garden mysteries...

ok...so i'm sure by now you know that i love growing things...flowers, veggies, herbs...and i also love to photograph the things i grow. i've been watching & waiting patiently for my agapanthus to bloom...and i finally saw the buds begin to open this week.

i turned on the sprinklers because i thought i would prefer to photograph them with droplets of water still clinging to the blooms.



the next morning...when mrchazman went out to get the paper...he found that one of the flowers had been pulled up...and tossed in the grass. i couldn't believe it.

was it someone that saw me taking photos? was it the girl that came to the door asking for donations...and because she was pounding on the door...she didn't get one?

i guess it doesn't really matter who it was...or why they did what they did. i'm going to continue to plant & photograph my flowers. why? because it gives me pleasure. and that's what matters.

so...for my enjoyment & yours...here's a photo of another one. i love the way the flowers look as if they're spilling out of the pod. i wonder how many more are in there? we'll just have to wait & see.

when life gives you lemons...

preserve them!

it seems that every weekend now...i'm creating something in the kitchen. this weekend...it is preserved lemons.

why? because i like them. when a co-worker mentioned to me that he was preserving lemons...my lil ole brain started churning.

i also remembered how i kept eating the lemons out of the chicken tangine at the moroccan restaurant i was at last month. and...since i had just picked up a bag of lemons at costco...and this seemed like a better use for them than having them wilt away in glass after glass of sun tea...i am preserving lemons!

how? it's so simple...even a child can do it. well...once you cut the lemons for them they can do it. and...if their pouring skills have not yet been perfected...then you might want to assist with that part too. okay...so maybe a child can't do it. but it's really easy!

there are quite a few different recipes out there...but this one is the simplest i've seen...and the one i used.




*i did this last night at midnight...and the jar is now over half full of juice. i am going to enjoy watching the process.

my greatest title...

i am called many things...daughter...wife...co-worker...boss...sister...friend. the title i like best...mother. the day that i found out i was pregnant was one of the happiest days of my life.

my co-workers guessed that i was pregnant before i actually knew that i was. i think it was my lunch combo of oranges...a package of red vines...and many jars of marinated artichoke hearts that i ate for lunch one day that tipped them off. *don't ask where that combo came from. i'd never had a marinated artichoke heart (or any other kind) in my life...before that day!

growing up...i helped take care of my brothers. as a teenager...i was a babysitter for the neighborhood children. but...being able to hold my own daughter was a joy like none other.

my daughter currently lives in new york...will be turning 27 in two weeks, and is one of my closest friends (my mother is my other one). she'll be coming to the area at the end of the month to attend her friends' wedding...and i'm looking forward to seeing her.

*she sent the flowers pictured above...dwarf korean lilacs...for mother's day.

celebration...

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a regional holiday in Mexico, primarily celebrated in the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. The outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army that had not been defeated in almost 50 years.

Cinco de Mayo is not "an obligatory federal holiday" in Mexico, but rather a holiday that can be observed voluntarily.

While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), the important national patriotic holiday in Mexico. ^*

*this info in this article is from wikipedia

the great outdoors...

when i was photographing the trees and wild flowers in the area...i thought it looked like a place where lizards might hang out. i was not disappointed.

i watched this little guy sunning himself on a rock...and he almost looked as if he was posing. not wanting to get too close...i switched from my 50mm lens to my 55-200mm lens. :) that way...i could get the photos i wanted...without getting too close.

look at those fingers! they certainly are long!

and...he looks nothing like the cute little gecko on the commercial...or the ones i saw in kauai. of course...the ones in kauai were pretty much transparent...blending in with the walls on which they climbed. at least this guy knows his place. outside!!!

i'm glad my brothers weren't the type to catch and play with these things...or we'd have had a problem. cause if one of them had gotten loose! in the house! look out! in the words of richard pryor...'which way you gon run?'...cause i woulda been outa there!

yep...i'm a girly girl...and i don't mind admitting it. so...while i do like the great outdoors...i'd much prefer the comforts of a 4- or 5-star hotel room!

minestrone...

we have extremely strange weather...for the first day of may. in fact...it was so cool this morning...that i made a pot of soup.




this is one of those packages of minestone soup...but i spiced it up by adding beef polska kielbasa, leeks & cilantro.

i sliced & browned the beef and two cloves of garlic in one tbsp of olive oil. removed it from the pot. added 8 cups of water. bring to a boil. whisk in the soup mix. stirred in the beef and leeks during the last five minutes. added the cilantro and grated parmesan cheese prior to serving.