It was a warm day, today, with a high of 98F in the afternoon. It was cooler in the house for most of the day, however, and the fans were enough to keep my daughter and me comfortable.
I took a walk in the garden in the morning before it got too warm. Remember this?
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| Okra Flower - August 18 |
The flower only lasted for one day, but, after about three days, an okra pod developed and I picked it, today!
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| Okra Pod - August 26 |
It is another red okra! I noticed that the pods start out green and turn red in the sun.
The moringa plant is having quite a few pods:
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| Moringa Pods |
They are not big enough to harvest, but, you can see why they are called "drum sticks"!
The plants from the newer packet of watermelon seeds are now starting to set fruit! Introducing Baby and Tiny:
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| Baby Watermelon |
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| Tiny Watermelon |
Baby is about the size of a tennis ball; Tiny is well, tiny! LOL.
After the stroll in the garden, I came inside and replied to blog comments, etc. Then, I had a bowl of my tomato soup for brunch, with a half a glass of orange juice. Yesterday, I noticed that, while I had more than my recommended five a day of fruits and vegetables, five of those servings were fruit and only one of vegetables (the homemade pasta sauce)! I tried to do better, today (thus the tomato soup), but, even so, I had more fruits than vegetables, today, too!
In the afternoon, I dusted the family room and tried to remove all the cobwebs! There were some cobwebs near the ceiling that I couldn't reach with the wand type duster I used for the purpose; tomorrow, I will try again with a broom. Afterwards, the air in the room felt dusty and I ran the air purifiers.
Then, I rested and watched news. While I watched the news, I altered one of my blouses. I had sewn it, with fabric my mother had bought, shortly after I had finished my chemo treatments, after I had lost a lot of weight. Since then, I have regained at least 10 lbs., if not more, and the blouse became a bit tight around my tummy! I unpicked the side seams part way and resewed them as open slits and hemmed the blouse. I sewed it by hand because it was easier for me to do that than fill bobbins and rethread the sewing machine with matching thread!
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| Altered Blouse |
There is also a matching scarf that I made with the leftover lace fabric, which can be worn either as a scarf or as a sash around the waist.
After tea, when it had cooled down a bit, I walked for 10 minutes up and down the drive way. I had wanted to walk for 15 minutes, but, 10 were all I could manage without pushing myself.
The packet of pork I had taken out of the freezer and kept to thaw in the fridge was still frozen solid, so for dinner, I made fried rice with leftover rice, some mini sausages I had in the freezer, some frozen corn, a bit of diced onion, the last of the leftover broccoli, a tomato or two, an egg, and a handful of peanuts. Daughter and I shared it for dinner. Afterwards, I ate some grapes. I don't know if there was enough vegetables in the fried rice to make a full serving of vegetables (probably more like half a serving), but, I had at least three servings of fruit!
Today, I am grateful for:
- The produce from the garden
- The house staying cool until mid afternoon
- Sewing skills
- "Made overs" for dinner
- Working fans, electricity to run them, etc.
Today's joyful activity was walking in the garden and harvesting another okra!
Tomorrow is supposed to be slightly cooler (a high of 95F). Plans for tomorrow include vacuuming the family room and M coming over to tend to the garden in the evening.
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August Decluttering Challenge:
8/1 - 1 pair gardening gloves
8/2 - non-working heating pad
8/3 - old purse/handbag
8/4 - 1 computer CD containing a report
8/5 - 1 plastic lid that cracked and broke in two
8/6 - 1 hooded sweatshirt (received a new one to replace it)
8/7 - old make-up I no longer use
8/8 - 6 plastic laundry detergent scoops (I use powdered laundry detergent; each new box comes with its own scoop; I don't need to keep the old ones, but, it seems such a waste to toss them in the recycling bin)
8/9 - 1 sponge paint brush (unused, but, so old, the sponge is no longer spongey!)
1 plastic food container
8/10 - 1 blouse (given to daughter); will be donated as she decided it didn't fit her properly
8/11 - 1 broken clothes hanger
3 bras
8/12 - 2 Zucchini! LOL! Eileen informed me that the zucchini don't count!
8/13 - Daughter's old artwork: A poster
8/14 - Daughter's old artwork: A painting
8/15 - 1 long dress (given to daughter) - she had urged me to buy it for myself one year for all of $1, but, I didn't wear it. She, on the other hand, loves it! It looks much better on her than on me!
8/16 - 1 coffee mug
8/17 - A book on cake decorating
8/18 - 1 bottle of perfume spray (an "our version of a famous perfume" that someone gave which doesn't smell good to me)
8/19 - 1 blouse (to be donated)
8/20 - 1 pair of slippers/flip flops (unworn; to be donated)
8/21 - an old digital camera that I could never figure out how to use!
8/22 - 1 small plastic bucket
8/23 - 2 plastic food storage containers
8/24 - 1 craft book on wreath making
8/25 - 1 cook book
8/26 - 1 felt hat (part of a dance costume from when daughter took dance classes)
First zucchini, them tomatoes, and now watermelon. What's next? You've done really well with your garden produce this year. Have you started planning for next year yet?
ReplyDeleteIn the nutrition class we were told that the 5 a day figure was set because at the time it was introduced most people were only eating 1 or 2 portions a day, so increasing to 5 would seem achievable. It should really be 7 portions a day (or some experts say 10) and the suggestion for people with diabetes issues was to aim for 2 portions of fruit and 5 of veg, eating the fruit earlier in the day if possible. Now the experts are saying that people should be aiming to eat at least 30 different plant based food in a week which sounds impossible but this includes herbs and spices. You don't have to eat a portion of each of the 30, just 30 different plant based foods. It's to improve your gut health/digestion. I thought I'd be struggling to meet that target but actually average 33 every week. You need to read that last sentence in a smug voice 😂
Next will be the chilli peppers, I think! :) My one plant is producing lots of chillies! I haven't planned for next year, yet! But, there will NOT be 14 zucchini plants for sure! :D
DeleteYes, I've read about the 7 a day, too. :( I love fruit, but, not vegetables that much (have you guessed?) And, a lot of the vegetables that I do like (green peas, corn, etc.) are considered as starch for those with diabetes. So, if I eat some green peas with my dinner, that counts as a portion of my starch allowance and I have to reduce the amount of bread or rice or potatoes to compensate!
Well done on meeting (and exceeding!) the 30 plant based foods a week! I might try keeping track of what plant based foods I eat in a week! Does rice count? :D And bread made with wheat which comes from a plant? I guess that's stretching it too far! LOL. However, almost every time I make a curry, I do add lots of plant based herbs and spices (curry leaves, for example, and curry powder is a blend of spices). Today, I am having a salad for brunch: lettuce, half a carrot, some corn, and a cut up plum - I'll consider that as 1 serving of vegetables and 1 serving of fruit! And 4 plant based foods! :)
Yes rice and wheat both count towards the 30 plant based foods.
DeleteYay! LOL. S sent us some stuffed vegetables today, and I had a piece of stuffed eggplant, after the salad. Will be having rice tonight for dinner with pork curry and dhal. :)
DeleteI hope "Baby" and "Tiny" are inside the fort as I'm sure Bun Bun would think them worth sampling.
ReplyDeleteI often find that meat takes longer than I expect to thaw in the fridge. Sometimes if I really need to use it, I fetch it out a day earlier. As for turkeys, well, they certainly need 3 or 4 days even for a modest one.
I had a lovely visit with my friend this morning and did a little grocery shopping. Later, DH said there was a bird in the garage. It was a small woodpecker and it kept flying around the rafters and seemed to stay high up although the double door and the side door were left open. Then we decided to drive the vehicles out, and later we found the bird had gone. It didn't like them I guess and wouldn't fly down near them.
Baby and Tiny are growing on the chicken wire we put around the zucchini and green beans, with Baby's vine climbing up the tomato cage! Not quite sure how that is going to work out, but, they are out of Bun Bun's reach, I believe. M also put more cardboard near the gate and the side yard fence to close up another couple of gaps. There is one gap between the gate post and the gate, itself, until we can figure out a way to close that.
DeleteI took the meat out, just now (at 7:15 p.m.) to leave out on the counter to thaw for 30 minutes or so; I plan to cook it after that.
I'm glad you had a lovely visit with your friend. Glad the bird found its way out of the garage, too! We once had a bird fly into the house; it perched on the ceiling fan for a long time before it flew out, again!
I am seriously impressed that you altered your blouse. I am wearing the same few things over and over and over because I never go anywhere that requires looking nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. I can do some simple alterations, but, it if is more complicated, then, I think it is more trouble than it is worth! I, too, generally wear the same few outfits because I am at home, but, I also want to make sure that I am wearing all the items hanging in the closet! :)
DeleteI like the color of the blouse. You should model it with the scarf/sash and have your daughter take a picture so we can see the whole effect.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June; LOL, maybe I will ask my daughter to do that! Just be warned that you might be disappointed with the effect! :D
DeleteYour blouse is very pretty. I really like the print.
ReplyDeleteHow clever to leave the side seams open for more room.
I wouldn't have thought to do that.
Thank you, Debra. Opening up the side seams a bit is my go-to alteration when blouses get a bit snug! :D I've also seen some blouses that have a side panel inserted, often in a contrasting fabric, but, I haven't tried that, yet! I suppose I would have to really, really like a blouse to do that! :D
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