273/365

273/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

dessert,,,

last week...
i got these yummy organic pears at tjs.
they were only $2.99 for the bag.
i'm getting another bag tomorrow.

i had one for dessert tonight.
i'd like to try poaching them...
because i saw it on the food network...
on the barefoot contessa's show.

for dinner...
i made meatloaf...
topped w/homemade stewed tomatoes...
and garlic mashed potatoes on the side.

272/365

272/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

windmill heaven...

mj loves the three windmills in my garden...
so i knew she would love these.

she squealed when she saw them all...
and took off running towards them.

this was her first visit to cornerstone...
and she seemed to have a good time exploring all the gardens.

271/365

271/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

hello kitty ice cream...

we were out walking...
the ice cream man came by...
mj saw hello kitty...
and there you have it.

she's not really into sweets...
so i didn't expect her to eat this.
well...
i had to pry it from her hands.

and that red dye...
that stuff is vicious.
i scrubbed her fingers...
and her shirt is still soaking.

btw...
i only let her have a few bites.

270/365

270/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

chicken noodle soup...

i can't remember the last time i had this.
but...
since i'm sick...
i'll give it a try.

i would normally make my own...
but i'm too sick for that.
so...
campbell's will have to do.

269/365

269/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

caribbean reds...

very happy with this plant this year.
it has been very productive...
and the size of peppers has gotten larger.

i'm growing the peppers in a container...
and i'd love to figure out a way to keep it thru the winter.

almost time to pick some peppers...
and make some hot sauce.

268/365

268/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

blue & white...

i finally got my fitbit yesterday...
and today i went walking...
to get my steps in.

as i was returning to the office...
i saw the sky reflected in the building...
and captured this with my cell phone.

267/365

267/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

rose...

the weather has been great...
and my roses are blooming again.

266/365

266/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

clippings...

mrchazman trimmed the lavender plants...
and brought a few clippings into the house for me.

they smell wonderful!!!

my entire downstairs smells like lavender.

i think i'll bring in some more tomorrow.

265/365

265/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

the artist...

someone PROUDLY showed me their ink drawings on the wall.
i had her show my parents...
as they weren't aware of the masterpiece yet.

my mother then brought out a crayon that only writes on special paper.
we gave it to mj...
and she happily created a beautiful picture.

the mother proudly displayed the picture on the refrigerator.

mj is really getting into coloring...
and in the photo at right...
she had gone into the hallway...
and stretched out on the rug...
right below her ink drawing.

264/365

264/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

princess mj...

when we came over today...
we brought some accessories to mj's halloween costume.
as she saw each item...
she immediately traded in the previous item we'd handed her.

what did we bring?
a scepter..
that she figured out opened with a push of a button;
a tiara...
that she somehow knew went on her head;
and a purse.

later on...
she and i took a walk in the neighborhood.
me...
with my camera...
and mj...
with her royal adornments.

263/365

263/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

stormy weather...

the weather guessers predicted rain for this weekend.
looks like they may be right.

the clouds are rolling in...
and the weather has gotten cooler.

***

that silhouette on the left...
is the corner of my house.

261/365

261/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

eyesight...

never take it for granted!

for the past few years...
i've been having floaters in my left eye...
and a couple of years ago...
i had a slight tear in my retina.

more recently...
my vision was blurry...
and i called and went in for an exam...
and was diagnosed with macular degeneration.

i've been having a series of injections in my eye...
yes...
in my eye...
for the past few months.

i had an injection this morning...
and have been wearing the rollens most of the day...
to keep out the light.

so...
make sure you get your eyes checked regularly...
and if you sense anything out of the ordinary...
call for a checkup.

260/365

260/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

good hair day...

i've been wearing my hair natural for a few years now...
and with the sudden explosion of natural hair blogs...
i've become caught up in trying all the new products...
as well as new styling techniques.

my hair is pretty dry...
LOVES moisture...
and soaks it up like a sponge.

it also holds water...
so i have to allow a lot of drying time...
or sit under a dryer (which i hate).

i'm learning all these new terms...
pineapple,
two strand twist,
bantu knots,
LOC (liquid oil cream)...
and spending way more time on youtube than i used to...
watching styling videos.

i'm finally getting the hang of the two strand twist...
and the bantu knots...
and learning what combo of products give me the results i like.

yay me!!!

yes...
it's a good hair day!

259/365

259/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

the 't' in my blt...

this morning i cooked bacon...
with this tomato in mind.

this is my pruden's purple tomato plant...
and most of its tomatoes are over a pound.

this one is so large...
one slice covered my entire slice of toast in my sandwich.

***

this is a pruden's purple (1 lb, 1.9 oz) & some currant tomatoes...
next to a quarter for scale.

256/365

256/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

texture...

i don't often shoot texture...
but i admired this as i walked past...
and doubled back for a photo.

255/365

255/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

prickly pear picking...

at the top of the hill...
mrchazman is picking prickly pears.

i took some to a co-worker...
and peeled the others and put them in the freezer.

254/365

254/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

Never forget!

253/365

253/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

acorns...

today...
when i was leaving trader joes...
i saw an acorn lying near my car...
looked up...
and saw that i was parked under an oak tree.

i immediately knew i wanted to photograph it as my potd.

***

because i like doing research on items i photograph...
here's some info i found on wikipedia.

Acorns are too heavy for wind dispersal, so they require other ways to spread. Oaks therefore depend on biological seed dispersal agents to move the acorns beyond the mother tree and into a suitable area for germination (including access to adequate water, sunlight and soil nutrients), ideally a minimum of 20–30 m from the parent tree[citation needed].

Many animals eat unripe acorns on the tree or ripe acorns from the ground, with no reproductive benefit to the oak, but some animals, such as squirrels and jays serve as seed dispersal agents. Jays and squirrels that scatter-hoard acorns in caches for future use, effectively plant acorns in a variety of locations in which it is possible for them to germinate and thrive.

Even though jays and squirrels retain remarkably large mental maps of cache locations and return to consume them, the odd acorn may be lost, or a jay or squirrel may die before consuming all of its stores. A small number of acorns manage to germinate and survive, producing the next generation of oaks.

Scatter-hoarding behavior depends on jays and squirrels associating with plants that provide good packets of food that are nutritionally valuable, but not too big for the dispersal agent to handle. The beak sizes of jays determine how large acorns may get before jays ignore them.

Acorns germinate on different schedules, depending on their place in the oak family. Once acorns sprout, they are less nutritious, as the seed tissue converts to the indigestible lignins that form the root.

***

follow the link above to read more about the acorn.

252/365

252/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

adoption day...

today...
my parents adopted makayla.
she's been living with them since she was born...
and they've been raising her since she was a month old.

she seemed to know that it was her day...
and was her usual adorable self...
except when she saw the children's playroom...
with the huge assortment of toys.

after the ceremony...
we had a late lunch, and cake & ice cream at our church.

251/365

251/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

peppers...

these are padrons...
that i've allowed to turn red...
which of course...
makes them HOT!!!

i made two bottles of hot sauce...
and a sriracha-type sauce a couple of weeks ago.

i watched a youtube video today...
for pepper jelly...
and ooohhhh...
i want to make it!!!

i bought some more jars...
so now i just need the time.

my caribbean reds are also ready to harvest...
so i may add a sliver of it to my jelly.
i say a sliver...
because they're hotter than habaneros!

250/365

250/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

movie night...

we watched 'patch adams'...
and while i'd heard of it...
i'd never watch the entire movie.

it's a true story...
and stars robin williams.

if you've never seen it...
it's worth watching.

***

i've been really busy at the office...
catching up on homework...
and preparing for monday, 090913...
so i haven't been posting daily like usual.

249/365

249/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

rose hips...

Rose hips are the seed pods of roses. We don’t often see them anymore, because we tend to prune the faded rose blossoms to encourage more flowers. However if you leave the spent flowers on the rose bush at the end of the season, you should see these small, berry-sized, reddish seed balls, left on tips of the stems. They are actually very ornamental and birds enjoy them too.

info from wikipedia.

248/365

248/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

peppers...

the larger two are padrons...
that i allowed to turn red.
this makes them all hot...
and they make an excellent hot sauce.

the smaller one is a caribbean red...
and is the first one that's turned red.
it's not very big...
but since its hotter than a habanero...
i guess it doesn't need to be.

i'm not sure what i'm going to do with all the caribbean reds.
but haitian pikliz is on the short list...
and i know i'll dry a few for hot sauce...
and i'll probably end up giving a lot of them away.

hopefully they have a good flavor...
and it's not just HOT.

247/365

247/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

sungold...

these are SO sweet!!!

it's my first year growing them...
but not my last.

someone at tomatomania recommended them to me...
and i admit...
i was skeptical at first...
but i'm a believer now!

245/365

245/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

prickly pears...

we have a HUGE cactus plant at the top of the hill in our back yard.
this afternoon...
i looked out the window...
saw they were ripening...
and wanted to try them.

i've seen them at the local farms...
but why buy them...
when i have my own.

so...
mrchazman went up the hill with me...
and he picked...
while i took photos.

i then peeled them...
made a prickly pear juice...
that i then made into margaritas.

yum!!!

i'll be going back up there this weekend to pick more...
peel & freeze!

244/365

244/365, a photo by credd on Flickr.

black krim tomatoes...

my late season tomatoes are beginning to ripen.
black krim...
pruden's purple...
copper red...
chicken egg.

they're all larger tomatoes...
and i should have a few this week.

we've had to add quite a few stakes to the plants...
which are all over four feet tall...
and have tomatoes growing in clusters.

this is my first time growing these...
and i'm looking forward to seeing how they taste.