Yass Cream

This week was the opposite of the previous week: chilly and rainy! No complaints here. I was able to bring my fall seedlings outside for extended periods and didn’t have to water the garden.

The fall seedlings are really perturbing me. They don’t like hot weather, but they need to go in the ground soon to have enough growing time. I don’t have any lettuce seedlings left; some died from being left outside too long or for no obvious reason. I did some research online and this just seems to be the way it goes: fall gardening is harder. I think I need to relocate my seed-starting operations out of the basement, too. It’s a little too damp down there. Anyway, given the upcoming weather, I should be able to finish hardening them off and plant them soon.

I still have a ton of green tomatoes out there; maybe this will be the week they all turn? I did get several this week, including this candidate for most perfect Amish paste specimen of the summer:

Green beans are coming in! I had a mess o’ them with dinner one night.

I also pulled some carrots:

I was able to freeze more corn off the cob and also processed and froze two small batches of tomatoes. I had a brainstorm that maybe I will put the labor in Labor Day and buy an enormous amount of produce at the farmers’ market and preserve it. Like an all-weekend marathon of blanching, freezing, etc. I could do it while listening to the inevitable LDW radio countdown of the 500 greatest songs. (Orrrr… I could go down the Shore….)

In butterfly sighting news, a black swallowtail was spotted the other day. So pretty. There were some skippers out there too, but I didn’t get a close look at them. Then on Saturday I got these great monarch shots!

Tom had a garden surprise for me: a composter! One of his clients was getting rid of it. It’s just like the one we had several years ago. He even set it up for me and moved the pile into it. Much nicer looking.

On Saturday, Miss Molly was adopted and went home. I am more bummed about it than I thought I’d be. I guess a second dog is not too far in the future for us. I like having a crowd greet me when I come home. Rocco was looking for her today too. It’s so quiet now.

Meeting her new family took up much of the day. I did get some cleaning, gardening and lawn care done beforehand. I picked and dried a ton of herbs.

Today was all about getting ready for college move-in. T and I went to Staples for a power strip and headphones. Then we hit Costco for a fan, more pillows and some snacks. Back at home, I ordered a laptop from Lenovo and got a 10% student discount and free shipping. Do not wait til the last minute to get a laptop… that was dumb of me. But I didn’t realize that the higher-priced ones aren’t available in stores anymore, apparently. It arrives Wednesday and move-in is Thursday. I also washed his sheets and towels and started piling all his stuff in the foyer. Wahhh…

We also went to Target on Thursday night and got a mesh laundry bag, socks, underwear and shorts for T. F also needed socks and shorts for volleyball (HS practice has started). Plus dog food. It added up to $160. That’s the most I’ve spent at Target in ages. I did tell F “no” to a million other things there. I saw this article about Target continuing to flail and was thinking that there’s not really any particular reason for me to boycott them. Yeah, they suck for backing off on their DEI stuff, but they probably have other good qualities compared to other big box stores. But I’ll probably continue to avoid them if only because it gives me a kind of thrill to see articles like that and think that maybe, just maybe, my actions can indeed have an effect. And overall, being inside a big store like that is just a temptation to overspend. For me at least.

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to my Uncle G., who passed away after battling pancreatic cancer for several years. My cousin G. gave a heartfelt and funny eulogy. It was good to see all the family. So many great times over the years at Uncle G. and Aunt T’s house.

Meals this week:

Sunday: my nephew’s birthday dinner at my parents’. They sent us home with a ton of leftovers, which helped with lunches.

Monday: fish patties, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob

Tuesday: Tom and F went to a Phillies game;  I food shopped at Acme and then had a light snacky dinner:

Wednesday: Chicken cutlets with spicy mayo and the green beans

Thursday: King of Pizza

Friday: I went to Sprouts and bought a rotisserie chicken for the boys, frozen mac and cheese for F and a chicken Caesar wrap for me.

Saturday: Tom and I went to a street festival with friends and the kids got takeout.

Sunday: leftover rotisserie chicken, pulled pork on rolls, carrots, and scalloped potatoes from Costco.

Lunches: I was only in the office on Tuesday, and I bought it.

Finally, I think this might be my new mantra:

I love me some creamy full-fat yogurt. I celebrate you, cream, in all your wondrous forms.