So much to eat, so little time

Tomatoes, potatoes, squash and zucchini, eggplant, onions, oh my. I've been trying desperately to stay on top of my produce from the farmers' market, and so far have been doing pretty well. Raw tomato sauce is a new favorite of mine - chop up tomatoes, add a splash of olive oil, some salt and pepper, fresh basil and whole cloves of garlic. I let it sit overnight in the fridge, remove the garlic, and then use the sauce throughout the week in sandwiches (my new favorite is hummus, tomato sauce, and fresh mozzarella), on pizzas (with ricotta and more basil), and on/in anything else I can think of.

Fun item of the week for two weeks straight in my CSA bag was edamame. I would come home with pretty much a small tree of soybeans sticking out of my bag. Then it was time to sit on the back porch picking off the pods, a little wash, then a boil for about 12 minutes, and voila - snacks for the week - just added a little tequila lime salt for flavor. Now I just need to learn how to roll my own sushi...

In other news, my next-door neighbor cut down his beautiful hydrangea bush yesterday. I don't know why. I had a moment of silence this morning when I realized that. It makes me a little sad and I only hope it fights back and tries to sprout again next spring.

Moving forward. Slowly.

Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? That tends to be my mantra. My sister-in-law attributes my procrastination to my perfectionism - if I can't do it right I put it off until later. I actually think I agree with her. I have my big vision of how it "should" be and then get all bogged down in the planning and don't actually get off my butt. Well, I figured, as my colorful family would say, I needed to 's**t or get off the pot' when it came to my office/guest bedroom.

I now have a clear desk. With a cute pen cup (a.k.a. recycled pepper tin - my mother's creative idea). Now I just need to tackle the pile of stuff that I moved off my desk and onto the bed. And floor. I'm trying to keep in mind the saying: 'A place for everything; everything in its place' (or however it goes). Now I just need to find those places. And then move things there.

Wish me luck.

Raindrops

It's raining here - finally - and I'm very excited that my gardens may start looking more "alive" and less "dead" for the next day or two. When did I get to this point in my life where the coming rain made me excited, not for the fantastic thunder and lightning, but instead for the practicality of garden-watering? Oh, how boring and adult I have become...

Berry cobbler and a broken lamp

My recent silence doesn't have anything to do with my life being super-exciting right now. No major vacations. No interesting things to report. No issues to debate. I made a berry cobbler, though, that I must admit was pretty darn good. I used blueberries that my grandmother pawned off on me that came from *gasp* the grocery store, blackberries from my CSA, and well, frozen bananas from my freezer (the recipe called for 4 cups berries and I didn't have but three so thought bananas would taste pretty good). The topping was simple and made in no time in my food processor. Of course it had a stick of butter. Nothing can be bad with a stick of butter.

Oh, and my cats broke one of the lamps in my living room. No big deal. Actually gives me a good excuse to buy another lamp (or two; with matching lamp shades). I'm feeling a trip to the Maxx in my future.

Off on a research trip tomorrow with our curatorial intern - get to look at cool old stuff for a few days...

A little richer

Saturday's yard sale was, well, a success I guess. In the week leading up, I tagged and packed and packed and tagged all the things I could find that screamed 'sell me' in my house. We spent a lovely day at Christine's new house sitting under her beautiful crepe myrtle tree trying to stay cool. My total haul: $35.05 (I did spend $5 on a cute painting my friend Janet was selling - very bad of me). After a dinner of delivery pizza with the girls I have just enough for my CSA payment this weekend (plus some change to spare). Well, I guess on the bright side it's $20.75 that I didn't have before, right?!

I still have four boxes/baskets of things to sell, though, and so we're going to try it again in Fredericksburg once the university kids are back in session. Here's hoping a little cooler weather and a change of locale will make droves of people come to rid me of my stuff. Otherwise, I feel a craigslist/freecycle/goodwill moment on my horizon.

This weekend promises to be a relatively quiet one. I may just venture to the paint store to see what tickles my fancy. I'm now thinking purple for my living room. It's not something I'd normally go for, but might be a perfect complement to my mustard yellow/light green. I'm inspired by some coleus leaves I have right now in my bathroom vase - great combo of deep dusty magenta purples and bright greens. Well, guess we'll just have to wait and see...