Keeping Up With The Cohens

First Crop

This is our first crop of radishes. Aren't they gorgeous? They are very tasty too. They are the Cherry Belle radishes we grew from seeds from Gardens Alive. They have a zesty, spicy taste and are great in salads.

These are the lettuces we grew, also from Gardens Alive. They were so tasty, I don't know how we will ever go back to store-bought lettuce!

Lastly, I just love these wildflowers. They are growing in a kind of border along the driveway. I threw down some wildflower seed and these came up beautifully. It's a pretty setting for the birds that come to partake of our bird feeders. We see all kinds, from goldfinches to cardinals to chickadees.

What's growing in YOUR garden now that summer is finally here?

Why Yes, I DO Still Love My job!

Today is my 3-month anniversary of being a Starbucks barista. Woo hoo! I love it as much today as when I started, if not more. I work with amazing people, especially Molly, above. She is one of my shift managers and just rocks. We have the best time at work. The customers are wonderful, the work is fun, there's very little stress, our boss is terrific, and ... I am HAPPY.

At WORK.

Imagine that!

They say things happen for a reason. As tough as losing my job was, it was worth it to find something I enjoy this much. Things do happen for a reason.

Family Weeding Day

Here are my boys, working hard to weed the garden I filled with wildflower seeds that took over and look more like weeds than anything. The new rule: NO SEEDS. LOL! Ah, my green thumb ran amuck and Bradley and Patrick ended up paying the price. But the garden looks amazing now, and I will post pics when it's done.

Note that Spike is now an indoor/outdoor kitty. We let him have his "freedom" this Independence Day weekend. He seems to like it even though he's still sort of freaked by the whole experience. Here he is on his first outing in the front yard. Go Spike, go!

And here he is, chillin' on the front porch. All tuckered out, poor guy!

Zoe Update

She's getting so big! And changing color. It seems like every day she gets more orange on her. She started out almost completely gray, but now is truly tortoiseshell. I need to get some better pics, but she moves around so much! She's a lovey-dovey girl, and although she doesn't like to be held ("no, don't wanna!") she loves to be petted and she'll come when I call her. She is her mama's daughter in that respect. Fred is doing well, too, although she's still allowing Zoe to nurse. I hope that stops on its own. I assume it will. Meanwhile, our fierce girls patrol the yard and are starting to make a dent in the rodent population. Good girls!

100X

I haven't seen my husband in a few weeks now, but as always, we remain in close contact via phone. I'm glad we have an all-inclusive plan, because otherwise our phone bill would be horrendous.

Since the beginning, our relationship has been forged of long absences and a lot of time talking on the phone. Even though we've been together almost 3 years, we've not been "together" in a physical sense, that is, in the same place at the same time. So in that way, we still feel like we are newlyweds. We still have to get to know each other's foibles and idiosyncrasies each time Bradley comes home. But this is not a bad thing. We both maintain that were he to quit trucking and be at home all the time, our relationship would be radically different.

Meanwhile, Bradley and I were chatting on Friday, talking about how many miles he's actually driven during his career as a truck driver. He reckons about 2.5 MILLION. That's 2,500,000 MILES. Wow. I don't know too many people with that kind of driving experience under their belt. This raised a question in my mind, you know, like those equivalents of how many times around the equator the world's population of insects is, or how many miles your blood vessels actually stretch if laid end to end.

So, how many times could Bradley have circumnavigated the globe based on two-and-a-half million miles of driving? Well, the distance around the globe via the equator is 24,901.55 miles. Divided into 2.5 million?

Slightly more than one hundred times.

100X around the globe, via truck. Now THAT is a feat!

BUTTERFLIES!

Yay! The butterfly bushes we got last year for next to nothing because they looked so spindly at the nursery are amazing this year. They are huge, with gorgeous magenta flowers all over. And check out the guys flitting about!

I saw three at once, and then managed to get an almost great shot. If only the camera had snapped an instant sooner, his wings were open! LOL!

Yummy! Peach Ice Cream

Take this:

And this:

Using this recipe, make these:

Chill, then combine in an ice cream maker to make this:

Enjoy!

This is a very easy and delicious recipe with a deep brown-sugar flavor. In the first batch, I found that the peaches got a little lost in the flavor mix, so the next batch, I reduced the milk by a half cup and the brown sugar by a quarter cup. It turned out much peachier!

Yes, The Job Is Still Amazing!

I know I haven't posted about Starbucks recently, but that's because it's still AMAZING AND FUN. I love it, and I don't foresee it ever getting old. I adore my co-workers, every one, and the customers, especially the regulars, are interesting and great to talk to. And of course I believe in the product, that helps! I'm such a fan of the company and am grateful to work there.

This picture is of a kitchen timer my mom sent me. Isn't it AWESOME? I love it! It sits proudly on our stove and keeps perfect time (of course). Thanks, mom!

Oh, and also... I have new work shoes. Bradley found them for me. He asked a nurse about her shoes when he was in for some X-rays. They are the New Balance WW845 and they are terrific. I had a bout with plantar fasciitis several years back and I never want to deal with it again. In these shoes, not only do I not really have to worry about planter fasciitis, my feet do not get sore, even on an 8-hour shift! They were a bit expensive, but worth EVERY penny.

Our First Peach Harvest

Look! We got peaches! And plums! Not a ton, but these were the ones I was able to pick and carry to the house in my shirt the other day. I got more yesterday. They are very sweet and delicious. Many of the fruits got either picked over (by birds and squirrels, I assume), bug infested, or rotten on the branch. I have to look up why the mold and rot happened. I wonder if it was the amount of rain we've been having and the fact that I did not pick them fast enough. Either way, many of the fruit got left to rot on the ground.

I am still getting over my ear infection. My left ear is still not feeling right. I have trouble hearing out of it. And it's been hella hot outside, so I've been working in the evenings when it cools off. There's major weeding that needs to be done in the butterfly garden, and I've been slowly but steadily getting through that. I love the long summer nights. I worked last night until 9:00, and had the fireflies keeping me company and lighting my way as it got dark. Summer evenings are magical here. Everything gets kind of quiet, the birds are settling in for the night, the fireflies and frogs come out, the sky fades to deep blue.

Aaahhhh. Happy Summer Solstice (a few days late)!

Greetings From The Garden

It's been a while since I wrote a stitch about what's going on in the garden, so I thought it high time to post some photos. I've had a terrible ear infection for the past few days (lovely), so these are about a week or so old. But they are still fairly current. I also have to take pictures of the butterfly garden, even though it's overrun with weeds. It's still amazing looking, and things are blooming (and attracting butterflies!) like crazy!

Last year, we got a good bucketful of peaches from our peach tree in our front yard. They were small but tasty. This year, I fertilized well, and they are growing bigger:

Aren't they pretty?

And what I thought was another peach tree, is actually a plum!

This one came right off in my hand and was delicious! At least, the half that didn't have worms in it. Ack!

We are going for organic and natural pest control though, so no spraying for bugs. In a year or two, natural "good" bugs should even out the balance. It's just a patience game until then. However, we did plant garlic under the fruit trees. My understanding is that they deter Japanese beetles. Here's hoping.

This beautiful daylily is in our front yard, and was part of the original landscaping. I'm becoming a fan of daylilies I have to say. At first, I was not impressed, but they are so cheerful and bright in the hot sun, it's hard not to appreciate them. And there are so many varieties! I tend to like cooler color flowers though, like these hydrangeas...

And check out this Queen Anne's Lace. I know it's a weed, but it's amazing!

And the clematis in the butterfly garden is still going strong.

Lastly, the wildflowers we planted in the bed adjacent to the driveway have some gorgeous blooms. That's the update for now. I hope you enjoyed!