORMOUS HARVEST OF CONTAINER GROWN POTATOES

RAISED BED GARDEN SECRET SUPER SOIL MIX

Bob, too, always got a bang out of watching his “little dirty girl” dive into the soil coming gardening season :-D

I mix my own gardening soil too - not this particular mix, but I do have my own preferred blend that I use when I need to refresh my gardening soil.

He was 6’2” and I am 5’3”: I was barely 5 feet when we married – I used to joke that pregnancy following our marriage stretched me in more ways than the obvious ;-)

LEAF ‘N FLOWER MIXED SALAD

SUPPER. Lasagna, Garden Leaf ‘N Flower Mixed Salad, canned White Peaches w-1 fresh Garden Strawberry

Today I mixed the fish emulsion fertilizer and started spraying my veggie beds with it:

While I was out there, yesterday’s forecasted rain started blowing in; by the time I reached my blueberry bushes, it had started drizzling, so it was time to get inside before I got too wet and invited a cold – the last thing I need right now is to get sick …

So, I put everything back in the shed and came back inside and watched the drizzle for a while. I am thinking I may have to start a few veggie beds all over again – it has been constant drizzle here and my raised beds are saturated … but my rain barrels are pretty much STILL empty as there has not been sufficient rainfall to fill them, though there is apparently enough rainfall to ruin the garden in certain beds.

And the sunshine is weird too when the sun finally decides to peek out of the gray clouds. There is not enough sunshine lately to dry anything out or to make my plants happy.

Strange weather :-(

At some point I slid into a short nap:

I never used to nap, but since Bob graduated, I seem to have taken on HIS sleeping pattern of getting up at the crack of dawn and going to bed around 9 or 10 p.m.; which means I usually end up taking a short 15-minute-nap around noon. IT is strange! All my life, until December 14^th, 2018, I have been a night-bird staying up into the wee early morning hours – sometimes falling into bed as the sun was dawning; and sleeping until noon.

Bob was a very understanding husband ;-)

When I eventually woke after my 15-minute-shut eye, I noticed the drizzle had fizzled, and the sky was beginning to lighten up …

Can you see me Babe? I love you. Always. ~OX

Time to go finish up outside ...

So, I pulled my boots on and finished up fertilizing the remaining veggie beds. Everything should be doing waaay better than they are – maybe the fertilizing this afternoon will help; so far, only the cababge family plants are doing well. Everything else is either stunted or limping along in water-logged soil and yo-yoing weather (between 70 & 45 daytime temperatures: insane overnight variances) with yellowing leaves. I am pretty sure the pepper plants are toast.

While I was out there, I got to thinking that a fresh green salad would taste good with my left-over lasagna for Supper (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/06/getting-stuff-done.html). But I wanted some color in my salad. What to do? The tomatoes have been set back with the weird weather patterns, so there would be no colorful tomatoes to add, and my onions haven’t matured yet either. Hmm. I looked around and remembered reading that nasturtium leaves and violas can be added to salad greens; so, tonight I am trying something new – new to me, anyway. I plucked a few pretty bicolored nasturtium leaves (to me, they smell a little spicy – not hot spicy, but kinda peppery), some fragrant little Johnny-Jump Up Viola blossoms, and pulled some chive leaves too. I snagged a lone strawberry on the way past the strawberry jar too ;-)

I had picked some mustard leaves & leaf lettuce the other day/washed it/stored it in the crisper; so while the lasagna was in the oven, I pulled that out of the ‘fridge and started adding my fresh additions:

Heart shaped Deer Tongue Lettuce leaf

I also opened my Weight Watchers cookbook and whipped up this quick and easy Basic Vinaigrette Dressing for the salad …

==BASIC VINAIGRETTE SALAD DRESSING ~Makes 4 servings

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Olive (or vegetable) Oil * 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar * 1/8 teaspoon EA Salt & prepared Mustard

Combine all ingredients; mix well.

Per serving: 42 calories; 0 g protein; 5 g fat; 0 g carbohydrate; 78 mg sodium

1st CORINTHIANS ~Chapter 3

So I had to approach you, not as spiritual men, but a worldly-minded set, at best not more than babies in Mashiach. I gave you milk to drink, not meat to eat, for you could not take it. Even now you are not strong enough for it. You are still too worldly. For when jealousy, quarrels, and divisions thrive among you, are you not worldly-minded and carrying on like men of the world?

When one of you says, ‘I am a follower of Paul,’ and another says, ‘I am a follower of Apollos,’ are you not then speaking like worldly men? Who is Apollos? And who is Paul? Just servants through whom you have come to faith, each doing the work that Elohei allotted to him. I did the planting, Apollos the watering, but Elohei gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters counts for anything, but only Elohei, Who gave the growth.

The planter and the waterer are alike, although each will be paid according to his work. We are Elohim’s workmen and you are Elohim’s field to be tilled – or Elohei’s building to be erected. Like a skillful architect, I laid a foundation according to the commission that Elohim gave me, but someone else is building on it. But let each one take care how he builds on it. For this foundation is Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, and He is the only foundation on which anyone can build.

Men may build on this foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones; or with wood, grass, and straw; and each builder’s workmanship will be made clear, for the Judgement Day will disclose it. That Day will come with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If a man has put up a building that stands firm, he will receive a reward. But if the building is destroyed, that will be his loss; yet he, himself, will be saved: but only as though he were pulled out of the fire.

Don’t you know that you are Elohei’s Temple, and that His Spirit makes His home in you? If anyone defiles Elohei’s temple, Elohim will bring him to ruin, for Elohei’s Temple is holy and you are that temple.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in a worldly way, let him rather become a fool in order to be truly wise. In Elohim’s sight, the world’s wisdom is foolishness. So Scripture says, “He catches the wise with their own quibbling.” And again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the learned, that they are of no account.” (Job 5:13 & Psalm 94:11).

Let no one, then, boast of men, because all things are yours! Be it Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world; or life and death, or the present and the future – it is all for you!

And you belong to Mashiach, and Mashiach belongs to Elohei!

**CORINTHIANS 2: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/05/1st-corinthians-chapter-2.html

THE WAY WE WERE

I went to Keenager’s this afternoon; there had been changes! The room had been rearranged to make room for a big screen setup, new speakers, and a new amplified mic setup. Dave, who does the projections was not happy that the changes were made without his knowledge (he hates change of any kind: especially without being told what to expect when the changes happen); but by the end of the meet, he had caught on pretty quick ;-)

I think I have mentioned before that I hate big screen TV’s and the big theater screens every church in the country is now using – the size and sound system messes with my sensory processing – I get overwhelmed and disoriented.

But, if I continue to go to Keenager’s I will just have to bite the bullet … or duck out before the message begins. Eating and running would be rude, but no one asked me what I thought before the thing was set up, so what happens will happen – and if I am asked why I am eating and running, I will tell them what I just posted in the above sentence:

After Keenager’s, I decided to conquer my procrastination about revisiting Riverside Park in Lexington. Bob & I always enjoyed that particular Park (preferring it over the other County Parks) because of its woodsy atmosphere. A LOT of memories took place at this Park. We considered it {our} Park. We had been walking these trails and along the dike for the past 3 decades with our daughter - and later, our grandchildren. We walked our dogs, and our wolf at this Park. We fed squirrels here and laughed at their silly antics …

Memory of our walks here

Memory of my wolf, Precious (1/2 Timber wolf-1/2 Gray wolf)

The bench Bob rested on for the last time in October 2018.

Walk with Ramona in October.

Leaving the Park, I decided to make another trip down memory lane by revisiting the little country church we went to in the 1980’s. The building has fallen on hard times over the years, and the pastor was very rude to us last time we were there, but it is a link in the story of Bob’s life on earth, so I wanted it included in the recounting of Bob’s life journey:

Used to be Lexington Christian Fellowship 1970's thru 1980's. Memory of Bob's testimony here.

Bob sang in the Choir here in the late 1980's.

Leaving Lexington, I knew I had to stop at El Ranchero Restaurant too, and let them know of Bob’s graduation. Bob and I used to eat there once a month (BEST Mexican food in town!), and we were friends with the proprietor and his family. We were there last in August before the infamous front porch blow-out here at Heron Pointe.

I walked in and they greeted me as they always do – with a big smile and a hearty hello and family catch-up; it was hard for me to tell them, when they asked “Your husband is not with you this time?”, that Bob would never be with me again this side of Heaven.

We are friends. It was hard for 2 reasons - 1) they LOVED us. 2) they do not speak English very well - I had to keep repeating that Bob was now in Heaven, trying every explanation I could when I heard 'no comprende': I finally said, in exasperation, "Bob is dead": they understood THAT, and asked, "he is no more?" I said, "He is no more."

They love us. They were sad for me.

I ordered an order of Super Nachos with Beef for takeout Supper tonight. And enjoyed viewing the beautiful, colorful, artistic wall mural where we used to sit; and the pretty carved benches that were added to the interior a few months before we moved from Lexington to Heron Pointe …

EL RANCHERO restaurant mural. Lexington.

Bob used to do fancy work like this. He sold his carving tools 2 years ago. I was sad to see him do that because carving always gave him such pleasure: he even did special detail work for friends, for free.

It was a good day full of good memories.

I think I can do this again :-D

I have really missed walking this Park.

And I would do everything exactly the same as we did in my memories. There are good memories that hover over that Park … and live on in my heart.

GETTING STUFF DONE

I’ve gone through all the freezer meals I made December 16^th, 2018 in my frantic cookathon after Bob’s graduation on the 14th. So this past week I have been cooking and restocking the freezer … latest accomplishment being lasagna to feed me for the next 6 months.

Seriously – that recipe (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/06/crockpot-lasgana_2.html) made a LOT of lasagna – and I even halved it!

Lasagna portioned into containers for freezer. It should last 6 months.

Lasagna wrapped, labeled, & ready to take to the freezer.

Yesterday, I mulched the last of the garden boxes that didn’t get mulched with the others because I ran out of shredded paper Friday afternoon (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/06/frustrations-never-ending.html); and even though I did shred more, I didn’t go outside because it was the weekend and the creep next door was home: I avoid going outside when he is outside. He gives me the heebie jeebies. He’s creepy as well as just plain mean spirited. Thankfully this is his last week here. Praise Elohim.

Anyway, the garden is completely mulched now.

And I found a nice little surprise in the Deer Tongue Lettuce bed this morning when I gathered some lettuce for my sandwich ;-)

Nasturtium and Fennel.

How cool is this?

Yesterday afternoon, my BIL Kerry, came by to see if he could get the screws out of my defunct Swiffer jet that quit on me the other day - no luck! Those screws were not budging. So, I still do not know if the thing uses batteries, and I will never know. And I am not going to buy a new one either. I thought I would, but thinking on it for a while, I decided that (((I))) could spritz the floor with a water bottle as well as the jet mop, so that is what I will be doing. I prefer my own homemade cleaners anyways over the store-bought cleaning liquids.

Last night, while watching some black-n-white oldies, I designed and crafted this cleaning cloth to fit over my Swiffer mop:

MOD SWIFFER JET MOP PAD. Bottom “mopping/scrubbing” end - no particular reason for the color of cotton - it's just what I had the most of.

MOD SWIFFER JET MOP PAD. Ties to hold it in place on the mop.

MOD SWIFFER JET MOP PAD. What it looks like on the mop.

I like it and think it will work just fine – and it shouldn’t come apart like the plastic ‘cloths’ always do. And I will be saving $$ too: a definite plus ;-)

This morning, after cleaning the lettuce and putting it in the ‘fridge crisper, I went for my mile walk around the Park; and saw a few more interesting things I didn’t see on my walk the other day …

FACE IN THE ROCK.

KOKOPELLI FIGURINE.

INTERESTING ROCK - I like rocks and was always hauling them home from wherever we were when one caught my eye. Bob started calling me Lucy; from the "The Long Trailer' movie with Lucille and Dezi Arnez. LOL

QUARTZ in this rock I saw on my Park walk today.

This worn rock was interesting because it LOOKED CARVED to wrap rope around it. MPO anyway ...

A beautiful GREEN ROCK. I love green rocks.

This BLACK ROCK looked like it had GLITTER in it. Really sparkled. This picture makes it look like a regular rock, but it literally was alive with sparkle.

Interesting ASSORTMENT of rocks.

Another park resident likes QUARTZ. A small piece in this bowl of sedum.

METAL BALL WITH CUTOUT STARS

I also stopped by the Club House Library and picked up some more paperbacks. I am partial to Louis Lamour – Bob started reading them about 20 years ago while waiting for his truck to be unloaded, and he brought one home one day for me to read – and I was hooked immediately. I never get tired of reading about the Sackett family saga: I have red ALL of them, but these books never get tiring.

CROCKPOT LASGANA

I have been hungering for lasagna for quite a while now, but haven’t felt like cooking on a large scale. But today I got to it and made a BIG batch of lasagna in my large crockpot:

Lasagna cooked in the crockpot is quick and easy to put together, and I think the meat is more tender too. Anything that saves me time off my feet in the kitchen and tastes like I have been slaving for hours is a plus with me ;-)

This recipe makes a LOT of lasagna; I was thinking I could have meals to freeze that would last me 6 months, but after scooping out my first serving tonight, I am thinking it may take me darn near through 10 months or more. Seriously.

This recipe does not “crisp” like the traditional oven-baked recipe does, but I did notice that the bottom layer will burn on the High setting … so when I make lasagna again in the crockpot, I will bake it on the Low setting. I don’t mind a blackened meal, but some people do.

I have several cookbooks with wonderful lasagna recipes int hem, but I was in a hurry today, and didn’t want to browse every cookbook I have at my fingertips to find those recipes, so I surfed the internet and found this one that would do …

Crockpot Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground Italian Sausage
• 1 pound ground Beef
• 32 ounces whole-milk Ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 48 ounces of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce, homemade or store-bought
• 10-12 regular ribbon-edged Lasagna Noodles, I buy a package and use as many as can fit in my slow cooker which is usually about 12
• 2-3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped Parsley
• Kosher salt & ground Black Pepper

Instructions:

1.   Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground sausage and beef; cook until browned and no pink remains. Drain fat and set aside.

The blister I got on my hand the other day, kept breaking open when stretched with garlic presser

Onions, garlic, sausage, and beef browning

2.   Meanwhile, stir together ricotta, parmesan and 1/2 tsp salt & freshly ground pepper. Set aside.

3.   Layer the lasagna ingredients in your slow cooker in the following order: sauce, lasagna noodles (break to cover as necessary), ricotta cheese mixture, meat, mozzarella. Do three layers of each, reserving enough sauce, noodles and mozzarella for one more layer at the very top.

4.   Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. Turn off slow cooker and allow to "rest" for an hour (this will firm up the lasagna so it's easier to slice, however you can eat it sooner if you're too hungry to wait)! Sprinkle the top with chopped parsley and serve with crusty garlic bread.

The lasagna bubbled to the very top of the crockpot - it didn't spillover; but it was very close ...

I let the lasagna sit for an hour to 'firm up' a bit, and noticed when the timer went off and I check it, that the lasagna has shrunk a bit while cooling. Not a lot - but definitely no longer at the very top of the crockpot.

I noticed when I spooned a serving of lasagna onto my plate, that the bottom layer had burned a little; I will cook it on LOW setting next time I make it. I actually don't mind blackened food as long as they are still edible - especially lasagna, so I don't mind eating tonight's serving, or ALL of the future meals ;-)

While waiting for the lasagna to cook, I finished up the rest of the chair leg booties I started yesterday. The others were getting thin on the bottom and needed replaced, so I made these ones to match my flamingo chair pads:

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/05/period-of-adjustment.html)

Tomorrow I am going to start table leg booties so the table leg bottoms don’t scratch the wooden floor – I had felt tabs on the bottom, but they don’t stick very well and leave sticky patches on the floor when they slide off; so they gotta go. I cleaned up the sticky patches with goop, but I don’t want to keep having to do that. And now that Bob is no longer here in physical sense, I am not strong enough to tip the table on it’s side by myself, so getting the booties made and slid on is going to take some inspiration ;-)