THE SENIORS SURVIVE SATURDAY

Seven am on Saturday found us up and (this is a joke) at 'em. We had to move it (another attempt at humor) earlier than usual, because one of us (whose initials are PAN) had cheerfully committed us to golfing with our buddies, the Wildas, at 8:40 am.

Now, 8:40 isn't really early, but...this was a Saturday, so another one of the team (whose initials are RLN) likes to partake of a weekend breakfast feast on Saturday and Sunday, and the other team member has to cook it. That would be me.

Breakfast before Golf: Farm-fresh eggs and farm bacon (from our CSA) turned into bagel sandwiches! Hash browns, coffee and juice, and...Benefiber. We were good to go.

And we went...in the IROC convertible. It was 50 degrees out. We had the top down. We were cold. We put the heat on and bundled in our sweatshirts.

18 holes later, done at a blistering pace (the Wildas are just young folk compared to us), we had warmed up considerably, but our bodies, having been exercised for 3 hours, wanted us to go home. We did, grateful that the sun made the convertible ride much, much more pleasant.

Lunch. Benefiber. Nap.

Up at 3 pm, we impulsively decided to take the IROC out again and head out to Goose Lake Prairie for a short hike through the prairie grasses. Got turned around a bit, but finally found Goose Lake Prairie again. Wish they would quit moving it. Hiked for about 1/2 hour, checked out the boat rentals (for future fun excursions), and then cruised Morris, stopping by the Lindy Gertie's car show for a bit.

We cruised back to Seneca, getting home about 7 pm. After a quick watering of the newest garden transplants, grilling our dinner sounded like the order of the night. We had some GREAT country style ribs just begging to be marinated and grilled with BarBQ sauce. Yum! Lit my big gas grill and began the session.

Made iced tea, watered the deck planters, and watched the country ribs. Basted and basted. When the meat thermometer indicated almost perfection, I ducked inside to ready the side dishes, keeping one eye on the grill. That's when I saw the smoke billowing out from under the cover of our grill.

"The grill is on fire!" I mentioned cheerfully, as I pulled the ribs off as quickly as possible (first things first...save the food!).

"Hoo Boy! A grease fire!"

"I'll get the flour!"

The handfuls of flour that I was tossing onto the flames (flames that were eagerly feeding off the drippings from the ribs and that were licking out of the grill, and that could just reach the rail of our wooden deck...) did nothing.

"I'm going for the fire extinquisher!" It was the ONLY thing to do. So we did. And...it worked!

When the flames were out, we wearily went inside to eat our slightly char-broiled ribs (they were really tasty, by the way), keeping an eye on the deck for any resurgence of flame. It was a night for dessert..and benefiber.

A glass of wine later, and some TV, and it was time for bed. We had looked at the grill, with thoughts of cleaning, but ....there is always tomorrow.

The grill is sitting on the deck, today, Sunday, waiting for us to clean it out. It's covered in a green substance that looks like...flour. Or green Benefiber.

More Garden Goodies

What a weekend! Hopefully, all the wonderful food we ate (and ate, and ate) was offset by the amount of exercise we did!

The veggie garden was weeded on Memorial by yours truly: it took 2 1/2 hours of hoe-hoe-hoeing (and some just plain hand-pulling) but the plants are no longer threated by invaders. For now.

I was so happily surprised to find: baby tomatoes! And...the first red strawberry! Here's the photos to show y'all.

And back at our house, the poppy 'Patty's Plum' has burst into full bloom. It took 3 years for this perennnial poppy to reach this stage, but it's been worth the wait.

Happy gardening!

It's Finally, Really Spring

Finally, it has stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy the outdoors fully again. All of our plants have been introduced to their outdoor homes, and are grateful for dry, warm weather and sunshine.

The hummingbirds are back, and we even spotted a Western Wood Pee Wee!

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, we are looking forward to more wonderful rounds of golf, seeing friends and family (one member of the family is turning 21!), and enjoying the sights and smells of the Great Outdoors.

The Veggie Garden is ALL PLANTED

Yesterday, before the rains came (again), we finished planting the 2009 Veggie Garden!

This is a view of the South end of the garden. The strawberry bed, abloom with wonderful, white flowers, is on the right. Tomato cages are running up the left side of the strawberries, and the dark patch on the left is where we JUST finished planting carrots, turnips and beets.

Our scarecrow is in (minus his pants, which have mysteriously disappeared), the waving butterflies are on the bunny fencing, and the owl has been placed to safeguard the garden.

The bunnies are getting in, of course. Sigh. Hopefully, reinforcing the fencing will solve the problem.

Happy gardening!

Mother's Day Reprise

This past Mother's Day was nostalgic, warm, special, and oh-so-memorable! It was nostalgic because it was the first Mother's Day without an entire generation of 'moms'. Gone on were Rich's mom, Victoria, Phyl's mom, Lorraine, and Mercedes' mom, Mercedes. Our family gathered at Ric & Mercedes' house to celebrate the day.

It was a warm day because all the moms were with us in spirit, and we were with each other.
We had our wonderful memories.

It was a special day because: we were all together!

And it was memorable for the excellent conversation, great food, and wonderful family time.

Thanks from a VERY happy Mom.

The Plant Babies Leave the Greenhouse!

Big day today for the tomato babies and others: we placed them with loving care into our vegetable garden! Into neat little rows went: broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and Waaay too many tomato plants. Also, onion sets of red onions were given their chance to prove what they can do.

Still waiting are the seeds for turnips and carrots. The strawberry plants are all in bloom, and the asparagus just keeps on coming! Glorious! The apple tree looks good, but the peach tree had only about 8 flowers this Spring, so we will have our every-other-year peach crop again.

Meanwhile, back on Daisy Court and up on the deck: the spinach, lettuce, trout romaine, cilantro, parsley and basil are doing just fine! Salad soon!

Hungrily waiting....