Doing My Job

I took this picture yesterday because Maurice was just being so Maurice. This is something she does regularly. She gets on the table and snugs right up to the MacBook, making sure to have at least a little bit of her body directly on it to prevent me from typing, and then she flicks that tail like a metronome or like a teacher, drumming her fingers on her desk waiting for you to explain why your homework is late AGAIN. And if I should even dare to try to put my fingers on the keyboard she reaches out to slash me with her evil claws and makes that noise she makes. 

She's such a love.

I felt like I had another very productive day but actually, it wasn't that productive. I did stay busy. I picked green beans which took quite awhile. I go down one side of the row one way, then come back on that same side the other way and am always astonished at how many I miss on that first pass. Then I go to the other side of the fence and do the same there. There is also an overhang on that side with wire so that the vines make a little arbor that the beans dangle from. And again, I find beans that I missed on the side of the fence I just did and I reach through the wire to get those too. It's an art! 
I found this little guy on a leaf when I was picking this morning. 

I took his picture quickly and then let the leaf drop back where it had been so that he was in the shade. 

Last night before I went to bed I made a sponge with my sourdough starter and some flour and water and I also set black beans to soak. So I made the dough this morning and left it to rise and also made my black bean soup and it's been cooking most of the day. Not really great choices for a summer supper but that's what I wanted to make. 
When I was in the garden I picked these. 

I had no idea what type of peppers they were but I have quite a few. I sent that picture to my kids to ask for an ID and they told me I had shishito peppers and Lily said that she'd told me to get them which of course I have no memory of. Supposedly, if you blister them in a very hot skillet or under the broiler or in the air fryer, sprinkle them with a little salt and lemon juice, they are amazing. Every recipe I've read online has comments to that effect. So we shall try some tonight with out black bean soup. I am very excited. 

I took the trash, I went to the post office, I took books down to the little free library. I did laundry. And then, I got started on this project.

That's the side of the house by the kitchen and that paved part leads to the steps going up to the little kitchen porch. The border grass and a few crocosmia have rooted in the tiny strip of dirt beside the pavement and Mr. Moon has expressed a wish for it to be taken out as he could easily be tripped up on it due to his neuropathy-related balance problems. Now you know how much I hate those two plants. They are ridiculously tenacious. The border grass had actually grown UP the side of the steps. 

Now what I want to know is- where did the plants get the dirt to grow in? Did they bring it themselves somehow? What sort of botanical magic is this? There are even places where the border grass is growing directly on the cement. So I worked on that for awhile and I can finish it up tomorrow, I'm sure. I never seem to get any outdoor project completely finished because I'm always feeling the need to deal with another one. But I am not complaining. Truly, I love doing these things for the most part although unless they are in the shade, I can't work at them for a very long time. 

Meanwhile, Saint Mr. Moon is over at Tom's, augering deep holes to put posts in to use as supports for the tie-downs for the Tiny House. He's not going to let a little thing like the possibility that Tom will never live in the house stop him from finishing his job. He started it and he will finish it. 

I need to read the latest updates on the Trump trial. The last I'd read, the judge was about to give the jurors their instructions but I just checked a minute ago and it would seem that a few other things have happened. I would be more excited about the prospect of Trump being found guilty and sentenced to prison time but I have a strong suspicion that his minions would vote for him in November even if he were locked up. And you would think that the damn founding fathers might have foreseen something like this happening and dealt with it in the Constitution but no, they did not. And really- who can blame them? None of this makes any sense.  

We're all living in Crazy Town and I am so fearful of the outcome. 

Ay-yi-yi. 

The bread is out of the oven, the beans are nice and soft, the red onions to go on top are in their fast-pickling brine, and soon I will be chopping cilantro, peeling and slicing avocados, and oh yeah- slicing our first regular-sized tomato of the season. I'll let you know what I think about the shishitos. Have you ever tried them? If so, what did you think? 

Love...Ms. Moon