Lydia

 

This young lady has grown up fast.  She is very happy with this outfit, as it represents her style.  I am apparently too old and out of it to comprehend such things as style, per my very opinionated daughter.  She would prefer blue or green to the purple, but she wears the purple shirt a lot, so I think it's still on the "good" list, although black is the overall preferred color. 

She continues to think that the cats need to show off on photo shoots, so here is Panther, once again dressed up.

Snake Gourd Takes Over the World

 

In the cottage garden, the lollypop zinnias are doing great.

The pineapple sage is starting to bloom.

And the snake gourd is taking over the world:

It is growing up the house, over the front porch, and down to the driveway.

There are lots of gourds growing.  It has been fun to see it take over.  This is just one plant!  I don't think we will grow it again, but it has been worth it for this year.

Book Review - The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

 

I recently read this nostalgic book, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, by Amanda Cox.  It weaves together the stories and secrets of generations of one family.

First of all, I tend to love books with dual timelines and multiple narrators, so this was something I enjoyed.  The book goes between the grandmother, mother, and daughter's viewpoints, and varies in time between the Vietnam War and present day.  Rosemary, the mother, was a character that I struggled with, especially as an adult.  It was easier to grow to like both Sarah and Glory Ann.  The themes of letting go of regret and embracing the truth were very well done.  Clarence was a gem of a character, and I although I struggled at first with why he would marry Glory Ann in the first place, it eventually made sense.  Overall, the relationships between various family members were realistic.  Most of the characters were very well drawn, and I could see them as real people.  I absolutely loved the epilogue, but I won't spoil it here.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher, Revel, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Panther's Sweater

Lydia decided that Panther should have a rainy day sweater, and a photo shoot.

He's such an agreeable cat.  He just purred and purred in her lap.  He didn't mind the sweater when he was being cuddled, but when he went to walk around, it disturbed him, so he didn't wear it long.

Also, Elijah and Malachi got me a ridiculously large mixing bowl for my birthday.  I didn't have a bowl big enough to mix a double batch of pumpkin muffins, so I had requested a larger one.   Here I am mixing up a triple batch:

 

Lots of Activity

 

We've had a busy couple of weeks.  First of all, some friends visited for Labor Day weekend, and we had a great time with them.  Gyunay and Emry were especially grateful to have their buddy!

Next, we had a school field trip to the zoo with friends.  Here is Lydia on a camel!

Then, we had the really big trip.  We did a family campout with our church group.  We had a great weekend!  We even had my niece and nephew join us for most of it, and they had a blast, too.

The big kids attempted the rock wall, and some of them did the "great swing", which looked pretty scary but fun.  We also did kayaking/canoeing, candle making, s'mores, swimming, games, archery, and more. 

I think we are all ready for a slower weekend this week.  

Mini - Me

 Emry has long been a bit jealous of Gyunay's little Gyunay doll.  I started working on an Emry doll a long time ago, but I had some additional challenges.  For one thing, it had been a while and I needed a refresher on how to make the doll in the first place.  But the main thing was the hair.  See, on most of my Waldorf-style dolls, there are stitches on the back of the head that are covered by the hair.   This wouldn't work for Emry, because he generally has a close buzz for most of the back of his head, with the curls only on top (a "fade").  Anyway, it took me a while to figure out how to get everything in order, but I finally was able to present Emry with his mini-me doll:

And Malachi really enjoys the cats, too:

Book Review - Hostile Intent by Lynette Eason

 

I've read several books by Lynette Eason, including the rest of this series, and she is definitely a writer that I enjoy.  Although this book is the fourth in a series, it is a stand-alone novel.  In fact, readers of the previous books will barely glimspe those characters.  This one focuses on Ava and Caden, and the families being murdered.  

The plot is excellent.  I enjoyed the banter and light romance, but the suspense is the key, and it is well done.  The book moves along at a good pace, and the mystery is unraveled piece by piece.  Overall, this was a book I didn't want to put down.  I didn't care for the epilogue, but I won't divulge any spoilers here.  

I received this novel from the publisher, Revel, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

August Harvest Totals

 Arugula - more than we need!

Beans, Dragon Tongue - 2.3 lbs

Beans, Golden Crescent - 2.6 lbs

Beans, Kentucky Blue - 14.4 oz

Beans, Provider - 6 lbs

Cantaloupes - 4

Chijimsai - 4 bunches

Cucumbers, green - 10

Cucumbers, white - 26

Eggs- 231

Jalapenos - 3

Peppers, orange - 1

Peppers, red Gypsy Rose - 3

Potatoes, red - 1.8 lbs

Tomatoes

    Better Boy - 30; 12 lbs

    Black Krim - 44; 19.1 lbs

    German Pink - 23; 9.6 lbs

    Orange - 8; 2 lbs

    St. Pierre - 39; 12.3lbs

    San Marzano - 4; 6.5 oz

            Total tomatoes - 55 lbs, 6 oz

Also, thyme, sage, rosemary, mint, dill, and cherry tomatoes

There would have been a bigger potato and cucumber crop, but the tree falling on them was not exactly good for the plants!

            So, basically, we have eaten a lot of green beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers this month.  I've also made some salsa (both canned and fermented pico), and dill pickles, although most of the pickles I canned were using cucumbers from my friend.  I did ferment some dill pickles from mine, though.

Preserving

Sorry I've been AWOL for a while.  I was having trouble getting the blog to upload pictures.  Hopefully, this time it will work.  

I've been doing a lot of preserving.  Nathaniel and I bought several pounds of banana peppers at the farmer's market last weekend, so I canned some pepper rings:

I also went back to the orchard and bought another 2 bushels of peaches, so I've been making jams and canning honey peaches.  Today I hope to work with tomatoes and make some of the mint jelly that Malachi has been requesting.  I rolled my ankle playing volleyball Monday night, so I've been staying off my feet for the most part, but I'm going to recruit Lydia to help me today.

In chicken news, we are back up to 12 hens, 1 rooster.  I had given 2 pullets to a friend a while back, but she has had severe predator problems, so the last chicken standing, who happened to be one of the ones I gave her, has returned to our coop.  The chickens didn't even really seem to notice when she was re-introduced to them.  They all appear to be getting along just fine, and they have been laying really well.

Lastly, Gyunay wanted me to take a picture of him and his "guys":