The Garden

Thanks to a very kind neighbor who gave me a little piece of her garden plot, I was able to try my hand at some gardening this spring/summer/fall. There were some successes and some...well, not so successes (namely my strawberries that never yielded much of anything but somehow managed to take over 1/4 of my plot). My "biggest" success (in size only) was my zucchini plant which my friend Jane affectionately refers to as the "Little Shop of Horror." It is HUGE. I've LOVED gardening and can't wait to improve upon things next year. There is something so peaceful and gratifying about working with your hands in the earth and growing something edible!

Lesson Learned: I'm going to plant so many more tomatoes next year. And no yellow tomatoes--they are all bark and no bite.

Without further ado, a few photos of this year's goods:

Your basic green pepper


The disappointing, yet beautiful, yellow tomato


Cucumber blossom


You're not seeing things folks, that's a purple pepper!



Tomatoes on their journey to deliciousness!


The "Little Shop of Horror"


Our counter, incessantly overrun with zucchini and tomatoes! YUM!

Reason #542 Not to Leave Viv Unattended

Post Labor-day Blues

After a long, hot day at the beach Viv fell sick on us Labor Day evening. We thought it was heatstroke since it started with a high fever and exhaustion but it lasted for about a week and ended in a rash, so heatstroke was ruled out. We were never quite sure what she had (the doctor said probably a virus of some sort), but the sad little look on her face nearly broke my heart. I have to admit, though, as sad as it was, there was one perk. She just wanted to lay in my arms and snuggle all day and I LOVED that part!

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

I made Thai food tonight! And it actually tasted pretty good. We were having our friends Peter and Nikki over for dinner and I was feeling a little bold, so I decided to try my hand at some Thai recipes. The Thai salad ended up being blow-your-head-off-hot, but still tasty (Poor Nikki tried to be so kind and eat it anyway, but finally gave in to her pregnancy-induced acid indigestion and politely said she just couldn't eat it). The curry was really solid--not too spicy for Nikki. Success! Beautiful tablecloth courtesy of my completely selfless mother.

Labor Day

This year we tried to make the most of Labor Day! We went to the beach with some friends from the ward in the morning/afternoon and then met up with the Dabos and Carters for a BBQ in the park that evening. It was SUCH a fun day and it reminds me why I love living here in California--great weather and exceptional friends!