So...Nicole and I made one of these for our Breakfast and Coffee before Gardening yesterday. (...recipe to follow...)
Her Mom (Nancy) arrived and we were off to the BEST nursery on the Westside:
Cox's
And I was going for the overhead view here in their ad.The place is ginormous. They have EVERYTHING!
Armed with Castor Beans for the moles...Popcorn, Sunflower Seeds, Cherry Tomato starts and Indian Corn for the Kids...Sugar and Cream Sweet Corn Seed, Pole Beans, Snow Peas, White and Red Seed Potatoes, Cucumbers for eating and pickling, Squash, Beef-Steak Tomato starts for slicing, Plum Tomato Starts for Salsa and Sauces, Basil, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley, Garlic and Onion sets, Bell peppers, Cayenne pepper starts, Ghost Pepper Starts, Jalapeño pepper starts (...all the hot varieties banished to pots that will soon be placed far away from our sweet peppers to prevent cross pollination...ditto the kid's multi-corn varieties which would ruin our sweet corn).
Even a decorative pepper (multicoloured) plant for my patio because my Aunt Vernie (...who taught me to love gardening...) always had one outside her rusty wooden screen door in an equally rusty Maxwell House Coffee can...every summer. And Kohlrabi for Nicole because her Grandma (...who gave her the love of gardening...) always planted it, and she ate it raw as a kid.
Ah, The Art of Gardening...at least 10 percent nostalgia.
And Complimentary Blue Spruce Seedlings for ALL the kids!
A partial load of good topsoil and we were off and planting!
Amazed, when Emma casually mentioned "There are MUSHROOMS in the backyard."
And on inspection there are quite a few black morels (still fairly small) popping up through the grass. This picture (Photocredit-Emma) and an ant's eye view! OMG!!! So, we were ALL excited about that! We've spored multiple areas and scattered wood ash and are waiting patiently. By the end of this weekend or next week should tell the tale as to how successful the sporing was.
And I was able to see James' New Toy as well. Better picture soon.
No...not Farmer Aiden. The Black 1991 CAMARO (in the background). Another one of those amazing finds. The kid has found, fixed, restored more muscle cars now than I even owned back-in-the-day. It is beautiful, and has that throaty rumble that still sends shivers up your spine. Still waiting on a couple parts and was outside working on it after he got home from work and we were still planting the garden.
Mutterings of "Now why the hell is this wire here, anyway???" emanating from the general direction of the driveway. And listening to him rev the engine...because...well he is a guy....lol!
Letting Brenden help hand off tools, and Aiden come and sit in his lap and listen to the revving and growling engine.
This is how new car-guys are MADE.
So...slept in today...and ache in places I even forgot you have muscles to ache. It had been a while since I helped plant that sized kitchen garden. But what a WONDERFUL day it was!
Blueberry Cream-Cheese Crumb Loaf
2 packages Blueberry Muffin Mix (I use Martha White's)
4 ounces Cream Cheese.
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (optional but very nice)
Prepare muffin mix with milk. Fold in fresh blueberries if used. Pour into un-greased baking or loaf pan.
Scoop small balls of the cream cheese and drop a few inches apart on top of the prepared batter.
Crumb Topping
1/4cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon hard (refrigerated) butter
Mix cold butter into flour and sugar until it is finely crumbled.
Sprinkle thickly over unbaked batter, blueberry and cream cheese mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees until loaf rises and crumb top browns. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!
Addendum: Proud Grandma Alert!!!
Just received this message from James:
Baseballlllllllll. And whose son got MVP and game ball the first year he ever played....this guy right here!
Brenden at his double-header today!
Way to go, guy! So proud of you!
(...and you too, Dad...)
This coach handles the whole business a bit differently than they did back in James' baseball years, with the first year players having The Most Valuable Player of the Game declared with each game and that child receiving the signed game ball!
And James is off tonight in his rumbling beastly black chariot to take Kaylee and Hannah to their Daddy-Daughter(s) Dance!
Even Jasmine got to come!
Kaylee is getting so grown up!
Parenting...never a dull moment!