Keeping Track of my Days

Broccoli Plants in August

My summer vegetable plants - tomato, okra, etc. - are struggling.  However, my cool weather broccoli, if not exactly thriving, are still alive and sort of producing.  They are not the beautifully formed large broccoli heads that one expects to see, but, the side shoots keep shooting and I keep picking!

August 2 Broccoli Harvest

I picked this lot, yesterday (Tuesday).  It's not a huge amount, but, it is enough for me for a serving or two, depending on if I use it by itself or add it to a stir-fry.  I boiled them, briefly, and kept them in the fridge to use later in the week.

Yesterday, the roofers were back, working on T's roof.  I slept through the first couple of hours of their hammering and roofing!  LOL.  They finished working on the roof around 11:30 a.m. and I think that all that is left is the installation of the new swamp cooler (which will be done by a different crew, I believe).

It was going to be another relatively warm day (this whole week, our temperatures will be in the mid to upper 90s).  I decided to cook the beets M picked and the broccoli florets I picked in the early afternoon, before it got too hot.  I made another "thel dala" with the beets (including the beet greens) - cutting the beets in small pieces and boiling them in a little water, first, and then, adding a little oil to the pan and stir frying the boiled beets, stems, and leaves, with curry powder, spices, a little chili powder, and curry leaves.  I finished the dish with a little lemon juice.  The broccoli, I just boiled.

Brunch was leftover milkrice, with fish curry and seeni sambol.  I ate the last of the fresh grapes afterwards.

I spent the afternoon writing my blog post!  I guess I tend to edit as much or more than I write!

Aunt C called in the afternoon and I had a long chat with her and later in the evening, I called friend R and chatted with her (that's the family and friends area of my day checked!)

I brought the trash cans in and felt a moment's irritation with my next door neighbors because they had moved my recycling bin back up onto my driveway in order to park they van, before the bin was emptied!  I guess they assumed that the bin had been emptied, and maybe even thought they were doing me a favor by moving it up to my driveway, but, it had not been emptied and because it was out of reach of the recycling pick up van when it went by, it didn't get emptied this week.  Oh, well, I'll just take it back out next week!

I had cheese and crackers in the evening with my cup of tea and watched the evening news.  Afterwards, I walked for 10 minutes up and down the driveway and spent another 10 minutes or so in the back garden; I picked the chilies I had left to ripen and checked on the zucchini - one seems almost ready to be picked!

I cooked a fresh pot of rice for dinner and had it with omelet curry and leftover zucchini and corn and cabbage thel dala.  Some of my home canned peaches for dessert; they were delicious.

I video chatted with my daughter, afterwards, exchanged emails with a friend, and went to bed well after midnight!

This morning, I watered the front flower bed that M cleaned out, last week.  We've decided that he will transplant some of the sprengeri ferns that I have growing in pots, elsewhere in the garden in that flower bed.  These ferns store water in little tuber like nodules in their roots and seem to be quite sun tolerant; I'm hoping they'll grow well in that flower bed.  M had asked me to water the bed before he transplants the ferns, today.

In other news, as part of my August Time Management goal, I have decided to keep a time log, for at least the first week.  I am not really scheduling my day (not yet, anyway), but, rather, keeping track of how I spend my time.  I already know where a lot of my time goes - it is spent on the computer!  I tend to spend several hours, writing my blog posts, reading and responding to comments, reading the other blogs I regularly read and commenting on them, etc., all of which I truly enjoy doing.  Then, there are the online games I play (Sudoku and word games, mostly), and throw in a few online videos and it seems I spent the entire day relaxing (which is nice), but, not being very productive (which is not as nice). I started the time log on Monday and I shall see how it works out.

So far this morning, I've spent 45 minutes on my morning devotions, 15 minutes watering the front flower bed with shower water I had collected in buckets, and spent almost two hours checking emails, and blogging!  Then, spent another 30 minutes or so "gardening" with M - he transplanted the ferns, I stood around and chatted with him and supervised; afterwards, I watered in the newly transplanted ferns:

Newly Transplanted Sprengeri Fern in Front Flower Bed

On Friday, M will mulch around them and then, we'll see if they will grow and spread.  I feel that there should be some tall plants at the back of the bed, but, that will have to wait until I figure out what will grow well, there.

Pancakes for brunch, today, after the friend I exchanged emails with, yesterday, mentioned making pancakes and that sounded good to me!  LOL.  There's leftover rice and curries for dinner.

Today, I am grateful for:

- A daughter who is encouraging and supportive of me when I beat down on myself about things I feel I should have done and haven't

- Good friends who provide a voice of reason when I get carried away by things

- Being able to chat with family and friends
- M tending to the garden for me
- Garden harvests

Today's joyful activity is gardening with M.

How is your day coming along?