Have you ever walked out to your garden, picked a fresh ripe red tomato and eaten it like an apple while it's still warm from the sun, the juice dripping down your arm? Or at 5 p.m. cooked up a squash you picked at 4? If you have, then you know that nothing comes close to the taste of home grown vegetables.
This spring I decided to plant a garden with my little neighbor Anna (3 1/2 years old) so she could have the experience of watching things grow. She came over one Sunday afternoon late in May wearing her little sunhat, yellow garden gloves and sequin-studded flipflops, ready to work. After she changed into tennis shoes, we got to work, got dirty, and planted three tomato plants, three short rows of green beans, and several hills of squash. We spent quite a bit of time just playing in the hose, too.
I chose squash because I knew the plants would be hearty and would take over, and that would be very impressive for a three-year-old. If they bore fruit (or vegetables, that is) then all the better. When Anna came over last weekend, she went outside and shouted "It Growed!" with true amazement. I couldn't have prompted her to be more thrilled with the huge plants, climbing the fence, leaves as big as lilly pads. She picked a squash to take home, I cooked one that night and last night I cooked a couple more.
These particular squash are new to me--I've never seen them in the produce section--but both types were wonderful. I peeled and roasted them with a couple of red potatoes and two onions, all chopped into double bite-sized pieces. I drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled on a package of herb and garlic seasoning. Then I put them in the oven at 375 until all were soft--about 45 minutes. Simple and Delicious. The fresh squash really were more flavorful than any I have ever bought.
So, if you have a bare patch in the corner of your yard next spring, consider planting squash and other vegetables.
They look beautiful and lush--very impressive while they're growing.
You get fresh produce at a cheap price and they taste great.
With the Colorado weather, I don't know if all those little green tomatoes on my plants will grow up to be red juicy tomatoes like I was used to in Illinois. But, the plants look wonderful--as pretty as the hostas and astilbe I planted on the adjacent berm. Red tomatoes will just be a bonus.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I Am Woman
Today I was driving to the airport on C-470 to pick up Conor and Liz from their vacation trip. The noise from my tires was especially loud—I had had a low tire a couple of weeks ago and just hadn’t gone to Big O to check it out.
Sure enough, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw slivers of rubber hurling from the back right side of the car. The car started pulling to the right, and I smelled a tar-like odor from the disintegrating tire.
I pulled onto the shoulder, turned on my flashers, popped open the hood, got out and propped it up and proceeded to unload my trunk. The year I graduated college, my dad had me change out my studded tires and put on summer tires before I moved into the world on my own. I have changed tires a couple of times since then, but probably not in the last 20 years. Not that I remembered exactly how to do it, but I knew I could do it.
It took me a few minutes, analyzing the jack and situating it under the notches on the car before I could make it work. That was the most confusing part actually. Once it was positioned, I turned it and jacked up the car. The handle of the jack is also the tool to dislodge the lugnuts. I leveraged my weight against the jack handle to turn the lugnuts—lefty-loosey and eventually they gave way. The spare in my trunk was full-sized and seemed to have enough air in it. I positioned it to fit onto the five lugs (is that what you call them?) and tightened the nuts randomly, not consecutively in a circle ( I remembered vaguely about this) till they were secure. Then once again, I leaned all my weight against the tool to make sure each one was tight so I could travel safely down the road.
Later in the day, I went to Big O Tires to see if I had put the tire on securely, and to see if I needed a whole new set of tires. Frank, the customer service guy, was impressed. “You must have some big guns,” he admired, as he touched my arm. Well, with working out, a lot of grit, and above average body weight—yes—I did have the strength to do this very common thing.
All day, I told my family and friends about my accomplishment—I called home and thanked my dad for encouraging me to do it so many years ago. I couldn’t help it. I was very proud of myself for changing my own tire. I am woman, hear me roar! Trying something challenging or outside your comfort zone and succeeding is a tremendous boost to your self-esteem—something we can all use, don’t you think?
Today I was driving to the airport on C-470 to pick up Conor and Liz from their vacation trip. The noise from my tires was especially loud—I had had a low tire a couple of weeks ago and just hadn’t gone to Big O to check it out.
Sure enough, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw slivers of rubber hurling from the back right side of the car. The car started pulling to the right, and I smelled a tar-like odor from the disintegrating tire.
I pulled onto the shoulder, turned on my flashers, popped open the hood, got out and propped it up and proceeded to unload my trunk. The year I graduated college, my dad had me change out my studded tires and put on summer tires before I moved into the world on my own. I have changed tires a couple of times since then, but probably not in the last 20 years. Not that I remembered exactly how to do it, but I knew I could do it.
It took me a few minutes, analyzing the jack and situating it under the notches on the car before I could make it work. That was the most confusing part actually. Once it was positioned, I turned it and jacked up the car. The handle of the jack is also the tool to dislodge the lugnuts. I leveraged my weight against the jack handle to turn the lugnuts—lefty-loosey and eventually they gave way. The spare in my trunk was full-sized and seemed to have enough air in it. I positioned it to fit onto the five lugs (is that what you call them?) and tightened the nuts randomly, not consecutively in a circle ( I remembered vaguely about this) till they were secure. Then once again, I leaned all my weight against the tool to make sure each one was tight so I could travel safely down the road.
Later in the day, I went to Big O Tires to see if I had put the tire on securely, and to see if I needed a whole new set of tires. Frank, the customer service guy, was impressed. “You must have some big guns,” he admired, as he touched my arm. Well, with working out, a lot of grit, and above average body weight—yes—I did have the strength to do this very common thing.
All day, I told my family and friends about my accomplishment—I called home and thanked my dad for encouraging me to do it so many years ago. I couldn’t help it. I was very proud of myself for changing my own tire. I am woman, hear me roar! Trying something challenging or outside your comfort zone and succeeding is a tremendous boost to your self-esteem—something we can all use, don’t you think?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Library is a Happening Place
Moving means finding new resources in your community. Whether you just moved or you’ve stayed put for twenty years, have you been to your local library lately? The library isn’t just for checking out books. Last week I went to the Carbon Valley Library—it’s only a year old and it is awesome!
First, my library card was free and issued on the spot. A very young, very hip librarian gave me the tour. She helped me find books on the computer (they don’t use the card catalog anymore, but they do still use the Dewey Decimal System, though she said that may go by the wayside, too.) I was looking for books on public speaking for a class I’m developing. I decided to save my money and see what I could find at the library. I walked away with 7 books whose copyright dates were no older than 2005. And I can keep them for 3 weeks.
In the last few years, I have been to libraries in many cities, using their computers to check my emails (I still don’t have a laptop but now with my BlackBerry I can check my emails anywhere.) It’s bad for business not to respond promptly when someone sends an email. At the Carbon Valley Library, in the middle of the day, most of the computers were occupied. I think there were at least a dozen. They also have free wireless access.
The library even offers computer classes! I had to call up my mom and share that. Seniors or anyone looking to change jobs that doesn’t have computer skills—check it out.
This new library has great meeting rooms, delivers books to the homebound, and has an ongoing used book sale—that’s great in this economy. And DVDs, books on tape, downloadable videos. Plus homework tutors and programs throughout the year for kids and teens. It goes on and on!
And the coolest thing—you can check yourself out! The books have UPC codes, so you run them across a reader and plug in your email and it will send you a reminder when they are due. Amazing—maybe I don’t get out much, but I thought that was pretty state- of-the-art.
First, my library card was free and issued on the spot. A very young, very hip librarian gave me the tour. She helped me find books on the computer (they don’t use the card catalog anymore, but they do still use the Dewey Decimal System, though she said that may go by the wayside, too.) I was looking for books on public speaking for a class I’m developing. I decided to save my money and see what I could find at the library. I walked away with 7 books whose copyright dates were no older than 2005. And I can keep them for 3 weeks.
In the last few years, I have been to libraries in many cities, using their computers to check my emails (I still don’t have a laptop but now with my BlackBerry I can check my emails anywhere.) It’s bad for business not to respond promptly when someone sends an email. At the Carbon Valley Library, in the middle of the day, most of the computers were occupied. I think there were at least a dozen. They also have free wireless access.
The library even offers computer classes! I had to call up my mom and share that. Seniors or anyone looking to change jobs that doesn’t have computer skills—check it out.
This new library has great meeting rooms, delivers books to the homebound, and has an ongoing used book sale—that’s great in this economy. And DVDs, books on tape, downloadable videos. Plus homework tutors and programs throughout the year for kids and teens. It goes on and on!
And the coolest thing—you can check yourself out! The books have UPC codes, so you run them across a reader and plug in your email and it will send you a reminder when they are due. Amazing—maybe I don’t get out much, but I thought that was pretty state- of-the-art.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
