Fun and Food

The boy and girl each took a dollar of their garden bounty and headed off to the dollar store this morning with me. Yes, it's good to save, and they'll save the rest, but it's also nice for them to see their work pay off. The girl had no qualms about waving her dollar around, but the boy hemmed and hawed and then flipped to wanting to save it all, or what would happen if we left and then he needed it on the ride home or a myriad of other scenarios. He decided to spend it after I assured him I had another dollar in my pocket for that "just in case" moment. He got himself a Star Wars kite and the girl got a small doll that came with a potty and a bathtub. They were both happy.

I took out a squash hill today that was absolutely infested with SVBs. It only gave me one squash all season, so it wasn't much of a loss. I took out one spent zucchini and wanted to do more, but those things just don't seem to care that their stems are peppered with holes and barely holding themselves together. They're powerhouses, that's for sure.

Dinner tonight was largely from the garden. The colors are off because of the low light, but we had breaded fish with zucchini salsa (from the freezer), rice, zipper peas with beans filling in for snaps, rice and a salad made with a cucumber and tomato from the garden.
I've never tried putting the zucchini salsa on the fish and WOW was it good. I'll certainly do it again soon. I'm so glad I made more zucchini salsa this year. I almost didn't as I figured we didn't enjoy it last year very much. I suppose I just needed to use it the right way.

Lastly, and totally off gardening, my girlfriend asked if I'd make her a couple of wristlet keychains like ones she's seen around, so I made hers and a few more for myself this afternoon. I usually clip my keys on my belt loop and look very stupid, especially when I'm wearing dress pants. These loop around your wrist, so I don't have to look like a burly old man anymore.

They're just too cute. I'm thinking they'll make great stocking stuffers and teacher gifts come Christmas, but I'm going to do them all now while I don't have papers to grade. I'm going to make some in the boy's school colors and let his teacher use them as a class fundraiser and then make some with the Awareness colors (like for different cancers, Autism, etc) and use them for a fundraiser for our school's Relay For Life team. I hope they get a good response.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening/sewing dreams.