Cultivating Our Garden

6:19

6:59

8:10

It's 8:20, Evie's up and I was able to get in a paddle, despite a brisk southerly wind and choppy lake.  Right now, as we sit here, we can hear the wind howling and see the flag flying, the martins and swallows, swooping along the shoreline, looking for nesting materials.

Kayak Morning

Monday was a good day to be outside although I did get in some shopping in the morning.  After my paddle and writing the blog, we decided to continue our work in the beds, at this time of year, it's mostly weeding.  I got out of it in the morning by driving off to a new store called Runnings and ended up spending more than I thought on some clothes although I will going back today to return some of them.  I did get some rain pants so I can kayak or fish in the rain. I stopped for coffee for the first time in weeks, saw Dave, but no one seemed to be wearing a mask so I won't be back for a while.  Not sure why they aren't.  I tried to get some cash at my bank but the ATM was closed for some reason and there was the usual large line at the deposit lane. On the way home,  I did a quick run-through of Aldi's, then bought twenty more bucks worth of gravel and mulch, stopping at the gravel yard, picking up five more buckets, of dirt, stone, and mulch because we needed some of each
By the time I returned, Evie was taking a break in the house and had warmed up some pizza for me for lunch.  Before eating, however, we went upstairs and made our bed. Nothing like fresh, clean sheets.  I  then ate the pizza and watched my show.  I was already tired from my shopping and from getting up early so I knew I would fall asleep while reading, which I did for maybe 15 minutes.

The rest of the afternoon was spent outside working with Evie on our garden and yard.  We are making progress weeding and I drove off to the gravel pit and picked up five buckets of stones, to spread in areas around our compost, hoping to stave off the flooding when it rains hard.  Earlier, I weeded around our red twigs so I spread the mulch I picked up in the morning, hoping it does its job, keeping out the weeds.  By 4:30, I had enough but Evie stayed out for another half hour until the wind drove her in.

We then quickly put together our dinner, our quick version of chicken tikka masala, with mushrooms, broccoli, and a simmer sauce from Trader Joe's.  Once it was simmering on the stove, Evie started the rice and we then could relax with a glass of wine and listen to Trump admit to taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug that most doctors suggest is not only useless in fighting Cov19 but dangerous. Later, Fox News Neil Cavuto warned his viewers against taking the drug and Trump tweeted in response, calling Cavuto an "idiot, foolish, gullible and asshole." Trump at his finest, being a child.

We loved our dinner, lots of veggies and sauce, with a great salad, highlighted by blue cheese and sunflower seeds and just the right amount of olive oil, not too much, and rice vinegar.  Yum.  We watched a Home Town, then a great 9th episode of The Last Dance, saving the last episode for tonight.  It is a must-watch TV for anyone, even if you are not a basketball fan.  We finished the night with an episode of Dead To Me and Cheers.  It was a busy but good day.

Last week, a good high school friend who ended up following us to Hawaii in the late 1960s and stayed unlike us, sent me a couple of three or four-page typed letters I sent him in 1967 and 1968.  They are great, so filled with innocence, especially enthusiasm for our life in Hawaii, my teaching, and our daughter, Beth.  He sent me this photo of a postcard I sent, tantalizing him with life in Hawaii.  It worked.