Rain = Blossoms

Look what a little rain can do!  These plants survive heat and drought, but when it rains they get gorgeous!  At the top is Texas Sage, in the middle is Salvia greggi (autumn sage), and at the bottom is dwarf ruellia (Mexican petunias).  

French Club

I wanted to teach my granddaughter to speak French, but she wasn't too interested.  So I found two other girls her age and started a French Club.  We meet once a week and do learning activities and games.  They aren't speaking French yet, but are getting an introduction and learning some vocabulary.  And, most important, having fun.

Disaster Relief

These are a few of the quilts I got to help make for our church group's donation to our Disaster Relief program.  I liked doing the simple bindings, with the back folded over the front.  It was amazing to me to see how fast we completed so many quilts.

Herbs as Food

Do you think of herbs as a decoration?  Like a small piece of parsley on a plate?  Or as a flavoring?  A teaspoon or two added for taste?  This recipe changed my outlook about herbs - it uses herbs as a main part of the salad.  And after the first time I made it, I doubled the parsley.  The recipe comes from the book The Gluten-Free Vegan by Susan O'Brien.  It's good, too.

Mock Tabbouleh Salad
6 kalamata olives, chopped
3 small green onions, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
Place the olives, vegetables, and herbs in a large salad bowl.  Add the cooled quinoa, lemon juice, and oil.  Toss together.  Season with salt and pepper, and chill before serving.

Tailgating

Some people think that a good tailgate party includes a grill and a TV, but what I like is great friends, great food, and shade.

Garden Favorites Part 2

This is my favorite way to garden:
1.  Carefully prepare the soil
2.  Plant the seeds
3.  Water for a few weeks
4.  Forget about the new plants
5.  Ignore them
6.  Neglect them
7.  Notice that they have flourished and spread despite the neglect
8.  Cut big handfuls to add to our dinner

Not many plants thrive under my favorite gardening method, but chives are the exception.  Now they are blooming, and soon they will make black seeds that I will scatter in some of the empty spaces in the garden.  They seem to do better if you plant (or just scatter) them in the fall and wait until spring for them to come up.  I love their grassy looking leaves that curve gracefully over.  And aren't the flowers pretty?  But don't be tempted to put them in a vase inside, or people will walk by and say, "Ew what's that funny smell?"  Better just cut a handful of leaves to use whenever you want a mild onion flavor.

Work Tag

Last week the grandchildren were getting rambunctious and I still had some chores to finish, so we played a new game: "work tag".  I was "It" and whenever I caught one child, they all had to do a small chore.  We got everything done and I got my exercise.  They have been asking to play this every day since!